DEMONOID IS BACK!!

Ok, Firstly, thanks to my friend Renju for letting me know of this. Only this morning, I was telling someone that Demonoid used to be a haven for great torrents, but sadly was no more. How idiotic of me!! Little did I know it was back online.

Go out there, get the music, the movies and the games you want. Don’t blame me for not having told you about Copyright violations though.

Demonoid’s State of Suspension:

After Demonoid went offline, finding quality torrents was always an issue, with the Internetflooded with spam. Thankfully, IsoHunt listened in to the wishes of people and allowed commenting on torrents. This way, bad, malicious and spam torrents could be avoided.

Read my earlier post here:

Demise of Demonoid ?

People who know about torrents, will be jumping with joy at this news. Yes, torrents on Demonoid are still old and need to be updated. Chances are you won’t find the latest torrents just yet. But knowing the Demonoid community, things will be back in no time. So keep your fingers crossed and just be patient. Also, when things are back, SEED. Till you reach a rario of 2.0 atleast. Don’t be selfish.

For people who do not know to use torrents, read this

A Guide to Using Torrents

Movie Review - The Good German[2006]

The Good German is a movie by Steven Soderbergh(of Ocean’s 11,12,13, Erin Brockovich fame) starringGeorge Clooney( Danny Ocean himself. Also voted World’s Sexiest Man), Tobey Maguire (Spiderman ), Cate Blanchett among others. Its a film adaptation of the novel by Joseph Kanon. The movie is Black and white. (film noir) The effect of black and white doesnt do anything for me. It’s not as good as classic B&W movies, but doesn’t measure up to even modern ones like ‘Schindler’s List’ , ‘The Pianist’ , ‘Sin City’…etc, even if its not fair to compare these movies. It’s poster and closing scene at the airport is supposed to be a homage to classic film ‘Casablanca’ (Take my advice and watch that instead )

IMDB Rating:

Coming straight to rating the movie, it wasn’t that great. I did not peek into IMDB’s  6.2/10 before I watched the movie. Maybe I should have. 6.2 sounds pretty fair considering the movie fails to live up to anything at all even for a Clooney fan like me. It was a disappointment. It wasn’t outright bad, but could have been made better.

Wikipedia:

I didn’t understand most of what was happening in the movie. Yes, I got the essentials, but didn’t have any prior knowledge about many of the references made in the movie. So I decided to look up Wikipedia. According to Wiki, it hints at NASA’s origins and American postwar employment of Nazi rocket scientists in Operation Paperclip. (a good read)

Man, how can you take such an interesting subject and make a mess of it ?

The film revolves around Clooney’s character and is set in 1945 around the end of WWII. It also touches on Holocaust and what Jews had to go through in Nazi Germany, though not in great or graphic detail. Also references are made about (Concentration)Camp Dora and slave labour used there. Blanchett’s husband Emil is a mathematician and a SS officer, and is associated with Camp Dora. Emil has proof that it was not him but the missile scientist Franz Bettman who ran the camp. But all evidence points to Emil and no written references are available to prove Bettman’s involvement. The Americans want to eliminate Emil so that they can take Bettman home to work on their projects.

Blanchett as Lena Brandt tries her best to keep herself and her husband alive. The Movie tries to imply that all of the German’s were not associated with Nazi policy and were helpless.  As an SS officer who had no involvement in Camp Dora, Emil is my Good German.  

Well if you have to watch this movie, make sure you don’t have any other better movie to watch. But yea, rather than watch stupid regional movies you might as well watch this. Atleast it makes sense.

Movie Review - Transformers[2007]

 

Saw this movie just yesterday. (Technically it’s today as I watched it at around 1:00). The movie is Directed by Micheal Bay of Armageddon, Pearl Harbour, The Rock and Bad Boys I and II fame. Steven Spielberg is the exective producer. The cast consists of Shia LaBeouf as “Sam Witwicky”, Megan Fox (hot!!), Josh Duhamel, Rachael Taylor and Jon Voight(of Mission Impossible fame) among many others.

The concept of transformers:

The concept of transformers is that they assume some other common form like automobiles and can transfrom back into themselves again at will. The picture below should illustrate the same to good effect. (The characters in the movie are much cooler though)

 

The Good’s:

The movie was pretty good. IMDB rates the movie at 7.7 and I think that’s a fair score. I did not know about the transformers toys or even cartoons and comics until I had seen the movie. So there was no expectations to live up to. The transformer concept is pretty cool even if the noise was irritating when they transformed!! It tries and reinforces the by now worn-out concept that Aliens indeed exist and the US Defence covers it up. Might even be true. Who knows for sure ? But atleast it is original in that they don’t show the cliched Alien with odd body and always a head bigger than body, always green in color!! None of that crap. I especially loved Bumble-bee. I would love to have a car like that.  The graphics was brilliant. (All you Indian makers, do this for a change instead of changing someone’s complexion on celluloid.) The whole concept of transformers was brilliant.

The Not-So-Goods:

None of the characters in the movie are given enough depth. But in fast paced movies, you cannot afford that. So what you see is a school kid who is not all that popular on account of him not being brawny, a hot girl who always falls for the brawny guys!! (Well almost always. But in the end, good conquer evil. Isn’t that how it goes ?), a computer analyst from nowhere with a hacker friend. The normal “unknown/unnamed” US department guys with supreme powers. The cliched Good Vs Bad and Bad losing in the end!!

Scary:

A thought that occured to me when I was watching the movie was how scared we will get when someone much bigger and at the same time much more intelligent and quicker than us attacks us. Pretty scary huh ? I was shit scared when I thought about it. Often you see Aliens lacking on some department or the other. Mostly they are all brainy. It is acknowledged by even Scientists that if at all we find ET they will be more intelligent.  But bigger, stronger and faster!! Also meaner!! That’s scary man. Robots are even scarier than Biological Aliens!!

Overall a pretty well made movie. Am eagerly awaiting Transformers 2…

Punch Monologue!!

So I finished framing questions for ORK-2 and was enjoying my pizza in front of the TV as always. (It’s become something of a habit with people these days. Eating in front of the idiot box, even at restraunts.) So, I am surfing channels and I see an interview by “Suhasini”(Mani Rathnam’s wife). I was under the opinion that she was educated!! She even used words like “cliche”.( The usage of the word cliche itself has become something of a cliche these days.)

And then she says… ” So what about your Dialogues in the movie.” (or something of that sort.)

The thing if you still haven’t gotten is, what we normally refer to as “Punch Dialogues” by our philmi heroes are infact “monologues”!!!! For heavens sakes.. you know what a cliche is, but don’t know what a dialogue even means. Pathetic. Next Time someone refers to “Punch Monologues” as “Punch Dialogues” I am gonna punch them in their face. (Ok not going to happen.) Atleast I’d like to!!

Desi version of Matrix- Dodge This

 

This article tries to decide which of the two, The Matrix or The Making of the Matrix has caused more harm to Indian Cinema!! While it is obvious both have had an effect on heroes(yes heroes, not actors) flying around, what’s not so obvious is the distinction between flying in The Matrix and our oft fat heroes flying. Hell, even cars in which heroes are travelling do gravity defying stunts. (Sivaji ?)

Funda Behind “The Matrix”:

• The Matrix is a simulated reality. Which means it’s actually a computer program which interacts/interfaces with your brain and makes you believe that the program is actually reality.

• Within the matrix, (and this is extremely important to understand) one can use the understanding of its nature to bend the laws of physics, giving them super-human abilities.

Bending the laws of physics ?

Enough said on The Matrix. If you understand english, what the content in bold font above means is that you are simply manipulating a computer program. You are breaking the limits set by a computer. Which is absolutely possible. Like the programs we write in our labs which give absolutely off answers. If only Indian movie makers understood this, we would not be seeing guys flying around in real life.

Some Links on how Indian movies are copying blatantly!! :

Vijayakanth: (Yea, he is officially the head of the Indian Matrix Foundation. Captain to be more exact!!) (DODGE THIS!!)

Vijayakanth - Bullet Proof Stunt

Vijaykanth Matrix

Capatin Vijayakanth Stunts in Sabari

Shah-rukh Khan: (You’d think he’s educated. Think again!!)

Main Hoo Na Action (Jesus, how many scenes have they copied!! To think that the same director “Farah Khan” has directed, Om Shanti Om, you can give it a miss)

Vijay: (My nomination for Vice-Captian. Too bad he cannot be captain just yet. He can’t be a kanth just yet.)

I can’t find videos at present, but I distinctly remember a few scenes lifted from Matrix. I shall post them later.

Vikram: (Another actor whom I assumed to be intelligent. They make you pay for such assumptions!!)

Anniyan High Tech Fight

(And people thought Anniyan was a good movie!! And that Shankar is original and stuff!! Jesus Christ!! This is the worst copy till date. I mean atleast have some originality like captain!!)

P.S: This is only a small sub-set of the rip-offs. I don’t watch Tamil movies or even Hindi movies in general. I easily found Vijayakanth on youtube.(He is world renowned. Even Wachowski brothers are considering casting him in their next movie. I am sure there are thousands more. This list is no attempt to be an exhaustive compilation of Indian movie screw-ups.

 Harm Caused by Matrix:

     

    Indian movie makers who went to Matrix, clearly came out thinking why can’t I do that in my movies. Obviously most Indians do not listen to the conversation in the movie. So they must have said “If, they can do it in their movies, so can I!!” So in almost every movie these days, we have gravity defying stunts ripped from matrix. And audience loves it. Why ? Because they didn’t listen to the dialogues either!! Because they too think if matrix can use it, so can out thalaivar!!

Why The Making of the Matrix:  

        Believe me, while Matrix had people wondering and most scenes are copied form it, Indian’s especially movie makers or heroes(not actors) are not intellectuals. Show me one person who denied admission to MIT to do films, here. Also I remember my history teacher telling me (when i was in CBSE board) that when the Brits arrived in India, and presented the kings with guns and clocks, these blokes never thought how do these things work and how do I make them ? They were just happy with what they got!! Same with movie makers. They will never have figured out how the stunts of Matrix were performed.

        This is where making of the matrix comes in. They show them how each scene was shot!! Pronto a ready made recipe for rip -offs. Now we know how!! So here we go, our flabby heros performing supernatural stunts!!

       Way to go Indian Cinema. Wonder how many more years it will take till we finally stop using content form the Matrix. Till then enjoy the stunts!! 

Movie Review - Swordfish[2001]

Considering the movie released in 2001 and I am seeing it now, I think I should stop claiming that I am a movie buff. Better late than never, I guess. The movie starts John Travolta, Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman (who looks stunning) and Don Cheadle (of Oceans’ fame) among many others. The movie had a lot about hacking, and encryption algorithm and stuff. If you are a serious hacker or better than the average programmer, neither of which I am, then it will probably seem trivial even funny to you. But I thought it was alright in most parts.
 

Travolta is seen portraying a negative character which changes towards the end. “For the greater good?” .Hugh Jackman looks stunning and the stuff he pulls off with the comp, if only someone could look so cool pulling it off. Some places look as though the director tried too hard trying to portray the emotions a programmer goes through while developing stuff.
 

Overall a pretty alright movie to watch. Pay attention to the dialogues though. The movie is built around them. IMDB rating: 6.2. But I think it was better than that.

Om Shanti Om Vs Saawariya

Ok I am in a movie mood all of a sudden. So please don’t mind the endless posts on movies. I know the coverage of OSO VS Saawariya in the media has been pretty heavy already. Sony is throwing its weight around by advertising and publicizing the movie in its channels and SRK is trying to do everything he can from wearing OSO shirts to cricket matches, to celebrating his birthday on television to woo the audience. It is also dubbed as a literal fight at the box office between Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Farah Khan. The whole fight itself can be orchestrated for both movies’ sakes. Its bollywood you see. Anything is allowed here.

 

Directors:
Between Farah Khan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali, it’s hard to pick one person. While Farah’s movies are total “filmi” entertainers with masala, Leela Bhansali isn’t Gowarikar either. I didn’t get the opportunity to watch Black but Devdas was just about alright with normal bollywood twists. (Ok I am relying on my memory heavily here which somehow I think I shouldn’t be. Never works well in the exams.) Considering that SRK worked with Bhansali in Devdas I wonder if he will attend the premiere ;).
 

Music:
I listened to the music of both movies and they seem ok. A couple of songs in each are very good, while the others are just about alright. In OSO, Ajab Si and Dard-e-Disco sounded good. In Saawariya, Saawariya and Jab Se Tere Naina were good.
 

Production:
While OSO is being produced by Gauri Khan (SRK’s wife), Sony is producing Saawariya and that’s big news. In my opinion it’s(Saawariya) actually the underdog, because while in OSO you have SRK and Deepika Padukone, In Saawariya the cast is relatively new even if they are from within the film fraternity. 
 

Saawariya:
While OSO is heavily publicizing SRK and Deepika, most people don’t know that Saawariya has Salman Khan and Rani Mukherjee. (Nor did I until I got a bit curious.)
Here’s wishing both movies all luck at the box office. I am praying Saawariya rakes in more moolah, because I always support the underdog. (But having said that, the people I support normally let me down.) Let’s wait and watch….

Diwali Movies On TV…..

Well here I was trying to watch the India Vs Pakistan match on Diwali, and I am surfing channels. I stumble upon two Movies.
 

First during India’s batting (around afternoon) Chennai 600028. I heard from friends that this was a supposedly good movie. I have never seen a cheaper movie in my entire life. While I didn’t even bother to watch the whole movie or even big enough chunks of it, trust me the feeling did something to my stomach. I haven’t been able to eat afterwards. We Indians are probably the only bunch in the whole world who like to showcase and bask in mediocrity. Here we are shown a bunch of underperforming cricketers playing tennis ball cricket matches and how? Sloppy fielding, bowling action like they have epilepsy and batting like they wore the wrong power glasses. Yet there’s a crowd cheering them on. Utter rubbish. Stop showing us mediocre crap in the name of originality.
 

Second during the Pakistani batting, I see this movie Gilli. I am probably among the few people who haven’t seen this movie. (I still haven’t. Just caught glimpses of it.)    And I won’t be overly critical of the movie itself as i know thousands of Vijay fans will be outside my house waiting to strangle me. But couple of observations. Has Matrix done any good to Indian cinema? People tend to forget(or simply still don’t know) that in matrix, the entire thing is a software program. The stunts never happen. Reaves is just imagining them to happen. And yet here we have Vijay flying from God know where to where, putting Newton’s laws and gravity to shame. Another thing I observed was the complete reversal when it comes to fight. For the first few minutes we have the “villain” pounding on the “hero” like he was a God punishing a kid and then something happens. There is a complete role reversal. The “hero” is now pounding on the “villain” who has conveniently transformed into a rat scurrying for life in no time. I need to find out what the catalyst is? I would like it myself….

Movie Review-The Host[2006]/Gwoemul

 

The Host:

God knows what made me watch this movie on Diwali eve. I didn’t have any expectations to start with, so I wasn’t severely disappointed or anything of that sort. I saw the movie in English. So the dubbing might also have been one of the reasons why I didn’t enjoy the movie. I saw a little bit of the movie in my friend’s laptop a few days back with the English subtitles and somehow feel that the subtitles were far better than the dub.
IMDB rates the movie at 7.1. I don’t know who voted for the movie really. I don’t follow South Korean cinema much. So while this might be path breaking stuff for people who really know what’s happening in there, for a regular movie watcher like me, this movie didn’t do anything at all.

Attempted Comedy:

The movie tries to be funny, in a lame way that is as bad if not worse than the comic writing I adopt. The characters come across as neither funny, nor serious. Those attempting the comedy/serious cross should be careful. The script had me wondering why someone even took the trouble of making this movie.
For starters, the mutation resulting from toxic waste is wannabe science fiction stuff. Nothing new in there. And makes you wonder a whole lot of things. Why only one creature? From what did it evolve or mutate?  Is it possible to mutate in a matter of days?  The creature itself looks lame and hardly frightening. Though I must agree if I were to take on it mano-a-mano (not applied in the strictest sense) then I would need lots of ammo and a bazooka or something.
 
Secondly in the whole movie, you don’t see army anywhere. Maybe army isn’t allowed in South Korea? But to kill a monster that’s no where as dangerous as a Godzilla nor as smart as an alien, shouldn’t be much trouble if you mobilize enough troops. Instead they drop a yellow powder on it!! (Turmeric -> disinfectant? ha ha). If this movie was shot in US of A they would have had the monster/host killed in five minutes and the rest of the movie would be devoted to something else.  Even more comic is the use of shot guns and even arrows to try killing it. (TLOR inspired? ). People attempting to take on the monster single handedly is ridiculous.
 The end was kind of sad, but the movie made you sadder for having watched it that the sorrow of the girl’s death somehow didn’t set in. If there was one person who was given a decent role in the movie, it was the girl. Ultimately she dies in trying to protect an orphan. Touching really.
 
To sum it up, not worth a watch. A lame attempt at film making. Don’t watch it unless you know Korean or are a big fan of Korean movies.