Deadpool (2016)

- Anonymous.

Bloody, rude, vulgar, stupid, SOOOOOO Awesome! P.S. Don't take your Kids to see this

Stars: Ryan Reynolds,  Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller 

Director:Tim Miller

Recommendation level: 8/10

A superhero movie has never been funnier than "Deadpool." Or more outlandish – or obscene. That should come as quite a relief to fans of Marvel Comics' “Merc with a Mouth” anti-hero and especially Ryan Reynolds, who labored a long time to get Deadpool's his own solo adventure on the big screen, a process that entailed – according to Deadpool, at least – fondling 20th Century Fox's prized asset whose name "rhymes with Pullverine."

Deadpool is one of the very few characters in the Marvel universe that can break the fourth wall,making pop culture references, and slicing up bad guys and is self aware. And the movie really got because it is rife with meta-humour which can be seen in the very beginning with the best opening credits scene ever.

The action scenes are also a lot of fun. From the sword fighting, to the shooting, to the acrobatics, they were all filmed really well. It delivers on the violence too, which is cartoonish enough but it doesn't go too much into Blade territory. As touted during the opening credits, “the real heroes here” are writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (ZOMBIELAND). While the narrative is a fairly straight-forward origin story, even with its use of flashbacks to add interest, the spark that ignites is found within their insanely snappy, witty dialogue. They even blessedly get in a few jabs at X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE and GREEN LANTERN.
The story is quite simple here. Its a love and revenge story. It is well paced though as it is told in a non-linear style.

This movie is so refreshing. I thought I was too jaded by superhero films but when you pick the right character to adapt, you can have so much fun with him or her. Deadpool brought us something different and it was awesome.

I had little interest of watching it in theatres but with the marketing team releasing all the crazy, cool lame posters got my attention. And i am thankful to them. 

You come to a movie like Deadpool for the comedy and action, but you get swept up in the love, the horror and the drama, ending up with quite a well rounded flick. In fact, it's one of the heftiest superhero origin stories told on film in recent years. This is a dessert with something for everyone to enjoy. But please, do not bring your children to see this movie.

P.S. Its a Marvel movie, so don't just leave the theatre after the movie. Wait for the end credit scene. Its Hillarious.

Fitoor

- Sidharth Sharma.

Fitoor- A Visually Captivating affair, but not upto the mark!

Cast- Tabu, Aditya Roy Kapur, Katrina Kaif, Lara Dutt, Rahul Bhat, Aditi Rao Hydari, Akshay Oberoi, Ajay Devgn

Direction- Abhishek Kapoor

Verdict- 3/5

 “There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment.” The makers of Fitoor seem to have established this fact brilliantly in the first few frames. But what happens thereafter is a complex chain of events which leaves the viewers confused, frustrated and finally uninterested!

Young Noor (Mohammad Abrar) falls in love with Firdaus (Tunisha Sharma) at first sight. However, fate separates them when Firdaus is sent to London by her mother, Begum (Tabu). Few years later, a grown-up Noor (Aditya Roy Kapoor) moves to Delhi to pursue his artistic career, where he meets Firdaus (Katrina). He gets closer to Firdaus, only to realize that she is already engaged to Bilal (Rahul Bhat). Will Firdaus reciprocate her love for Noor?

Based on Charles Dickens’ novel Great Expectations, Fitoor had the potential to be an intense and interesting love story. Yes, it starts off on a great note but loses steam midway and becomes clumsy towards the end. The screenplay loses its pace at parts and becomes somewhat unconvincing towards the end. The introduction of too many sub-plots and plot twists seems to be unnecessary. Begum’s back-story tends to disrupt the build-up to the climax. The movie boasts of some high-voltage Dialoguebaazi, which does no good to the film!

Katrina Kaif looks stunning as Firdous and doesn’t disappoint with her performance. Aditya Roy Kapur does full justice to his character and he performs with utmost sincerity. His chemistry with Katrina is something to watch out for. However, the film actually belongs to Tabu, who delivers a stellar performance! She steals the show with her terrific performance, especially in the pre-climax scene. Young Noor and Firdaus, played by Mohammad Abrar and Tunisha Sharma respectively, deliver a phenomenal performance. Lara Dutt, as the curator and Rahul Bhat, as Bilal seem to be wasted in this movie. Ajay Devgn’s cameo is impressive. Aditi Rao Hydari, as the Young Begum, lends good support to the star-cast, inspite of her voice being dubbed by Tabu. Akshay Oberoi has almost nothing to perform in this movie!

However, the real hero of the movie is its cinematographer, Anay Goswamy, who manages to grasp our attention with his startling camera-work. The astounding visuals of Kashmir, the breath-taking scenes of Dal Lake make the first half of the film, a visual delight! He imparts an artistic touch to each and every frame and makes the film look extremely beautiful!

Director Abhishek Kapoor is known to have a class-appeal but this time, it backfires! He tries to stay true to each and every detail of the book, but in the process creates too many unnecessary plot-twists, getting entangled in its own web. Coz what looks good on paper, doesn’t always translate into a good film!

Final Verdict- Watch it if you are a die-hard Katrina-Aditya fan or you have nothing else to do this Valentine’s Day!

HOpE

- Jitupan Talukdar.

Pic credits: Shutterstock

Like a kite with a broken string,
Was the story of mine...
Wandering on the path of life,
Unsure of how long I'd survive.

Still somewhere inside me,
There was a little life remaining...
I realised that I am still alive,
As my body kept on breathing.

Like the smile of an angry kid,
That came back on a little cajoling...
As if some comfort applied on those year-old wounds,
Something like that, is what my heart is feeling.

As if the body that was burning,
Got the shade of a tree...
Some tenacity, is there in this moment,
Now that my soul felt free.

A new voice calls me from inside,
Why is the worry for tomorrow troubling?
Such prickle is there in this moment,
Unsure, whether should I kiss the joys, or cry a little?

Nayan Jyoti Bora

A Family of Tree

Nayan Jyoti Bora

The Seed of Life

Airlift

- Sidharth Sharma.

Airlift- Bang for the Buck!

Cast- Akshay Kumar, Nimrat Kaur, Purab Kohli, Prakash Belawadi, Abida Hussain

Direction- Raja Krishna Menon

Verdict- 4.5/5 
2016 seems to be a Golden Year for Bollywood. With movies like Wazir, Chalk ‘n’ Duster and many more releases lined up this year, Bollywood seems to be marching more towards content-driven cinema rather the regular ‘masaledaar’ Bollywood crap! And adding to that list, we have a movie which redefines the way thrillers are perceived in Bollywood, a movie called ‘Airlift’!

Airlift, one of the highly anticipated movies of 2016, hits the theatres on January 22. Based on India’s Rescue Operation of its Citizens from War-torn Kuwait in 1990, this film promises to be an enthralling affair! Does it live upto its expectations?

Yes, it does!

Ranjit Katyal (Akshay Kumar) is a Kuwait-based Entrepreneur who lives with his wife, Amrita (Nimrat Kaur) and daughter (Abida Hussain). His life turns upside down when Kuwait gets invaded by Iraqi forces under the leadership of Saddam Hussain. The rest of the story is about Ranjit’s quest to safely evacuate the Indian Citizens of Kuwait and whether he succeeds in it or not.

Airlift’s biggest strength is its riveting screenplay. Raja Krishna Menon does a great job by making the film neither too commercial nor too artistic, which works completely in the film’s favour. The pace is well maintained throughout the film and Menon gives it a touch of realism, which is worth applauding!

Akshay Kumar delivers a stellar performance. He gets into the flesh of the character and adds life to each and every scene. It is hard to imagine anyone else perform this role with such intensity. Clearly, an award winning performance it is! Nimrat Kaur, as Ranjit’s wife, performs at par with Akshay. Despite being just two films old (Peddlers and The Lunchbox), she performs like a seasoned actor. Her altercation with Prakash Belawadi truly deserves applause. Purab Kohli and Prakash Belawadi put up a great performance and portray their characters brilliantly!

Cinematography by Priya Seth (Yes, a female cinematographer in Bollywood after a long time!), deserves a special mention. She successfully portrays the dark shades in her canvas and gives us some great shots! She adds intensity in this thriller-drama and captures every moment perfectly. Editing is crisp and helps to maintain the pace better! Background score builds up the much-needed tension in the film.

Raja Krishna Menon’s direction is accreditable. His understanding of the subject matter and translation of the same on the big screen is commendable! Hope to see more of his works in the years to come!

Final Verdict- Just go for it. You won’t be disappointed!

Gay and Proud, Eh?

- Prakash Das.

As I logged in on Facebook and scrolled through the Newsfeed, I saw my close friends, my not-so-close friends and my don't-know-at-all friends posting the 'news' of their lives. It was very interesting to peek into their lives; with their consent but without their awareness. Their lives revolved around a wide range of subjects. While some talked on relatively serious topics like 'Digital Equality', others let us know their difficulty in getting up from bed on a chilly January morning only to pee (I consider the latter more serious though). No amount of public and personal 'threats' would deter some Facebookians from tagging you in pictures of flowers or puppies or their pout-faced 'selfies' (on a completely 'different' note, I have joined trauma-reduction classes).

To the Tide

- Snehal Deb.

Pic credits: Shutterstock

I say this with my arms in the air
Standing by the majestic liquid infinite
I am just a drop in an ocean
Of ungrateful and selfish lives
Flesh and minted things, their greed.
To the tide, I breathe.

When I went to the temple,
The caged god was silent.
The meandering river directed me,
What you seek is ocean, violent.
It will guide you, teach you to be.
That's why to the tide, I rant.

This is what I believe in,
Am I right? obscure feelin'
The high rise waves must confess,
Things I don't know but possess.
For Frost had two, but I have many,
Roads and bridges to progress.

The silence in the mountains
Legend of valley's disdain
Wherever I paused to think,
Few loving souls held me in pain
Cursing those who forced me to the brink
To the tide, I wail. I cry.

12 positive events that made 2015 a year to remember

- Naba Raj Chetri.

12) Justin Trudeau wins Canadian Elections.

What is seen as a major victory in the world political circle, Justin Trudeau led Liberal Party of Canada came to power. It was seen as a good news by climate change activist as his predecessor Stephen Harper was seen as a climate skeptic. Besides Mr. Trudeau’s cabinet was also appreciated world over for its dynamic and gender balanced nature. The open arm welcome of Syrian refugees was seen as a move of Canada once again leading the world towards the ideal of tolerance.

11) Saudi women vote and win

In a historic ballot, 20 women were voted into local governments. It was for the first time that women were allowed to vote in the conservative Middle East nation. The election did gather a lot of eyeballs from across the world.

10) Same sex marriage legalized in Republic Of Ireland

What was seen as a major victory to the free thinkers across the world and LGBT community in particular, Ireland legalized same sex marriage by a referendum in a victory with 62% in favour of it.

9) Bidhya Devi Bhandari elected Nepal’s first female president

The deputy leader of Communist Party of Nepal Unified Marxist Leninist “Bidhya Devi Bhandari” was elected to the post of President Of Nepal . The election of Bidhya Bhandari who had for long campaigned for womens right was seen as a milestone in the young,new democratic Nepal.

8) Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan announces donation of 99% of their facebook share to charity

Following the birth of their daughter Maxx, Zuckerberg announced the donation of 99% of his facebook share to charity . This news grabbed much appreciation in the global platform, and comparison with well-known philanthropist like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, who have donated in billions. The lack of donations from the elite of Indian Society was also a topic of discussion

7) Scientist capture light as both particle and wave

Since the time of Einstien, light was believed to have both particle and light nature, it was for the first time capture as a snapshot using electrons to image light at EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne). The achievement was hailed by Scientific Community worldwide.

6) Negotiations on Iran Nuclear programme produces a deal

A preliminary framework was reached between Islamic Republic of Iran and group of world powers P5+1(5 permanent members of Security Council + Germany + EU). According to the framework, Iran would redesign, convert and reduce its nuclear abilities and accept additional protocols, to lift all nuclear related economic sanctions imposed upon it.

5) Africa went a year without polio

A major milestone in global health that has left health experts silently celebrating, no polio cases were detected for over a year in Africa. The last detected case was in Somalia in August 2014. The absence marks a step for the continent to be declared polio free.

4) NASA reveals high resolution image of Pluto

NASA’s New Horizon spacecraft has sent back the first few of a series of high resolution images taken during its July flyby and this series of images forms the best close-ups of Pluto mankind has ever seen. A video made from this images show amazing details of a world 3 billion miles away.  

3) Space X launches a rocket that returned to Earth and landed upright

For the first time in aerospace history, a rocket took off vertically from its Launchpad and landed upright after piercing space not far from where its journey began. The task was completed by Falcon9 rocket of the private American Company SpaceX, whose CEO is the world renowned Elon Musk. This news was even shared by Mark Zuckerberg.

2) The world observes the first “International Yoga Day”

 On the suggestion of Indian PM Narendra Modi 21st June, which is the longest day in Northern Hemisphere was chosen to be marked as International Yoga Day. India’s Permanent Representative “Ashok Mukherjee” introduced the draft and 177 member states adopted it without a vote. It was observed by nations across the globe, with the event in Rajpath led by the Indian PM himself entered into the Guinness Book of World Records.

1) COP21- the gamechanger and International Solar Alliance

Perhaps the most important event for decades to come, the fate of the world was decided at Paris. It was the 21st session of the Conference of Parties(COP). Here 195 participating countries agreed by consensus to the final global pact, the Paris Agreement, where it was agreed to reduce global warming and keep global warming less than 2degree Celsius that of preindustrial times. The developed nations are to pay the developing nation 100 billion dollar to achieve the target.

In a significant move hailed globally, Indian PM Narendra Modi along with his France counterpart Francois Hollande launched a solar alliance of 120 countries with its headquarters in India.

Nisarg Behera

Jupiter with its moon IO, Europa, Ganymade and Callisto