V - Lokam: August 2007

Aug 21, 2007

Reverse Geared - A journey back to my childhood !

Hi again, I kind of missed scribbling here over the weekend. Spent most of my time during the weekend at the theatres.
Well, this time, im not writing a review for any movie. I happened to watch Transformers and it made me go back to my childhood and made me think of my life sans responsibilities. Though there were recent releases in Hollywood based on comic characters and super heroes, it was only transformers that made me

nostalgic. Probably its because, I had completely forgotten about the characters in Transformers ( as it was not in any kind of limelight for a very long time) and had realized the fact that I have started forgetting so many nice moments that I had in life. So in this post of mine, I am going to list down almost all the cartoons that I had watched when I was a kid (and a couple of them after I turned 20) with the links to the intro song. My brother would be best person to help me out if I had missed out any of them as I don’t think I had watched any of the cartoons mentioned here without him. The next best person would be our mom who used to record these cartoons in VHS while we were at school. Therefore, I dedicate this entire post to them and also to my childhood.
Please note that the list is without the cartoon characters like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Winnie the Pooh, Casper , Scooby Doo , Bugs Bunny, Tom and Jerry and some of the other famous ones.One reason is because of the fact that they would be an obvious part of such a list and the other reason would be that I never enjoyed watching them so much. Also, this post has only the animated series and not the full lengthed cartoons lke Lion King, Happy Feet,etc.

Statutory Warning : This is strictly for people who are still young at heart and so, the strong and stone minded are advised to stay away from this.

(Link courtesy : Youtube and Retrojunk(only for Paw Paws)
Picture courtesy : Google Images )

Bionic Six
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbNHR1jM4Ac

Mask
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQdgbs0IUDg&mode=related&search=

Centurions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA36JX2qSd8

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI0FbYe3lRE

Inspector Gadget
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG6uXxeChVM&mode=related&search=

Danger Mouse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrM0E9pag8E&mode=related&search=

Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbf1RVArIxM

Duck Tales
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34Sb0hGUNIQ&mode=related&search=

Care Bears
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNm5Hqow78I

Captain Planet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHj7VDd8lw0

Captain Caveman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD36ZhpHPpE

Gummi Bears
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loUNoy0Qub0

Ghost Busters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5ePpHAfVpw&mode=related&search=

Dinosaucers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv2ndRhnc9c&mode=related&search=

The Simpsons
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNV9FEKi9FQ

Johnny Bravo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE3d2GHBuvQ&mode=related&search=

Spider man and his amazing friends
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQwNwQIY73U

Fantastic Four
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgQ5Wa4s_EQ&mode=related&search=

The Incredible Hulk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fVHvdrGlYQ

Johnny quest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV_-u9sxYZM

Pink Panther
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usdHdF65LDQ

Pink Panther and sons
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuSgRQ9TBlI&mode=related&search=

Muppet babies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ju75XsCO4o

Pole Position
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj55mHD2Pes

The Snorks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuCq0aZiPT0

He-Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KHsD-y7DQU

She-Ra
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dk-6eHjECkc

Superted
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUpl84wzUkA

Mighty Mouse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdd_X4A5TVI

Aug 13, 2007

Movie Review : Chak de India -- Timepass

Before entering the theatre, I had a huge expectation on this movie. All the

reviews about the movie and Shah Rukh were too good and most importantly my hopes on the combination of Yash Raj films and Shah Rukh.I was also excited when I came to know that Shah Rukh, for a change, would not be romancing. With Shimit Amin as the director, I was actually expecting a totally different movie experience too.Well, the movie did entertain but failed to live upto my expectation.

The movie is based on a real life story of a hockey player .The hockey player who happens to be the captain of the team is accused of match fixing when the team does not win against pakistan in the finals.The captain being a Muslim is stamped as a traitor and he then makes his comeback after 7 years to the field in the form of a coach to get the Indian womens team ready for the world cup (in 3 months!!!).Quite predictably, they win the world cup and makes everyone in the nation proud.The coach gets his reputation back and the girls makes their individual dreams come true.

The movie is completely based on hockey and so the script demands sequences like training, team building, motivation, leadership and of course since it is a Indian movie, the script also demands one black sheep in the team.There is a scene in the movie at the end where a kid rubs the word ''gaddar'' from a wall. That was on the same wall by another kid and it remains just like that for 7 long years. Why cant we avoid such stupidities from our movies ??

The part which we could really enjoy is when all the sixteen players get introduced and also when we see the misunderstandings between them. Atleast for the first time in Indian movies, the script writers didnt make any references to racism and regional divide and evoke sentiments out of that.There are a couple of scenes where you would feel touched, but thats it.You wouldnt remember any of them after coming out of the hall.

Shah Rukh is at his usual.He just cannot come out of his "King Khan" image and act normally. This time, he has a stubble to make him look serious(I wonder why the shape and color of the stubble changes from scene to scene!).Indeed, it is a pleasure to watch him without any heroines, especially when there arent any scenes showing him cry for all the heroines in the movie.Shah Rukh , probably , is the only hero in Bollywood to have been portrayed as a sports person in so many of his movies.He is a hockey player here, a basket ball player in KKHH, a football player in KANK and a race driver in Baazigar.(He should try wrestling the next time!)The entire 16 girls have done a good job, but one could easily find that some of them are facing the camera for the first time.The rest of the cast does what they usually do.

There is nothing great to mention about the music.It gels with the movie , thats all. But you cant expect a 'mitwa' or a 'chale chalo' here. I guess, for the first time, the audio sales for a Yash Raj Film hasnt done well pre-release and there isnt going to be any increase in the sales post-release as well.

Overall, the movie is not so great to talk about.Its a normal entertainer with usual Bollywood masalas and has to be seen only as a timepass over the weekend. The initial collections were only 40% which is very surprising for a Shah Rukh starrer and that too when the movie comes from the Yash Chopra banner.But it would gradually go up and I feel it would end up as an average grosser. After two debacles like 'Tara ram pum' and 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom' ; 'Chak de India' could be the next one, making it a hatrick for Yash Raj Films...did they lose their glory??

Aug 12, 2007

Why am I like this? Its because of them!!! --Part 2

so where were we?.....ahhh, about the rest of my family right ? well, here it goes..

This is my ettan. He is a perfect blend of our parents. He has got the rough and tough looks of amma, but is very soft inside and melts like an ice.Like achchan, he is also a person of his principles and would love to lead his life abiding to the rules set by the society. In your first sight, he would seem reseved and conservative, but he is a person with an amazing sense of humor and once you get to know him, you would understand that. If there is anyone in the family that I respect, its him(I havnt used the word respect when i described my parents too) and thats only for his values in life and the way he carries himself. He knows what he wants in life and I feel he is very much proactive in his decisions.He had been an excellent student in terms of his academics as well as for his conduct.Such is his reputation in the school that whenever i visit,I would be referred as 'vinojs brother'. He is short tempered, but he exhibits his temper only when we dont listen to him or when we are going against the society. One would often see him with a book(a huuuge book work), or watching sports (a big time sports maniac that he is) and he has an unbelievable fascination for electronic goods. I always approach him for my stupid queries on internet,computers or any other electronics.His first reaction would be to scold and make me feel miserable, but at the next instance, he would come out with a solution for that too. Well, its not that he has pampered me in any way, but even when I am 80, I would continue disturbing him in the same way with my doubts and thereby being his evergreen, everlasting disturbance in life. I love my brother a lot and I guess there hasnt been and there will not be anyone whom I can love so much.Thanks,bro, for being there for me whenever I needed you and please for heavens sake, continue to be(hehehe)! By the way, he is a superb photographer and he sings so well but the sad part is that we would never get to hear him sing loudly or atleast when he knows that we are noticing.

Next is the latest entrant in the family whom I had a tough time understanding and I still have. She had become a part of the family 3 years ago and is my edathiamma now. Initially I had my problems with her, maybe it was because of my possessiveness on my brother or probably because of some communication issues between us. Whatever said and done, she is right now my best friend in the family and I believe I can count on her for anything. She has a great taste in fashion and as far as I have heard, she is an amazing window shopper. She must be aware of the fact that a way to a mans heart is through his stomach, cuz she is an excellent cook and could make anyone bowled over with her food. We could rarely find women of substance and I believe she is one. She has her own set of views and ideologies and is very assertive on them.She is too frank and has the courage to speak anything in front of anyone and I feel that, this is her strength as well as her weakness. You would find her always smiling and giggling and, beware , it would make you wonder as to why she is doing that all the time.

Here they are....arent they the cutest couple ever???

And this is our family :

.....whos that my brothers holding???.....oh no no no !... that is not what you think it is...thats our pet , snowy and he is also a part of our family. He made his entry in the year 2000 and I still remember the day I got him from my maths tutor, all small and cuddly. But as he grew, he turned out to be very ferocious and sometimes even we find him difficult to tame. He would never like you at the first instance, especially when you get scared of him or try to tease him. Very playful, obedient, intelligent and at the same time cunning.And guess what, though he speaks 'bow-wow', he understands malayalam so well. Atleast he isnt responsible for me being this way!!!

Aug 5, 2007

Why am I like this? Its because of them!!! --Part 1

Its been a few days since I came this way. Got held up during the last two weekends. Wait...whom am i givng all these explanations? This is my area, my Vlog !!!

After a series of movie reviews, i feel its high time I wrote something else , or else this would look like a blog created only for reviews.

Like the way I had written about me, I should also write about the people who brought me into this world and made me the person who I am now.

This is my achchan. Every son would say he has the best father in the w

hole world and I am no exception. He indeed is the best father anyone son could long for.More than a father, I admire him as a person. Being the eldest in the family, he had the responsibilty of the entire family. He discontinued his engineering course so that his siblings could atleast have primilinary education. He had to fight with his own destiny to take care of people who were dependent on him. He had gone through many hardships in life without losing confidence in himself. A completely self made man, full of principles and takes others problems on his own shoulders. There would not be another man in my knowledge who would love everyone so equally.He treats his nephews and nieces just like his own children and there are times when I felt that he is more partial towards them. A man with so many rich experiences in life that when he would start advising anyone, the intial words would be " when i was like u...".Boy! we used to keep our ears shut in our childhood whenevr he began that !!! A great son himself, a wonderful brother, a loving husband and the most caring father ever.And yet a child at heart !!!

And here is my amma. She has the looks of a military chief(probably, inherited from her army family) but she is one swee

t, naive and harmless person. She is our strength especially my fathers and had been with him as a pillar throughout his hardships. She is extremely sensitive that she would feel so bad even for a crow getting drenched in the rain. She cannot see tears and the moment she sees someone crying, she gives them a company. A person with the strongest will-power I have ever seen, she defends the entire family with some sort of an invisible force shield. For me personally, she has been a motivation to shed my shyness and an encouragement to exhibit my talents. We usually initiate a quarrel with her to create a noise in the house , but when it comes to a point where she goes out of control , we run for our lives too. Together with our father, we usually keep pulling her legs and would corner her, but at the end, all of us turn against our dad. She doesnt agree to any of our wishes initially, but later on she would be the person to initiate things and would go to any extent to make it happen. We are glad that we are brought up in this way and life would have been quite different if not for her. And guess what, she is an excellent cook too !

Together they are the best parents ever and most importantly a perfect couple !!!

This post had the term 'We' in a lot of instances instead of 'I' .My next post would be about that person. And also about a person that completes him- the latest entrant in our happy (touchwood u guys !!!) family.