What did I want to say?

Now I understand Poor Dory's frustration too. A Must Watch people! I would't say it is Nolan's best, but his revolutionary methods are awe-inspiring.

What if you realise that everything you remember is a lie? Or worse, you dont?  What if I told you that you remembered it that way because I told you so. I prompted that memory, when it wasnt actually there. What you think is fact may actually be false. That is the bit that scared me the most.

What a transient thing memory is. How well can you rely on your mind? Do you remember what you had for breakfast yesterday? How about the day before that? How about today 5 years ago? Do you remember the last significant place you were? The day you visited the Pyramids? Do you recall exactly what it looked like? The smell of the sand? The heat on your face?

How did get here?

This movie made me think a lot. It scared me too. It was so beautifully taken and now I understand why it irks people so when we compare it to its Bollywood ripoff, Ghajini. There was no comparison. In Ghajini they take you on this drawn out hellish journey  on how he meets his wife in the first place and then creates a good (not) old fashioned villain to kill his wife. No spoilers for Memento but they obviously handled it much better without boring us with details of courtship.

Where Am I?

It features two timelines, one in proper chronological order in black and white, giving the audience clues to try to piece together the movie into a jagged whole and the other in colour, featuring clips with the sequences backwards, to try to make the audience understand Leonard's condition.

Imagine forgetting all that you know. Imagine not knowing the difference between what is real, and

what is not. All sounds rather dramatic dosent it? Well, these are the things that happen to Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce)  in the movie Memento (2000). An accident to the head causes him to develop Short term memory loss which means that he forgets what has happened in the previous 12 minutes.. now, what was it I was talking about?  The movie is mind-blowing albeit a little difficult to understand.
Yes,I just saw Memento. I sincerely thank my friends for prompting me to see this. Mindblowing.

Now, read this backwards. Multiply your initial frustration 1000 times and you begin to understand a little how it is to watch Memento. You're welcome. 

My Top-10 Must watch Animated Movies

With the influx of "Must watch movie lists" floating around.. I feel its only apt as Self appointed Animated movie critic to create a list of my own.. I try to be as unbiased as possible and try to keep the fact that these pretty much shaped my childhood out of my judgement. I have taken several things into account, namely the actual animation itself, the voice acting, the Score and Story, the impact etc.

Note: Spirited Away isnt on this list simply because I havent seen it.. I recommend watching it because it is first on IMdb for a reason.

#10- Rise of the Guardians(2012)

 Ok, before you jump down my throat, hear me out. Aimed towards younger audiences, I do not expect people my age to appreciate it as much. But I have several reasons for it being on this list.

Firstly The ANIMATION. Sitting in the theatre I could almost reach out and let the enigmatic sand, designed to inject your mind with the loveliest of dreams, flow through my fingers. And I wasnt watching it in 3D. I felt the chill of the ice, the terror in the Guardians' eyes and the Charming evil that was Pitch ( the Bogeyman) run through my spine. Plus Jack Frost is hot xD

And then there is the Story. You realise that they are summing up our greatest Childhood fantasies and dreams into 90 mins of film. And I think they have done so brilliantly. Santa Claus, The Tooth Fairy, The Easter Bunny, The Sandman , Jack Frost. The concept of good vs evil in times where kids no longer believe,  beautifully summarised in a way which relives your childhood and makes you, as an adult, want to believe.




#9- UP (2009)

 Tears. Tears. Tears,
Heart-wrenching story, Lovable characters and beautiful soundtrack.
Need I say more?







#8- Corpse Bride (2005)

  Tim Burton's Stopmotion feature is truly mindblowing. The nightmarish concept so characteristic of his films coupled by dark humour and wonderful  music places it on  my list.
The amount of patience required in creating these characters, moving them minutely each time to create the final product. Truly commendable.

#7- Finding Nemo (2003)

 Actually Im surprised I havent placed it higher; The beautiful story of a father's search for his son
through treacherous waters in the Great Barrier Reef has captured the hearts of many since it first released in 2003.  Coupled with the amazing voice-giving of Ellen Degeneres ( who arguably has created the most well-liked character in Animation today) this movie leaves bubbles of emotion in your heart long after the credits are done rolling off the screen.

#6- How To Train Your Dragon. (2010)

 Admit it, theres not much to hate in this movie. Special mention to the beautiful animation and rendition of the dragon soaring across a diamond-studded sky. Makes you want to own one dosent it?
Also the book of dragons. The artwork in it is beautiful.
Relatable characters, amazing scenery and a wonderful soundtrack places this at  #6!

#5- Tangled/Brave- (2010/2012)

I placed both together for the AMAZING ANIMATION OF THEIR HAIR! It is said that each individual strand of Merida's scarlet tresses was animated separately and a special software was created to bring Rapunzels famous locks to life.




Tangled is a compilation of all the good things we havent seen for a long time in the Disney Princess movies. The adorable Rapunzel, her childlike curiosity and  feistiness with her frying pan, Pascal who
has got to be the cutest sidekick ever , Maximus, who honestly has more expressions than Kristen Stewart and of course FLYNN FREAKIN RIDER AKA EUGENE HOTNESS FITZHERBERT.
I mean, that one piece of animation perfection has altered my perceptions of men to such an extent that I ll probably wont be finding one anytime soon. The bar has been raised too high.
Believable story, memorable villain, amazing voice giving and Beautiful music, combined with what has got to be THE most romantic scene in movie history (the lanterns btw), Is it no wonder that it is placed so high?

Brave's animation brought tears to my eyes. The breath-taking Scottish Glens so perfectly rendered by the hands of God himself brought to the screen in all its glory, the characters done so we detect every
subtle expression change and brilliant voice giving combined with a glorious soundtrack which gave me chills. This movie isnt placed higher for the only reason that I could not stomach the gaping holes in its plotline, and the fact that its trailer was the most misleading one I have seen so far. Plus Merida is kind of a brat. We all agree :P

#4- Wreck-It-Ralph (2012)

To be honest, this one deserved the Oscar more than Brave did. The concept was GENIUS. Pure Genius. Video game characters moving around and having adventures? I was mindblown with the animation
And face it, the characters are ADORABLE. Well rounded,with their own backstories and personalities, its hard to hate any one of them. The story had enough plot twists to keep it interesting and enough heart to keep it engraved in our souls for a while.
amount of thought put into this movie. Small details like villain gatherings in Pacman country and a volcano consisting of Coke and Mentos stalactites made me want to cry , overwhelmed by the sheer awesomeness of the minds of these animators.

#3- Fantasia (1940)

Think of the context in which this movie was produced. 1940, with the concept of Animated features still in the cradle and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs still lingering in everyones minds as a revolution in the movie industry, Disney decides to do something out of this world. Make an animated movie completely coordinated to music.  The artists rendition of their perception of the music, transitioned from Ear to Paper is truly commendable. Imagine the difficulty in syncing the traditional drawing to the music , the problems in translating the tune into the screen, and still capture our imagination so perfectly.
And lets not forget the fact that The Sorcerer's Apprentice sequence is widely used today.
True Brilliance is seen only in the time of the Greats is it not?

#2- The Prince of Egypt (1998)

Proof that Imdb is severely flawed. This film deserves a rating in the 8-9 region. I cant fault it.
Ok, Jeffrey Katzenburg is a traitor for leaving Disney and going to Dreamworks, but hey if it brought this quality of film I shouldn't complain.
 The characters are animated to perfection, the Egyptian scenery glorious to the point of Godly.  and the Soundtrack, oh how it brought on the goosebumps, the chills and the tears!
The architecture and context of Ancient Egypt so wonderfully put, breathtaking landscapes , coupled with music which became a household tune irrespective of the Lord you believe in!

 The story of Moses could not have been put in a better way as it was rendered in this magnificent film. A must watch!

#1- The Lion King (1994) 

Call me incorrigibly biased, but seriously, no one with half a brain and a trickle of a childhood has not seen Lion King today. From its iconic beginning, (The Circle of Life sequence which made me jumo out of my skin every single time), to its chill-inducing conclusion, it is virtually impossible to find anything wrong with this movie. Again, Jeffret Katzenburg, however unpopular he might have been, proves his quality. Ironically, this movie was produced by Disney's
team B because they didnt expect this movie to succeed! (Meanwhile,Team A consisting of the genius of Glen Keane and Alan Menken worked on Pocahontas.)

Oh werent they proven wrong!
The animation, flawless, the research without loopholes ( the team traveled to parts of Africa and even had visits in the studios by live Lions and Cubs) and the character development amazing. Based on Shakespeare's Hamlet and featuring the voices of Matthew Broderick ( Inspector Gadget, Godzilla), Jeremy Irons (Eragon, Beautiful Creatures), James Earl Jones(Dr.Strangelove, Star Wars), Rowan Atkinson (Bean, Johnny English)  and Whoopi Goldberg (Sister Act) who brought life to these characters, this movie carried the momentum of the Disney Renaissance (initiated by The Little Mermaid in 1989) forward to new heights.

The heart in this movie is unrivalled. I mean, come on, there is no age bar to weeping buckets when Mufasa dies or laughing your heads off to Timon and Pumbaa's shenanigans. The lessons taught in this movie ( Learn from your past, dont hide from it, etc) stay with us as we grow, and these lessons we will pass on to our kids when the time comes.

The soundtrack, beautifully composed by Hans Zimmer and Elton John, features music that will stay in our hearts forever and ever and have us humming its tunes for years to come!

Well now, Hakuna Matata, and I Just Cant Wait To Watch it Again!

Is it any wonder I wouldnt eat without this movie on the screen as a kid?

And there you have it. My list of must watch Animated Features , well thought out and expressed to you here. Sorry it is a bit long, but passion has no word limit. 

Why Benedict Cumberbatch is ruling the internet.

Yes, I have finally gotten down to writing this. With the release of Star Trek: Into darkness and the anticipation ( to put it mildly; in reality it is the slow and bloody torture of our mindless souls churning into the dust of utter pain) of Sherlock series 3, I feel it is only apt for his sheer awesomeness to be brought to light. Then for the benefit of all you cumberbitches out there..( yes that is what his fans are called.) I shall compile a list of movies and shows wherein dear dear Ben has featured.

So lets begin.

Top 5 Reasons to love Benedict Cumberbatch

5.He is British

I honestly think thats reason enough. With his swoonworthy accent and impeccable manners, its hard to hate anyone who makes a scandalized face on hearing his phone ring during an interview.



4. His eyes (and his cheekbones) 

There is a whole website dedicated to Ben's eyes for Pete's sake, ( much better than the one dedicated to Katy Perry's Armpits, just saying) . I mean, they seem to change colour as you look at them, and they seem to contain every hue known to man, and some unknown. It feels like you are staring into the  universe; infinite aspects of beauty.
Glasz: (adj) The most beautiful and magical colour ever. Glasz eyes seem to constantly change colour from blue, green, gray and yellow.
Lets not forget his cheekbones. He needs a BAFTA for those. They look like they can cut you by looking at them.

3. He is freaking adorable

I mean, honestly. When asked what he would want to become, he said a lightsaber. The man wants to BECOME a lightsaber. He wonders why anyone wouldn't want to go

His life goals and morals are exemplary, he has the ideals of an angel and the heart of a child. He is as normal and weird as the rest of us, more human than most of the celebrities out there. We can relate to this man in several levels of craziness.

Shall I let the gifs do the talking? 

2.His acting

His versatility is commendable, whether he play a grumpy son, a high functioning sociopath or a hardcore villain. This is the actor who can cry on command and make us feel the pain in his heart and rip our souls apart.  He is perfectly capable of reverting from murderous psychopath to a person who is on the side of the angels ( but not one of them) .
We fell in love with him in Sherlock, and we are prepared to hate him in Star Trek ( but love him anyway).



1.HIS VOICE.

If I were on my deathbed, my one request would be to have Benedict Cumberbatch read to me at my bedside in all his deep-voiced glory. He sounds like the pearls of rain dropping from the heavens; a rumble from the bottom of the ocean and from the deepest, darkest parts of the forest, with dew on the grass and mist in the air. It also sounds like pure chocolate dripping off your fingers onto a plate of brownies and icecream. In short; all things good.
  With this imagery in mind,it is no surprise that his voice also can cause erotic eargasms which can make anyones eardrums swoon.
I think I ve said enough?

 Selected Benedict Cumberbatch filmography ( why not watch these while waiting for Sherlock?) 
1 Atonement- Paul Marshall
2. Marple: Murder is Easy - Luke Fitzwilliam
3. Third Star- James
4. Tinker Tailor Solider Spy- Peter Guillam
5. War Horse- Major Jamie Stewart
6. Star Trek: into Darkness- Khan

He has also featured in several tv shows but one I saw was Fortysomething starring Hugh Laurie as Ben's dad and it was quite good, and also obviously Sherlock which started this whole "Benomenon" in the first place :3

And this is why this amazing man leaves destruction and debris in his wake (specially on tumblr) and will probably continue to do so many years into the future.

Here's to a year of Uni. - 8th May 2013

It's been a freaking year already. Either time has dilated in my head or im just growing wonderfully old.  Well, with one year of University already behind me (despite the fact that the last day of the 12th Boards is fresh in my mind like it happened yesterday) I guess I can safely say (notice the contradiction) that Ive learnt a lot.

Where do I begin? One year of blood, sweat and tears, mastering the art of last minute submissions ( which in Singlish is called "chionging"(v)- ability to sit overnight and work superhard to get your work done on time.), brutally honest tutors and disappointments, I learnt some major things which one only gets from taking Architecture:

1.You will never have enough time for anything

Remember that painting you wanted to finish, or that booklist you had pending? well, throw it out the

window right now coz you aint finishing nuthin'.
Same goes for your academic work as well.

Its true, be it 3 days, 3 weeks or even 3 months. You will never feel satisfied with the amount of effort you have put into your work, despite a week's worth of sleepless nights and the Dead Sea's worth of Coffee (notice the capitalization; Coffee has achieved Godly status in my books)

There is always room for improvement; however perfectly you have achieved your work, there will always be someone who is better, there is always ways wherein you can add to it.
Never stop striving for perfection.

2.Be thick-skinned

I learnt this the hard way. Tutors in Archi are brutally honest to the point of being just plain rude. Learn to take it in your stride and think of it as a suggestion to improve.
oh when it doubt, always strive to be a cat. That always helps :3

3.(stolen from my friend on fb) Duct tape and potted plants solve a lot of construction problems

Things to take away.

Passion.

 I realised how important passion is for this world to function. Having met the one person I deem truly passionate about his work I realised just how vital it is for us to do what we are doing, and do it well.

The value of friendship

I think this was my biggest fear when I entered Uni. I was scared I wouldnt make friends, or rather not make good ones. I know everyones definition of "good" differs, but atleast most of my definition was fulfilled when I met these amazing people I call my friends. Funnily enough, I was scared I would meet people not as crazy as my school friends, who are the most beautiful set of nutcases I have ever met, but this lot come astonishingly close. Cheesy one-liners, Sitcom moments and amazing memories

accumulated in this one year alone, enough to fill a book.
What use is life without madness? and Im so glad I met that requirement here too. Terrified that people wont accept me for my crazy mood swings and weird tastes, imagine my surprise and delight when I meet people here with the same obsessions of Disney and Harry Potter, major feels for Sherlock and movies in general,
Hell yeah, my seniors are freaking amazing too. Its hard not to be in awe of a bunch of people who go for Lion King 3D for someones 19th (20th not sure) birthday and still cry buckets during Mufasa's death.

Friends keep you going, they give you the moral support which your family cannot, being so far away, and hell, you become just one big HAPPY FAMILY in hostel. Something I am so thankful for.

Three words- PARTI-CI-PATION. (ok, one word) 

Participation can make you discover things about yourself that you never knew; for example, the fact that you can make friends really fast and easily, the fact that you are absolute PRO at Dumb charades and pictionary and the fact that you can imitate people really easily.
Also the fact that you love participating. This will compel you to involve yourself every single time :)
And its all worth the while.


So lets raise a glass ( pepsi, please,) to an eventful (trying to be as diplomatic as possible) year and to smooth sailing in the years to come. Thanks everyone.
 Oh and juniors, cant wait for those to arrive (*insert evil laugh here*)