Julie and Julia

Julie and Julia

As i was browsing the newspaper on Thursday i was telling my friend karthik i was going to see War inc movie which was to be screened at 9 in HBO, little did i think what a disastrous movie that one can turn out to be. Well i dint watch it on HBO as i missed the movie as i was watching IPL. I should have taken this as a sign but i dint i went ahead and  downloaded the movie. Though my previous experience with the movie rachel is getting married had thought me otherwise.

Well after watching the wreatched movie which was not even a pleasent treat for the eyes, let me just stop by saying that i dint like the movie. I then decided to watch another movie which was being screened in Sony Pix. Sleepless in seattle. Oh my god, this was a great movie and drew me into the screen and had me glued to it all through the end.

After watching two movies back to back have i given it up and moved on with my life... no..one of these days i need to move me A and do something usefull other  than watching football and movie and eating. I will soon....

Well it has been three parah's and i havent got to tell what i wanted to. I watched the movie Julie and Julia, yes this is the movie that got released recently and had meryl strep nominated for the umpteenth time. I had no expectations for this movie and it sure did fascinate me. The direction and screenplay were imaculate. Though i felt meryl strep was over doing her role i never can comment on something that she does as she is truly a master at acting. The story is about two ladies living in different times but sharing the same passion, cooking.

In 1949, julia child moves to france with her wealthy husband  and finds her passion in cooking after trying out various other hobbies. Her passion is to cook and to teach it to people. In the year 2002, julie is a middle class woman who turns 30 and has finally found her passion in cooking and has set herself a goal. Now the whole story is about how she goes about fulfilloing this goal. Will she fulfill it? Well thats the story.. It was a normal movie, except for the screen play and and the direction there was nothing very exceptional. It was watchable and definately dint have me regret for watching it.

That said i have finally reached bangalore.. Will probably be in office when i publish this post.. Till then good bye....

AN EDUCATION

Waiting for the train I was bored so thought I will see a movie in my mobile. I was browsing for various movies that I have stored and I chose one which I expected to be a romantic one and also slow so that it will put me to sleep early. The movie I chose was “An Education”. It is a story of a young girl in England in 1960 who is blossoming into a beautiful and independent woman. The story shows how restricted the girls are and how they have to live for the “Pathi Seva” and how 1960 the girls parents are. Well the story is not just about the girl it was about the coming of age and how she gets attracted to the man who is more than twice her age. Now I was thinking good that the movie has finally got some romance and more dialogues are to ensure and I will definitely sleep. The TTR had already checked my tickets and I was already on the berth. As the story ensues I sort of find a purpose in the movie, the guy though being twice the girls age has ensnared her in his interesting lifestyles and also made possible to bring the young girls dreams like going to France. He deflowers her and then in the end the radical couple end the movie in a not so graceful manner which let me wondering where the plot was lost. Not only the plot was lost to a totally lost cause but also dint make any sense in the director making such a movie.

The direction and the screenplay were perfect and the cinematography was also immaculate the only sad note is that the story dint have a cause and dint get to say anything that is really useful. Well the girl has become more sensible in the end of the movie but I always thought that the story lacked a finishing and this case the movie lacked a strong story in the last quarter. Well to add to my dismay Chennai super kings had lost to Punjab kings in a bowl out. How bad can a day turn out? Now that the movie has got me thinking I was rolling in my berth trying to sleep which now seemed most elusive and left me cursing for not choosing reservoir dogs movie...Man that one puts me to sleep every single time....

The only education I got after seeing the movie, is to never watch a movie thinking that it is going to make me feel good. The education was really a bad one. Well, at least I saw a movie that was made look good and feel good...I would have been delighted if the movie has strong story...An Education....what education??

Midfield Maestros

There have been great players to have played the beautiful game but that does not stop me from writing an article on one of the most impressive midfield paring in the world. It is Carrick and fletcher of Manchester united.

Little did people realise the importance of paul scholes when he was at the peak. he was the unsung hero of the glorious united side, relentlessly he protected his strikers and also kept the opposition midfield in check. Recently i learnt a term called blind side, this is a rugby term which is used for a defender to protect the star player. Well scholes did exactly that and a great deal more than that. It may be seen as a very negative kind of football where a player solely takes care of breaking up the play. However, it is efficient and gets the job done, in football nothing matters more does it. Once the ronadlo era came he hogged all the limelight available and unavailable. Even when ronaldo was at the peak there were two players in the midfield protecting the entire Man United squad from being threatened of possession. These two midfielder did not make the scoring charts often but you could find them when the team was deadlocked and goalless. Yes i am still talking about the dirty men of united, the successors of paul scholes. No wonder united are able to keep up the silverware haul. I would disagree to many managers who claim that these two midfielder just break up the play and tackle with malicious intent. If reviewed most of the tackles made by Carrick and fletcher would be significantly brilliant given the choice they have to make in the split second. Many reviwers had placidly written saying United were over reliant on cristiano ronaldo and they were going to suffer, as long as people like carrick, fletcher, viera and scholes are on a team all players are safe on a football field.

It is no surprise that the two of them end up sent off for most of the matches. As some video footages show they make the challenge by the book and are composed and serene for most of the match time. As i mentioned earlier, everyone have thier bad days and so do they. Unlike their tutor scholes who randomly lunges at the opponents and i sent off for careless tackles these guys are sent off most of the time due to an error in judgementby the refree or due to the pressure of the players and the situation. The other very positive point for united is that these two midfielders are pretty loyal to united and may be a red devil for a long while...maybe even for the rest of their carrier.

Midfield generals are very hard to come by, they are usually expected to be tall and quite built up to take some damage themselves. The best examples being makalele, Patrick Vieira and gilberto Silva. Well it is a surprise that being smaller in stature that Carrick and fletcher can do the same. The other important point to note about the duo is that they are extremely versatile. When vidic,Ferdinand, brown and Neville were injured these two pitched into a defender role. It was a good sight to behold. Though they lost the game against Fulham, these two guys did give a lot of challenges to all forwards. It would be a sight to behold when the two would play the forward role one day. glory to united till the two maintain top form.

GUNNER IT IS TIME TO MOVE ON

In the world of football everyone are immersed in the transfer period, just like any other year? Hell yes, every transfer window is like the most exciting period of the football season. Fans find who‘s the rat and who is the faithful. This year we have been unfortunate to have Perez take over Real Madrid again and spoil the balance between the clubs. The “galacticos” concept is something that disgusts and disgraces the beautiful game. Football is all about team work and a bit of individual skills. Just by spending a lot of money it will not return trophies for a team. It is going to be an interesting season where I am hoping to see the Barcelona and Atletico Madrid can prove them wrong.

That being one part of the transfer saga; the other one is the same old story we have seen for so many years, Arsene Wenger! The manager maestro is just doing the same thing year after year. He is creating players and selling them off for a huge price. I have faith in the manger like all the gunners, but to see Kolo Toure and Adebayor go in the same season…and not to forget the utility man Eboue is also in queue to sign for Fiorentina. As per the news that’s floating around, we may end up with Chamak as a replacement for Adebayor and Viera for Eboue. We already have Vermaleon for Toure. This is so nostalgic; we have all the promises for a performance and in the end a lamenting grabs for the fourth place. Considering the spending spree by Manchester City and the quality shown by Everton and Villa; it is going to be a real tough time for the gunners.

Arsene has promised silverware this season because he feels that the players have matured from last season. I have to agree on that point of maturity. The players have truly learned a lot last season. A team with an average age of 23 goes on 21 games unbeaten, champions league semifinal and FA cup semifinal. This is a feat that by itself a huge achievement. We are going to lose the last of the invincibles, but guess what!! We are not losing the last of the invincibles, we are getting back the back bone of the invincibles; Patrick Viera. Yes, he is a legend and undisputedly one of the best midfield generals for Arsenal. But, he is old now and frankly has not shined much after leaving Arsenal, in fact having very less match experience all this while put the main man a few steps behind. I think it is time to forget the invincibles and start building and having faith in the new team which Arsene is building. With Cesc and Van Persie committing there loyalty it is a boon for the gunners to complete the project they started for a second time. It is time to build the new invincibles. That should show the heavily spending clubs what football is all about and why this sport is called the beautiful game. …Astala vista baby.

Just a Thought

Year after Year….

Here comes the close of one more season and eventually the champions [Man United] stay winners this season also but not after a lot of drama and struggle. Looking at the way they started the season people would have thought that they were not worthy of the title this year because of their sloppy playing compared to the great start by Chelsea and Liverpool.

Manchester United now seems to have a unique way to start the season by ending couple of matches at the beginning of the season in a draw. But this season it was different. They lost a game to Liverpool, which gave Liverpool the wondrous chance to take all the lead they required and take on the title. What did they do? They did a “Liverpool” out of the opportunity and goofed the whole thing by ending all possible victories as a draw. The same holds true for Chelsea and Arsenal. After a few matches United truly proved why they deserve the league title and why they are champions of the world.

Now that Manchester United has been established as the best team in the world, they become the subject to target during the summer transfer window. Like Bekham, Nesterlooy and many once great Manchester United legends become the major targets by cash rich clubs like Real Madrid, Milan and now Manchester City.

This year it is going to be Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. The latter being the easiest target of all is going to be preyed upon by almost most of the clubs in need of a world class striker. The package deals being in Tevez you not only get a striker but a defender and a midfielder also. He is one of the best utility players and a fantastic striker of the ball. As Manchester United have yet to give him an exended deal he might be moving out anyway. The team getting his sign will surely be lucky as there has been anguish in that player and a thirst to prove him for a long time. All the best Carlos. Manchester United would be very unlucky to loose Carlos; he was a wonder against Wigan.

Cristiano Ronaldo…or probably Attuitudo Ronaldo… would be courted by Real Madrid once again as Perez would be taking over as the president this year. Well, looking at the way the fellow seems to carry himself in the field cursing the referees and then having the audacity to show attitude to the master tactician in front of his home admirers. He might have well packed his bags for Spain. A self centered player like him is going to be more of a hindrance next season playing only for him. The best idea would be to offload the idiot to real Madrid and wish him doom till eternity. If not this season then next, but the moron is going down for sure.

Manchester United does not have to buy any player and they will most probably not be buying any players as Sir Alex has already mentioned. Probably he will be purchasing some talented young lads and he would be turning them into little Red Devils. It has been some times since Sir Alex build a young devil. Transfer windows are always exiting and have a lot of suprises.

Oh Gunner!! the missing mile

Being a big team means winning a lot of laurels. Well what has arsenal done till date? The last silverware was in 2005. Well, keeping in mind that we have a fairly young team it is worthy to actually congratulate the team on successfully defending a position in the champions league for the next year.

I agree with Wenger when he said that the major reason for the failure was the lack of precious experience [Gilberto, Hleb and Flamini] who left during the transfer window last summer. Look at the Greater Manchester side, they have Rafeal, Rooney, Ronaldo, Anderson, Macheda and Welbeck.These players are all not 27 years of age, they are all below 24. The only difference being that they have the likes of Giggs, Ferdinand, Scholes and Neville there to provide them with the valuable match experience and support. Well on the other hand. Look at the matches played by the young gunners it is a wonder to play this kind of football. The only thing missing is the winning edge. The season would have been very different had Rosicky and Eduardo had been available.

Let me analyze what else is missing, definitely it is not the thirst to prove they are the best. Most of the games the gunners are out muscled and bullied but the boys fight for it till the end. That’s what is most required to become a great team. The path that the team is currently following is the road to a great glory if they can retain the team for another two seasons. Minor modifications and fabrications need to be done to bring out the second “Invincibles”. All that only holds good if Arsenal can retain their star players for more than a season at least. It has become a business for Arsenal to pick up small players and have Arsene train them and make them into great stars and then sell them and make a fortune. Looking at it from a fans perspective; that is just sick. The pay system in Arsenal is so stringent and strict that the money is not shown to a player because he is great and a star and has more TV coverage; so unlike Chelsea. That has become the great reason for some players to leave the club in search of more money; Ungrateful wretches. Arsenal can follow the same policy for years to come but they need t have an eye open for people who demand more money and give it if they are worth it.

Van Persie is great, but the team needs only one at a time, they are good when the play along side if a finisher like Eduardo. Arshavin has had a good influence on our team. He is not a nurtured gunner and so will be of different class and style. He would be competing among players to shw why he is different and how different he is, guess the fellow Arsenal players have realized that based on his stunning display against Liverpool; WOW!! That guy is going to be incredible. The mid field is pretty strong if we are looking at a formation consisting of Fabregas, Arshavin, Walcot and Nasri. To me this does seem to be a very promising mid field in years to come. Well the team may need a new defender with a little experience. Gibbs is very promising like rafeal of manchester united, just so unfortunate he does not have the likes of Ferdinand and Neville to inspire him; poor guy is stuck with the cry baby Gallas.

Players we may need to offload, Diaby please. he is not good and that is the bottom line, he is not learning. Adebayor would be the next to be shown the door. guy is clueless in big games. The team does not need a mid fielder as there are some really cool ones already with Rosicky returning from injury there ought to be competition for a place in the mid field.

All a fan can do is pray for the fellow gunners to do better next season. Ending a season in sorrow but carrying the faith of the manger that the Gunners will perform and show the world that size does not matter.

Arsene knows.In Arsene we Trust!!

Go Gunners.

THE EL CLASSICO EXPERIENCE

The EL Classico ( The Classic) is one of the biggest fotball rivalry matches between the spanish football gaints Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The rivalry goes well back to the late 1920's. The first recorded rivalry match was held on FEB 17th 1929 in Barcelona where Real won with a score 1-2. From that day onwards 153 rivalry matches have been played in front of a huge audience. Real Madrid of course with its star studded team have won more matches than Barca though the catalian team never ceased to give a fiery fight in every match.Dec 14th 2008. Its time for one more EL Classico. The situation is much different this day, Real are having a huge injury problem such that almost their A team is out ruled on injury and on the other hand Barca are on a winning toll in excellent form with not even a single person injured (Touchwood). With situation as such on injuries madrid had fired their coach Shuster and appointed Judane Ramos as their new coach with just a match to spare before the Classico. My predictions for the game Barca 2 Real Madrid 0. I expect Messi to score both with Xavi assisting one.

The fatefull hour approaches and the playing eleven are being listed and I find weasly snider in the playing eleven for Real. He was not to return to play for at least two to three weeks. Well, if Ramos is going to risk Snider then the importance of the match can be understood. Barca on the other hand entered the stadium with their intimidating formation the "4-3-3" where the last three are Messi, Eto and Henry. Poor Real had none but the ever loyal Raul alone injury free and start the game with the standard "4-4-2".

To contradict all viewers expectation, Barca did not dominate the match in the first half. Real created so many chances but failed to convert any and suprisingly Snider was fully agile and had shot many times towards the goal post. I finally understood what Real were doing they were playing the dirty trick in the book. They were heavily Xavi and tripping Messi down all the time. Serigo Ramos got so involved that he tackled fiercely to only be cautioned by the refree.Derenthe had an awsome chance to get the lead just before half time but Victor Valdes was lucky enough the fall down at the right time to save the ball entering his net.

The second half was partly a Barca game where no one was now tackling Messi. Around the 70th min Real make a terrible mistake and give away a penalty. I am on the edge if my seat to see Barca win. Eto takes the penalty and Unbelievably Casillas saves the penalty. It was an amazing save, he did not catch the ball by fluke, his dive was perfectly times and he saved the ball with both his hands. Now the match is back to its thrilling but ending moments with Barca and Real without any goals to boast about.At the 83rd minute Real make another mistake while Barca take a corner, and the result the jubliant header from Puyol and a deflection from Eto... "GOAL"...the stadium errupts while Eto runs towards the ball boys and his teammates to celebrate his contribution in this important match. This match was far from over...two minutes into extra time and Messi is found racing towards Casillas net with Canavaro at his heels. But it is a well known fact that messi missing such a chance was near to zero probability.Messi chipped the ball high after casillas lunged for the ball and Canavaro jumps but only in vain to help the ball entering the net and inturn hurting his thigh....Once more the crowd errupt and there is jubliant celebrations. The match is over...Real return home anguished at their loss and Barca return home with 3 well deserved points happy and celebrating.

Now I am waiting for May 2009 where Real get their Revenge match. The spanish clubs like Real and Barca have really got style that not many clubs in the world possess. The ability to deliver when needed is a common ability in most of the english clubs but to do it in style you need to see the Spanish.