Born Free - Movie Review

Another animal movie with the animal lover at home Anjali. This time the 1966 classic 'Born Free'. The Adamsons who live in Kenya bring up one cub lioness Elsa. When the time comes to send Elsa to a zoo, Joy Adamson refuses to send Elsa to a zoo. Against all advice and precedent, she tries to set the domesticated Elsa free in the wild.

Elsa struggles with living in the wild. But Joy's persistent efforts and George's support pay off. The couple leave Elsa in the wild. When they return after a year, Elsa visits them with her own cubs.

Beautiful movie. Loved it. I love the 1960s movies.

Eight Below - Movie Review

Eight guide dogs on an Antarctic mission are left behind by the team because of an impending storm. The idea is to come back for the dogs in a few days but conditions worsen and the dogs are left chained in the storm. The dog guide Jerry Shepard (Paul Walker) wants to go back to rescue his dogs but no one is willing to finance the expensive mission to the Antarctic.

Jerry meets the scientist who won acclaim for his discovery and whose life was saved thanks to the heroics of the dogs. But the scientist is unwilling to help. Dejected Jerry almost gives up - its six months since the dogs are left behind. But then the scientist decides to use his grant money to fund the rescue mission and the team goes back with almost no hope of finding the dogs alive.

Jerry finds six of the eight alive and brings them back. Lovely piece of work. Enjoyed watching it with the dog lover at home Anjali.

Nice Link - How A World Champion of Public Speaking Prepares for a Preparation

How to prepare for a presentation
1) What's the message? Can I say it in 10 words
2) What's the title? It should make the audience curious
3) How am I going to grab my audience? How will I frame my problem in an innovative way in the first 45 seconds
4) What are the 5 main points - optimum is 3.
5) End on a high. Keep recency effect in mind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PelPKrrVwgU&feature=youtu.be&list=PLmur3Z0Afau7Yw_jGqsHtKEASH3Ked-dI&utm_content=buffer46156&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Watch it. It's 1.25 minutes of sense.

I Never Danced At The White House - Art Buchwald

I read Art Buchwald's column in 'The Hindu' as a school kid. I was impressed with his wit and irreverent sense of humour and read it regularly despite not understanding some American references and the political references. When I was asked many years later to write a column for the 'New Indian Express' I made up my mind to write a column like Buchwald. I titled it 'Unintended' and it generally satirised a lot of things that bothered me. Art inspired me in many ways and I am glad to report that while it lasted the column had a decent fan following.

So when Vinod gifted me a copy of Art Buchwald's 'I Never Danced at The White House' I was delighted. I read it at the pace of a column a day, wondering how easily he lampooned the President and showed what the ordinary person on the road thought of the politics of war etc. I remember a quote that said something like 'my idea of telling something funny is to tell the truth'. Art said it like it was and he was funny.

The book has sections titled 'What is a Watergate?' , 'Where is the President?', ' A Slowboat to China', 'How is everything in Paranoia?', 'Apathy Landslide.' 'The Facts of Life', 'We're Number One', 'Working on the Rail Road', 'Shame on you Burt Reynolds', 'Depletion for humans', 'Binding the wounds', 'Uncle Teddy goes to sea and 'No More Bombs'. Needless to mention Art was best at the time the Watergate scandal broke out and he picks on President Nixon mercilessly.

Not all columns are political of course. He takes off on teenagers, friends, television and what not. Brilliant stuff.

M.S. Dhoni, The Untold Story - Movie Review

Sushant Singh convinces you in the first frame that he will play Dhoni as well as he can. The swing of the arm, the decisive movement as he takes his sweater off, a touch of the elbow. He never lets up once he gets under MSD's skin and that's a huge plus for the movie.

Not to mention the huge aura that MSD carries with him as a winner and as a human. I am an unabashed MSD fan. so it's easy to love MSD, his ways, his thoughts and his smile. And because we already love him, its easier to love all that he has done and experienced already. Only thing, it had to be convincing and Sushant ensures that.

So we get a peek into his small quarters in Ranchi, his father's job as a pump operator, his clear thought process that somehow sports would make him a nawab, his friends, his early successes and failures, his disappointments, his job as a TTE, his loves and losses. One falls more in love with MSD by the end of the film and one really craves to see the original - and when Neeraj Panday finally shows the real MSD in the end Shobha said 'that was worth it all'. MSD smiling and handsome, casual and charming, after the World Cup win in 2011. I'd have loved to see the original in the cricket scenes - wouldnt have made a difference - would have enhanced it even.

After seeing the movie our admiration for this boy from Ranchi only grows so much more. You realise that somewhere along the line MSD figured that its best to let his actions do the talking. How he held his own among the big town boys, figured his way and lived on his terms is amazing. His romances were nicely shown, his heartbreak at the death of his first love was touching. So was the vulnerability he experiences when he is not sure if he will play the next match.

A tad long I felt, but its certainly worth watching. I recalled watching the India A tour when he whacked the Pakistan bowlers all over, long hair and all, the century in Vizag against Pakistan and the unbelievable knock against Sri Lanka and his guitar strumming gesture, the metamorphosis into captain cool, the greying beyond his years and the many accolades he won for winning the T 20 World Cup and the 2011 World Cup. Was one rewind session almost.

Great show Sushant Singh. If you failed to get one move right, this would have gone down the drain. From the walk to the talk, the gaze to the shots, perfect. One only hopes MSD is as smooth as Sushant is in the romantic scenes! Highly recommended. 

Pink - Movie Review

Watched Pink a week ago with Vasu. Taut. Relevant. Makes its points well.

It starts with an injured boy and two of his friends. Three fleeing girls. A party gone wrong. The boys are rich and powerful. They come after the girls. All working, middle class girls who are trying to live up the great dream. The girls are in the dock for some trumped up charges - soliciting, prostitution etc. Enter Amitabh Bachchan, a lawyer who had some mental issues.

He takes over the case and turns it around.

Well made. Nice performances. But I had some issues. Like an overly sympathetic judge. Normally the bias starts there. Also a rather weak court room buildup of the case for soliciting and prostitution.

Nice Link - 20 Habits of Eventual Millionaires

Nice link. Now who wants to be a millionaire?

http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2015/10/eventual-millionaires/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=syndicate&utm_term=eventual-millionaires&utm_content=related-post&utm_campaign=entrepreneurship