Netflix - Motorcycle Diaries (2004)

Genre' : Foriegn/ Drama.
Cast: Gael García Bernal
Rodrigo De La Serna


Firstly, let me clarify that I am not a communist, nor do I have strong political views... but still Motorcycle diaries keeps you captivated and in the end you would want to open google.com and browse for Che Guevara.

Ché Guevara, a divisive figure who is hailed in many circles as an idealistic liberator of the poor, and in others as a totalitarian mass murderer. The U.S. government fell into the latter category, since the CIA supported Guevara's capture, which led to his execution in 1967.

But before the fiery UN speeches, Cuban revolution, the government positions and the assassination attempts, there was just 23-year-old Ernesto Guevara de la Serna (played by Gael García Bernal), a medical student a semester away from graduation.

It tells the story of a journey by motorcycle across South America in 1952 by young Ernesto "Fuser" Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna). The film depicts the gradual development of his political outlook, but his revolutionary exploits are not mentioned except in a caption at the end.

Beginning with a broken-down bike that looks like it won't get the two of them to the end of the street, much less halfway across Latin America, Ernesto and Alberto strike out from their cushy suburb of '50s Buenos Aires towards the impoverished provinces of the country they never knew existed. Unsurprisingly, they stumble across a number of colorful characters and make memorable acquaintances, but through their journey they quickly realize that the world is not so simple as they once thought, and the friends' loyalties – to their urban roots as much as to each other – are tested by what they see, what they want, and what they do to accomplish their goals.

Bernal and Salles bring us on that same journey towards self-awareness and social consciousness, but never give the impression that they're teaching important life lessons; rather, they recreate the same experience Guevara endured, present it as a mutable but philosophically rich text, and leave it to the viewer to draw his or her own conclusions.

One of the most intriguing movies I have ever seen... Must watch..

Netflix

Netflix has been my best friend for last 1 year.... and here i shall post my views on some of the movies i watched... I am not very good at remembering movie names and story line... so this is my effort to pen something down so I can come back later and read it and know what movies I watched... I m not a critic and these are not critic views... this is only what i felt after watching those movies..

Why the cricket fans abandoned World Cup??

So…. The Indian team is back at home after an early exit…. And the sponsors at the WC are wondering why all the stands are empty….

Some are putting it on our early exit…. It might be true to an extent….. but not entirely…

Caribbean, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world has been abandoned for the much awaited and loved cricket tournament….

And I would like to put some blame on the Caribbean island’s governments than on bad form of Indian team…..

This was a perfect, once in a half a century chance to showcase your country’s beauty and welcome all tourists to have a good time and also on the side enjoy some good cricket…. I for sure welcome that the tickets were very cheap considering the magnitude of the tournament…. 20, 50 and 100$ tickets are surely peanuts……

I was tempted to go watch the world cup (not that I regret it now, since India is out) and checked all the deals to go to the Caribbean on the dates convenient for me….

E.g. I was planning on going for the Ind vs Sri Lanka match on Friday and stay for couple of days and come back on Sunday evening and join work on Monday… I was happy seeing cheap tickets for the matches….and I started planning my itinerary….. But it turned out a nightmare….

I am probably closer to Caribbean, since I stay in Florida…. Flight tickets were about 700-800 $ from Miami (the most favored departure port for Caribbean)…Getting to Miami would have costed around 300$ ... And the stay would have added more 200$.... So I would have ended spending almost 1400 $ just for the weekend…and if you would have tried visiting other islands would have cost you around 300$ more. I don’t think any working person would really afford to spend that much just for a weekend. I would actually prefer taking 2 weeks vacation and visit India for 1100$ round trip… So if the hosts are wondering where did all the public go?, I would say they chased them away… They could have easily worked out a deal with the airline companies and given out cheaper fares and hotel combos for the tournament…instead they decided to make a higher profit margin and shorter passenger base.

Hopefully 2007 buys me some creativity...

Everybody... Happy 2007.
Celebrated my new years with a amazing trip to Goa.... sunbathing on the beach and borrowing some tan from the sun..... Not that I dint have it already... but what the hell, it was free.

Me and my friend (Amit) would just go to the beach and lie on one of those sun bathing bunks all day amongst all those half naked firangis who were trying very hard to get a complexion like ours ... I was wondering if there was any racist angle for being stared at so much by both desis and firangis. Dint take long for my friend to point out that people dint appreciate us lying in the sun with our full sleeved t-shirts and long track pants. (Talk about being uncomfortable in your own land)

India has changed a lot since I visited 2 years ago... I figured out that there might have been a major haul in all traffic rules... I think they just scrapped all of them. Everyone visiting India after long time should keep the following rules handy in case you are taking the risk of driving.

1) Stopping at Red light is strictly optional. It’s a sin to stop at the red light and block the passage of the vehicle behind you (It will portray your insensitivity for other's precious time).

2) Always keep Rs 100 in one separate pocket so that if the cop asks for more you can always say that’s all u got... (P.S.. Anything less will get you into trouble... Anything more will leave u broke)

3) Honking is a must...Otherwise the money you paid while purchasing your vehicle is not fully utilized. Honk if the red light turned green just 2 seconds ago and the person in front of you is not sharp enough to react within those 2 seconds (Such people are not fully fit to drive).
Honk if the person in front of you has actually stopped at the optional red light. (believe me this situation is not going to come often, so you need to be extra alert not to miss this wonderful opportunity to honk)

4) It is totally drivers responsibility to avoid the potholes, stones and animals on the road. The new traffic rules have exonerated all civic bodies of their responsibility to provide safe roads to the public.

Finally, if you come back in one piece do update my current rule book...

Cheers.

Formula 1 Schumacher vs Hakkinen

Wonderful video on Formula crashes and thriumps. Absolutely love this sport. Someone not liking Michael has a surprise in the end of the clip... Keep watching... Shreyas

Hakkinen breathtaking overtaking Schumacher at Spa 2000

This is the best overtaking move EVER in formula one. At Spa- Belgium, with just 4 laps remaining in the race.... Just take a look at Hakkinenns straightline speed.. His first attempt to pass Michael Schumacher, blocked perfectly by Schumi.... But the second move is breath-taking..... ONly Hakkinen could have pulled it off the bag.... Hakkinen ..THE KING .......Shreyas

Sachin Tendulkar

This is a video of all the classic shots played by Sachin Tendulkar during the World Cup 2003, with a very good background music. Its a must have clip for all Sachin fans.

First One

First One ever.
I am not a avid reader... so i really have no idea what other people write in their blogs, nor do I have the inclination to read...
So y am I blogging...
well... I dont have a clue....
and I m so sure that I wont be updating my blogs, i might not even remember the username for my blog....
so giving it a try....

its a big day for me.. mom's bday always is...
well... being so far away from home u really feel somewhat guilty of leaving everything behind hoping for a better future... and so far, its only a hope.... so, u try to be a bit gaudy and show off ur love to ur loved ones back home... I tried my bit today, when I bought flowers and cake online from a indian vendor who promised me tht he would deliver it at midnight... .wow... what a birthday surprise....

just 4 hours left for midnight and somewhere inside I was not sure if this e-commerce thing was really kicking in India yet... firstly..we dont buy anything that we cannot touch, smell or atleast see...

So I call this person up and he refuses to accept that I have even placed a order... so after talking and cajolling and showing him credit card reciept he finally found the order..... "bahut late mila order... bahut bada size cake hain...aaj nahi de sakta... cake banwana padega" ....

"are chahe to medium size de do bhaiya, main paise nahi mang raha... lekin raat ko de to dena... ek phool hi de dena...".....

so much for e-commerce boom in India.... Finally I couldnt get him to to deliver it at midnight.. but he promised first thing in the morning... which I m sure wont be before noon... but then I have the consolation of not waking my mom up at night... (though deep down I know she will be definately awake, waiting for a call...... )