- This piece is too short to mention the various on field ugly banter the Aussies have been involved in, sparing no one from West Indies to England, will compile them sometime later.
- Meanwhile Aussies are upset that Gambhir has been charged with a Level 2 offence (they wanted Level 3),
- Watson had pleaded not guilty to any provocation at the hearing where Gambhir pleaded guilty and was handed the one match ban (fair if seen as stand alone case of repeated physical contact, earlier being with Afridi)
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Cricket's Gambhir Problem
Friday, July 25, 2008
The Dark Knight
The Joker
The action scenes and set pieces are awe inspiring to say the least, Nolan makes the batman a creature of the night by letting him loose in the skies of Hong Kong and the streets of Gotham. Watching Batman leap of a skyscraper his cape spread is a jaw dropper, only beaten by a smartly thought and brilliantly executed car/truck/batmobile scene. Some of the scenes of the movie have been shot on an IMAX camera supposed to give a 3-D ish effect if seen on a IMAX screen. People in Mumbai or places where such screens are available are well advised to view the movie there, I saw it on a normal 70 mm and was blown away.
The story is tight and tense, and despite being 150 minute movie, it has enough gas to keep you hooked. Background score is amazing and keeps the tone of the movie sombre yet escalates when required, in fact the score that plays just before the end when Lt. Gordon is giving a mini speech as to why Batman is The Dark Knight is super cool and will surely make your hair stand while you are leaving your seat.
Writing on this movie is actually equivalent to spoiling a lot of fun for people who haven't yet seen it, though that number is going to be pretty small. The subtexts in the movie are also awesome and some of the lines from the movie regarding chaos, anarchy and chance warrant a discussion for themselves. There is also the issue of avenging evil without becoming it.But I shall leave that all for later. Right now I shall end with two big thumbs up for the movie and a strong strong recommendation for you all to catch it. I give the movie 5 out of 5 stars because I believe there is no other rating that can convey the message "Watch it all costs on the big screen (IMAX if possible)"
Before I finish another gem of a line from the Joker in the movie
"You know what I am, Harvey? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one"
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Nacho Libre
Monday, July 14, 2008
Honda Stunner
Have a look at the Honda Stunner, Honda's latest offering in the 125 cc segment. Unveiled at the 2008 Expo, the bike finally takes form. The bike features a front cowl that is hard to miss, what sets is apart is the fact that it is fully integrated with the fuel tank. The split seats add to the sporty nature of the bike.
For the first time in 125cc segment a bike comes with tubeless tyres at the front and the rear. CBF stunner comes with 80/100 tubeless tyre at the front and 90/100 wider tubeless tyre at the rear.
CBF Stunner will be avaiable in three variants - self disc alloy,self drum alloy and kick drum alloy. Self disc alloy and self drum alloy will be available in four colours sports red, pearl sports yellow,space silver metallic and black while kick drum will be available in two colours - sports red and black. CBF Stunner will hit the market in 3rd week of july
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Hancock
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
The Match- The Man
15 minutes into the match and Nadal broke Federer. The fear that was present at the start of the match became a knot in the stomach. Some booming serves and beautiful passes were not enough as Nadal held onto that break to wrap up the first set 6-4. Never mind,I thought, Federer has seen a 6-0 victory in the first set become a four set loss in the french open finals in 2006, he knows there is a lot of tennis left in the match.
Amidst rain delays and and concerns of light conditions the third set began. Federer did not commit the unforced errors at the same rate as the earlier sets and revved up the service games to take the set to a tie-break. Tie-breaks, a place where Federer would back himself to win, and win he did taking the match to a fourth set. Can he still...a voice asked in my head? nah.. he's left himself too much to do ... and no one should win a match after that horrendous 2nd set the mind said, half in anger rest in the inevitability of it all.
By now the game was becoming a boxing match without gloves, Nadal was hitting the ball with a laser like accuracy while the Swiss continued to crank up the magic with shots that only he could pull off. In such a setting where the level of tennis was reaching to unseen magnitude, Federer took the set to the tie-break again. Would you believe it?? Yes!! C'mon now take it easy.. finish the set. Wait.. what's that scoreline showing? Fed 2-5 down? Nadal serving for the match? NO...not yet. And of all miracles Nadal got nervous as if these thoughts were going through his head too. The double fault that Nadal did at this juncture eventually cost him the set. Though he got some C'ship points during the tie-break, that double fault gave Fedrer the foot in the door that Nadal was slamming on his face, and keeping his poise he took the tie-break 10-8.
Phew... Always knew Fed would do it, the mind said half guilty for doubting the man, half mad with joy.
The momentum was firmly with Federer and when he held his serve in the fifth set, for the first time in the match it was Nadal who had to do the catch-up act. At 2-2 deuce rain held up play, though many people saw it as interruption, it was almost like God taking some time off to calm his nerves, resettle in his seat and refocus on what his creations were creating on Centre Court. Divine tennis.
And mortal he was, after exhibiting some of the most beautiful and gutsy tennis the King lost his serve in the 15th game and we had Nadal serving for the match. Soon enough it was 40-15 and with two C'ship points for Nadal, the show was all but over. Or was it? Serving for the match Nadal served big and wide tucking Fed in a corner, one could almost see the tame return thudding in the net or becoming fodder a for a forehand ripper from Nadal. Instead Fed's returned the serve with a scathing yet beautiful trademark cross court backhand (You could see for end number of times and not get tired) that left even the ever ready Nadal short of ground. 40-30!! 1 more point now Fed... Nadal will crack .... something will give in..!
There are contests and there are contests, but there was something about the setting at Centre Court, the level of tennis that we had witnessed, the legacy of this modern-day rivalry and the prize at stake that made the last scene of the battle so poignant. True, the champion lost, but not before delighting us all with a sublime show. Fall he did, to his own errors that were too many and at times unbecoming (How can he explain that second set ??!!) and to a man who was in prime shape, playing some of the most ruthless tennis coupled with a resolve that was as strong as those bulging biceps and more importantly a man who made the less mistakes.
As the evening turned into night an overjoyed Nadal celebrated a well deserved win, the King packed his bags. There was a frown on my face, will he do a Borg? Has he accepted in his heart that Nadal is too tricky an opponent and one who is learning faster for him to tame. Will he hang his shoes in the emotional aftermath of what was singularly the most draining match that he had contested? Luckily for all, he left the stadium with a warm congratulatory message for Nadal and a promise to return and reclaim something he holds very dear. Not many might have noticed, but the way he pointed at the trophy while mentioning it was almost akin to a kid who has just lent his favourite toy to another friend and is waiting for the day he gets the chance to snatch it back.
So is Nadal the new champion, the better tennis player, the deserving No.1 ? Well, ATP rankings show him only 585 points behind Federer which means he has a theoretic chance that of becoming No.1 before the US open. Many people think it is an unfair system wherein a performer like Nadal is lagging behind someone he is beating with amazing frequency. There is also talk that in his heart Fed knows he his not No.1 anymore.
Well despite all that I can say without any doubt that Federer is still the best player in the world today, heck he is the best we'll ever see probably. I'll even say he was the better player in the finals. Even in the loss he was only 5 points behind Nadal for the entire match. Keeping the points apart the kind of tennis he put on show was what was largely responsible for taking the match to those dizzying heights. Nadal fans will smile and nod their heads thinking it is the usual rant of a Fed fan. While I totally agree that Nadal made less mistakes during the course of the match, he also kept his head about when the match reached those tense final moments where he was serving after Federer to stay in the match. Some of the winners that he hit were the usually unthinkable and unplayable types, but that's about it. He is a damn good athlete who is in the prime of his game which is as effective as it is unconventional. But is'nt that true for guys like Uthappa, Yousuf Pathan, Gautam Gambhir? Then why is that amidst all these newcomers, it is a Rohit Sharma everyone is seeing as the new No.4 in tests, a position that we have given to a God of our own.
Rafael Nadal after winning his first Wimbledon title.
Five times Wimbledon champion and this year's losing finalist Federer.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Sarkar Raj
Cast: The Bachchans, Mario Puzo(?)
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Genre: Political/Family Drama
Rating: *** and 1/2
Review: