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Zeddy

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Blog Entries posted by Zeddy

  6. Zeddy
    So apparently there's rumours floating around that Jenna Maroney Jena Malone will play a female Robin in the new Batman vs. Superman movie. Two things:
     
    1) Maybe a dose of feminine energy will help balance the manliness of the Bat-chin.
     

     
    2) Seriously, DC, why can't you just make a movie based on The Dark Knight Returns and sit back and sip your cocktail made of $100 bills by the poolside which is also filled with money on your beach chair which is also made of- you guessed it- money? The material is there, just make it already D:
     
    I'm still excited for this movie and I'm looking forward to see how exactly they plan to handle the mix of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, she-Robin, Lex Luthor and Khal Drogo Aquaman without botching everything, as Zack Snyder is known to do occasionally. I don't have very high hopes at this point, but I'd love to be proven wrong in two years' (!) time.
  7. Zeddy

    Bollywood!

    By Zeddy,

    I've been wanting to do this entry for a while, if only to share my own experience with something people have a very limited exposure to. It also happens to be my 200th entry (I honestly don't even remember when I made the other 190+, but whatever ).
     
    Anyway, I don't know how familiar y'all are with Bollywood. You've probably seen Slumdog Millionaire, but that one doesn't really count because it was made by a British filmmaker and just had Indian actors and was set in India (at least, it doesn't count for me. ) The other things you might have heard are that Bollywood is full of mindless comedies that make no sense, often relying on overused tropes and slapstick humor that is in the loosest sense of the term, "funny". That, plus the music and the dance numbers. Ever present and in abundance in almost every movie that's released.
     
    Some filmmakers tend to stick to the age-old, tried and tested formula of a "comedy" with the occasional catchy (and often exploitative) song to draw the audiences in. Then, there are others who use the medium of film to tell smart, compelling stories that are miles removed from the other films that tend to fill the space of Bollywood.
     
    I wanted to use this entry to share some of the movies I'd seen recently that are able to remain uniquely Indian, and are not just "good" in the Bollywood sense of the term (which honestly isn't very hard), but good films in general. They tell their stories well and use music to accentuate themselves, rather than as standalone crowd-pleasers. I was planning to do a series of these sort of entries. There's a lot of gems that get lost in the sea of generic films that are released almost every week, and I don't think I'll be able to cover them all in one entry. Let me know if you want to see more of these.
     
    The following are movies I've seen and loved, so I might miss out on some that I haven't seen but are equally good or better (I'll probably talk about those later). If you're interested, you can probably find most, if not all, of these films on Netflix or something. OK, enough rambling, onto the list:
     
    Kahaani ("Story"): I don't want to spoil too much because this is after all a mystery. It is a beautifully shot movie set in the city of Calcutta. I would say she goes against the grain and tends to portray strong, independent female characters that do not rely on a male lead. This was the first movie of hers I'd seen and the ending blew my mind (it was a little contrived, but not like anything audiences had seen before). The journey is amazing and tells you a lot about the city and living in it, and the performances are exquisite. If you're into foreign films at all, pretty much all films starring the lead actress Vidya Balan, and the actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui are worth a watch.
     
    Mardaani: The title literally translates to "manly", but this film is entirely centered on the life of a female police officer in Mumbai. It deals with some strong subject matters and is quite ruthless in its depiction- not something I'm used to seeing. Again, I don't want to say too much, but it does a good job in dealing with an issue that is a serious problem in society, not just in India, but the world. Like any film, it does have a feel-good ending, but that shouldn't take away from the fact that it is a great movie nonetheless. I would argue that after seeing or learning about the things depicted in the movie, you need to end on a high note. This movie released only a few months ago, btw.
     
    Queen: Another movie released recently that centers around the life of a girl named Rani (queen). I don't know what to say about this movie, except that you're missing out by not watching it. Think of it as a sort of coming-of-age movie, with some actual self-realization and character development thrown in. It's progressive by almost any standards you apply to it, which is a huge step for Bollywood. It also helps that the music is pretty amazing and if anything accentuates the film, rather than being a standalone thing.
     
    Chak De India: Released a while ago, in 2007 I think? But it was a huge success. It starred Shah Rukh Khan (you may have heard of him) in an actual, serious role. It is a sports film, and one that deals with the Indian national women's hockey team and their coach. This was unheard of because a) it is a women's sports team and, b) the sport is hockey, which despite being the national sport of India, is sadly neglected in favor of cricket (which is almost like a religion now). Again, this is a feel-good movie but in a way that almost anyone who has been part of a team can relate to. It does a good job of shedding light on the plight of women's sports and this is a problem not just isolated to one corner of the globe. I don't know, but I felt super awesome after watching the movie. This one is definitely available on Netflix.
     
    So there it is. This is just a fraction of the movies I could talk about, but if you guys want, I could make a series or something out of this (and maybe even include some music?). Let me know. If not, that's fine, I just wanted my 200th entry to be something semi-important.
  9. Zeddy

    Been Away for a While

    By Zeddy,

    Mostly coz I don't use my laptop much when I'm at home, I watch TV instead. So expect more activity when college starts next week.
     
    Anyway, while on holiday I started watching the Hobbit, and then I watched the second part and then the third and then read the book... and then I watched the LotR movies and am reading the book, so yeah, it's been a productive few weeks. I initially thought I wouldn't like them much, because I'm not usually a huge fan of elves and dwarves and stuff (dragons I can handle), and I thought I would prefer more ASOIAF style books (with humans and a bit of magic), but turns out that's not the case.
     
    Anyway these three books and then the other ones should keep me busy for a while, and now I'll finally be able to understand all the LotR references that usually go over my head. Good times.
  10. Zeddy

    Back!

    By Zeddy,

    So that was a fun (and tiring) trip. Everything hurts and I just want to lie down on my bed and drift off. But I still have the weekend so I could go somewhere else (but probably not because comfy bed + homework + shower + heating = staying inside).
     
    I think the highlight was when I got to do a tour thing where I got to drive around Tuscany in an old Fiat 500. It was my first time driving on the wrong right side of the road so that took some getting used to, but I managed without any civilian casualties. Most of the drive was either up- or down-hill so we didn't really have a chance to go past second gear but it was fun nonetheless. It was refreshing and fun driving a car with no electronic assists and also the engine was at the back (!) so it was very loud but oddly peaceful. The petrol/gasoline/whateveryoucallit fumes may have helped a bit.
     
    I've always wanted to drive an old-ish car, and the Fiat 500 (the new one) is basically my dream car under the category of "Cars I Will Realistically Be Able to Afford Someday", so it was a pretty satisfying tour. (If any of you are planning to visit Florence, I'd recommend looking into these tours.)
  12. Zeddy

    Race Driver: Grid

    By Zeddy,

    Well, I started playing it after Halo 3, and then I couldn't stop and that's why I haven't been online as much lol.
     
    Don't worry, Than, I'll get bored of it pretty soon.
  14. Zeddy

    Tdk

    By Zeddy,

    .. Saw it again. It was awesome-er then before, because then I could notice the more minor details. Like.. I actually noticed
     

    » Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «-Scarecrow. -The Joker () without make-up.
    - Ramirez sending Dent to the warehouse.
    - Joker imitating that mob guys accent.

     
    And expect a new banner soon!

  16. Zeddy

    Finally

    By Zeddy,

    ... a contest that I have the relevant skills to enter (check out GA21 guys), and a Humble Bundle I don't feel the need to buy.
  17. Zeddy

    Salt

    By Zeddy,

    I've been watching Salt in Russian as a way of procrastinating, instead of researching stuff about Ukraine. I think it's a fair compromise.
     
    also im sleepy halp
  19. Zeddy

    Eureka!

    By Zeddy,

    Well, not really. I just remembered I had the old Bohrok-Kal promo discs.. three of them. And how awesome they are.
     
    Kopaka's animation is like.. 8D <3<3<3
  21. Zeddy

    Age of Zombies

    By Zeddy,

    NO NO NO WHY DID YOU CHANGE IT THE ART WAS THE BEST PART OF THE GAAMMEE
     
    Now it looks exactly like that other dual-stick zombie shooter with 3D cuboid characters!
     
    Especially after you ruined Fruit Ninja with whatever silly updates you made to the interface and menu... I don't think I can support you in this endeavor anymore, Halfbrick. Good luck with the fat wads of cash you'll be making but I'll tell you what, you're not gonna find my money in there.
     
    It was a good... idk, like five? years and a lot of fun times, so I'm just gonna leave now before you ruin it more. If you need me, I'll be here, glued to my phone, playing 2048 till the end of times.
  22. Zeddy

    How Times Have Changed

    By Zeddy,

    I mean really. A couple of days ago I realized I hadn't updated my staff bio in forever (read: 6 years), which means I was literally 13 when I wrote it. If you have ever encountered the average 13 year old online, you may have been slightly taken aback by the things they threatened to do to you and your loved ones. Needless to say, writing short paragraphs about their still developing sense of self in a humorous, yet not-incredibly-immature-sounding way is not one of their strong suits. Just look at the early days of Adventurer's blog for an idea of what I'm talking about.
     
    My point is, I have a new bio (thanks Gata). The old one has been purged.
     
    ...
     
    BUT that's not the end of it though. Fortunately for you and unfortunately for me, I decided to save it. I mean, what is the point of past mistakes if you can't learn from them? And also because something like that didn't deserve to disappear forever- it was a testament to my youth. A reminder of a different, happier time, when... er... Krika (?) and Tahu et al. were trudging around a swamp, with giant bat-Makutas flying overhead. And those Axalaras and Rockohs, how great were they? Good times, man...
     
    Anyway, here is the screenshot. Enjoy.
  24. Zeddy

    Bugs!

    By Zeddy,

    Bugs! Of some kind have infested my roommate's and I's... room. And beds. I'll give you one guess as to what bugs they are and, if you guess right, I wouldn't know because we don't know what kind of bugs they are either. My money's on a carpet beetle, which is weird because there are no carpets in sight but I guess just because it's called a carpet beetle doesn't mean it's exclusive to carpets.
     
    I don't know. We're getting the room smoked out or whatever... the good thing about being in college is there's someone to do it for you. What sucks is we can't enter the room for a couple of days and we've been sleeping in the basement which probably has worse things going on than a few critters.
     
    In order to make you (and me) feel better about this, here is a video of dachshund puppies:
     

  25. Zeddy

    Mango

    By Zeddy,

    My Mom made some mango milkshake and it's all thick like ice cream and I'm having it now and it's awesome. B)
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