A HomeStay worthy of its name.

A HomeStay worthy of its name.

 

 

As soon as I mention homestay, the most famous adage comes to my mind- “Here is my home and you stay there”. It is a known fact for most of us about the internet marketing and how crazy the claims are and in the end we see that the photographs and the place seem like opposite ends of the globe when we actually make the visit.

 

For once the adage proved itself wrong. The place was as good as the reviews and the pictures told us. Infact the experience was even better, thanks to the people who made the tour happen and the hospitality at the reception. We arrived in around 3 for our rooms. The short rest helped us from the long journey, we should have taken the virajpet route from Mysore instead of the madikeri one. Although the roads are good, the distance is still better from Virajpet. The first view of the cottages was brilliant! Beautifully clean. There are few things which we look at as a must when we travel, the bathrooms, the cleanliness and the food. If all these basics are taken care of, the rest are add ons.

 

Kabbe holidays fared well in each of these sectors. What is the one thing which we all remember whenever we visit a person’s house? Is it the house itself or the person who welcomes us into it? Probably that is what the difference between a house and a home is. And in this case too, Dilip ensured that it was a home stay true to its definition. When I got talking to Dilip about the way his business has developed, his take was- “Vinay if you give the tourists what you promise and once they realise that you are not taking them for a ride, the rest speaks for itself”. We have all been victims of marketing, for once I felt that there is some ethics maintained in the marketing as well.

 

I was thoroughly impressed by the whole experience, it seemed perfect from so many ways. The cottages are located in a wonderful location with a hill and the falls in the background. The rain made the location all the more breathtaking. Who said July is not a good time to visit Coorg? I would take them on a debate any day! The very evening we were escorted to his ancestral home built in the Kerala architectural style with the wood structure talking for its own beauty. It gave us a glimpse of the rich heritage that still is a part of Coorg from around 250 years!

 

The night went great, thanks to a little vodka and a new mixture through a homemade passion fruit juice. Quite a combination I must say. The vodka went in very well with the food, compliments to the chef. We were also treated for a nice dessert, it was a custard pie if I remember properly. Good food, great weather- a perfect recipe for a deep slumber!

 

The next day involved a drive to the falls whose name I struggle to remember followed by a trek up the hills which is another wonderful experience to talk about. Just the few of us on the hills made us feel as though we owned that part of Coorg the whole time. Before we knew, it was time to pack and thankfully the bill didn’t surprise me, there was not even a single element outside what was already promised and discussed. Way to go on the ethics route. It is probably these kind of people who make us recommend such places to people. I would easily rate it a 5/5 and so would my friends. I would assure a quality time at this place. Very affordable for a gang of 4. As for a date, it would be hard to find anything more perfect than this! J

Bourne Legacy- To watch or not to: That is the question!! :D

 

And so the Bourne series continues! I was watching the earlier 3 movies and every time I see the series the one word which constantly came out- BRILLIANT! But the 4th movie leaves a lot wanting. My first word when I came out of the movie- ‘Disappointing’. It is not something which a Bourne fan would want to be presented with.

The movie starts off on a very slow note; the first half makes you tear yourself apart! I was waiting for the movie to make some sense till I realized the entire movie is about the blue and green pills and has a small connection to the Treadstone or the Blackbriar. I was literally waiting for the action to start and it was presented only during the last 10 mins of the movie. The chase sequences in this movie are in no way comparable to the earlier ones. It fails on a lot of the standards established by the earlier movies. There was so much they could have done with the bike chase but in the end it leaves the spectator wanting.

The movie never says what happens to Bourne. Though there is a slight indication in the end that the actress falls in love with the lead, it still doesn’t convince the viewer much. To be very honest the first half is painfully slow. It literally put me to sleep and we were actually waiting for the interval! There is a small hint of action during the early second half but again that is very small and not upto the standards of a Bourne movie.

 

Frankly I am very disappointed with the movie; I wouldn’t be recommending this movie to anyone. The rating would be less than 2.5 over 5. Of course the snowy landscape is a great view and the camera work with that is nice. But that doesn’t really make up to the whole 2 hrs we spend there waiting for something to happen which eventually doesn’t! And every scene of the movie, it makes me miss Matt Damon. There simply can’t be a Bourne movie without him!

Ice Age 4 Continental Drift : movie review

Ice Age 4 Continental Drift : movie review

 

 

Fox Animation provides another brilliant addition to the sequel in the name of Ice Age 4 Continental Drift. For the previous viewers of the Ice Age, this movie offers you what all you can ask from it. There is the cuteness of a cartoon movie, the wit combined with a light sense of humour which is so lovely to keep the movie lively all along, the sweetness of the romanticism, the valour for the true sense of belongingness, the sensibility of a lovely herd.  The saber – Deigo which was alone for a while now finds a partner. So I am imagining the next sequel they make, they may have something in it for Sid.

 

The movie in itself is a brilliant watch. Cartoon lovers would love the animation in this, it keeps up all the promises it makes for the movie. The introductory scene itself is a brilliant move, the continental drift is shown is such a witty and a humorous way, that very scene got me hooked on to the movie. From then on it was a smooth sailing, the movie gives the witty punches in the right places and the times, the 3D view is brilliant. It certainly is worth watching a cartoon movie in 3D, it enhances the viewing experience to a whole new level, thanks to Tin Tin for introducing us to the 3D in animation.

 

The movie revolves around the plot of the continental drift, how the planets split and what happens to the ice. The mammoth Manny is separated from the family and the quest is about Manny getting back to his family. En route, the saber Deigo meets his love who later goes on to join the herd. A new villain is introduced and the concept of a pirate ship is brought out beautifully. The whole setting is brilliant, the screenplay, choreography, all come together to make the viewing experience a very enjoyable one. The movie holds us together for the whole two hours. The entertainment factor is definitely guaranteed. The theatre was almost full at about 2 in the noon on a weekday. So it does manage to draw the crowd consistently.

 

The movie is cute, sweet and a delight : kids would love it and so would the romantics. It certainly is a good watch. I would rate it atleast a 4 on 5. For the choice of movies this week, I would certainly say this one is a must watch.

Dark Knight rises 2012 : : Movie review

Wow! Where do I start?! It perhaps would be very difficult to write review on this movie. Everytime I wrote a review, it was pretty straight forward, identify the goods, identify the bads and there we have a review. But with Dark Knight and Christopher Nolan it has been a little more difficult cos the bads are very hard to come by.

The movie breathes brilliance in every scene of it. Ever walk into a local movie theatre and see people screaming and whistling at the scenes? It kinda rekindled the same feeling today but the difference was that it was a classy theatre and a good crowd with a great taste for movies and of course housefull but there sure was the cheers, the shouts, the claps all through the movie. It is very hard to take your eyes off the screen lest we miss something out.

The entire crew deserves a standing ovation and especially Nolan for the way he has taken this movie through. The fans of Dark knight would know how brilliant that movie was. Going from there, we can imagine how much a challenge Dark Knight rises would have been. When a standard is set and the standard is Dark Knight, the next step is obviously very hard, to make a movie better than that. Dark knight rises definitely rises to this challenge and the entire movie keeps the viewer in a total trance.

Right from the very initial scene where the villain makes a threatening entry to the last where the director manages to bring in a brilliant climax which takes the viewing experience to a whole new level the movie dazzles the viewer. The music compilation is extraordinary and every scene deserves the music it gets in the background. The music does convey the whole message of the scene and I have not seen a better implementation of the music and the choreography in any other movie. The actors have done a lot of justice to the movie and there is not even one on whom I could point my fingers for a shortcoming. The villain – Tom Hardy outclasses the joker in his own very way, the introduction of a new character through Anne Hathaway– the cat woman, the charm of Christian Bale, everything fits in so well to make this movie an amazing experience.

The movie stays true to its expectations, in fact it goes beyond the expectations and the whole experience goes to a whole new level after all. In the first ten minutes I was in the theatre I was wondering how on earth I could write a review about it. There is so much to talk about in this movie and each of those details has been worked out in such a beautiful manner. I know that I am all praise for the movie, it is not just because I am a big fan but its because I can’t find the mistakes in the movie. It is simply too brilliant. Asking as to what genre I can put it in? I could say inspirational, I could say action, I could say thrilling or maybe use some more adjectives. One thing I can certainly say is that this movie does more than entertain you for the 2 odd hours in the theatre. I would not say it is a must watch movie. I would rather say, it would be a crime against oneself if one chooses to ignore this one. Rise us from your homes guys for this movie certainly tells you as to what a good cinema means.

Kudos to a great job for the Dark Knight Rises crew. It simply is a brilliant movie. And regarding the rating, I would easily rate it a perfect 10 over 5 🙂 .

PS: I cant help but consider a second visit to the theatre today. I caught the first day first show and I want to catch one more on the same day. How crazy is that? Blame the director for such a great movie. Take a bow Christopher Nolan, Take a bow 🙂

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A good review which definitely inspires me to watch this movie very soon 🙂

Simply Film

It seems like today whenever people watch a movie they are looking for some kind of deeper meaning.  What does this film say about morality? How does this movie make me re-evaluate who I am as a person? Although it is great when movies provide insightful ideas about the human condition, there is a lot to be said for movies that are just downright fun.  It may not be a movie that is very thought provoking, but Madagascar 3 is the most fun I’ve had watching a movie in a long time.

After leaving Africa and going to Monte-Carlo, the gang of four unlikely animals and their friends join a traveling circus in an attempt to return to New York and escape the evil animal control officer, Chantal Dubois.  The usual all-star cast is back, featuring Ben Stiller and the always-funny Chris Rock, along with some new additions including Bryan…

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Spidy in 3D- The amazing spiderman movie review

Spidy in 3D

The movie amazing spiderman was a much awaited one and the trailers were quite interesting too, interesting enough to drive us to the movie within the first week of the release. You gotta love the concept of a web slinging hero in 3D and true the 3D effects do make it quite enjoyable an experience.

Making a movie on a known concept, especially when there are already 3 movies in the same and all the 3 making it big on the screens, I must say it was a pretty hard competition for the crew of this movie to come into the market. It so happens that we always tend to compare it to the previous movies and in this case too, we did find ourselves comparing it with the previous versions of spidy where Toby does entertain us as a great spidy.

The movie starts off in the same lines as the first spidy movie, it all starts with a spider bite! In the first part, it was a radioactive one, in this one it was a cross genetic species. But it starts on the same lines of the light humour in the reactions after the spider bite and how the actor copes with the change. The Amazing spiderman shows him as a very strong character as compared to our previous hero who had his own little weaknesses. But we still did love our Toby and he did a great deal of justice to the part. And the villains too were quite inspiring.

This movie presents a tall lanky actor in the lead role- Andrew Garfield and unfortunately for a huge spidy fan like me, I never for once was convinced in him enacting the spidy role. Everytime I saw him the only thing I could feel was that he was such a perfect vampire, why did they turn him into a super hero?! It did fail to have the expected impact on me with him as the lead actor. However the good stuff is still there, they present the dad in this movie, his death and the whole story there is a strong connection as to what happens where. It is good to see an Indian face in the crew and unlike Anil kapoor in MI4, Irfaan Khandoes a good deal of justice to the part. It is nice to see him on the Hollywood screen and he sure is one actor who deserves to be there. I was smitten by the actress – Emma Stone when I saw the trailers but the same in the movie was not that inspiring after all.

The way Andrew Garfield stumbles into his suit is hurried into, I would have loved a little bit of a delay in this one. This actually always is the fun part of discovering the super powers, whereas in this movie, all of this happens in a duration as small as a song. And the way he starts treating it as a responsibility to have power is in the same lines of the original movie but any dialogue they place, nothing beats “ With great power comes great responsibility! “ . The plot does take a different turn with a genetically modified villain who goes on a quest to convert an entire world into his species which is quite believable with the way he has taken through.

However I still have some open questions in the movie
1) What happens to Irfaan Khan? They show a spat between him and the super villain and I guess we have to assume his death.

2) How does spidy’s father die?

3) Above all why choose a vampire and a ghostly looking pale actor for the part of spiderman?! We still loved Toby!

It is quite a decent watch I would say, but it still is far behind all the three parts which had come earlier. The last minute of the movie shows some excellent 3D effects but apart from that it wasn’t anything extraordinary. And from all the reviews I had read that it was a brilliant 3D effect, I could see that only in the last minute. I wish they added a little more of that for the rest of the movie as well. I would still rate 3D effects of Tin Tin above this. Infact I believe spidy part 3 had a better effect with the sandman as villain and a brilliant camera work with that. I would definitely prefer watching the old 2D spidy over the new one.

Coming to the open question – Does the amazing spiderman really amaze us? NO!

 

EOD I would not rate the movie more that 3.5 and I am being a little generous here. It surely is not a must watch. It is quite a simple movie, just ranging above average and a decent time pass type. But I guess it sure is a better pick of the choices we have for this week.