Monthly Archive for February, 2007

The Vanity of the Mind #1: Anathema

Published on February 19, 2007 in Stories. 7 Comments

The story so far…
- Prologue

Anathema

“HELP!”

He woke up, startled.
He felt disoriented. He was gasping.
What was it that he just said? Who did he ask for help? Why did he need help from anybody?
What was it that he just saw? Do dreams have any meaning?
Questions! They come like bullets from a machine gun whenever they come, not giving time for you to answer, suffocating you. By the time you are ready to answer, they are gone.

He came back to his senses.

That was nothing but a bad dream.
No! Dreams have meanings.
A conflict of thoughts!

His .44 caliber Desert Eagle was lying on the bedside table, fitted with a silencer. It symbolized his gagged mouth. He had no one to confess to. His life was that of a solitary eagle, a cursed one.

He was the assassin.
He wasn’t sure how many people he had killed. But he was sure of something. If God existed…if heaven and hell existed…he had a sure seat in hell.
He killed for money. That was his food. That was his destiny.
“Destiny. A word coined by some prick who wanted to justify his deeds and explain his losses.”
“Who’s there?”, he shouted as he looked around.
No one! That voice seemed to come from inside him.

He checked the time in his diamond studded Rolex watch kept by the bedside table. He could afford expensive watches and suits, thanks to the handsome money he got for each contract.
It was 4 in the morning. He looked at his gun. Creases formed in his forehead. His eyes were showing hatred. Hatred towards his gun. Hatred towards his profession. Hatred towards himself.

“This is not hatred. This is confession. You are confessing to yourself, because you have no one else.”
“Who’s that?”
“I’m your heart.”
“What the…”
He got up. He needed some water. This was insane.
It was about to get worse, because someone else just barged in.

“Don’t listen to your heart. It will make you weak”

Movies Galore

Published on February 13, 2007 in Reviews. 2 Comments

This is going to be a movie review…No…Not a movie review, but a chain of movie reviews.

The reason for several in one shot is simple. I saw all of them in one sitting.
There are 5 movies in all. All are radically different in genre.

  • Amelie (French)
  • The Shawshank Redemption (After so many years of yearning to watch it)
  • Run Lola Run (German)
  • Sin City
  • Banlieue 13 (French)

Each review will be a different post. I will interleave each with my ongoing story, just to avoid monotony. I will start from the last one.

For those who are fed up with CGI effects-based “pseudo-action” movies, this movie is just for you.

Banlieue 13 is a French action movie which was released in 2004. As the saying goes, leave your mind outside the room/theater if you are watching this movie. There is no story, but the movie is really worth watching; that too, several times.

Banlieue 13 is, in simple words, a ride. Don’t go looking for depth in storyline. But it is loaded with action which is simply stunning.
The stunts of David Belle are a treat for the eyes. Belle’s intro is impressive. It gives a terrific first impression of the movie in the 1st minute itself, as Leito (Belle) leads a mob of gangsters on a chase over, under, beside and through several high rise buildings. I’m not kidding. This guy jumps from building to building, down one floor, through a narrow window and all. The movie features several parkour moves by David Belle. And Belle happens to be the inventor of this extreme sport. The stunts by Cyril Rafaelli, the other hero, is also great. (But not as much a treat to the eyes as David Belle’s)

Here is the youtube video of the opening stunt sequence. (Low quality)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkNqlSGwI7I

For those who wonder what parkour is, (and haven’t checked wikipedia yet) you have seen it before. Remember the beginning chase scene in Casino Royale? That rubber-bodied guy named Mollaka? How he runs? That’s exactly what parkour is.

The final verdict is: Forget the story, even skip forward to each stunt. Witness some of the coolest stunts you have seen in screen. No wires, No visual effects. That adds to the thrill.

The Vanity of the Mind: Prologue

Published on February 6, 2007 in Stories. 5 Comments

He walks across the street which doesn’t look too familiar. It is a crowded street, but the faces are blank. The roads are very clear, but the surroundings aren’t. It is as if someone has blurred out the borders of a picture. The road doesn’t seem to be asphalted; it is a walkway which looks an old-fashioned one with polished stones on the ground. The buildings too don’t seem modern; most seem to be festooned. They look blurred. Are they really constructed like that? Or is it a trick that his mind is playing?
“STOP PLAYING TRICKS. I CONTROL YOU. NOT THE OTHER WAY!”, he shouts.
His mind laughs cynically…”Fool!”

He then spots THAT building. It is not a separate standalone edifice, but still, it looks clear in the hazy virtual reality he is in. Why so? He knows not. It is a part of a chain of buildings which don’t seem to be separated, but continuous.

He turns towards the building. He senses the ominous artworks in the wooden roofs. He sees the black smoke rising out of it’s chimney. But he doesn’t see where it is going. It disappears into the infinite universe. He squints into the building through the open door. It is pitch black inside. It seems to have nothing; a black hole. Is it really a black hole? Is it true that anything would be sucked inside? Is it so tempting that anyone who passes by would go inside but never return?

He is tempted. Little does he realize that this is his last temptation. He has two choices. If he makes this choice, there may be no return. Still he goes inside. His mind resumes that cynical laugh. He doesn’t step inside; he floats. His feet doesn’t seem to hit solid ground. He frantically tries to get out through the door. But it’s too late. There’s no door. There is a sphere of darkness around him. For the first time in his life, he’s afraid.