I Am Al Pacino Fan

Al Pacino is like Rajini for me in hollywood. Now for those who don’t know him, he is the actor considered NO.1 in Hollywood after late Marlon Brando. I don’t need to convince people about that because the majority of the world knows it for a fact and if at all you want to know his acting skills just watch the movies The Godfather series, Scent of a Woman, Scarface, Insomnia, Looking for Richard, Sea of love, Dick Tracy, The Insider, The Recruit, …And Justice For All, Serpico, Dog day afternoon and Heat.

Al Pacino made his debut in Panic in the needle park and then Francis fought with paramount pictures to let him play the role “Micheal Corleone” in The Godfather series. Pacino kept stealing success in all his movies and only for a little while was he down. Coming back in 1983, this man made Scarface (a movie based on Al Capone and I have watched this movie 3 times now!!). Scent of a Woman won him Oscar and other movies that followed it gave him success and only success.
This man is my favourite actor for his awesome acting, incredible dialogue delivery, smart action, mesmerizing romance on screen, the eyes that expresses and all that is good about this fantastic actor. Here are some of his pics and quotes from various movies.

From The Godfather (Pacino as Micheal Corleone)



Michael Corleone: Where does it say that you can't kill a cop?
Tom Hagen: Come on, Mikey...
Michael Corleone: Tom, wait a minute. I'm talking about a cop that's mixed up in drugs. I'm talking about a - a - a dishonest cop - a crooked cop who got mixed up in the rackets and got what was coming to him. That's a terrific story. And we have newspaper people on the payroll, don't we, Tom?
[Tom nods]
Michael Corleone: And they might like a story like that.
Tom Hagen: They might, they just might.
Michael Corleone: [to Sonny] It's not personal, Sonny. It's strictly business.

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From Godfather Part 2 (Pacino as Micheal Corleone)



Michael Corleone: There are many things my father taught me here in this room. He taught me: keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.
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Michael Corleone: If anything in this life is certain, if history has taught us anything, it is that you can kill anyone.
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This quote is not by Al Pacino but by his friend and equally great actor considered as another heir to Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro.. a really handsome man. In this movie he plays the role of young Don Vito Corleone which was played by Marlon Brando in The Godfather.
Vito Corleone: [in Italian] Do me this favor. I won't forget it. Ask your friends in the neighborhood about me. They'll tell you I know how to return a favor.

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From The Godfather Part III (Pacino as Micheal Corleone)



[Michael is kneeling alone in a room at the corpse of Don Tommasino in a coffin]
Michael Corleone: Goodbye my old friend. You could have lived a little longer, I could be closer to my dream. You were so loved, Don Tommasino. Why was I so feared, and you so loved? What was it? I was no less honorable. I wanted to do good. What betrayed me? My mind? My heart? Why do I condemn myself so? I swear, on the lives of my children: Give me a chance to redeem myself, and I will sin, no more.
---
Michael Corleone: Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgment.
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Michael Corleone: When they come... they come at what you love.
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Michael Corleone: Your enemies always get strong on what you leave behind.
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Michael Corleone: He'd better be careful. It's dangerous to be a honest man.
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Michael Corleone: Do you still fear me Kay?
Kay Corleone: I don't fear you Michael, I just dread you.
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Michael Corleone: [to Mary] I would burn in hell to keep you safe.
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And this is my favourite. Micheal Corleone is crowning Vincent Maccini (his brother’s son) to be the Don.
Michael Corleone: Nephew, from this moment on, call yourself Vincent Corleone.

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From Scent of a Woman (Pacino as Lt. Col. Frank Slade):



Lt. Col. Frank Slade: Out of order, I show you out of order. You don't know what out of order is, Mr. Trask. I'd show you, but I'm too old, I'm too tired, I'm too fuckin' blind. If I were the man I was five years ago, I'd take a FLAMETHROWER to this place! Out of order? Who the hell do you think you're talkin' to? I've been around, you know? There was a time I could see. And I have seen. Boys like these, younger than these, their arms torn out, their legs ripped off. But there isn't nothin' like the sight of an amputated spirit. There is no prosthetic for that. You think you're merely sending this splendid foot soldier back home to Oregon with his tail between his legs, but I say you are... executin' his soul! And why? Because he's not a Bairdman. Bairdmen. You hurt this boy, you're gonna be Baird bums, the lot of ya. And Harry, Jimmy, Trent, wherever you are out there, FUCK YOU TOO!

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From Scarface (Pacino as Tony Montona)



Tony Montana: What you lookin' at? You all a bunch of fuckin' assholes. You know why? You don't have the guts to be what you wanna be? You need people like me. You need people like me so you can point your fuckin' fingers and say, "That's the bad guy." So... what that make you? Good? You're not good. You just know how to hide, how to lie. Me, I don't have that problem. Me, I always tell the truth. Even when I lie. So say good night to the bad guy! Come on. The last time you gonna see a bad guy like this again, let me tell you. Come on. Make way for the bad guy. There's a bad guy comin' through! Better get outta his way!
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Tony Montana: You wanna fuck with me? Okay. You wanna play rough? Okay. Say hello to my little friend!
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Tony Montana: In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women.


And Let me finish this post with the Al Pacino's Scaraface poster that i have pasted on the wall of my room!!!



Long Live Al Pacino!!

Bheema - My Review

Earlier I officially declared Azhagiya Tamizh Magan as the worst movie of 2007. Now, one need not even wait for the rest of 2008 to decide upon the worst movie of this year. Bheema grabs this award right away. This film is an imperfect and poor mix of pokiri, nayagan, kakka kakka etc.

To tell you the draggy story line, Prakash Raj plays a “nayagan” kamal types role in a different style and is Vikram’s inspiration. Vikram(“sekar” in the film) joins Prakash Raj and the director tries to project that they try to save the city from Raguvaran who is supposed to be the villain. But that’s definitely not what you’ll understand from the screenplay. It will appear only like a hopeless personal war between the two.

Right from scene 1 to climax its all bloodshed. People keep fighting until they are dead and when you watch the movie you’ll want them dead as soon as possible because it’s unbearable. Vikram does some spiderman stunts in the movie and you’ll find them hilarious and stupid instead of getting amused. Thank god there are no punch dialogues in the movie. And I bet you’ll call it “mokkai” when you get to know the relevance of the title Bheema with the movie. I will be dishonouring myself if I have to disclose that from my mouth (or rather my fingers that are typing)!!
Nothing saves the movie from its dominating nonsensical nature but as a treat for the eyes in between the boring stunts, trisha appears. She looks lovely like a queen and her beauty will sure steel your heart.

The music is good and so is the editing. But the bad screenplay and story just overshadows these good aspects.

I felt bored, irritated, sleepy and angry as I watched this masterpiece that fall in the category of “world’s worst films”. As far as I see, linguswamy can never make a good film.

And its my sincere request to all the directors of tamil cinema, for the sake of the heaven please stop making films that depicts these “rowdy heroes”. We are all dead tired watching the same concepts over and over again. Please be innovative and find stories that display some acting skills and eye catching and appealing concept and screenplay.

**/5 - One for editing and songs. The other is for trisha!!

Verdict - “Enna Koduma Sir Idhu”

Who has disability?

It was a glorious morning in India. The sun diffused shades of yellowish pleasant red to the sky and the trees seemed to be too fresh and green dancing in the melody of the winds. He was sitting one the ash coloured bench of city’s favourite park, enjoying the gentle breeze touching his hair. Around him, he heard the children playing, the birds chirping, foot steps of men walking around him and women discussing their challenges at home and work.

Minutes later, he sensed the aroma of a woman’s scent that distinctly increased as seconds ticked. He heard her breathing heavily and thudding something on the bench. Then the weak bench creaked and from its feel he understood he was not alone sitting on it.

“Hi”, she said. He would have compared the voice to that of a nightingale but was bored to, as that’s a comparison he read too many in poems in his young days.

“Hi”, he replied with a smile.

“It is a lovely morning isn’t it?” she asked and he could read her smile in excitement.

“Certainly, it is and I am sure you are excited to feel it.”

“Yes, of course. Who wouldn’t love to see this place this morning?”

He never stopped smiling and asked her “Tell me. What do you see?”

That’s when she realized what she hadn’t seen. Regretting what she had said to him, oblivious if she had hurt him, uncertain of what he would feel about things she was to say, she replied in a low voice “I see a beautiful sky coloured pleasant red, I see people happy here, children playing and enjoying with all energy, the green fresh trees and …. And I just continue to see a lot of good things around.”

He was still smiling.

And she continued “I am sorry. I hope I have not hurt you. I didn’t know you were blind.”

He replied as a he picked his hat that was resting beside him and wore it,“Neither am I hurt nor am I blind. To tell you why i am not hurt, I don’t need to see these green trees or happy faces because I have seen them in the past. But from this gentle breeze that makes my hair dance, I can feel how beautiful my surrounding is. From the laughter of the children around, I can feel how happy they are. From the strong footsteps of the men walking in the park here, I can feel their determination to live healthy and from the voices of these women talking, I can feel their relief of taking break in this lovely morning from their daily routines. Now let me tell you why I am not blind. I see nomore men spitting on the roads. I don’t see the eyes of men teasing young women. Neither do I see people bribing all officials nor do I see people breaking the road rules. Moreover, I don’t see slothful citizens drunk on the road and unclean footpath with wastes thrown only by our country’s citizens. These aren't things that only I don’t see. These are things nobody sees. Why should I be labeled blind then? I am just equal to any person with no disability.”

And after he picked up his stick he added “I have eyes that don’t see, you people here have mind and hearts that don’t see. I don’t wear black glasses because I am already in the dark and you wear one, that is not black; not even seeable, to darken your mind and hearts. May be, that means that I am not equal but superior to you all.”

He started walking and she was looking at him with feelings one could never describe and the last she heard from him as he walked away from her was a tune curved to the words….”oh my people, oh my citizens, when are you ever going to learn…”

2007 Kollywood Movies

Though a number of movies came to the theaters this year, I couldn’t revel on many movies except a selected few like Sivaji or Chennai 600028. The excessively hyped movies only minified to average pass time entertainers. So here is a list of my top 5 movies that released this year.

1.Sivaji



Yes, yes, I am one among the fandom of Rajinikanth. And that is not the only reason why I place this in the first position. There is nothing that was not there in Sivaji. The Superstar Rajinikanth styles, awesome graphics in songs and action, charging Rajini dialogues, A.R.Rahman’s magical background and songs, Vivek’s hilarious comedy and what not, Sivaji had everything in the right amounts that it deserved to be big block buster. Shankar needs his mention here on directing the movie, setting it up a right pace and signing perfect cast that all put together was a treat to the eyes for all those who watched it. “Thailaivar Superstar Rajinikanth – Vaazhga!!”

2.Mozhi


Amidst movies that were mostly of same genre, came this lovely little masterpiece. Mozhi needs to be extolled for its splendid melding of story line and comedy. From nowhere came Prakash Raj and Prithvi Raj together to rock 3 hours on screen. Emphasizing on the character complexity, feelings of young disabled woman, importance of love for character and not beauty and other various elements that showed on the screen not even a single unnecessary part. One of the best movies of 2007.

3.Chennai 600028


Just the kind of movie that the youth needed. The teens welcomed this movie with all their heart (since they were tired of watching only heroism). Chennai 600028 had a very simple story about street cricket but made a strong mark in the minds of audience. Yuvan Shankar Raja’s music, all the newbie’s performances and cricket, humorous dialogues and excellent screenplay were the top most commendable features of this film. None would ever get bored watching this movie over and over again. And I think this movie deserves a sequel.

4.Pachai Kili Muthu Charam


To tell you the truth, this movie is placed here only for Gautam. A fair remake of “derailed” which, I think could have been more appealing had gautam given it some pace. A lot of audience complained that it was boring and it is evident that such comments were made only because the movie lacked. Miland Soman, Sarath Kumar and Jyothika acted fine. Any discussion about this movie would be incomplete without talking about the music. Harris, hats off to you. And hence, pachai Kili Muthu Charam, an average movie which can be rated good compared to other movies of 2007 (excluding the above 3). (Andrea Stole my heart!! )

5.Unnale Unnale


Again, this movie is here in the 5th place only because the others were bad or not upto the mark. However, I did enjoy this movie to certain extent. The background music and the songs were euphonic. Not great peace of acting but it was fun watching the movie. Though a lot of aspects were only average, the movie as a whole was a good one to watch. It didn’t bore the audience and of course, Tanisha and Sada were gorgeous in the film. Debutant vinay did a praiseworthy job. All in all, compared to other 2k7 movies, I feel it deserves to be here.

The top 5 always doesn’t mean others were bad. So here is a list of those that were average and watchable.
Pokkiri
Kannaamuchi yenada
Oram po
Kreedam
Vel
polladhavan


And now I officially announce the 2007’s worst tamil movies.
Azhagiya tamil magan
Vyabari
Parattai Engira Azhagu Sundaram
Urchaagam
Naan avan illai
Muni

13 Players For Australia

Saddening the Indians, the Indian cricket team failed to save the second test match, losing to the Aussies on Day 5. It is very likely that Indian cricket lovers here get enraged with the players for not holding up but situation seems to be markedly different.

People here are not one bit stormed against our players but upset and angry over the fact that Australians have been playing with 13 men for them on the ground. Yeah!! Australia didn’t use 11 men on the field; they used 13 players to rise up to victory. Skipping the Indian batsmen, if you are counting the men in the white jerseys and still find it to be only 11, then don’t panic. Do count the men in the white shirts and black pants too. Yes, the umpires themselves who have neither faced a single ball with the bat nor took a long run up to bowl to Indians, array…not even did they defend a ball, hit strongly by the Indians, from reaching the boundary but standing in one single position with only the movement of hands, they have helped the Australians sail a long way to victory.

Not just on the 5th day, the whole match has been a mockery of some nonsense with Aussies blessed by the umpires. I am shocked that steve buckner has given wrong judgments.

Dravid is one person who never displays his emotions on the field but today, evidently, he moved out with all anger on his face. Ganguly’s catch was actually grounded by Clarke and was by no means a dismissal, yet he had to go back because Mark Benson raised his finger. More ridiculously, Benson confirmed the catch not by asking the third umpire but the Australian captain Ricky Ponting.
These were not the only two portrayal of partiality by the umpires on the field, but there are lots more that I don’t feel to write about because of sheer disgust towards them.

So to all the Australian cricket players (or A******S) and the umpires of the second test match (or F*****S), let me see how long you will live.

Bye to 2007

I should say 2007 was my worst year so far. Though very few good things happened, I feel 2007 was totally irritating, irksomely boring, tiresome and ill-fated.
Here is a small list of all the bad things that I had to go thru in 2007 which has thankfully ended. This is only a small list. There is actually more to it.

1. Got dissatisfying results in all the exams I wrote.
2. My bike got a scratch on its dome.
3. My computer nearly crashed and I saved it in the final minute. Lost a lot of Al Pacino movies that I had stored in my comp
4. My college irritated me more. Now there is a camera in each class room to control bawdy behaviours.
5. Airtel changed add-on number rates. Now its 20p per minute. (Damn it)
6. I put on a lot of weight!!
7. My college bus route changed and I started reaching home only by 7 PM.
8. Rates of my college canteen food items have drastically increased. Paying so much for bad food now.
9. Wasted Rs.120 and 3 hours of my time in life watching Billa movie.
10. Besent khana khazaana is no more. So no more delicious paneer paratha.
11. Was fined 2 times for overspeeding. Had to pay off 400 bucks each time.

And here are a few good things that occurred.

1. Saw sivaji over 10 times.
2. Got some good gifts for my birthday!!
3. Bought an external hard disk which is too useful for me.
4. Bought new computer table, printer,scanner etc and my room is all arranged near to perfection.

Past is past and it is always good to look ahead than looking back. Let us move forward to improve our country, our life and bring happiness to our parents and make them proud. Long live all the good souls and may evil suffer henceforth. Happy New Year 2008.