3 Idots first look

This is a new movie having a lot of star power - Aamir, Karena and Madhavan + Vidhu Vinodh Chopra (producer) + Rajkumar Hirani (director). The movie is based on a novel (Five Point Someone) by Chetan Bhagat who became an overnight star with his One night at a call center novel.

It is about a group of friends that struggle to get a good GPA at college and how that affects their career, friends and life.

See this link for first look with the cast http://www.rajshri.com/Video/3-Idiots-First-Look

Also Youtube trailer..

Delhi 6 - good movie

Omprakash Mehra has another good movie - Delhi 6; while his last movie Rang De Basanti was a superhit, this one did OK. The director however continues to pick up tough issue - this time it is religion and caste. I liked the flow of the movie but most of it seemed predictable and one sees a glimpse from other movies like SRK's Swades.

Notable scenes - song at NY times square, conflict scene between Hindu and Muslim that pair up as soon as they find a common cause.I don't want to be a spoiler but the director has made the ending too long and full of suspense.

I recently watched an interview of Nasarudin Shah where I echo his comment, why do Indian directors stick to the standard themes - religion and suppression of woman. In current age there are several other issues that bug the 1 billion Indians.

Defiance - great true story

I watched Defiance on DVD today and it is a definite watch. Movie is about a jewish camp that is trying it's best to survive the German attack just prior to World World 2. The movie is slow and touches various aspects. It shows how the Bielski brother's escape the Nazi slaughter; then help several hundreds. One of the brother's separate out as one joins the army while other stays with the camp.
Casting is great and some scenes are noteworthy for special mention:
* Camp struggle especially when winter strikes.
* The wedding which is run parallel with the fight against Germans.
* Fight for medicine at the German police station.

Yanni - Nostalgia

This is one of my favorites...Yanni is very passionate and full of energy....

District 9 - interesting and different

The movie is like a documentary about an alien refugee camp. It starts with a footage that shows a huge spaceship over the city of Joahansburg, South Africa. After 20 years the local population is irritated with the aliens who are nick named "Prawns". The special division dealing with Aliens (MNU) is given the charter to move these aliens to a different camp far from the city. During this exercise of ejecting them, the main star, Sharlto Copley is infected by a chemical and slows turns into one of the aliens.
The movie is overall interesting but parts of it are stupid and weird - for instance the 24 hour evacuation notice to aliens who don't have any other choice. It is also not clear as to how only some humans understand the alien language.
If you are expecting any action like Predator or Aliens - forget about it.

Happy Diwali from Obama

Hiking Yoga - San Francisco, CA

Check this interesting concept Yoga and tourism - http://video.forbes.com/fvn/personalbest/hiking-yoga-mind-and-body-fitness?partner=playlist