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Reviews by abhijeet
Garden Ruin review
Posted : 1 day, 16 hours ago on 8 January 2009 04:33
(A review of Garden Ruin)Calexico has an interesting eclectic mix of music. At their best they produce exceptionally good acoustic rock tinged with Americana and Mexican music. This album isn't them at their best but it's still a well written and solid album. Their music and songwriting remains eclectic as always (there's lyrics in English, Spanish and French in here) and the songs are consistently entertaining. They finish the album very strongly with the noisiest song of the bunch - All Systems Red. This isn't an album for new listeners but a satisfying listen for someone who is already a fan of the band.  0 comments, Reply to this entry
Caramel review
Posted : 5 days ago on 4 January 2009 07:55
(A review of Caramel)Gentle romantic comedy/drama (i.e. chick flick) centered around a beauty salon in Beirut and primarily the women who work there. Romance & humour, heartbreak & happiness, covers the usual gamut for this genre of film and does it without going over the top. The first time director does a good job and is herself part of the equally competent ensemble cast. The background score and the rest of the music is beautiful and adds to the atmosphere. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
Revolutionary Road review
Posted : 5 days, 18 hours ago on 4 January 2009 02:08
(A review of Revolutionary Road)Sam Mendes attempts to do 'American Beauty' for the 50s with semi-successful results. The acting is top notch and direction is reasonable but it's hard to connect to a couple in the 50s, it was a different world. Still, the emptiness of their lives, felt especially by Winslet's character was palpable. Occasional doses of humour and irony light up the otherwise slightly dull progression of the screenplay. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
The best book I've read all year
Posted : 1 week, 5 days ago on 27 December 2008 09:10
(A review of The Forever War)Dexter Filkins started as the foreign correspondent at the Los Angeles Times before moving on to work for the New York Times. During this time, he covered the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the American invasion there after 9/11. The bulk of the time was spent covering the war in Iraq. This book is based on his eyewitness accounts of the wars in both countries. That dry description does no justice to this stunning book. The author has an extraordinary ability to bring the brutal reality of the war right up in your face. He uses simple and direct language to describe what he sees and hears and keeps his personal observations to a minimum. The genius of the author lies in knowing how to distill his vast store of observations and conversations, which is where his remarkable insight comes to the fore. His empathy and affection for his subjects and the occasional flashes of humour give the book a warmth despite the brutal and uncompromising nature of his coverage. The first four years of the war on Iraq occupies nearly 80% of the book. His coverage exposes the monumentally catastrophic lack of post war planning that took place before the American invasion. The troops did not understand the country or the people and were unprepared, even clueless. It is also clear that the troops themselves are not to blame - they went in to fight an army, not a terrorist insurgency and certainly not to rebuild a country torn apart by the rule of a brutal dictator and three wars in three decades. They went in and also continue to stay with the best of intentions, as much as possible. While the author does not explicitly point any fingers, he doesn't have to. It is painfully clear that the incompetence of the political appointees let down the troops and the Iraqi people very badly. As the book progresses, the numbness that is felt by the author can be felt by the reader as well. It is difficult to read about the steady stream of brutalities that comprises war - not some glorified and sanitised version presented by Hollywood, but the real thing - without feeling a little numb. Whether you support this war or you don't, this book will give you plenty to move you and plenty to think about. And finally, I am in awe of Dexter Filkins, his bravery, his intelligence, his empathy and his compassion. I am glad he went to these places and I am even gladder that he survived to tell his tale. He is a truly remarkable individual. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
Huh?
Posted : 3 weeks, 6 days ago on 13 December 2008 02:35
(A review of Chinese Democracy)Seventeen years after Use Your Illusion I&II, Axl Rose delivers an album which for all intents and purposes should be called 'Use Your Illusion III'. I must ask, WTF has he been doing for the last fourteen years? Why spend all this time, fire and alienate all the members of the band, have all this endless talk about a new sound, re-record over and over, spend a reported eleven million dollars on production costs and still come up with an album that sounds like it could have been released in 1991? I mean, WTF dude? As for the album itself, it's good. I'm not disappointed. The music is so densely produced that it takes a few listens to reveal itself. Axl has essentially taken the more bombastic elements of the GnR sound and re-created it with a different bunch of musicians. It's not the tight sound of Appetite for Destruction but the more overblown sound of Use Your Illusion. Guitar solos, pianos, a string quartet, voice overs - you name it, it's in there somewhere. You would admire his sense for detail and song craft, if only he hadn't taken a decade and a half to come up with it. To sum it up, it's a good album and Axl Rose is a prick. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
CSI Hard Evidence review
Posted : 1 month, 1 week ago on 30 November 2008 10:34
(A review of CSI Hard Evidence)The last CSI game I played was on the PC - CSI: Three Dimensions of Murder. That was a very good game, engrossing and varied in it's cases. It also had very good game play, which never got in the way and added to the fun. Based on my previous experience, I got this game for my Wii, hoping to have another fun experience. I was *bitterly* disappointed. They have basically made a rather clunky port of the PC game. The graphics are essentially similar to the last game. which look very dated three years on. They have kept the interface exactly the same as the PC game without bothering to update it or create something that uses the Wii's capabilities. It doesn't translate well to the Wii and is difficult to navigate which ends up detracting from the fun. Add to this, there's numerous visual and gameplay glitches. Have I mentioned how cheap this whole game feels? Unless you are a hard core CSI fan and *must* play every game with CSI plastered on it, avoid this game. And if you must play it, try the PC version, it might offer better game play. And if you must play it on the Wii, rent it before you throw away any money on it. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
Tetris Party review
Posted : 1 month, 1 week ago on 30 November 2008 10:27
(A review of Tetris Party)Tetris has always been an awesome game and there have been multiple versions of it on every conceivable platform. Tetris finally comes to the Wii in the form of Tetris Party. The 'party' bit is the usual gimmick with Wii games to emphasize their multi-player and casual nature. These new modes are fun, especially the co-operative mode with a doubled play area. The graphics and sound are mediocre at best. In conclusion, it's a reasonable (and cheap) way to get the classic Tetris on your Wii. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
A world of goo-ey goodness
Posted : 1 month, 1 week ago on 30 November 2008 05:47
(A review of World of Goo)World of Goo is a brilliant puzzle game. The concepts are deceptively simple, as they are with most great puzzle games. You use balls of 'goo' that attach to each other to form beams. These beams are like stretchy bands and result in interesting structures. The physics of the game is incredible and greatly enhances the enjoyment of the game. The game consists of mini puzzles, the aim of which is to feed the required number of goo balls into a vacuum pipe. You start from one point in the maze and build your goo structures to reach the pipe. If that sounds simple (i.e. boring) so far, perish the thought. Just building the structures can get really challenging on some levels. In other levels figuring out the right structure for the level is the real challenge while the structure is itself quite easy to build. The toughest levels combine the two. You also get different types of goo balls as you go along to help you accomplish different tasks in a level. Despite the different types of balls, the focus firmly remains on solving the puzzle and building the structures, which is all good. The level design is exceptional. Frequently, the levels are dynamic which results in very interesting solutions. One of my favourites involves using balloon goo balls and the wind to create a structure that is literally hanging in the air. The art direction and music is top notch. All the levels look very polished in addition to the aforementioned excellent puzzle design. Minor quibbles include the background music, which is good but gets reused on so many levels that it can't help but feel repetitive. I would also have liked a way to save the game in the middle of a level. Without it, I end up having to redo one section several times while I figure out the rest of the puzzle (and fail repeatedly). This can get annoying in some of the longer levels. The game has been on the top of the Wiiware charts since it's release and it's not hard to see why that it. A sequel to the game is already in the works. If they can keep the same innovative level design and iron out the quibbles (or not), they will have another excellent game on their hands. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, No. 1) review
Posted : 1 month, 1 week ago on 28 November 2008 05:47
(A review of Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, No. 1))I read the book because I like the TV series based on it (True Blood) quite a bit. I wasn't sure what to expect, despite having watched the series. I liked what I read. The first season of the series had more or less stuck to the plot of this book despite playing around with the characters. The most remarkable quality of the book is that it makes the world of Sookie Stackhouse feel very natural. It's not easy considering that she is telepathic and her boyfriend is a vampire. Writing in the first person is an excellent idea since it prevents the story from getting carried away and keeps it grounded in the thoughts and concerns of Sookie herself and is the chief reason for the natural feel of the story. The vampires and their world is explored through the eyes of Sookie which definitely adds an interesting element. She gives her perspective on things, the perspective of someone who is both curious and a little hesitant to dive in. Again, using the first person voice of Sookie greatly helps in keeping the feel very natural. There's a couple of surprises along the way and you can tell the author is setting up for the subsequent books in the series by adding these elements. However, they don't detract from your enjoyment of this book. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
Boring
Posted : 1 month, 1 week ago on 28 November 2008 05:33
(A review of Thunderball)It's a rare Bond movie that actually keeps my interest, even though I've been sucked into watching most of them like some cultural black hole. I finally broke my habit and didn't watch the last two. Good riddance too. Coming back to Thunderball, It's among the most acclaimed Bond movies. I have no idea why that is. Despite occasional flashes of wit and a plot element, this movie is slow, long and boring. I actually like the remake - Never Say Never Again - much better. That made much better use of the plot. Bond seems to spend half the time running around on the beach in shorts. The acting is stilted and unnatural all round, these people seem to playing caricatures of themselves rather than real characters. The actions sequences are overly long but they don't look too dated. It's these sequences and the slight semblance of a plot that save this movie from being a total loss. In conclusion, don't watch it, your time is better spent elsewhere. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
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