* [[http://vforvendetta.warnerbros.com/|V for Vendetta]]: Classic. You might need to make the distinction between whether you though the movie was well made, and whether you agree with the movie. I, for one, think the movie was very well executed. //And//, it is thought provoking. What more do you want from a movie? Since V, I’ve found new respect for [[wp>Agent_Smith|Agent Smith]]. **4/5**
* [[http://www.iceagemovie.com/|Ice Age 2: The Meltdown]]: Ice Age 1 was definitely better, but Ice Age 2 is not bad. [[http://www.ravensrealm.com/scrat/|Scrat]] is undoubtedly the funniest character in the movie, though since his appearances are not tied into the story, they seem like funny short ads in the middle of the movie. The possums reminded me of the penguins from Madagascar. **3/5**
* [[http://www.insideman.net/index.php|Inside Man]]: The movie is intriguing from the beginning. First, there is //Chaiyya Chaiyya// one minute into the movie that leaves you baffled. I mean, it sounds cool, but after having seen the original video, its very hard to put the song in context of this movie. Then there’s Clive Owen’s very mysterious introductory line (I love the part where he says “I //never// repeat myself”). The plot build up very nicely with a steady pace, never letting go of you and unravels into a very nice ending. Amazing movie. **4/5**

I did like [[http://imdb.com/title/tt0443536/|Hoodwinked]], and [[http://imdb.com/title/tt0383216/|Pink Panther]] actually turned out to be much better than I had expected (it had got really crappy reviews everywhere I read). [[http://imdb.com/title/tt0396752/|Nanny McPhee]] was also ok, but I never had high hopes from it.

In hindi movies, there was of course, [[http://imdb.com/title/tt0405508/|Rang De Basanti]]. There are probably a zillion reviews out there on RDB, and I don’t feel like adding more to all the noise. Its a good movie, and irrespective of whether people liked it or not, I think it got everyone’s attention. More recently I saw [[http://imdb.com/title/tt0387678/|Waisa Bhi Hota Hai (Part 2)]] — it was a fun movie to watch, much like the hindi version of [[http://imdb.com/title/tt0120735/|Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels]].

So basically, //kaafi akaal type ka pada hua hai movies mein// (there are not many movies that I want to see these days).

It happened in MI, most of the Bond movies, tons of hindi movies, Swordfish and is still going on.

Why is it wrong? Well because money is not data! If I transfer a file thats 10 times larger than another file, its going to take 10 times longer. But money transfers are a **single** operation, irrespective of the amount involved (in the general case. There might be cases where some transactions take place in steps, but even then the number of steps might not always be proportional to the amount).

So for one, there should be //no// progress bar! Electronic money transfers are atomic. One might get “it happened” or “it couldn’t happen”, but its totally wrong to depict that somehow “it didn’t happen because we were interrupted at 99.9%”!!

I know its not a big realization, but somehow I found it very very funny. :-) And interesting. That how when I first saw those movies, it seemed so natural. That but //of course// it can be interrupted at 99.9% and nothing would go wrong.

Last night I went to see [[http://wip.warnerbros.com/marchofthepenguins/|March of the Penguins]] with my friends here. It isn’t really a movie, its more like a documentary. Its cute, funny in places; some of the scenes are simply breathtaking; you feel sad at times for the helplesness of these animals against Nature.

But watching the movie really made me think about the life these majestic emperor penguins lead, and the lives we humans lead. //ALERT//: I’m going to make some sweeping generalizations here, but just bear with me.

I was thinking about the life of these penguins. Year after year after year, they go through the same ritual. Half the year they spend walking (not sliding, not riding, not flying, just walking… and if you’ve seen penguins walk, you can appreciate that its not the most efficient form of transportation). And its not a short walk — say 3 or 4 trips of 70 miles each, in freezing snow and biting winds. Their lives are centered around their off springs — to save them from the cold, to feed them, to protect them. Their love is passionate, but short lived — partners change pretty much every year. They go without food for upto 4 months at a stretch.

Its a simple life, you’ll admit. Humans, in comparison, lead //vastly// complicated lives. I mean if an alien race was to make a documentary on humans, I doubt they’d be able to capture a //single// human’s life in 3 earth hours, let alone capture the entire human species. But what have we really added to our lives in making them so complicated?

The penguins experience love; they show pride; they show honour and mutual respect; they show endurance; they show cooperation; and they have some education. As humans scurry about their busy lives all over the world, in the remotest corners of antarctica a group of penguins goes on with their lives, walking, feeding, living, dying, walking … unaware of the immensity of the universe.

But what have we added to our lives with all our knowledge and science and technology? Don’t you sometimes wish that our lives were as simple as the penguins? Where we could take pleasure in the simple smalleties and not worry about all the politics and the careers and the countries and the societies and the countless number of threads that bind us and weave around us this complex web of humanity.

When I put myself in perspective with the bigger picture, //life, universe and everything// … I feel so small and humble. Its a good feeling :-)