Respite and Reviews

As predicted, the first ten days of my return to Dubai after sick leave were not pretty. They involved a series of things, none of which I'm fond of, such as running around from classroom to faculty room getting makeup test forms signed, persuading (or rather cajoling) just about every professor to give me at least slightly more time to prepare, and struggling to give six makeups plus the regularly scheduled components in a span of six days!

This Thursday, after a gruelling string of four tests, Tarun (a friend from the hostel, more commonly referred to by his extraordinarily unusual surname, Tampi) and I decided to spend the rest of the day at our good friend Vishal's place. He stays practically on one of the hottest streets in Sharjah (King Faisal Street), a fact that just made me realise that the Sharjah Boys' Hostel could have been a lot better located than it currently is. Basically, it was one of those rare occasions when I felt the king of negative emotions...Envy.

After having a look around, ordering in Chinese and watching a movie, Tampi and I headed back to the hostel, reaching half an hour past curfew (surprisingly, it didn't cause a stir). Now, you'll probably wonder, how I can so casually mention watching a movie, without even naming it, let alone giving an opinion of it...Well wonder no more ;) The review of 'October Sky' is what's up next...

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October Sky (1999)

My Rating :

Dealing with the true story of Homer Hickam, the son of a coal miner and resident of the stagnating town of Coalwood, 'October Sky' puts on display the rural sensibilities of the 1950's when ambitions, and ideas that are 'out there' were forced to remain caged. Homer was the victim of scientific thought. Ever since he saw the spectacular sight of the Sputnik grazing through the sky, he was hooked. He wanted to build a rocket of his own. He turns for knowledge to a geek, paying no heed to the future of his social status in school, and gains support from Miss Riley, his science teacher, portrayed by Laura Dern ('Jurassic Park' fame) in a style that makes all who watch the film crave for a teacher like her.

Battling family disapproval and even the scales of legislature with nothing other than undying vigour and sheer intelligence, Homer and his three friends show it not only to the locals of Coalwood, but to the whole of the United States that it's not big people who make the world, but big minds.

The movie on the whole is definitely worth a watch. It's a guarantee that you will get goosebumps and a fuzzy feeling in your chest by the end of it. Go watch the Homer and Rocket Boys aim for the skies. Literally.

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You'd think with the approaching exams, I would go back and start studying again. Well...you thought wrong. Though maybe the reason that I went on to watch another movie shortly after returning to the hostel that night was because of the gallons of adrenaline pumping through my blood vessels. Reason? Hostel activities... Let's just say, two hostel mates pretended (with creepy determination) to rape me. Don't worry...it's something that's shockingly common here...more like an initiation ritual of flat number 301. Prior to me, practically the whole of my floor has already been through this experience. You have to get used to all this suggestive crap when you're in a hostel. Especially... the Sharjah Boys' Hostel. Fudj, this paragraph's for you, since you've been looking forward to reading it for so long now, that is, ever since YOU and Tampi molested me! Ha! Now you're exposed!

Anyway, later that night, I finally managed to get a movie from someone that I've been dying to watch for ages now, even though it was barely released a month back. The review follows...

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The Exorcism of Emily Rose

My Rating :

Though it's not a typical horror movie per se, there is something very special about 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose'. The first thing that draws one to this flick is the title, which is so reminiscent of the 1973 William Fredekin classic 'The Exorcist'. The second is the fact that this film is in fact based on a true story, documented as 'The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel'.

So what is the movie all about? Well, this is the heavily dramatised screen adaptation of a famous and controversial case in which the Catholic Church made the rare exception of allowing an exorcism to be performed on a freshman girl. A girl who in real-life was named Anneliese Michel and in the film is called Emily Rose. The decision backfired, for Emily died. Now the Priest who was incharge of her, Father Moore, is charged in court for negligent behaviour leading to a young girl's death.

Most of the movie is a court trial flashing back occasionally to what had actually happened. These flashbacks are when the scary scenes come in. Though there aren't many of those in it, the real strength of the movie lies in the wordplay that goes on in the courtroom, the highly absorbing storyline and above all, the performances by the actors. Laura Linney acting as Erin Bruner, the defending lawer for Father Moore shows up with a powerful portrayal of a woman torn apart by what she believes in and what she wants to believe. Jennifer Carpenter as Emily Rose, for a debut role, too gives a satisfyingly believable performance.

The film is also an effective visual representation of the 'science versus belief' war. The essence of 'Exorcism' lies in the fact that belief is something that cannot be proved. If it is proved, it need not be believed in at all.

Bit out of the ordinary, but a great movie nonetheless.

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The latest in my life now is that I am raped almost daily in the hostel along with other poor souls that Tampi and Fudj (a.k.a. Rohan Milind Phadnis) can catch. Other than that, I have practically no time in my hands whatsoever thanks to the Compres which are upon us at last. My daily routine pretty much involves giving an exam, coming back to the hostel, sitting down to study for the next exam (which is the following day), fighting to get a few hours of sleep and actively conversing with Vishal through the use of Short Message Service. 5th of Jan...that's what is the silver lining to it all, for that is when it all ends and I get to spend twenty five blissful days with my family back in India. Till then, Workshop Practicals and Theory, Biology, English, Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Prob 'n Stats and SMS is all I get.

Back...For Bad

Two years ago when my younger brother Varun was heavily down with Pneumonia, I was pretty sure that my chance to battle a greater-than-average disease will come too. What I didn't know was that it'll come barely a few weeks prior to the end of my first semester in college, and also uncomfortably close to the Compres (Comprehensive Examinations, if you please). Yup...I'm sick (with Pneumonia, the 'family illness'), and have been for the past three weeks now.

It began with minor bodyache, certainly not overtly remarkable, on the evening of the 24th of November, after a glorious day at Jumeira Beach with two of my friends. What followed was five days of intensely high fever, a terribly sore throat and a phenomenally increased dose of the bodyache. I was on antibiotics for throat infection that didn't make any damn diff. Finally, my mom arrived and after an X-Ray and blood test, it became apparent that Pneumonia had struck and admission into the hospital was unavoidable. Immediate decisions, a few clever phone calls and filmi-style driving by a godsent Dubai taxi driver brought me back to India admitted at Apollo Hospital the same day.

Next came the dreaded cannulas (for all you medically impaired people, a sophisticated syringe that stays inside the vein for days on end, through which intravenous antibiotics are injected into the body. My biggest and perhaps only fear is that of needles, so the bloody cannula - pun intended - ended up making me throw up once, and lose vision for a minute and a half because of sudden low bp, twice). After eight days of being tormented by more needles than I've ever seen in my life, I came back home to recoup.

And that's where I am right now...With barely a few hours to go before I once again depart for Dubai, I'm on tenterhooks at the moment. I missed a considerable amount academically at college and am preparing to face all that with plenty of trepidation...

Now for a small amount of cliché that I usually try and avoid, but is absolutely essential at this point of time. I would like to thanks all those people who cared enough to call or even visit me during my illness. Also, I am ever grateful to Aatish, Arjun, Viplove, Dr. Ghosh, Andy uncle and Anna aunty for all their support while I was toiling in sickness prior to my return to India. And above all, I'm glad beyond words that I have parents who are truly devoted to their children.

NOW, on a much lighter note, PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE TWO THRONES IS OUT IN THE MARKET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know most of you reading this post wouldn't give a tiny ant's ass about this piece of info, but...hell I DO! The third and final installment in the Sands trilogy, The Two Thrones has been touted as the best game in the series, combining the most appreciated elements from both the earlier games, and also putting in a few surprises of its own. Prince of Persia: Warrior Within is as it is my favourite game...let's see if this one truly is as good as they say. But frustratingly enough, I most probably won't be able to play it till June next year since in Jan, we may be going on a holiday...leaving the next tension-free days to come only five months later...AAARRGGGGHHHHHHH!!! The agony of impatience and eagerness is consuming me!

More later...