Spectre – The Bond movie

Spectre – a sleepy review!

I managed to take time to see the movie at Inox South city, the first Sunday evening show today, filled to its three fourth capacity.

Coming to the movie itself, followed by an action packed Skyfall, where Bond was humanized, Spectre failed to live up to expectations, save Craig’s appearance itself, though to me it was stereotyped. Perhaps the role of a 007 it as a savior of the world, only next to Jesus has become stereotyped.

Bond is the product of great former empire, later under dire economic strait, pumping itself adrenaline periodically, and spraying AXE wet on the agent to make themselves feel macho and to make every woman that may come in the way of 007 to go for full marathon kiss and lie before him. Spectre has surpassed previous comic serials, when a grieving widow cannot resist the hero filled with vertebrate androgen or estrogen steroids, sleeps with him and pleads, ‘Do not go Bond.’ Pathetic it was, I cried!

What are these villainous syndicates? You see Japanese, Chinese, and a few coloured ones. Gruesomely punishing death, with gouging eyes as a bonus for dissenters or failed ones are comical. A simple bullet would have done! Again if I like Bond movies when I was in the High school, there could be many in the audience from the student community as well, I calmed myself.

There used to be a time, when the underworld used to finance Indian movies. In turn they used to impose their preferred girls as heroine. A former accomplice of the villainous empire sreplies to Bond that ‘The villan Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz) is everywhere, can be with your family having supper.’ I wondered if the villain proposed the heroin Lea Seydoux as well!

Any one who has access to a chopper seemingly can intrude into the English territory and bomb any place. Poor Queen, Other than Bond, M and Q there seems to be no security for the nonagenarian lady. UK should raise a full battalion of ‘Double zeroes,’ to destroy the world’s entire choppers, including their own. It was a nice car chase scene in Rome. Being a regular visitor of the city, I was wondering if Rome too went into a ‘Bandh,’ or a strike mode that all roads were empty of traffic, save the one or two that invariably ended in collisions.

The fight scenes in the train, reminded an earlier Bond film (Roger Moore as hero), the Hi-tech village of the villain reminding of Lego toys are repetitive. If one has to kill they have to simply pull out the gun and fire. Bond getting freed from the dentist’s chair and the shackles tearing open, when his watch explodes is straight out of Walt Disney cartoons. Pray tell me, why when Bond gathers every gun from the guards those he kills and flies out in the helicopter, why does he not destroy the other two helicopters of the villain?

The cinematography is good as usual and much money has been spent. There is a saying, more sugar, the more it is sweet. Adding too much sugar could make the English tea taste like the Indian kheer.

Bond has to come to terms with reality, and take up themes, which are relevant in the world today, rather than living in a wild imagination and testosterone-laden dream!

Sampath Kumar

The unequal world!

‘I was always poor in economics,’ with this preamble I decided to touch upon a relevant subject, the widening gap between the rich and the poor all over the world, applicable to countries as well.

A few countries were colonial powers and could fortify their economic strength from captured assets, physical and human both! European colonial era extended between 16^th and the 20^th century, stretching across Asia, Africa and the Americas. Increased local resistance and costs led the colonies to be freed, but not before scooping out the most precious resources and assets by their masters.

Many countries, could taste their freedom in the middle and later part of 20^th century. Plagued by decades of broken spines, poverty, and steeped in corruption, many former colonies are in troubled economic condition today. Though there are exceptions like Singapore, they can be very few and far between.

Of the US $ 2,50,145 net worth of the world, US’s share is US $ 85,901 billion. I decided to dig into the distribution of this capital in the US. Senator Bernie Sander’s speech “Democratic Socialism in America,’ delivered to the students at Georgetown University on 19 November 2015 (yesterday) was a revelation.

Sanders defined the phrase ‘Democratic Socialism,’ as one believed to be guaranteeing it citizens’ material well being in order to truly protect their freedom, citing Franklin Roosevelt. He admitted that many in the US are unable to feed their families, unable to retire with dignity, and slog over 60-70 hours a week.

Sanders also cited that 0.1% of the American families numbering 160,000, each with a net worth in excess of $ 20.6 million, owned as much as the rest 146 million families or 90%, consisting of the entire poor and the middle class’s combined wealth. He stated that ‘he was very very nervous about this.’

I would not dare use the phrase ‘equal distribution,’ but a reasonable distribution of wealth is necessary to maintain a ‘responsible world order.’ The unstoppable mass arrival of people from poor countries to the affluent nations cannot be contained unless steps are taken to ensure a dignified living for all citizens of the world. Wars and internal strife would end in most disturbed areas, when the dignity of life is restored to the people.

The affluent western nations selectively allow refugees on a regular basis to address their need of cheaper labour. I have seen such unauthorized workmen, underpaid and without recourse working in many factories spread across Europe. US could be no different and a peep into the book, ‘The Working poor- invisible in America,’ by David K Shipler, a Pulitzer prize winning author could reveal the malady in the US.

Rich nations of the globe are becoming like overcrowded urban cities in India, bursting from its seams, as the rural parts are deprived of infrastructure, opportunities and growth. The unrest, the hate crimes, the racial hatred, now witnessed in increasing ferocity will only grow unless remedial measures are not taken urgently.

Sampath Kumar

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DESPERATION

The despicable Paris attacks show the desperation of the IS. The US, after the 9/11 attack, have tightened the security and set up a strong internal surveillance system, whether approved or clandestine, making it virtually impregnable for the militants. France on the other hand is a soft target, with enormous overt and covert support from disgruntled locals settled in many suburbs, particularly of Paris city.

A friend in Saint Denis, a Paris suburb, invited me for a dinner. The surroundings were scary, with offensive graffiti. Narrow eye slits expressed the disdain of a foreign face in an expensive car in their region. I discreetly enquired with my host on the safety of the car, having seen a unforgettable scene in an Oscar winning film ‘Slum dog Millionaire,’ where upon return the owner finds that all the tires and many other parts missing from the car parked in Asia’s largest slum, Dharavi. Though he laughed aloud and comforted me I could not cherish the wines in his cellar.

Having been visiting France for the last four decades regularly and having close ties with the French, I think the people in general are a bit different. If Germans could be labeled as ‘bound by rulebook,’ the French are more humane. They normally do not interfere in private life and are liberal to comical levels. Permitting Charlie Hebdo was invitation to trouble, which the French knew, but stopping them was sacrilege as well. The French would have gone on and on debating the issue, even more than the escapades of their chivalrous President, which the citizens ended as his proof of being human.

Tapping of phones, or eavesdropping too is offensive to the core values of French, and an American counterpart on the other hand would not have cared to nab any mischief monger. If the US believes in prevention, the French believe in cure. There lies the malady.

Carrying the core value of the bloated French pride in participating with the US, while attacking Syria, the French government has forgotten their responsibility to protect their citizens, or has taken things in a cavalier manner. French is more like Bengal, happy with dance, songs, theatres and movies, poetry reading, dining and wining! (Though the last part is sadly missing in Bengal).

I thought Charlie Hebdo would be the last act of desperation by terrorists. A nation, which prides itself as one of the forerunner in defence, be it internal or external, should have revamped its intelligence gathering, which would have saved many lives lost.

The IS is succeeding in breaking the morale of common citizens by such acts of terrorism. They also may be succeeding in mentally alienating the disgruntled French minorities from the mainstream, thereby attracting them to convert as sympathizers of the IS.  To engineer backlash on the minorities and thus cause severe unrests in the country. One cannot forget the many days of violence triggered on 27th October 2005 from Clichy-sous-bois, resulting in declaration of emergency on 8th November 2005 with 3 arrests and 3000 arrests and 9000 vehicles burnt in 20 days of mayhem.

Liberalism has its limitations as well! Se réveiller la France!

Sampath Kumar
Intrépide voix

Paris Killings!

I was there two weeks ago and share the grief with the French and show my solidarity with my lines!

Paris killings

White ants have crept in
Eating away a few of my cherished books,
‘Rare,’ they indeed were,
I shall though not raze my home
Just to kill the incorrigible vermin;

I announce loud, that I shall write,
Rewrite all my lost books,
And all the beautiful trees
On the boulevards and the woods
Weep now,
Praying that they be chopped
To make unending reams of papers;
The ever-flowing waters of Seine
Begging to be used as ink;

The destroying white ants
Shall soon begin
Eating their kind
Annihilating their clan;

Roses shall again bloom
On the graves of the martyrs,
The tears of the near and dear
Will once again revert clean,
The river, now red,
With the blood of the French dead!

Sampath Kumar
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