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Bridgerton Season 2
இதயம் (1991) முரளிக்கூட (ராஜா கதாபாத்திரம்) இரண்டு மணி நேரத்தில் தனது காதலை ஹீராவிடம் (கீதா கதாபாத்திரம்) சொல்லிவிடுவார். ஆனால் நெட்பிலிக்ஸ் ப்ரிட்ஜர்டன் இரண்டாம் சீசனில், இந்திய பெண் ‘கேட்’டும், வைகண்ட் ‘ஆண்டனி’ ப்ரிட்ஜர்டனைடும் அவர்களின் காதலை ஒப்புக்கொள்ள, அவர்களுக்கு எட்டு எபிசோடும், பன்னிரெண்டு மணி நேரத்துக்கு மேல் ஆகிறது. இவர்களின் இந்தக் குழப்பத்தால் ராணி சரலோட்டின் திட்டங்கள் பாதிக்கப்படுகிறது, பாவம் அவர்களும் எவ்வளவு நேரம் தான் வலிக்காத மாதிரி இருப்பார்கள்! கேட் சர்மாவாக சிமோன் ஆஷ்லேவும், வைகண்ட் ‘ஆண்டனி’ ப்ரிட்ஜர்டனாக ஜோனாதன் பைலேவும் அவர்களின் கதாபாத்திரங்களாகவே வாழ்ந்திருக்கிறார்கள் . பல முறை உதடும் உதடும் உரசும் அளவுக்கிட்டே வந்தாலும், விலகிப் போய் நம்மைக் கடுப்பேற்றுவார்கள். ஒரு கட்டத்தில் நாமே எழுந்து உள்ளே போய், போதும்டா சாமி, முத்தம் கொடுத்து, காதலை சொல்லித் தொலைக்கவும் என்று கெஞ்சத் தோன்றிவிடுகிறது.
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Settlers (2021)
Settlers (2021) feels like a thought experiment. What if you are living in a dystopian world, where you and your family are (likely to be) alone on an entire planet – with everything else outside destroyed. Director Wyatt Rockefeller has succeeded in making us think, the what-if scenario. I liked the film, but only for a Raw rating, the tiny farm, the house and the martian sunset will stay in my mind for a long time. But, as a film it has faults, is slow, has logic gaps, features only four (plus one) characters in total, and will not appeal to a wider audience. The British science fiction is about…
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Cashback (2006)
Cashback (2006) is a British comedy about an art student suffering from insomnia after a painful breakup. To handle his condition, he imagines he can pause time for everyone around him. What happens next, did he find his true love is the story. The film available on Kanopy gets a Raw rating. Director Sean Ellis narrative style was different and engaging, but the screenplay was weak in most places. Sean Biggerstaff has done nicely the role of the young protagonist Ben Willis, so as Emilia Fox as Ben’s love interest Sharon. Jared Harris (who came in Mad Men and Apple TV+ Foundation), the ex-husband of Emilia Fox has a guest…
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A cardboard box being used by mom for over half-a-century
I noticed this small cardboard box being used by my mom, an octogenarian, to preserve a valuable memory of hers from a long time ago. The box is of W & R Balston Ltd’s Whatman Filter Paper No.1, Made in England. Searching online I learned that: the design of the box was from the 1950s or earlier; the filter papers were mostly used in chemical processes (maybe we used it when my family #LIFCOBOOKS owned a book printing press in North Arcot District in the 1950s); there are many grades of the filter paper each with a unique number to identify the Particle retention capabilities and the thickness.
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What We Did on Our Holiday (2014)
I didn’t expect to like this film, but I did! Let me explain, What We Did on Our Holiday (2014) is a British film, a clean comedy, about a dysfunctional family and three kids. The first hour of the film was dull & makes you question your choice – if you are able to plough through, you see the kids’ takeover and it becomes enjoyable. The film is available on Amazon Prime Video and manages a ‘Ripe’ rating because of the last half-an-hour. Please don’t look for much logic here, just go with the flow and you will like it too. Doug and Abi, a couple in London with three…
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The Fall of the Kingdom of the Punjab by Khushwant Singh
We are familiar with the Koh-i-Noor diamond coming to the possession of the British Crown under the Last Treaty of Lahore (29th March 1849) after the fall of the Kingdom of Punjab. But we may not have read much about the events that led to the fall of the powerful Sikh Empire. The famous writer and Padma Vibhushan awardee Mr Khushwant Singh in his book titled “The Fall of the Kingdom of the Punjab” addresses this gap by taking us on a whirlwind tour of the turbulent period in India’s history preceding the East India Company’s usurpation of the Kingdom. The book starts with the events following the death of…
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Do you know the Guinea Pigs are not Pigs?
I learned something new today about Guinea Pigs. I had assumed that the “Pigs” in the popular English phrase “Guinea Pigs” referred to the actual (mammal) animal and it originated from the West African country Guinea. It is neither. Yes, English is a funny language, as my favourite writer the American-Britisher Mr Bill Bryson emphasises in his book “The Mother Tongue“. What are they, then? Guinea Pigs originate from the Andes of South America, and they are rodents from the cavy family. They were (probably) easier to breed so were popular with scientists who experimented on them with various treatments and drugs in the 19th and 20th centuries. Nowadays, labs…
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Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)
In Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) the King Arthur of Britain, shown as incompetent and resourceless goes in search of the Holy Grail in 932AD. The story in Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979) happens millennia earlier in Jerusalem, narrating the story of a “Brian” who is born next door to Jesus Christ. From the three wise men, many confuse Brian as the son of God. And this confusion is used to deliver a satirical comedy. If you can enjoy this type of comedy without being offended, check out this film. It gets a Mangoidiots rating of ‘Ripe’ and available on Netflix. Jesus Christ doesn’t have any direct…
