The Critique

Dir: Griffin Dunne Starring: Uma Thurman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Colin Firth Dur: 1 hr 30 mins Genre: RomCom Rating: 1.5/5 PG: One expletive, few kisses and a make-out scene that is not explicit. We are all looking for love and most of us still hold on, sometimes obstinately to the love we find in fairy tales. We’re in search of or passively waiting for our Prince or Princess Charming to come along and sweep us into I-don’t-know-where land. The Accidental Husband hits out at this dreamy kind of love and forces us to get into the not so pleasant task of searching for the hitherto indefinable, ‘Real Love’. Dr Emma Lloyd (Uma Thurman) is a self-proclaimed love expert, dishing out free advice to people over her radio show, (mostly women, not surprisingly) on how to get over their love troubles and find true love. She’s convinced she has struck truth and has committed herself to share her convictions with other needy women. She and her show are catapulted to fame until on...

Gary Wills, The Rosary , New York : Penguin Books, 2006, ISBN 0-14-303797-8, pp. 190, $15, Can. $18.50. Garry Wills is a well known and respected writer. He has authored books that have become huge successes. Some of his works include What Jesus meant, What Paul meant, Saint Augustine, Why I am a Catholic, Papal Sin and Under God: Religion and American Politics. He has received the Pulitzer Prize for his book Lincoln at Gettysburg . The book is written in simple language and presents the devotion of the rosary well. Each of the mysteries are explained, thus fostering the rosary’s spirit of prayer and meditation. The author uses the paintings of Tintoretto (Jacopo Robusti) to drive messages. He provides us with a short theological reflection of each painting which nearly corresponds to each mystery of the rosary. In his introduction, the author presents the rosary as a timely and timeless form of prayer. Timely because people are longing for quiet and regeneration and t...

John Kirvan, C.S.P, The Restless Believers , Toronto : Paulist Press Deus Books, 1966, pp. 109. The first lines of the introduction to the book go thus: “ The Restless Believers is a feeling book. It is closer to being a shared experience than a theological analysis.” I couldn’t agree more. The author takes us through a series of issues confronting young people of his day. He gives us some of their responses and their take on these issues and challenges us to come up with ways of responding or meeting their needs. He doesn’t venture to provide any solutions and so, those looking for readymade solutions will be disappointed. The book has 11 chapters, each focusing on a problem faced by young people. As I read through, I was beginning to form the impression that some of the problems and a good number of the author’s ideas were conspicuously pre-Vatican but when I cross-checked the date of publishing the book, I realized that it was published in the immediate post-Vatican per...

Dir: Paul Feig Starring: Jude Law, Jason Statham, Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne Dur: 2 hrs Rating: 1/5 Genre: Comedy PG: Plenty of expletives, groping and vulgar pictures. I had read reviews about this film that rated fairly well and said that it is hilarious. After watching it, I couldn’t understand what the reviewers saw in it that appealed to them. Spy is a humorous dig at the spy genre. They don’t do a good job of it and end up making a fool of themselves really. The CIA is shown in really bad light. They are operating in a pest-infested area with personnel who look like they passed out of the mental asylum or thereabouts. Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is a CIA agent who has spent nearly her whole employment working at a desk in HQ. She is the guide of a wannabe Bond, Bradley Fine (Jude Law) who is compromised on one of his missions. In the ensuing turmoil she offers to get into the field as an active agent to carry on Fine’s work. Her appointment to the missi...

Dir: Joe Johnston Starring:   Max Minghella ,  JJ Feild , E loise Mumford , and  Christian Clemenson Dur: 1 hr 14 mins Genre: Drama PG: Short kisses shared between the lead pair and quite a bit of violence and blood. Tom ( Max Minghella ) is a young paralegal, working for a big law firm. His employment is cut short when he tries to be creative and do something his superiors didn’t expect and consequently didn’t accept. Tom, at this stage becomes like an icon of the average worker. He is forced to remain within the confines established by the employer and is given very little room to innovate. Most people can relate to Tom and how he feels up to this point. Hereafter, he morphs into a hero that again, most of us would love to be. Credit to the crew for not portraying the hero in a glorified manner but in a highly realistic way. Tom, while leaving the office, becomes suspicious of a man who enters the building and picks up the briefcase of another man. Wit...

Dir: Joss Whedon Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johannson, Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson Dur: 2 hrs 20 mins Rating: 5/5 Genre: Superhero/Action Comment: If you love apocalyptic and superhero stories, this is your treat. The first film of Avengers was brilliant. I loved it and was eagerly awaiting the sequel. My wait was not very long but it saw me getting more impatient with each passing day. Finally I have ended that impatient, anxious spell because my eyes have witnessed the spectacle. I am a fan of the superhero genre and so, if I can say it simply, this was mind-blowing! The world is living in a post-S.H.I.E.L.D period and the Avengers have taken charge of protecting the world from anything beyond the ordinary. Loki’s sceptre once again becomes the primary object of interest, only this time it’s not Loki who’s wielding it. It has somehow fallen into the hands of a Hydra scientist, who tri...

Dir: David Kaplan Starring: Aasif Mandvi, Naseerudin Shah, Jess Weixler Dur: 1 hr 39 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: 2/5 PG: Occasional use of foul language. Comment: This is an English film with Indian protagonists. Samir (Aasif Mandvi) is a sous chef at a famous restaurant in America. He is on the rise and is expecting a promotion but is shocked when he is denied the promotion and one of his lesser colleagues receives it. His anger gets the better of him and he quits. Already here, one can begin to see signs of the Indian mindset which is portrayed fairly accurately in the film. He goes to his distant parents hoping to get some comfort but instead he is bombarded with marriage proposals and ire for not being the perfect son. His already strained relationship with his parents is given new string just as it is about to run out. His father’s illness forces him to take charge of the family restaurant. His discovery of Indian cuisine which is foreign to him is guided by...

Dir: James McTeigue Starring: Milla Jovovich, Pierce Brosnan, Dylan McDermott Dur: 1 hr 36 mins Genre: Thriller PG: Occasional swearing, killing, violence. The British have beefed up their scrutiny on persons coming into the country, especially those who could have even remote connections with anything subversive. This task of national significance is bravely carried out by those men and women who are responsible for granting visas. The film zeroes in on one particular woman tasked with supervising the issuing of visas at the U.S Embassy in London. Kate (Milla Jovovich) has recently been transferred from the U.S to Britain and is still adjusting to the British way of doing things when she spots something amiss with one candidate. Her attempts to probe are hindered, yet she persists and finds herself amidst a huge mess. Her quick intelligence and perseverance rub the villains on the wrong side and she is quickly made the centre of attraction for the wrong reasons. Stri...

Dir: Daniel Barnz Starring: Vanessa Hudgens, Alex Pettyfer, Mary Kate Olsen Dur: 1 hr 25 mins Rating: 4/5 Genre: Romance PG: A few kisses. What is real love? Does it exist or is it only a creation of fiction? Beastly is a story of love, the romantic kind. It is primarily aimed at young adults and is set in a typical environment. Kyle (Alex Pettyfer) is a popular college guy. He’s rich, handsome and famous. He is also supercilious and egotistical. He upsets a young witch, Kendra (Mary Kate Olsen), by humiliating and deriding her and is subsequently made to pay for his ungracious behaviour. He is disfigured and given a year to find someone who will say the words “I love you” to him or risk remaining hideous for the rest of his life. Kyle is appalled at his appearance. His famous father has no time and no guts to stick around him anymore and so stashes him away in a remote place. Here he begins to realize what it means to be ugly, something he scoffed at and poked f...

William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience , New York : Simon and Schuster Inc., 1997, pp. 416, $8. The book contains a series of lectures James delivered at the University of Edinburgh , famously called the “Gifford Lectures”. They proved to be a milestone in religious thought at the time and carry over some of their splendour to our day. James’ approach to the study was one of pragmatism and experimental psychology. Over the course of the book, he draws reference from diverse religious perspectives. He categorizes the wide varieties of religious experiences into empirical categories rather than by the traditional historical categories, and this is brilliant. The twenty lectures are concised into 14 chapters. They are: Religion and Neurology, Circumscription of the Topic, The Reality of the Unseen, The Religion of Healthy-Mindedness, The Sick Soul, The Divided Self and the Process of its Unification, Conversion, Saintliness, The Value of Saintliness, Mysticis...

The Evangelical Counsels Our profession is geared to helping us live the Christian life radically and more fully. We follow Jesus in his poverty, chastity and obedience. Don Bosco pointed out that the practice of the vows strengthens the bonds of brotherly love and makes our apostolic work coherent. They help us discern and welcome God’s action and transform us into genuine Christian educators of the young. Don Rinaldi said, “The spirituality of a Salesian is guided by obedience.” In the Constitutions, Don Bosco put obedience as the first of the vows for his Salesians. Speaking of the spiritual formation of his sons he insisted on obedience as the first religious principle to be cultivated. Obedience is practised in a family spirit of love. Don Bosco held that “the dignity of a religious lies in his practice of poverty”, “which must be coupled with scrupulous personal cleanliness”. “We must eschew the abuse of the superfluous... what we possess is not ours, it belongs to th...

Initiative and Flexibility The Salesian is called to be a realist and to be attentive to the signs of the times. Don Bosco showed his spirit as not being static, lifeless and closed. He looked rather to the validity of what he was doing and it’s bearing on events around him. He was able to assimilate what was going on around him, incorporate what he saw as useful and respond appropriately to the situations that arose in his work. He was ready to re-fashion his works to suit the needs of the time. This kind of elasticity in adapting to all the forms of good which are continually arising among people is the proper spirit of our Constitutions. Openness to the times, mental agility, special creativity which knows how to re-think one’s own enterprises and those of others, ought to penetrate into our hearts and bring us  closer to the spirit of Don Bosco. I believe our formation needs to adopt more of this spirit of initiative and flexibility. For the sake of discipline and orde...

Mary and the Salesian Mary showed Don Bosco his field of labour and was his constant guide and support. He was immensely devoted to her and did his best to spread devotion to her. We must experience Mary as our mother and guide. Entrusting ourselves to her, we follow her example and become witnesses to the young of God’s unbounded love. Our love for Mary must be witnessed in and through our words and actions. We are at the forefront of devotion to Our Lady but I think we need to re-shape our manner of spreading devotion to her. There is a need to complement the recitation of the rosary, litany and novenas with the sacrament of reconciliation and good catechesis. Considering the fact that Marian novenas draw large crowds of people, they provide excellent occasions for strengthening the faith of the people and helping them better understand the teachings of the Church and the responses of the Church to the various issues plaguing the world. 

Work and Temperance The Salesian is called to be dynamic and balanced, hard-working and temperate, imbued with creativity and common sense. In the dream of the 10 diamonds, the whole mantle is supported by the diamonds of Work and Temperance . Temperance indicates a general Spartan-like self-control achieved through a cogent work-plan, self-sacrifice, moderation and balance that are the fruit of self denial. Don Rinaldi said, “The Salesian must practice self control: he does not go about with his eyes closed; he opens them but goes no further; if something is wrong he stops. He will control himself also in his games; he will be restrained with the bothersome boy; he will be able to hold his peace, hide his feelings, speak at the right time, and exercise a measure of shrewdness.” With regard to work nothing needs to be said. Don Bosco was a prodigious and diligent worker. In fact, he worked himself to death. Pope Pius XI commented that Don Bosco’s motto Da mihi animas caetera...

Optimism and Joy The spirit of the oratory has been encapsulated in the words of St Dominic Savio to a boy who newly arrived at the oratory, “Here, holiness consists in being cheerful”. Don Bosco was a model of cheerfulness. His manner was friendly and warm. He always had a smile playing on his lips, even during times of intense difficulties and suffering. He never gave way to discouragement and disillusionment. So much so, that his Salesians could recognize the state of his mind by the smile he flashed to them. When he was troubled or overburdened he would appear more cheerful than usual. Thus, they would remark, “Don Bosco is suffering greater today, for he looks merrier than usual.” Don Bosco believed that spirituality tempered with cheerfulness was healthy; nay it was fundamental especially for young people. This makes his spirituality widely appealing and attractive. We are called to radiate joy and must educate the young to channelize their lively and youthful energies i...

Family Spirit                                                                                               Don Bosco wanted everyone to feel at home in his establishments. The Salesian house must become a family. The young must feel welcome and free to spend their time there. Often, it happens that the Salesian house becomes merely a residence for the Salesians and the youngsters are kept at bay except when the house is in the midst of some activity. I have heard some Salesians say that the young like to be in a Sales...

Loving Kindness Loving Kindness permeates our way of living and dealing with the young. It is a reflection of the attitude of God. Loving Kindness urges us to be open and cordial, ready to make the first approach and to welcome other with unfailing kindness, respect and patience. In the dream of the 10 diamonds, the diamond of Charity calls for special attention. It is positioned over the heart of the august personage. Charity means, for Don Bosco, a constant attitude of sincere love for persons, treating each individual as God himself or His image; it means being one with Christ and living in him our sonship to the Father in an uninterrupted spirit of prayer; uniting ourselves with him in total dedication to our neighbour-our boys. It is here that we discover the heart of Don Bosco in its overflowing kindness . Loving Kindness opens the heart of the Salesian to spiritual fatherhood. This involves loving the young as one’s own children. Developing such an attitude is challeng...

Predilection for the Young The young are our raison d’etre for existing as Salesians. Predilective love for the young characterizes us as Salesians. Don Bosco uttered that infamous line: “That you are young is enough to make me love you very much.” I’m afraid that this may become a mere platitude for us. Love for the young flows from our feeling of being loved by an ever-loving Father, who cares about us and is ever-ready to reach out to us. Love for the young is displayed in our fundamental choice to be with them, building up rapport and a friendship of love, trust and concern. In serving the young, we fulfill our vocation and find our way to God. As GC 27 puts it, “the young are our burning bush.” Love for the young must never be reduced to working for them in institutions but must primarily remain being with them physically and accompanying them on their personal journeys.

Sense of the Church The constitutions make an intrinsic connection between love for Christ and love for the Church. Don Bosco was always faithful to the Church and inculcated this love in his boys. The Church functions as a pivot around which Don Bosco carried out his work. He helped poor boys re-insert themselves in the Church, taught them the catechism and helped them develop their spiritual life. His love for the Church was visible in his loyalty to the Papacy and the Church’s magisterium. He took up his pen to defend the Papacy and the Church against the various allegations and calumnies that were hurled against them. He said, “no effort must be spared when the Church and the Papacy are at stake.” He gave us a wonderful example. As his sons, we are called to educate young people in the faith and work assiduously for the Church’s growth. We cannot afford to lag in defending and upholding the Papacy and the Church. I think we have to work to develop a strong sense of solidar...

Union with God: “Don Bosco was a man of God!” and other similar exclamations made the rounds not only after his death but even while he was a denizen of this planet. He burnt with love for God and for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. He would encourage his boys to visit Jesus in the tabernacle often, advising them, “If you want more graces, go to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament more often.” His motto of ‘ Da mihi animas ’ found its source in this consuming love for God. He was never behind in speaking of God and heaven. It seemed like that were the only things on his mind. When he heard his Salesians lamenting over trials, work, or duties, he would encourage them thus: “Remember that you suffer or work for a kind Master, God. Work and suffer for the love of Jesus Who worked and suffered so much for you. A piece of heaven puts everything right.” His preoccupation with God revealed itself in every word he said and step he took. His face reflected a supernatural glow, as if he were...

B. Maria Kumar, Fun Times in English Language , Indore : Satprakashan Sanchar Kendra, 1991, ISBN 81-85428-14-X, pp. 60. I expected something really creative from this book which promised fun from the English Language but I was disappointed to find hardly anything that proved to be fun. It seemed like the same old run-of-the-mill stuff. The two forewords to the book spoke highly of it and created a genuine interest in the book but the book itself disappointed.   The book has seven chapters, each dedicated to a fun component of the language. Thus we find Anagrams, Conundrums, Palindromes, Peculiarities, Spoonerisms, Word Games and Word Squares. The chapter on Anagrams is quite interesting but does not have unfortunately, the capacity for fun. It makes us aware however, of a number of anagrams and invites us to create our own. The chapter on Conundrums is pretty dull and requires an average grasp of English to relish. Palindromes are interesting and create slight amusement. ...

Neil Azavedo, The Creative Teacher’s Handbook , Mumbai: Insight Books, 2010, ISBN 81-7176-581-5, Rs. 70, Pp. 136. This is a fantastic book that I came across and was happy I did after I read through it. It is a valuable handbook for teachers and contains useful and tested material. For an amateur teacher like myself, it was a treasure chest but I am sure that even experienced teachers will find in it valuable resources for spicing up their classes. The best part of the book is that the author shares his personal experiences and methods which add weight to what he has written. This is not a book of mere ideas but of creative ideas that have been tested and found successful. The book is written in a simple, lucid and encouraging style. It is not preachy and uses suggestion rather appealingly. The author constantly reaffirms the reader that what the book is talking about is not something distant and difficult but something that is within reach and doable. Each chapter begins wit...

Dir: John Carney Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Keira Knightley, Adam Levine Dur: 1 hr 44 mins Genre: Romance, Music Rating: 4/5 PG: Lot of swearing. Music is the language of the soul. It allows the soul to express itself freely and gives it an opportunity to heal. Begin Again reflects this miraculous power of music. There are many young music lovers and musicians who dream of becoming rockstars and popstars, with the impression that it’s all about fame, excitement and money. This film shows us the less glamorous side of the music industry. Gretta (Keira Knightely) is sour in New York because she has just broken up with her popstar-boyfriend, Dave Kohl (Adam Levine). She’s finding her feet with a wannabe musician friend who ekes a living with music. One night she sings a song in a bar and is contacted by a famous music producer, Dan (Mark Ruffalo), who has seen better days. She hesitates and he coaxes until finally she makes up her mind to go ahead. The two begin a journ...

Original French: A bout portant Dir: Fred Cavaye Starring:   Gilles Lellouche , Roschdy Zem ,  Gérard Lanvin and  Elena Anaya Dur: 1 hr 30 mins Genre: Action Rating: 4/5 PG: Swearing and gun-violence. This a French film dubbed in English. I watched it on T.V and must confess, I really enjoyed the film. I don’t usually watch foreign language films, firstly because I have a slight bias against them (lack the quality of Hollywood ) and secondly because dubbing, in a way robs the film of its character. Despite these, Point Blank was a great watch. The film opens with a chase scene that concludes with an accident. We are then introduced to two of the protagonists, a young couple expecting their first child. The husband, Samuel Pierret ( Gilles Lellouche ) is an orderly in the hospital in which our third protagonist is recuperating after his accident. Hugo Sartet, ( Roschdy Zem ) is a well-known conman who is wanted for the murder of a business magnate,...

Dir: Shyam Benegal Starring: Boman Irani, Dur: 2 hrs 24 mins Genre: Drama Rating: 4.5/5 Comment: A family movie making a strong point in a humourous way. This film dwells on a very serious problem afflicting our society, namely, corruption. It traces the story of one man and his hesitant fight against the corrupt system. There is a lot of comedy and a bit of spice but the film remains something to which the common man can relate to. It portrays albeit humourously, his struggles, desires, helplessness and gullibility. Arman Ali (Boman Irani) is a chauffeur for a businessman in Mumbai. He returns to his hometown with the hope of getting his daughter married and seeing to the care of his ancestral property. His vision is simple: build a well and revive the fields, get a son-in-law to live on the land and till it. The irony is that we are told that it is a drought stricken area but we aren’t shown the plight of the people. We are instead distracted with the tedious ef...

Dir: Karan Johar Starring: Alia Bhatt, Siddharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan Dur: 2 hrs 20 mins Genre: Romance Comment: A good film for teens and college youngsters. Delivers an effective message. College life isn’t as rosy at it may seem. Those who haven’t yet gone to college envy those who are in it. Those who are in it envy those who have passed out and those who have passed out either remember their college days fondly or grudgingly. Student of the Year reflects similar sympathies. A group of batch mates accidentally meet one another a couple of years after passing out of college. The occasion is the ill health of their then, dean. The story is narrated by the various ex-students who fill in with their perspectives. The plot is typical. Most of these guys are nobodies at school. Rohan (Varun Dhawan) is the dada of the school despite the fact that his father is on the school board. He is considered a black sheep by his father who doesn’t approve of his ways. Shanaya...

Dir: Kevin Donovan Starring: Jackie Chan, Jennifer Love Hewitt Dur: 1 hr 35 mins Genre: Action-Comedy PG: Occasional swearing. What would you expect out of a Jackie Chan starrer? Comedy and Kung fu, right!? That’s what you get in The Tuxedo . Chan plays Jimmy Tong, a happy-go-lucky taxi driver with skills at the wheel that cannot be called either expert or amateur. He is a simpleton with an athletic body and the loyalty of a dog. By chance he comes in contact with Mr Clark Devlin (Jason Isaacs), a master sleuth and secret agent who is taken up by his driving skills and employs him as a chauffer.  Thus, Tong begins his employment and fares quite well until his boss is shot and left for dead. Before losing consciousness, Devlin gives him a clue regarding the criminal. Tong awakes the sleuth within himself and tries to play Bond. He discovers Devlin’s special tuxedo and puts it on, thereby acquiring superhuman skills. With a boost in confidence he impersonates Devl...

Dir: Steven Spielberg Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks Dur: 2 hrs 20 mins Genre: Drama Rating: 3.5/5 PG: Occasional swearing This is a true story dramatized to an extent I am unaware of, of a young lad who decides to live a life of caprice without spending a pie. The story is intriguing, twisted, brilliant and yet poignant. We follow Frank Agabnale Jr. (Leonardo Di Caprio) on his adventures that take him across borders and out of the hands of the numerous police after him. Frank, is a bright young lad and shares a very close relationship with his parents. His father’s business begins to suffer after the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) finds something wrong with his business. This blot smears out the joy of the Abagnale family as they begin to lose their possessions. Frank’s mother files for divorce and Frank escapes from home in order to leave behind his troublesome circumstances. He finds himself homeless and penniless, with nowhere to go and nothing to do. He...