The Critique

John Armstrong, Life Lessons from Nietzsche , London : Pan Macmillan, 2013. ISBN 978-1-4472-4560-5, £6.99, $11.99, pp. 120. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) was one of the most daring and ambitious thinkers of the nineteenth century. He felt that the prevailing values of society were obstacles to the good life and attempted to bring about a revolution in ethics. All his life, even though he was single, he believed that marriage could be wonderful. He also believed, despite his lack of both, that power and fame were tremendous honours and great resources. He held good health in the highest esteem, as central to the good life, even though he was frequently ill. He believed in the value of a life of action, despite being cooped up in small lodgings, poring over his books. He asserted the importance of strong, healthy instincts, which he regarded as far more important than his own special skill – the acquisition of scholarly knowledge. The book elaborates nine lessons from Nietzs...

Dir: Alexander Payne Starring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller Dur: 1 hr 49 mins Genre: Family Drama Rating: 2.5/5 PG: Occasional use of foul language. Every family has a story. The story of the ‘King’ family is dramatic. Elizabeth, the wife and mother is in a coma, Alex (Shailene Woodley) the eldest daughter, is away studying; Scottie (Amara Miller), the youngest child is developing behaviour problems and Matt (George Clooney), the father is trying his best to hold the family together. The challenge the King’s face is not so much coping with the loss of wife and mother but with relationships. Hence the thrust of this film is on relationships, especially familial ones. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Kaui Hart Hemmings, who also makes an appearance as Matt’s secretary.   The family has grown apart and their responses to circumstances have set them on separate islands. Regaining their identity as a family will require their comi...

Dir: A.L Vijay Starring: Vijay, Amala Paul Dur: 2 hrs 43 mins Genre: Action-Romance Rating: 1/5 This is the first Tamil movie I’ve ever watched and I can’t say I was impressed. I’d heard a lot about Tamil cinema and one of the observation that I had made was that it was far more original compared to Bollywood. Thalaiva helped me make two further observations: (1) The Tamilians are fiercely loyal to their culture and language. (2) They love to think that they are strong and capable of beating all odds. A huge fight breaks out in Mumbai between the Maharashtrians and Tamilians. The Tamil leader flees with his son. The second-in-command too is offered a chance to flee following the murder of his wife but he chooses to send his son away and stay. Fast forward to the present, he is now known as ‘Anna’ and is the law outside the law. All those who the law fails to punish are referred to him. He is a hated and feared figure but to the Mumbai Tamilians, he is like God. Th...

Dir: Ashutosh Gawarikar Starring: Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh Dur: 3 hrs 44 mins Genre: Drama Rating: 4/5 The British domination over India is something we Indians have probably grown tired of hearing. We are aware of the way they treated us, exploited us and lorded over us. We are also equally aware of the Indian responses to this subjugation. Lagaan tells the story of an unheard of rebellion against the British. The villages of India were subject to heavy tax (lagaan) which they had to pay irrespective of their condition. A young man from Champaner, Bhuvan (Aamir Khan) is offered a chance to free his and the surrounding villages from lagaan. The catch? He must beat the British soldiers in a game of cricket or pay three times the lagaan. Already here you can guess the outcome, but that is not so important. The crucial part of the film is the in-between. Bhuvan’s village has not seen rain for a couple of years. The mere sight of gathering clouds send them into a frenz...

Pope Francis has declared this as the year of mercy, and up until now plenty of reflections have been preached and published on mercy. Perhaps each of us too have made our own reflection on the theme of mercy. Since the inauguration of the year, my mind has often reverted to this theme. Every night when I make an examination of conscience, I evaluate myself: my thoughts, words and deeds vis-à-vis mercy. I realize that I am not merciful most of the time and that I resort to do what benefits me over the merciful thing. Pope Francis realized that the Church needed to revisit the theme of mercy; to reflect upon it and put it into practice. Mercy is at the heart of the Gospel. Jesus is the personified revelator of the Father’s mercy. Through his words and deeds he suffused the scent of mercy. His teachings on mercy are appreciated and continue to inspire people even today. The Church itself was founded on mercy: Christ became the expiation for our sins (1 Jn 4:10; Heb 2:17). He for...

Swaraj , Arvind Kejriwal , India : HarperCollins Publishers, 2012, ISBN 978-93-5029-544-1, Rs. 150, pp. 151. Arvind Kejriwal needs no introduction. He is a public figure and has captured the attention of practically the entire nation. Currently he is the chief minister of Delhi and supremo of AAP. The first page of the book describes him as “a social activist fighting to change the political system by bringing in transparency and people’s participation.” He was the chief architect behind Anna Hazare’s movement that drew national attention and created quite a wave. He graduated as a mechanical engineer from IIT Kharagpur and has worked with Tata Steel, the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) and was later joint commissioner in the income tax department. He has founded an NGO, Parivartan, which strives to change the lives of Delhi ’s slum dwellers. He was an active campaigner for the Right to Information and was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2006 for his work on the same. “Thi...

Dir: Sam Mendes Starring: Daniel Craig, Lea Seydoux Dur: 2 hrs 39 mins Genre: Spy-thriller Rating: 2/5 PG: Lots of kisses.   Spectre in my view, was more an empty shell than a real bomb. The trailer and the hype promised a great film but all we got was a lot of fluff. The film seemed at a tangent from the usual Bond-stuff. James (Daniel Craig), who is past retirement and who should have had competition that forces him to stay on top of his game, is a gallivanting agent who displays little care about the agency. The new M (Ralph Fiennes) is a little overbearing and tries to get 007 in line. But that is just not the way things work. Of course, its not! This is a James Bond film, isn’t it? The film opens with a scene in Mexico where Bond, covertly follows a suspect and just for the sake of it shares a kiss with a random woman, whom we expect to play a little more than muse-role. Things go awry and the city is thrown into mayhem. Bond, after the episode is reprima...

The underlying plot is of the band going across the city and crashing weddings. The video sparks interest, what is especially striking is the way the people respond during the setup and performance. The joy is genuine and uplifting. A variety of weddings are shown and the response received is equally surprising and ecstatic. The song isn’t very catchy and though the people are shown grooving to the tune there isn’t really much to even get your foot tapping. The joy is palpable, the anxiety is tangible and yet understandable. No one expects a celebrity band to provide live music for your wedding, even if it is just for a song. So, Maroon 5 show themselves doing something for their fans. A gesture that will only further entrench and endear them to their many fans. The video has a novel idea but the song isn’t really very good. The first time I listened to it, I hardly caught the words. The video is the real attraction.  Sugar - Maroon 5