Loki Episode 4: "The Nexus Event"

This contains spoilers for the show, so scroll down at your own risk:

As I have expected, after the lull of last episode where the chemistry between Loki and Sylvie was explored(very well I would say, but little else was digged in), this episode showed off what kind of twists are awaiting us in this show and the nature of this web series.

This is probably the best episode till now with the below highlights:

Mobius and Loki:

Mobius and Loki have an engaging interaction which leads to funny moments, including a time loop, which was last seen in the "Doctor Strange" movie(2016) when Stephen Strange locked the antagonist Doramamu in a time loop and forced him to accept his deal using his iconic dialogue "Doramamu.. I have come to bargain".

Lady Sif and Loki:

After an altercation with Mobius, a stubborn Loki gets transported to his Asgard and put in a time loop. With whom you guess? The Lady Sif, who was last seen in Thor: Ragnarok. Loki gets kicked multiple times by Sif(for cutting her hair in an unseen event) due to the time loop and he could not bear it.

The Revelation of Renslayer:

As have been predicted by many over all the previous episodes, Renslayer(the judge of TVA) turned out to be quite a liar. She even pruned out Mobius after he found out the truth about all those who are working at TVA.

The Time Keepers:

We finally get to see the time keepers, but they are not what we were made to believe all this time. Their image itself has been downgraded and they do not feel like the true masters of time management anymore.

Sylvie and Loki:

Just as we wait to hear Loki express his feelings for Sylvie, we see him getting "pruned" in a shocking event. Thankfully, those who keep for Loki have hope: He isnt completely erased from existence, but just transported to another world, which was shown in the mid-credit scene.

This mid credit scene reveals something of a new world, previously unseen anywhere. This scene looks to do something similar to what the 2018 animated movie: "Spiderman: Into the spiderverse" did: Multiple versions of Spiderman in the same shot.

So you see the different versions of Loki:

1. Classic Loki(Richard E. Grant) on the right, 

2. Kid Loki(Jack Veal) at center, 

3. Boastful Loki(Deobia Oparei) on the left, 

4. Alligator version of Loki(presumably CGI) which didnt have any comic precedent. There also seemed to be an online debate of whether it is the crocodile or an alligator with the crown of horns

So, here you go, the anticipation for the final 2 episodes has been built very well and it needs to be seen how this series ends.

My rating of this episode: 9/10

Thanks,

anil

Loki: Episode 3: Slow character building of "Lady Loki"

Before going into the review of this third episode, lets have a small recap:

Loki, the villain who debuted as a negative character in Thor(2011) and played the main antagonist in Marvel's Avengers(2012), got his own web series now, thanks to the Disney+ platform. In the previous 2 episodes, Loki is shown to be captured by the TVA(Time Variance Authority) as he tried to escape from the shackles of Avengers using the space stone(tesseract), and he was made to work as a kind of detective to guide the TVA in locating and capturing another variant, which turns out to be Loki himself in a different time line and reality. In the second episode, that variant is shown to be a lady called "Sylvie" and she set off multiple branches of time using TVA's reset charges. As Sylvie teleports to TVA, Loki follows her.

Episode 3:

If you have watched any of the previous episodes, this one feels a little slow in terms of action or the screenplay. That is because it kind of drags on to reveal Lady Loki(Sylvie) with many open ends to her yet-to-be-revealed origin story. That might be revealed completely in future episodes or during the finale as  a surprise, but right now what we know about her is this:

She was tracked by TVA continuously, leading to disruption of her normal life. There isnt much known about her relationship with Thor or Odin or Frigga, but it would be safe to assume that she did know them, based on her conversation with Loki in this latest episode.

There isnt much to comment about the proceedings, since there were lesser number of twists here and the story moves around mostly Loki and Sylvie and almost completely ignores other characters.

This episode gives us ample clues about the back story of Sylvie, like the below dialogues between Loki and Sylvie:

LOKI: “You're not the only tech-savvy Loki.”

SYLVIE: “Don't ever call me that.”

LOKI: “Tech-savvy?”

SYLVIE: “No, a Loki.”

After having spent a lifetime running from capture by the TVA, “Lamentis” revealed Sylvie's distaste for the term "variant" as she says in an outburst of rage “don't call me variant.” Additionally, while Sylvie no longer goes by her Asgardian name, it's made clear that she did at one point as she tells Loki “that's not who [she is] anymore:”

LOKI: “Slow down...variant!”

SYLVIE: “What part of imminent death confuses you? And don't call me variant.”

LOKI: “I'm sorry, but I'm not calling some faded photocopy of me Loki.”

SYLVIE: “Good, because that's not who I am anymore. I'm Sylvie now”

Not only the above dialogues, but even the way Sylvie keeps her past from Loki leads us to believe that she has way more secrets to be revealed in the later episodes.

For now though they are stuck in Lamentis metropolis as the arc that could have saved the people is destroyed before it could take off.

PRODUCTION VALUES

Lamentis metropolis has been created very well and so beautifully that we will get lost by looking at it. The shot where the arc collapses is one of the top shots we have seen in the series and stands out even for its sound design.

CONCLUSION

This Episode 3 of Loki is pretty much the weakest of the trio thus far, despite being still a good one at character development. The dynamics between Sylvie and Loki are top-class.
Loki and Sylvie are set to be a unique pairing through the series' second half, especially as more details come pertaining to which side of the fight Sylvie finds herself on. With the two now stranded in the late 21st century on a planet completely foreign to both of them, the two will need to muster their best efforts to survive, flourish, and find their way into more favorable conditions.

With love.. Anil

Loki: Episode 2 Review: Time Heist, Salad Theory, et all..

Warning - This article contains spoilers for Episode 2 of Loki, "The Variant." If you dont want to spoil the suspense, stop scrolling. now!

Last week, Loki debuted and set the world ablaze with the most successful debut in the Disney+ era. The return of Tom Hiddleston as the God of Mischief was a welcome sight to MCU diehards across the board.

The premiere episode for Loki provided something that its mystery-driven counterpart, WandaVision, overtly kept away from audiences: answers. After a six-week gap between content after the double-header that was WandaVision and The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, a slew of answers is exactly what MCU fans needed. 

Now that fans were caught up with the TVA, Time-Keepers, Loki's journey, and almost all of its "mumbo jumbo", Episode 2, "The Variant," took the opportunity to launch those fans into a mega-scale time-crime mystery. 

WHOSE STORY IS THIS ACTUALLY?

It is worth pointing out the return of the classic Marvel fanfare to begin this episode. The familiar theme of the MCU sets an unprecedented tone every time it shows up, and it was no different in "Episode 2" of Loki. 

"The Variant" takes immediate advantage of the heavy lifting done in "Glorious Purpose" and jumps right into the action with a squad of Minutemen hunting down the Loki Variant causing so many problems for the TVA. Why not? After all, he is Loki: The god of mischief. And how can mischief be fun without some kind of harm?

Out of all the wild and weird places fans thought Loki was going to be headed, Oshkosh, Wisconsin in the mid-1980s was not one many predicted. And, even less predicted, a dark-lit but fast-paced fight scene set to Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out For A Hero" was showcased. So, if there is one thing to be learned about Loki so far, it is unpredictable. 

The fight features the first look at Variant Loki's puppeteer mind control powers as the commander of the Minutemen squad has her eyes filled with green and turns on her squad. The Variant Loki now has a zombie soldier on their way to take down the whole squadron, steal their gear, and kidnap the commander while escaping. 

This scene does a great job showing off the deadly craftiness that Variant Loki processes. That is greatly counter-balanced by the following scene of the main God of Mischief of the show settling into his new role with the TVA. After some charming back and forth with the questionably sentient Miss Minutes, fans are given an intimate and relaxed look at Loki that has never been seen before. 

As Loki chats with Miss Minutes, Mobius, and a new Minutemen squadron lead by Hunter B-15, these characters are constantly elaborating on the rules and regulations of time travel and time travel management.

"Episode 1" excelled at clearly laying out the ins and outs of the TVA and its processes. That continues here as those processes are intertwined with Loki's curiosity to learn as much as he can to provide more for him to surely exploit in the future.

As the team returns to Oshkosh to investigate the most recent Loki attack, fans are treated to a battle of minds that rivals the Vision on Vision conversational battle in the WandaVision finale. Loki attempts to weave a web of deceit to position himself for an escape from his current situation, but he underestimates the verbal jousting abilities of Mobius. Much like in "Episode 1," Loki seems to have met his match in the game of wits he claims to play so well. 

After Loki stalls for time in an attempt to gain the advantage (a note taken by Mobius for future bouts), Judge Renslayer has words with Mobius about the unconventional route he is taking to combat this terrorist variant. The two share a drink and discuss the pros and cons of trusting a Loki.

The biggest thing audiences learn here is that Mobius, despite being a seasoned and seemingly important TVA agent, has never met the Time-Keepers(wasnt that a nice non-loki surprise?). The constant build-up of the Time-Keepers' burden of glorious purpose, along with Renslayer's seemingly defensive support of their mission, increases suspicion of the all-mighty trio. 

THE SALT AND PEPPER SALAD THEORY

Mobius and Loki get to work in a last-ditch effort to use research and data to locate the dangerous Variant. Loki is given the task of reading files on the Variant as he discovers the file for Ragnarok. After looking over the death tolls and details of the destruction of his people, he realizes a potential loophole in the TVA policing system. 

This leads to one of the most mentality stimulating conversations in recent MCU history. A combination of Luis telling a story and Tony Stark explaining a metaphor, Loki explains the theory of hiding in the timeline just before an apocalyptic event would cancel any \Variant activity the TVA may detect. 

After a quick trip to Pompeii to test this horrendously creative and logical theory, Mobius and Loki have their first real lead to the Variant causing so much harm to the TVA. After a deep dive into Mobius's belief system, he adds in the variable of the Kablooie gum found in "Episode 1."

This revelation helps narrow the search to a RoxxCart in Alabama where the Variant Loki is in hiding moments before a catastrophic flood. The Variant uses this superstore environment to isolate the main Loki and uses his puppet mind control to talk to him through various characters in the store, including Hunter B-15.

This scene is a masterclass in introducing a character's personality. Through the vessels of customers, workers, and TVA agents, the Variant Loki shows the confidence, charisma, and knack for stalling that fans have fallen in love with the original Loki. 

Viewers learn the Variant has no desire to control the TVA, but rather, the plan all along was to use the stolen Reset Charges and portal devices to purge various sections throughout the entire Sacred Timeline. As the plan begins to take place all around the store, the hooded Variant steps out of the shadows revealing Lady Loki, played by Sophia Di Martino. This has been somewhat guessed by many and so the big reveal doesnt feel so big after all. It feels like a normal sequence.

As the timeline is sent into chaos, Lady Loki escapes through a portal, taunting the main Loki in the process. As Mobius rushes to contain the one Loki Variant he has in his custody, Hiddleston's Loki rushes into the portal, following Lady Loki in an assured attempt to find out more about her master plan. 

ACTING/PERFORMANCES

Much like "Episode 1," the Loki/Mobius chemistry jumps off the screen throughout the show. Hiddleston and Owen Wilson have a way of talking around each other that makes for a charming banter that matches some of the best in the MCU. 

Fans are seeing new sides to Loki that have never been seen. The more subtle, behind-the-scenes side allows for Tom Hiddleston to flex his charm muscles. Vulnerability was the emotion of the week in the premiere, but in "Episode 2," fans got to see a Loki at a lunch table talking about the existence of life. Considering all the character development throughout the Infinity Saga, Hiddleston is taking Loki to the upper tier of character depth in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

Owen Wilson had much more range in this episode as Mobius dealt with the fire of the job and the frustration of working with the God of Mischief. Wilson has a likability that makes the Mobius character almost separate from the rest of the TVA. This is something to keep in mind as the onion of the Time Variance Authority continues to be peeled. 

The standout scene of the show from an acting perspective was the passing puppet mind control of Lady Loki. This new power provides some amazing creativity as six different actors had the chance to play Lady Loki, and each one supported the Goddess of Mischief vibe head writer Michael Waldron and his team was going for. 

PRODUCTION — CINEMATOGRAPHY, MUSIC, EDITING, ETC. 

This show continues the week one trippiness of a futuristic setting draped in a '60s aesthetic. From the suits people wear to the shapes of the screens, Loki has found a blend of old and new that caters to the confusion of time this show is meant to portray. 

When the show gets intense, so do the shots that support the emotion. Dramatic lighting, close-up camera angles, and incredible acting provide the tension that carries the dramatic beats of the show. And, that is made to stand out even more by the mundaneness of the surrounding story. With a plot and script that gets so far out there, the decision by director Kate Herron to make this show feel slow and steady is constantly succeeding. 

The music continues to provide X-Files vibes that really shape the wild themes and tones of Loki. The score is both epic and mesmerizing whenever the situation calls for it. The sudden needle drop of "Holding Out For A Hero" is sure to be a social media favorite for years to come. 

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Loki came out of the gate introducing new rules, concepts, and worlds that turned the MCU on its head. Through that decision, "Episode 2" was able to feel like a completely new show with time crime and espionage being the new themes. The ability to keep audiences on their toes with the overall feel of the show is something that will ensure weekly intrigue for Loki moving forward. 

"Episode 2" is an incredible ride of theorizing from the inside and outside of the show. Being able to walk through the mystery of the TVA with Hiddleston's Loki allows fans to keep track of the wild events happening around them. Through chemistry, wit, and creativity, this episode moves at a great clip that packs a lot into 54 minutes without feeling crowded. 

Moving forward, the mystery and excitement of it all were turned up to 11 in the final moments of the episode. Much like "Episode 1," this week's Loki brought the story to a completely new place that is so far from where it started in Oshkosh, Wisconsin that there is no telling where it goes next. 

But, that is the appeal of Loki. While the rules and problems of the story are so thoroughly explained, there is still chaotic energy that leaves every single fan wondering the same thing: what is going to happen now?

With love.. Anil

Review of Loki: Glorious Purpose(Episode 1, Season 1) ..Beginning of the "Multiverse of Madness"

After a long break, here is the newest MCU series on Disney+(Hotstar) which had lots of buzz created ever since we had that scene in Avengers Endgame where Loki escapes with the Tesseract during the "New York 2012 battle" time heist episode. Every one was wondering what a dangerous thing to happen. A dangerous villain taking control of the space stone(hidden inside the Tesseract) means that the move watchers were wondering how his timeline goes and what does loki do with it!

There were unlimited possibilities to think of and the one we see in the first episode not only sets up the upcoming episodes but also sets up the MCU multiverse pretty well and with lots of expectations.

Okay, so the plot goes like this:

Loki escapes from the present timeline by using Tesseract due to a combination of funny events, which we all know from Avengers Endgame. He lands in Gobi Desert, Mongolia, where the TVA(Time Variance Authority) arrests him. What happens and how it happens next was explained in a very funny and interesting way: the hallmark of Loki.

He gets a ticket to be tried for his crime of creating a new timeline and there he learns of the origins of this TVA.

Origins of TVA

When long time ago there was a huge multiversal war: battle between different timelines for supremacy. The ancient "timekeepers" were the one who created this organization called "TVA" which monitors the main timeline(called the sacred timeline in which all the MCU stories happened till now)

As the head of TVA(Mobius) tries to use Loki as a means to fight other variants, lots of twists start taking place, including a sequence where Loki sees his future, especially the crucial moments like his mother's death, his father uniting with the universe, joining hands with his brother Thor, the destruction of Asgard, him stealing the Tesseract, till his raw, real death at the hands of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. This does something to him. It makes him realize the things that he did in his life.

Powerless Loki and Powerless Stones

Loki is shown to be completely powerless in this TVA many times.

At one point of time, all the Infinity Stones were seen hidden in a table drawer and the TVA officer claims that they use them as paper weights. This scene itself shows the hilarious nature of this episode which makes us laugh, especially when we were told how powerful the infinity stones were in Avengers Infinity War and the power of Loki. He couldnt change his shape/identity, nor can he fight off with his power. But when he gets one of the gadgets that TVA officials use to control the variants like him, he looks like a kid in a toy shop, playing with it to see its abilities to the fullest.

Two years are mentioned in this episode where certain events take place:

1. aix en provence, france: 1549(At the beginning of this episode)

2. salina, oklahoma, 1858(Towards the end of the episode)

At the end, Mobius convinces Loki to fight another variant like him at the end of the episode, which is the not-to-be-revealed-yet-spoiler.

The excitement for the next episode will only get higher once viewers watch this one.

"Loki" is currently streaming on Disney+Hotstar and new episodes are released weekly every Wednesday.

With love.. Anil

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier season 1, episode 4, “The Whole World is Watching"

Shocking. Twists galore. Action. Clash of ideals.

The episode 4 of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier has it aplenty.

This episode explores more of the MCU's past and gives a twist to some of the the moments. Some moments were delved well and showed how the characters felt during the crucial situations. Below are the key moments that will make an impact on many viewers:

In the previous episode we have seen how Bucky and Sam were guided to the place called "Madripoor" and their adventures there before the big reveal came about at the end: Bucky finding out that Wakanda's Dora Milaye is following him, based on the beads(called as Wakanda's "Kimoyo Beads") that he spotted outside a building where he was supposed to enter, behind Sam and Zemo.

"

8 Hours White Wolf. And then We come for him"

Oya of Dora Milaye gives Bucky just 8 hours before she comes back to take away Zemo. During this time, he has to convince the ones tracking them: John Walker and Lemar Hoskins(who later becomes "Battle Star" in the comics) to allow Zemo to guide them to the location where Karli is operating from. This task, as expected turns out to be tougher than anticipated as the people of Madripoor dont trust anyone, not even the Avengers. By the time they are close to tracking Karli, John Walker and Lemar Hoskins track them out. After some conversation, John agrees to give Sam 10 minutes of one-to-one time with Karli before he would go out and catch her.

Clash of Ideals

Sam and Karli have a conversation thats well balanced with none of them getting into the aggressive mode. Things do get messy when the others start to join. There is justification for Bucky to stay close to Sam, but others? No. That really spoilt the situation in the building, which is really like a maze with lots of interconnected rooms on several floors.

Restless Captain America

One thing we can He has very little patience during moments that are crucial. He does have the ability to welcome other people's opinion and show compassion towards them once he is off duty, but on duty, he is torn between his emotions and duty. He is also unaware of the etiquettes to be followed when dealing with complicated situations and foreign personalities in a foreign land. The way he behaved with Dora Milaje's Oya needs to be noted. He very casually put a hand on her and the reaction to it is highlight of this sequence during which Zemo escapes from the room, not to be found again. We wonder how he will be caught again, and what he could do in the mean time.

Shield in Blood

He spoils the image of Captain america and this could have huge implications not just in the upcoming 2 episodes but also could lead to sub-plots in MCU's future going forward. John Walker will have lots of explanations to give to the government. This is one of the very few scenes(if ever) in the whole of MCU that we get to see plenty of blood sticking to a weapon. The background music goes grim from this point, indicating darker times are ahead of us in this series.

This end scene makes us think: If the original senior Captain America had been in a similar situation, how would he have reacted? The loss of your closest partner was never experienced by Steve Rogers, but he did stick around with his friend Bucky no matter what he did in his past and no matter how much enmity that created between him and Tony Stark. Does John Walker too have a similar trait?

What next?

The next episode(#5) will definitely be focussing on the repurcussions of John Walker's deadly act in full public view and will be interesting to watch the whereabouts of Zemo as well. After all, it is due to his escape that all of the events cascaded and lead to this tragedy of sorts. The image of "Captain America" would be at an all-time low, and the world would also be sceptical about the Avengers after what they saw: Sam and Bucky were there among the crowd, not able to bring the situation under control. Will Karli play a bigger game to trap Sam and Bucky and will there be a surprise entry of another character? Fingers crossed!

With love.. Anil

"Jaati Ratnaalu" review: The non-stop comedy super fast express movie..

"cricket lo nenu goal keeper ni".. This is the exact dialogue that this 2021 movie "Jaati Ratnaalu"(Telugu) ends with.

And this makes you go crazy and at the same time makes you laugh at the way this script was written from the beginning to the end. Not a single minute goes by without punch dialogues and pj(pakaau jokes). Some may say there isn't much of a story, but no one expects story in a movie which has comedy as its only strength. And it capitalises on it very well.

"Play to your Strengths"

What this move teaches us in terms of movie making is irrespective of which genre you are looking to make, give complete dedication and focus on it and you will see the results. I heard similar critics blasting #Baahubali when it came out, saying it doesn't have anything new to show and it is just another masala movie. But the director of that movie SS Rajamouli played to his strength instead of trying to satisfy the so called critics. I am not comparing the director of Jaati Ratnaalu to SS Rajamouli, but this is just a similarity that caught my attention. Its been a long long time since we saw a 100% comedy movie that makes you laugh so much that your stomach will start to pain.

Voice modulation by the lead actor

The film's lead actor Naveen Polishetty roles the ample screen time that he gets. Yes, all the supporting cast does well but the way his character keeps the energy up even during the twists and turns is just unparalleled in recent times.

Story: Do we even need it?

Coming to the story, our lead protagonist wanted to be a software engineer instead of working in his ladies emporium. He term comes to Hyderabad and what happens there after he meets the girl "chitti" forms the crux of the story. Lots of funny chases actually give us a feeling of watching the evergreen "Tom and Jerry"and kind of "Mr Bean" live action movies. There may not be much logic in the happenings, but we don't care since we get enough of laughter to forget all that.

I know it's a little late to give out a review of this movie after more than 2 weeks of its release.

Director Anudeep KV had a winner in his hands and he has delivered exactly what was promised. That is very rare in any movie industry where audience expects something and the director delivers something else! Just go watch, have fun and forget everything else.

With love.. Anil

Review of "The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Episode 2: The Star-Spangled man"

Disclaimer: Even though there are lots of dialogues and character reveals, this is a completely "spoiler-free" review. I can only give you the points on the canvas. You have to connect them yourself to form the big picture! Still, this review gives pretty much everything that will catch viewers' attention when they stream the episode. I ll only give the highlights of each top moment and character reveals here.

Introduction of Captain America(John Walker aka US Agent):

It starts off with a dive into the new Captain America's mind and his way of handling things. He does seem to be very friendly and patient with others and also confesses that he is not trying to be Captain America nor does he have any super power except his guts.

In the comics, he is known to be very violent but he is shown to be wise and generous in this episode. This is how Marvel Studios is trying to mislead the audience. At the end, we could see him show his slightly angry moment and it looks like this series will definitely have a face off between him and those who come in his way. At one stage, he gives an advice: "Stay the hell out of my way". You could try to find out why he said these words to whom!

John Walker said these words to _____!

Falcon and Bucky meet and sparks fly: 

The main leads of this series: The Falcon and The Winter Soldier finally meet in this episode. They have many conversations that have that fun factor which viewers will enjoy even more with references to previous movies like "Black Panther" and "Captain America: Civil War", like "Little time in Wakanda and you come out White Panther", "No. White Wolf".

The staring contest feels funny but it helps in breaking the ice between the two. We cannot say that these two did finally bury their differences by the end of this episode, but we do see that they are getting closer with every assignment that Falcon is taking up. Bucky definitely wants Falcon to take up the shield but Falcon disagrees every time.

"One World, One People"

You hear the line: "One world. One People" many times during this episode from the flag smashers who are being tracked by the power brokers!

We are really clueless as to what their motto means and how they have people who could sacrifice their lives for their goal. It would be a challenge to not just the duo here, but to many other superheroes out there when they are dealing with people brain-washed with some kind of belief about changing the world order. They do have some super strength and it needs to be seen how they got this strength from.

"androids, aliens and wizards"

There is also the talk about this line: "androids, aliens and wizards". Watch carefully you will also get references to others like Doctor Strange, which raises questions about how did they forget about Wanda Maximoff who is an equally strong magician, if not more than Doctor Strange. May be there were so many things happening around them and their lives that they couldnt keep a track of each and every super hero that they fought with against Thanos in the battle of earth. We could understand that. Wanda could also be living her own life far away and in secrecy, which means other Avengers(maybe except Doctor Strange) might not be knowing where she is and what is she upto after the local events of "Wanda Vision".

The aliens refer to Thanos' army in the first Avengers movie, androids definitely mean the ultrons in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

But what are the wizards being talked about? Is it the Ebony Maw whom Falcon did not encounter? Falcon did fight against the Black Order but it is not clear if he knew about Ebony Maw in that. He could have witnessed magic being done by Ebony Maw though and thus might be referring to that wizard.

Isaiah:

"Isaiah" is the black super soldier that no one knew about, except Bucky Barnes. Not even the original Captain America knew about him and the things he faced while in prison despite being a "hero". What happened to him and what is his relation to the Falcon and the Winter Soldier?

There wasnt much of a chemistry or dynamics between him and the others in this episode, but he could make a return as a surprise cameo sometime later on as the story evolves.

It ends with Zemo:

Just like the first episode, this one too doesnt have any post-credit scene, but the ending itself is worth it. Helmut Zemo makes an appearance in the most unexpected way. The last minute appearance of Zemo does create many questions: Will he try to do his mind-control thing again on Bucky in the next episode? I guess Bucky will resist with his inner strength this time. Else, how does he grow up as an independent character and be known for good? How and why he comes into the scene at all? Watch the show to find out!

Overview and feel:

Just like how Falcon feels like the shield is someone else's, we too feel that this show feels like it isnt a web series to be seen in a living room, it needs to be watched as a movie in theaters! This belongs to not the TV or small screens, but to the theaters! It has all that big-screen experience that people have missed during these pandemic times. I would rate this episode better than the first due to:

1. The chemistry between Falcon and the Winter Soldier

2. The way the new Captain America's path crosses with these two free-spirited avengers.

3. The pace at which the story is narrated and balances everything so beautifully in true MCU movie style.

ps: check out the new Marvel Studio anthem BGM which is peppy as well!

With love.. Anil

iPhones without adapters: A genuine concern for environment?

Ever since the iphone 12 came without a charger in the box, there has been a massive level of discussion among the users and critics alike as to the logic behind this and how effective is this in controlling e-waste, which is obviously one of the concerns going forward.

Lets analyze and think more about this:

The launch of iPhone 12 and Apple's claims:

The iPhone 12 was launched on 13th of October 2020 and as usual it brought with it a bunch of enhancements and hype and some flak as usual. Nothing new in that. But the biggest topic of discussion has been the lack of charging adapter. Apple says it has done away with the charger in the box to decrease the carbon footprint by a few million tonnes every year(they say it is equal to reducing over 2 million metric tonnes of carbon every year, according to their own studies). Fine, lets agree with the numbers for time being. Statistics might tell the same more or less. But is it enough to measure just how much cardboard apple packs its products with? Is iPhone all about the phone inside it and the cable it comes with? The answer is "No". Now for any new iphone


user, instead of using the charger with the latest technology if they have to contend with their several years old chargers, will they not order a charger seperately?

The impact of this is that people will end up buying a new charger which comes in a bigger packaging. So if you add up the packaging of iphone and that of the charger, it results in a bigger carbon footprint than the existing one. Let me explain it in further detail:

Will customers get stuck with their old inefficient chargers?

Lets assume that Apple believes that users will continue with their existing chargers. Even if they do stick around with the older chargers, their inefficiency(a significant percentage of the electric power ends up being wasted as heat) will mean more wastage of power and therefore more carbon footprint.

So either way, there is going to be higher impact on the environment if chargers werent given as part of the package.

Why other manufacturers followed suit?

Samsung, initially making fun of Apple's move has followed suit, which wasnt a big surprise since there is a business reason behind that.

What Apple and other smartphone makers who have followed it, have done is that they were offloading their packaging size to third party companies which make accessories. And it feels like a good business deal between them, since it will be a win-win situation, a symbiotic relationship if you could say that. The OEMs make more profits by lesser packaging costs, while the third party accessory-makers will jump up and lap up this new opportunity of higher demand for them.

Another reason could very well be the cost of including the 5G Radio components in their smartphones: It is clear that Apple(and even others by the way) has to reduce its costs by removing certain items from the packaging, and power adapter is the one that faced the axe in this case.

Initially most people thought xiaomi will also go the same way with no charger in the box, but it chose to be different by giving the users the option to include a superior charger in the box. More on this in the next section.

What could be the ideal solution?

Provide the customers with the latest chargers with higher efficiency: Gallium Nitride chargers, in the box.

Even if the phone companies sell the chargers separately, let those be efficient ones like Gallium Nitride ones instead of the same old type of chargers wheather they are normal slow chargers or superfast turbo chargers.

For example, xiaomi is giving a 55W GaN charger in most markets with its top of the line smartphone mi 11 which was launched this year(2021). This isnt to promote any particular company but to bring out the actual truth: Any claim from a profit-making company which claims to save environment by removing some of the items from the retail box is actually a smart tactic meant to mislead the public into believing that they are saving environment, but in fact they are contributing more and more towards environmental pollution or exploitation.

The Analogy:

What Apple did was something like the below:

There used to be a restaurant called "Apple: An Apple a day keeps hunger away" which is heavily popular in its area. One fine day, the restaurant claims to cut its carbon footprint by removing 10 menu items out of its 50. People praise it of being truly a green restaurant. But what this does is create an opportunity for other small restaurants and road side vendors and this lead to even higher pollution with more plastic waste for packaging and serving the removed menu items.

If the smart phone companies really care about environment, let there be no phone launches at all for a certain period! That would cut billions of tonnes of co2 or pollutants worldwide!

Conclusion:

Irrespective of which company started off this trend of eliminating the charger from the box, the announcement should always be taken with deeper thought. Think before following any company's announcements. They are "smart" enough to decide where to make money, where to reduce costs and how to justify that with silly reasons.

With love.. Anil

Falcon And The Winter Soldier review: A deep delve into the post-EndGame world..

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Okay, lets get this straight:

This new Disney+ web series from Marvel Studios isnt meant to be all about what actually happened in the MCU movies but an independent exploration into the MCU. 

This doesnt criss-cross or reference other series that exist in the same MCU, for example the just concluded WandaVision. 

Falcon refuses taking up the mantle: Good or Bad?

This first episode picks up almost immediately with the life of Sam Wilson aka Falcon that continues after he was given the shield and Captain America gets old. Nothing is said about where Captain America is right now, but there are hints that he might have passed away during a conversation he has with the War Machine(James Rupert Rhodes) during a scene.

The scene where Sam is asked the whereabouts with some funny conspiracy theories like "Captain America was sent to the moon", is actually an important indicator of how much Sam knows about the whereabouts of the original Cap. 

There is also another debate that could come up about Sam's decision of not taking up the mantle: Is it right to refuse taking the responsibility of a role that is looked like a role model by the public? Fingers crossed.

Sam does refuse to take up the mantle of Captain America, but the end-result or a twist(a minor one if you could say so) is when the US Govt announces someone new to be the new Captain America.

Whether that is for good or bad will be seen in the coming episodes, but my feeling is this: There is a lot going on in the background.

The first episode starts off on a high energy aerial chase where our Falcon is rescuing a certain Captain Vasanth from LAF and this action seems very energetic and with some thrilling moments, showing off the full powers of the Falcon Suit. And then goes on to delve into the life of Bucky James Barnes, aka "Winter Soldier" as he gets nightmares of his past and attends counselling classes, giving us an insight into things that he is doing to show that he is no more an assassin but trying to do good things.

Apart from setting up the characters, where this episode really excelled is when it showed what it meant to be converted to dust(the blip by Thanos) and then come back with the second blip(Hulk). 

Super Heroes do have their Financial Struggles

One thing that really catches your attention is the scene where Sam Wilson, visiting a bank along with his sister fails to get a bank loan to fund their small business. This scene shows the reality that the world is facing, when the officer says they dont have many options when so many people are coming back after this 5 years of absence.

Being high on octane action is one thing, but coupling with the struggles that "super" heroes face in their daily lives and their respective families face is something that was done very well indeed.

There may not be the suspense that Wanda Vision created but this show feels more grounded and set up to show the lives of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes more and more in the coming episodes, including the real enemies that these two will fight.

I, for one would like to see how Sam Wilson will react to the new Captain America and how Winter Soldier tries to clear his past and move ahead.

There are plenty of references to MCU, like the "sleep in Wakanda" that Bucky mentioned during one of the counselling sessions, which is a reference to the post credit scene of Black Panther where he wakes up from a tent after being cured by the technology in Wakanda.

Keep watching this space for more!

Marvel Studios' #FalconAndTheWinterSoldier is streaming right now worldwide on Disney+ and in India on #DisneyPlusHotstar.

With love.. Anil

Wanda Vision: A unique spectacle that drives MCU into a completely different direction!

Wanda in Wanda Vision

MCU is taking a big turn. Yes. For those of you who know what MCU stands for and who has watched the just concluded "Disney+" series "Wanda Vision", it would be 

For those who dont, MCU stands for Marvel Cinematic Universe.

It is a dynamic content adapted from the Marvel Comic books and has a long drawn fictitious storyline with lots of thrills, comic references, twists, fun, tragedy, optimism, family-friendly content and variety.

You might think that to understand a movie set in MCU, you need to watch those that came before it, like for enjoying "Avengers Infinity War" movie to the fullest, you need to be aware of what happened to Iron Man, Captain America, and their team(s). But even those without a knowledge of MCU could actually like the just ended web series "Wanda Vision" purely based on the emotional aspect of it. It is basically a deep dive into the life of Wanda Maximoff after she loses her partner Vision, feels lonely and despair and creates her own small world within a real world town called "West View".

Without going deeper into the earlier events related to "Avengers Infinity War" and "Avengers Endgame", it would be fair to say that this web series stands on its own for a change. The same cannot be said about previous MCU content like Endgame or Infinity War or "Captain America Civil War"(The movie that made a big impact in MCU's future).

Wanda Maximoff goes through so much pain that her actions seem to be valid and understandable. She doesnt look like a villain despite keeping the residents of WestView as hostage within a space isolated by a strong virtual-energy-filled wall called "hex", named to simplify its appearance which looks like a honeycomb with lots of reddish hexagons joined together to block anyone coming from outside.

Though giving the complete review isnt possible to avoid spoilers, one can definitely say something on a wider perspective: MCU is taking a new direction with this series and there will be ramifications that will be felt in the upcoming movies and series, like the "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" scheduled to hit theaters in 25 March 2022.

In short, this series is an exploration of Wanda's relationship and dynamics with her love: Vision and the outer world. Her kids: Billy and Tommy. Ultimately she had to sacrifice her reality to free the residents of WestView who, atleast 4000 of them were held captive inside the hex for several weeks. This is obviously not a positive sign for someone called an "avenger". So Wanda is moving further away from being an avenger and more of a magician.

With that being said, Wanda could be changing the way she handles grief when we look at the final end-credit sequence. She could be trying to learn more about herself and controlling her emotions and her attachment to her kids. This also sets up a promising duel with Doctor Strange, either as an ally or as a foe. Some of the actions of Wanda were definitely not nice and wise, and Doctor Strange will have many questions when he comes to know of this.

Instead of giving a "happily ever after" ending that most MCU blockbuster movies have, Wanda Vision has a mixed bitter-sad ending with many directions in which the story could go from there. Wanda could get wiser or get trapped in her emotions again in a different scenario.

With love.. Anil

Aakaashame Hadduraa (Soorarai pottru) : A roller coaster of a ride!

Going into this movie, I expected something similar to other biopics that have come off late:A failing protagonist, lots of challenges, wicked antagonists, gradual rise of the hero, and a big, nail biting finish where the hero succeeds.

Aakaashame Hadduraa (the Telugu dubbed version of Soorarai pottru) does this too, but in an extremely nuanced and wild manner, with lots of fictional elements added to real life incidents.

You may call it yet another biopic like movie with lots of exaggerations and masala elements, but the screenplay and handling of actors and situations was done extremely well. It never strayed away from the plotand everything came together in the end, though what happened in real life later was opposite(air deccan being bought away by kingfisher airlines and later closing the operations completely).

Watch it for surya's performance and the story and thrilling moments.

With love..

Anil

Bolo: An insight into Google's learning app

There are a ton of apps these days to help kids learn something new. It could be a new language, it could be science, it could be history, or it could be about maths or to learn about something just out of curiosity.
But Google has done something that's an instant success and an evolving tool for not just kids but also adults to learn a language.
Initial reports in the media said that it is an app to learn reading Hindi, which is wrong. It is a multi lingual app and supports the below language/language-pairs as of today:
English only,
Hindi-English,
Telugu-English,
Marathi-English,
Bangla-English,
Urdu-English,
Tamil-English.
Spanish-English,
Portuguese-English

The first thing you notice about bolo is its user interface which is very simple and doesnt need too much of navigation. Just tap the story that you want to read/learn and it starts off sentence by sentence.
The screen scrolls automatically as the kid reads out the sentence appearing on the screen.
Another feature that is surely going to create interest among kids is the mini games that were included: simple games like pop the balloons, jumbled words and speed reading are available right now, but may get accompanied by many others soon.
Being an early access version, the app could have some bugs here and there, but so far during my 1 week of testing, I found none.

Important thing is if you kno how to read a language, even if you are an adult, you can get help from this app to improve your pronunciation in various languages, mainly Indian. for example, I can read Tamil apart from Telugu, English, Hindi and Kannada but to learn pronunciation in that language, this is going to definitely help me.
As the name itself suggests, it is meant to teach you how to speak a language and it is definitely worth trying it out.

With love.. Anil

Custom Site for Share

Add Your Favorite Site To Share

This tutorial will explain you the steps to add your favorite website to the Share extension. We assume that you have successfully installed the Share Tools extension. If not, please install it from this link.

If you have installed it successfully, you can notice its icon on the toolbar as shown in the following screenshot:

To add your website, follow these steps:

• Click on the extension icon, which should open its pop-up panel as shown above.
• Now, click on the last (gear or wheel) icon.

• This should launch the options panel of the extension, as shown in the following screenshot:

• From this options panel, you can set two options for the extension: change the default opening behaviour and add a custom website.
• To add a new website or service, you must provide a valid template in the input box. You can find many valid templates on this page. Detailed list is available on this link.
• For example, if you want to add Skype, you need to copy the line # 29 and paste in the input box. This would be:

https://web.skype.com/share?url={url}

• The extension supports only url and title parameters, so remove any other parameter present, like text in the above example.
• After pasting the code, save the settings. Now, this added site would be available with the Share extension. 

With love.. Anil

SHARE. Simple and Straight Forward

I have been looking at so many different ways by which we can share the websites that we visit daily.
How to make sharing as simple as possible and one that involves just 2 clicks?

That is when I stumbled upon an idea to create an extension or modify an existing extension and enhancing its features.
Being the first of my browser apps, it is indeed a challenge to learn how to do it. Technology? Its ready. Coding expertise? ready.
The only missing thing is the infrastructure and means to publish the idea, however simple it may be.

Thats when I tried my hand at the first chrome web app: SHARE.
Below is the link for the same:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/share/imfnjaolefblebhdphcenbeihpljinkn

Since this is the version 0.0.1, expect many more updates and feature additions as and when needed and based on feedback.

With love.. Anil

MCU's perfect culmination of the Avengers series!: Avengers EndGame.

It has been a long time checking out an epic movie that actually feels epic in theaters.

When I say long, it really felt like a long wait! The last time I felt like this was Avengers Infinity War(April 2018) and before that, it was Padmaavat(early 2018) and the biggest Indian movie of that time and still the highest grossing movie in Indian market: Baahubali: The Conclusion(2017).

But Marvel's Avengers Endgame is completely different in tone and expectations when it arrived: It had massive expectations to reach, massive plots to hide, massive stars' fans to satisfy. In a way, it is the biggest multi starrer in terms of having super stars like Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, leading others.

When it did come out, it wowed everyone, not just the fans of Marvel or the stars, but even others who might have started to follow MCU from 2018, thanks to the other biggie: Avengers Infinity War.

The experience was perfect: The crowd was able to react in a way that directors want them to: They were pin-drop-silent when the plot was moving with all seriousness. They laughed when the funny scenes seamlessly mingled into the storyline. They screamed when the action started. They whistled when the "Marvel Studios" logo came up. In short, they made it their own movie and started experiencing it much in a much closer and intimate way.

The difference between this and Infinity War is this: There was higher emotional connection with the characters now. The plot was perfectly set to show off the dynamics of the characters not just in the present but in the time travel as well. By the time the intermission break came in, everyone were holding to their seats and discussing the plot and many of them avoided going out.

I particularly loved Tony having the chat with his father as well as how Steve Rogers lived his life to the fullest by finally having the date with Peggy in the past, and also the brilliant emotional moment
between Thor and his mother, how she listens to him patiently, and asks him to eat
salads so he could slim down! There were so many moments to list out here.

Of course when they did find out that there were no mid-credit scenes or post-credit scenes, they were disappointed, but still waited till the end, till the red "Marvel Studios" logo and "Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures" came up on the screen! This is what it meant to them: Experience the full movie, including the small details!

Such interest was second to none in all my movie experience. The only instance when the crowd was so excited and interested in watching a movie in theater was for the Indian biggies like: "Baahubali: The conclusion" and "2point0".

Now the debate has started about if it will break Avatar's USD2.7 Billion record or not. But as far as I am concerned, it doesnt matter as it has won the hearts of millions of people!

With love.. Anil

A mountain of expectations gone awry..

We have expectations, however small they may be.
We have dreams, however crazy they may be.
We also have a sense of purpose, however inconsequential it may be.
Well, this is not a poem.
But what we are seemingly losing is an ability to judge ourselves which is right and which is wrong.
Just because some popular personality says something, we
For the past several months, there have been so many events that changed the way we look at the world. The world is no longer something that could be saved by a super-hero like leader. The world is also no longer an entity which takes criticism in a positive way.

Coming to the current scenario in India, there came a big split between the centre and the state.
When Modi and Naidu broke up, it was a big news. But more importantly the media ought to point out the reason why it went that way instead of just making noise.
They ought to make sense when they say "TDP dumps BJP". It is nothing more than half baked news.

There is a long history to the decision taken by the TDP to break its ties with BJP and it is not about blackmailing. Many media channels have even went to the extent to say that due to some of personal demands of Naidu not being met by Modi, Naidu broke off their partnership.

In all this political games, it is the people who were compromised. It is the people who suffered the most. And it is the people who have seen their mountains of expectations go down like a crashing meteorite.

That, is the biggest harm that any leader/s could pose to any society.

The only advice to the media and the political class now is simple. In fact very simple: Dont create unreal expectations and try to fool the people when you know it could not be fulfilled.
The result will be faced by the BJP and to a certain extent even TDP for continuing for so long with the central government despite knowing very well that the promises will not be kept in a straightforward way.



With love.. Anil