Twilight Saga

Well,..I was forced into reading the book after one of my colleagues made me watch the first book motion picture.

For those who don't know
Twilight is a best selling series of 4 books by Stephenie Meyers, 2 of which have now been adapted to motion pictures. The third one is releasing soon.
The story is about Isabella Swan(Bella) and Edward Cullen,a vampire who lives with his family(all vampires) just outside of town.
The two fall in love and several complications are provided in the form of Jacob Black and his pack of werewolves.

When I started reading the book, I had already watched the first two episodes. So it was like getting a more detailed account of things. I must say the film has stayed true to the book in most cases. But some important details are missing, like Jasper's power of manipulating emotions are given only a fleeting reference in the second movie,the stories of the individuals of the Cullen family. The transformation of Jacob to a werewolf and the time Bella spends with the pack is completely skipped. Kristen Stewart is passable as Bella. The shortcomings in her acting overshadowed by the character. but Robert Pattinson as Edward needs to understand that even vampires can't seem so dead.
Coming to the books. The first two suffer from a slow pace. The first is just an introduction to the characters. But the second one is a painful experience. There are paragraphs devoted to Bella's suffering,which become monotonous as the book progresses. Going by the second book,I had decided not to read the last two books, but was pleasantly surprised. The last two books are amazing.The action sequences are too good. The fourth book is a faster read because of a part being narrated from the point of view of Jacob Black. Also, the mushy romance is shelved in favor of action. Among the characters Jacob Black seems to be the most well developed, striking a balance between romance and action.The lead characters seem very one dimensional to me.

I won't say more. Watch the movies. If you like them, read the books.

Harry Potter

Well, I feel Rowling has done really well with this book. After reading this, it feels like the last 2 were written only so as to build a platform for this one. Once one reads the last in this series, one realizes how much trouble she took to plan the entire story, because it is either that or she made it up as she wrote, which seems highly unlikely. Each and every character has a purpose, a significant role in themselves. Some people don't like this book, though I don't understand why. People are of the opinion that too much killing, so much so that it stops seeming tragic. Well in a war deaths are not unlikely. The tragedy is in the fact that so many people are dying making it seem almost mundane. It would be stupid to expect only the bad guys dying.
The most refreshing part of this book is that Harry makes his own decisions and uses his own head for a change. Luck plays a smaller part than in the other books. This is for hardcore Potter fans who really want to see some action instead of chance happenings in Potters favor, The detail of the planning done by both sides, and the ultimate confrontation between the Dark Lord and Harry are amazing.
The disappointment in the book is the last chapter, which though written with a purpose to give the note of finality, just acts as a dampener on the events prior to it. Ignore it and it won't do much harm. But read it anyway.

And then there is the movie of the fifth book. Although it lives up to the book in most aspects( ignoring the editing given that it is a huge book), the last part is not fun, the duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort is not half as spectacular as one expects. Other than that, the duels between Death Eaters and Aurors are awesome and not to be missed.

Die Hard, Read harder

Am getting bored sitting at home. My friends never seem to organize themselves. 4 years of engineering and our group of 6 has not gone for one single movie together. dhikkar hai !!
So my friend Ranade and I decide to go for Die Hard 4.0, which has just hit the theatres. What an awesome movie. Poora paisa vasool. The action sequences are amazing. As are the special effects. And Bruce Willis rocks and does the 'cop who is caught in the wrong place at the wrong time' routine perfectly. The one liners are to die for. The villain is far more high tech this time, it's all about computer hackers, explaining the '4.0' in the title. To top off the superior movie, the theater was awesome too. Starcity has improved its seating, and overhauled it's entire wall paneling for better sound absorbers. Also has a sofa section in case you want to take the special someone.
The downside is they charge double on the popcorn. 30 frigging bucks !!! Didn't eat during the movie.
Other than that have been reading books. No no, not those self help books, or those spiritual philosophical books. Just the plain old fiction thriller, by Lee Child, called Persuador, in which the bad guy ends up dying..slowly...painfully...well, it's a real nice read. So much so, that i got another one by the same author, called Killing Floor, and the protagonist is the same as the first one.