Effective Creative Visualization

The hardest part about doing a thing,getting a thing,or becoming some “thing” – whether it is something that we need or something we desire (want) is belief.

For instance,we may need to get a new job because we need to make more money,or we may desire a new job because there are things about our current position we don’t like.Maybe we consider it boring and want something more challenging,more stimulating.

Of all the “New Age” techniques for manifesting our goals (making them “real”),creative visualization is perhaps the best known,unfortunately,it is perhaps also the most misunderstood.

Misunderstanding the how and why visualization works often results in failure.It is easy to become disillusioned about the power of visualization when no matter how often or hard we concentrate on visualizing,the outcome we desire just doesn’t happen.

Many Americans first became aware of “visualization” as a technique when the Russians used the technique as central to training Olympic athletes,with great success.Since then,the idea of visualization as a tool to enable us to live a better life has become practically a mainstream assumption within American culture.

Visualize what we need(or want) and it will come.
And then it doesn't ! And all too often,rather than educate ourselves as to why it may not be working,we just give up and settle living lives in which we do not manifest our greatest potential(s).


Till this very day,most of the best athletes employ creative visualization as a central part of their training program.For those of us who like numbers,early Russian studies indicated that those who spent 25% of their time engaging in physical training and 75% of their time mentally training had more success than those who spent 100% of their time physically training ! In our everyday world,what that would look like to someone who wanted to improve their ability to,say,run a mile more quickly?With physical training of one hour a day 4 days a week would they have more success if they spent one of those hours visualizing running their mile more quickly?

However,it is important to note that the Russians had their athletes engage in a very disciplined program.The Russian criteria for this “mental rehearsal” included:

• Very detailed visualizations
• Visualization exercise(s) performed frequently and consistently

This means that while “daydreaming” may certainly be somewhat helpful when it comes to manifesting a goal or desire,following a consistent schedule and setting aside regularly scheduled times to practice creative visualization will most usually provide better result in most cases.

Creative visualization must be detailed

A common complaint of people wishing to employ creative visualization is that they can’t “see” or create a clear enough picture.They close their eyes and maybe all they see are colors,or even just a “blank screen.”They are having trouble visualizing.This is where detail comes into play.So far we’ve been concentrating on visualizing (“seeing”) as it relates to improving athletic performance;however, creative visualization is just as powerful technique for achieving any goal or desire.

For example,you have decided to pursue finding another job. You've set a scheduled time to visualize, say,right before getting out of bed in the morning and right before going to sleep at night(both great times to visualize).You close your eyes and start thinking that you want to get a picture of your new job and get nothing !The more you strain to “see”,the blanker your mental screen gets.Now is a great time to remember that you have five senses,not just one !!

If you can’t see your new job,can you hear it? Imagine a conversation you may have with a colleague or superior.A very detailed conversation where you are expressing yourself to others with extreme confidence and competence.Your listener,in turn,responds as you would wish them to in the most optimal circumstances you can imagine.

Can you smell your new job?Perhaps your desk is near the coffee maker.Now the conversation you have imagined has smell attached to it.Can you touch your new job?Maybe you can feel yourself standing by your desk with a cup of coffee in your hand having that successful conversation with your colleagues.

Now that you can hear and touch your visualization,you try to imagine you can see yourself at your new job,but darn,all you can see is the color red.Ask yourself,what is red about my new job?And you realize that it is the tie or sweater a colleague you are speaking with is wearing.Before you know it you can see, hear,and touch your new job exactly as you desire it to be !

Creative visualization must be practiced consistently

Remember that creative visualization is often referred to as a “mental rehearsal”.Those in theater, actors,directors,and technical staff have an intimate understanding of the importance of rehearsing  and they rehearse often.They don't leave rehearsing to chance,there is a formal schedule put into place.  At first rehearsals are scheduled quite frequently.In these first rehearsals performances are usually pretty choppy.People forget their lines,actors have not completely embraced their characters,props are missing,etc,but with frequent rehearsal,performances begin to improve.Eventually,this scheduled, consistent and frequent rehearsal results in performances where the actors forget that they are on stage and become the play.This is an excellent example of the power of creative visualization when it is performed in a scheduled, consistent, and frequent manner.

The role of belief in creative visualization

“To be it, you must believe it.” This statement is true on many levels.

First,psychologists report the power of something they term “self fulfilling prophecy.”The basic premise is that whatever one believes about themselves or their circumstances,whether positive or negative  have a powerful impact on their behavior,thereby quite often causing this belief to become true.

For example,if a student believes they will flunk a test,it is likely that their study habits will be negatively impacted,reducing the amount of material they remember.In addition,the thought that they will flunk the test causes them to become anxious and this high level of anxiety negatively impacts their brain function.And the result?At the very least,if that student does not perform to their true potential on the test,it is quite possible that the student will actually flunk their test.

The theory of self fulfilling prophecies makes a lot of sense when you consider the strong relationship between an individual’s level of self confidence and the beliefs they have about themselves.If a person has no confidence in their ability to pass a test,it follows that they have no faith that engaging in behaviors that support passing the test will be effective.For example,they may not study as often or as long as they need to,or not take advantage of studying with a study group.

However,visualization techniques can change a negative self fulfilling prophecy into a positive self fulfilling prophecy.For instance,frequently,consistently and in a detailed manner visualizing one’s self actually taking the test successfully is very powerful.For one,the level of self confidence is improved.  Those who feel confident are not focused on perfection,they are focused on realizing their full potential. In this case,it is passing the test,not necessarily getting the highest grade in the glass.

An example of a specific visualization for passing a test is,as one is studying,to visualize placing information into a file folder and placing that file folder in a file drawer.When taking the test and “stumped” for an answer,simply close your eyes,visualize the file drawer,open it,and pull out the folder with the correct answer.This sounds silly,but there is science behind it.This visualization helps to create new neural pathways and,when the visualization is used with you trying to come up with the right answer or information needed to be able to solve a problem,the pathways to that specific information needed are engaged.In other words, a “short cut” to the information needed to pass the test is created in the brain.

The Role of Quantum Physics and Visualization

Perhaps the most powerful of visualization techniques are those of quantum jumping.These techniques involve accessing one’s “twin” or doppelganger selves existing in an alternate universe (reality) who is already “doing the thing or getting the thing” we desire,our visualization practices to manifest it  in our lives.

Quantum physics demonstrate properties of matter (which are actually waves) to include the fact that the universe splits into alternate realities whenever one or more outcome is possible.For instance,this means if there is a you who believes they will have difficulty passing tests or getting the job they want,there is another you who takes tests successfully and snags positions they find meaningful, fulfilling, and lucrative.

source : http://www.quantumjumping.com by Burt Goldman

With love and passion,
Amreish Siman

Managing Criticism

How does it feel when someone blames you?Usually,when someone blames you, you feel heavy, hurt or you become unhappy.You get hurt because you resist the blame.Outside you may not resist,but inside when you resist it hurts you.When someone blames you,you usually blame them back or put up a resistance inside yourself. 
A blame takes away some negative karma from you.If you understand this and don’t put up a resistance and feel happy about it, then your karma goes away.Outside you may resist, but inside if you don’t resist, and feel happy,“Oh, good, somebody is there to blame me and take some negative karma,”you will feel immediately lighter.The way to deal with blame is through patience and faith.Faith that truth will always triumph and things will get better. 

Whatever work you do,there will be someone to find fault.Keep working without losing your enthusiasm and spirit.A wise man by his very nature will keep doing good work.His attitude does not depend on someone’s praise or blame.To uplift your spirit and save your mind from blaming, you need to judge your company.Your company can pull you up or down. The company that drags you towards doubt, blame, complaints, anger, and desires is bad company. The company that pulls you up towards joy,enthusiasm,service,love,trust and is good.An ignorant person says, “Don’t blame me because it hurts me.” An enlightened one says “Don’t blame me because it might hurt you.” This is a beautiful point.Someone warns you not to blame them because it will hurt them and they will do something harmful to you out of revenge.On the other hand, an enlightened one asks not to blame because of compassion.Demand and blame destroy relationships.So,you should know how to praise others and uplift a situation instead of blaming or finding fault. Uplifting the other should be your commitment.Then you are the right person for anybody. Everybody will love you when you don’t hurt them intentionally. 
    You are not here to blame or criticise.Criticism can come from two kinds of people.When they are narrow-minded, then they criticize out of their ignorance or they really want to bring something good in you.If their criticism is coming from a space of improving you,thank them for their compassion.You can improve since their criticism makes you realise your mistake. If it is coming from a space of putting you down, be compassionate and just laugh at them. In either case, you do not have to worry about criticism. 

The great Indian Saint Kabir Das(right) has said that keep someone who criticises you close by, that will keep your house, your mind clean,without the need of soap and water. If everybody around keeps praising you, they may not show you your shortcomings. The people who criticize are authentic since they are pouring out their heart. You need to be able to give and take constructive criticism. An educated person will neither shy away from criticism nor will he shun the critique. The measure of your maturity depends on how you handle criticism. Ability to take criticism is a measure of one’s inner strength. 


source : The Art of Living by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

With love and passion,
Amreish Siman

Mindspark : Nanban

Nanban(2012)

Director : Shankar

Screenplay : Shankar,Madhavan Karky

Story : Rajkumar Hirani,Abhijat Joshi,Vidhu Vinod Chopra

Music : Harris Jayaraj

Cast : Vijay,Jiiva,Srikanth,Sathyaraj,Satyhan,Ileana,S.J Suryah

Language : Tamil

Distributor : Gemini Film Circuits

Running time : 188 minutes

Rating : PG-13

 '3 Idiots' is a masterpiece by all means and i’m proud of the fact that the film remains the highest grossing film in all of India to date and not some mindless rubbish masala.The biggest stars of that film is its story and screenplay,which should be the case with any movie being made out there,if you ask me.Rajkumar Hirani,with all goodwill and inspired talent that he possess, has managed to create an interesting and entertaining screenplay which can be readily adapted into any language anywhere in the world but being the box-office phenomenon and epitome of filmmaking excellence ‘3 Idiots’ was and still is,most filmmakers would shy away from the idea of remaking it in their respective native setting,fearing whether their take would match up to the original but one man instead rose up to the challenge and lapped it up like the pro he is...Shankar!!!!!!!!!!!

              It puzzled me at first of why a hugely successful director like him who NEVER made a film where he didn’t have full creative control over the screenplay would want to direct a remake,that too with a frame-by-frame approach?Come on people,its always been other directors imitating and emulating Shankar,not vice-versa,and most fail as that man has developed for himself a practically inimitable style of filmmaking.So why the paradigm shift with Nanban?The answers came bombarding my mind like rays from a plasma gun hitting a granite plate.That man felt very very close to the film,from my POV,it appealed to him personally in a big way,that’s why!!!!!Now  what makes me say this?Consider  these points/trivia :-

1)     1 )  The core theme or message in ‘3 Idiots’ is about pursuing one’s PASSION, make a living and carving a career out of their heart’s desire.Strive for excellence,never settle for less and success will follow suit.Shankar is a famous living example of this adage as each of his films is made with a penchant for excellence(and he never settles for less,if he needs Rs165 crore to make a movie the way its SHOULD ME MADE,then Rs165 crore it is or else forget about it,Mr.Producer !)

2)    2) The setting of the film is at an engineering college(IEC).Shankar himself is an engineering undergraduate with a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering.I strongly believed that he identified very closely  with Madhavan’s character in the original-engineering student with his heart elsewhere,wildlife photography,to be precise.In Shankar’s case,its obviously filmmaking (which also brings another revered filmmaker to mind,also a Mechanical Engineering graduate,also made wildlife photography the passion of his protagonist in his film,its none other than the genius dude Selvaraghavan with his recent masterpiece ‘ Mayakkam Enna’.J)Another one on the “Mech.Eng list’ is Gautam Vasudev Menon,and ehem..there’s also another ‘in the making’..hehe..err..nevermind,we leave that aside now !:p

3)      3) Another core message of the film is OPTIMISM,with Aamir Khan’s Rancho/Phunsukh as the torchbearer of the adage ‘All Is Well’.All of Shankar’s film are highly optimistic,from Gentlemen to Endhiran,never has he made a film without the protagonist’s grand triumph in the finale.And since he also wrote the screenplay of almost all of his films,its clear that it reflects his own values and attitude towards his career and life in general(hence ALL the box-office collections of his movies happens to WELL,very WELL in fact !)

4) 4) Shankar’s films has common thread-an everyman(or a group of everyman,like ‘Boys’ and this),sick of the injustice,incited on a personal level, rising up the challenge to seek justice and then triumphantly revolutionises the society ).Despite the absence of the towering heroism or super-underdog set against a gross malaise or decay of the society,’3 Idiots’ effectively highlights the ill-driven education system in India(also most parts of Asia,especially) which is obsessed with results with its ‘by-the-book’ approach of education,completely ignoring the creative freedom of learning.Also,the film endearingly portrays the dilemma of most Asian societies with their highly-biased perception  on the idea of ‘ideal career or profession’,i call it the EML(Engineering,Medicine&Law) syndrome.For Shankar,the character of Ranchodas Chanchad perfectly fits the bill of his ‘grand protagonist’ ,albeit in a subtle but definitely powerful manner.

                 Having said all that,i must reiterate that whatever i wrote above is my personal perception of why Shankar chose to remake this film especially amongst hundreds of other Hindi blockbusters.Of course,its also obvious why,of all directors,with dudes like M.Raja around,who’s famous for making remakes didn’t take up the challenge even with the awareness that they already have a winning screenplay capable of winning millions of hearts.Why?Its simple.It takes a local giant to remake a fellow giant.What’s fortunate is that on top of the undisputable box-office track record that Shankar holds,he coincidentally happens to be the best man for the job(based on my trivia above!).One of the hallmarks of a great director is his/her critical judgement on casting and despite my initial doubts of Shankar’s choices of actors for ‘Nanban’,i walked out of the cinema with a smile and felt that all the choices he made was fully justified.Vijay actually suited the role perfectly,something which didn’t strike a chord with me the first time i came to know that its him who’s gonna fill Aamir’s Khan’s shoes.All i can i say is that Vijay lived up to his title of ‘Ilaya Thalapathy’,well,its a youth-oriented subject,speaking from a director/producer point of view ,in terms of marketability factor,there can be no wiser choice than to cast the local ‘Godfather Of Youths’(who really looks believably young considering his age) in the hugely positive and impactful main role which he justified the best he could.As for Srikanth,he also kept up,but didn’t quite match up to Madhavan’s take in the original whereas Jiiva fared much better,i would say as well,sometimes even better at times to Sharman Joshi in his role.Satyaraj,being the excellent character actor he is,did a fantastic job as the Tamil Virus.Special praise must go to Satyan as he really gave one of his best performances of his career as Silencer.As for Ileana,she did what she could matching Kareena’s performance expression by expression just like the film itself remade carefully frame by frame.Of course i enjoyed the cameo by S.J Suryah,it was a delight to see him with his over-the-top histrionics on screen again

                As for other aspects,a Shankar’s film is not complete without his trademark lavish song picturizations,which sets him a notch higher than his contemporaries in this department.And for the rest,cinematography,music,art direction and editing is typically what you can expect from a Shankar’s film,rarely disappointing.All in all,all is well...hahaha..to be honest,with all these elements in place,its very hard to go wrong ,and thankfully,it never does.In a nutshell,its definitely a welcoming breeze of fresh air for Tamil filmgoers who haven’t watched ‘3 Idiots’ and a nostalgic trip down memory lane for those who have,only its in their local flavour.Go watch it and get inspired people !

From the heart with love and passion,
Amreish Siman

Swamy Ramalingam(Vallalar) described his journey up antahkarana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antahkarana)  in a thirty-two verse poem which begins by describing the spine as a mountain of light,the mythical mount Meru,abode of Gods,Olympus Of The East.

In the Hall of Solid Gold goes...

What visions I saw.
What wondrous visions !---Oh Mother
What wondrous visions !

Kannihal (stanzas):

1) A mountain of light appeared.
There was a street in it.---Oh Mother
There was a street.

2) I went along that street
and in the middle of it
there was a platform.---Oh Mother
There was a platform.

3) I mounted the platform
There I discovered a hall---Oh Mother
There was a hall.

4) I searched the hall
and found a mansion
rising above it.---Oh Mother
There was a mansion.

5) All of its seven levels
were filled with wonders.
How can I describe it?---Oh Mother
How can I describe it?

6) In one story
there was a glittering pearl-white stone.
It turned into a blue sapphire.---Oh Mother
It turned into a blue sapphire.

7) On another world plane
that blue-black stone
transformed itself into red coral.---Oh Mother
All became fruitful.

8) On another plane
the green emerald
became a red ruby.---Oh Mother
It became a red ruby.

9) After that level
I saw a giant pearl
Become a diamond jewel---Oh Mother
It became the great jewel.

10) In a different plane
I was confronted with
a vast mass of coral
changing into moonstone.---Oh Mother
Changing into moonstone.

11) The next level I speak of
is decorated
with a multifarious array of jewels.
These turned to gold.---Oh Mother
These turned to gold.

12) In another place
All the gems I've spoken of
Became crystal.---Oh Mother
Became crystal.

13) Above the seven levels! 1
There was a pillar
A most agreeable golden pillar.---Oh Mother
A creative golden pillar.

14) The time when I saw
the golden pillar and climbed,
I saw a freshness...;
How can I describe it?---Oh Mother
A freshness...; How can I describe it?

15) While climbing there
I viewed a sort
that can't be spoken of.
Of boundless measure!---Oh Mother
Of boundless measure!

16) There and there...;
were Shaktis
in the thousands and thousands
They were coming!---Oh Mother.
They were coming!

17) I was not deceived
by the delusions that assailed me
But attained a special state of grace.---Oh Mother
I attained the special grace.

18) By the ways of the adept
I climbed that great pillar
And saw its jeweled peak.---Oh Mother
And saw its jeweled peak.

19) Above the jeweled peak
There stood the mountain's summit.
It was then that I saw it.---Oh Mother
It was then that I saw it.

20) Above the mountain&'s peak
In 1008 carat gold
Was the temple!---Oh Mother
Was the temple.

21) I saw the temple,
and there was its towering gate.
Without hesitating, I went inside.---Oh Mother
Without hesitating, I went inside.

22) Inside the towering gate
were Shaktis and Shaktas
in the tens of thousands, many tens of thousands.---Oh Mother
Tens of thousands, many tens of thousands.

23) There they were colored...;
colored white and colored red
of the colors five they were.---Oh Mother
of the colors five.

24) There they all asked
"Who is this here?";
I went beyond.---Oh Mother
I went beyond.

25) Having gone beyond
I came to the sacred doorway.
Where there were five Shaktis.---Oh Mother
Where there were five Shaktis.

26) These other Shaktis stood
to show the path above.
I reached the jeweled doorway.---Oh Mother
I reached the jeweled doorway.

27) Contemplating in that doorway,
there was a woman and a man...;
Two of them were there.---Oh Mother
There were two of them.

28) I drew near that holy entrance
and there they revealed...?
I looked out with love.---Oh Mother
I looked out with love.

29) The Mother of Bliss
was at Heaven's Gate!
My Mother!---Oh Mother
My Mother!

30) I looked upon her,
received her grace,
and dined on nectar.---Oh Mother
I dined on nectar.

31) With her support and grace,
I saw the sanctum
of the Dancing King!---Oh Mother
I saw the sanctum!

32) I entered the sanctum
and attained all that can be attained!
Only God knows!---Oh Mother
Only God knows!

source : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Swami-Ramalingam-the-Vallalar/133695419990049

With love and passion,
Amreish Siman

What is Karma?

How to understand what is karma all about ?The information below enlightens us of what,why and how karma works in a simple but easily understandable way.





Meaning :-

Karma literally means "deed" or "act" and more broadly means the universal principle of cause and effect, action and reaction which governs all life. Karma is a natural law of the mind, just as gravity is a law of matter.



Explanation : -
Karma is not fate, for man acts with free will, creating his own destiny. The Vedas tell us, if we sow goodness, we will reap goodness; if we sow evil, we will reap evil. Karma refers to the totality of our actions and their concomitant reactions in this and previous lives, all of which determines our future. It is the interplay between our experience and how we respond to it that makes karma devastating or helpfully invigorating. The conquest of karma lies in intelligent action and dispassionate reaction. Not all karmas rebound immediately. Some accumulate and return unexpectedly in this or other births. The several kinds of karma are: personal, family, community, national, global and universal. Ancient rishis perceived personal karma's three-fold edict. The first is sanchita, the sum total of past karmas yet to be resolved. The second is prarabdha, that portion ofsanchita to be experienced in this life. Kriyamana, the third type, is karma we are currently creating. The Vedas propound, "Here they say that a person consists of desires. And as is his desire, so is his will. As is his will, so is his deed. Whatever deed he does, that he will reap."

Question : Is There Good Karma and Bad Karma?

Answer : -

In the highest sense, there is no good or bad karma. All experience offers opportunities for spiritual growth. Selfless acts yield positive, uplifting conditions. Selfish acts yield conditions of negativity and confusion.
Karma itself is neither good nor bad but a neutral principle that governs energy and motion of thought, word and deed. All experience helps us grow. Good, loving actions bring to us lovingness through others. Mean, selfish acts bring back to us pain and suffering. Kindness produces sweet fruits, called punya. Unkindness yields spoiled fruits, called papa. As we mature, life after life, we go through much pain and joy. Actions that are in tune with dharma help us along the path, while adharmic actions impede our progress. The divine law is: whatever karma we are experiencing in our life is just what we need at the moment, and nothing can happen but that we have the strength to meet it. Even harsh karma, when faced in wisdom, can be the greatest catalyst for spiritual unfoldment. Performing daily sadhana, keeping good company, pilgrimaging to holy places, seeing to others' needs; these evoke the higher energies, direct the mind to useful thoughts and avoid the creation of troublesome new karmas. The Vedas explain, "According as one acts, so does he become. One becomes virtuous by virtuous action, bad by bad by bad actions.

source : artha dharma concept builders

With love and regards,
Amreish Siman

Review : Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

Film : Rise of The Planet Of The Apes (2011)
Director : Rupert Wyatt
Writers : Pierre Boulle,Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver
Cast : James Franco,Freida Pinto,John Lithgow,Tom Felton,Brian Cox and Andy Serkis
Language : English
Running time : 105 mins
Rating : PG 13
Distributor : 20th Century Fox

Films which revolve around human evolution have always intrigued me since the days i've started watching movies.One of the earliest films i remember watching as a kid(circa late 1980's) which touched on the subject of intellectual development was well,the original Planet Of The Apes(1968) starring Charlton Heston.Something in that film sent the jitters down my spine,i remember actually believing that our planet was actually colonized by those apes in the film !Yes,silly ol' me bought that but when i contemplate now on what exactly led me to believe it(well,i watched Predator as well around the same time but i still went wandering into forests WITHOUT worrying about some ugly mother****er from space jumping on back from an oil-palm tree! ),i realized it was the sheer idea that our existence and position as the reigning inhabitants of Earth is indeed vulnerable and easily overruled by an emergence and uprise of a superior species of beings.Most people tend to overlook this scary scenario,blinded by a believe that their status as the 'most intellectually advanced species' grants them unrivalled invincibility.Nature,on the other hand never fails to prove them wrong.

This is one of those thought-provoking films which explores the 'mostly ignored' scenario brilliantly.Despite the title,which suggests it to be a prequel of the Planet Of The Apes franchise or the rather flaky remake by Tim Burton,it is neither.Instead this is a stand-alone film in its own right.Smartly written and deftly directed by a new director,Rupert Wyatt( pic below),the film starts off with an ambitious scientist,played by Franco who's on the verge of producing a powerful new drug which could be one of the greatest medical discoveries of mankind(as it is with all other discoveries made in Hollywood big-budget sci-fi extravaganzas),this time the cure for Alzheimer's disease.What exactly the drug does is that it helps create new neurotic nerves in the damaged brain,hence rejuvenating the entire memory system,in other words,it sorts of makes an intellectually-challenged person become more intelligent by boostin' up their brain.And like every other drug,we have to test it first on animals before we can test it on humans and what other animal on Earth is our closest cousin both in physical resemblance and mental capacity than a chimpanzee?Enter Caesar,the 'chosen' ape who got the honor of being the test subject.What happens after that is of the course the unexpected !What is a movie without its conflicts right?And the film does present its conflicts really well which i suggest is best left for you to discover at the cinemas.

Besides the fine direction and screenplay,the other high points of this film is the CGI by Weta Works(LOTR,King Kong) which i must say is one of the best 'mass motion capture' effects work ever done in a feature film.Since Gollum,Caesar(also played by Andy Serkis) goes down in film history as the most emotional and expressionistic CGI character ever created.( Arnie and Seagal have lots to learn from them :p).For a US$93 million film,the quality is admirable although its quite apparent how and where the filmakers saved the budget from bloating,they did it by hiring a medium salaried cast and doing away with minimal but cleverly done production design.Special mention goes to the seasoned thespian John Lithgow who delivers a heart-wrenching but brief performance as Franco's father who is suffering from a brain degeneration disease,even after a long absence from the big screen,the man still remains a scene-stealer.Nothing much can be expected from the rest of the cast as Franco and Pinto does a pretty average job although it was nice to see Harry Potter alumni Tom Felton all grown up and nasty,the guy looks like he's on his way to a great future playing cold-blooded villains wearing that evil sneer he displays brilliantly here.What makes the entire experience more compelling is the eclectic score by Patrick Doyle which breaths life into each scene automatically elevating the film from being a mere ape-on-a-vendetta fare to a truly effective film experience.

Coming back to the frightening theory of 'what if an ape gets smart and start busting your ass?',much is to be learned from this film,the loudest message being 'don't play God'.Everything in this world exists for a reason.We humans are created as the dominant species on Earth for a good reason and apes and other animals and beings are created the way they are for a good reason as well.For no reason should we ever attempt to foil the perfect equilibrium that is sustaining the entire system of being.Any form of imbalance applied to the exacting system will always produce destructive results of catasthropic proportions as clearly
depicted in this film.Another significant lesson to be learned here is the sheer power of evolution.(spoiler alert!)Brain-enhancing drugs alone was not responsible for the human-like cognitive thinking and learning abilities which Caesar possessed leading him to stage the greatest revolution of apes against humans,environmental conditioning plays a crucial part as well.Raised by humans in a human home and treated almost like a fellow human,he grew up believing that he's not much different from us,eating the same food,vulnerable to emotions except that he walks with ALL his limbs,has more hair and can't speak the
human language(except the epic word No!).This also means he naturally has the yearning for the ultimate element every human aspires for which is freedom hence the paradigm shift of his attitude as circumstances around him begins to change.

What i've concluded from this film(and others dealing with the same subject) is that the existing current hierarchy of all Earth beings is best left the way it is.We humans have earned our positions as the superior species on Earth by working our way up in the ladder of evolution and instead of messing around playing God in the name of science,we should seek inspiration from finer elements of nature which are just there in abundance waiting to be discovered and utilized for the betterment of mankind.
Go subtle,go deep and unleash the giant inside.Stop 'monkeying' around and go watch this film to un-monkey yourselves ! :-)

Review by
Amreish Siman

Review : Source Code

Film : Source Code (2011)
Director : Duncan Jones
Writer : Ben Ripley
Distributor :
Cast : Jake Gyllenhaal,Michelle Monaghan,Vera Farmiga,Jeffrey Wright and Russell Peters
Language : English
Running time : 93 minutes
Rating : PG-13

Sci-fi fantasy,my cuppa tea.Now what do we have here?Thoughts were running in my mind the first time i'm aware of this film.Minority Report counter report?The Matrix revisited?Or Inception extracted?The answer,a bit of all of that here and there plus a sweet homage to one of my favourite TV series from the late 80's and early 90's,Quantum Leap all cleverly cooked up to serve a refreshing new dish.One thing i absolutely love about sci-fi films is that they open us up to whole new realms of life.They present us awe-inspiring dimensions of either parallel worlds almost similar to ours or radically different ones usually populated with beings with either far superior intelligence or bone-chilling savageness.The world of sci-fi blossoms at an exponential rate,which is the primary nature of our universe,the macrocosmos and the individual human mind,the microcosmos.For all we know,science fiction may not be fiction at all,in fact i believe it is the gateway to the deepest secrets of the universe's clockwork.Lately,scientists around the world have been giving greater attention to metaphysical science and spirituality and the trend spills onto motion pictures of late as well,the notable ones being Inception and The Adjustment Bureau.This films comfortably slips into the special category as well.

Director Duncan Jones(son of David Bowie),relatively a new face,best known for directing the 2009 British film,Moon,an admirable independent effort heavily inspired by 2001:A Space Odyssey(1968) has successfully strecthed his wings here as this film marks his debut into studio financed Hollywood mainstream fares.The ambiguos plot centres on a revolutionary military backed experimental mind science programme where the scientists have discovered that the human brain retains the last eight minutes of memory after the brain's owner is pronounced medically dead.The 'pilot' candidate for the programme happens to be a helicopter pilot Lt Colter Stevens(played by Jake Gyllenhaal) who's severely injured in the line of duty and considered dead with only his brain still functioning.He's kept alive in a special oxygen chamber where special pulse sensors are directly wired onto his brain while his severely bomb-mauled body with exposed internal organs are carefully protected by a special shield.Following a deadly terrorist attack on a Chicago-bound train which killed all passengers on board,the military decided to test the programme's efficiency by identifying the memory clockwork,synapse as its referred to in the clinical jargon( refer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synapse) amongst the dead which matches the closest with Stevens and found the individual,Sean.Stevens initially doesn't know anything about this because he's completely unaware that he's actually dead and he's in the perception that's he still stuck in the warzone in Afghanistan,stuck in his helicopter's cockpit which was his own last eight minutes of memory.Eventually he learns of the actual situation and the mission which he's assigned to,which is to wire into Sean's last eight and find clues which leads to the bomber.

The film wastes no time getting into the point,no lengthy plot establishment is found here.Our hero is thrown into the thick of the action without even being briefed of his mission and unravels while he's at it which effectively conveyed the urgency of the situation,which is to locate the whereabouts of the highly lethal terrorist before he unleashes his magnum opus,which was to blow the entire city of Chicago.The best thing about the film is our hero here is as clueless as us,the audience and we're automatically sucked into the flow of the story virtually following him and naturally emphatizing with him along the way,a feat successfully achieved by the makers.Another notable thing about the film is its the sense of futility of issues in the past conveyed here through the plot setting,which is NOT a fiasco of time-travelling from the future to alter the past and save the ill-fated present but rather an attempt of salvaging what is possible from the definite past via ground-breaking present-time medical science to protect the future from greater calamity,meaning the past has happened and cannot be changed,all we can do is to learn what we can,identify the mistakes and amend the present to pave way for better future.Kudos to ben Ripley,the writer who brillaintly wrapped up this great and timeless truth in an exciting sci-fi package.Besides the science and philosophy,the film also manages to capture the complexity of human emotions of love,compassion depicted in the way Stevens inability to accept that the beautiful woman who happens to be the girlfiend of his 'partner in mind',the guy whose memory he's accessing is already dead and there's actually nothing he can do about it.Besides that,the general paranoia of all Middle-Eastern( with or without the beard) people being terrorists is effectively depicted here,all packaged with a tight screenplay,great score and all-round good acting from the cast except Jeffrey Wright's turn as the scientist-in-charge which was a tad lifeless.Also i felt the film was rather too short,clocking in a hasty 93 mins.

Despite revealing a large part of the plot,there's still plenty of goodies layered in the story which i believe is best left for you to unravel and contemplate on,sorry again for the spoilers,but you may want to( if you haven't) watch films like Groundhog Day(1993) and Run Lola Run(1998),which explores the similar theme of repetitiveness experienced by the protagonists,finding themselves the same situation at the same time and same location over and over again with new discoveries each time as they're 'reincarnated'bringing forth the collective memories together.Now this is veering into the metaphysical and spiritual realms already,touching on the subject of reincarnation and eternity,which i feel is best left for you to decide as per your beliefs.Instead of rounding up as a purely sci-fi film,the film concludes with an open-ending,like i said opening gates for infinite possibilities way beyond the established boundaries of basic science into the realm of parallel universes or alternate realities which simply makes the film stand a notch higher than others of the same genre.I'd say this is so far one the year's best films and ranks as one of my all-time personal favourite.Never to missed!

Rating : A-

Reviewed by
Amreish Siman