Why Madonna Should Retire

Madonna started her career even before I was born. She’s the original slut of pop; call it female empowerment or anything you want but her ever changing persona is always sex. She is the epitome of sex sells, she helps shape music by pushing what is acceptable and all that but that was way long ago! What is she now? An artist who’s singles doesn’t sell anymore, an artist who cannot sing a single line in tune at a live setting and most prominently, she’s a publicity stunt gimmick, in other words, an attention whore. 

I would say that she’s an icon, no doubt about it. She’s huge, everybody in the world knows her, even my late grand mama admitted that amongst all the pop stars, she knows Madonna and Michael Jackson, that’s how famous she is. But like all good things, it must come to an end. I say this because someone needs to say it, “Madonna needs to retire now”. Nobody asked for a lack luster single and certainly not a shade to Lady Gaga who is the new talent.

Madonna might claim that she likes Lady Gaga but in all seriousness, it does not seem like it’s so. She mocked Lady Gaga at her sold out world tour at the same time contradicting herself by saying that she likes Gaga there by leaving a wide gap for 40 plus year old gay men to interpret it is as “sarcasm”, that’s why most older gays hate Lady Gaga so much. Professional writers, critics and other artist alike have been throwing shade towards Madonna since timely memorial, yes she has had a lot of harsh criticisms in her career. But this so called fit between Lady Gaga and Madonna is a thing that the press obviously fuels apart from the fans that spread it like wildfire. So you might ask? Does it benefit both the sluts of pop because it creates a competition thereby prompting fans to buy more singles out of competition or more mentions at the press? Yes but isn’t this tactic way too boring? Lady Gaga is also boring too, she is out of ideas now even though she’s stupendously talented. However, Madonna is way more boring and way out of ideas that her idea fountain is a frickle of dust now and Lady Gaga’s  is still flowing in a stream. 

So this leads me to ask. When your star does not shine anymore is it acceptable to still try to be relevant? Is it high time to note that you’re done when you can’t sing live anymore, not even a single line in tune? Is it female empowerment to cling on to your youth when you have flabs on your arms and have to wear gloves to hide your sagging hands? I believe in the fact the growing old is an opportunity and it should be done gracefully rather than the way Madonna is handling it or rather avoiding it. Is it ok to spur up drama and hate towards young talents just to stay relevant? When your tour does not even involve you dancing but just dry humping the air while your dancers do all the hard work is still innovative? When you‘re just “so out of ideas” why would you still release new materials? 

Madonna needs to retire, we know that and it’s a shame because for a person as famous and as talented as her, she would obviously be smart enough to smell the rotten  but truth is, she chose to ignore it maybe because she wants more money? I don’t think so since she’s loaded. Note Guy Ritchie got a lot of her money after their sad divorce but still almost 3 decades of mega stardom would certainly pay. Here’s the thing, we loved Madonna back in the days but the curtain has already been called, she’s back for an encore and she refuses to leave the stage even after the 2nd curtain call. 

Oculus

I’m not a big fan of horror movies. I used to love them at some point in my life but now that I’m a bit grown up, they all seem jaded. Horror whether it’s in the form of a film, a story or by word of mouth was pretty scary but now, not so much. I remember the first time I saw M Night’s Signs starring the anti-sematic Mel Gibson; it was one heck of a scare movie. I remember not being able to sleep in my room for quite some time even to the point where my mom got really annoyed. The thing that makes a movie like Signs so scary is the fact that the main scare tactic or the “ghost” does not show that much; it’s all in the sounds and the vague imagery however Oculus does not reply on that tactic. Oculus shows the “ghost” full frontal, it’s scary but you’re reminded again and again by your brain that “this is a Hollywood movie” so naturally, it’s not that scary. How can it be scary when you know that all those rotten flesh on the “ghost’s” face are actually made of make up or Computer Generated Imagery? 

Oculus starts off normally, as any other horror movie would, a cliché of revenge and a narrative like someone got killed in the past, it was all a mistake and the outside world did not understand, now someone needs revenge but I gotta give the writers credit on a point that in Oculus, it’s not the “spirit” who wants revenge but the human. Kylie (Karen Gillan) had to witness the sad fate of her parents being possessed by a spirit from an antique mirror thereby killing each other’s also involving her younger brother Alan (Rory Cochrane) who with his father’s guidance shot a bullet through his father’s head. It’s some sort of a suicide since the father clearly pulls the trigger while Alan holds the pistol but none the less got him sentenced and a series of stint at the psych ward. Kylie seems to be the one who’s leading a normal life with a hot boyfriend however it turns out that the siblings promised each other’s that they would take revenge on the antique mirror for tearing up their family. So Kylie sets out on a mission with elaborate camera and Macbook set ups to prove that the mirror “makes you do things” after researching the mirror’s past thereby showing a series of really grotesque photos of “past victims”. There’s even a victim that died in her bath tub due to dehydration! And so the story builds up. On the other hand Alan is already convinced via his stint at the psych ward that all the actions were part of his “hallucinations”. I’m gonna stop narrating the plot here or else it’s gonna be a spoilers article again and I don’t want to get sued by Hollywood.

Even with the clichés and the very predicable plot line, Oculus is directed very beautifully. The writers sure did a lot of re writing particularly in the settings just to make it more relatable. I love the young Kylie, she’s so smart and brave and is the epitome of the brave role model sister I never had (I always wanted a bigger sister when I was young and even went as far as to lie to some school friends that I had a sister who would tell me all about her boyfriend) The movie also feels like it’s sponsored by Apple with the many Macbook product placements and the iPhone used to divide “reality” with the “ghost’s gimmick”. Well, by the second half of the movie, it gets blurred into reality and hallucination so the scene where Kylie takes out her iPhone to distinguish between the two world has Apple product placement written all over it or in other words, the writers re-writing the script to make it more relatable at the same time earning a bit of advert money for the studio. 

I like it when a movie clearly depicts that it’s a corporate product. Hate it when it tries to make it look indie while still being a huge corporate junk. Oculus never shies away from being the corporate product that it is and it’s also pretty entertaining, scary? Not so much but entertaining? Yes. It’s sort of like the Ring 2 which touched my heart (mother’s love) but scarier than it however not to the point of The Conjuring which was pure solid scare all throughout. The ending leaves a wide room for future sequels and I would totally watch Oculus part 2 if that’s ever produced.

Manali Trip

So recently my mom, aunt, cousins and I visited Manali, Himachal Pradesh. It was my first time in Manali and let me tell you, it's BEAUTIFUL! I strongly suggest that you go visit the beautiful place. I've never been a big fan of the snow and on my defense too much cold is never sexy but Manali changed my whole perception about snow covered hills. There is no airport or train station in Manali town so you have to drive or "fly" with a helicopter if you're really loaded. 

We started from Delhi which normally takes around 13 hours however it took us 2 days to reach Manali! It's a funny story actually. We started out from Delhi all equipped for it but stopped way too much for refreshments and all the jazz so we were still driving towards it even at 10 pm, we rented an SUV and the driver was super drowsy trying to keep himself awake while he drove curves uphill which naturally freaked my mom and my aunt out like bat shit crazy, so they decided that the best way to "not die" is to rest at Kullu and start off to Manali the next morning. My cousins Puia, Hlua and I did offer to drive but yes, the two sisters who paid for the trip would not let us so the night was spent in Kullu, a chilly town I must add. 

The thing about Manali is that it's a very small town! Every tourist attraction is not inside the town itself but near and about it. We drove everywhere to do tourist stuff like trying to go to Solang valley twice in 2 days but failed due to heavy rainfall. Science states that snow when mixed with water is very slippery and the SUV did slip offering us a better view of the cliff where we were driving. We actually stayed an extra day just to see Solang Valley and luckily the weather was good that faithful day however it turns out Solang Valley is a proper touristy place with expensive stuff. The famous mall road turns out is actually not a "mall" but a pedestrian only street with shops beside it. They sell all kinds of souvenirs, clothes and the best Chinese food. If you're visiting Manali, you need to check out the restaurant Chopsticks, their price rage is pocket friendly and the ambiance is pure cottage. I like how the locals were super friendly and helpful with directions, they all seemed genuinely nice. It felt like they take pride in helping the tourist which made up about 90% of everyone I saw there. They're all pretty good looking too and like my friend commented, "Paharis (hill people) do it better", sadly I did not get the chance to prove this theory, it was a family trip so it stayed pretty PG. I did take a lot of pride "coming from Delhi". One guy sniffed at me "Kidar se aiga?" (Where are you coming from?) and I sniffed back "Delhi!" then stormed off. It felt great!

We also visited an orphanage run by the Mizoram Church, the lady in charge was Ms. Mawitei, a very elegant and sassy lady I must add. She's not married but decided to give her life to the orphaned while spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm not a religious person but I admire what she's doing, she's in action! She does not posts condescending statuses on Facebook or call any of us "sinful" she just lives it up with her life and to me, that's pretty cool. I've posted some of the photos below:

We had to adjust our luggage in Haryana because "the sisters" said so. 

Waiting for our order at a Dhaba in Haryana. That's my mom at the back with the glasses slaying the pose. The lady in the green sweater is my aunt and on the left are my cousins Zawmi, Puia and Hlua. 

This is what was showing on a TV in Punjab. One of the many stops we made for the sake of "refreshment".

Mom slaying the pose.

The dogs all have really thick fur. Adaptation. More fur = warmer body. Look it up. 

 Work called. Had to answer.

 The fabulous and overtly over priced fur coats.

 Hand made bags

Mom shopping for souvenir

Dinner at Chopsticks, the best Chinese food I had in a long time. I really liked this restaurant, they even had a fireplace!

 The majestic view from an orphanage run by the Mizoram Church.

 This picture is slightly off 'cause I took it from inside the vehicle through a glass window. LOL.

 Mom being really happy at Solang Valley.

Taking "for souvenir"  photo with mom.

On the way to ski at Solang valley.

So there you have it!. Let me know down in the comments where's the most fun vacation you guys had.

Stay positive, be happy. Be the best person that you can be. 

Love, 

Caleb Manoa Ralte

Movie Review : Divergent

I haven't read the book Divergent by Veronica Roth and I certainly haven't watch the trailer as well. I was at the theatre for Oculus, which I enjoyed and reviewed. After being scared to death by Oculus I decided to watch another movie at the next slot and it happned to be Divergent , let me tell you, I was so entertained!

All I could think of when I saw the movie poster was that it’s so much like The Hunger Games, and the studios did not try to hide this as well, there’s gonna be a sequal and believe it or not, it’s already in production! I love Shailene Woodley, she’s pretty talented. Her role in The Descendants was pretty awesome and it’s  refreshing to see her acting skills on this movie. However the very political plot the movie seems to be showing feels blurred with the “Twilight” sort of romance that obviously builds up with another “hot” cast, 4 played by Theo James who also turns out to have a lot of common traits with Trish (Woodley).

Divergent sets in a dystopia world near and around Chicago, the citizens are divided into 5 groups based on their personalities. They can be the smart kind, the self less kind, the brave kind etc. I really don’t remember all of it. When the kids  are  old enough to chose where they belong to, they go thorugh a test that is sort of like an aptitute test to help them decide which personality is their strongest, however, according to the very bitchy role that Kate Winslet plays, it’s their right to chose where they want to belong, nice eh? But the catch is that once chosen, it cannot be changed. The faithful morning arrives for Trish to do her test, surprise surprise, Trish does not have any particular personality that is stronger than the rest so she’s a natural born Divergent, which the authorities are super afraid because they can be anything amogst all the five categories they can chose to be. I see this as a commentary towards modern society where you are foreced to chose an identity from the stereotypes and when you chose not to conform to stereotypical labels people get scared and trust you me, the citizens of the movie are super scared of Divergents.

None the less, Maggie Q gets all worked up when she realize this while giving a test to Trish and eventually Trish decides that she wants to be in the “brave group” a group of crazy folks there to protect the city from the “outside influence” outside an electrical fence surrounding the world that they all live in.  Director Neil Burger nicely directs all the scenes so as to make the best “hollywood” effect to it. Christina (Zoë Kravitz) finds solace in Trish and they all join the brave group trying to fit in. The good thing about this movie is that the narrative is carried on seamlessly with Burger’s flawless directing like the slow motion when Trish jumps off from a roof top into a deep dark abyss noone really knows what’s gonna be underneath. The voice over also helps a lot in giving crash course lessons on what “the fuss is all about”.  However the political commentary that the book clearly tries to make gets blurred a bit with the romance sub plot. Don’t get me wrong, romance is not a bad thing for a movie but the fact that the “grown up” commentary The Hunger Games effectively conveys does not translate on this movie sets me off a little bit. If it’s not for all the very attractive cast, this would not work but it does, all thanks to hormones.  Jai Courtney who for some reason looks like a Macklemore look a like delivers his “so tough” role convincingly, I would hate him but I kind of do not because, yes, you guessed it, hormones.

I like how confident Lions Gate is for this franchise. It’s directed towards teenagers and like all teenager movies, they are always quite good but never pass the point of ‘good for the sake of marketing’. Ellie Golding seems to be the only A grade pop artist to be paid for this movie score as well. Strike to the intellect is clearly not the intention but it works. I would like to get a hold of the book and see if this is an “ignorance is bliss” scenario or just plain it’s “based on the book”. Maybe it’s a lot to wish upon from a movie about identity and fighting scenes but all the acting in it are great, Ashley Judd nailed her role, Woodley clearly does as well, Theo is convincing with his American accent and Ansel Elgort is Caleb, Trish’s brother who’s not given a lot of material to work on but none the less delivers a very solid performance especially the “holy shit” face he makes while crying on top of their  father, Scandal’s Tony Goldwyn . All I could think of was if I was in Trish’s shoe, they would totally push me off a cliff at training because I would NOT survive in a world like that at all. 

Record You Must Check Out : "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit Feat Jess Glynne

If only India has a music scene as vibrant as the UK, it would be dear. That’s a huge thing to wish upon because in a land where Bollywood soundtracks dominate the charts or iTunes sales, people even forget that indie artists have sphere of existence in this world. I came across this song “Rather Be” by an indie band called Clean Bandit, before you judge me, this is not a ‘hipster for the sake of being hipster’ move, they’re actually quite popular and this single even peaked straight to No.1 at The Official Charts UK. 

I like it because the chorus is oh so infectious! Who can ignore those tunes? Jess Glynne's vocals glides on every note like a hot knife through butter. The arrangement is top notch, it stars with a violin intro then moves to pop music gem. By the sound of it, Clean Bandit’s sound is a little bit of old school strings (I heard a violin and a cello harmonizing) and a dash of EDM, just to the perfect amount, no more no less. So, if their music was to be told by the rules of Chemistry, they would be a compound of old and new; the exact right amount rather than a mixture where it’s mixed but borderlines “garage band improvising”. 

My biggest support goes out to the band because a) They make their own music videos and b) They produce their own music (hence indie) two factors that ring to my mind as “authentic” or “original”. Let’s see if future singles deliver or even exceeds “Rather Be” because all I can see are good things for this gem of a band.

Check Out The Video Below: 

Song Of The Day = "R U Crazy" By Conor Maynard

Conor Maynard, yes, you might think that he's a "Timberlake wannabe", he is kind of but at the same time not so. R U Crazy is great for a single off a "dreaded" second album. I mention "dreaded" because Conor Maynard set the bar so high with his first album Contrast. Now everyone's hoping for the 'next A grade pop music'. Co produced by Labrinth it deserves the tag of A grade pop music which Justin Timberlake does not perfect so dearly anymore with his current materials. Here's the tricky part; the bridge at 3:20 minutes sound like something off a Timberlake single then the notoriously catchy chorus kicks in again. The video is crisp and looks expensive too, proving yet again that Conor Maynard's music might be commercial but it's damn perfect! 

Watch the video below.

Special Announcement; "Summer Update" "Free Merchandise" and many more

Summer is here! I'm so excited! Look at all the movies I'm gonna review! I have a lot up my sleeve, lots of reviews, surprises, some of which I can talk about like a chance to win free stuff but some, have to stay as secrets but let me assure you, they're worth the wait. Stay tune and I'll be announcing them as 'Summer Update' go by. You can follow me on twitter @CalebRalte I might follow you back.

Talking about summer; Do you guys like summer wherever you are? Even though I must admit, here in Delhi it feels like torture! If you're from North America or Europe, I bet you love summer and I'm super happy for you while I sit with my steak sweat, it's a metaphor. But of all seriousness, I'm so excited for all the summer blockbusters that are gonna come out, can't wait for Godzilla, the shameless way the trailer is shown makes me caffeine invoked excited. I wanna know, which summer 2014 movie are you most excited about? Leave me a comment.

I just wanna point out that even though summer in Delhi is a mess, I'm lucky enough to live in an air conditioned house, I complain a lot but I never count my blessings until today when I realize I'm super blessed while eating momos in Lajpat Nagar so I wanna tell you this, if you ever feel that life is unfair on you, count your blessings. It helps.  

I hope you guys are having the time of your lives. Be happy for what you have. Yes, life sucks, but it's not that bad.