I first saw this movie some 4 years back, just saw it again today. I have seen it probably around 20 – 25 times now. One of the best SPY movies ever. You can't get more authentic than this I suppose. Robert Redford and Brad Pitt, both of them have given excellent performances. The screenplay is flawless; there is no lag in any part. The director brilliantly maintains the tension and pace throughout the movie. Cinematography is really good with the story essaying from Vietnam, USA, Beirut, Germany to china. Apart from the strong storyline and screenplay the other thing that stood out was the background score that is haunting at times and pure adrenaline rush when the story moves at break neck pace. A must watch for all fans of espionage and spy genre.
Cheers
Pradeep
This was my last email at my previous job that I always wanted to send but only did it when I finally left the company. I'm happy that at least I passed on my views to the Boss man before leaving. I've added some explanations below in brackets, which were not part of the original mail.
I hope you and your family are well. Firstly I apologize for the long email.
After 3 years and 7 months, today is my last day at [company]. As I’m sending my farewell mails to all, the one person I always wanted to have a chat with or convey my opinions [positive and negative] about this company is none other than the CEO.
This is not a complaint mail, this is more of a Thank you mail and I have just expressed a few of my observations and concerns which I feel I owe this company which was a great place to work.
I joined [company] way back in Jan 2006 with the Picture Research department; I had to shift from my hometown Chennai. I moved only because of the love for Picture Research and it’s close to 4 years now, I stayed back even after the team was shut down a year ago. I stayed with [company] only because I could manage to be myself and put in my best efforts without compromising on my honesty even though there were many changes during the past years, which were not morally or ethically right. These are just my opinion and there have been a lot of things happening of late in this company, which concurs with my opinion.
The first day at [company] I saw a Caucasian male sitting in one corner and working, later to my total surprise I found out that it was you, the CEO of the company. That said a lot about the company, about the ethics and values of what actually matters.[Open office plan instead of having seperate rooms for senior management]
I used to brag to all my friends that I work in a company were I don’t have to care about the usual politics, bureaucracy and unhealthy competition, which unfortunately are the norm in majority of Indian companies. I know that these things are common to business around the world but it’s a lot more in my country.
[It might sound as if I’m bootlicking the CEO, but in fact its just genuine respect for a humble person]
I saw that all [company] employees put in their best efforts not thinking about time or personal choices when it came to getting the job done. I have seen people sitting for 15 to 20 hours just to finish work and nobody forced them to sit. I too have worked for long hours at certain occasions without expecting anything back just to get the light boxes to our clients. All this was done voluntarily because we used to love our jobs. [Company] was such a great place to work and all the credit goes to having a system were employees don’t have to worry about their salary scales or working hours etc ... basically the company took good care of the people and all gave their 100% to the work they did. I believe this was the secret of the phenomenal success of [Company] which grew stronger and stronger during the initial years.
I come from a different background and this is my first corporate job, I was with the Indian film industry working as a sound engineer. I never saw myself going to an MNC and work like all my friends did, but Picture Research changed all that and I had the best time ever during my first year at [Company].
Unfortunately a lot of changes happened due to a new CEO, of course I can understand that any company has to change or have new systems to grow. But most of the changes brought in by the new person were very short term which looked like it was being done just to please his bosses and not for the betterment of the company and its employees. Of course you would have received a lot of complaint mails on this by now and I always knew that any complaints sent would have been anticipated and covered for. That’s the reason that I never sent a mail on this even though there were quiet a few of us who were really unhappy with the total work culture of [Company] changing for the worse. The policies brought in were favoring the elite and not the actual employees who gave their best day in and day out.
I can give just one example, which might make sense; there were quite a lot of departments who were doing night shifts, which earned them a shift allowance. There is only one department [CS], which actually does the graveyard shift now, but the allowance given to this department stays the equal to other departments who just do an early shift. What is the use or perk of working in a rotating shift every month when there’s no difference for your efforts. Will an employee give his best in these conditions or does one think that the company doesn’t care about us so we don’t have to care about it. This was not the case when I joined the company that’s the reason at least now I had to let out my frustrations and disappointments. Of course as CEO you have other pressing issues than to check on these, but if the management is ruining the basic framework of any company then whatever ideas or visions the company has may not be achieved with an unhappy work force.
[Company] is still one of the best company’s in ………Park but it was way better than what it is now and I’m happy that I had been there to revel in that work culture. Of course the self centered CEO is no longer there but some of the people who used to enforce his line of thought are still here and hopefully they come to realize what is actually good for the company and its employees and not for a few at the top.
I can only talk about my experiences and observations so I have to say a few things about the Picture Research department. The PR team was so successful that we managed to do 100% PR from India; all credit goes to all the picture researchers and the managers ……., …… & ….. and ……. [3 UK managers and 1 India manager] When the PR team was shut down a lot of things didn’t make sense and a couple of us had quite a lot of questions. Nobody asked any questions except one or two because we all knew that the decision was already made and nothing would have changed it. I somehow saw this coming much earlier due to specific reasons.
The things that didn’t make sense to me:
I always wondered that we send all these light boxes day in and day out, how much do we actually contribute towards sales. This was my thought in the first couple of months [in 2006] after I started with the team and I did put this question to …….[manager]. Back then there was no study or there was no system to actually monitor and we were told that it was pretty difficult or nearly impossible to track the actual sales done from the light boxes we send.
The PR team was a creative lot and all of us were happy with what we did and we always gave our 100%, nobody can ever challenge our quality. Unfortunately as we were a good unit and stuck together we were not in the good books of the now Ex CEO. We all stood by our manager who had his differences with a lot of issues and as Team Leads we also conveyed our concerns. We were considered as a rowdy lot who never falls in line.
The truth is that [Company] was one company and everybody [Both India and UK office] worked together to give the best possible service to our clients. It changed to - UK being a client, which means that there is no common goal. India office only tries to please the UK bosses and that was the saddest part, which resulted in people not working together but working against each other. In my opinion this work culture is a wrong one and it will only harm the company in the long run. [Company] will only be successful if it remains as one company and not as different units, this is my humble opinion.
A Berlin Wall was erected between the UK and Indian employees. Once, there was total cooperation and it declined to zero communication. This was done to achieve total control of the company by the new CEO; most of the teams had to fall in line except Picture Research as our work was totally different were we had to work together. Both the managers, [uk] and [India] were always there for our concerns and needs. Unfortunately this didn’t go well with the Indian Management, so we were considered as a bad team. The team was caught between a power struggle between the UK management and the CEO but we remained neutral.
The thing that really surprised me was when a team, which provides free service, was given 7 new team members. Did we have some great plans for PR or what was the real motive behind this?
When the team was shut down we were told that there was a study done regarding the actual sales done by PR on how much the clients actually use PR to buy images. I honestly could not believe that suddenly there was a foolproof system to track sales. So if a study has been going on for a while, how come the TL’s or the manager didn’t have much clue about this at all? Nobody was kept in the loop. I can understand that top business decisions are made at senior levels but it was surprising to believe that even the manager was kept out of major decisions. So a team, which provides free service, which only had around 5 or 6 team members, was suddenly the largest team in the India office with 12 members. Were the people hired genuinely to share the workload or was it for other ulterior motives.
On paper, as a team we would have looked really bad - that the management spends so much money on the PR team and they don’t contribute anything to sales, so we can be shut down. This was just a thought that was in my mind, which didn’t make any sense, because if I run a company and I pump in money I would expect returns. But I would never pump in money to a team, which actually doesn’t contribute much in the first place. It did make sense, as the Indian management was unhappy with us, so we were shut down.
It is ironic that we are offering free PR for a good number of our clients now and everyday the list is getting bigger and bigger. I was expected to move out of the company when the PR team was shut down but I did stay back due to personal reasons and I also wanted to learn about the rest of the business aspects. I am really happy that I have stayed longer than some people who had not contributed anything to this company. I just wanted to let you know my thoughts on these issues and the intention is not to mudsling. I have worked hard for this company for the past 3 odd years and I was never afraid of sharing my views. [Company] was like a 3 year MBA course for me, I have learnt a lot of things here which I could have never experienced anywhere else.
Honestly I don’t know if this mail will reach you and if it does I again apologize for such a long email.
I wish all the success for you and [Company].
Thanks & Regards,
Pradeep
[I did receive a reply from the Boss man, thanking me for my views and the hard work that I had put in all these years.]
This movie chronicles Hitler's life from his childhood to his rise to power in Germany. Although I'm not sure about the historical facts, this movie is a must see. Robert Carlyle [I also liked him in Trainspotting] who plays Hitler has given the performance of his lifetime, he has literally transformed into a monster to play Hitler. We will be mesmerized by his powerful speeches just like the Germans did.
The movie starts with a Quote by Edmund Burke -
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
I always did and will believe in the above statement, there's no superior being or creator / devil who brings goodness / life / happiness or evil / death / destruction to this world but us HUMANS. If we can create evil then we certainly can destroy it. Cheers Pradeep
: Only don't tell me that you're innocent. Because it insults my intelligence and it makes me very angry. : Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in. : Never let anyone know what you are thinking. : When they come... they come at what you love. : I don't feel I have to wipe everybody out, Tom. Just my enemies. : There are many things my father taught me here in this room. He taught me: keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. : I'll change; I'll change. I've learned that I have the strength to change. : We're both part of the same hypocrisy, senator, but never think it applies to my family. : Friends and money - oil and water. : Your enemies always get strong on what you leave behind. : No! Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgment. : He should be careful. It's dangerous to be an honest man.
THE JOKER [from the dark knight]
my fav quotes
: If you're good at something never do it for free.
: Do you want to know why I use a knife? Guns are too quick. You can't savor all the.. little emotions. In.. you see, in their last moments, people show you who they really are. So in a way, I know your friends better than you ever did. Would you like to know which of them were cowards?
: Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I'm an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It's fair!
KEYSER SOZE [the usual suspects]
He lets the last Hungarian go. He waits until his wife and kids are in the ground and then he goes after the rest of the mob. He kills their kids, he kills their wives, he kills their parents and their parents' friends. He burns down the houses they live in and the stores they work in, he kills people that owe them money. And like that he was gone. Underground. Nobody has ever seen him since. He becomes a myth, a spook story that criminals tell their kids at night. "Rat on your pop, and Keyser Soze will get you." And no-one ever really believes.
JIGSAW [SAW series]
quotes:
"Live or die. Make your choice."
"Game over."
"You think it is over, but the games have just begun."
[on telephone] "I do wish we could chat longer, but... I'm having an old friend for dinner. Bye." "On a similar note I must confess to you, I'm giving very serious thought... to eating your wife." "People don't always say what they're thinking... they just see to it that you don't advance in life." "And be grateful. Our scars have the power to remind us that the past was real. " "Tell me, Will. Did you enjoy it? Your first murder? Of course you did. And why shouldn't it feel good? It does to God. Why only last week in Texas, he dropped a church roof on the heads of 34 of his worshippers, just as they were groveling for him. He wouldn't begrudge you for one Journalist. "
A really funny movie. A guy talks about his top 5 break ups. Jack Black is amazing as usual. The movie shows the fallacy, irony, anger, doubts involved with relationships. At times the lead character does appear as a total looser. It is kind of a dark comedy, definitely worth having a copy.
The most interesting thing about life in this age is all of us are leading 2 lives.
One is our daily physical life and the other, digital or online life.
I think most of the people are truer and real online. All face book, blogs and other online info are more accurate and truthful than our physical lives. I read recently this was proven by a research.
I try maximum to be truthful in both my lives. This has both positives and negatives. It's a very positive thing that people are not scared to share their views online. If only this transpires to our physical life. I recently was going through a lot of old emails and logs.... its interesting to go through ones own history, we all leave our digital imprints - FOR LIFE.
I read this somewhere. As a person who is extremely sarcastic at times, I fully endorse this: If some one makes fun of you, here's what one can do.
1. Try to top it, with a brilliant come back.
2. If you can't come up with something, try to laugh it off with the others.
3. If you can't do this also, try and ignore it.
now ....if are unable to do any of the above, the truth is you probably deserve to be humiliated :-)
How often have we heard these lines - forget the past and live happily in the present. Don't worry too much about the future.
I honestly don't agree to this, of course we should live in the present to lead a good, normal, happy life. But forgetting the past or not worrying about the future plainly means that we don’t care much about anything. I've seen people only care about present; go crazy about what’s happening now. So paranoid that whatever they do, it ends up in a mess. I wonder what drives someone to keep repeating the same mistakes or should I say choices. One's character is defined by their actions; no matter how much we put on a show one’s true colors are bound to come through. If we keep repeating the same mistakes then there's something critically wrong with us, is it plain stupidity or selfishness. A bit of both I guess. There's no other logical explanation. Of course not many would use the grey matter in their head to think about LOGIC, would they???? :-)
So history is equally important, to study and to remember the good and bad things, to be accountable for our deeds. This awareness can only lead to a better present and future.
Learning from the past is the biggest lesson one can learn in life, this can lead to a careful present, which might result in a good future.
SPY GAME - one of the few spy movies that i watched multiple times...true to its genre. Robert Redford and Brad Pitt at there best.
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE - irony of life - it will put a smile on your face.
LAYER CAKE -
Daniel Craig plays the lead...i hate him as bond, he's not suave or charismatic to be 007. But in layer cake he is superb...the movie is a wee bit long... but it sure is worth a watch.
LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN -
I don't think this one would interest everybody, but it has Bruce Willis, Morgan freeman and Ben Kingsley in it... I Loved it.
LOVE ACTUALLY - stories of love, in everyday life....
ENGLISH PATIENT - one word "classic"
THE NOTEBOOK -
this one is such a treat to watch....a beautiful movie both visually and also content wise...
JERRY MAGUIRE (1996) - "You had me at hello" and "Show me the Money" think everyone will remember that... : -)
AS GOOD AS IT GETS - (1997) - Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt - two veteran actors... fighting it out.
one of the best lines ever - "You make me want to be a better man.
GODFATHER....all 3 movies..nothing to say..although i liked 1 & 2 ....3 was a bit of a drag...anyways everybody knows...
GOOD FELLAS.... typical...Martin Scorsese..one of his best...
CASINO - De niro and Joe Pesci....... two power houses of hollywood, they always make it explosive.
MEMENTO.... Guy Pearce ...the lead actor has given a powerful performance... it will Psych you out... the screenplay is crazy...
THE USUAL SUSPECTS.... mother of all twist end'ers...
CHILDREN OF MEN..... will make you think about what's important in our lives....the future ... what if this happens.
THE BANK JOB... Jason Statham...his Transporter movies are crap compared to this one...
REQUIEM FOR A DREAM...... r u an addict...watch this......
TRAINSPOTTING.....Ewan McGregor is really good....story about drug addicts....presented in a dark funny way.
AMERICAN HISTORY X....watch it for edward norton.
FIGHT CLUB....the end of the movie... it will freak u out.
CRANK - another Jason statham movie.... Transporter series is his worst....crank is a pure ADRENALINE RUSH. u will understand it once u watch te movie.....but i hate the ending of the movie.
CHAOS - Statham again....not a great one ...can watch it once....
LOCK, STOCK & TWO SMOKING BARRELS - very interesting....Guy Ritchie's debut. he mastered this genre with his later works.
THE DARK KNIGHT - Batman who.....this one is all about the JOKER.....HEATH LEDGER is GOD of acting......a class apart.....u will be scared..... :-)
Tropic Thunder - ben stiller directed this comdey...its about a bunch of hollywood actors who r making a movie on Vietnam war...robert downy JR is amazing in this ....but this movie is noway near stiller's meet the parents or some thing about mary movies...but te credits gave me a jolt...thr is this character ..the boss..te head of te company which produces the film .. watch out for it...u will be surprised..ing.]
Dan in Real Life....i didn't have much expectations...but it did give me a surprise....a pleasant movie to watch......
PLATOON - one of the best war movies ever... oliver stone has shown the harsh realities of Vietnam war...the background score is haunting.....the one person who was on par with the lead actor Charlie sheen was William dafoe.
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND - Jim carrey reinventing himself. not the usual romantic comedy ...this is certainly not a Rom COM .. but it might put a ironical smile on your face... Kate Winslet is beautiful and true to the character she plays....Jim might have given his best performance ever...he has come out of his stereo type image in flying colors... this is one unique movie that one shouldn't miss.....
Batoru Rowaiaru AKA (Battle Royale) - one bloody gore fest....not up to HOSTEL standards...but crazy plot and well executed movie.......good one....not for the faint at heart.
Cinema Paradiso - Italian movie.....A CLASSIC...MUST WATCH for all. This movie will be on the favorite list of a lot of filmmakers.
Amores Perros - Mexican film...personally it was a bit too long for me ...2 and half hours....a shorter version would be much more interesting ....anyways this is one of those must watch films...
RELIGULOUS - BIll MAHER goes around the world interviewing people of different faiths....insightful documentary......not for narrow minded people.....might be very offensive for people who are extremely religious..... shows some really stupid things people do in the name of religion.
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer - one of the most beautiful movies i have ever seen.....captivating story..... excellent cinematography....must watch.
