Angels, Demons & Ambigrams

Amen! I finally watched the film Angels & Demons.

And mind you it is not Robert Langdon’s interpretation of symbols that I am fascinated with, nor the manner in which Dan Brown weaves truth and fiction to hoodwink his readers. What I liked best are the ambigrams (words with rotational symmetry) — years of unrecognized work of John Langdon that shoots into the limelight with this book/film.

Here are the some of the ambigrams used in the film, and the final “illuminati diamond” (from the novel) that I have re-worked a bit in photoshop.

Yes. This is also an ambigram!

And here is the one I like best:

The Illuminati Diamond

Here is where you can generate an ambigram of your choice – Ambigram generator.

I made one of my name.

It's Jovi!

Little Manhattan: Film snapshot

Most of the ‘feel-good’ films are those in which you can relate to what is happening on-screen. Little Manhattan is one of them

And this is one snapshot I take with me from the film:

This much I know firsthand – love hurts.

Love is an ugly, terrible business practiced by fools. It’ll trample your heart and leave you bleeding on the floor. And what does it really get you in the end? Nothing but a few incredible memories that you can’t ever shake. The truth is, there’s gonna be other girls out there. I mean, I hope. But I’m never gonna get another first love. That one is always gonna be her

Marvin’s Room: Film snapshot

Open your heart! There’s room.

Sometimes the people you know the least…are the ones you need the most!
and that is what I would like to call – FAMILY…

Osama: Film Snapshot

ristotle once said, ‘I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God that has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forego their use.’The first movie made in post taliban regime in Afghanistan…

for those who enjoy movies with no happy endings, where the story is not tied into an expected outcome, here is a treat. In a mosaic of stories which are in fact experiences of both the director and the actors, The movie leaves you with a unbearable feeling of emptiness at sheer extent of human depravity

I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God that has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forego their use
– Aristotle

This is the first movie made in post-Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

For those who enjoy movies with no happy endings, where the story is not tied into an expected outcome, here is a treat.

In a mosaic of stories (which are in fact experiences of both the director and the actors), the movie leaves you with a unbearable feeling of emptiness at sheer extent of human depravity

The Lemon Tree – Film snapshot

Myth or reality, fable or parable, this story serves as an example of tolerance and respect for each other.

One dialogue in the movie summed it all:

Defence Minister’s Wife: I wish I could be a better neighbor… a normal neighbor. But I suppose it’s a bit too much to hope for. There’s too much blood and too much politics… and then there’s the lemon grove between us.
Defence Minister adds: And that’s why it’s so important to cut it down, so it no longer be a problem

Marie Antoinette – The Film

such a rockstar queen… a fresh perspective on an epic… did she really say the words “Let them eat cake”?

hand held camera movements make a historical retelling for a teen audience. It is indeed a party that started a revolution

Marie-Antoinette: This is ridiculous.

Comtesse de Noailles: This, Madame, is Versailles

Such a rockstar queen! This film provides the viewer with a uniquely, fresh perspective on an epic. Hand-held camera movements translate a historical retelling for a teen audience. It is indeed a party that started a revolution.

This was an exchange that I liked best:
Marie-Antoinette: This is ridiculous.
Comtesse de Noailles: This, Madame, is Versailles.

I have a question: Did Marie-Antoinette actually say the words “Let them eat cake”?

American Gangster – The price of the American dream

There are indeed two sides to the American dream… and this is the movie that exemplifies just that.

This is not an action movie. While in an action film you remain detached from the players, out here, you feel with them. You care about them – good guy or bad.

Success. It’s got enemies. You can be successful and have enemies or you can be unsuccessful and have friends.

There are indeed two sides to the American dream… and this is the movie that exemplifies just that.

This is not an action movie. While in an action film you remain detached from the players, out here, you feel with them. You care about them – good guy or bad.

Success. It’s got enemies. You can be successful and have enemies or you can be unsuccessful and have friends.

Chronicles of Narnia – Magical !

Narnia! It's all in the wardrobe!

Narnia! It’s all in the wardrobe like I told you!

Would you believe if anyone told you there existed a magical land… for real. This movie makes me believe! Believe in magic!

Heat: Film snapshot

The battle of good v/s evil, splendidly woven into a story where you begin to question the very beliefs that you take for granted all the time. There is black and white with shades of gray in between where we live our lives most of the time.

Neil McCauley (De Niro) is an ex-con and expert thief has centered his life around the creed (which I found really catchy!)

“Do not allow anything into your life which you cannot walk out on in thirty seconds flat if you spot the heat around the corner.”

What would you wish for?

Imagine if you had three wishes, three hopes, three dreams and they all could come true.

what would I wish for if I were given 3 wishes…?

Aladdin: So, three wishes. I want them to be good… what would you wish for?

Genie: Me? No one’s ever asked me that before. Well, in my case… ah, forget it.

Aladdin: What?

Genie: No, I can’t. I…

Aladdin: Come on, tell me.

Genie: [sigh] Freedom.

Such a thing would be greater than all the magic and all the treasures in all the world.

In all our traveling we return to where we started and know it for the first time

At times, what we wish and yearn for is what we have already…

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

– T.S. Eliot

Imagine you had three wishes, three hopes, three dreams and they all could come true.

If I were given 3 wishes, what would I wish for…? There is a tiny exchange between Aladdin and the Genie that says a lot:

Aladdin: So, three wishes. I want them to be good… what would you wish for?
Genie: Me? No one’s ever asked me that before. Well, in my case… ah, forget it.
Aladdin: What?
Genie: No, I can’t. I…
Aladdin: Come on, tell me.
Genie: [sigh] Freedom. Such a thing would be greater than all the magic and all the treasures in all the world.

And there I found my answer. At times, what we wish and yearn for what we already have…