Contagion is a movie about an airborne virus that spreads rapidly worldwide and turns into a pandemic. It is a mysterious disease, an unknown virus and the medical community around world tries to investigate the origins, characteristics and a vaccine for the disease. The movie started off well showing how the virus spreads and deaths around the world. As the movie progresses, it lost steam. It turned into a slow movie and felt more like a documentary.

Source: Wikipedia

The movie has a big lineup of star power but none had a significant role. At least Matt Damon & Gwyneth Paltrow did not have much to do in the movie. Gwyneth Paltrow is the first victim how contracts the disease during a business trip to Hong Kong and dies the very next day she returns the US. Matt Damon is the grieving husband and goes to extraordinary measures to quarantine his daughter from the outside world until she gets vaccinated. The fact that he is immune to this disease, I was expecting a heroic role from him but there was none. I felt his role was rather insignificant, expect for the fact that his wife transported the virus to the United States.

What this movie effectively illustrates is nothing spreads faster than fear and how humans react to the fear of death. The movie does make one ponder how we would react if there was indeed a worldwide pandemic of this magnitude, something 10 or 20 times as contagious and fatal as SARCS. The movie also shows how certain people take advantage of the situation and spread lies for their own benefit, out of greed. At the same time, it also shows how certain people risk their lives to find a vaccine, going to infected areas to investigate the disease and set up emergency shelters and to treat the ill.

Overall, this movie was way below my expectations. I found the movie neither thrilling nor mysterious. I guess the only mystery and suspense in the movie is guessing who and how the vaccine is invented. Although this movie has received great reviews, I feel it is an average movie with a 2.5/5 rating. I saw the regular screening of the movie and after watching it, I do not think it is worth paying extra money to watch it in an IMAX theater.

It all started because of my photo blog. I decided that from today onwards, all this month, the theme for that blog would be “holiday spirit”. I have already posted a few holiday related pictures on that blog but from now on, most of the pictures would be of holiday lighting, decoration and window displays. The first holiday lighting I remember seeing this year is the snowflake on the intersection of 5th avenue and 57th street. Hence, I thought I would kick-start the theme with the snowflake. So I walked down to 5th avenue, got my picture and headed back home.

On my way home was Crate and Barrel and I reluctantly walked towards the store to pick up a few bowls, I was meaning to purchase for sometime. As I got closer to the store, I saw the store crowded and I was even more uncertain if I should stop by. Then I noticed a long line and that seemed very unusual and wondered why? During the holiday season, the store is busy, but never this crowded and right then I knew there was something going on inside, perhaps a book signing ceremony. Now I was curious to know what was going on in there and walked into the store. I asked the guard and she confirmed, it was in fact a signing ceremony and that of Barefoot Contessa’s Ina Garten!  I walked around the store to catch a glimpse of her and of vain.  Then I saw few people holding their iPhones and cameras to take a picture and I peeked in that direction and there she was! She looked exactly as she does on food network! She was surrounded by many fans to get their book signed.  The line was so long, it ran all around the store and would have taken me at least 30 – 45 minutes to get to her.  I for one, do not have that much patience to stand in line to get a book signed!   Now that I saw her, I wanted her picture.  I pulled out my camera and by then, the view I had of her was blocked and unfortunately, I could not get her picture.  I walked out of the store and headed home.

As I walked home, the more I thought about the event, the more I wanted her autographed book cook!  I watch her shows on food network, I tried at least couple of her recipes, lemon yogurt  cake and Tuscan Lemon Chicken which I mentioned here. I would have loved to have a signed cookbook and meet her in person!  I wished I had know about the event in advance, so that I could have better planned my day and got there early to get a signed copy. May be next time! I do get emails from Williams Sonoma whenever they have a signing event and never from Crate and Barrel. May be I should sign up again to their email circulation to get an update of their on going events.

On hindsight, had I gotten an email from the store about this signing ceremony, I probably would not even  have gone to the ceremony.  I usually don’t get excited about such events.  Today, since I happened to be there, I got carried away and wished I had known about the event.  However, after today’s experience, if there is a signing ceremony of any chef that I know and follow, I think I will attend.

We ordered the lunch specials and the food was delicious.  My friends ordered Red Curry and Panang Curry.  It came with a salad or a soup, a spring roll and rice.  I ordered Khao Pad Ga Prao, a sautéed rice with onions, bell peppers and fresh basil in chili-garlic sauce, which also came with a salad or a soup and a spring roll.  All three of us chose salad over the soup, which was served with a ginger sauce as the salad dressing.  The dressing was very tasty and liked the ginger flavor in it.  We asked for extra spice and our entrees were made very spicy, just like we wanted.  We were very satisfied with our food and would recommend trying it out.  Although the food was great,  their service was a little slow.  The salad was served soon after we placed our order but it took them forever to get the main course!  Despite the slow service, I would still recommend Chili Thai, if you happen to be in the neighborhood.

This month started off with a warm welcome by the cherry blossoms.  I was in Central Park that was filled with spring blossoms and the park was picturesque.  After the cold weather we had had this year, little bit of the warm weather was enough to bring the New Yorkers out to the park.

Check out some of the pictures here and here.

About 10 days ago, I took my cousin’s family to Empire state building and we were lucky to watch an army ceremony in progress. Some of the officers were promoted and the ceremony took place on the observatory deck of the Empire State Building.  I have a few pictures here.

I also watched couple of broadway shows, one is Phantom of the Opera and the other is Mamma Mia. Both the shows are great and worth watching. Mamma Mia, the show is lot better than the movie. I did not watch the full movie; watched bits and parts on a transatlantic flight which made go back to sleep.  The movie was very boring.

When U’s cousin was here we went to couple of restaurants for the first time, Serendipity and Spice.  It was a busy month and I will end this recap with a picture at Rockefeller Center in first week of April.  I was surprise to see the icing rink and the skaters even in April.   The rink must be closed now though.

Source: Wikipedia

From there we head to the movie theater. Date Night is a funny and also a silly movie. Steve Carell and Tina Fey, married couple from Jersey come to Manhattan on a Date and get into trouble. The movie revolves around how they try to clear the misunderstanding. As the movie progresses, the story and the scenes were predictable. Nonetheless, I would recommend watching the movie. Mr.U did not like the movie but the audience in the theater loved it and most of them could not stop laughing.  I rate this movie 3/5.

When my frrrozen hot chocolate arrived I wasn’t sure whether to eat it or drink it!  I first tried eating it and was a little disappointed.  It tasted like hot chocolate! Nothing special!  Than I drank it and that’s when I started to relish the drink!  This drink is made with 14 different varieties of chocolates, I might also add I must try for a die-hard chocoholics!

I had read mixed reviews about their service and I must say, it took them forever to get us our check.    But for that, it was a nice experience.  If possible, do make a reservation ahead of time to avoid the ridiculously long wait line at the restaurant.  If one wishes to try their desserts, I would suggest going there on an empty or at least half empty stomach.  After eating these sinful desserts, the guilt took us over and we walked almost 4.5 miles that evening, to burn off at least some of the calories from those sinful treats

During my cousins visit, we went to a musical, Christmas Spectacular, at Radio City Music Hall and it was spectacular. Performance of the Rockettes, the performers or the dancers in the show, was amazing. Their synchronization and flawless precision dancing and their costumes were dazzling. This musical is performed only during Christmas, from mid November to end of December. I am glad I saw the show as it was a great experience. I have been to lot of broadway shows but this show was awesome. We were allowed to take pictures with flash off and I took a few.

Three days after the storm dumbed a foot of snow in the city, we went to central park. Park was picturesque with heaps of snow all over the park.

We walked thru the park to the west side for lunch at  Penang and back to Fifth avenue for shopping, mostly window shopping.

Saks Fifth Avenue Christmas Lighting

We stopped by Tiffany’s for a free hot chocolate that they were serving and it was exactly what we needed after all the walking that we did on that cold subfreezing winter afternoon. From there we continued our window shopping spree on the 5th Avenue and stood in line for 10 minutes to get into Abercrombie and Fitch.  That was my third visit to the store in these last 4 and half year and whenever I got there, it reminds me of my age..  From there we walked down to Rockefeller center to see the Christmas Tree.

As usual, it was crowded and the icing rink was full of skaters. And off course the tree was beautiful.

On Christmas Eve, we saw 3 Idiots and loved the movie. Unlike recent bollywood movies, this movie had very little cheap comedy. The movie was entertaining and witty. There were a few scenes in the movie which could have been avoided. There was too much detail about vaccum assisted child birth which I thought was unnecessary. All the actors in the movie did justice to their roles. I would rate this movie 3.5/5 or may be even 4/5. Bye the way, “All izz well” is from this movie.

On Christmas day, it was a back to back movie marathon for us. I was surprised to see so many people at the movies on Christmas day. The first movie was Brothers and it was a terrible movie. Even this movie was sold out and the auditorium was full 20 minutes before the show time. I would rate it 2/5. The second movie we watched was Sherlock Homes. This movie was an ok movie. I would rate it 2.5/5.

On sunday, we were finally able get tickets for Avatar 3D in IMAX. The graphics and the special effects were extremely good but I thought the movie was average. To top it off, it was a very long movie, 2 hours 40 minutes… :O  I would rate it 3/5.

I will be away for the New Years Eve and wil be back only on the 3rd of Jan. Until then, keep yourselves warm and

I was there with my girl friends and we got there by 6:30 to pick up our tickets and were in the auditorium by 7:00 pm, as the seating was on a first come first serve basis. The program was scheduled to begin at 7:15pm followed by the show at 7:30 pm. The program was delayed by 45 minutes. There was no explanation for the delay and none of the major cast in the movie attended the premier either. There was a press conference at the entrance and I recognized none being interviewed.

The program finally started around 8 pm with couple of speeches by SAIFF president and one other person. They were followed by Erros International President of USA division. The speech by Erros President was boring and he basically apologized for poor scheduling on their part in failing to bring the cast for the premier. According to him, all the planning was done and the airline tickets were purchased for the cast to attend the premiere in New York, but were canceled in the last minute due to scheduling conflicts, prior commits and the premiere of the movie in India, which is today. His speech was followed by a recorded video message by Amitabh Bachan, Ritesh Deshmukh and Jacqueline Fernandez. And finally, the show began.

The movie is a contemporary version of Aladin and the magic lamp. As Ritesh Deshmukh said in his video recorded address, it is their take on Aladin. It is the continuation of the fairy tale in present. Ritesh plays the role of Aladin Chaterjee, who since childhood has been bullied by his friends, one friend Qasim in particular, to rub a lamp to see the Genie. On his birthday, his friends gift him an antique lamp and bully him to rub the lamp. Genie the Genius, played by Amitabh, appears but no one realize he is the genie from the magic lamp. Jasmine (Jacqueline Fernandez) is a new student at school/college, who is there on an international student exchange program and both Aladin and Qasim want her. Like any other Bollywood movie, this one has a villian too, the ringmaster (Sanjay Dutt) and an ex-genie.

I personally thought the movie was very average and at times a little boring. However, I have a feeling that the kids would love it with all the magic that the Genius does, to grant the wishes of his owner, Aladin. The movie did have some hilarious scenes. Jacqueline Fernandez is very pretty and acted well too. Amitabh’s performance was good but the role of genie did not suit him. I was never a fan of Sanjay Dutt but liked his performance in this movie. I do have to admit that his acting skills have improved tremendously over the years. As I watched the movie, it reminded me a lot off Koi Mil Gaya. I would rate this movie 2.5/5.

Overall, it was a disappointing evening. I was disappointed for not seeing any of the celebrity at the event and an average movie. I did not have any high expectations for the movie but hoped to see a few celebrities at the premiere. Unfortunately, I did not recognize the ones who were present .

Couple of weeks ago, there was a Diwali Mela at South Street Seaport.  At the mela there were many stalls; food, apparel, fashion accessories, music and Diwali puja items.  At the end of the day, there were fireworks.  However, we did not stay for the fireworks.

There were many stall at the mela but I was not particularly keen on purchasing anything.  We, my aunts and I, walked around the stall and ate some Indian chat, Indian street food.  As we were walking by the stalls, a decorative round glass mirror caught my eye.  It was small but a decent size to put on my dressing table to display some of my miniature perfume bottles.  I paid the vendor for the mirror and along with the mirror, he gave me a bowl too.  I was a little puzzled and then he explained that the mirror came with a bowl and the bowl is for floating candle and it was a diya display set for diwali.  So, for this deepavali, that mirror and a bowl is my deepam.

Wish you all a very Happy Deepavali!