The Invisible Man (1933)

Director: James Whale

Stars: Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, William Harrigan

Genre: Sci-Fi

Outline: A Scientist discovers a way of becoming invisible and it turns him crazy

Rating: 3.5/5

This movie was taken in the 1930s when there was little technology to take Sci-Fi movies and yet James Whale has fashioned a wonderful movie. It is loosely based on H.G. Well’s novel named the same.

A mysterious man (Claude Rains) enclosed with bandages and eyes covered with dark glasses takes a room in a remote inn in England during winter. He requests complete privacy and when the innkeeper’s wife disturbs him he attacks her and the innkeeper. When the police arrive he removes all his dresses and become invisible. People think he is a ghost and police officials say that it is a story.

A Scene from the movie

He returns back to his partner Dr Kemp (William Harrigan) and asks Kemp to assist him in doing murders and stealing money. Kemp is shaken and the Invisible Man continues to shock people. Kemp somehow manages to call their mentor Dr Cranley and his daughter Flora (Gloria Stuart), who is Claude’s fiancée. Flora tries to persuade him, but he refuses to hear her. Kemp also calls the police. Police surround the building and yet he escapes. Before evading he meets Kemp and promises to murder him by 10 pm the next day.

Kemp consults with the police and they formulate a master plan. Does the Invisible man murder Kemp? Do the police arrest the Invisible Man? Watch the movie to know the rest.

The movie lasts for a little more than an hour. It’s such a short movie and yet impresses the viewers. It is really astonishing to think how they took the invisible scenes way back in 1933.

Happy Reading!!!

Back to the Future - Trilogy (1985-1990)

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Stars: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd

Genre: Sci-Fi

Outline: A Scientist invents a Time Machine and all goes wrong for him and his young companion.

Rating: 4/5

Few imaginary things like UFO, Aliens and Super Power always fascinate people and many movies have come based on these things. Time Machine is yet another captivating thing and it’s a wonder that many movies have not been based on this. Back to The Future is one of the rare movies which involve the concept of Time Travel.

Part 1

The movie starts with the boring life of teenager Marty Mcfly (Michael J. Fox) at Hill Valley, California in 1985. One night he goes to visit Dr Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd), who is a scientist and is nicknamed Doc. Doc shows Marty a car, which he says is the Time Machine when the speed is greater than 88 mph. Doc, plans to go back to the year 1955, but is shot down by the terrorists. Marty escapes from the terrorists by using the car and he is transported to 1955.

The Time Machine and the Panel

The car needs 1.21 GW of power and is fuelled by plutonium. The car runs out of fuel and so Marty is trapped in 1955 as there is no plutonium then. He meets the young Doc and the young Doc plans to transport Marty back to 1985, by using the power that is going to be generated by a lightning a few days later. Meanwhile, Marty accidentally disturbs the event in which his parents were supposed to meet. So, his own existence becomes a question. He needs to correct things within a week and Doc must do things right to conduct the electricity. He also needs to warn Doc about the terrorists and Doc doesn’t want to hear even a bit about future.

Part 2

All happens perfectly and due to a letter left by Marty, Doc comes to know about the terrorists and uses Metal Jacket to protect himself. In the second part of the trilogy, Doc and Marty travel to the year 2015 to save Marty’s son from arrest. This is an interesting part, as we are shown interesting gadgets from the future. Now we are nearing 2015 and so many of those gadgets are exaggerated, though few things like Video Conferencing, Multiple TV Channels have become true. Marty loses the car for some time as Biff Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson), a bad guy steals the car.

Imaginary world in 2015- Flying Skateboards

Back in 1985, Marty and Doc find bizarre things as Biff has changed the past, by giving a future Almanac to his younger self. So Marty and Doc travel back to 1955 and set things right. Here they need to be careful as there is another version of them there. Before returning to future, the Time Machine (with Doc inside) is struck by lighting and is trapped in 1885. At the end of the second part, Marty receives a letter from Doc written in 1885 explaining things.

Part 3

In the third part, Marty travels back to 1885 with the help of the 1955 Doc and finds out the real Doc. The fuel tank is damaged and the only way to come back is by engaging the car with the steam engine train. They schedule it on a particular day and Marty meets trouble in the form of Buford ‘Mad Dog’ Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson), a local gangster. Buford schedules a duel on the same day and meanwhile Doc also falls in love with a local girl and doesn’t want to go back to the future. All these converge at the climax which is a stunning sequence of events.

Doc and Marty in 1885

The first part, released in 1985 was not intended to be a trilogy. Four years later when they released the second part, they decided that the movie will conclude in the third part which was released in 1990. The Screenplay is amazing. A small change in the past disturbs the events in the future. Doc saves a girl from falling into a valley in 1885 and Marty realizes that the valley was named after that girl. As she is saved there will be a different name.

The trilogy earned name for both Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. Michael J. Fox as an energetic teenager impressed all. Christophe Lloyd with his super facial expressions, flowing white hair and ever glowing eyes captures the viewers. A must watch movie for Sci-Fi fans and if you aren’t one, watch this movie and you will become one.

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Hazards of Chlorinated Water!

Hi Guys,

The taste of Chlorine in water means safety to many people across India. It is quite shocking to know that it doesn’t mean safety, but danger.

Chlorine has been dissolved in the water in order to destroy harmful pathogens in the water. It has been the best economical method to purify large quantity of water. For decades chlorine dissolved water has been the saviour against cholera and various other water borne diseases. Government officials have found this as the best possible way to protect people from infection.

When Chlorine is mixed with water, it forms trichlorophosphate (TCP) and the trihalomethane group (THMs) which includes chloroform and other chlorine by-products. This means that the drinking water we get includes harmful by products of chlorine. What can these products do?

According to research, chlorine and its byproducts, trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) are very harmful carcinogens that can increase the risks of bladder, kidney and rectal cancer. In USA, it has been proved that the chances of getting Bladder Cancer increases if you drink chlorinated water.

Another research from Norway, Canada and the United States has linked chlorine in drinking water to increased birth defects, still-births and now spina bifida (incomplete formation of vertebrae and spinal cords).

US Council of Environmental Quality says that, ’Cancer risk among people drinking chlorinated water is 93% higher than among those whose water does not contain chlorine’.

World Health Organization (WHO) has also published an article on Chlorine in Water. In the article it is said that higher chlorine levels in water lead to increase in Cholesterol levels as Chlorine and Calcium in water somehow react with lipid levels. Again WHO says that chlorinated water increases the chances of Bladder Cancer. It says that the allowable level is 5 mg/l and at that level we can taste chlorine in water, so we can never know whether it’s below the safety level or not. Read the whole article at http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chlorine.pdf

In a site I found these words, ‘Apply your common sense. Would you pour chlorinated water in your fish tank? All the fishes will die, won’t they?’

Before buying a Water Purifier, make sure that the water purifier does not use harmful chemicals and it removes the dangerous substances present in water. You can read an article on Water Purifiers written by Bejon Mishra, a social activist. http://www.indiblogger.in/crusade-against-chlorine.php

Happy Reading!!!

P.S: This post has been written for the ‘Crusade against Chlorine’ in Indiblogger.