ILLUMINATI

மைகேல் மேசன் பாரிஸ் நகரில் வசிக்கும் ஒரு அமெரிக்க பிக் பாக்கட் திருடன். ஒரு நாள் ஒரு ஸோயி என்ற இளம் பெண்ணின் கைப்பையை பிக் பாக்கட் அடிக்கிறான். அதை குப்பைத் தொட்டியில் போட்டு விட்டு போகும் நேரத்தில் அந்த கைப்பையில் இருந்த வெடிகுண்டு வெடித்து நான்கு பேர் இறக்க, மைக்கல் தான் குண்டு வைத்தவன் என்று காவல்துறையும் உளவுத்துறையும் அவனை தேட ஆரம்பிகிறது. இந்நிலையில்இதே மாதிரி இன்னும் சில வெடிகுண்டுகள் பாரிசின் பாஸ்டில் டே கொண்டாட்டத்தின் போது வெடிக்கும் என்று மிரட்டல் வர, பாரிசில் இருக்கும் சிஐஏ அமெரிக்கனான மைக்கலை முதலில் பிடிக்க சான் ப்ரயரை அனுப்புகிறது. மைக்கலிடம் இருந்து அந்தப் பெண்ணைப் பற்றி தெரிந்து கொள்ளும் சான், மைக்கலின் உதவியோடு அந்தப் பெண்ணை கண்டுபிடித்தாரா, குண்டு வைத்த கும்பலின் நோக்கம் என்ன, அதை ஏன் பஸ்டில் டே கொண்டாட்டத்தில் வைக்க வேண்டும் என்பது மீதிக் கதை. மைகேல் மேசனாக ரிச்சர்ட் மேடன். கேம் ஆஃப் த்ரோன்ஸ் ரசிகர்களுக்கு ராப் ஸ்டார்க்காக பரிச்சயம் ஆனவர். சற்றே குறும்புத்தனமும், துடுக்குத்தனமும் நிறைந்த ஒரு கதாப்பாத்திரம். ஆரம்ப காட்சிகளில் நடிக்க கிடைத்த சில சந்தர்ப்பங்களை ...

Invincibility is a common trope in comic stories but there are not a lot of stories that deal with Immortality and the effect it can have mentally on the said individual. In a way, it is understandable considering that it will have to be handled delicately and expertly and there is a lot of room to fail. Ajin takes up Immortality, pits immortal people against a cruel, brutal and paranoid society and tries to analyze what this would do to an immortal’s psyche and the consequences that would come of it. Shortly after the world finds out about the existence of a few immortal “Ajin”, who regenerate and come back to life after being killed, they are branded dangerous and are hunted under the pretense of segregating these dangerous creatures from the normal ones. Once captured, these beings are then subjected to brutal experiments to try and find out how they actually regenerate and if it is possible to achieve similar effects for all humans. The story revolves around Kei N...

Recently, I had the chance to read two very similar yet different stories. On the surface, the concept is almost the same: A teenager getting super-powers and his exploits/ efforts from then on. But there was a world of difference between them for one of them was created in the US and the other was created in Japan.  Invincible, is a story about Mark Grayson, son of the most powerful superhero of his world: Omni Man (a Superman knockoff). The story starts from Mark acquiring his power one day in his teenage years and deciding to follow on his dad’s footsteps. He soon finds out that his father is an alien belonging to an evil empire who are hell bent on galactic domination and that his father was put on the earth to prepare it for the eventual takeover. His father proposes Mark should join the effort and he refuses it (as is customary of a hero). His father beats him to near death (not so customary of a hero) and leaves the earth. Now Mark has to prepare himself for f...

There was once a time when I, along with a lot of other people, would have been excited for the release of a new Sherlock episode. That is no longer the case. Although it has had its problems and inconsistencies from the very beginning, the charm and wit that was the trademark of the first two seasons carried the story through most of the times. Sherlock certainly doesn't have the charm it had on the first two seasons anymore. And that's a sentiment that can be found being expressed almost everywhere on the internet these days. What's more, I can almost see the weariness in the face of the cast. Or maybe it's just me and that's just the aging of the cast. What went wrong? Where has all the charm and wit that was the trademark of this series gone? For what it's worth, I think the series started going downhill when they started making it more emotional. Now it's a regular soap opera which is far from the spirit of the original stories. In an a...