The Martian: The Nerd's Wife Reviews

I shall start on a very honest note, I was 200% sure that I would not like (understand) the movie. Why you ask? It had all the ingredients for being a bore movie:

 

• Spaceship
• Astronaut
• Same clichéd plot
• Astronaut getting lost
• Astronaut coming back

Then why did I go to watch the movie? Two reasons:

1. My nerd husband wanted to go
2. Matt Damon (For a good uninterrupted 2 Hours)

But as surprised as I was, this one I liked. Why the answer is pretty simple, it didn't aim to be overly complicated. Nor did it aim to shove too many hypothesised theories on to you. But before you start thinking I loved it... let me hold you right there... the most emotional scene of the movie was when the potatoes die.. No, there is no metaphor here whatsoever. This was it! He steps out to check on his crops, there is a storm, the door breaks, the Mars cold chilly evil winds get inside and his plants die.

 

But all this while watching this movie, every time he made some smart discovery like, stapling up the wound to stop the bleeding for example or realizing he needs to stay alive 4 years before being rescued and hence he needs to grow his own food.. I could only wonder.. Man.. this guy is so smart I would have never known how to make water. I would have never been able to survive on Mars. But then, WHY WOULD I EVER NEED TO?

 

Also, what's with all my favourite actors growing so old. I still remember Matt from The Departed, and I'm pretty sure it's a very recent (NOT) movie! does this mean what I think it means? Am I also growing old? Am I?

 

Anyway, even though digressing is my speciality, the movie also used it quite well. You know changing track and not entering the gravity stuff. Either they dumbified the movie for everyone or I'm growing smarter in the Nerd's company. I'm pretty sure it's the former because I'm still waiting on the inter dimensional plot from Interstellar to make sense. Also noteworthy is how subtly a few present world facts have been incorporated into the movie; prime one being "Vincent" Kapoor, a very African looking Indian surnamed man born from a cross cultural wedding, which indeed is common place. Then we have the obvious fact the most of the employees in NASA were either Indian (or Indian Origin) or Chinese. Matt very cleverly used the left behind equipment from the earlier expeditions. And the subliminal messaging that, the countries should stop bickering over space supremacy and just get together and exploit the outer space together. Clever.

 

For all the good things, this movie is a strange cross over between a documentary and a science fiction, let's for the lack of better words call it a Docu-Fiction :P . While I am aware that outer space is the place to be these days, what I don't understand is why? Its been long enough we've been looking for life outside the earth. The fact that we haven't located anyone makes me believe that we have been spotted long time ago by alien life understood to be a threat to anything tangible and thought better left alone. Come on.. can you blame them?  Have seen what have done to this planet? So much so that we're trying to set up a colony in Mars.

 

Now that I have rambled on enough without offering any reviews about the movie, why don't I sum it up? The movie is watchable, the whole setting is believable. The film is based on Andy Weir's 2011 novel by the same name, would have told you if it's a good adaptation, except I haven't read the book (Nor do I intend to!). But the visuals and the comic timing is just impeccable. I really have to know where they shot the scenes on Mars (Please don't be green screens) because that looks just amazing. And goes without saying watch it 3-D, just because 2-D is just so last century :P

 

On getting married, staying single or whatever it is one chooses to be

It's amazing how time just flies!!There I was an year ago.. all confused with mixed feelings about marriage. Didn't know what to expect. And look at me now, one whole year (and more) as a married woman! Not enough to earn a pro at marriage degree, but enough to bust a few myths I see flying around. I don't know if it's just targeted advertising by FB or that is the general sentiment of the people these days, that being married means the end of life as you know it. If I didn't know any better, I might have even believed these random blog posts (any one can write these days ;) ) But luckily for me (I write this as I expect my husband to be back after a drink with his friends any minute now) marriage by far hasn't been that bad a decision. Of course it took my mother's persistence and boredom from the single life for me to take the leap, but I did it OK? So let's just leave at that and get on to the bits of wisdom that I have to share.

So you've heard the bad things that come with marriage, here are a few good things :

1. Shopping would no longer be treated as a waste of time by your parents, they would actually ask you to take days off from work to help them do it!! (Yeah! No Kidding!)

2. Endless gifts and cash and gifts and cash and more gifts ( Truth be told you'd think you would want more cash, but it's those thoughful gifts that make you smile and those absolutely useless ones which make you roll over of the floor laughing) Long and short of it.. It keeps you entertained

3. You will never need any other plan partner. Imagine this: You could just wake up in the morning feel like doing something, you dont need to plead. Just drag the jail bird with you (easier said than done... But it mostly works)

4. You can add one more guy to your bully list. Now this is by far my favorite! I mean how can it not be? You can ask a guy double your size to clean up the bathroom after himself or he would not get his food. Where in the normal world can you do that? I know where in the normal world would you need to do that, but that's another discussion

5. Till when will you procrastinate growing up? Or growing fat while we are at it..

6. Double the fun in getting anything done, even for the simplest things like buying groceries. Now that is a different thing that when I was living with my parents I didnt even need to bother about these things, but now that I have to do them it's better with someone to do it with

7. Half the pain, even for the most mundane things like buying groceries. I'm sure you've got my point :)

8. There are places to visit and your friends may have other plans (but your husband's got no other life but you!)

9. The obvious <wink wink>

10. As mush as this may sound, marry for the love... as the real magic happens once the wedding guests are gone and you have a home to build.

For the very little obsessive compulsive inside of me I like my lists even numbered. And while these random rantings may not be enough to steer your decision anywhere, but I had very openly told that this blog aims to offer no advise(ever!) So why did you even try?

But trust me when I say this, it is a leap of faith. Also, you just have to experience it for yourself. No amount of advise good or bad would ever prepare you for this, except your mother's, because moms are always (have been and always will be) RIGHT! For everyone else who asks you to wait till you are <put any age here> to get married, slap them across the face. Wait till either of these two things happen to you to get married

1. You found that someone special, the one you can imagine yourself growing old with

2. That someone special finds you :)

Everything else is just hogwash... you know stuff and nonsense..

Good luck and lots of love!!