Introducing my super-healthy leaky-gut diet (plus: I lost 10lbs in a week with it!)

Yay! I’ve lost 10lbs in a week with my super healthy diet!

This diet was not supposed to help losing weight but it did work on that area too!

This is a healthy diet mostly for people who have:

  •  Liver and bowel problems such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Leaky Gut Syndrome etc.
  •  Auto-immune diseases like celiac or crohn, bowel related psychological disorders such as depression, migraines etc
  •  Excessive Candida Albicans in digestive system.
  •  Under-working immune system (mine was almost dead 🙂
  •  High blood sugar and constant sugar cravings 

I had all of the above 🙂 Luckily I developed The Alex – Diet to cope. As it worked quite well for me in the very first week, I will share it with you as a New Year present 🙂

Plus gain: My goal was to lose 30lbs by the end of January 2015. First part of the goal is achieved: To lose 10lbs before 2015 🙂

Beware that I am not a nutrician but a psychologist. I made this diet up by hours of research about leaky-gut diets, GAPS diets etc from academic studies to nutritionists (who sell their ultimate diet plans 0_o) and personal experience blogs. They are too restrictive for me in many ways and there are too many recipes to follow. That is, you feel coerced to buy the damn cookbook. I said no to that crap and start working on my own diet which I will share with everyone for free 🙂

During this diet, I also took L-Glutamine, Vitamin C, Milk thistle, Beta Carotene and probiotic dietary supplements.

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I believe, a diet for health should not contain many recipes, but the principles to apply to your tastes.

So, I developed 10 principles to follow:

1. Drink water as water (0.5 gallons a day). Not as tea, coffee etc. Just water.

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2. Eat nothing with a “light/diet/low fat” written on it. 

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3. Every morning when you get up, drink 1 big glass of water. You can add 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, carbonate or apple cider vinegar in it. This is to detox your liver. After that, drink 1 tablespoon of black cumin oil and 1 tablespoon of propolis. Drink another glass of water. These are to boost your immune system.

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4. Wait for 2 hours till breakfast. You can drink water. No coffee or black tea allowed. Give your digestive system and liver a nice detox time every day. Oil and propolis have lots of calories and you won’t be craving I promise.

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5. For breakfast

This is when you start fighting with Candida in your system. You send the good guys (probiotics) to fight them.

a)  Eat 1 bowl of probiotic yoghurt. You can add extra probiotic supplements in it.

b) Drink 200ml kefir.

***

6. After breakfast:

a) if you want, you can have 1 cup of very smooth blend coffee or tea. 1 cup, no more…

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b) If you crave, wash your mouth with some Apple Cider Vinegar and you will feel better. If you get very hungry, you can eat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil every day. You can use this option if you have night cravings. No carbs, eat oil It will make you feel full.

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7. Never cook the oil. You can put the oil to your meal when you are on the table. I do not use oil for cooking, I drink it. Better for the bowel.

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8. Lunch & Dinner: You can eat the same things in lunch and dinner as long as they are healthy 🙂 You can be creative but keep it simple. No sauces, no extra fat and no breads.

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a) SOUPS

I mostly eat my meals as soups with home made bone broth.

I wrote about bone broth earlier. Click to see how to do it at home. Avoid buying meat/chicken stock ready. It will cause harm to you rather than good.

Bone broth is necessary to mend your leaky gut and fight auto-immune diseases.

Home made soup with bone broth
Home made soup with bone broth by Alex

Links to recipes of home-made bone broth and the veggie soup in the picture above

You can be creative and use the soup recipe to make your favorite soups with different ingredients. Here is an example with the same cooking tactic. Same recipe, diffrerent soup. Easy, isn’t it?

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Note: No extra oil in the soup as it has fat in itself. Avoid too much salt. Use turmeric and rosemary for taste and aroma. Also, no flour is used. No exceptions on that. 

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b) MEALS

You can use any meat/poultry or fish + cooked/steamed veggies in your meals. I recommend cooking veggies with steam. So, you should buy yourself a steamer 🙂 You will use it almost every day… If you do not have a steamer, boil them in water in low heat. But they will lose some nutrients to water while boiling. So drink that boiling water too.

I recommend free range especially for poultry. Organic will be a plus.

You can eat boiled eggs too as a meal. 2 boiled eggs + yoghurt as dressing + veggies can be a nice dinner plate.

Yesterday I treated myself a really nice dinner. I wrote the names of the veggies I used. OMG salmon is sooo tasty I did not even put salt in it! I steamed vegetables first and then the salmon in steamer. It was ready in 30 minutes in total. (I did not steam the soy sprouts though, I ate them raw 🙂

Salmon is very oily and you should not use any extra oil.

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Another option:

Bring it all together and make a salmon-veggie soup with the same ingredients.

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9. Manage your guilty pleasures.

a) If you want to eat desert, eat dark chocolate, eat 1 piece (up to 20gr) per day at the most. The next day you can eat again. So you are not giving up for life. You don’t have to eat the whole bar when you open it. 

xxx

b) Tiny guilt treats: If you want to eat cake, cook it with gluten-free flour and eat very very little.

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Small-size dark chocolate cupcake with 1 cooked cherry on top is my favorite (no cream of course)

Also, you can make tiny treats for yourself such as pumpkin desert or ginger desert. Boil them like you are making a marmelade. Do not overcook but boil them slowly with little sugar.

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Another example with yoghurt sauce, not so guilty 🙂

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c) No-guilt treats: Eat all you can eat treats. Beware, until your stomach stops creating gas, you should avoid fresh veggies. I started to eat them on the 6th day.

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Try not to take sugar if you have excessive Candida growth. They love sugar. Let’s starve them 🙂

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10. What not to eat and NO EXCUSES!

– Cheese, milk, dairy products except for yoghurt and kefir.

– Wheat, wheat products, rice, corn, starch and starchy veggies like potatoes.

– Fruits as they are very high on fructose sugar. Candida loves fructose.

– Deserts including milk such as pudding etc.

– Raw veggies or salads until your stomach does not produce gas.

– All fastfood or junk food like chips etc.

– Any kind of smoked meat and fish.

– Alcoholic drinks, fruit juice (fresh or not), coke, energy drink etc.

***

There it comes: The Principle Zero. Start with a decision.

Today is a good day as it is time to make New Year Resolutions. When you decide to live healthy, then clean up your freezer, kitchen, cellar etc. If they stay, you eat them. As the principle zero, get rid of them first. Tomorrow, go buy/order fresh veggies, meat and bones. Start cooking. It is very easy.  Believe me, because I am very lazy 🙂

If a very depressed woman could do it, (I mean avoiding sugar and comfort food was not easy in the first days) anyone can.

Have a very healthy year and thanks for following

Alex

New Year’s Eve Watchlist – UPDATE!

I’ll be watching the bests today from Studio Ghibli. The ones with * are in imdb top 250.

Updated: All done except for Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) which I will start watching now 🙂

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)* done

Castle in the Sky (1986)* done

Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)* done

My Neighbor Totoro (1988)* done

I’ve watched them before but what’s the harm in a rewatch 🙂

The Secret World of Arrietty (2010) done

Spirited Away (2001)* done

Princess Mononoke (1997)* done

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)* done

Movie project – 20 movies in 6 days

Hey everyone 🙂

MOVIE PROJECT goes awesome,

I made the first post about my goal and a watchlist on 24.12.2014 and in 6 days I watched 20 movies 🙂

Also made a list on IMDB, you can follow my progress and creat your own lists like a watchlist for movies or TV shows that you’ve watched so far.

Among those, I strongly recommend Metropolis (1927). It is a masterpiece for its time. I mean 1927! The effects, the sculptures and the story is so good.

UPDATED GOAL LIST 4 MOVIE PROJECT

Rank & Title  IMDb Rating My Rating Watched before 2015 Watched during 2015 (My35Project)
(based on the data on IMDB on 25.12.2015) x=1 time, xx=2 to 5 times, xxx=5 or more times
1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 9,2 10 xxx
2. The Godfather (1972) 9,2 7 x
3. The Godfather: Part II (1974) 9,0 7 x
4. The Dark Knight (2008) 8,9
5. Pulp Fiction (1994) 8,9 7 xx
6. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) 8,9 7 x
7. 12 Angry Men (1957) 8,9 10 xxx
8. Schindler’s List (1993) 8,9
9. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 8,9 8 xxx
10. Fight Club (1999) 8,8 10 xxx
11. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) 8,8 8 xxx
12. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 8,8 10 xxx
13. Inception (2010) 8,7 7 x
14. Forrest Gump (1994) 8,7 8 xx
15. Interstellar (2014) 8,7 7 x
16. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) 8,7 9 xx
17. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) 8,7 5 x
18. Goodfellas (1990) 8,7 8 xxx
19. The Matrix (1999) 8,7 9 xx
20. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) 8,7 10 xxx
21. Seven Samurai (1954) 8,7
22. City of God (2002) 8,7 10 x
23. Se7en (1995) 8,6 6 x
24. The Usual Suspects (1995) 8,6 9 xx
25. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 8,6 8 xx
26. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) 8,6
27. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) 8,6
28. Léon: The Professional (1994) 8,6 8 xx
29. Life Is Beautiful (1997) 8,6 9 xx
30. Casablanca (1942) 8,6 5 x
31. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 8,5 6 xx
32. American History X (1998) 8,5 9 xx
33. Psycho (1960) 8,5 6 x
34. City Lights (1931) 8,5 6  x
35. Saving Private Ryan (1998) 8,5 8 xx
36. Spirited Away (2001) 8,5 10 xxx
37. Rear Window (1954) 8,5 6 xx
38. The Intouchables (2011) 8,5 10 x
39. Modern Times (1936) 8,5 10 x
40. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) 8,5 7 xx
41. Memento (2000) 8,5 6 x
42. The Pianist (2002) 8,5 1 x
43. The Green Mile (1999) 8,5
44. Sunset Blvd. (1950) 8,5
45. Apocalypse Now (1979) 8,5
46. Dr. Strangelove (1964) 8,5
47. The Departed (2006) 8,5 6 x
48. Gladiator (2000) 8,5 6 xx
49. Back to the Future (1985) 8,5 7 xxx
50. Alien (1979) 8,5 6 xx
51. The Prestige (2006) 8,5 6 xx
52. The Great Dictator (1940) 8,4 10  x
53. The Lives of Others (2006) 8,4 7 x
54. The Lion King (1994) 8,4 5  x
55. The Dark Knight Rises (2012) 8,4
56. Django Unchained (2012) 8,4
57. Cinema Paradiso (1988) 8,4
58. The Shining (1980) 8,4 6 x
59. Paths of Glory (1957) 8,4
60. American Beauty (1999) 8,4 6 xx
61. WALL·E (2008) 8,4 9 xxx
62. North by Northwest (1959) 8,4
63. Aliens (1986) 8,4 5 x
64. Citizen Kane (1941) 8,4 5 x
65. Amélie (2001) 8,4 9 xxx
66. Vertigo (1958) 8,4
67. M (1931) 8,4
68. Toy Story 3 (2010) 8,4 7 x
69. Das Boot (1981) 8,4
70. Oldboy (2003) 8,4 9 x
71. Grave of the Fireflies (1988) 8,4 7  x
72. Princess Mononoke (1997) 8,4 8 xx
73. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) 8,4 10 xxx
74. Once Upon a Time in America (1984) 8,4
75. A Clockwork Orange (1971) 8,4 9 xx
76. Taxi Driver (1976) 8,4 9 xx
77. Reservoir Dogs (1992) 8,4 8 xx
78. Double Indemnity (1944) 8,4
79. Braveheart (1995) 8,4 4 x
80. Requiem for a Dream (2000) 8,4 9 xxx
81. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) 8,3 8 x
82. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 8,3 1 x
83. Witness for the Prosecution (1957) 8,3
84. E. Sunshine of Spotless Mind (2004) 8,3 7 x
85. Full Metal Jacket (1987) 8,3 8 xx
86. Singin’ in the Rain (1952) 8,3 9 xxx
87. The Sting (1973) 8,3
88. Bicycle Thieves (1948) 8,3
89. Boyhood (2014) 8,3 7  x
90. Amadeus (1984) 8,3 6 x
91. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) 8,3
92. Snatch. (2000) 8,3 8 xx
93. Rashomon (1950) 8,3
94. L.A. Confidential (1997) 8,3 7
95. For a Few Dollars More (1965) 8,3 6 x
96. All About Eve (1950) 8,3
97. The Apartment (1960) 8,3 2 x
98. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 8,3 10 xxx
99. The Kid (1921) 8,3  8  x
100. Some Like It Hot (1959) 8,3 4 x
101. Treasure of Sierra Madre (1948) 8,3
102. Inglourious Basterds (2009) 8,3 7 xx
103. Indiana Jones L. Crusade (1989) 8,3 7 xx
104. The Third Man (1949) 8,3
105. A Separation (2011) 8,3
106. Gone Girl (2014) 8,3 1 x
107. Yôjinbô (1961) 8,3
108. Batman Begins (2005) 8,3 1 x
109. Toy Story (1995) 8,3 7 xx
110. Metropolis (1927) 8,3 10  x
111. Unforgiven (1992) 8,3
112. Taare Zameen Par (2007) 8,3 8 x
113. Raging Bull (1980) 8,3
114. Scarface (1983) 8,3 8 xx
115. Up (2009) 8,2 10 xx
116. Chinatown (1974) 8,2
117. Downfall (2004) 8,2
118. The Great Escape (1963) 8,2
119. Die Hard (1988) 8,2 7 xx
120. 3 Idiots (2009) 8,2 8 x
121. On the Waterfront (1954) 8,2
122. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) 8,2
123. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) 8,2 8 xx
124. Heat (1995) 8,2
125. The Hunt (2012) 8,2 7 x
126. The Bridge on the R. Kwai (1957) 8,2
127. Good Will Hunting (1997) 8,2 8 xx
128. The Seventh Seal (1957) 8,2
129. My Neighbor Totoro (1988) 8,2 10  x
130. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) 8,2
131. The Gold Rush (1925) 8,2  7  x
132. Ikiru (1952) 8,2
133. The Elephant Man (1980) 8,2
134. Wild Strawberries (1957) 8,2
135. Ran (1985) 8,2
136. The General (1926) 8,2
137. Blade Runner (1982) 8,2
138. L, S and 2 Smoking Barrels (1998) 8,2
139. The Secret in Their Eyes (2009) 8,2
140. Gran Torino (2008) 8,2
141. Casino (1995) 8,2 6 x
142. The Big Lebowski (1998) 8,2
143. Warrior (2011) 8,2
144. Rebecca (1940) 8,2 8 xx
145. V for Vendetta (2005) 8,2 9 xx
146. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) 8,2 6  x
147. Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) 8,2  9  x
148. Rang De Basanti (2006) 8,2 10  x
149. The Deer Hunter (1978) 8,2
150. It Happened One Night (1934) 8,2
151. Cool Hand Luke (1967) 8,2
152. How to Train Your Dragon (2010) 8,2 7 xx
153. Fargo (1996) 8,1
154. Trainspotting (1996) 8,1 6
155. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) 8,1
156. Rush (2013) 8,1
157. Gone with the Wind (1939) 8,1 10 xxx
158. The Maltese Falcon (1941) 8,1
159. Into the Wild (2007) 8,1
160. A Beautiful Mind (2001) 8,1 6 xx
161. The Wages of Fear (1953) 8,1
162. Dial M for Murder (1954) 8,1
163. The Sixth Sense (1999) 8,1 7 xx
164. Hotel Rwanda (2004) 8,1 8 xx
165. Dil Chahta Hai (2001) 8,1 4  x
166. The Thing (1982) 8,1 6  x
167. Finding Nemo (2003) 8,1 6 x
168. No Country for Old Men (2007) 8,1
169. Butch Cassidy and S. Kid (1969) 8,1
170. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) 8,1 7 xx
171. Mary and Max (2009) 8,1 8 x
172. Platoon (1986) 8,1
173. Life of Brian (1979) 8,1
174. 12 Years a Slave (2013) 8,1  7 x
175. Incendies (2010) 8,1
176. Network (1976) 8,1
177. Touch of Evil (1958) 8,1
178. Diabolique (1955) 8,1  7 x
179. Annie Hall (1977) 8,1  7  x
180. Sin City (2005) 8,1 6 x
181. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) 8,1 3 x
182. The Princess Bride (1987) 8,1 7  x
183. Stand by Me (1986) 8,1 7 xx
184. There Will Be Blood (2007) 8,1
185. Ben-Hur (1959) 8,1
186. Amores Perros (2000) 8,1 9 xxx
187. The 400 Blows (1959) 8,1
188. In the Name of the Father (1993) 8,1 1 x
189. The Grapes of Wrath (1940) 8,1 9  x
190. The Wizard of Oz (1939) 8,1 7 xxx
191. Million Dollar Baby (2004) 8,1 2 x
192. Hachi: A Dog’s Tale (2009) 8,1 10  x
193. Persona (1966) 8,1
194. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) 8,1
195. The Avengers (2012) 8,1
196. Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) 8,1
197. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) 8,1
198. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) 8,1 5  x
199. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) 8,1 8 xx
200. 8½ (1963) 8,1
201. Gandhi (1982) 8,1
202. Donnie Darko (2001) 8,1 9 xx
203. Strangers on a Train (1951) 8,1
204. Infernal Affairs (2002) 8,1
205. Jaws (1975) 8,1 4 xx
206. Stalker (1979) 8,1
207. High Noon (1952) 8,1 1 x
208. Twelve Monkeys (1995) 8,1 6 x
209. Shutter Island (2010) 8,0
210. Notorious (1946) 8,0
211. Lagaan (2001) 8,0
212. The King’s Speech (2010) 8,0 4 x
213. The Terminator (1984) 8,0 7 xxx
214. Fanny and Alexander (1982) 8,0 6 x
215. Before Sunrise (1995) 8,0 8 xxx
216. Groundhog Day (1993) 8,0 7 xxx
217. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) 8,0 6  x
218. The Battle of Algiers (1966) 8,0
219. Ip Man (2008) 8,0
220. Rocky (1976) 8,0 7 xxx
221. The Night of the Hunter (1955) 8,0
222. Dog Day Afternoon (1975) 8,0
223. Monsters, Inc. (2001) 8,0 7 xx
224. La Haine (1995) 8,0
225. La Strada (1954) 8,0
226. Who’s Afraid of V. Woolf? (1966) 8,0
227. Memories of Murder (2003) 8,0
228. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) 8,0 3 xx
229. Barry Lyndon (1975) 8,0
230. Castle in the Sky (1986) 8,0  8 x
231. A Fistful of Dollars (1964) 8,0  6 x
232. The Big Sleep (1946) 8,0
233. The Truman Show (1998) 8,0 8 xx
234. The Help (2011) 8,0 7 x
235. The Graduate (1967) 8,0 6 x
236. Roman Holiday (1953) 8,0 8 x
237. Jurassic Park (1993) 8,0 5 xx
238. The Hustler (1961) 8,0
239. Swades (2004) 8,0
240. The Celebration (1998) 8,0
241. Beauty and the Beast (1991) 8,0 6  x
242. In the Mood for Love (2000) 8,0 8  x
243. Papillon (1973) 8,0 5  x
244. Stalag 17 (1953) 8,0
245. Rope (1948) 8,0
246. Her (2013) 8,0 5 x
247. Prisoners (2013) 8,0
248. Before Sunset (2004) 8,0 4 xx
249. Three Colors: Red (1994) 8,0 8  x
250. Underground (1995) 8,0 9 xxx

Updated on Jan, 3rd 2015 (99 movies left)

2 days 2 New Year – updates

Although I am getting better, I am in no condition to travel or spend time in crowded places so I will spend the last day of 2014 and the first day of 2015 alone in my home.

I am not sad for being alone as I am getting my health back.

I’ve lost another pound and got a bit closer to my 100lbs (size 4) goal. I am now 122lbs. So, in a week, 8lbs is a good progress with my high aminoacids and high fat (good fat) but low carb leaky gut diet. I cannot believe that I am eating so much and losing weight.

As I cannot go out, because it is too damn cold and rainy/stormy outside and I am sick, I took my treadmill out from the closet and will start walking 10miles a day like I used to do by the seaside in spring, summer and autumn 🙂 No winter can stop me from my only favorite exercise.

I will start today, man I love walking outside but this is the lemonade I can get now 🙂

Today, I will write about my super healthy Alex diet against leaky gut and fibromyalgia.

The movie project is going beyond good, it is going super because I had lots of time at home as I am sick. I watch 4-5 movies a day from the list and I suppose I will finish this in a month, not in a year 🙂

I will be adding new projects on December 31st, but my new year has already started with this blog I can admit.

So, thanks for following and supporting, you don’t know how much it means to me 🙂

Alex

UPDATE – IDEAL WEIGHT project :) Lost 7lbs already :)

Healthy food is better than I’ve expected. I’ve already lost 7 lbs in a week with extremely healthy Leaky Gut diet. 

As you know, I was 130lbs and want to be 100lbs as I was 6 months ago, and before that :).

It is my ideal weight as I am 5’3” (tiny). I gained this much as I was sick at home, could not exercise and ate lots of junk as I was depressed. So I wanna be size 4 again as I am my most comfortable self. Plus, all my clothes are size 4, I cannot fit in anything 😛

It is not an official GAPS diet, but very good to cope with Leaky Gut. As I always disconform the diets written by others I created my own Alex Diet 🙂 It is a low carb, high good-fat and high aminoacid diet. Not like Dukan or Atkins as they are like hell, you almost eat nothing and go mental 🙂

On my next post, I will give the details of what I eat/drink in a day. So you can try it too…

Alex

Movie critique – Fanny & Alexander (1982 – Bergman) by Alex

Yet another so called “masterpiece” including step dad issues in a ridiculously rich & famous family and made IMDB top 250 because the director’s name is Ingmar Bergman.

There has already been a very boring Hamlet, so what’s the point in remaking that?

The only nice thing was the art direction in the movie. The mood of the characters correspond well with the scenes/colors/dresses and even curtains 🙂 So? That’s it.

Noone understands the movie. Many appreciations were made how supernatural, divine magic interferes etc.

Here is a spolier for you:

The kids literally die and never have escaped or rescued! End scene proves that the mother did not see her child when she is going out. Only the grandma sees Alexander, as she sees other ghosts like her son (real father of Alexander)

I really do not get what is Fanny doing in the movie except for being an eyewitness. Nothing special about her. The movie should have been called Alexander’s revenge. Fanny has almost no lines and stands as a background in the scenes.

Aaron, Ishmael… Ok we see the religious names of prophets and etc. Alex do not even believe in God. When he was possessed by Ishmael, he created the fire event in the house and took revenge/rescued his mother and twin sisters to be born. Just like what he saw as ghosts in the house before his death.

OMG! This was Hamlet taking revenge after death with really good art direction and mood-matching color choice in the curtains. That’s it.

Do not waste your 3 hours on a 6 out of 10 please. Life is short.

Alex

UPDATES

Hey everyone !

I wanted to update you about latest progress in my projects:

The movie project goes well.

I’ve watched 7 movies from the list in the last 3 days 🙂 Pretty fast as I am sick and cannot go out 🙂

Lemonades 🙂

Healty eating goes really well and I am getting better everyday 🙂 No stomach pain or migranes today. I feel good 🙂

Will be adding new projects about job and writing. Soon 🙂

Have a nice weekend!

Alex

Best Indian Movies to watch – Compact critiques by Alex

In IMBD top 250, there are several Indian movies, a.k.a. Bollywood, and each of them won or nominated for many awards including BAFTA and Oscars. I watched all of them and here are my compact critiques:

3 idiots (2009) One of the funniest movies I have ever seen. Criticizes the harsh and competitive educational system in India and gives good insight about career choice issues in India. A must see as it is really different in Europe or USA. There are many students who commit suicide every year in India because of the pressure of failing in the class. If possible, watch it with your children. Aamir Khan shows one of his best performances.

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What I learned:

1. “Being an idiot is not being stupid.”

2. “Do what you like the most and you are already best at. And do it perfectly. Success will follow”

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A funny scene from 3 idiots

***

Slumdog Millionaire  (2008) A must watch, not only an Oscar winner but also a masterpiece in both script and directing.

images (1) - CopyFor the casting of the adult actors/actresses, I cannot praise that much though.

As the script and directing is too good, the mediocrity of the cast is eliminated. Too long but bearable. This was the only one I watched at the movie theatre and at some moments I got sleepy 🙂

Very important note that the children acting in the movie depicting the toddler years were extremely successful. Their acting is far much better than the adults in the movie.

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What I learned:

1. “A good movie is not about casting, it is about script, directing and cinematography.” (It is no surprise that it won 8 Oscars including script, directing, cinematography, music and best movie.)

2. “Notice everything. It will help you some way.”

***

Taare Zameen Par : Like stars on earth (2007) Another too long movie but the messages are too important so I recommend this one too. It is about a boy with dyslexia suffer from living an ordinary school life failing over and over until a ttaarezameenpar (1) - Copyeacher (Aamir Khan of course) gives him a chance to show his great talent in illustration. A life changing movie with many educational quotes for families with young children and teachers in competitive schools. The best scenes are the ones that show how different a dyslexic child’s brain works from “normal” ones.

What I learned:

1. “Normal is neither creative, nor perfect.”

2. “How a dyslexic mind works”

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Rang De Basanti (2006) How I missed this masterpiece? I cannot believe myself! If you loved V for Vendetta, you will adore Rang de Basanti! Cast is perfect, Aamir Khan shines again. The story by Kamlesh Pandey could not be told better. Screenplay (Renzil D’Silva) and directing (Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra) is beyond perfect.

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This movie is about how things “do not change” in time and revolution will always be there as far as a handful of innocent, honest young students exist. Differing from V for Vendetta, this movie is not about revenge. It is purely about justice. So, it is far better than V, which is also one of my favorites.

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Rang De Basanti shows gradual transformation of university students from being politically apathetic to antigovernment rebels. After the death of their friend, who is in the army as a pilot, Defence Minister blames the pilot for the crash although it is because of the Minister who was bribed and purchased the plane parts which should not be used.

The students organize a peaceful candlelight at the India Gate, but the police severely and the rest of the film shows the dramatic results of this violence.

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10 out of 10 from me… In terms of script, directing and casting.

What I learned:

1. “No country is perfect. You’ve got to make it perfect.”

2. Thanks to Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra I learned a lot about directing. The yellow bus passing in the background when we see the past and present is one of the best scenes of simple symbolism along with the song Rang de Basanti, which means “color me saffron(yellow)” (80 yrs ago some firebrand young indian nationalists were singing this song in all parts of India and trying to fight colonialism.)

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3. “There are 3 kinds of people. The ones who go to death screaming, the ones who go to death silent (like Vendetta) and the ones who go to death “Laughing”. Those are the ones who believe in others will take the torch and they did not die for nothing.”

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Dil Chahta Hai (2001) I will be honest. I did not like it. Too too long and very very boring. It is about love and finding love etc etc. I don’t really know why this one is on IMDB top 250.

What I learned:

“You can be a man who falls in love easily or never falls in love at all. It does not matter. When it comes to a relatinship, you should first be a good friend to her. It takes time and effort.” (Spice Girls said this one earlier, so… 🙂

“Conversation is the key”

“You cannot choose who to love, it just happens.” What a cliché 🙂

These messages are in most of the movies so it becomes boring seeing them again and again. I simply do not recommend this one even Aamir Khan cannot save this movie 🙂

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To sum up:

The only bad side that all of those movies share is the length. They are too long to capture my attention as they are nearly 3 hr movies. I cannot imagine myself watching them in a movie theatre. At home, I watch them while doing other things including texting or tweeting. Sorry but especially the songs and dances are too too long with an exception of Slumdog Millionaire. It has no songs or dance until end credits; however, still too long…

If you want to start, start with Slumdog Millionarie. Then watch 3 idiots. You will love them I promise 🙂

If you liked V for Vendetta, watch Rang de Basanti in the first place.

Believe me, these Indian movies will give you a realistic perspective in Indian Culture like My Sassy Girl (2001 – original) gives about Korean culture. I strongly recommend that one too.

As a last word. Please do not waste time on remakes. When they are remade by Hollywood they are not successful because of the cultural differences. Hollywood should continue to do Hollywood and stop doing the remakes of international blockbusters.

Alex

DAILY UPDATES – MOVIES

Just watched The Beauty and the Beast and found it quite boring… Singing, dancing, same old same old. Where is the interpretation, a new twist to the story? Even parents get bored and add twists to stories they tell their kids before sleep!!!

Cannot compare this Disney things to real animes like Nausicaa or Spirited Away by Studio GhibliHayao Miyazaki. Better watch them again and again 🙂

Watch trailer of spirited away

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Harry Potter, although very good story as a book, I hate the acting and directing of this sequel from the beginning. It runs so slow, they act so depressed. There should have been more humor in any adventure. It gives Twilight taste to me. 6/10 from me. Yawnnn :/

I will watch Dil Chahta Hai now! Aamir Khan is always good 🙂

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Alex