Kylie: The best face of Windows

Kylie On Windows 7 promo Campaign

For the first time Microsoft has done what its competitors have failed to do. It has roped in the service of cute little Kylie to promote their latest product Windows 7. I think this kind of promotion or publicity move is 100 % correct from the marketing point of view.

G-Force

English (U)
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Penelope Cruz, Tracy Morgan, Nicolas Cage, Will Arnett, Bill Nighy
Director: Hoyt Yeatman

A scene from the film ‘G- Force’.The FBI is not convinced about the field operational capabilities of ‘G-Force’  unit – a secret team of three genetically-engineered guinea pigs and a mole.

However, Darwin (voiced by Rockwell) leads Juarez (Cruz), Blaster (Morgan), and tech-wiz Speckles (Cage) to get their due recognition as one of the best US secret service teams when they find out that electronics giant chief executive officer Saber (Nighy) is planning to control consumers by activating a secret chip secretly placed in the company’s appliances over the years.

Walt Disney Pictures’ ‘G-Force’ is perfect for younger children in the age group of 4-12 years.

The plot is simple, animation seamless even in the 2-D format and it has a riotous script which is voiced by a talented cast.

As the film is very clear about its target audience – younger kids – trying to convince young adults or teens to watch this film can be a bit embarrassing since most have seen animals talking and doing gravity-defying stunts and so forth.

But for kids, talking guinea pigs doing James Bond stunts, fartings, sliding down a pipe etc., can be very funny. The tricks employed are simple and predictable, yet they are time-tested to bring smiles on the faces of kids.

‘G-Force’ is a wholesome family entertainer and parents can proudly take their children to watch it without having any second thought.

READ MORE REVIEWS FROM DECCAN HERALD

Main Aurr Mrs Khanna

[Robert L Sungte]
Deccan Herald
Hindi (U/A)
Cast: Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Sohail Khan, Preity Zinta, Bappi Lahiri
Director: Prem Soni

Debutant director Prem Soni’s ‘Main Aurr Mrs Khanna’ is about a married Indian couple in Melbourne trying to fix their relationship hit by financial insecurity of the husband, Samir (Salman). Samir moves to Singapore for a job and tells wife Raina (Kareena) to return to Delhi. However, Raina refuses and with the help of her new- found friends gets a job at the Melbourne airport where she soon becomes the dreamgirl of cafe-boy Aakash (Sohail Khan).

Post intermission: Samir gets a job, returns to claim his wife but finds himself in a threesome love story, as Mrs Khanna has signed a dummy marriage document with Aakash.

The first half moves at a snail’s pace leaving you all the time to admire the boots, jackets and eyelashes of the actors. The second half is no better, save for a few funny lines.

The plot is even weaker. It needs the helping hand of Dino Morea, Preity Zinta and Deepika Padukone. Blame it on the ridiculously updated script Govinda didn’t make it to support Salman. Kareena is also bombastically awful. Salman has to share the burden of lifting the film with brother Sohail but supporting actor Yash Tonk seems better than the Khans and Bhappi Lahiri in the full glory of his gold chains.

Can you find any logical reason for a woman who still manages to get the best of clothes and lipsticks when her relationship is falling apart? For fans, the only savior of ‘Main Aurr Mrs Khanna’ is Salman’s reliable biceps. A dumb movie not worth the ticket price.

Read More Film Reviews

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

[Robert L Sungte, Deccan Herald]

English (U/A)
Cast: Penelope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem
Director: Woody Allen

Best friends Vicky (Hall) and Cristina (Johansson) are poles apart when it comes to love. Vicky believes she knows what she wants and is doing research on Catalan even as she prepares for her wedding to the man of her dreams Doug (Messina). And Cristina is not sure of what to do after making a 12-minute film. She tries her hand in photography.

But the two friends have one thing in common – they are smitten and seduced by a just-divorced Spanish artist Juan Antonio (Bardem) when on holiday in Barcelona.
Antonio sleeps with both women but he still has a soft corner for his wild and beautiful ex-wife Maria (Cruz). Vicky turns cautious of Antonio, while Cristina follows him to his house. But when Antonio takes Maria in again after she tries to kill herself and after a brief spell of three-some lovemaking, the room begins to turn smaller.

This complicated and high-risk experiment on finding the perfect element in love is certainly one of the best from director Woody Allen’s genre of film-making. Classic film editing styles of fade-ins and fade-outs are incorporated with an appropriately timed voiceover narration.
The film is a witty take on love, lust, and marriage in sunny Barcelona. The stars are beautiful and their performances are naturally good enough for Allen and young adults. Johansson is sweetly innocent while Cruz turns impeccably hot to be forgotten.

‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’ is definitely an intelligent film based on the continuous process of learning how to be ‘in love’ and not ‘out of love’.

Read More Articles from Deccan Herald

Surrogates (Film Review)

Robert L Sungte, Deccan Herald

English(A)
Cast: Bruce Willis, James Cromwell , Ving Rhames
Director: Jonathan Mostow
This sci-fi film is about the dangerous trend of impersonal relationship ushered in by technology. People don’t interact in normal day-to-day activities anymore. They are brainwashed by companies to use their exact look-alike surrogates to maintain their public life while they sit at home.

However, when surrogate creator Dr Lionel Canter’s (Cromwell) son is murdered, things take a new turn. FBI agent Tom Greer (Willis) and his partner are ordered to probe the case. The two agents also use their ‘surries’ to track down the killer but when Tom’s surry is destroyed, the real ‘him’ is forced to venture out of his home to the streets.
The general theme is a fight against surrogate technology led by ‘The Prophet’ (Rhames) and to free humans from its clutches. Using a graphically greenish set-up, director Jonathan Mostow tries hard to bring forth man’s blind acceptance of machines and its dangers. There are some brilliant action sequences in addition to the artistic impression of the surrogate of Bruce Willis’ look.

However, the film lacks a tight plot and twists become predictable after the first half. There are also many rooms that need a little more attention. For instance, the reason behind Tom’s failing relationship with his wife after the death of their son is sapless.

The motivational message that humans need direct and personal relationship is perhaps the only reason that drives this soulless and shallow take on human dependency on technology.

Read More Reviews from Deccan Herald

Earn from Twitter

This is for those of you interested in making money from twitter. Sponsored Tweets is an ideal platform for you to start if you are serious about making money while you are having fun tweeting your own opinion or news.
So, how does the whole system work ?

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The process is simple too.

Step 1 – You sign up for Sponsored Tweets, just like any other app with an authorization.

Step 2 – You select what type of advertisers you are interested in from the different categories available.

Step 3 – You do nothing but keep tweeting. :)

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SIGN UP Now!

Inglorious Basterds

[Source: Deccan Herald]

English (A)
Cast: Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Diana Kruger
Director: Quentin Tarantino

Set in the historic year of 1944 when the Second World War was at its final phase, Tarantino’s ‘Inglorious Basterds’ is a classy take on two plots revolving around the attempt to bring down leaders of the Third Reich.

First a band of Jewish American soldiers, ‘the Basterds,’ led by their valiant leader Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) carries out surgical strikes against Nazi troops in France. In the meantime, a lady Jew theatre owner (Melanie Laurent), is approached by a German soldier and actor (Daniel Bruhl) to host the premiere of his propaganda film in Paris. The plot then brings ‘the Basterds’, the Jew lady who is seeking her revenge and the German high command including Hitler under the roof of a theatre for the final showdown.

Far from reality, the film takes larger than life twists with its bizarre and bloody scenes. It is natural for many reviewers to get excited at the mention of Tarantino and his film but those people who have branded the film as “simply hilarious” and “brilliantly striking” are just exaggerating about this rather over-indulgent exercise. The class in movie-making remains intact but at the expense of substance.

Pitt is comparatively good as a fearless strike unit team leader. However, standing taller is Christoph Walltz as SS officer Col Hans Landa. Walltz has the look of a jackal under a sheep’s skin.

However, many Tarantino fans will be disappointed for there is not much morality involved. Ardent followers can expect a toned down version of ‘Pulp Fiction’. Over all, the film could either turn into one of the most boring film from Tarantino’s stable or it could be simply awesome for people enjoying his kind-of-movies.

Source: Deccan Herald

UP (3D film review)

English (U)
Cast: Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai
Director: Pete Docter

It’s been a while since we saw ‘U’ rating in recently released animation films. With Pixar’s latest installment ‘Up’ we are introduced to a children-friendly adventure involving a 80-year-old plus Carl Fredricksen (Asner) and a young boy Russell (Nagai).

Carl Fredricksen and his wife Ellie have dreamt of exploring the exotic Paradise Falls in South America since their childhood.

This place has been described by world renowned explorer Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer) as the most beautiful place on earth.

However, life has other things in store for the couple. Ellie dies but Carl keeps the dream alive and one day, thinking he is alone in the house, attaches hundreds of balloons to the chimney of his house and sets off towards Paradise Falls only to find a young explorer Russell in his flying house.

Seeing Russell’s enthusiasm Carl takes him along and that’s when the adventure begins with the birds and talking dogs besides a villain.

The film’s plot is simple, yet heart-rending with a sense of loneliness permeating after a happy, long-married couple are parted.
But the story also goes to show how a man can once again see the rainbow after the rain.
The character Russell is particularly sweet and funny. Children will love him for his enthusiastic facial expressions and guts.

Most of Pixar’s films bear marks of success, and this time too, the guys have come up with a film that reflects true family values besides reflecting on the comradeship between the old and the young in this superb visual picturisation.

Deccan Herald

BMA League 2009 Live Coverage on Inpui.com

En sinna....

Opera Mini 5 Beta

Opera Released Opera Mini 5 Beta – Opera carries news to those who like surfing on virtual world using mobile phone. Now Opera has released Opera Mini 5 Beta version.

Opera Mini 5 Beta has some features, which should be very useful to the users, some of them are:

• Tabbed Browsing, with this tab function, you can browse to any and some websites at the same time easily.
• Speed dial, is one of most popular features provided by Opera, it is also available at this version so that you can visit your favorite websites with only one click.
• Touch & Keypad, an application to optimize the performance of touch screen and keypad.
• Password manager, is to save and manage the Login Password to Email, Social Networking Sites, etc.

Opera Developers has created the tutorial video to demonstrate the functions and features of opera mini 5.

If you want to try opera mini 5 beta, you can download directly from your mobile phone at http://m.opera.com/next, or if you intend to download it through PC, please get it here at http://www.opera.com/mini/next/download.

Google Web Elements

Google Introduces Google Web Elements – Are you user of Google products? Maybe you are interested in one of their products called Google Web Elements. With Google Web Elements, you can easily install some Google products on your blog or website.

The Google products are:

• Calendar
• Conversation
• Custom Search
• Maps
• News
• Presentations
• Spreadsheets
• YouTube News

If you want to install those products at your blog or website, please visit http://www.google.com/webelements and choose the products that you want.

Below is one example of Google Web Elements, it is Google Maps:

hmar wants to keep up with you on Twitter

hmar wants to keep up with you on Twitter To find out more about Twitter visit http://twitter.com/i/f90c6e94884af3f5b469b94fc62461e039671d2a Thanks, — The Twitter Team About Twitter Twitter is a unique approach to communication and networking based on the simple concept of status. What are you doing? What are your friends doing—right now? With Twitter, you may answer this question over SMS or the Web and the responses are shared between contacts. This message was sent by a Twitter user who entered your email address. If you'd prefer not to receive emails when other people invite you to Twitter you can opt-out Please do not reply to this message; it was sent from an unmonitored email address. This message is a service email related to your use of Twitter. For general inquiries or to request support with your Twitter account, please visit us at Twitter Support.

9 (Review)

English(U/A)
Cast: Christopher Plummer, John C. Reilly, Elijah Wood
Director: Shane Acker

...The plot may be teeny-weeny but 9's overwhelming focus on bravery, brotherhood and self sacrifice with its impressive animation works create a whole new world which is a must-see for all...
Read Full Review

The Ugly Truth (Review)

English(A)
Cast: Gerard Butler ,Katherine Heigl, Eric Winter
Director: Robert Luketic

The film’s predictable plot also has the most sexual references among the recently released romcom films with scenes involving the use of F and B words and sexist dry remarks. With so many vulgar expressions young couples may find it titillating to some extent. If you don’t mind a sincerely devilish, talk dirty and above all stereotypical movie The Ugly Truth might be just for you...

Read Full Review

20 Must-See Films

Here's a list of 20 films you can't refuse to watch :) (not in order of ranking, you can have your ranking after watching them)

1. Birth of a Nation (US, 1915)
2. Bicycle Thief (Italian, 1948)
3. Roshomon (Japanese, 1950)
4. The Battleship Potemkin (Russian, 1925)
5. 12 Angry Men (1957, US)
6. To Kill A Moking Bird (1962, US)
7. The Pasion of Joan of Arc (French, 1928)
8. Apu Trilogy (Indian, Bengali) directed by Satyajit Ray consisting of three films - Pather Panchali, Aparajito and Apur Sansar
9. Lords of the Ring (all the three series)
10. The Godfather (All the three series)
11. The Gold Rush (Charles Chaplin, 1925)
12. Intolerance: Love's Struggle Through the Ages (US, 1916)
13.Citizen Kane (US, 1941)
14. Seven Samurai (Japanese, 1954)
15.Schindler's List (US, 1993)
16. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
17. Gone with the Wind (US, 1939)
18. Saving Private Ryan (US, 1998)
19. Children of Heaven (Iranian, 1997)
20.The Great Dictator (Charlie Chaplin, 1940)

In addition to the above films, Ben Hur and The Passion of Christ are well documented.

Got your must-see movie list or want to add more to our list? If you do, let us know in the comment box.

The Taking of Pelham 123 (Film Review)

English (A)
Cast: John Travolta, Denzel Washington, John Turturro, James Gandolfini
Director: Tony Scott

Ex-con Ryder and his men after hijacking a train put up a $10 million ransom. It would have been a simple case of robbery but when Ryder talks to metro rail dispatcher Walter Garber’s (Washington), an intense hostage drama begins.

Ryder is shrewd and yet found his weakness in Walter, a poorly paid civil servant, who has been demoted to the dispatch desk after being charged for taking bribes. Walter is drawn into Ryder’s gameplan and the incident provides him a perfect chance to redeem himself but will he take it?

Read Full Review

Race to Witch Mountain (Film Review)

English (U/A)
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb, Alexander Ludwig, Carla Gugino
Director: Andy Fickman

Walt Disney’s latest sci-fi flick is a film on environment despite the planet under threat being an alien home somewhe re in the outer space. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson plays Jack Bruno, a Las Vegas taxi driver, who one day has to drive teen siblings Sara (Robb) and Seth (Ludwig) to a strange destination. When Bruno realises that the two had come from outer space on an ecological mission to save their dying planet, it’s already too late for him to turn his back on them...
Read Full Review

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

English (U/A)
Cast: Channing Tatum, Dennis Quaid, Sienna Miller, Rachel Nichols , Director: Stephen Sommers

The hastily constructed plot of GI Joe: Rise of Cobra is set somewhere in the near future wherein elite members of the ‘GI Joe’ team have to take on a tech-savvy weapons dealer out to destroy the world, region by region, with his nano-weapon.

Duke (Tatum) is a new recruit leading the team to retrieve the stolen weapons. However, the story gets murkier when he realises that his ex-fiancee Baroness (Sienna Miller) is on the other side of the law. The film tries hard to highlight and relate the two through disjointed flashbacks and occasional encounters. However, all efforts to create a chemistry between them fails miserably.

Miller can hardly build up the requisite emotions...

Read Full Review

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Public Enemies

English(A)
Cast: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard
Director: Michael Mann

The Great Depression of the 1930s provides an excellent opportunity for gangsters and outlaws to strike at banks who were blamed for the meltdown. This film traces the rise and fall of charismatic bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) who was considered a modern day Robin Hood by many.

After his release from jail John unleashed a 14-month crime wave in Chicago and to contain him an equally popular FBI man Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) was asked to head the operation to track down the most wanted man who ‘makes the justice system a mockery’.
Read Full Review

17 Again

English (U/A)
Cast: Leslie Mann, Zac Efron, Matthew Perry
Director: Burr Steers

Mike (Matthew Perry) is in his mid-30s with tons of problems. With no promotions in his career, strained marriage and losing touch with his children he wonders if he can get back to his college days and turn his life around again.

Read Full Review

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

Two years after experiencing a fast-paced adventure at Manhattan’s Museum of Natural History, Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) leaves his night guard job to become a successful businessman/inventor-designer with products like a glow-in-the-dark flashlight to his kitty.

However, Larry’s heart sinks when all of his museum friends are shipped off for permanent storage to the Smithsonian underground museum in Washington to make way for new hi-tech exhibits....
Read Full Review

English (U/A)
Cast: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Amy Adams, Hank Azaria
Director: Shawn Levy

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince review

English (U/A)
Cast: Michael Gambon, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
Director: David Yates

‘Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince’ is basically a showcase of director David Yates’ work. He directed Potter once in ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ and he manages to maintain a balanced dose of an artistic touch on adolescent relationship and the forces of evil. However, Potter fans need to realise by now that there are bound to be omissions and additions.
Read Full Review

Boarding Gate review

English (A)
Cast: Asia Argento, Kelly Lin, Michael Madsen
Director: Olivier Assayas
Asia Argento in Boarding GateLust, money and betrayal in the faint shade is back. Asia Argento (of XXX fame) teams up with maverick director Olivier Assayas (who has been making ‘off-the-beat’ films for sometime) in this gruelling emotional thriller.

Miles (Michael Madsen) involved in a shady Paris investment firm is confronted by former girlfriend Sandra (Argento), who cannot forget him. So she visits him now and then, to hit back at Miles personally and also at the same time fulfilling the wishes of her boss Lester (Carl Ng) with whom she is now having an affair.

Read Full Review

26/11: Attack on Mumbai review

Behind the veil of gloom
Deccan Herald

Looking back at the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai is like putting your fingers back into the fire.

It hurts even more because the compassionate stories and thought-provoking commentaries that come up in the aftermath of the bloody event did not serve much purpose. 26/11: The Attack on Mumbai traces the attacks on India’s financial capital as it unfolded in a series of stories from ‘The Hindustan Times’ reporters and some exclusive articles by well known writers and journalists.

Browsing through the book, one could get the glimpse of those trapped inside the Taj, the Oberoi and also the men involved in the rescue operations. It brings forth the emotive human spirit and also why Mumbai city got back to its feet as soon as it was brought down on its knees.

The book also covers the immediate political fallout — the higher middle class angst against politicians and how soon it cooled down; change in Pakistan’s stance — that country for the first time admitted that its citizens were involved in the terror attacks against India. Behind the veil of gloom, 26/11 also presents some amusing stories on politicians and wannabe superstars among India’s top security officials.

Some might feel it’s like re-reading ‘dead’ newspaper reports. That’s where you could get bored. There are also few factual errors which could have been avoided. Otherwise, 26/11 presents a diverse view of the event — from inside and outside, top and below — to let you to draw your own conclusions as to why such a dastardly act could happen. Among the many commentaries, the closing piece, ‘Terrorist’ by noted film director Mahesh Bhatt, leaves a lasting impact on the reader’s mind as he presses the need for redemption through his talks with a terrorist.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

English(A/U)
Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel
Director: Michael Bay

Two years after the Transformers hit theatres comes Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen with much more action.

Shia LaBeouf and sexy Megan Fox return as the love couple Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes caught in the battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons.

In this edition, Sam goes to the university to pursue higher studies, but before his first class ends he is called back to the battlefront as the Decepticons led by Starscream and Megatron are hell bent on having their revenge by bringing darkness over the Earth forever...
Read Full Review

Ice Age 3 review

English(U)
Cast: Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, Simon Pegg, Chris Wedge
Director: Carlos Saldanha

Ice Age as a franchise is a big name and its latest series Dawn of the Dinosaurs lived upto its reputation, but a lesser....

The film is now much more adult oriented, many of the ‘funny lines’ would be unintelligible to children. On the whole, Ice Age 3 is no longer very cool, but just cool with few laugh spots here and there.
Read Full Review

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Privacy Policy for nahai.blogspot.com

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Terminator Salvation review

Review by RLS
English(U/A)
Cast: Christian Bale, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Worthington
Director: McG

If it was not for director McG’s expert hand of assembling the messy script and settings, besides the injection of a few surprises here and there, the film would have been a total waste. ‘Terminator Salvation: The End Begins’ should spell the end of the epic battle between machines and mankind once and for all...
Read Full Review

Bolt review

Review by RLS
Bolt
English (U)
Cast: John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman
Director: Byron Howard, Chris Williams
Walt Disney’s latest animation flick is about a loveable dog actor named Bolt (John Travolta) trained to believe he is a real crime-fighting superdog...

The film doesn’t have many funny lines but the simple storyline based on trust and friendship does bring a soothing effect. Bolt, the TV show superdog, is after all, a wholesome family entertainer...
Read Full Review

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

English (U/A)
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston
Director: Gavin Hood

The season of prequels is here. First it was ‘Star Trek’ showing us how it all began and now the makers of ‘X-Men’ are doing exactly the same.
Read Full Review

Salim Must Die

Author: Mukul Deva
Publisher: HarperCollins,
Year: 2009, pp 415, Rs 225

He had done a marvellous job with his Lashkar and now suspense author Mukul Deva gives us another insightful view into the threat perception of Islamic fundamentalism. Salim Must Die is a sequel to his bestseller Laskhar and it continues to feature Deva’s main characters Iqbal, Anbu and Salim — much more in detail.

Lashkar ended but a new plot comes from Iqbal, the mechanic-turned terrorist who made his way back across the Line of Control (LoC) to be captured by the Indian armed forces. Why would he do that and what is the mission of this young man is answered in the most thrilling manner. The plot revolves around the supposed-to-be-dead Murad Salim, a ruthless and brilliant architect of global terror network. Now he is bent on carrying out his most deadly plan to tell the rest of the world that he stands on the ground of righteousness.
Read My Full Review

Shinjuku Incident (Film Review)

English (A)
Cast: Jackie Chan, Daniel Wu, Naoto Takenaka, Fan Bing-Bing, Xu Jinglei
Director: Derek Yee Tung-Sing

This is the third film in which Jackie Chan takes up serious cinema after ‘The New Police Story’ and ‘The Myth’. Of the three films his role in this film demands him to look much more serious and Jackie does just that. He smiles a few times and does not fight even in scenes where he should be. He has to put on a long face throughout.

At first it appears that the kung fu master was trying to re-invent himself taking all the blows from others. However, Jackie won’t be in a film where there are no fights, right? So, there are some brilliant stuff to look out for after the first half...
Read Full Review

Captivity

English (A)
Cast: Elisha Cuthbert, Daniel Gillies, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Michael Harney
Director: Roland Joffe

This film falls in the category of soft-core ‘torture porn’ with its grisly images and extensive use of raw violence. A top model Jennifer Tree (Elisha Cuthbert) is kidnapped by a stalker who abuses her emotionally and physically in a basement with another captive Gary (Daniel Gillies)...
Read My Full Review

Star Trek: The Future Begins

English (U/A)
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana, Bruce Greenwood , Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana
Director: J J Abrams

With its fast-packed action there is no time to get nostalgic for Star Trek fans. Even then newcomers aren’t left wondering either. The script is such that while it remains true to the structural settings of the earlier editions, the new inputs are simple to understand...
Read My Full Review Here

Is Meira the right person to occupy Lok Sabha chair?

India is known for having many first things! A couple of days back the 15th Lok Sabha proudly presents a united face and unanimously elected Congress nominee Mrs Meira Kumar to the Speaker's chair.

Mrs Kumar becomes the first woman to occupy the respected, yet sometimes controversial, seat.

The move to have a woman Speaker has also been hailed by women MPs irrespective of their political affiliates. At the same time there are many who say Mrs Kumar with her 'cute little voice is not suitable' to occupy the chair. "There are many powerful speakers in the parliament who will silenced her," one friend said.

Do you think the Congress and the Opposition parties are justified in electing Mrs Kumar as the 'first woman Lok Sabha Speaker?' Is this just another political gimmick?

Angels & Demons (Review)

English (A)
Cast: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgaard, Pierfrancesco Favino, Nicolaj Lie Kaas, Armin Mueller-Stahl
Director: Ron Howard

In ‘The Da Vinci Code’, Dan Brown gave the Catholics a hard time when he let free Harvard professor and symbologist Dr Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) to unravel the church’s most guarded secrets which had questioned the very foundation of Christianity. However, in ‘Angels and Demons’ Dr Langdon (Hanks again) is seen racing against time to save the Church!
Read Full Review

Be careful of electric power! (Video)

[Warning: Video footage has gruesome scenes.]
This is a real life video at one of the train stations in India. We got this from our friends and we're posting it here as a public service message. The video shows an agitated man who went to the top of the train and unknowingly touched the high-power voltage electric wire...leaving him dead.

It's always better to play safe when you are near an electric wire, even while using home appliances. Be careful be safe!

Is LTTE chief really dead?

Media reports say Prabhakaran has been killed but recently we received this picture/photo of him in our email that shows him sitting comfortably and watching his own dead body on a news channel! He is also holding a Tamil daily.

We were not sure about the picture, whether it is doctored or real.

If you have anything to say on this please leave it on the comment box.

Agatha Sangma: Youngest, hottest minister in UPA govt

Nationalist Congress Party general secretary and for former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma’s daughter Agatha Sangma is to become the youngest minister in the UPA governmmnet today (May 28, 2009).

The 28-year-old lady who had won from the Tura LS constituency in the recently concluded election has become a sensation even on the internet with thousands looking up Google for ‘Agatha Sangma’.

Agatha is not only the young face of the UPA government but also the hottest among them. Besides, being the first woman MP from Meghalaya also works in her favour. We will be seeing her more and more in the coming days, for there are many media houses following her every moves.

A rare opportunity given to a woman Memeber of Parliament from northeast India is definitely a welcome step.

We too nod our head in agreement that she is indeed the hottest among all MPs in the Indian Parliament. Hema Malini and Jaya Prada are now history!

However hot and happening she is, we looked forward to the quality of her work in the days to come.

Webtalkies Short Film Awards 2009

Webtalkies invites films, both fiction and non-fiction, across genres and languages. The only constraint would be in terms of the film duration which will have to be between min 3 to max 15 minutes. The shortlisted films will be screened on nautanki.tv and simultaneously judged panel of judges including filmmakers like Paromita Vohra and Amol Gupte, film editors like Deepa Bhatia and cinematographers like Mahesh Aney.

The best three films will be chosen by the jury as per the following categories and will be awarded prize monies as follows:

• Best Short Film : Rs 50,000
• Best Editor : Rs 25,000
• Best Cinematographer : Rs 25,000

In addition, the film that gets the highest number of views on nautanki.tv will be awarded the

• Audience Choice Award and a cash prize of Rs. 30,000.

Entries open 1st June, 2009 to 15th July, 2009.

There is NO entry fee.

The shortlisted films will be notified by mail on 1st August, 09 and the films will be put up on www.nautanki.tv

The best three films will be declared on 7th September, 09 and they will be screened at INOX, Nariman Point on the 27th of September 09 and the jury will present the cash prizes. For Further Information - Click here.

Do we need another nuclear-armed nation?

With North Korea announcing its second 'successful nuclear tests' yesterday the Korean peninsular crisis became much more complex rather than easing the ongoing reconciliation process.

North Korea proudly claimed: “The successful nuclear test is greatly inspiring the army and people of the DPRK [North Korea].”

“The test will contribute to defending the sovereignty of the country and the nation and socialism and ensuring peace and security on the Korean Peninsula,” it added.

The question the world community should now be asking is whether we need nuclear weapons to root-out our enemies. Also, why should we destroy the world as well as our enemies at the same time. We can at least be good to 'mother earth' who had given mankind so much. If we really wanted to settle score points with our enemies we can just keep the conventional ways, like, using our AK-47s or even kungfu fighting?

We have one world and now over seven nuclear-armed states all set to destroy it whenever they wanted to. Even in times of peace nuclear weapons are a danger. It is time leaders of the world seriously contemplate on behaving like a 'nuclear family' and sort out their differences in amicable ways without threatening the other.

[Image: joongangdaily.com]

LTTE admits Prabhakaran’s death

Colombo, May 24: Ending its stoic silence over the death of Tamil Tiger supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, the LTTE on Sunday said the top rebel leader was killed in last week's final battle with the Sri Lankan military in the north.

 

We announce today, with inexpressible sadness and heavy hearts that our incomparable leader and supreme commander (Prabhakaran)... attained martyrdom fighting the military oppression," the LTTE's head of International Relations Selvarasa Pathmanathan said in a statement today.

"For over three decades, our leader was the heart and soul and the symbol of hope, pride and determination for the whole nation of people of Tamil Eelam," Pathmanathan said.

The Sri Lankan Army had on Monday last said it has killed Prabhakaran when he tried to flee in an ambulance. But, the LTTE immediately rejected the army claim, saying Tamil Tiger supremo was alive and safe.

The Tigers had dismissed the announcement by the Sri Lankan government about Prabhakaran's death as "engineered rumours".

"These rumours have been set afloat to confuse the global Tamil community which has been voicing support for the liberation of Tamil Eelam," a pro-rebel website had said, quoting Arivazhakan, the 'Head of International Secretariat of the Intelligence wing' of Tamil Tigers.

However, in today's statement, Pathmanathan said 54-year-old Prabhakaran died fighting military but did not give details of the circumstances that led to his death.

He also announced a week of mourning for their dead leader, starting tomorrow.

The statement calls on Tamils all over the world to "restrain from harmful acts to themselves or anyone else in this hour of extreme grief."

"Since the failure of the peace process and the escalation of the war forced upon the Tamil people, the LTTE was faced to confront the Sri Lankan military that was supported by the world powers.

"This deliberate bias and position taken by the international community severely weakened the military position of the LTTE," he said.

"Our leader confronted this threat without any hesitation. He would not waver in his desire to be with his people and fight for his people till the end," he said.

"His (Prabhakaran) final request was for the struggle to continue until we achieved the freedom," Pathmanathan said, adding "his legend and the historical status as the greatest Tamil leader ever are indestructible."

The Sri Lankan troops recovered Prabhakaran's body near a lagoon in the 'No Fire Zone' in the Wanni region. The Army had yesterday said that they have cremated the body.

I met one-handed rickshaw puller and I died with shame...

[From Deepshikha Shanker*, Mangalore University]

I met this guy who pulls rickshaw for a living and guess what I was never more ashamed about complaining on my status (complains about life)... I know most would kill for what I have while others would scorn, but this guy who lives by a rickshaw when he can beg and make better money.

 

Oh yes! I forgot to mention that he has just one hand.. So??? I found a new found dignity in lives of people who make their living every day...I have nothing more to say than that but i was not just ashamed of what he did, I was ashamed of why he had to resort to it... why he didn't have a system supporting his kind.. I don't know but will at least soon find out...

 

[*Deepshikha is now a journalist working with CNN-IBN, New Delhi]

 

Google Chrome 2.0 released!

Google chrome 2 has been released from beta version. Google claims that Google Chrome 2.0 is not only "Better, faster, Stronger from the previous version" but even from other browsers. If you want to update your Google Chrome to Version 2.0 you can also download it at http://www.google.com/chrome.

Prabhakaran's death is 'engineered' rumour: LTTE

May 23, 2009: Five days after the Sri Lankan government claimed that it had killed leader of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Velupillai Prabhakaran, Head of International Secretariat of the Intelligence Wing of the LTTE, Arivazhakan, on Friday said that Mr. Prabhakaran is "alive, totally safe" and he will emerge at an "appropriate time".

This is the second time LTTE has rubbished the Sri Lankan government's claim to pro-LTTE website Tamilnet.com.

Mr. Arivazhakan alleged that the Rajapaksa government through its media is spreading false propaganda and rumours about the death of the LTTE Leader only to misguide the people in Sri Lanka and the International Community.

Urging the global Tamil community not to believe such “engineered rumours”, Mr. Arivazhakan said, “Our beloved leader is alive and monitoring the situation. He will again emerge and contact with his people in appropriate time”.

“Time is coming when it will be proved that Colombo government is spreading false propaganda,” he further said, but did not reveal his location due to security reasons.

Other reliable LTTE intelligence sources said Pirapharan along with Pottu Amman and Col. Soosai had escaped through Kanchikudicharu a dense jungle in Mullaithivu.

The LTTE sources however had accepted that Charles Antony, B. Nadesan and Pulledevan were shot dead by Sri Lankan military.

Mirrors

English(A)
Cast: Kiefer Sutherland,Paula Patton, Cameron,Boyce, Erica Gluck, Amy Smart
Director: Alexandre Aja

Despite several flaws, the film is terribly good when it comes to the musical score. The music builds up an eerie feeling, and you are sure to end up with goose bumps every now and then. To supplement the excellent score are the visuals and the right camera angles by which the mirrors present a creepy feeling all around...

Read Full Review

My Mom's New Boyfriend

English (A)
Cast: Meg Ryan,Antonio Banderas,Colin Hanks, Selma Blair
Director: George Gallo

The stuffs in ‘My Mom’s New Boyfriend’ are simply not good enough to tickle your funny bone. Nonetheless, it may be good for people who are comfortable with cocktail movies...

Read Full Review

Mayawati can't be Queen! But...

With the Bahujan Samaj Party getting a mere 21 seats in the just concluded Lok Sabha elections, Mayawati who was the Third Front’s front runner for the prime ministerial post now has no choice but to offer support to the United Progressive Alliance government led by Dr Manmohan Singh.

Earlier, the BSP chief was embroiled in a political gamble with both the mother and son duo of the Gandhi family. She first tried to prevent Ms Sonia Gandhi from holding a rally when the Gandhi ‘bahu’ was to inaugurate a new rail coach factory in Reaberalli. Then she categorically criticized the young turk Rahul Gandhi as nothing but a Congress’ ‘gimmick’ to woo young voters bound for 'failure'.

Now, with the results clearly in favour of the Congress, not only in the Centre, but in Uttar Pradesh, Maya besides biting the dust has to offer “unconditional support” to the Congress.
Why she suddenly changed her mind is few of us can keep guessing. Looking back at her track record in forging alliances and breaking it later, she can surely spring another surprise any minutes; in fact, any seconds. Watch out for her... there’s still some more ‘maya’ in her!

LTTE chief 'is' Good and Bad as Dead

The ‘killing’ of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) chief V Prabhakaran has evoked mixed response even among those who hated him most for being a ‘ruthless and adamant’ man whose incessant quests for the Tamil Eelam brought tragic end to the lives of thousands.

Prabhakaran had set out with a single mission of creating a separate state for the Tamils in Sri Lanka’s East and that mission remained ultimate throughout. Several rounds of peace talks were here under the Norwegian initiatives but Prabhakaran wanted nothing less from what he called “the exploitative Sinhalese Lankan government”.

After the peace talks failed in the 1990s there was no looking back for him. He strengthened the LTTE with the most sophisticated weapons and also commissioned a rudimentary LTTE air force which conducted air raids on the Sri Lankan capital several times.

Accused for killing India’s prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lanka’s president Ranasinghe Premadasa, Prabhakaran took the path “most violent” in modern revolutionary warfare. Had he been more flexible the ending to the so-called ‘Eelam War IV’ could have been much more rewarding for the Sri Lankan Tamils.

On the personal front, there is no denying that Phabhakaran ‘was’ a brave and determined person. From a band of boys, he transformed the LTTE into one of the most feared “revolutionary” force. His love for the Tamils who were “ill-treated” by the Sinhalese government can never be doubted but the means he adopted finally put the life out of his body in a gruesome manner.

On the other side, Prabhakaran ‘dead’ is good as well as bad news for Sri Lanka. Good because it has eliminated the man who single-handedly run the LTTE according to his whims. At the sametime, Prabhakaran ‘dead’ will only elevate him to a martyr status, which the Tamils needed badly. There is also a possibility of splinter groups trying to fill the vacuum left by Prabhakaran. These groups in trying to emulate their ‘late’ leader could even be more violent and difficult to deal with.

It is now up to President Rajapaksa and his government to immediately and sincerely implement a political solution in the war-ravaged Tamil areas. Any delay could provide time for rebels on the run to regroup and start another ‘Eelam War V’.

Pride and Glory

English (A)
Cast: Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight Director: Gavin O’Connor

The film’s serious theme is tightly knit with the plot never revealing itself too much. Besides, the director’s decision to use a moving camera also generates enough tension and suspense till the very end.

Read Full Review

What Just Happened

English (A)
Cast: Robert De Niro, Bruce Willis, Sean Penn Director: Barry Levinson

Overall, ‘What Just Happened’ is slow, funny and yet tiresome because it lacks that punch to knock you off guard and take notice of the endless satires centred around the life of a Hollywood film producer...

Read Full Review

Goal.com Logo Contest

Here's some good news for football lovers and those good in graphic/image designing. The site www.goal.com is holding their company's logo contest on May 2009.

For the winner's design will be placed on their webpage www.goal.com plus a cash prize of US $2,500, and for further incentive, 20 other entrants will receive a $100 gift certificate for Goal.com Shop.

This Goal.com Logo Contest, will get started on 18 May 2009. if you are interested in participating this contest, you can Register Here.

Please read carefully the regulations, terms and conditions, and find out what they value your design to be chosen as the winner.

44 years after Satyajit Ray's Ang, India gets the Zoozoo

[Partner source: IndianewsUpdates.Com]

The Zoozoos also have one of the largest fan bases on the social-networking circuit Facebook with two sites, one official and one unofficial, featuring more than 100,000 Zoozoo buffs.

Forty-four years after legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray created the iconic dwarf Ang, which was adapted by Hollywood director Steven Spielberg as the E.T., a crew of 25 admen has given India a new cult of queer beings - the Zoozoos.

The dwarf egg-heads who are almost everywhere - on television, billboards, at the Indian Premier League venues and in the minds of millions of viewers - are Vodafone's new brand ambassadors with one of the highest TV viewership ratings during this poll and IPL season.

Thanks to the aliens created by an Ogilvy and Mathers (O&M) crew, Vodafone with a share of 12 percent is leading the top five commercial brands that have contributed to 26 percent of the overall commercial advertising share, according to television audience measurement (TAM) figures.

The Zoozoos also have one of the largest fan bases on the social-networking circuit Facebook with two sites, one official and one unofficial, featuring more than 100,000 Zoozoo buffs.

But the Zoozoos, who resemble aliens, are not Ray's ET from the planet Cranius who befriended the Bengali school teacher Banku Babu.

For one, the Zoozoos are real beings in body suits who shot the commercials over 10 days in Cape Town, South Africa. And they are up to something new each day. Vodafone will release 30 Zoozoo commercials thoughout the IPL season.

"The Zoozoos are not animated characters. They are human beings in body suits made of foam so that they stay in shape. We used young women of slight build, mostly ballet and theatre dancers," Rajiv Rao, the executive creative director of O&M, told IANS from Mumbai.

Ad-filmmaker Prakash Varma of Nirvana Films, who directed the commercials for O&M, says Zoozoos were a big challenge to create. "The practical aspect of how they would talk, gesticulate and emote were very important. It took me three weeks of pre-production work to understand how it would work."

There were two fabrics that were considered for the body suits. One had too many wrinkles and was shiny.

"The wrinkles would have shown when the characters moved. So, we chose the more practical thicker fabric," Varma said. The production team divided the fabric into two parts - the body and the head. The body parts of the outfit were stuffed with foam, while the head was attached separately.

"To make it look bigger than the human head, we used a material called Perspex. We wanted to keep the hands and the legs thin, which was why we cast women," the filmmaker explained.

The objective of the campaign was to refresh the consumer's memory every day during the IPL season with one commercial a day. "We wanted to make one film a day and create a common character, which would come and go every day but have a steady recall. The verdict was that a cartoon character would be the most inspiring," Rao said.

The makers of Zoozoo might return with a fresh lot of ads - if the ratings climb. "But we have not given it any specific thought," Rao said.

Feel the Noise

English (A)
Cast: Omarion Grandberry, Zulay Henao, James McCaffrey, Kellita Smith, Malik Yoba, Melonie Diaz
Director: Alejandro Chomski

‘Feel the Noise’ has been rightly titled as a note of caution for you. Have you ever spent money to ‘hear’ some noise in your own backyard?

Read Full Review

mGinger: Earn Extra by Receiving Free SMS

EAT, SLEEP, PLAY and let your mobilephone work for you! This phrase seems to be the strategy of the innovative guys at mGinger.com. The company, perhaps the first in India, to revolutionised core mobi-ads recently announced that it has given out Rs 1 Crore 32 lakh to its users. It's quite a big amount, don't you think so?

Well going by the feedbacks and the personal experience mGinger business plan appears to be authentic. (Note: 'Nahai' too has an account at mGinger and some rupees have already been credited but haven't make a request for the cheque).

To join this Free to Earn program, all you have to do is receive Free SMS on your mobilephone... at the time specified by you. So the problem of unwanted SMS during work is also solved! The SMSes will include your area of interests you have given at the time of signing up.

Interested? You can simply Sign Up Here

Unlike other paid SMS service which requires you to pay some amount before joining their programs mGinger is 100% Free to join (Click Here to see payment proof). Beware of those sites or plans asking you to pay money to earn money. They are in most cases scams.

mGinger Member benefits:
* You get paid to receive SMS on your mobile
* Atleast 10-20 ads daily
* Get paid 20 paise(indian currency) per ad
* Get paid for your referrals as well as their referrals
* minimum threshold is RS. 300
* get paid in standard cheques!!
* guaranteed payout(see payment proof below)
* Earn more by inviting.

What you earn..
1. 20 paise for every ad you receive.
2. 10 paise for every ad your friend's receive.
3. 10 paise for every ad you friend's friend's receive.
4. 10 paise for every ad youfriend's friend's friend's receive.
5. So earn lot and mahe huge sums of money

Extra features:
* Get Paid!
For receiving SMS on your mobile Accumulate Rs. 300 and receive a cheque
* Be informed!
On various events, deals & discounts In your city & locality
* Get Free SMS!
Send SMS to friends Use messenger and save on your mobile bill
* Get mCoupons!
Download & avail assured discounts Show mCoupon in stores & save on bills
* Get Great Offers!
In your locality On variety of brands & save tons of money
* Free Mobile Games!
Browse & download favourite games Play and have fun with your friends

Ready to join? CLICK HERE