Review: Raavan

The low-caste Beera rules the forest in Raavan, Mani Ratnam’s richly atmospheric adaptation of the Indian epic The Ramayana.Though the film takes place in the present, Mr Ratnam’s forest remains an appropriately primeval place for mythic doings, full of fog and mists and rain and Beera’s mud-painted followers (shades of “Apocalypse Now”).Raavan (Ravana in Sanskrit), as every Indian knows, is the demon in The Ramayana who kidnaps Sita, the wife of Rama: king, deity and model husband (as Sita is the model wife).Early on in Ratnam’s film the question is asked: Is Beera (a gleefully hammy Abhishek Bachchan) Robin Hood or Raavan? He’s both — and more a hero in this telling, set on his turf, than is the Rama character, a cop called Dev (Vikram),...

Read more »

Review: I Hate Luv Storys

You will not hate this love story, a spoof on ace director Karan Johar from his own production house. Hats off to Karan for daring to produce a film that makes fun of his kind of cinema. Samir Soni steps into his shoes with great ease in the film.Director Punit Malhotra takes a pot shot at everything - designer sets, boy meets girl sagas, actresses singing in chiffon saris in the Alps - that made directors like Karan, Aditya Chopra and Kunal Kohli a name to reckon with in the industry. In terms of content, nothing is new. But the treatment is fresh, the backdrop is interesting and it's fun watching the romance brew between the lead pair Simran and Jay on the sets of a movie. Yes, the film is about the making of a love story where Simran works...

Read more »

Review: Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3 begins with a rattling, exuberant set piece that has nothing to do with the tale that follows but that nonetheless sums up the ingenuity, and some of the paradoxes, that have made this Pixar franchise so marvelous and so successful. The major toys — Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), the Potato Heads (Don Rickles and Estelle Harris), Hamm (John Ratzenberger), Jessie (Joan Cusack), Rex (Wallace Shawn) and the others — are in a setting at once wholly unfamiliar and instantly recognisable. They’re in a western, albeit one made in the amped-up modern action style, rather than the more stately idiom of old-time oaters.A train is hurtling down the tracks; a bridge explodes; stuff is falling out of the sky. There are force fields and...

Read more »

Review: Milenge Milenge

There is a kind of subverted joy in watching Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor play a Valentinian romance with a full-throttle gusto.Milenge Milenge took its time to come to the theatres. Yes, it is old fashioned in theme. But not dated. The material which must have been quite bulky by the time Kaushik was done with shooting has been cut and pasted with restrained enthusiasm. What we have is a paper-thin, sometimes cute at times annoying rom-com where Destiny plays a pivotal part. Kiss-mat, anyone? Yup, intimacy is fugitive between Shahid and Kareena. But they nonetheless look like a real pair.The plot plods at a pace that suggests love is just about the only force that keeps the universe moving. Both the protagonists play professionals. But...

Read more »

Oscar nomination for Avatar team a surprise: Cameron

Filmmaker James Cameron says he never expected the stars of his sci-fi blockbuster Avatar to fetch Oscar nominations.The 55-year-old director wasn't expecting the main actors, including Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington and Sigourney Weaver, to be nominated for the Academy Awards because of the use of computer graphics in the film, Empire magazine reported."Typically, young leading men don't get nominated until the 15th time they've done it.Leonardo did not get nominated for 'Titanic'. Was Zoe's performance spectacular?" he said.The 3-D blockbuster Avatar broke box office records by raking in $2.7 billion."Absolutely, but there were many great performances last year. But it is arguable that they would have been nominated if you take the computer...

Read more »

Harry Potter debt jolts Hollywood

A supposed blockbuster, Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix starring Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson has racked up huge debt, according to a profit statement leaked recently.The fifth movie in the hit franchise reportedly lost 110 million pounds, despite making 619 million pounds at the box office and news that the 2007 film has suffered these debts has shocked Hollywood, Daily Star reported.It is the ninth highest grossing film of all time, experts say the figures, leaked to film industry blog Deadline, proved Hollywood is in an even worse state than feared.But others blamed "creative accounting" as the film was listed with costs of just 100 million pounds."If these figures are true, then Warner Brothers have turned this practice into...

Read more »

Jessica Biel feels wrecked with rude criticisms

Actress Jessica Biel feels "completely wrecked" if she comes across rude criticisms and prevents herself from reading any news stories about her career and love life.The 28-year-old beauty admits that she was flipping through an issue of fashion magazine Vogue when she stumbled on comments about her in the letters page, Daily Star reported."I was looking through a Vogue recently, and I came across the letters page and someone had written in about my recent Vogue cover. She thought I was so boring and awful and it was horrible and asked why they put me on the cover.That completely wrecked me for a day. You can't help but take it personally," Biel said.The 'A-Team' star has featured in tabloids with singer Justin Timberlake and insists she avoids...

Read more »

Jessica Simpson dating ex-NFL player

Looks like Jessica Simpson is back in the dating game -- with another football player.The singer, who dated Dallas Cowboys star Tony Romo for two years, is dipping back into the NFL dating pool, seeing former San Francisco 49ers tight end Eric Johnson."It's true," a source close to Simpson confirms to PEOPLE, adding that the pair have been dating since May.Adds a friend of the singer: "She is happy that she found a great guy. She's really happy."Simpson has been making other changes as well. On June 27, the pop star Tweeted: "[I] shocked my system with a vegan diet, special Pu-erh tea from China and cupping since Friday!"The singer, who turns 30 on Saturday, has said that she's working on her self-esteem and feels hopeful about finding love."I...

Read more »

OCTOPUS PAUL GETS IT RIGHT AGAIN

The German Octopus Paul might just be able to win back some of his fans after his prediction of a German win over Uruguay in the World Cup third place play-off came out to be correct. In the news for predicting five consecutive results correctly, Paul has now taken his tally to 6 in a row and if Spain wins the World Cup on Sunday, the Oracle will be assured of his place in footballing folklore forever. Paul's pick was carried live Friday on TV stations around Europe. The world-famous octopus could be seen choosing a mussel from a glass tank marked with a German flag, after sitting on the Uruguayan tank for a few minutes — indicating a German victory in Saturday's fight for places three and four in the World Cup. Since predicting Spain's...

Read more »

GERMANY BEAT URUGUAY 3-2 FOR 3RD PLACE

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa(AP) The ball crashed off the crossbar on the final kick of the match, and Germany escaped with third place at the World Cup.Sami Khedira scored in the 82nd minute to give Germany a 3-2 victory over Uruguay and third place for the second straight World Cup. But the Germans had to survive a final-second free kick by Uruguay star striker Diego Forlan from just outside the penalty area. It ricocheted off the crossbar, and the whistle sounded.Rain-soaked players shook hands and awaited a medals ceremony that was not nearly what they wanted. The Netherlands and Spain will play for the championship on Sunday in Johannesburg.Khedira's header after the Uruguay defense failed to clear a corner kick by Mesut Oezil ended Uruguay's...

Read more »

SRK, Charlize together at FIFA finals

Shah Rukh Khan who is in South Africa with his family to enjoy the FIFA world cup, will have a smouldering hot company during the final game in Johannesburg. Reportedly the king of Bollywood will be accompanied by the Hollywood hottie Charlize Theron during the final match between Spain and the Netherlands. The actor might also be joined by other celebs who've booked their seats in the same VIP pavilion. A source tells DNA, "All the celebs have special protection and security cover and have got tickets to be seated in exclusive areas at the finals. What's really interesting to hear is that SRK has got tickets in the same pavilion as South African diva Charlize Theron and a couple of other international celebs. However, complete plans about...

Read more »

Predators

Star Cast: Danny Trejo;Walton Goggins;Adrien Brody;Alice Braga;Oleg Taktarov;Mahershalalhashbaz Ali.Synopsis: The film stars Adrien Brody as Royce, a mercenary who reluctantly leads a group of elite warriors who come to realize they've been brought together on an alien planet... as prey. With the exception of a disgraced physician, they are all cold-blooded killers – mercenaries, Yakuza, convicts, death squad members – human "predators" that are now being systemically hunted and eliminated by a new breed of alien Predato...

Read more »

Inception

Star Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio;Ellen Page;Marion Cotillard;Cillian Murphy;Ken Watanabe;Tom Hardy Synopsis: Dom Cobb is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible: inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse:...

Read more »

Knight and Day

Star Cast: Tom Cruise, Cameron DiazSynopsis : Knight and Day follows the adventures of Roy Miller (Tom Cruise) - whose real surname is Knight - and June Havens (Cameron Diaz). After literally bumping into Miller twice at the airport on the way home from Wichita to pick up car parts, Havens is told she has been bumped to a later flight.Meanwhile, Agent Fitzgerald (Peter Saarsgard), believing Havens is working with Miller, puts her back on the plane. Completely taken with Miller, Havens goes to the restroom; and the remaining passengers all attack Miller.Miller kills them all and props the bodies up in their seats. Havens emerges from the restroom, where she has been freshening up in the hopes of a sexual encounter with Miller. Having heard...

Read more »

Paul the Octopus held on suspicion of match-fixing

Paris: Early morning today, the German police have arrested Paul the Octopus on suspicion of match fixing. The arrest was made after a complaint by Fédération Internationale de Football Association's (FIFA) anti-corruption bureau. The octopus is currently causing a stir because of its correct predictions of the winner of the games that involved Germany in the World Cup. The famous octopus is suspected of being involved with the underworld, although his methods is not at all understandable.One piece each of mussel was kept in two different plastic boxes before each match. The boxes were attached with flags of the two countries, one being of Germany and another being of its opponent. And the box selected by the hungry octopus is assumed to be...

Read more »