This is one exciting film! Batman is always a theme with plenty of potential, and the makers of Batman: The Dark Knight have done justice to the possibilities. The film is fast paced, compelling and memorable, with slick action and good work behind the scenes. There is an excellent soundtrack, with its overtones of menace woven into the music. Batman: The Dark Knight is a classic in the urban gothic genre, with superb special effects, bizarre humour and interesting ethical and political angles.

The creation of Warner Bros, Batman: The Dark Knight is based on the Bob Kane’s character in DC comics. Batman: The Dark Knight is directed by Christopher Nolan and edited by Lee Smith. The director of photography is Wally Pfister, the production designer Nathan Crowley, and the costume designer is the Oscar winner Lindy Hemming.

Starring Christian Bale as Batman / Bruce Wayne the film also features a great supporting cast, whose members contribute a good deal to the high quality of the movie. Heath Ledger is simply brilliant as the Joker, the sadistic villain of the piece, giving Jack Nicholson a great run for his money. It’s not surprising that Ledger has been nominated for an Academy Award. Christian Bale’s interpretation of Batman is interesting and Maggie Gyllenhaal does well as Rachel. Michael Caine is Alfred Pennyworth, the butler, Morgan Freeman is Batman’s gadget expert Lucius Fox, Aaron Eckhart plays District Attorney Harvey Dent, and Gary Oldman breaks away from his usual villainous roles to play Lieutenant Gordon. Eckart is particularly effective as Dent the DA. Other actors include Eric Roberts and Anthony Michael Hall.

The film is a sequel to Batman Begins, and is set about a year later. In essence it is a tale of the battle between good and evil. As far as the story goes, Batman: The Dark Knight tells us how the Joker resists Batman’s efforts in collaboration with Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent to free Gotham City from crime. The DA and Batman share a love interest in Rachel Dawes. The situation is that several gang leaders are fighting for leadership after the elimination of the criminal mastermind Carmine Falcon, while the Joker is in the process of eliminating them. The Joker, Batman’s most evil and powerful enemy, aims to terrorize Gotham and get rid of Batman once and for all. Batman, of course is after the Joker himself, and his relentless pursuit is fascinating. Harvey Dent is a victim of the war between the hero and the villain, and turns into a villain himself, emerging as the evil Two Face, an intense, disturbing character that you won’t find easy to forget.

Batman: The Dark Knight is quite thought provoking and raises some interesting questions of morals and personal beliefs. While the Joker’s evil is undeniable, one wonders how much Batman is responsible for the Joker’s atrocities, given that he will not budge from his stance and thus urges the Joker on to further horrors. There’s more to this movie than the usual escape from reality, but there’s no doubt, though, that it’s a major entertainer, and will keep you glued to your seat and riveted to the screen.

This film has a PG 13 rating – there is a lot of violence and considerable menace. It has a two and a half hour running time.

Full of action, high speed chases and soaring flights against a stark urban background,
Batman: The Dark Knight is certainly one of the year’s best action films. Don’t miss this movie – it’s definitely a ‘must-watch’ that actually manages to exceed expectations aroused by the hype surrounding the movie.

Popularity: 17%

• 0 Comments

What do Nintendo fans have to look forward to in the near future? There are going to be a whole lot of new games for the Nintendo Dual Screen Miniature Console.

Rumor is rife about what the big video game consoles such as the Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox 360 are going to be offering but Nintendo is working on what players are looking for – that is, more games for the portable handheld video game system.

Makers are seeking to fulfill the demands of Dual Screen users and Nintendo is leading the pack with a highly attractive all-star lineup for DS console coming up soon. For the DS, Electronic Arts or ERTS will provide its designer-creature game, called Spore, ATVID or Activision Blizzard provides the much enjoyed Guitar Hero in another version, and Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) is offering a customized adaptation of Grand Theft Auto. The version of Guitar Hero referred to here was offered on the market in June and sold an amazing 300,000 copies in America in the first seven days alone.

The sales growth and popularity of the DS has been, and is still, quite impressive. Those in the know believe that the Dual Screen console will sell more than the Wii – probably because of the hugely successful games such as the customized Guitar Hero and Pokemon. Nintendo anticipates selling a lot of DS – lifetime sales are projected at over 100 million.

Nintendo of America’s President Reggie Fils-Aime is pleased with this year’s sales as compared to those of last year. “People thought 2007 would be the peak year for the DS,” he said. “We’re running 12% ahead of last year’s record [U.S. sales] of 8.5 million.”
The female section of the population has taken well to the Nintendo DS. 30% of DS owners in 2005 and 50% in 2007 are female. Nintendo’s recent advertising, in the last few months has featured stars including Liz Taylor and Carrie Underwood playing DS games like BrainAge and Nintendogs. Since this TV commercials campaign began to be broadcast in May this year, the sales of BrainAge and Nintendogs, as well as the new Super Mario Bros. game, have increased by 50%.

Representatives of Nintendo are talking about research into more value additions to the Dual Screen, other than video games. Possible options for the future include a DS with wireless ability to provide information of various kinds such as flight or restaurant information.

Nintendo started offering Wii in North America in May and its Wii repertoire will be beefed up this year. Nintendo held a press conference at E3, and it was opened by Shaun White, the Olympic gold medalist. White rode the Wii balance board for the Ubisoft snowboard game named after him, created specially for Wii. “I lean forward to go faster when I ride (in real life),” said Shaun. “You can do the same in the game.”

Wii Music is fun, a musical game that will be offered before the end of 2008. At the 90 minute event at the Kodak Theatre concerning this game, an effect of drama, a smoky atmosphere and flashy lights were created, with interesting visual images ranging from a man with a Mohawk hairstyle drumming with nunchucks to the famous Nintendo designer simulating a saxophone performance.

Another popular thing as far as music-oriented options are concerned is Wii Music. It lacks the functions of performance grading and competitions (which both Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band 2 offer) but it does offer the user the chance to record music and play a wide variety of over 50 instruments. As Shigeru Miyamoto says, “We’ve designed Wii Music to experience the joy of performing music.”

If you aren’t that interested in creating music, the Guitar Hero III is a good option for Wii, and considered to be more popular than Xbox and PlayStation 3.

Popularity: 46%

• 0 Comments

Have you seen Will Smith’s Hancock yet? This superhero movie has drawn mixed reactions and many feel that the second half of the movie doesn’t really cut it.
Hancock stars, in addition to Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman and Eddie Marson. The movie is directed by Peter Berg (who was the director behind The Rundown and The Kingdom), with music by John Powell.

The story of Hancock is a superhero tale with a difference. Will Smith’s character of the same name is a boozy, unkempt superhero, whose exploits are largely unappreciated – possibly because of the way he goes about rescuing people from sticky situations. One of his ‘rescues’, a public relations executive (Jason Bateman) transforms the depressed superhero’s life, when he decides to change Hancock’s image in the eyes of the public. Charlize Theron is Bateman’s character Ray Embrey’s censorious wife, who doesn’t think much of the idea.
The movie starts out well, with Will Smith’s portrayal of the antihero superhero. It begins with Smith as John Hancock waking up on a bench in a park, hung-over and needed for a spot of superheroing. But Hancock messes up everything, causing a huge amount of damage, and pleasing no one! Our hero even ends up in jail, until he is helped by Ray Embrey, the PR executive.

Hancock turns over a new leaf with a vengeance. With Ray’s help, he quits drinking and starts making things better. That’s when Ray’s wife comes in, with a secret of Hancock’s past. Theron is particularly good in this, the second half, of the film.

Although Hancock tries to break away from the usual, satirizing superheroes, it doesn’t really pull it off, emerging as neither a full-blown satire, or as a straight film. A really good job could have been done, but not even the combined talents of Will Smith and Charlize Theron manage to lift the film. A strong premise, an interesting protagonist and plenty of scope for action and excitement have not been used to their fullest potential. In the beginning, one is entertained by the dark humor and some good action, but somehow one feels let down at the end of the movie. It’s a little disappointing that a film which starts out with a good deal of promise slips into mediocrity in the second half. There has to be a lot more to a movie than a series of impressive action shots.

Despite the average quality of this film, Will Smith’s personality and histrionic abilities shine through and his hilarious one liners are as funny as ever. His knack for blending the elements of comedy and drama stand him in good stead here.

Hancock’s personality is possibly the most interesting thing about this film. He is constantly on edge, at war with himself, sardonic and cynical. And misunderstood, too, of course. Although he manages to save the lives and complete the jobs he sets out to do, the damage and chaos he causes are just not worth it! To add to the confusion, John Hancock does not know who he really is; we meet him as a victim of amnesia as the result of a mugger’s attack.

On the plus side, both Theron’s and Smith’s performances are very good, and you’ll certainly find yourself laughing a lot. In conclusion, it’s fair to say that, while the film doesn’t quite live up to its potential, Hancock is fairly good entertainment. It’s not fantastic, but neither is it a disaster!

Hancock is a PG 13 movie – there is a fair amount of violence and swearing. The film is about 85 minutes long.

Popularity: 42%

• 2 Comments

In Hollywood’s summer season of superheroes and action-adventures, Mike Myers’ “The Love Guru” comes across as a goofball comedy. As the name itself suggests the movie is a take off on the self-styled spiritual leaders, with no spirituality in them. The movie is a satire on these so-called “Gurus” who fool gullible people with nonsensical jargon.

Written by Myers and Graham Gordy, the movie is a clumsy parody of the cross-cultural style of mass-market yogis. Directed by debutant Marco Schnabel, the movie has been drawing a lot of flack for its crude and sexual content. Due to it comic violence and drug reference the movie has been given a MPAA Rating of PG-13.

“The Love Guru” has been produced at a budget of $60 million dollars by Michael De Luca Productions and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The movie stars the likes of Mike Myers, Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Romany Mako, Meagan Good, Omid Djalili and Ben Kingsley.

The story centers on Guru Pitka played by Mike Myers, brought up in an ashram in India by gurus, where he was abandoned as a child. He moves back to US as a philosopher of Eastern beliefs in search of fame and fortune. He then sets up shop in Los Angeles and New York as a self-help guru who teaches people how to love themselves.

Guru Pitka’s prowess as a Love Guru is brought to test when he is asked to settle the rift between star hockey player Darren Roanoke (Romany Malco) and his estranged wife. The dullard Jessica Alba plays Jane Bullard the owner of the Hockey team, Toronto Maple Leaf, who employs “The Love Guru” to assist Roanoke in overcoming his troubles.

Out of revenge Roanoke’s wife starts dating LA Kings Star Jacques Grande played by Justin Timberlake. This sends her husband into a major professional skid and causes his game to fall to pieces to the utter distress and horror of the teams’ owner and the coach Cherkov, played by Verne Toyer. It then becomes essential for them to get Roanoke back on his game in order for the team to break the 40-year old “Bullard Curse” and win the Stanley Cup. Guru Pitka’s help is thus enlisted to bring the couple back to marital nirvana and save the day for the team.

Mike Myers as Guru Pitka is a one-man production number with his Rasputin beard, waxed curlicue mustache and eyebrows that arch and swoop like a roller coaster. He plays a pop philosopher, a self-styled wannabe who yearns to seize Deepak Chopra’s mantel as the favorite spiritual guide of Americans. By the end of the movie Deepak Chopra himself makes an appearance to give the Love Guru his blessings.

The Movie has already managed to get its share of flak for its crude portrayal of Hindu
spiritual leaders, by the Indian community in the US.

“The Love Guru” has received its share of blistering reviews. A review in particular pans the comedy saying, Unfuckingbelievably unspeakably awful. The Love Guru is astonishingly rancid. There’s a part of me, that wants The Love Guru to make like 75 Million opening weekend. Why? So that the entire - giant film going audience marks Mike Myers’ death as a comedian.”

Moira Macdonald in the Seattle Times calls it “preadolescent humour with a few sitars thrown in”

Michael Phillips from the Chicago Tribune writes, ” We’re talking 15 or 20 minutes of decent material. The movie runs a little longer than that,” while Bill Goodykoontz from the Arizona Republic complains, “When the funniest line in the movie is an outtake from Verne Troyer, you’ve got problems.”
Los Angeles Times writer Tom O’Neil who tracks films up for major awards in his column ‘Gold Derby’ is prdicting that “The Love Guru” has definite good chances to receive an award, The Razzie, for the Worst Film of the Year.

Popularity: 45%

• 0 Comments

Even as the online search giant Google has been pondering to take on Microsoft, it received a blow when the authorities of Northeastern University lodged a patent violation court case against the company. In its complaint, the university has accused Google of pilfering its database architecture to provide search results to its users. Refuting Google’s patent claims on the technology, the university has asserted that the know-how was in fact developed in 1997 as well as patented by a firm named Jarg in Waltham, Mass., established jointly by Prof Kenneth Baclawski of the Northeastern University.

In addition, the court case that was lodged with the Marshall District of Texas that specializes in patent matters claimed that the patent for the database architecture ‘illegally used’ by Google was actually possessed by the university and accredited to Prof Baclawski. The university has sought a jury hearing as well as an injunction preventing Google from continuing the infringement on its patent on the technology. Although the court is yet to set a date for the trial, the university has also claimed royalty payments and compensation from the online search engine major.

The technology that the university mentioned in its suit is a distributed database system that splits search engine questions into parts and then allocates them to numerous computers linked in a network to obtain closer and faster answers. The patent of the technology describes it as ‘a combination of computer nodes interconnected by the network operates as a search engine’. The technology was patented by the university on December 2, 1997 and listed under the number 5,694,593 by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

In fact, Google too employs a distributed database system that splits questions into several fragments to enable quicker dispensation. According to the suit filed by Jarg, Google earns as much as 99 percent of its proceeds from search engine promotions and the accomplishment of the company’s business is partially dependent on the pace at which its search results are delivered.

The complainant Jarg has said that he first came to know about the alleged patent contravention of its technology from a lawyer in Boston who thought Google’s search technology bore resemblance to that covered by the patent obtained by the Northeastern University and Jarg. Incidentally, though the Boston lawyer pointed out the reported anomaly, his company refused to take up Jarg’s case on the pretext that it needed to be paid in advance for the work. This made Jarg wait for over two years to find a lawyer who would be willing to take up the matter on an emergency basis.

Meanwhile, Google has confirmed that the Northeastern University had filed a complaint charging the company with infringing its patented technology. However, at the same time, the search engine major has refuted the allegations made in the complaint and dismissed them as ‘fictitious’ and ‘without any merit’.

No trial date has been set. Now all eyes are on the next move by Google, which will have to respond to the lawsuit, and also whether the district court decides to entertain the case or simply brush it off as ‘unwarranted’.

Popularity: 79%

• 6 Comments

New domains are always exciting news in the web, and the .asia domains became available recently. The new .asia domains are expected to be a top level website suffix, standing alongside .com and .net. The suffix release is available in stages, first opened to trademark holders in Asia, then to established businesses in Asia, and finally to the general public. The .asia domain suffix has been in the works for quite some time, and this is the first major, top level suffix newly available in recent years. While current domain names are all written using the Latin alphabet, plans are in progress to allow domain names in relevant alphabets, including Chinese, Japanese, Hebrew and Hindi.

The .asia domain is the second region specific domain suffix to go live. The first, .eu, became available in April, 2006. Regional domains for Latin America and Africa are expected in the future. Regional domains will, of course, be applicable for businesses operating in those areas, but may also be a popular choice for the travel and tourism industry, technology and others. The .asia domain suffix will be managed by a not for profit group DotAsia, based in Hong Kong.

How can you get a .asia domain? First and foremost, you may register trademarked business names until January 15, 2008 during a “sunrise” registration period. This registration period is open to all trademarked entities, governments and official organizationsAsian companies in existence before December of 2006 may register their domains after November 15, 2007. In February, 2008 .asia domains will be sold to the highest bidder and general sales are an option as of March of 2008. If you own and operate a business in Asia, take advantage of the early purchase opportunities to protect your .asia domain. You may well still be able to get a good domain name even once registration is public; however, if you qualify for early registration, do take advantage of this option.

Should you consider buying a .asia domain? How will this new domain suffix help you and your business? While .asia domains will appeal most highly to Asian businesses, Western businesses may also wish to consider purchasing .asia domains if they do business in Asia. You may even wish to make certain that you own your domain name with several different extensions to allow for the highest likelihood of site visibility. Moreover, should it be relevant for your business, a .asia suffix may dramatically increase your site ranking in Google and Yahoo, especially if Asia is a keyword relevant to your site.

While some .asia domain names will surely be quite expensive, when open registration begins, it is expected that you will be able to acquire a .asia domain for the same approximate cost as many other high level domains, beginning at around $10.00. If there are multiple claims for the same domain name in the initial registration phases, the name will be auctioned with proceeds going to the DotAsia non-profit group.

The new .asia domains can be one part of your overall web marketing plan. If you do business in Asia, this new top level domain suffix should be an important part of your overall plan. Take advantage of early registration to secure your domain. If your work involves Asia in some way, and you feel that this would be a useful search term for your business, consider getting in on the public sale of .asia domains when they become available. This new domain offers a chance to boost your search engine ratings and improve your site marketing plan, reaching out into new and different markets with ease.

Popularity: 83%

• 6 Comments