Source: PFC

Rendezvous with Rama

Director: David Fincher
*ing: Morgan Freeman

Rendezvous with Rama is a novel by Arthur C. Clarke published in 1972. Set in the 22nd century, the story involves a thirty-mile-long cylindrical alien starship that passes through Earth’s solar system.The story is told from the point of view of a group of human explorers, who intercept the ship in an attempt to unlock its
mysteries. Because all extant names for Roman and Greek gods have been used on other newly-discovered celestial objects at this point, the Hindu god Rama is invoked in naming the object.

Freeman says “It’s a very intellectual science fiction film, a very difficult book to translate cinematically. [At least] we have found it very difficult to translate, to get ready for film”.

About the problems he was having with studios, he says “These things, they always want to make it into an action film, You can’t do it with this. And we’ve been having trouble getting someone to see the science
aspect of this, the exploratory aspects of it, rather than the blood and guts and stuff”.

This should be an absolute treat to the fincher fans.

Shantaram

Dir: Mira Nair
*ing: Jhonny Depp

Fact file of Gregory David Roberts after he escapes from Australia and enters India.

FROM 1982 to 1991
* Six months in remote Maharashtrian village, learn to speak Marathi language
* Live in Bombay slum, establish and operate free clinic for slum dwellers
* Imprisoned in India for 4 months
* Recruited by Bombay mafia, training in currency crime, gold smuggling, passports
* Gunrunning operation to unit of mujaheddin fighters in Afghanistan
* Wounded in action, evacuated to Pakistan, recover and return to Bombay
* Appointed controller mafia forgery unit, write short stories, published in popular series
* Passport smuggler to Nigeria, Zaire, Iraq, Iran, Mauritius, SriLanka
* Establish casting agency for foreign extras in Bollywood movies, act in movies
* Arrive in Germany, work as singer, establish rock band, receive recording contract
* Manhunt by European police, escape custody in Italy & Switzerland,escape to India
* Act in Bollywood movies & TV dramas, establish travel agency in Bombay
* Passport smuggling to Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Nigeria, Zaire,Mauritius, etc.
* Break with Bombay mafia council, freelance drug smuggling missions to Europe
*Captured Frankfurt, 1990, imprisoned in Preungesheim prison with terrorists, 1990-91
* Extradited to Australia, end 1991

If you wont make a movie on him, then who else?

Inglorious Bastards

Dir: Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino has supposedly worked on this script for almost a decade , a decade …ok,this must be something special.

And the reviews for the script that are coming out are encouraging:
“If you took the bad guy swagger of RESOVOIR DOGS, the uber coolness and structure of PULP FICTION, throw in the revenge angle of KILL BILL, set it in World War II – you get INGLORIOUS BASTERDS.”

The plot goes as something like this:

A band of US soldiers facing death by firing squad for their misdeeds are given a chance to save themselves – by heading into the perilous no-man’s lands of Nazi-occupied France on a suicide mission for the Allies.
The lead character is named Lieutenant Aldo Raine .Raine leads a blood thirsty squadron of soldiers called the “Bastards” for a final mission that involves ruining Nazi party plans to premiere a propaganda film in Paris.

InterStellar

Dir: Steven Spielberg

Inter stellar is a science fiction movie directed by Steven Spielberg (and screenplay by Jonathan Nolan) based on Kip Thorne’s theories of gravity fields, wormholes and several hypotheses. This movie is basically about “a group of explorers who travel through a worm hole and into another dimension”.

Kip Stephen Thorne is an American theoretical physicist, known for his prolific contributions in gravitation physics and astrophysics. Kip Thorne is one most of the top most theoretical physicist of the second
half of the 20th century along with Richard Feynman and Stephen Hawking.

Wiki explains worm hole as a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that is basically a ’shortcut’ through space and time. A wormhole has at least two mouths which are connected to a single throat or tube. If the wormhole is traversable, matter can ‘travel’ from one mouth to the other by passing through the throat. While there is no observational evidence for wormholes, spacetimes-containing wormholes are known to be valid solutions in general relativity.

Che

Dir: Steven Sodenberg
*ing: Benicio del Toro

Steven Sodenberg has been one of my fav. Directors. Always loved his movies be it Sex,Lies and videotape, Erin Brockovich, Traffic or Oceans Eleven.

His next release is a movie about Ernesto Che Guevara. Che is a two-part(Guerilla and the Argentine), four-and-a-half-hour bio-pic on one of the 20th century’s greatest revolutionary figures.

Steven Sodenberg has himself said that this can be considered as a part of the trilogy , the first being The Motorcycle Diaries directed by Walter Salles.

Benicio del Toro( a superb actor) won the best actor award at cannes this year for the portrayal as Che .
Any movie on such a controversial figure is something to look forward to.

Tree Of Life

Dir: Terrence Mallick
*ing: Sean Penn, Brad Pitt

He made only 4 movies in his life – Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line and The New World.
All of them except the last are a classic, especially The Thin Red Line.

I was blown away by The Thin Red Line and it is easily one of the best war movies I have seen.
His last movie the new world might not have lived up to the expectations but the cinematography and music was outstanding.

He is back with his latest offering called Tree of Life . Imdb says explains the plot as : In a mystical world of folklore, several individuals embrace in a race to find the Tree of Life, said to give immortality, fertility, and other supernatural powers.

Other movies that are interesting are The fighter by Darren Aronofsky, Burn after reading by the Coen brothers , The curious case of Benjamin Button by Fincher again and The human factor – a biopic on Nelson
Mandela by Clint Eastwood.

http://saregamapachallenge2009.blogspot.com/2008/07/sa-re-ga-ma-pa-international-challenge_25.html

http://saregamapachallenge2009.blogspot.com/2008/07/sa-re-ga-ma-pa-international-challenge_19.html

http://saregamapachallenge2009.blogspot.com/2008/07/sa-re-ga-ma-pa-international-challenge_18.html

http://saregamapachallenge2009.blogspot.com/2008/07/sa-re-ga-ma-pa-international-challenge_11.html

Read it here:

http://saregamapachallenge2009.blogspot.com/2008/07/srgmp-challenge-2009-telecast-in-usa.html

Read it here:

http://saregamapachallenge2009.blogspot.com/2008/07/srgmp-challenge-2009-telecast-in-usa.html

Check http://saregamapachallenge2009.blogspot.com/ for Zee Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2009 coverage.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2009 promos: http://saregamapachallenge2009.blogspot.com/2008/06/sa-re-ga-ma-pa-challenge-2009-promos.html

Update for first episode 04 July 2008: http://saregamapachallenge2009.blogspot.com/2008/07/update-for-first-episode-4th-july-2008.html

It’s been a while since the Indian Premier League (IPL) started with following teams participating in the first season.

Some of the highlights so far:

1. Mumbai Indians First Win — Watch a free online cricket highlights cricket video of the IPL Indian Premier League match: Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders played on April 29 at Kolkata.

2. Fastest Century in IPL — Watch Adam Gilchrist (100, 42 balls, ten 6’s; nine 4’s) in a free online cricket highlights video of the IPL Indian Premier League cricket match: Mumbai Indians vs Hyderabad Deccan Chargers played on April 27, 2008 at Mumbai.

3. Harbhajan Singh Slaps Sreesanth — India’s ace spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has been in the news for all wrong reasons, yet again did it. Harbhajan allegedly slapped Sreesanth after the IPL match between Kings XI Punjab and Mumbai Indians at Mohali. Sreesanth was seen crying after the match. He was consoled by the teammates. Kings XI skipper Yuvraj Singh and coach Tom Moody confirmed the news ,Harbhajan later went to the dressing room and apologised to Sreesanth.

4. First match of this season — Watch free online cricket highlights of the IPL 20-20 Indian Premier League match – Bangalore Royal Challengers versus Kolkata Knight Riders.

5. IPL Opening Ceremony Full Video

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Yes, I have been away for a while… Last 6 weeks I was too busy having FUN in Taipei actually

I hope to blog more often from now…