Happy New Year 2010!
Filed under People, Visual Graphics & Images, World
Wishing all my beloved readers a
Happy New Year!!
[Wallpaper courtesy of Ugendran Letchimenan. Click to download]
Regards,
Raghuram
Audi A1 Teaser: What’s the next big thing?
Filed under Automotive, TVC, Youtube/Vimeo/Videos
This hippy car’s slated for online launch in less than two months, and Audi has released a teaser along with a so-called design process video (not attached here – not so interesting).
Check out more on audi.de/a1
A spyshot of the car’s front with Audi ambassador Justin Timberlake, snapped by someone in the public and posted online:
Indie time: Boy
Filed under Entertainment, Trailers
This is a Sundance masterpiece. Normally moviegoers to Sundance do not really preview the movies before watching them at the festival itself, but this one looks really good that Firstshowing decided to share with us all. Boy is written and directed by New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi, aka as Taika Cohen.
Story: When his father returns after many years away, 11-year-old Boy (James Rolleston) and his little brother Rocky (Te Aho Aho Eketone-Whitu) must reconcile reality with a fantasy dad they created in their minds.
Toy Story 3 ‘Family’ Preview
Filed under Entertainment, Trailers, Youtube/Vimeo/Videos
This is an interesting preview of the upcoming Pixar flick Toy Story 3. If you were having doubts on this movie till now, hopefully it goes off cleared, because mine did. Looks like we’re about to see another great adventure from Pixar come summer.
Download the HD (720p) from IGN
Have Scientists Found Dark Matter?
Apparently they have. Good news.
Reports came in a few days ago that scientists believe they have found evidence of dark matter in a defunct iron mine in northern Minnesota. Interesting.
This invisible substance is believed to comprise three-quarters of the matter in the universe.
The tentative detection of two dark-matter particles, known as weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) for their tendency to pass unimpeded through ordinary matter, was made by the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) project and announced by several laboratories, partners in a consortium that manages the project.
Despite the announcement, project scientists acknowledge that there is still about a 25 percent chance that the detections were caused by some other unrelated effect, and that they will need at least five detections before they can definitively state they have found dark matter.
Cosmological evidence of dark matter has been gathered through the measuring of gravitational lensing by galaxy clusters. (In an effect predicted by Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, the gravity of massive objects such as a cluster of galaxies will bend the light coming from more distant objects.)
Sounds complicated? Google it 
Source: Extremetech
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll – Trailer
Filed under Entertainment, Trailers, Youtube/Vimeo/Videos
No, I’m not talking about some social issue here; it’s a movie title, and it’s mouthful as we can see. It looks like a typical movie depicting the 80s, but I’m featuring it for one reason alone – Andy Serkis, and my, he’s getting better in every movie. We saw him as Gollum and Smeagol, then again as the great Kong, and now here.
2009 Comes to End
Filed under General, People, World
2009 was a good year to many, but not for me, I can frankly say. From renal issues to grandmother’s passing, plenty of things had happened this year that would change me in times to come. There were some good times of course, like graduation and getting a new job, but overall, 2009 was not an exciting year for me.
Now that it’s coming to an end tonight, I’m looking forward to 2010 in being tonnes better, for everyone, and myself likewise.
Happy New Year to everyone reading this blog!
Regards,
Raghuram S.
Merry Christmas
Filed under General, People, World
Merry Christmas to everyone reading this blog. And of course, Happy Holidays!
Regards,
Raghuram S.
Alice in Wonderland: Trailer 2
Filed under Entertainment, Trailers
Quickpost. Check out this awesome second trailer for Tim Burton‘s Alice in Wonderland, it beats the first teaser trailer dead.
Source: Firstshowing.net
Avatar – My Take
Filed under Entertainment, General, Reviews
I’ve seen it; the most anticipated movie of the year. And I’m still processing it, trust me.
But I’m going ahead with this post nonetheless; at least to evaluate if all the hype’s (for over 3 years) worth it.
I’ve always been a fan of Jim Cameron, from Aliens to Terminator (except Titanic, with a big EXCEPT there), and inevitably, he failed to disappoint me, again. Despite missing for over 12 years from Hollywood, I could say that he hasn’t lost the touch a bit even.
Many were hailing Avatar to be the ‘future of movies’ and ‘future of movie making’; I can say that this epic came very close, but to strictly stand by these phrases would be an overstatement. There were still many holes to be filled; probably due to its mega scale, and not every aspect could be given equal perfection. Given the time of production however (almost 5 years), these minute mistakes should not have been overlooked.
At once instance, you could easily tell that Avatar seeks to do what Jurassic Park did in the early nineties, what the Matrix trilogy did in the late nineties, and of course what the Lord of the Rings trilogy did in the last decade. And I think it has quite successfully made it through, changing the way people perceive sci-fi/fantasy movies, and of course sensibly gaining the public’s confidence in 3D.
From a truck driver to a successful hero of sci-fi fantasy, who watched Star Wars and so was inspired for something alike, Cameron is touted to be one of the best directors in Hollywood on par with the Kings; George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and others. And I think he elegantly presented the skills sufficiently well to be seen all through Avatar; there is equal touch of everything everywhere. In spite of the PG13 rating, it could possibly be a good family flick (arguable); although for a 15 year old, this would probably appear unparalleled.
Photorealism is in almost all of the 3,200+ visual shots, despite a few insignificant glitches here and there. Sound mixing is beyond words, and everything is straight to its magnitude; even the falling of the Home Tree (SPOILER!) would feel like it’s happening in the cinema hall. The music however, did not satisfy me enough; I’ve seen better works from various other music composers in Hollywood (Nothing against James Horner by the way). Story wise, there could be similarities to real-world situations from the past, which could have (possibly) inspired Cameron to an extent somewhat. It’s a behemoth of a Hollywood movie, made almost entirely in New Zealand; and is worth the 162 minutes of your time I could confidently say, especially if you’re into a fast-mixed-with-slow paced science fiction fantasy. Off the hook, it would only do Avatar justice if it’s experienced in 3D; and hence your extra RM5.00 (or the 3D surcharge in your country) could never be gone in vain. I’m not sure if it would beat the global box-office records held by Titanic and The Return of the King, but I’m quite sure many a fan, just like myself, who has waited almost 3 years for this (from the days when it was still Project 880), would quench their thirst at least twice if given the opportunity.
Rating
Visual-Sound-Technical: 9.7/10 (Almost perfect in Dolby 3D; I think it’ll go beyond that for the Bluray)
Story: 8.7/10 (Familiar plot – invasion intertwined with humanity and a love story; predictable at points)
Acting: 8.0/10 (Good acting coupled with Bad dialogues)
Score-Music: 7.7/10 (Not so involving for a good storyline)
Directing-Cinematography-Screenplay: 9.2/10 (No unnecessary overblown effects – Hint: Michael Bay!)
*3D Experience: 9.8/10 (The best Digital 3D/IMAX 3D movie to date, and probably ever for the next few years)
Overall rating: 8.7/10
Verdict: Worth the hype
[*Not inclusive]
