Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince Review

Nine long years since the first Harry Potter movie hit the screens across the world but the enthusiasm refuses to die down. This time around Harry Potter has kept his fans waiting for almost two years the longest break fans have had to endure for a new movie adventure about the teen wizard. Director David Yates has made sure that the wait for the fans has been worthwhile. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint who have lived these roles almost half their lives do not disappoint this summer.

In Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) are best pals. Harry's biggest challenge in the school is a secret assignment by Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon). Harry suspects that new dangers may lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle with Lord Voldemort (who surprisingly doesn't appear in the entire movie). Dumbledore needs Harry to help him uncover a vital key to unlocking Voldemort's defences critical information known only to Hogwarts' former Potions Professor, Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent).


With that in mind, Dumbledore manipulates his old colleague Professor Slughorn into returning to his previous post with promises of more money and the chance to teach Harry. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as adolescent hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry's long friendship with Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright) is growing into something deeper, but standing in the way is Ginny's boyfriend and her big brother Ron.

But Ron's has his won romantic entanglements with Lavender Brown (Jessie Cave) lavishing her affections on him. This leaves leaving Hermione simmering with jealousy yet determined not to show her feelings. And then a box of love potion-laced chocolates ends up in the wrong hands and changes everything. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof with far more important matters on his mind. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.

The movie acts as a great platform for the Radcliffe, Watson and Grint to display their maturing acting skills and they do not disappoint the audience. Whether their acting careers flourish after "Harry Potter" or not, they will leave behind one of the most successful series of films man has ever seen. Michael Gambon Jim Broadben and Bonnie Wright play their roles well in the movie.

The movie drags a bit toward the end but screenwriter Steve Kloves generally keeps the plot rolling. He also adds a new scenes such as the opening attack on London's Millennium Bridge. At 153 minutes the movie seems a shade longer perhaps a 10 minute editing would have made it look better. Harry Potter has always set high standards when it has come visual-effects and Half Blood Price in no exception in this regard....Read More

A tribute to the King of Pop

Heal the world, make it a better place”, these were the words of one of his most famous song. Michael Joseph Jackson better known as the 'King of Pop' was not just a singer he was a culture in himself. The biggest icon of music since the days of Beatles and Elvis Presley in a career spanning four decades Michael achieved what no musician had before him. He was the face of western music in the 80s and 90s becoming a hit machine.

Michael Jackson began his professional career barely at the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5 and started his solo in career in 1971 while he was still a member group. In the subsequent years, five of his solo studio albums Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995) became world's best-selling records. He was a dominant figure at the start of the MTV culture and became the first African-American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following.


If his music pleased the soul his dancing techniques were breathtaking. No artist before or after him has looked so great in stage or in music videos. He popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the 'robot' and the 'moonwalk'. A famous publication had once described him as “A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and colour too.”

Controversies had always been a part and parcel of Michael's life. Starting with the changing colour of his skin to his controversial marriage with Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis Presley Jacko had been a favourite for the paparazzi. The biggest of all perhaps was when he was accused of sexually molesting children at his Neverland den. He also had his share of problems with drugs when became dependent on morphine and demerol.

In his glittering career spread over four decades Jacko became one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. His illustrations career also bagged him 13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career and saw him sell over 750 million albums worldwide. In 1984 his name was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his influence in music the world over.....Read More

Terminator Salvation Review

A Terminator movie without Arnold Schwarzenegger seems to be difficult to digest after all Arnie had made Terminator a household name. Terminator Salvation is the latest in the Terminator series after The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Joseph McGinty Nichol, better known McG who had directed Charlie's Angels and Full Throttle helms the movie. The Dark Knight's Christian Bale takes up the responsibility of saving the world and Sam Worthington plays a mystery character.

The movie is set in 2018 and the atmosphere is post-apocalyptic. An artificial-intelligence network called Skynet has arranged for the earth’s machines to rise up and launch an attack on mankind. Only a few men and women led by John Connor (Christian Bale) stand between the machines and extinction of mankind. Skynet's pinpoints John's father Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) as their main target. John and others live in the fear of being spotted and killed by digitally-enhanced exterminating robots. Things get complicated with the arrival of a stranger Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington).


Marcus faces a death row and awaits execution. He is visited by Dr. Serena Kogan (Helena Bonham Carter) who offers him a kiss if he agrees to allow his body to be used for cyborg research. There is a lot of mystery that surrounds Marcus. John Connor has doubts if Marcus, who roams around with a mixture of guilt and aggressive machine-blasting fury has retained his human traits or whether he is an agent implanted by the enemy among their ranks.

The screenplay of the movie is weak and it seems robots being programmed to destroy the human race is the one and only plot in the movie. Christian Bale seems ordinary in most of the movie and allows Sam Worthington hijack the attention of the audience. Arnold appears as a robot for a brief period in the movie reminding us of the hay days of the Terminator series. Other characters have been wasted and hardly make an impression in the movie.

Terminator series has been famous for showcasing effects and technology ans setting benchmarks for Hollywood but most of the technology showcased in Salvation is pretty average. Many a times it seems like a flashback of the earlier movies in the series. The sound effects in the movie lack the degree of sonic sophistication which die-hard Terminator fans are used to. The movie seems like a misfit in the Terminator saga.....Read More

Did Ash play a wicked game with Sonam?

Sonam Kapoor terribly upset with Aishwarya Bachchan as the latter stood as a roadblock to her walking the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival. Sonam who had been signed as a brand ambassador for L'Oreal and was to walk the red carpet a Cannes with other beauties including Aishwarya, Penelope Cruz, Kerry Washington, Beyonce Knowles, Eva Longoria and Scarlett Johansson.

The excited Sonam in an interview dug her own grave when she offended Aishwarya. Sonam had said would be endorsing the youth brand and Aishwarya would appeal to the older women. This certainly did not go down too well with the former Miss World who has been a face of L'Oreal in India for years. Ash refused to walk the red carpet with Sonam and the L'Oreal had to bow down before her demands.

L'Oreal on its part maintained that Sonam's comments had created a lot of adverse effect and to prevent any escalation of the controversy they had asked the Saawariya actress....Read More

Akshay-Twinkle in obscenity row

Akshay Kumar recently walked the ramp in the Lakme Fashion Week for designer Tarun Tahiliani. After doing his act he went to wife Twinkle Khanna and asked her to unbutton his jeans. This act brought in cheers and roar from the crowd but a certain section was shocked and considered it to be obscene and in bad taste. Little did Akki know that his unbuttoning act would turn into a major obscenity row.

A social worker Anil Nair has submitted a written complaint against the actor, his wife Twinkle, the designer and the organisers of the show to the Vakola police station. He has urged the police to book them for indecent, vulgar and obscene behaviour and submitted clipping and photographs of the event. He said they should be booked under section 292 related to sale of obscene objects and section 293, related with sale of obscene objects to young persons.....Read More

Bigg Boss house mates pay tribute to Goody

After her racism controversy with Shilpa Shetty on the sets of Celebrity Big Brother, Jade Goody had come to India to win the hearts of the Indians. She was considered to be the most promising celebrity when she took part in the reality show Bigg Boss. The producers had paid the highest price tag to rope in Goody as the only international star on the show.

It is very ironic that Goody's battle with cancer started during the show when her reports revealed that she had been diagnosed with cancer. She immediately left the Bigg Boss house but her house mates still remember her and cannot believe that Goody is no more. They still remember seeing her off from the Bigg Boss house in Lonavala and never imagined that will be the last time they would see her.

Debojit Shah said that things happened so fast that he is yet to come in terms with her demise. He added that she was very lovely and also had a smile on her face and was often heard humming tunes of famous Hindi songs. Another house mate Ketaki Dave said that all of them had hoped some miracle would happen and she would be cured.

Raja Chaudhary said he was shocked to hear the new and was sad especially for her kids and worried about them. Calling her a gem of a person he said it was really funny when Payal Rohatgi would translate all that was said in the house to her in English and Goody would try to reply it in her broken Hindi......Read More

Indian to be the next American Idol?

American born Indian Anoop Desai has made it to the last thirteen of American Idol. The number might be considered unlucky by many around the world but surely not for Anoop. The North Carolina born singer's skills ensured that a special place was created in the final list as the format of the show allows only 12 contestants in the last round.

Host of the show Ryan Seacrest explained that the move came as a result of the shock that fans expressed in the past when deserving candidates could not make it to the final round of the show. He added that till the Top 5 is reached judges can save a singer from getting voted out to preserve real talent on the show......Read More

Abhi wanted to sleep with Zeenat Aman

He might have one of world's most beautiful woman Aishwarya Bachchan as his wife but as a kid Abhishek Bachchan fantasised the idea of sleeping with Zeenat Aman. In the upcoming episode of Farhan Akhtar's Oye! It's Friday the Junior Bachchan reveals that he admired Zeenat Aman so much that even at that tender age he wanted to bed her.

Abhishek recalls the incident happened on the sets of Mahaan in 1983 starring his father Amitabh Bachchan and Zeenat Aman. The entire cast and the crew were having dinner and once Zeenat got up to hit her bed Abhishek followed her and asked if he could join her in her room......Read More

SRK takes a dig at Aamir

Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan have made a habit of taking dig at each other whenever they meet the media. In an recent interview Aamir had said that Shahrukh enjoys putting others down. At the promotional event for the Swiss watch maker Tag Heue in New Delhi King Khan took a jab on Aamir's character in Ghajini.

Shahrukh said he can take his shirt off to sell a watch but there isn't anything written on his chest unlike Aamir's. He added that he doesn't need to write ads on her chest to sell the watch as they can sell it the normal way. When asked about why he regularly picks on Aamir he replied he did not pick on Aamir but these were small jokes which are made big by the media which.

Shahrukh is not behind anyone when it comes to the promotion of his movies......Read More

Katrina to spend Valentine's Day with Ranbir

Bollywood bombshell Katrina Kaif is not going to celebrate Valentine's Day with beau Salman but will spend the day with Ranbir Kapoor. Don't let your imagination go too wild as Katrina hasn't dumped Salman and Ranbir parted ways with Deepika. Both the stars will be shooting together on the day for the upcoming movie Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani in Turkey.

Ranbir is planning to take Katrina out for a dinner on the special day. Both the stars can be seen mingling with each other very often these days and go out for dinners regularly. Ranbir's possessive girlfriend Deepika Padukone doesn't seem to be too happy with all these. There relationship has faced turbulence on this issue in the recent past.......Read More

Ranbir's mom raises doubts on Deepika

It is a well known fact that Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor are struggling to keep up their relationship. Ranbir's mother Neetu Singh is not doing any good to their relationship either with her comments. Neetu was heard as saying Deepika was just another girlfriend in her son's life. The actress of the yesteryears also added that both of them were young and marriage was a long way to go and it was also not sure if they would stick to each other.

Neetu was initially not fond of Deepika and this had resulted in Deepika and Ranbir's first breakup before their Bollywood debuts. Neetu had a liking for Ranbir's Saawariya costar Sonam Kapoor who was known to them since childhood. Deepika's entry marked the end for Ranbir-Sonam friendship......Read More

Salman's father says he is married to Katrina

It is said that art imitates life. Have Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif tied the knot? Well if Salman's father Salim Khan is to be believed the two stars are now man and wife. In a recent article that appeared on the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna, Salim claimed that that two have tied the knot and religion was not a big issue in the Khan family. He added that he himself had married Helen and son Arbaaz tied the knot with Malaika Arora.

The paper however apologized for the report saying that Salim has been misquoted and Salman and Katrina were still single. Katrina Kaif on her part had demanded a formal apology from the newspaper saying that she was still very much single. She said it was not a small issue and her concerns were more than just movie and endorsements.

It may be mentioned that Saamna was the first to report about Sanjay Dutt's marriage to Manyata when many others had rubbished that claim. What might have added fuel to fire was the fact that Salman had......Read More

Defamation case against Slumdog Millionaire

Just days after Amitabh Bachchan blasted Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire saying it showed India in poor light the movie is part of a fresh controversy now. The General Secretary of the slum dweller's association has filed a defamation suit against music director A R Rahman and actor Anil Kapoor alleging the movie's title tags the people living in the slum as dogs.

Tapeshwar Vishwakarma who filed the case says that the movie has depicted the people living in the slum in bad taste and used derogatory terms against them. Vishwakarma argues that the use of the term dog in the movie is defamatory. The slum dwellers have approached the State........Read More

CC2C comparable only to Tashan

Akshay Kumar was till a few days ago called the King of Bollywood who knew the tricks of making Box Office hits despite poor reviews. But one week into the release of Chandni Chowk To China it has been proved that the throne still lies with the audience who can outrightly reject a nonsense which they did in the case of Chandni Chowk To China. Being the first major release of there year CC2C had huge expectation on its shoulder.

Coming after the success of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Ghajini the movie was expected to give the industry more to cheer about after it had starved for big hits last year. Not only did CC2C flop the movie is now being put in the league of Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, Drona but the ideal match has to be Yash Raj Films' Tashan.

Like Tashan Nikhil Advani's Chandni Chowk To China had everything a huge star cast, expensive sets, exotic locales, well shot stunt scenes and most importantly a tremendous marketing campaign. But Nikhil Advani and his team should not have forgotten the integral part of a movie the SCRIPT and the SCREENPLAY which were the only things missing in the movie!

The movie was perfect example of mindless direction on an apology of a script penned by Rajat Arora and Sirdhar Raghvan. The audience were left wondering where was the story? It seemed that stars were choreographed to perform stunts throughout the course of the movie. CC2C with its stunts and songs seemed more like a circus show that a movie.

The only difference with Tashan is that in CC2C even Akshay played a very ordinary part unlike Tashan where only his role was appreciated. Unlimited laughter coupled with funny stunts are becoming an Akshay Kumar trademark. But the problem is the audience tends to get bored with the same kind of roles served under different movie names......Read More

Aamir's new look in 3 Idiots

If there is one actor in Bollywood who works hard on his look for each of his movies it has to be Aamir Khan. Be it growing beard and hair for Mangal Pandey The Rising or building up eight pack abs for Ghajini Aamir has done it all. The perfectionist actor will soon be seen in a completely new look in Raj Kumar Hirani's 3 Idiots based on Chetan Bhagat's book Five Point Someone.

Aamir who plays a student in the movie has shed around 8 kgs to look lean and young. He said it it was very challenging to put on weight for a movie and shed it for the next. Interestingly Aami's character in the movie draws inspiration from the real life of Ghajini director A R Murugadoss. Aamir added that being an actor, his body was his instrument and he had to change his appearance for new roles......Read More

Aamir turns Salman's teacher

Salman Khan and Aamir Khan seem to be getting closer by the day. Sallu has so much admiration for the perfectionist Khan that he wants to turn his student. Salman was so impressed with the marketing of Aamir Khan's Ghajini that he wants Aamir to teach him some marketing skills for his upcoming home production Wanted Dead And Alive also starring Ayesha Takia.

It may be mentioned that Salman had seen the preview of Ghajini and given it a thumbs up. He also painted Aamir's character in Ghajini and gifted him. The two stars are in talk of making a sequel to their hit comedy Andaz Apna Apna......Read More

Akshay refuses to accept Screen Award

Akshay Kumar the undisputed king of Bollywood carries a grief with him of not winning the Best Actor Award ever in his life. But the actor surprised everyone with his humbleness and humility when he refused to accept the Most Popular Actor Award for his performance in Singh Is Kinng. Akshay's argued that Aamir Khan deserved it more for his performance in Ghajini.

Akshay said that Aamir had delivered an awesome performance in Ghajini and it is he who deserved the award. He requested Aamir to accept the award in his place. Akshay's gesture has earned him praises from all quarters in Bollywood and set the right tone for his latest movie Chandni Chowk To China.....Read More

Big B blasts Slumdog Millionaire

Danny Boyle directed Slumdog Millionaire may have won laurels at the Golden Globe Awards but the movie hasn't impressed Amitabh Bachchan. In his latest blog Big B blasted at the director for showing India in poor light. He added that what Danny Boyle tried to portray was a Westerners perception about India and its people.

The superstar wrote "If Slumdog Millionaire projects India as Third World dirty under belly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky under belly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations. Its just that the SM idea authored by an Indian and conceived and cinematically put together by a Westerner, gets creative Globe recognition. The other would perhaps not."

"The commercial escapist world of Indian Cinema had vociferously battled for years, on the attention paid and the adulation given to the legendary Satyajit Ray at all the prestigious Film Festivals of the West, and not a word of appreciation for the entertaining mass oriented box office block busters that were being churned out from Mumbai. The argument. Ray portrayed reality. The other escapism, fantasy and incredulous posturing."

Big B might have had more reasons to fire on Danny Boyle and his movie. The movie portrayed a character.......Read More

Salman and Asin make Katrina insecure

Katrina Kaif may have never acknowledged her love for Salman Khan but she cannot bear him mingling with any other lady. Salman and his London Dreams costar Asin are seen getting very close these days. After the success of Ghajini, Asin's stardom has touched new heights and Salman seems to have become fond of Asin. The Bollywood hunk even celebrated his birthday with Asin while Katrina was in London.

There are more reasons for Katrina to feel insecure because of Asin. After the success of Ghajini many feel Asin might take Katrina's place as she speaks Hindi fluently unlike Katrina who still hasn't managed to learn the language. Katrina's insecurity made her land on the sets of London Dreams in Chandigarh and she made sure Salman did not mingle with Asin after the shoot.......Read More

Kangana gives a glimpse of her breasts

She is one of the boldest girl in Bollywood and she has proved she is worth the tag in Daboo Ratnani's 2009 calendar. The Gangster girl has bared it all in the hot calender by one of the most celebrated photographers in Bollywood. Kangana has given a rare video of her twin assets in the picture and this has to be one if the sexiest and the hottest photo shoots in Bollywood.

The other stars who have posed for the calender include Akshay Kumar, Sushmita Sen, Abhishek Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Kajol, and Deepika Padukone. In the hot star studded calender Kangana has emerged as the hottest star.....Read More

Salman leaves Kat for an auto-rickshaw!

Salman Khan undoubtedly is one of the most colourful characters in the tinsel town. Be it cycling to his film sets of zooming on his bike at night, Salman has done it all. On Friday night the Bollywood hunk was in a very adventurous mood and drove a auto rickshaw leaving behind lady love Katrina Kaif with the auto driver in his car.

The incident occurred when Salman and Katrina came to dine at the Olive. When the couple were about to leave the restaurant Salman got this bizarre idea of driving an auto rickshaw. He pulled up an auto from the street and the driver was more than happy to hand over his keys to the actor. Salman zoomed in the empty streets of Mumbai followed by Katrina in his car accompanied by the auto driver........Read More