State of Play: Mini Movie Review May 4, 2009
Posted by yashi2612 in Movies.add a comment
Cast: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren
Writers: Matthew Michael Carnahan, Tony Gilroy, Billy Ray, Paul Abbott
Director: Kevin Mcdonald
Synopsis: A reporter is on a mission to uncover the truth and conspiracies when the personal assistant of his friend, a Congressman who is investigating a controversial deal with a military defence contractor dies. He will have to make sure not to mix friendship and personal gratification as a reporter with the pursuit of the truth, however uncompromising it could be. His work is not made any easier by the fact that the powers at play are not to be taken lightly.
Positives:
- Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind) is absolutely magnificent as the reporter who risks his own life to try to get to the crux of the matter.
- Ben Affleck (Daredevil, Pearl Harbour) may surprise a lot of people with his impressive performance as Congressman Collins.
- Helen Mirren (The Queen) needs no introduction and duly delivers as the no-nonsense foul-mouthed Editor of the Washington Globe, Crowe’s boss. Rachel McAdams (Wedding Crashers, Mean Girls) takes on a new kind of role and does not disappoint as the assistant to Crowe.
- Plot is engaging till the end, generating interest throughout.
Negatives:
- With an even stronger cast and director, this could have been the film of the year.
Final Verdict: Adapted from a successful BBC mini series of the same name, this is an absolute must-see. This is a pure classic thriller at its best, with actors on top of their game and a compelling storyline. There is no amazing CGI special effects, no over-the-top action with S.W.A.T teams breaking into compounds: It does not need any of those. If you still need more reasons to watch it, here is one: Russell Crowe. Enjoy it!
Movie Rating: 4 out of 5
2009 Time 100 : Most Influential People in the World May 3, 2009
Posted by yashi2612 in News.add a comment
Time Magazine recently published their yearly list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
The list is divided into 5 distinct categories and there are no rankings. According to the managing Editor of the Time 100 (as the list is called),it is not a list of the hottest, most popular or most powerful people, but rather the most influential.
Without further ado, here’s the list, by category:
Leaders & Revolutionaries
* Edward Kennedy – senior US Senator from Massachusetts
* Gordon Brown – British Prime Minister, leader of the Labour Party
* Christine Lagarde – French Minister of Finance, prominent labour lawyer
* Thomas Dart – Sheriff of Cook County in Illinois, USA
* Avigdor Lieberman – Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs
* Joaquín Guzmán – Mexican drug lord, $5million offered for his capture.
* Nouri al-Maliki – Iraqi Prime Minister
* Hillary Clinton – US Secretary of State
* Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono – Indonesian President
* Boris Johnson – Mayor of London
* Norah al-Faiz – First female member of the Saudi Arabia Council of Ministers.
* Elizabeth Warren – Chair of a panel which monitors the US banking bailout
* Paul Kagame – Rwandan President
* Nicolas Sarkozy – French President
* Angela Merkel – German Chancellor
* Wang Qishan – Chinese Vice-Premier, former Mayor of Beijing
* Xi Jinping – Chinese Vice-President, leading candidate to be next President
* David McKiernan – US Commander of Forces in Afghanistan
* Ashfaq Kayani – Pakistan Army’s Chief of Staff
* Barack Obama – US President
Builders & Titans
* The Twitter Guys – Founders of the leading micro-blogging service, Twitter
* T. Boone Pickens – Chairman of hedge fund BP Capital Management
* Ted Turner – American media mogul, founder of CNN
* Tessa Ross – Runs Film4,the innovative British film production company
* Carlos Slim – Mexican telecom tycoon, 3rd richest man in the world
* Brad Pitt – Hollywood Actor
* Meredith Whitney – Wall Street stock analyst
* Suze Orman – American financial advisor, author and TV host
* Lauren Zalaznick – American TV producer
* Timothy Geithner – US Secretary of the Treasury
* Nandan Nilekani – Indian software magnate, co-chairman of Infosys
* Stella McCartney – British Fashion designer
* Jamie Dimon – CEO and Chairman of JPMorgan Chase & Co
* Sheila Bair – Chairman of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
* moot – 21 year old founder of 4chan.org
* Alexander Medvedev – An executive director of Gazprom
* Alan Mulally – CEO of Ford Motor Company, former Vice President of Boeing
* Robin Chase – CEO of GoLoco.org, co-founder of Zipcar
* Jack Ma – Chinese internet entrepreneur, founder of alibaba.com
* Bernie Madoff – committed $65billion fraud
Artists & Entertainers
* Rush Limbaugh – American radio host
* M.I.A. – British singer and visual artist of Sri Lankan origin
* Sam and Dan Houser – British creators of Grand Theft Auto video game
* Kate Winslet – Oscar-winning British film actress
* Werner Herzog – Germany film director
* William Kentridge – South African visual artist
* Penélope Cruz – First spanish actress to win an Oscar
* Lang Lang – Chinese pianist
* John Legend – American soul singer
* Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio – American architect couple
* Gustavo Dudamel – Venezuelan orchestra conductor and violinist
* Jeff Kinney – American game designer and author of children’s books
* Tavis Smiley – African American TV talk show host
* The View – American talk show
* Zac Efron – High School Musical series star
* Tina Fey – American comedian
* Tom Hanks – Hollywood Actor
* Jay Leno – American stand-up comedian and TV host
* A.R. Rahman – Indian composer, nicknamed the Mozart of Madras
* Judith Jamison – American dancer and choreographer
Heroes & Icons
* Michelle Obama – First Lady of the US
* Chesley B. Sullenberger – Pilot who carried out emergency landing on Hudson River
* Richard Phillips – Sea captain taken hostage by Somali pirates
* Seth Berkley – Founder of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative
* Michael Eavis – British dairy farmer, founded the Glastonbury Rock Music Festival
* Leonard Abess – Ameridan banker and philanthropist
* Hadizatou Mani – Nigerian human rights activist known for her fight against slavery
* Rick Warren – American Pastor and author
* Van Jones – White House Special Advisor for Green Jobs
* Somaly Mam – Cambodian human rights advocate
* Rafael Nadal – Spanish Mens’ Tennis World Number One
* Suraya Pakzad – Founder of the Voice of Women Organization in Afghanistan
* Jeff Bezos – Founder of Amazon.com
* Tiger Woods – US golfer
* George Clooney – Hollywood actor
* Brady Gustafson – Lance Corporal of the US Marines, recipient of the Navy Cross
* Sister Mary Scullion – Advocate for the homeless in Philadelphia
* Oprah Winfrey – American media star
* Sarah Palin – 2008 Republican Vice-Presidential candidate
* Manny Pacquiao – Filipino ‘pound-for-pound’ best boxer in the world
Scientists & Thinkers
* Nouriel Roubini – American economist who predicted the current home prices collapse
* Amory Lovins – Environmentalist advocating use of renewal energy
* Jon Favreau – President Obama’s speechwriter
* Dambisa Moyo – Economist of Zambian origin
* Dan Barber – American Chef
* Yoichiro Nambu – 2008 Physics Noble Prize winner
* Roland Fryer – Professor of Economics at Harvard
* Martin Lindstrom - Used neuroscience to determine how and why we buy
* Barbara Hogan – South African Health Minister known for her work on AIDS policy
* David Sheff – Author of a book about drug abuse
* Steven Chu – 1997 Physics Nobel Prize winner, now US Energy Secretary
* Paul Krugman – 2008 Economics Nobel Prize winner
* Connie Hedegaard – Danish Environment Minister
* Daniel Nocera – Chemist known for his research on water as a fuel
* Stephan Schuster and Webb Miller – Biologists, DNA experts
* Nicholas Christakis – American physician and sociologist
* Doug Melton – co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute
* Paul Ekman – American psychologist
* Shai Agassi – Founder of Project Better Place
* Nate Silver – American statistician
That is one long list and it has taken me a few hours to research the people one by one!
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