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Is Friday the best movie ever?

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No probably not.  At the end of the day though, a movie should entertain you and Friday does it and how!  No its no Schindler’s List or The Artist, how could it be, its only 500 times better than either.  Friday is so funny, it makes any comedy look serious.  Chris Tucker raw and unleashed is a sight to behold.  Long before he gave up cursing and making movies only with Jackie Chan, Tucker was one of the funniest people around.  Money Talks was another hilarious movie but cannot even come close to Friday. I have watched Friday about 5 times since I first saw it about a year ago and it never gets old.  The other two Fridays are great but again the absence of Tucker is to great a void to fill and Omar Epps (or the writers) very wisely went a completely different direction with his character rather than even attempt to imitate Tucker. As good as Tucker is, that does not mean he deserves all the credit. Ice Cube does great, the director a talented person who would go on to make The Ital
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Kick Ass Soundtrack Unequivocally Kicks Ass

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  As much as I loved Kick Ass, it seems to be one of those polarizing films where some people love it and others hate it.  However, the soundtrack must surely have way more fans than haters.  The soundtrack/score is so good, I would be hard pressed to name another film in the past few years which to me is more memorable.  Everyone knows the big scenes from the movie – Big Daddy taking out a factory full of baddies, the big Hit Girl rescue scene, the jet pack scene and of course the insane scene where Hit girl goes to the apartment in the end.  None of those scenes would be as crazy great as they are without the absolutely perfect music/songs/score that accompanies them. As a matter of fact, even those parts of the score that were borrowed (from 28 days later and Sunshine) seem more appropriate here than in those original movies….  Amazing, but hey those were from John Murphy who does the music here as well, so its all good. Hard to pick out a few scenes from such an amazing soundtr
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The Fall – A Movie Everyone Should See (but hardly anyone has)

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Tarsem’s “The Fall” is first and foremost a visual feast of almost unimaginable beauty.  That there is a compelling story as well as a marvelous performance by Catinca Untaru just confirms it as being one of the best films I have seen in a very long time.  In a time where imagination seems to be stalling and more and more movies are playing it safe, this is a film which is daring to the point of being insane.  Some internet research reveals that Tarsem spent millions of his own dollars in getting this film made and that makes a lot of sense.  At its script level and even in its final execution, I cannot imagine any studio considering it to be marketable in the least, a fact which is borne out by the film’s damn poor box office showing.  Roger Ebert mentions in his review that there will never be another like it and that is possibly true.  All the more reason that everyone should see this.  They say we go to movies as a means of escape, well there can be no better escape than this –
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Nex 5 with firmware 4

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Have to give credit for Sony for their regular updates of the Nex series. First there was FW2 which fixed the battery issue, then the much awaited FW3 which gave the ability to customize buttons and now we get a whole bunch of picture filters and “peaking” function with FW4.   Already having a lot of fun with the creative styles, here are some samples:   Selective color – really fun feature indeed.     Yep, selective color is definitely my favorite amongst the styles.     More selective color   Using peaking     Ishad a great test subject as always   Nostalgic or Old Style I think     And some more selective color to finish things off…. Technorati Tags: ishad , ilana , nex-5 , dhaka , babies , photos
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Humayun’s Tomb, Delhi

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  India will always be synonymous with the Taj Mahal when it comes to places to visit and that is fine.  However, there are quite a lot of places as well which offer incredible experiences and best of all without the accompanying throngs of visitors.  Humayun’s Tomb is one of those places, and if you, like me get a chance to visit it at 7 in the morning, well you are in for a treat.  Absolutely stunning architecture, well maintained grounds and enough area to explore to take up hours.     The main structure where the tombs are. Early, early morning.         Without Kaniz in the shot, it can easily look as if I mirrored one half in Photoshop!     Great time to visit, sunrise is….   Technorati Tags: nex-5 , photos , humayun's tomb , india , delhi     The Inspiration for the Taj Mahal – Humayun’s Tomb
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Rango – A New Watermark for Animation

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Just saw Rango the other day, and hats off to ILM and the geniuses who made this movie possible.  We are currently besieged by CGI and full length animations from right and left but Rango will cause anyone to do a double take once they see the jaw dropping stuff that makes up the movie.  Outstanding detail, ultra stylized creatures (the rattlesnake with a gun instead of a rattle, and whatever the hell type of creature Spooner? is), stunning water effects and plays on lighting so dramatic and brilliant you jaw may close only after the movie ends.  Yes, its that good! Anyway in a sea of disposable animation fare, this really stands out and hopefully will pave the way for much more good stuff from ILM in future. Technorati Tags: movies , animation , cgi
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Memories of India - 2011

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Technorati Tags: india , nex-5 February 2011 – We visited India yet again.  This was the 4th consecutive year starting from 2008 that we (Kaniz and I) visited India and like always we had a great time.  India is so big and diverse that there is always something new to try out, some new place to visit each so it never gets boring.  Previously we had been to Kolkata and Chennai, this time we added Delhi to the trip and it really was a great choice as we had a fantastic time visiting Delhi and Agra.       Rajghat – Memorial to Mahatma Gandhi       India Gate     Government Buildings in Delhi     Finding the Silver LIning     Akbar’s Tomb - Agra                 First Look of the Taj Mahal - Agra       The Taj Mahal Technorati Tags: india , taj mahal , nex-5 , kaniz     A closer look at the (insanely) detailed work     Opposite the Taj   Must have a picture with the Taj Mahal in the background.           Truly a must see attraction – happy to g
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