Movie Reviews

Angelina Jolie

2008-08-06T20:00:00.001-07:00

Angelina Jolie (born Angelina Jolie Voight on June 4, 1975) is an American film actress, a former fashion model, and a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. She is often cited by popular media as one of the world's most beautiful women and her off-screen life is widely reported. She has received three Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and an Academy Award.Though she made her screen debut as a child alongside her father Jon Voight in the 1982 film Lookin' to Get Out, Jolie's acting career began in earnest a decade later with the low budget production Cyborg 2 (1993). Her first leading role in a major film was in Hackers (1995). She starred in the critically acclaimed biographical films George Wallace (1997) and Gia (1998), and won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama Girl, Interrupted (1999). Jolie achieved international fame as a result of her portrayal of videogame heroine Lara Croft in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), and since then has established herself as one of the best known and highest paid actresses in Hollywood. She had her biggest commercial success with the action-comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005).Divorced from actors Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton, Jolie currently lives with actor Brad Pitt, in a relationship that has attracted worldwide media attention.[3] Jolie and Pitt have three adopted children, Maddox, Pax, and Zahara. As well as her biological child, Shiloh. Jolie has promoted humanitarian causes throughout the world, and is noted for her work with refugees through UNHCR.
Angelina jolie -Tops 100 sexiest List
Angelina Jolie has been named the sexiest movie star ever in a new vote carried out by Empireonline.com.The Tomb Raider star defeated V For Vendetta actress Natalie Portman to take the number one spot - previously held by Keira Knightley - while Jolie's husband Brad Pitt was seventh.More than 20,000 people visited the movie magazine's website to cast their votes, with no restrictions on whether the star was still gracing the screen.

Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie is known as much for her offscreen romances, adoptions and political activism as for her movie roles. Jolie first made a small splash in 1998, playing doomed model Gia Marie Carangi in the HBO movie Gia. She was a hit as the love interest in the offbeat air-traffic-controller drama Pushing Tin (1999, with John Cusack), but winning an Oscar for her supporting role as a troubled mental patient in the 1999 Winona Ryder film Girl, Interrupted made her a big-time movie star. She sealed her international fame by playing the video game heroine Lara Croft in Tomb Raider (2001) and Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life

Shilpa Shetty

2008-08-06T19:57:00.001-07:00

Among very few actresses, Shilpa Shetty was nominated for her first film Baazigar. The following year she delivered another blockbuster hit Main Khiladi Tu Anari where she starred with Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan. However, the proceeding years her movies failed to succeed at the box office though she did receive critical acclaim for some of her performances. Then in 1998, Pardesi Babu got released and people noticed her again. Two years after that she finally delivered a super hit, Dhadkan. Since then her career took an up turn. In 2002, she had several releases and films like Hathyar and Rishtey solidified her status as a brilliant actress. In Rishtey she stole the show from superstars Anil Kapoor and Karishma Kapoor. However, it was in 2004 that her performance in Phir Milenge brought her to the top actress list. In 2005, she delivered modest hits like Fareb (where she costarred with sister Shamita Shetty and Manoj Bajpai) and Dus. Though she has worked with top actors, unlike many bollywood actresses who are either scared of or shy away from working with top actresses, shilpa has worked with numerous talented actresses (such as Juhi Chawla, Raveena Tandon, Manisha Koirala, Tabu, Kajol, Mahima Chaudhry and Konkona Sen Sharma) and is said to share a great rapport with her co stars. Today her career boasts of her versatility. In Baazigar she played a naive college student, in Aag a charming village girl, in 'Main Khiladi Tu Anari' a street dancer, in Himmat a seductive cop, in Dus an anti-terrorist agent, in Fareb a doctor and housewife, in Phir Milenge an HIV positive, in Pardesi Babu a charming city lass, in Dhadkan she is forced to betray her lover, in Khamosh a prostitute, in Jung a sensational club dancer, in Tarkieb a promiscuous military nurse, in Rishtey a comical and tragic performance as a fisherwoman, in Darna Mana Hai a housewife haunted by apples and in 'Shaadi Karke Phas Gaya Yaar' a negative role where she plays a model turned housewife. In 2000, Shilpa reinvented herself and became known as one of the hottest actresses in the industry! She is the only bollywood actress who has been seen to do a split on screen and is known today to have the best body in bollywood. She is also recognized as a graceful dancer. Shilpa Shetty laughed a lot when she was young. She still laughs most of the time. According to Shilpa's mother (Sunanda), Shilpa was a naughty child and was called a "fightercock" as she mostly fought with her younger sister (Shamita). Her mom also acknowledges that she was a very bubbly and vivacious child and her pet name is "Manya" but her mom calls her "babucha" or "Honeybunch". Shilpa went to school at St. Anthony's Girl's convent in Chembur then she went to Podar College. Shilpa was her school team's baseball captain. She is a black belt Karate champion. She actively participated in her father's chemical business. Acting was the only thing she had not tried her hand at. Shilpa is known to have a great sense of humor and has the capacity to crack jokes on herself. She'll start laughing even before you crack a joke. Shilpa´s favorite actors include Tom Cruise and Jackie Chan. Shilpa's method of spending a holiday would be to wake up late, cook, watch movies, work out and spend time with her family. She is also a huge fan of prints, especially Tiger and Leopard prints. Her room is filled with all the different kind of prints. Even her pillow case.

Ice Age: The Meltdown

2008-08-05T11:50:00.000-07:00

Ice Age: The Meltdown suffers from animated sequel-itis--a condition in which a film can’t live up to the certain heartwarming charm the original provided. As funny and delightful as they can be, the characters just aren’t fresh and new. A remedy would be to have a better story than the original, i.e. Toy Story 2 (still one of the best sequels ever), but Meltdown takes a step backwards, relying more on the familiarity of the characters than a cohesive plot. There are definitely highlights: the visuals are crisp and clean and there are few entertaining musical numbers thrown in for our enjoyment, including one in which Sid is being idolized by a tribe of miniature sloths and another in which a flock of vultures sing the Oliver! tune “Food, glorious food!” while waiting for the movable feast to perish. But overall, even though the kids will certainly get a kick out of Meltdown--especially Scrat’s nutty antics--the sequel isn’t quite up to snuff.
Picking up pretty much where we left off, Manny the Mammoth (Ray Romano), Diego the Saber Tooth Tiger (Denis Leary) and Sid the Sloth (John Leguizamo) are still palling around together. Goofy Sid feels a little under appreciated, sardonic Diego is deathly afraid of water and sad-eyed Manny is still kinda lonely. In fact, Manny thinks he may be the last of his species, until he meets Ellie (Queen Latifah), a Mammoth who thinks she’s a possum. Don’t ask. Oh, there’s also Ellie’s possum buddies, Crash (Seann William Scott) and Eddie (Josh Peck), two scrappy fellows up to no good. The more pressing issue, however, is the fact the polar ice caps are melting and they’ve got to get to high ground before they become fish food (and they are some nasty prehistoric fish, too). Thank god for Scrat (Chris Wedge). He’s still chasing the elusive nut--and actually ends up saving the day, in more ways than one.
How does one become a woolly Mammoth, a cockeyed Sloth or a sleek Saber-tooth Tiger? What’s the motivation? For Romano, Leguizamo and Leary, it’s easy. They just tap into their own inner prehistoric animal because, you know, we all have one. Actually, it amazes me how any chemistry can be developed between the actors voicing animated characters since they don’t record at the same time. Toy Story’s Tom Hanks and Tim Allen ranks as one of the best, but these three definitely have it as well; maybe they should think about making a live-action movie together. Queen Latifah also holds her own with the boys, while Scott and Peck come off just a wee bit annoying as the mischievous possums. But it’s Chris Wedge’s squeaks, grunts and sighs as our favorite antediluvian squirrel Scrat that makes the film--and the desperate little fellow happily gets more air play this time around.
How nice it is to see the whole Ice Age gang back, joking around and trying to outrun the impending Meltdown. But unfortunately, this sequel falls under the “cute-but-not-quite-as-good-as-the-original” category.