Abbottabad: Two rockets hit military academy; no injury

TrendPK.com

ABBOTTABAD: At least two rockets were fired from an unidentified location near Pakistan Military Academy in Abbottabad on late Thursday. Thankfully no loss of life or injury has been reported so far, reports TrendPK.

Both missiles landed on the boundary wall of the academy, causing minor damages to the wall, the sources said.

Meanwhile, DCO Abbottabad Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah told media that no casualty occurred in the incident, adding that security agencies are looking for the offenders in the area. TrendPK

”Toy Story 3,” ”Social Network” top film review list

LOS ANGELES: They are two movies that figure in Hollywood”s Oscar race, and there is good reason why. “Toy Story 3″ and “The Social Network” are the best-reviewed films of the year, according to website Rotten Tomatoes.

As 2010 draws to an end, members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who received their Oscar nomination ballots this week, will be looking at which movies earned the most stars from critics, and Rotten Tomatoes provides answers.

The website (www.rottentomatoes.com) compiles reviews, scores them, and offers readers a way to separate the good from the bad and the just plain rotten.

Judging by their Tomatometer index, Buzz, Woody and all the toys from the Disney/Pixar animated film “Toy Story 3″ rank No. 1 with critics, scoring a 99 percent “fresh” rating based on an average from 247 reviews.

Facebook film “The Social Network” is not far behind with a 97 percent positive average from 258 reviews, but Rotten Tomatoes editor-in-chief Matt Atchity said that with a few days left in 2010, more critiques for the October release could possibly come in and tilt the balance.

“If five or six more positive reviews came in, it could change that. But what I can tell you is that it”s down to those two movies,” Atchity told Reuters when poring over the list of seeking the moniker, “best-reviewed film” of 2010.

“Toy Story 3″ was released in June, and all its reviews have been read and scored.

Atchity gave an outside chance to another Oscar hopeful, western “True Grit,” saying that if “another few dozen reviews” came in and were all positive, it could be in contention.

Currently “True Grit,” which premiered only a week ago, scores a 95 percent positive rating from a compilation of some 167 reviews, and is just behind November drama “The King”s Speech” with 96 percent from some 142 reviews saying it was a good choice at movie theaters.

For reviews that are mixed — not easily deemed good or bad — Atchity and senior editor Tim Ryan said they sometimes contact the critics to discuss whether that reviewer was positive or negative toward a film.

Atchity said that in the past, generally speaking, there has been a good correlation between the best-reviewed films of the year and Academy Award nominees.

“Reviewers and academy members are both made up of film professionals, and they both know good films,” he said.

Academy members give out nominations on January 25, and award winners will be named at a ceremony on February 27.

Meanwhile, the question of which movies are the best-reviewed begs the opposite of what titles were the most rotten. Atchity and Ryan said they had not perused final numbers yet, but a quick look at the site shows little-known title “Vampires Suck” with only three positives from a total 71 reviews for a 4 percent rotten rating.

They are not alone, big-time Hollywood studio production “The Last Airbender” from “Sixth Sense” director M. Night Shyamalan scored a mere 6 percent positive ranking.

Following is a list of the best-reviewed movies on Rotten Tomatoes, organized by their month of their release date:

January – “Fish Tank” – 90% positive with 127 reviews

February – “A Prophet” (Une Prophete) 97% with 142 reviews

March – “How to Train Your Dragon” – 98% with 156 reviews

April – “Exit Through the Gift Shop” – 98% with 93 reviews

May – “The Father of My Children” (Le Pere De Mes Enfants) 91% with 54 reviews

June – “Toy Story 3″ – 99% with 247 reviews

July – “The Kids Are All Right” – 94% with 192 reviews

August – “Animal Kingdom” – 96% with 108 reviews

September – “The Town” – 94% with 201 reviews

October – “The Social Network” – 97% with 258 reviews

November – “The King”s Speech” – 96% with 142 reviews

December – “True Grit” – 95% with 167 reviews

Action Replayy all set to enter Oscar library

The makers of Action Replayy have a reason to smile. After all the screenplay of their film has been invited by the Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences which wants it for its permanent script collection. Producer-director Vipul Shah got intimation on this regard early this week and he is making the necessary arrangements to ensure that a copy of the screenplay reaches Margaret Herrick library of the Academy.

Confirms Vipul, “Yes, they have shown a keen interest in preserving the screenplay of Action Replayy. They send out the invites for those films which they need for research purpose. Even earlier, a copy of screenplay of Namastey London was shared with them when they had expressed their desire for that. I am glad that they feel Action Replayy is worthy enough for students of cinema to read and learn.”

Screenplay of Action Replayy has been written by Vipul Shah and Aatish Kapadia. While the film has managed to make an impression at the Academy, ironically in ‘apna Bollywood’, many critics were far away from being kind to this Akshay Kumar-Aishwarya Rai film.

“It only shows that how far detached are quite a few of our esteemed critics are from grasping the real content of cinema”, shrugs away Vipul here, “Academy has shown so much good interest, those from the audience who have seen the film have liked it but then some really scathing comments from the critics did come as a shocker. Now that the screenplay is going to the Oscars library, it is definitely redemption of sorts.”

Download complete screening schedule of 12th Mumbai Film Festival

The 12th edition of the Mumbai Film Festival by MAMI (Mumbai Academy of Moving Image) is scheduled to take place from Oct 21 to Oct 28 in Mumbai. A number of Indian as well as International films (World Cinema) are likely to be screened at the festival.

To download the screening schedule of 12th Mumbai Film Festival click here.

Download complete screening schedule of 12th Mumbai Film Festival

The 12th edition of the Mumbai Film Festival by MAMI (Mumbai Academy of Moving Image) is scheduled to take place from Oct 21 to Oct 28 in Mumbai. A number of Indian as well as International films (World Cinema) are likely to be screened at the festival.

To download the screening schedule of 12th Mumbai Film Festival click here.

Raajneeti’s screenplay goes to Oscar archives

What can be better than having your film ‘acknowledged’ not just within the country, but also overseas! Its case with director Prakash Jha, who is obviously on cloud nine, as his film Raajneeti’s screenplay has been chosen for the Oscar archives.

Raajneeti, for starters, was a political thriller which starred Ajay Devgn, Ranbir Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Katrina Kaif, Arjun Rampal and others. Jha, recently, has been approached by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, to acquire the copy of the screenplay of the film, for their permanent core collection.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s premiere movie-related organization which is best known for its annual Oscar awards celebrations. The scripts in their collection are made available to all for research purposes only and in the premises of their reading room.

Other Indian screenplays that have made it to the Oscar archives include Rock On!, Heroes, Lagaan, Devdas, Munnabhai M.B.B.S., Kal Ho Naa Ho, Chak De! India, Sarkar Raj and Gandhi My Father.

Peepli Live to be India’s official entry at Oscars

Aamir Khan has done it again. His latest release Peepli Live has been selected as 2010′s India’s official entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film category. After Lagaan, this is the second time that an Aamir Khan Production’s film has been selected to compete at the prestigious Academy Awards. However, now it remains to be seen whether Peepli Live will get short listed by the Academy to compete at the Oscars.

Peepli Live is the story of Natha, a poor farmer from Peepli village who is about to lose his plot of land due to an unpaid government loan. A quick fix to the problem is the very same government’s program that aids the families of indebted farmers who have committed suicide. As a means of survival, Natha can choose to die. However, Political bigwigs, high-ranking bureaucrats, local henchmen and the ever-zealous media descend upon sleepy Peepli to stake their claim of this situation.

Peepli Live is written and directed by Anusha Rizvi.

Guantanamo gears up for 1st trial under Obama

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE: American military officers were flying to Guantanamo Bay from bases around the world Sunday to serve as jurors for war-crimes suspects as the offshore tribunal system gears up for one of its busiest weeks under President Barack Obama.

Excerpt from:
Guantanamo gears up for 1st trial under Obama

US actress Patricia Neal dies at 84

NEW YORK: US actress Patricia Neal, winner of both Academy and Tony awards, died at her home in the northwestern US state of Massachusetts Sunday at the age of 84, The New York Times reported.

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US actress Patricia Neal dies at 84

Road, Movie screenplay goes to Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

The very name of the film Road, Movie raised many an eyebrow, thanks to the unique title that it enjoys. As you all know by now, that the film starred the suave dude Abhay Deol opposite the very talented Tannishtha Chatterjee alongwith the multitalented Satish Kaushik.

Sources close to Bollywood Hungama have said that the screenplay for Road, Movie has been selected by the permanent collection of The Margaret Herrick Library at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Speaking exclusively to Bollywood Hungama, Satish Kaushik confirmed the news and said, “It’s a great feeling that I experienced when Dev Benegal told me the script of the film has been selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. I am aware of the fact that this is a place that’s home to many big films. And with the inclusion of Road, Movie, our film has got an immense boost. Also, it’s a great opportunity that the film has been appreciated all over the world. Lastly, I would like to say that Dev has got a great thing going for him with this achievement.”

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