Harry Potter: Part 2 of Book 7

What a great end to a long story. J. K. Rowling is truly a genius. To have invented such a creative story that could be made into a series of movies. Harry Potter allowed and motivated kids and adults of all ages to get back into reading!
A classic in our time and to be read for years to come.

"THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW"

Director:Roland Emmerich
Writers (WGA):Roland Emmerich (story)
Roland Emmerich (screenplay)
Release Date:28 May 2004 (USA)

Have you ever wondered if "The Day After Tomorrow" had any truth to it?
The movie, made in 2004 is almost convincing even when I watched it for the tenth time.
The story begins with "the breakup of the Larsen B Ice Shelf in Antarctica in March 2002" which is a true Ice Shelf that scientists are currently watching. This makes the movie very convincing right from the beginning.
I found a USA Today Reporter, Jack Williams who wrote an article about the science behind the movie. He interviwed David Adamec, a NASA oceanographer who has a Bachelor's, Masters and Ph.D in Meterorology and uses computer models to study future trends and climate change.

David Adamec said that the "flash freezing was really pathetic". However, there are some scientific theories which were used as a basis for the movie.
1. That the warm climate would slow the Gulf Stream and could cool Europe and other parts of the Northern Hemisphere.
2. When the last ice age ended, part of the Northern Hemisphere cooled abruptly. This could plausibly happen again.

Let's all hope that something like that movie should never happen....ever.

"8 x 10 TASVEER"

MY RATING: 7
Director:Nagesh Kukunoor
Writer:Nagesh Kukunoor (writer)
Release Date:3 April 2009 (India)
Genre:Mystery/Sci-Fi/Thriller

This is a story about a man,named Jai who has the ability to transport himself back into a picture and to visualize events as they occurred by the person he focuses on in the picture.
However, each time he goes into a picture, and into the past, he looses a bit of himself, and he becomes extremely weak. If he stays in the past longer than one minute, he can never come back into the present.
His abilities started when he was younger, and experienced a tragic, horrific event which shook his very being and changed his life. Since that time he had gained this other-worldly ability of being able to go back in time.

One day, his estranged father was killed and while on his death bed, his father was trying to tell Jai that he did not just have a heart attack but that he saw someone who was the killer. Jai was tormented with this knowledge, and kept trying to prove that his father's death was not by natural causes but was in reality a murder.
Each time he tried to convice everyone of his theories, he was accused of not allowing his father to rest in peace, and he was accused of becoming delusional and crazy.
Soon, Jai feel in love with a woman, and he did try to forget, however certain events kept occurring which brought back that same aching feeling that something was not quite right.
After many twists and turns in the movie, the finale was a bit crude, violent and bloody. The love of Jai's life turned out to be a woman who was really in love with Jai's twin brother, Jeet. Yes, Jai had a twin brother, who was actually supposedly killed in the traumtic event that occurred in their childhood. Jeet was found by a villager who tortured him, and he was never found by his family. Jai grew up in a wealthy setting. Jeet, filled with anger and rage vowed to avenge his brother, believing that his brother pushed him off a cliff and created his horrific life.

I did not like the ending when Jai convince Jeet that he loved him and that the whole thing was an accident. It was too dramatic, and unreal. It was crazy how Jeet just believed Jai in a matter of a few seconds. Just enough time to ward off a bullet aimed at Jai by his betrothed.

An extremely rushed ending to an otherwise beautiful and deep movie. Another more fluid ending could have been thought of.

"KNOWING"

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne, Ben Mendelsohn, Terry Camilleri
Director: Alex Proyas
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Theatrical Release: Mar 20, 2009


A story of a young girl who could predict the future of our planet. She wrote a warning on a piece of paper which was buried in the earth for 50 years, as part of a school project. Students were required to illustrate what they predicted would be the world 50 years from their own world.

When a young boy brings the girl's paper home 30 years later, his father comes across it. He soon discovers the mysterious numbers and predictions.
It was a warning written down on paper. The numbers were numbers which "they" whispered to her. "they" are the universal enigmatic aleins who are depicted in the movie quite nicely. Its a story about the end of the world and the saviors of our race. A few select leave the earth before its ultimate destruction by solar heat waves. Just one stray wave could destroy the earth. Which is exactly what happens.



MOVIE REVIEW:
This movie made me think of life on another planet as a real genuine possiblity. It also made me truly think of the possibility of a solar heat wave and our humanity. We are still on our knees in front of Mother Nature, including Space, the Unknown frontier.
Is knowing our future really worth it? Even though the solar heat wave was predicted and known, nothing could be done to prevent it. So, the question remains, is it really worth knowing the future at all, if we can't control it anyway??