Life Etc Etc

A slew of countries exited the Champions Trophy over the last few days. But wasn't there a Champions Trophy that we hosted where everything turned topsy-turvy for us? A loooooooooong time ago but not that long ago there was one such tournament in 2006 where nothing went to script. I literally had to go to Cricinfo to refresh my memory about this tournament. I do however remember: The promotions which promised a festival of cricket but what we got was a damp squib The interest in the tournament waning once India was dumped out at the group stage That the final was an anti-climax and how Australia briefly let go off their manners while accepting the trophy. After decking us out the tournament they also shoved the president of BCCI, Mr. Sharad Pawar for good measure India who were firmly entrenched in the Greg Chappell era vacillated between able and awful.  Sachin was not at his best Dravid was unable to prop up the middle order Irfan Pathan's efficacy was being nullified with...

Plot Outline: When a tech entrepreneur ( Srinivas Avasarala ) gets kidnapped, the officer-in-charge of the security detail ( Meenakshi Chaudhary ) vows to rescue him with the help of her ex-boyfriend, Y.D. Raju (Venkatesh) an ace ex-cop. Y.D. Raju accepts the responsibility and sets off on the mission in tow with his ex-girlfriend, jealous wife ( Aishwarya Rajesh ), father-in-law and son. Venkatesh, Aishwarya Rajesh and Meenakshi Chaudhary in Sankranthiki Vasthunnam <Credits: Dil Raju > I finally had the chance to view this film over a month after it's release. It's a passable fare with a few decent laughs intended primarily for the movie starved Sankranti audience.  However, you do get the feeling that the director was not able to extract the most out of a promising roller coaster ride consisting of people with differing agendas. So here are three things which didn't work for me in Sankranthiki Vasthunnam: Too many gags falling flat: Just like Bhagavant Kesari , the...

  Until Next Time, Your Quote Master.

Plot Outline Chief of Police, Matt Whitlock's ( Denzel Washington ) personal life is in doldrums. His marriage is on the rocks and he's secretly courting another man's wife, Ann ( Sanaa Lathan ). When Ann is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Matt decides to fund her treatment with money that was recovered from a drug bust. But before Ann can proceed forth with her treatment, she and her husband Chris ( Dean Cain ) are killed in a mysterious house fire. The case is assigned to Matt's estranged wife, homicide detective Alex ( Eva Mendes ) and to make matters worse (for Matt), the DEA comes calling for the drug money. If this isn't enough, Matt is the sole beneficiary on Ann's insurance policy which further implicates him in this crime. Will Matt escape from the fix he is in and identify who's behind everything? Or will Alex and the DEA catch up to the clandestine secrets he's hiding?  Denzel Washington navigating rough waters in Out of Time <Credits: Movi...