X-Men Origins Wolverine - Movie Review

X-Men Origins - Wolverine - 6/10 - Sci Fi Thriller - starring Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber.

Since Hugh Jackman happens to be my favourite Hollywood actor, I simply had to watch X Men Origins - Wolverine. I have seen all 3 previous X-men movies and they were really awesome. I wasn't expecting this to be better than them, since most sequels are never as good as the original movie, but I had to have a look anyway.

The movie theatre was only less than 1/3rd full. This, I suppose was majorly due to the fact that the X-Men Origins - Wolverine torrent was available for download weeks before the film was even released in the United States. It was also available on youtube and through streaming on several video websites. Well anyway, here is my movie review of the film.

The movie 'X Men Origins - Wolverine' begins with the young Logan, then called James, unwell at home in bed during the winter. His friend Victor and father are by his side. Suddenly there is a commotion caused by an intruder, who turns out to be his friend's father Logan. When his Dad goes to deal with the situation, he is killed by the intruder. The death of his father angers the young James, who extends his animal claws and kills his friend's father, only to discover later that the intruder was actually his real father and his friend is actually his brother. Both brothers run away from home and using their regenerative capabilities, make a living from fighting in various wars over hundreds of years.

Later on in X-Men Origins - Wolverine, both brothers join a special mutant team formed by William Stryker. James Logan's brother Victor (Liev Schreiber), also known as Sabretooth turns bad and Logan leaves the team. He becomes a lumberjack and begins living in the woods with his teacher girlfriend Silverfox. One day, his brother traces him down and kills his girlfriend. Now begins the saga of fury, as Logan looks for vengeance. He goes back to Striker and gets his entire bone structure bonded with admantium, the strongest metal on the planet. The rest of the movie is filled with Wolverine's fury and destruction.

X Men Origins - Wolverine was quite good. It answered most questions, except the fact about how both brothers had the same Wolverine mutant abilities and from whom or how they got it. Special effects were good, but I'm tired of watching special effects movies, even though they look quite spectacular. I'd rather watch some real fighting, like Jackie Chan movies. Acting was good and Hugh Jackman had done some serious bodybuilding to play the Wolverine character. He was looking amazing. Costumes were also realistic, especially the bikers jacket and the retro Yamaha motorbike.

Funniest part of X Men Origins - Wolverine - It actually wasn't supposed to be humourous, but well....This happened after the scene in which the naked Wolverine runs away from the adamantium laboratory and hides in the barn. Shocked at seeing a nude person, a small kid in the audience kept questioning his parents about the 'nanga banda' (naked guy) in a very loud innocent voice. As his parents tried to shush him, most people in the cinema had a hard time controlling their laughter, including me...

Did you see X Men Origins - Wolverine? What did you think of it?

    

Samarkand Noida - Restaurant Review

I recently visited my brother who lives in Noida and he took me for lunch at Samarkand, a posh restaurant near his flat. This restaurant is located in Ganga Shopping Complex, at Sector 29 in Noida. Samarkand is fully air conditioned and is open from 11.00 am to 11.00 pm. The name of the restaurant sounded familiar, so I did a quick search on Google and learned that Samarkand is the name of a city in Uzbekistan. It is one of the oldest inhabitated cities of the world and is the same city from where Babar, the founder of the Mughal Empire in India hailed from. Well anyway, here is my review of this restaurant -

Samarkand, Noida - 6/10 - Samarkand is located on the first floor and has two separate seating areas, both of which are air conditioned. The first thing you notice about the restaurant is the glass windows carved with figures of royalty in romantic poses. The warmth of the rich red upholstery, polished wood interiors and mirrors all worked to emphasize a regal ambiance, which was somehow ruined by the appearance of modern table fans placed about at random. Samarkand specializes in Mughlai cuisine and also serves standard North Indian fare, Chinese food and Continental grub. The restaurant also has a bar and serves alcoholic drinks.


The clientèle at Samarkand is mostly senior male office executives who were grouped over tables discussing business over glasses of beer. Occasionally, one or two guys went out on to the balcony for a smoke. The place is quite clean and comfortable though a bit dark. The rates are quite moderate. An order of chilly paneer, aloo jeera, six rotis and 3 lime sodas came up to around Rs.670. The food is well cooked, fresh and not too oily or rich. The lime juice, though, is not mixed well. The first sip had a strong sourness that went right to my nose while the last slurp was just plain water.

The classical music being played is soft and soothing. When it comes to service, the waiters are not too intrusive and the food did not take long to be served. Portions are quite large and we packed up the remaining food to have for dinner at home. The food experience was good. However, I would not recommend eating out at Samarkhand with your family, as the loud men drinking at nearby tables may make them feel uncomfortable.

Have you eaten out at Samarkand Noida? What was your experience there?

    

Yeats - Four Time Royal Ascot Gold Cup Winner

Royal Ascot 2009

Last evening, I was watching the Royal Ascot 2009, one of Britain's most stylish horse racing events on television. They are held every June at the Ascot racecourse in the village of Ascot, Berkshire close to the Surrey border. Apart from the beautiful dresses and hats worn by the ladies, I was also looking to see if Yeats, the bay horse that won the previous three Gold Cup races would win the fourth time.

The Gold Cup is a Group 1 Flat horse race in Great Britain for thoroughbred horses who are four years or older. It is run at the Ascot racecourse over a distance of 4,023 metres and is one of Britain's most prestigious event for 'stayers' or those horses which specialize in racing over long distances. Traditionally, this event is held on the third day of the Royal Ascot meeting, which is known locally as Ladies' Day.

Well anyway, Yeats pulled off a Michael Schumacher by rewriting history with his fourth straight Gold Cup win. At eight years old, Yeats is at a stage when most horses are retired to stud farms, but this horse was simply unstoppable at yesterday's Royal Ascot race. Yeats beat the second place finisher, the youthful Patkai, by almost three and a half lengths. The triumph and joy on the faces of Yeats' jockey Johnny Murtagh, owner John Magnier and trainer Aiden O'Brien told the story like it was.

The Royal Ascot races were established in 1807 and is Ascot's oldest surviving race.Yeats is an Irish thoroughbred racehorse, which was foaled on April 23, 2001 at Derrinstown Stud. Unbothered by his years, Yeats raced to glory, getting a standing ovation for his performance from the watching crowd. The Gold Cup trophy was later presented to his owners by the Queen. This trophy is currently one of three at Royal Ascot that are traditionally presented by the Queen.

Congratulations to this handsome stallion!! Hope Yeats gets a chance to display his extraordinary prowess at next year's Royal Ascot Gold Cup race too!!