Madras movie review----- Karthi's Madras

 Tamil movie review: Karthi's Madras is a puerile battle over a wall

An apt title for director P Ranjith's work could have been North Madras. For the film is set there, in its lower middleclass tenements, where women wear jasmine flowers and queue up at the break of dawn by the street corner water tap with colourful containers, and men brawl over brew. If Ranjit dared to make a movie, Madras, in the city's northern fringes, -- perhaps the first time ever for a film to have been shot there - he also deftly captures the area's smells and sounds, its dialect and crudity, which can, though, encompass a certain unique camaraderie, fast vanishing elsewhere.

However, the thin plot by itself does not throw up surprises. It is time worn, beaten to death and absolutely clichéd stretching for well over 150 minutes - much of it wasted in inanity. It is only past the first half that Madras gets down to pushing what it actually wants to show, which is a rivalry over the ownership of a huge wall that two different political clans fight for, shedding blood and brotherhood. Friendships are crushed and lives wasted. It is really not clear why anyone would want to swing sickles, bad mouth one another other and get into physical fights over a mere wall. Ego probably.

Karthik's Kali is a software employee living in a North Madras locality who is as passionate about football as he is about the wall, the right over which, he hopes, will someday come to the political party he identifies with. Hanging around with his best friend, Anbu, and other cronies, Kali ultimately falls in love with a neighbourhood girl, Kalaiarasi (Catherine Tresa making her debut in Tamil cinema after a stint in Kannada and Malayalam movies). And when Anbu is killed, Kali is driven by rage that threatens his romantic dreams.

Sadly, Karthi, who seemed so very promising in his first outing, Paruthi Veeran, is somehow not showing enough pluck to pick different kinds of roles. He remains a ruffian, the ruffian whom we saw in Paruthi Veeran. In fact, most of his roles have veered towards rough characters. In Madras too, he is short tempered and given to sorting issues through might - traits that push him towards loss and suffering.

Catherine is not quite up to the mark, often looking dull and emotionless. The others in the film are disappointing as well adding to the over-dramatisation of the narrative, which mercifully is not peppered with too many songs.

In the end, Madras is but another work about gang wars and political rivalry that can only be watched if you stop disbelieving.

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Saturday, September 27, 2014 - By Unknown 0

Sony Xperia Z3 Sony Xperia Z3 review: A great package, but overpriced at Rs 51,990

• PRODUCT REVIEW
• SPECIFICATIONS

By Nimish Sawant /  27 Sep 2014 , 15:22:37

Sony had already announced its flagship smartphone – the Xperia Z2 – at this years Mobile World Congress and the units started appearing on the market May onwards. It has been just four months since, and Sony has already announced another flagship device – theXperia Z3. This is nothing new for Sony, as it had done the same with the Xperia Z2, which was launched five months after the Sony Xperia Z1 launch. But is it really a drastic improvement or just a minor iteration? We will have a look, but first lets look at the build quality.

Build and Design

Sony Xperia Z3 has made some minor modifications to the build. Instead of having the half-curvature, half-flat design on the edges, Sony has gone with a completely curved design on the edges. While it certainly feels good in the hand, we wished Sony had used a more grippy material instead of the smooth metallic finish. Sure there is the dock connector on the left hand side and the power/standby, volume rocker and dedicated camera shutter buttons on the right edge to break the continuity, but at times the smooth edges paired with the glass back can get slippery.

Sony Xperia Z3 comes in an aluminum casing with a glass back, in four colours

The microSD card slot, the nano SIM slot and the microUSB charging ports are neatly hidden under flaps. Bottom edge is clean and there is a 3.5mm audio jack on the top left hand corner. The aluminum and glass construction exudes elegance. Even the speaker sections which used to peep out from the top and bottom edges on the Z2, have a smaller opening on the Z3 and are located a few millimeters from the edges which is a better implementation than the Z2.

Sony Xperia Z3 comes with IP68 certification making it fully dust-proof and water-proof upto a distance of 1 metre for 30 mins

It comes with an IP68 certification which as opposed to the IP58 seen on the Z2. IP stands for Ingress Protection and the two numbers indicate dust-resistance and water-resistance. The range for dust resistance is 0 to 6 and that for water resistance is 0 to 9. So the IP68 rating indicates that the phone is fully dust resistant whereas the water-resistance is the same as was seen with the Xperia Z2 which is water resistant over 1 meter and for 30 mins.

Just like the Xperia Z2, the Z3 has a flap covering the nano SIM and microSD card slots

The bezel on the top and bottom makes one-handed operation a bit painful, but then if you are investing in a 5.2-inch screen size phone, that is a given. But now that we are seeing a lot more push towards having thinner bezels on flagship phones, it would have been better to see Sony shave off a few millimeters from the top and bottom to give us a phone which isn’t as tall. Thankfully Sony has managed to make the Z3 slimmer and lighter than the Z2. The Xperia Z3 measures 7.3mm thick as opposed to 8.2mm on the Z2 and the Z3 weights 152gm as compared to 163gm on the Z2.

Features

Sony Xperia Z3 sports the same Snapdragon 801 SoC but the quad-core processor is not clocked at 2.5GHz instead of 2.3GHz as was the case with Xperia Z2. Apart from this the Z3 comes with Android 4.4.4 out of the box as opposed to the Z2 which has Android 4.4.2. Barring these two features, most other specifications are pretty much identical on both the Z2 and Z3. While the Sony Xperia Z2 came in just the 16GB variant, the Z3 comes in 16GB as well as 32GB variants. We tested the 16GB variant which offers usable memory of 11.5GB

Some of the similar features include: 3GB RAM, Adreno 330 GPU, 5.2-inch full HD IPS screen, Triluminous display with the X-Reality engine and so on. On the camera front, the Z3 sports the same 20.7MP 1 / 2.3-inch sensor camera with a 2.2MP front facing camera. The rear camera allows you to shoot 4K@30fps, 1080p@60fps and 720p@120fps. The battery capacity on the Z3 is 3100mAh, which is a 100mAh less than that on the Z2.

The Sony Xperia Z3 sports the same 20.7MP 1/2.3-inch sensor camera on the rear side with an LED flash unit

Another brand new feature is the PS4 Remote Play. This lets you connect your Xperia Z3 to the same wireless network as your PlayStation 4 console, and you can pause the game on your big screen TV and continue from there on your Xperia Z3 using a PS4 controller.

Performance

Display

Sony Xperia Z3 sports a 5.2-inch full HD screen and thanks to the IPS panel, you get brilliant viewing angles. The brightness levels are quite good. In fact Sony claims that this is the only phone with a brightness level of 600 candelas. Despite the high brightness levels, the black levels aren’t that disappointing. Of course, it does not come close to the blacks on AMOLED displays. Colours appear vivid and legibility in sunlight is quite good with  brightness levels around 50 per cent as well. The glossy surface of the screen can be a bit annoying if you’re watching dark scenes in movies as it tends to reflect a lot.

Connectivity and Call quality

Sony Xperia Z3 supports quad-band 2G and 3G. Unlike the Xperia Z2, the Z3 will support LTE (4G) in the Indian market. You also get all the connectivity goodies such as Wi-fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, DLNA, GLONASS, assisted GPS, NFC and wireless tethering feature among others. There were no issues with the call quality. The speaker is loud enough and conversations were clearly audible even at high volume levels, with no noticeable distortions. We did not experience any dropped calls while testing, although that depends a lot on the network.

Media

Sony multi-media features are similar to the ones seen on the Z2, but Sony has added the Hi-Res audio feature which tends to improve the audio quality. Songs with the Hi-Res feature will come with a small HR logo on the bottom corner of the album art. Audio quality is great for the most part. Thanks to the brilliant screen, the video output is also quite good. You can easily watch a movie in your room with audio provided just by the speakers (without using a headset).

3D Mark scores show an impressive performance

Gaming

We played a lot of games such as RipTide, FIFA 14, Temple Run 2 and so on and did not face any lag issues. The phone is quite responsive to graphics heavy games, just that it tends to heat up. But things didn’t get so bad that the app would crash altogether.

Camera

The camera user interface has lots of interesting features such as AR Fun, Multi-cameras, Time-shift video and so on

One of the best features on the Xperia Z3 is the camera. Although it is the same 1 / 2.3-inch sensor 20.7MP G sensor seen on its predecessor, Sony has added on a few features on the Z3 to enhance photography. Some of the interesting features include Face in, Multi-camera, AR Fun, Time-shift video, background defocus and so on. Face in allows you to capture yourself (the size of your selfie is adjustable as well) as you are shooting with the rear camera. Multi-camera lets you connect two more smartphones to your Z3 and you can then use the cameras of these two smartphones, along with your own Z3 to shoot from three different angles at the same time. At the launch event, we were told that as of now this feature is available only on the Z3 and Z3 Compact – which means you will need to own the latest smartphones to use this. Sony may have the intention to sell more Z3 handsets with this, but it would be much more practical if the feature is extended to other Sony / non-Sony phones as the communication protocol uses Wi-fi Direct. We hope it is extended to other Xperia branded phones at least.

You can play around with perspectives by just shifting the cameras viewing angle while the annotation remains steady in the AR Fun mode

AR Fun is another addition which lets you tinker around with your images with animations or drawings. The app behaves a bit strangely at times and we found it to be a hit and miss affair. But when it works, it gives you a lot of creative possibilities. We hopes the annotation option gave more responsive brushes.

All these extra features tend to heat up the smartphone quickly which is a bit annoying. For instance, while shooting in the Time-shift mode, we kept getting the ‘Overheat Control’ notifications telling us that the phone was overheating, and would automatically shut down the app if temperatures reached critical levels. If you are shooting outdoors in hot conditions, the rear side of the phone can get hot when using the special camera features.

PS: Please click on the images to see the go to the Flickr page having the full resolution images.

At 100 percent crop, the leaves and grass in the image tend to lose their detail

Purple fringing is well controlled

Shoots images with a decent dynamic range

The 25mm wide-angle lens lets you capture a lot of details. Works well while shooting on the streets

Shot in the Macro mode. Colour details are good

Normal mode (top) and Background defocus mode activated (below)

Image quality is excellent as is expected from Sony, but we just felt that the AF speed could have been faster. The Superior Auto mode makes shooting a breeze, and although shooting at 20MP, you will get a downscaled output of 8MP. To get the full 20.7MP resolution, you will need to shoot in the Manual mode. The centre sharpness is good, but details become softer around the edges. But we were impressed with the handling of artifacts such as purple fringing around fine edges. While Sony Xperia Z3 boasts of sensitivity level going up to ISO 12800, you will start noticing patchy details from ISO 3200 onwards. For sharing online, using higher ISO levels is fine, but if you are planning to print photographs, ensure you stay under ISO 3200.

Video shooting is also impressive with good colours and details. Modes like Time-shift video let you play around with the speed of the videos. It also offers 4K video recording mode. Indoor videos tend to be a bit more noisier for the same ISO levels vis-a-vis outdoor videos.

Battery life

Power management allows you to put your phone in Stamina, Ultra Stamina and Low power modes to help you get more juice out of your battery

The Sony Xperia Z3 comes with a 3100 mAh battery and on after our rigourous 8-hour battery drain test (2 hours calling, 2 hours HD video playback, 2 hours audio playback and 2 hours video streaming and web surfing) the camera still showed around 41 per cent battery remaining. This is without the power-saving modes activated. That is an impressive number and you can easily use the phone regularly for more than a day and a half. But the drain is noticeable when you’re shooting videos or using AR and other special camera features. Under Settings > Power Management, you have the Stamina mode, Ultra stamina mode and low battery mode which when activated tend to ensure you get more juice out of your phones battery. Overall a phone that will easily last over a day and a half on regular usage.

Verdict and Price in India

Sony Xperia Z3 impresses on most counts. Apart from the heating issue, there was barely anything major to criticise. The camera performance and battery life performance in particular are quite good. The refinements in the design are a welcome change, although we would have liked the use of a grippier material on the edges. So overall a good product, but for one thing – Price!

The Sony Xperia Z3 is priced at Rs 51,990. When we had reviewed the Xperia Z2, we had mentioned that its price of Rs 49,990 was a bloated – and that was despite the fact that it came with a free Sony SmartBand. With a 50k plus price point Sony makes it difficult for us to recommend the Z3 outright, as the price points of Samsung Galaxy S5, LG G3 and HTC One M8 – all wonderful devices in their own league – are all under Rs 40,000. Build quality, features and performance wise, we are impressed with the Z3 and it certainly is worth the flagship title – but definitely not at the Rs 51,990 price point. Somewhere closer to Rs 45,000 would still make sense. The Sony Xperia Z2 comes for around Rs 40,000 as well, so if you really want a Sony phone, the Z2 isn’t bad either.

Tags: Sony Xperia Z3 India launch, Sony Xperia Z3 price India, Sony Xperia Z3 review, Xperia Z3 India price

Saturday, September 27, 2014 - By Unknown 0

Jayalalitha --Jayalalithaa will have to step down as CM for second time

 A supporter of AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalitha cries as the latter leaves her Poes Garden residence to appear before a Bangalore special court in connection with a disproportionate assets case, in Chennai on Saturday. (Source: PTI)

Written by Johnson T A | Bangalore | Posted: September 27, 2014 3:20 pm | Updated: September 27, 2014 5:57 pm

The 66-year-old Jayalalithaa has been charged under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 in the disproportionate assets case along with three others.

In a previous instance in September 2001 during her second term in power Jayalalitha had been forced to step down as Chief Minister after she was convicted to five years of imprisonment in the Tansi land scam case.

The Supreme Court had ruled that she cannot be Chief Minister when convicted in a criminal case. Jayalalithaa however returned as Chief Minister five months later in March 2002 after being acquitted of the charges in the Tansi case.

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The special judge, in Rs 66.65 crore Disproportionate Assets case, John Michael Cunha was orginally scheduled to pronounce judgment in the Jayalalitha case on September 20 but the case was posted to September 27 after concerns were raised about security. The case was shifted to a court attached to the Bangalore Central Prison located on the outskirts of the city.

Jayalalitha and three associates – her former close friend V K Sasikala, Sasikala’s nephew V N Sudhakaran and sister-in-law J Illavarasi have been accused of acquiring Rs 66.65 crore worth of assets by corrupt means between 1991-96 during Jayalalithaa’s first tenure as Chief Minister.

The Disproportionate Assets case was registered in 1997 and investigations were carried out under the DMK regime which deposed Jayalalitha from power in April 1996. The case was transferred to Karnataka by the Supreme Court in 2003 on a plea by a DMK official K Anbazhagan alleging subversion of the trial by Jayalalitha when she returned as Tamil Nadu chief minister in May 2001.

The case had been crippled by delays on various counts including changes of the Special Public Prosecutor appointed to carry out the trial. The High Court appointed SPP in the case, B V Acharya, had quit in August 2012 after accusing the then BJP government in Karnataka of seeking his ouster to further political ties with Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK party.

A second public prosecutor appointed in the case, Bhawani Singh, was threatened with a fine of Rs 60,000 per day by the special court last year for seeking frequent adjournments and delaying the trial. The court in its judgment is expected to make observations about the conduct of the accused and the prosecution in causing delays in the trial.

The special court in the course of the trial took into its custody key evidence in the case in the form of 23 kg of gold, 1165 kg of silver and 91 wrist watches that had been seized from Jayalalithaa and the co-accused by the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Vigilance in Chennai in 1997. continued…

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/background-jayalalithaa-da-case/#sthash.qGqvhEKY.dpuf

Saturday, September 27, 2014 - By Unknown 0

Tomorrowworld

Tomorrowworld 2014 kicks off in South Fulton County

                                                        PLAY VIDEO 

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — 

The Tomorrowworld music festival is a benefit to the South Fulton County economy, bringing in more than $85 million in 2013.

This year promises to be even bigger. The electronic music festival began Friday and some people aren’t as happy as the more than 120,000 in attendance.

"It does bring in a tremendous about of money into Georgia as well as surrounding community, so you have to weigh the balance," Holly springs resident Jeff Seymour said.

The balance is still a bit off, according to some residents in Douglas County, about five miles away from the festival site. The site is located on 500 acres of farmland in Chattahoochie Hills.

"Unfortunately, we're in Douglas County. That's happening in Fulton County, so I don't think we have much say-so over here," Holly Springs resident Tom Staebell said.

"It is a helpless feeling because if I was to play my music loud here, the police would be out here, my neighbors would be complaining and I would have to turn it down," Douglas County resident Elijah Lucas said.

Others are concerned with the traffic it causes.

"It probably caused an extra 15 minutes to get to work,” Staebell said.

Event officials say they have a mobility plan and bigger signs.

They say they will provide information about possible bottlenecks.

They also say they're taking steps to monitor the sound and lessen its impact.

Event officials say the music is consistently well below the sound levels prescribed by the law.

Saturday, September 27, 2014 - By Unknown 0

Amal Alamuddin

Amal Alamuddin Wedding Rehearsal Dinner: Stuns In Scarlet Gown — Pic

Fri, September 26, 2014 8:33pm EDT by Hollywood Life Staff3 Comments10,101 Article Views

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George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin are about to tie the knot, and if her wedding dress is even half as gorgeous as the scarlet gown she wore at her rehearsal dinner, we’re in for a treat!

It may seem a miracle that George Clooney, 53, is finally setting down, but it’s no surprise that he chose Amal Alamuddin, 36. For their extravagant rehearsal dinner, Amal was gorgeous in a stunning scarlet waterfall gown. Check out the pics!

Amal Alamuddin & George Clooney Wedding Rehearsal Dinner: Her Scarlet Dress

Her waterfall dress was totally elegant while also giving us a peek of her incredible, toned legs. With plain black pumps and a simple hairstyle, all eyes were on her gown. While mainly red, the dress also featured a faded black pattern which looked almost like a Rorschach test!

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Amal Alamuddin & George Clooney: Details On Their Bachelorette & Bachelor Parties

George opted for a more understated look in a navy blue suit, showing off a little chest with his unbuttoned white shirt, as he is wont to do. (And we support that noble endeavor.)

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George Clooney & Amal Alamuddin Wedding Pictures: ‘Vogue’ Reportedly To Have Exclusive Rights

Do you like George and Amal as a couple?

Yes! So sweet.Not really, but I guess I have to get used to it!

VoteView Results

Many members of the wedding party were photographed heading to the rehearsal venue held at the Cipriani Hotel in Giudecci, reports The Daily Mail, including best man Rande Gerber and his wife, Cindy Crawford, and, of course, George’s BFF for life, Matt Damon.

Newlyweds Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were not pictured at the dinner, but they are also expected to attend.

George and Amal are set to wed this weekend, and The Daily Mail is reporting that Vogue will have exclusives on the photos and that all of the money will go to charity. This checks out, considering Anna Wintour is also in attendance.

HollywoodLifers, are you looking forward to George and Amal’s wedding? Or are you waiting for George to realize that you are the one for him? Do you like them together? Let us know!

– Amanda Mitchell

Related searches: george clooney

Saturday, September 27, 2014 - By Unknown 0