Movie review: Wonder Woman reinvigorates tired superhero conventions

The story is repositioned to the trenches of World War I

“Wonder Woman! All the world’s waiting for you,” rang the theme song to the classic 1970s television show as one-time Miss World America, Lynda Carter, transformed into the star-spangled superhero. Yet while gun-toting raccoons headline today’s superhero movies, the world has waited a long time for its most famous female superhero to receive a dedicated film.

Female superheroes have been confined to sidekick roles (Black Widow is the highest profile Avenger without her own movie) or relegated to TV (where Jessica Jones and Supergirl kick ass on a weekly basis). Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman is the first major female-led superhero movie - and as a hero, her antecedents reach back to the suffragettes.

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As historian Jill Lepore details in The Secret History of Wonder Woman, the formative years of Wonder Woman’s creator, psychologist William Moulton Marston, took place against the backdrop of the suffragette movement. As a freshman, he had heard Emmeline Pankhurst speak when she visited Harvard in 1911.

An advocate for women’s rights, Marston would later describe the “blood-curdling masculinity” of comic books as their “worst offence”. His remedy? To create a “feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman”. So in October 1941, All Star Comics introduced Wonder Woman, “to whom the problems and feats of men are mere child’s play”. Read more

Brad Pitt in Mumbai to attend War Machine screening, meets Shah Rukh Khan

The 53-year-old actor plays a US General posted in Afghanistan

Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt is in India to promote his latest film, the Netflix satire "War Machine".

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan will be moderating a special chat session here with Pitt, in which the two actors will discuss the project.

In the movie, the 53-year-old actor plays a US General posted in Afghanistan.

Directed by David Michod, of "Animal Kingdom" fame, the Netflix Original film is inspired by the book "The Operators: The Wild & Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan" by late journalist Michael Hastings.

An investment in the range of $60 million also makes it Netflix's biggest-budget feature to date.

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Surprise! Brad Pitt in India to promote 'War Machine'

Pitt's character is loosely based on General Stanley A McChrystal, a retired United States Army general best-known for his command of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).

His last assignment was as Commander, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Commander, US Forces Afghanistan.

Hastings's blistering profile on McChrystal led to his firing by Obama.

Pitt's company Plan B is also one of the producers of the film.

The first big-budget Hollywood movie on Netflix will be released on May 26.

Cannes gets an added dose of drama as Netflix makes its festival debut

Opening the 2017 Festival is French director Arnaud Desplechin's Ismael's Ghosts

The red carpet has been rolled out and the stars are taking their photo calls as the aristocracy of the film industry gathers at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes for the 70th annual film festival. From Afghanistan to Zambia, film makers, buyers, screenwriters, distributors, critics, academics and cineastes bunker down together for 12 days of communal cinematic consumption in dark rooms interspersed with heady business and critical discussion in the glare of the Mediterranean sunlight.

Opening the 2017 Festival is French director Arnaud Desplechin’s Ismael’s Ghosts, which is screening out of competition and kicks off a line up that includes 49 films from 29 countries, 12 of them by female directors.

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The festival groups its selection (invited from more than 1,000 submitted films) into a number of strands: “the Competition”; “Un Certain Regard”; “Director’s Fortnight” and “Critic’s Week” all of which have their own programme of films. Complementing these strands are special events such as “Midnight Screenings”, “Cannes at 70” screenings, “Cannes Classics” and “Out of Competition” screenings – including, this year, a new thriller from Roman Polanski.

Thierry Frémaux, the Festival’s artistic director, is in charge of selection – and this year his choice is characterised by a lower number of Hollywood films than usual. He has also gone for a more pronounced political tone in the films, on themes such as migration, sex trafficking and the refugee crisis. Another feature of this year’s selection is the screening of films financed by media streaming platforms, including Netflix and Amazon, and the inclusion of “cinematic” television dramas. Read more

Lara Dutta Launch New Range Of Good knight Repellent

Lara Dutta who was present in Mumbai along with her hubby Mahesh Bhupathi launched a new range of Goodnight out of home repellents.

See more pics : Click here.

Filmy News

Allu Arjun, wife expecting second child

Telugu star Allu Arjun and his wife Sneha Reddy, who have been married for five years, are expecting their second child. The couple already have a son named Ayaan.

"Happy to share that my family is growing a little bigger. Another baby arriving soon," Arjun wrote on his Twitter page.(more)

Naseeruddin Shah impressed with son Imaad's performance in 'M Cream'

Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah is impressed with his son Imaad's performance in the film film "M Cream", which is all set to hit the screens this Friday.(more)

Anupam Kher remembers 'Pretty Woman' director Garry Marshall

Veteran actor Anupam Kher has remembered late Hollywood filmmaker Garry Marshall and said he had the "privilege" to meet him.

Anupam shared a photograph of himself with "The Princess Diaries" director, who died on Tuesday.(more)

Gaurav Arora's fan moment with Rajinikanth

It's a fan boy moment for Gaurav Arora. The actor will be travelling to Chennai to watch the first day first show of superstar Rajinikanth-starrer Tamil action drama "Kabali" on Friday.(more)

'Kala chashma 2.0' is a party starter: Karan Johar

Filmmaker Karan Johar says the revamped and rejuvenated version of song "Kala chashma" in the film "Baar Baar Dekho" will leave behind "a huge smile on the face and a dance in demeanour".(more)

Fan to release in 3,000 screens in India

After 3.5 years, Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) is back with the studio largely responsible for his rise to stardom — Yash Raj Films (YRF), for the April 15 release Fan. Before this, Khan starred in YRF founder Yash Chopra’s swansong directorial venture Jab Tak Hai Jaan in 2012 which went on to make more than Rs 100 crore at the box office.

Times have changed now however, and a Rs 100 crore collection figure is no longer a recipe or assurance of profitability. In this case, the movie will need to cross the double century mark, since the cost of production and marketing is around Rs 105 crore. In order to make profits, Fan will need to make more than Rs 210 crore.

Releasing in 3000 screens in India and 700 screens abroad, analysts believe that the film can make around Rs 8 to 20 crore on the first day, it being a bank holiday and summer vacation time at schools and colleges. However collections from the second day will depend on word of mouth and social media response. If all goes to plan, the film should be able to make around Rs 55-60 crore in the first weekend say trade pundits.

Suniel Wadhwa, independent distributor and box office analyst says, “SRK-YRF are teaming up forFan after Jab Tak Hain Jaan directed by Yash Chopra. Fan is the fourth film under banner of YRF which is being directed by Maneesh Sharma. The teaser and main trailer have attracted the audience and looks promising as it has already created a buzz among moviegoers and diehard SRK fans.” This will beShah Rukh Khan first thriller after Don 2 which released in 2011. Fans and audiences in general seem to be looking forward to seeing King Khan in a role that is not only romantic and/or slapstick.

Shaaminder Malik, an independent distributor and trade analyst for North India, however is sceptical of the film’s chances. “Being the solo release on a festival weekend, the film will get a decent opening. But beyond that, it is tricky. Barring one song, the music hasn’t really taken off. With The Jungle Book doing so well, the content offering of Fan will have to be very good to draw more audiences. Let’s wait and see how it goes.”Read More.

BCCI's plan for IPL matches: Use treated sewage water for ground maintenance

With the Bombay High Court raising questions, the BCCI today said that it will procure treated sewage water for ground maintenance for IPL matches in drought-hit Maharashtra.

"We have tied-up with Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) to procure treated sewage water for the IPL matches to be played in Pune and Mumbai," Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) counsel Rafiq Dada submitted.

The high court bench of Justices V M Kanade and M S Karnik was hearing a PIL filed by NGO Loksatta Movement, challenging the use of large quantities of water in stadiums despite the state being drought-hit.

Nine Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches would be played in Pune and eight in Mumbai. Of the eight in Mumbai, one has already been held, the BCCI's counsel told the court.

Three matches are slated to be held in Nagpur, and IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab has agreed to shift matches to Mohali or elsewhere if the HC tells it, he said.

Everyday, 7-8 tankers of treated sewage water would be supplied to the stadiums, Dada said.

The concept of using treated sewage water should be encouraged because after treating the sewage water, it is released into the sea and goes waste, he said.

"In this case, instead of discharging treated sewage water into the sea, we are using it in the stadiums," the BCCI counsel said.

The high court had pulled up the BCCI during the last hearing on the use of large quantities of water for ground maintenance.

The BCCI has taken very seriously the issue of using water in stadiums in view of the drought situation in Maharashtra, he said.

The matter has been adjourned after lunch as government pleader Abhinandan Vagyani sought time to file an affidavit on the stand of the state administration on the issue.

BCCI sacks Harsha Bhogle from IPL commentary, leaves fans enraged

The ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament has lost its most authoritative voice. An Indian Express report on Monday noted that Harsha Bhogle, one of cricket’s best known commentators worldwide, has been unceremoniously dropped by the Board for the Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) for the ongoing edition of the IPL.

According to The Indian Express, Bhogle, 54, was informed about the termination of his contract with IPLonly a week ago.

Bhogle tweeted on April 9 that it "would have been nice to be part of @IPL again".

Bhogle, who is known as the voice of Indian cricket, has 3.66 million followers on Twitter where, predictably, his ouster, for which no official reason has been given yet, elicited howls of outrage and protest.

Speaking to the Sunday Express, Bhogle said, “No one told me anything. I have not been formally told of the reason even now. All I have been told is ‘it is a BCCI management decision’.”

What’s more, BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur and IPL 2016 Chairman Rajeev Shukla refused to comment on the sudden move.

However, the report adds that some board members have referred to an incident which occurred last month during India’s opening World T20 game at Nagpur.

According to the report. Bhogle had a heated exchange with a Vidharbha Cricket Association official over locking a door to the VIP box that separated the commentary boxes for English and Hindi; this meant that bilingual commentators, such as Bhogle, had to climb flights of stairs up and down to get around the VIP box each time they needed to switch from one language commentary to the other. Some BCCI officials hinted that that incident could have caused the sudden termination of contract. BCCI president Shashank Manohar is a native of Nagpur, which is in the Vidarbha region.

Earlier last month, after India's nail-biting victory over Bangladesh in the World Cup T20 quarter-finals, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan had tweeted his displeasure with a cricket commentator, who he didn’t name, saying Indian commentators talk more about foreign players than Indian ones. 

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