Dominatio Per Malum

BBC NEWS | Americas | Judge suspended for jailing court

A US judge has been removed from the bench for jailing an entire courtroom audience after none of them admitted being responsible for a ringing phone.

Battlestar Galactica : Razor (2007) 7/10

Instead of starting on season 4, the good folks at Sci-fi have decided to air a 2-hr BSG movie instead, which follows the Pegasus storyline introduced in Season 2 and acts as a sort of prequel. For us BSG fans who are eagerly anticipating Season 4, Razor is like a thirst quencher that only whets our appetite for more. Razor is an example of what happens when you put a top notch writing crew, add in compelling and flawed characters and let Michelle Forbes completely steal the show as Admiral Cain. Michelle Forbes was excellent in her brief role during Season 2 and she once agains steals the show from her co-stars. Nevertheless, Stephanie Jacobsen puts in am impressive performance as Kendra Shaw, the anti-heronine of Razor, with bits of Starbuck and Cain melded in her personality. Plus, there are those retro throwbacks with an old school cylon homage, plenty of space melees and a tightly crafted script.

 Still, Razor is hampered by the fact that it is a prequel so we already know what happens and who lives or does not live. While Razor would better be appreciated if it was watched by die-hard fans, newbies may actually enjoy it more beacuse they do not know beforehand what will happen. Still Razor is temporary relief and while it isn’t quite at the level of the best BSG episodes, it easily towers over other comparable series. And as a film, its fairly good for a made-for-TV movie and showcases the best of BSG. In short, it is a must watch for fans.

Does Death Penalty Save Lives? A New Debate - New York Times
For the first time in a generation, the question of whether the death penalty deters murders has captured the attention of scholars in law and economics, setting off an intense new debate about one of the central justifications for capital punishment.

According to roughly a dozen recent studies, executions save lives. For each inmate put to death, the studies say, 3 to 18 murders are prevented.

BBC NEWS | Europe | Web game provides rice for hungry

Improve your vocab, waste time, help other people and procrastinate your exam preparation! Just by playing some word game!

If you are wondering how many episodes will air, TV guide has a nifty guide on how many episodes are left before the WGA strike forces you to watch reruns and reality TV only. I’m horrified that there are only six episodes of House left this season. Now is the time to check out some other TV series that you would normally not watch. Since your favorite series will not last long, here are some other series worth considering:

Pushing Daisies

One of the most promising new series of this season, Pushing Daisies looks fantastic. With its quirky, fairy tale like setting, those who like the cinematography of Amelie will easily take to this show.

Dexter

Michael C Hall will eventually win a Best Actor Emmy for this series. That is a guarantee, and season 2 of Dexter is just getting better and better.


Jack And Bobby

This was one of the best shows on the WB, which isn’t exactly know for producing very good series, but it was sadly canned after one season. One of the best character driven shows featuring a very talented cast. Definitely worth a look.

Firefly

Another excellent series that was discontinued after 1 season, but it has since gained a cult following and it was such a fan favourite that a film adaptation called Serenity was made. One of the best shows ever made and the 2nd best sci-fi series of all time, losing only to the next recommendation on this list.

Battlestar Galactica

Not just the best sci-fi series ever made. Its the best show you could possibly watch on TV.

American Gangster (2007) 6/10

This movie is too long. Some judicious editing would definately help the pacing. Showcasing the true story of the rise and fall of an American mobster played by Denzel Washington, American Gangster is a sleek and well produced film. Both Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe give solid performances and the ensemble cast flesh out the story well. The film is solid, but not remarkable, and there is nothing here that distinguishes it from the average gangster flick. Certainly, the production values are high, the cast is top-notch and the script has an epic feel to it. But if you’ve seen one gangster flick, you’ve seen them all and there is little in American Gangster than puts it above similar films like The Departed, Goodfellas, Casino or The Godfather. Its a film that could have been great, but is instead just good.

Once (2007) 9/10

Directed by John Carney, ONCE is a labor of love that has more heart than the last few musicals i’ve watched. This is the film that MUSIC & LYRICS wants to be. Unfortunately, being a small arthouse flick, most people won’t have even heard of it. It is a beautiful and enchanting film, and one of the best films of the year. It is also technically a musical, but the movie doesn’t have any dancing. Its about people, and music. So much so that the film does not even bother to name its 2 leads. They are simply credited as “guy” and “girl” when the credits roll. But the performances are great: Glenn Hansard and Marketa Irglova display great chemistry and give solid performances. They are not professional actors, so their acting may be a tad rough, but this gives it a sense of raw honesty that many other films lack. Most importantly, unlike other musicals, the leads sing their own songs and play their instruments. Within its short running time, its chock filled with songs, and let me add that the soundtrack is smashing. The director blends the music into the film seamlessly, and avoids the artificiality of most other musicals which break into an unnatural song and dance; here the music flows with the plot. Winner of the Audience Award at both the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and Dublin International Film Festival, Once is an arthouse gem that deserves a look. Its also my favorite musical (and i generally don’t like musicals, but Once gets my hearty recommendation). From the verite, documentary look to the endearing performances by the leads, Once is one of the best films of 2007. You don’t need big budgets to make a good movie.

“However, beneath its deceptively modest exterior, the film conveys such acute feelings of hurt, longing and hope that it emerges as “big” in the way that counts most—as a singular emotional experience that lingers sweetly in heart and mind long after the closing credits.”- Metromix

Pirates of The Caribbean 3: At World’s End (2007) 5/10

Overlong, overwrought and totally unnecessary three-quel. Its lost the movie magic and the ending is a graphics intensive but emotionally soulless product lacking the originality of the first film and the tongue-in-cheek humor of the second. Plus every time Chow Yun Fat speaks in English, it is positively grating to the ear. This film has lost its magic, and the final installment is a tired, perfunctory finale that drags on for way too long.

A Mighty Heart(2007) 3/10

Based on a true story and totally boring. Characters run around, interrogating other characters and you don’t care because you don’t know who’s who. The story has zero thrills, because the ending is a foregone conclusion (its based on a true story, which sucks up all the suspense from the film). Most of the film is filled with people making phone calls, and Angelina Jolie looking angsty. It is a one-note performance by Jolie and i have no idea why her performance has even attracted praise because i felt that it was basically repeating the same emotion through the film’s entire running time. The audience never cares about the characters because the film never bothers to develop the characters, and by the end of the film, we still don’t know much of the characters. Plus, its very boring.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) 4/10

There are many adaptations of Dracula and this review concerns the 1992 film adaptation by Francis Ford Coppola, which (pardon the pun) lacks bite. Despite having good critical reviews (RT has it at 82%), i was underwhelmed by this sprawling, messy adaptation. There are many missteps in this film: from the terrible choice of inserting a romantic plot between Dracula and Mina (Winona Ryder) to miscasting and plain bad acting. The most egregious of them is Keanu Reeves who basically acts like a block of wood and utter his lines like an automaton. Watching Keanu Reeves act in this film is probably the scariest thing this film has to offer. And casting Sean Connery as Van Helsing is another big mistake- he is totally miscast, looking more like an uncle than a vampire-slayer. What singlehandedly saves this film is Gary Oldman, overacting brilliantly and looking absolutely sinister as Dracula. It is an impressive performance (as long as you ignore the terrible romantic subplot) and Oldman is creepy as hell. The film also gets props in the costume and horror department, serving up some impressive scares, especially the scenes of Dracula in Transylvania. However, this does not save the film from bad acting, terrible romantic subplot and generally incoherent structure.

Lost In Translation (2003) 6/10

I didn’t like it the first time i saw it, and rewatching it a few years later, my opinion has improved- but only slightly. The performances are great: Scarlett Johansson is luminous and exudes incredible screen presence, while Bill Murray has mastered the deadpan delivery. However, Sofia Coppola’s film feels like an amateur rip-off of a Wong Kar Wai film. The film never gets to establish the mood and the various scenes movie in a pedestrian , dreary pace. Nothing much happens, and probably the biggest weakness in the film is that while Johansson and Murray are great individually, there is no chemistry between them. Unlike Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung in In The Mood For Love, who have sizzling chemistry, the friendship tinged with hints of romance between the leads of Lost in Translation is simply uninteresting. Coppola also fails to capture an effective mood and result is a film that is slow and oftentimes boring. Only the strong performances of Johansson and Murray lift this film up from mediocrity and even then, it is undeserving of the high praise heaped upon it. If anything, it feels like Wong Kar Wai-lite.

Man Push Cart (2006) 6/10

As its title suggests, this film is about a man. Who pushes a cart. There you have it: a film which can be summed up by its title. It is about an immigrant who makes a living pushing a cart selling bagels and coffee. That’s all there is to the film. It is a small, arthouse flick that is beautiful in its own way. There isn’t much of a plot, and we see our main protagonist go through his Sisyphean routine day after day. It is depressing, melancholic and yet uplifting in its own way, as our main character goes through the mundane repetitiveness of his life. In a sense, the cart represents both hope and burden: the hope of moving on to a better stage of his life, but also the burden that transforms his life into a numbing routine.

“If you’ve forgotten — or never known — the rhythm and grace that cinema can sing with, then please, for your own sanity, see Man Push Cart, and rediscover how achingly lovely a film can be. “- Maryann Johansson

Planet Terror (2007) 7/10

Rose McGowan with a Rifle/Grenande Laucher as her leg. I rest my case.

Inland Empire 1/10

Absolute waste of time. Boring, incomprehensible and painfully tedious. The cinematic equivalent of torture. I disliked David Lynch’s Mulloholland Drive, but his newest film Inland Empire is more than just bad, its a painful and utterly inscrutable journey featuring men in rabbit suits, and some plot which i didn’t understand.

Ratatouille (2007) 8/10

A most delightful tale!