Cast:
Jess Aaron: Josh Hutcherson
Leslie Burke: AnnaSophia Robb
Maybelle Aarons: Bailee Madison
Mr. Aarons: Robert Patrick
Imagination is a terrible thing to waste. What a dull world it would be without it, how sad and colorless and boring, indeed. That may be simplifying the message in the new film "Bridge to Terabithia," but then again the movie, based on the award-winning children's novel by Katherine Paterson, is all about the imaginary worlds inside our minds, specifically, the minds of young children, and those fabulous far-away places residing therein that are both irresistible and terrifying. When the real world deals you a rotten hand, you can be Cinderella at the ball, or Joe DiMaggio at the plate, or a tiny Hobbit on a quest, or even the king of Terabithia. Marvelous.
This dark fantasy-adventure never loses touch with reality, even though much of the film takes place within the limitless imagination of two young kids.
The plot:
Jess (Josh Hutcherson) is a 10-year-old loner, an artist of some means, constantly sketching fantastic creatures and mythological worlds in his notebook. It is his escape from the real world where he is picked on regularly at school, and on the school bus by the cool kids, and even at home by his older sisters. His parents (Robert Patrick and Kate Butler) are struggling to make ends meet, so much so that on the day of a big race, Jess (who fancies himself the fastest kid in school) is forced to wear hand-me-down pink sneakers from one of his sisters.
Enter Leslie (AnnaSophia Robb), the new girl in school. She's a loner from the city, incredibly intelligent, the daughter of fiction writers, who is blessed with an imagination that rivals Jess'. Her talent is storytelling -- writing aloud as she races with the wind, creating vivid stories of kings and princesses and ogres and giants. This is her escape from a real world that can't keep up with all she envisions.
At the aforementioned school race Jess and Leslie set in motion the friendship that will change their lives forever. One day, as the two are racing through the woods, they come upon a dangling rope suspended over a creek. They grab it and swing across and enter the imaginary world of Terabithia, where they reign as king and queen. Here they battle mythical creatures, from giant armor-clad squirrels to hairy vultures to a she-giant who's brought down by a good dose of tickling. Dragonflies morph into an army of glistening gold warriors. Trees come to life as a menacing horde. An old abandoned tree house becomes their mighty fortress.
The verdict:
"Terabithia" works on so many levels because it never talks down to its intended child audience, while it maintains enough intelligence to ably pique the interest of adults. Ultimately, the film's heart and soul rests on the abilities of its young lead characters to make us really see the world through children's eyes. The dynamic duo of Hutcherson and Robb do not disappoint. Throughout the film, we feel Jess' pain, his joy, his sadness, thanks to a sensitive and believable performance by Hutcherson, whose credits include "Zathura" and "RV." Even Jess' innocent crush on the school's foxy young music teacher (Zooey Deschanel) is so genuine that our hearts can't help aching over what he's going through.
As Leslie, Robb (the sweet Opal in "Because of Winn-Dixie" and the spoiled brat Violet in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory") dazzles with her sparkling blue eyes and million-watt smile. She makes Leslie an outsider with a heart of gold, whose funky retro-metro wardrobe is something she wears quite well, but will never win her points with the cool girls in school. They are two fine young actors who command the screen as few of their tween contemporaries can.
It's about childhood, about playing and running and just being a kid, with all the pitfalls and pratfalls, with all the joy and the pain. It's about real life.
Game Review
By Sadman Alvi
As it is the case with all the games of FIFA, comparison with rival Konami’s critically acclaimed Pro Evolution Soccer (or Winning Eleven Six) series is quite inevitable. And being a fan of Konami’s realistic and innovative take on the sport of soccer, I have never really enjoyed playing the well licensed and rather extensively hyped version of soccer gaming offered by EA. However, even I, now have to admit that FIFA 07 is a significant improvement over its predecessor. But the question still remains, is it good enough to give Konami a run for their money?
First of all, the game scores high in the graphics and animation department. Though, at first glance, the subtle improvements in graphics might be hard to detect, since you have to view most of the game from a bird’s eye view. Most of the players are instantly recognizable and the player animation is smoother and slicker then ever before. But the most significant change in animation has to be the in-game physics. Now, the ball acts how it should, with realistic curl and dip. Also the player in possession doesn’t appear to be “one” with the ball; instead you will occasionally witness embarrassing mistakes as your player attempts to control the ball from an awkward position.
The sound and music in the game can also be classified as top notch. As usually EA have a large number of licensed songs from worldwide, to offer. The commentary has improved a lot too, as the two commentators Clive Tyldesley and Andy Gray have a lot more to say, and consequently aren’t irritatingly repetitive as before. Another interesting improvement is the crowd reaction, the crowd actually responds to everything going on in the pitch. Fans of some of the famous teams even have their own chants. As it is in real life, the home team usually gets all the chants, while the away team has to endure the jeers and boos.
Now let’s turn our attention to the most important part of a football game, the game play. And to speak the truth, FIFA 07 has gone leaps and bounds in terms of game play from its previous installments. Probably the most noticeable and praiseworthy change comes in the form of the game’s A.I. (Artificial Intelligence). When playing against computer opponent you can no longer use the same formula over and over again to score goals. The usual formulas of a FIFA game like, pass-pass-through pass-run-shoot or pass-pass-run-cross-head don’t work every time as the computer gets accustomed to your playing style and finds ways to stop your attacks. So you have to be more diverse and creative when initiating an attack. Kudos to EA for finally realizing the biggest fault in their games, albeit after many years. The C.P.U. controlled defenders are now much more intelligent, they no longer franticly charge forward in their quest for the ball, leaving a gaping hole in the backline, a mistake that was almost always exploited with a clever chip or a through pass to the open striker. Instead they try to match the run of the striker and try their best to remain with him. In fact, in the higher difficulty levels, C.P.U. pretty much match every run that your players make; that’s not necessarily a down side though, as you can use off the ball runs of your players as decoys and create enough space to shoot from distance. And thanks to the new shooting and goalkeeping system, shooting from distance is far more realistic and Rewarding. The goalkeepers are no longer Supermen wearing shorts and gloves, constantly defying the laws of physics to pull of mind-boggling saves, of which their real life counterparts wouldn’t even dare to dream about. Hence, your shots don’t have to be inch perfect to make their way into the back of the net. In fact I have often seen goalkeepers make embarrassing fumbles and spills. And remind you, that is a good thing.
In the attacking department the game boasts some cool new features. For example there are now two new types of shots, namely “the finesse shot” and “the chip shot”. The orthodox shot (known as “the laces shot” in the game) and the lob shot is also present as usually. Then there is the passing, you can make various kinds of passes as before, but now, the accuracy and speed of the passes largely depend on the position of the player making it and also of the player intended to receive it. The use of trick stick (or the SHIFT key when using the keyboard) is much more extensive. You can pull off some amazing moves using it. Though the combinations required to perform these moves are quite unforgiving, they are also equally rewarding if you get it right.
Anyone playing this game will almost undoubtedly spend most of the time playing in the “Manager Mode”. The manager mode lets you take control of any club in the game (or even one of your own creation) and then tasks you with leading them to glory while making decisions that can affect your club both on and off the field. The manager mode is very interactive as you have to select sponsors, please your board and fans and constantly deal with many off-the-pitch antics to keep the team morale and support high. If you have enough money you can decide to pursue the best in the business, alternatively you can scout for young prospects and then turn them into world class players under your supervision. Every player playing in a match gain valuable experience points, based on his match rating and age, and when a player gains enough of these points he has the chance of gaining attribute growth. The attribute growth is kept under check by the “player growth bar”. Anyway, if you ever get tired of playing you can also use the “visual simulator” to simulate the result and get a written commentary of the events in the match. A lot like one of those “Championship Manager” games. You can make tactical changes during the simulation or even intervene and start playing at any time. Although I have to say that the simulation is very far from real and barely provides a satisfactory managerial experience.
Many of the refined and improved aspects of the game has been influenced by, or in some cases directly copied from Konami’s PES/WES series. But I don’t think any of the gamers will complain about that, as all we care about is a good game, regardless of who came up with the idea. All in all, I think this game is pretty good (read very good, since its coming form a PES fan). And finally Konami has found a worthy adversary.
By Ahmed Ahsiful Haque Niloy
This week, I’ve got a bunch of sites, which has lifted me off boredom and myopic depression often. They’re some of the lamest, silliest and somehow, still funniest sites from the unlimited freebees that World Wide Web provides.
Stickdeath.com
I’m pretty sure most of you already know about this one! It’s about a gang of animated stick figures that made my girlfriend drop from the chair and rolling on the ground, laughing. Those crazy little things can do anything, ranging from Martyr Machines to meeting the talibans! A must-check-out for those of you missing the fun!
FunnyBurger.com
Comprises of a list of random, real-life funny videos from around the world and Web. It also includes a few games, which can be lame and not-so-funny, but are good ways to pass off a period of severe boredom. The site claims to be ‘the home of 2877 hilarious videos, animations, games, articles and pictures’.
I Am Bored
If I hadn’t seen it, I probably wouldn’t have believed that there’s actually a site with such a title. Ofcourse, there are weirder sites with freakier names. Anyway, the tagline that follows this one says, “Here's a list of sites for when you're feeling bored. Updated constantly, so check back whenever you're bored.” That should be simplified enough for everyone to figure out what this site contains.
Lame Jokes
Who knew THIS could be a saver at times? I bumped across this page on a very annoying, sunny morning and surprisingly, it lifted my mood. Not that I am a fan of corny jokes! Oh, here’s a personal one from a friend, “A Maa-tomato and a picchi-tomato were walking on the road. The picchi-tomato is left behind. What does the Maa-tomato tell the picchi-tomato?” I shall-eth reveal-eth the answer in the next issue! Keep guessing!
Japanese Inventions
Japanese people were meant to be laughed at. I’m not a racist or anti-chinku; but the kind of inventions and blasts of creativity that these guys can come up with are unimaginable. I don’t know what they eat or who they sleep with, Japanese inventions are definitely something that’s going to inspire you to different level, altogether. Another must-check-out!
Funny Junk
A random collection of funny, not-so-funny, lame, stupid and irritating photos.
That’s all I’ve got for this week. If you fail to find all of the above sites not funny, your sense of humour is depressing. For anything else and compliments, gmail me at niloy.me@gmail.com
By Le Chupacabra
After the Fourth World War, millions of Asian people were rendered homeless and as a result have had to seek shelter as aliens in various nations. Three million of these refugees ended up in Japan where they are subject to severe racist and discriminatory attitudes. However, they have no other place to go and continue to live on in adversity. Enter the Individual Eleven - a radical terrorist group whose altruistic purpose is free the refugees or so it seems. Forces within the very Government are acting to turn this into a situation that may spiral into an International incident. It's upto the reformed Section 9 to race against the clock and a find a solution before yet another war erupts…
Director Shirow Masamune has dabbled in the Ghost in the Shell universe for quite some time but his works have always been shy of true greatness.
Not anymore…
2nd GIG is, from the very first frame to last rising camera pan, a fantastic postmodern political thriller. The plot is far intricately orchestrated than any of its brethren. Instead of fragmenting the flow into concentrated portions of revelations and finger-pointing (ala Stand Alone Complex), the story in 2nd GIG is a continuous, seamless narrative that ebbs and flows brilliantly. The events commence from a typical CNN-esque broadcast of a terrorist situation that is covertly defused by the enigmatic Section 9. Later they twist, turn and spiral towards proceedings that are both grand and terrifying in scope. The timing of the plot twists will elicit gasps whereas the way many portions parallel real life events will have you wondering if there's more to the news you just watched on TV. It's rather brilliant, thought-provoking material and anyone looking for a smart thriller is certainly going to love this.
And all this has been done, appreciatively, without an overdose of quotations. Preachy philosophies have been canned for a more subtle approach to the questions that GITS always loves to ask. As it is, 2nd GIG comes across as far more palatable whilst retaining the ability to make you think. There are still some pop-culture references involved but the choices are more appropriate including a nice nod to a particular scene from the Matrix (which was after all, inspired by Ghost in the Shell in the first place). It's a personal viewpoint but I found that 2nd GIG has a lot in common with the peerless Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty - and that's only a good thing.
Another aspect that will surely please both long-time and casual fans is the attention given to characters. Besides some long overdue back-story on Section 9 members such as the silent Pazu and sniper Saito, the director has done a splendid job concerning the personalities of the three main characters: Major Kusanagi Motoko, Gouda Kazundo and Kuze Hideo. For the first time we learn how the iconic Major first became a cyborg and why she was such a force to be reckoned with during the World War. But besides that, it's the links these three Characters share that drive the main threads of the story.
The art? It's GITS after all, so pick your own superlative from the dictionary. The atmosphere is grittier this time, but the judicious use of vibrant colouring leads to some beautiful contrasts between locales. The city and the vehicles look damn near photorealistic and more impressively, there's a greater reliance on hand-drawn art than CGI (or atleast they've figured out how to make CGI look more natural).
While it may seem 2nd GIG is perfect, it's not. This anime caters to a specific audience and those who like their Shounen Jump (e.g. Naruto, Bleach, etc) material may be bored quickly. This isn't a story that can be followed and picked up just like that - you will need to sit down and pay attention. Some will also write it off as pretentious and long-winded, mind you.
With 2nd GIG, Production IG has shown that you can improve upon brilliance. This series stands as one of the finest anime out there and is mandatory viewing for fans of Ghost in the Shell.
