Mumbaiya Hyderabadi!

Director: J J Abrams Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana Genre: Action/Adventure, Sciuence Fiction/Fantasy, Adaptation and Sequel Running Time: 2 hr. 7 min. A prequel (in this season of prequels/restarts: X-men, Batman Begins) to the all time popular TV series, this intergalactic adventure centers around the meeting of two characteristically opposite Starfleet recruits (Starship Enterprise): half-Vulcan Spock and all-American rebel James T. Kirk. For the fans who have grown with William Shatner/Patrick Stewart as Kirk and Leonard Nimoy/Jonathan Frakes as Spock, it takes some time to warm up to Chris Pine & Zachary Quinto playing the roles of Kirk and Spock respectively. This prequel takes us through the origins on how Kirk and Spock grew to become what they were known, became famous for. Kirk, the flamboyant, risk taking, rebellious, quick to think/act hero (who later became the captain of the starship) and Spock, the thinking man who looks for logic in every action or ...

Director : Gavin Hood Starring : Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Tim Pocock, Tahyna Tozzi, Will.i.am, Danny Huston Running Time : 1 hr. 47 min Genres : Action/Adventure, Science Fiction/Fantasy and Adaptation X-Men, the mutants are back and this time takes us to their origin. This movie provides us insight into Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and his origin, an epically violent and romantic past, his complex relationship with Victor Creed/Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber) Hugh Jackman is a big plus yet again in the X-men series, this time allowing him to display his vulnerability and a more humane side. The movie is better structured through a storyline weaved around the Weapon X program, brainchild of the maverick Col. William Stryker (Danny Huston) and appearances by several legends of the X-men universe (unique mutuants and skills), including Will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas fame). A movie that is thoroughly enjoyable for the skills displayed by the various mutants and for its story around Logan...

Director : Ron Howard Starring : Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer Running Time : 2 hrs. 18 min. Genres : Thriller, Adaptation, Politics/Religion and Sequel Ron Howard is back with another adaptation of Dan Brown's book and this time too Dan is a co-producer (a smart commercially oriented trend). This movie too banks on the simple formula that was seen with the earlier movie (Da Vinci Code), rope in a bankable star (Tom Hanks), generate hype, controversy (including bans in few countries) and pit religion against science. The movie begins with symbologist Robert Langdon being approached to trace the disappearance of four cardinals from the Vatican City. The symbologist from Harvard known for his grey cells, doesnt take much time to figure out that the grave threats to the Catholic Church and subsequent killings of these cardinals is essentialy the handiwork of a resurgent ancient secret brotherhood, evil and powerful underground society known as the Illuminati. The illuminati...

Wanna savor the taste of Biriyani and Arabic food and the thought of negotiating the killer traffic at Mehdipatnam puts you off, not to worry, you can now eat the same stuff in Kondapur, thanks to the opening of the Grand Four seasons. This is the second branch of the quaint eatery (the first being at tolichowki).The restaurant is located on the 3rd floor and the ambience is a lot better than Tollichowki - Wooden floor, asymmetrically themed chairs, lots of glass, mirrors and decor in various shades of neon . This restaurant is largely famous for it's variety of culinary options. While this restaurant is known to be a paradise for biryani lovers the Arabic /Lebanese platters are also worth a try. The biryani here is yummy with the right dash of spices and comes with the complimentary mirchi ka salan & raita as is the norm in Hyderabad. The starter Chicken crispy was served with a garlic dip (which was refilled time and again). One of the specialty dishes here is KHABSA (Arabi...

How about a site which would help you with your decisions?.Sounds interesting and less mind boggling? Now answer a host of questions and voila there comes your answer. Hunch (launched on June 15 2009), is the new decision making (rather offering/providing) site from Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake. Ask it a question - "What kind of jeans should I buy?" and it will ask you a few questions about yourself, then come up with an answer. That answer, of course, isn't always a stroke of genius, and nobody should rely solely on Hunch's advice for life-altering decisions. As more and more people use this site and answers questions, hunch learns more.The recommendations are usually powered and collected through user contributions.Hunch also allows the users to create new topics, provided you have played atleast 3 topics before you create your own. Newly submitted topics often won't be very mature and smart at first, but as more and more people train and refine them, the t...

Directed by: Todd Phillips Written by: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore Starring: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Ken Jeong, Justin Bartha, Jeffrey Tambor, Mike Tyson After the many special effects releases this summer, Todd Philip (Old School, Starsky and Hutch) comes with this hilarious and a great movie which would end you laughing in splits.The movie is about a bachelor party that goes terribly wrong. Two days before his wedding Doug (Justin Bartha ) and his two best buddies Phil Wenneck - a married school teacher (Bradley Cooper) and Stu Price - a dentist by profession (Ed Helms) along with the bride's brother Alan Garner (Zach Galifianakis) plan a blow out bachelor party at Las Vegas .The bride's father's Mercedes is their mode of transport for the journey.Stu is worried about his dominating girlfriend Melissa , who doesn't believe of traditional male bonding rituals, and tells her they were going on a wine tasting tour in the Napa Valley. Thing...

Located on the fifth floor of the City Center Mall (Banjara Hills), Aromas of China is a classy Chinese restaurant by the BJN group. We have been here a couple of times but all the times (even on weekends), the restaurant was pretty empty , and we could pretty easily walk in without having to wait.The walkway is made of wood with channels of water running all below them (only at the entrance). As you enter there are couple of gold Buddha statuettes (in different positions) on either side of the dining area. The restaurant is quite spacious and divided into three distinct areas; a small area that has tables for two, the bigger area with table for four , and the third being to be a family area, with large tables and large chair backrest to accommodate families and big groups. As soon as you are seated you are served with a bowl of Kimchi, a sweet and sour seasoned cabbage, and cucumber and carrot slivers seasoned with vinegar salt and sugar. We ordered Lemon coriander soup as an appetiz...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZo1kOeHB40

A perfect place to dine on a beautiful evening with your loved one. Located at Jubilee Hills, the restaurant gives you a breathtaking view of the Durgam Cheruvu Lake. You have multiple seating options here, alfresco by the lake (candle lit and lil too dark), an indoor (air-conditioned) seating with high glass windows, or a separate family room for large members which make it a perfect family outing place too. There is also a separate seating area for liquor lovers with comfortable leather sofas. The ambience is excellent, the view panoramic (though the lighting towards the lake is nil) and the music serene and soothing. We were seated outside with the lake facing view , but the only hitch was that there were lots of insects and mosquitoes (though the repellent were lit) .The menu presented initially is exclusively for appetizers and small eats, so don’t hunt for the main course there, the menu for main course would shortly follow. The menu offers a variety of cuisines ranging from I...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA1NoOOoaNw

Director : Kabir Khan Duration : 2 hr. 39 min Kudos to Kabir Khan for his brilliant script, screenplay and direction in New York. Finally when the multiplex strike ends, we get a dramatic thriller from the director which portrays the life of an average Muslim in America post 9/11. The movie is about three friends – Omar (Neil Nitin Mukesh) ,Sameer (John Abraham) and Maya (Katrina Kaif) who meet at a New York campus , and how the catastrophic terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11 turns their lives topsy turvy. The movie starts with Omar who lands himself in the FBI net after ammunition is found in his car trunk.Roshan (Irrfan Khan) steps in as a crime investigator and grills Omar and extracts information about Sam , Omar’s friend, who the FBI claims, is running a sleeper terrorist cell to attack America anytime. Roshan convinces Omar to go back to Sam and Maya (who he isn't in touch with post 9/11) and work as a FBI undercover operative. Omar gets entry into Sameer’...

There are few film makers in malayalam cinema whose movies ,more often than not ,are often waited with baited breath by cine goers across the state.The sense of anticipation and excitement that their movies evoke are immense which usually turn out to be a bane for these supremely gifted artists.Blessy has been a victim of such frenzied responses in the past and after the recent debacle, where his last two movies turned out to be damp squibs, it was imperative from his part to come up with something appreciable in order to salvage his reputation and provide a befitting reply to his critics.Well then, Has he been successful in this attempt or is his latest endeavour an another flash in the pan?The movie, 'Bhramaram', which draws its inspiration from a Malayalam classic, (Revealing its name may spoil the party!) has lived up to its expectations and, by the end of the year, could well be labelled as the best malayalam movie of 2009( Sorry! Director Lal ). Set in the backdrop of a...