Category Archives: Entertainment

Lebanese Authorities Do Not Allow Madonna Concert

According to Al Nahar, Lebanese authorities refused to grant Imad Qanso, a regular fixture for concerts and events in Lebanon, permisssion to have a Madonna concert in Lebanon.

The cause for their refusal was, according to them, Madonna’s statements that the biggest portion of her concert’s revenue goes to the Israeli department of defense.

I’m not a fan but I know people who are actually traveling to watch her perform in UAE and Turkey and who were asking how come she didn’t make a pitstop for a gig in Lebanon.

Either way, I hardly think religious active groups and the BDS would have let the concert be had Madonna been allowed. And while I’m more inclined to see the point of view of the refusal in this case, I still disagree with it. She may be pro-Israeli but she shouldn’t be forbidden from singing here.

Nobody Knows – Lori McKenna Track Cut By Carrie Underwood For Blown Away?

According to the Boston Globe, Carrie Underwood has cut the Lori McKenna track titled Nobody Knows but has yet to release it on any album.

We know Lori McKenna has most probably landed a cut on Carrie’s new album. So could Nobody Knows be the one for Blown Away?

I found a demo floating around by Lori McKenna of the song and it’s quite different from the sound Carrie has been known for. It’s more folky and more subdued. I quite like it, actually, and would like to hear Carrie’s interpretation of it because it would surely take it to the next level. And with a song like this, the next level would be simply spectacular.

Let me tell you, the lyrics are great.

You can listen to Nobody Knows here:

Let me know what you think? Would this be something you’d like Carrie to record?

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close – Movie Review

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is the story Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn), a young American boy who lost his father Thomas (Tom Hanks) in the 9/11 attacks. Trying to cope with the passing of his father, Oskar, who happens to be a very inquisitive boy, tries to make sense of the world. Feeling disconnected with his mother Linda (Sandra Bullock), Oskar sets on a quest across New York City to find one last clue that his father might have left him in a blue vase, which he finds among a stach of things he collected of his father, including his father’s last phone messages on an answering machine he never shared with his mother. The last “hint” is one involving a key and the last name Black, to which he will spring up one last quest involving 472 people with the last name Black in NYC, hoping he’d find the lock which fit the key.

As the movie opens, Oskar, who’s implied to have Asperger’s, says: “If the sun were to blow up, we would still have light and warmth for eight minutes; I feel like my eight minutes with my father are running out.” Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is Oskar’s quest to cling to those eight minutes as long as he could.

Many have called this movie trite and over-indulgent. I disagree. My main problem with Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close was not the subject matter, which you cannot but appreciate, but it was that the main character, Oskar, is more often than not grating, making it difficult for many to relate to his struggles especially when at a moment he snaps at his mother, telling her he wishes it was her in that tower instead, simply because she couldn’t explain why his father had died. It might be how the character was written but Oskar isn’t likeable at most of the movie’s run. There are moments, though, when he’s at his most vulnerable that his child-self shines through. It is then that you appreciate the performance by Thomas Horn, who does a good job, despite his character’s flaws.

Sandra Bullock is great and saddening as the mother trying to protect her son while receiving his bashing for things out of her control. She provides much realism to the movie. Tom Hanks, in the little screen time he gets, embodies the role of the caring dad trying to break his son out of his shell and into the world through little quests in search of ordinary things sparsed throughout New York City, requiring his son to interact with people.

While on his quest, Oskar will cross paths with an old mute man renting at his grandmother’s place. This old man (Max Von Sydow), whose name is never revealed, will help Oskar on his quest by helping him rise above his fear of ordinary things such as trains and shabby-looking bridges. In doing so, Max Von Sydow gives a great performance without uttering a single word.

In a way, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is not really about 9/11 as it is about coping with death. It focuses less on the American tragedy of a country and more on the tragedy of the Schell family. Its main shortcoming is in the fact that with trying to aim for universality, it comes off short from hitting the mark within its niche. Some of the movie’s sequences seem forced. Some are even out of context and irrelevant to the overall flow. In a way the whole sequence with the old man could be removed without affecting the storyline one bit. The movie is not seamless. It feels rickety at points. And that’s a shame because it could have been so much more.

6/10 

 

Humans and Curiosity Reveal a World of Pure CGI: The Making Of “Qitaf Diamonds” – the STC Ad

This is a guest post by a friend to introduce you to his latest work: a TV Ad for KSA’s STC mobile operating company, named Qitaf Diamonds.

Have you ever wondered how some TV commercials are done?

ABLis about to launch an interactive video that unveils the secrets and techniques of the process that gives rise to these commericals.

Humans and curiosity, they go way back. Come on, let’s admit it, we always want to know how? what? who? and when? Each can help, in their own specialty, to bring knowledge to people. When it comes to ads, many want to know how they’re made. So we ask, how would you like to know how “Qitaf diamonds”, one of our latest commercials, came to life?

Promise! We won’t be wasting your time with the usual making of, a director saying “Action”, or people running around trying to look busy on set. Come along with us to the world of pure CGI, where we uncover the detail behind what your eye is seeing….

Lazy? Choose our “auto pilot mode” by watching this video:

For those more curious and compelled, experience the  “full interactivity mode” via our web app, which you can access here, where you can move the cursor and choose which part of the frame you want to unveil and know exactly “how it was made”!

Enjoy the ride into our virtual fascinating 3D world.

Eyes Open (Single Review & Lyrics) – Taylor Swift [The Hunger Games Soundtrack]

Taylor Swift’s second submission to The Hunger Games‘ soundtrack album has just been released, ahead of the movie’s release in theaters next week.

Where Safe & Sound was a reassuring song in the face of distress and fear, Eyes Open is the opposite in theme. Where the former tells a story of safety, the latter, with its prominent guitar, is almost the total opposite. And for a movie & book like The Hunger Games (my review of the book), Eyes Open is way more fitting. It has the energy, thrill and rush of the story all wrapped up in 4 minutes.

The song starts with Taylor reminiscing about the days when things were safe, when the characters were children, playing with wooden swords. But their carefree days have now been replaced with a cruel world – one where they have to keep their eyes open in order to survive: “Playing soldiers, just pretending… In backyards, winning battles with our wooden swords. But now we’ve stepped into a cruel world...”

Meanwhile, everyone’s waiting for them to fail, to breakdown and watch the fallout. So she urges them to keep their eyes open even when they’re asleep: “Everybody’s waiting for you to breakdown. Everybody’s watching to see the fallout. Even when you’re sleeping, sleeping, keep your eyes open”

I can imagine the song being played in the movie just before the tributes are taken into the arena because every single lyric uttered by Taylor fits that moment perfectly. “But turn around, they’ve surrounded you. It’s a showdown, and nobody comes to save you now.” According to Taylor, the song is a symbolization of Katniss’ rebellion against the Capitol. The song shows that as well.

The lyrics are so on point, in fact, that you can’t but think of Katniss and the other tributes preparing to run as the countdown to The Hunger Games dies down when you hear Taylor sing: “Keep your feet ready, heartbeat steady. Keep your eyes open. Keep your aim locked. The night goes dark, keep your eyes open.”

The melody is very catchy. It builds up, all to the backdrop of a strong guitar sound, before the song culminates in repetitions of “keep your eyes open” for further emphasis and eventually stops, as it should, right on top. There’s no outro cue. The song stops the way it starts, suddenly, because when the character’s lives are at stake, the only way a song describing the situation would work is by it being sudden and urgent.

When it comes to Taylor Swift’s songs, she might be the only person able to sing them convincingly. Her vocal performance is always not perfect but the little flaws help to add to the song’s overall feel. When it comes to Eyes Open, the cracks here and there in Taylor’s voice contribute to the song’s overall mood of absolute urgency.

Overall, Eyes Open is a great addition to Taylor’s repertoire. She shows her great songwriting abilities by the way she turns phrases and creates scenes in simple words, making it seem effortless in the process. I can’t wait to hear it in the movie.

8/10

The Lyrics:

Everybody’s waiting
Everybody’s watching
Even when you’re sleeping
So keep your eyes open

The tricky thing is yesterday we were just children
Playing soldiers, just pretending
Dreaming dreams with happy endings
In backyards, winning battles with our wooden swords
But now we’ve stepped into a cruel world
Where everybody stands to keep score

Keep your eyes open

Everybody’s waiting for you to breakdown
Everybody’s watching to see the fallout
Even when you’re sleeping, sleeping
Keep your eyes open
Keep your eyes open
Keep your eyes open

So here you are, two steps ahead and staying on guard
Every lesson forms a new scar
They never thought you’d make it this far
But turn around, they’ve surrounded you
It’s a showdown, and nobody comes to save you now
But you’ve got something they don’t
Yeah you’ve got something they don’t
You’ve just gotta keep your eyes open

Everybody’s waiting for you to breakdown
Everybody’s watching to see the fallout
Even when you’re sleeping, sleeping
Keep your eyes open
Keep your eyes open
Keep your eyes open

Keep your feet ready
Heartbeat steady
Keep your eyes open
Keep your aim locked
The night goes dark
Keep your eyes open

Everybody’s waiting for you to breakdown
Everybody’s watching to see the fallout
Even when you’re sleeping, sleeping

Keep your eyes open
Keep your eyes open
Keep your eyes open
Keep your eyes open

You can listen to Eyes Open here. I’ll post a YouTube link the moment Taylor’s label tones down the video-removing frenzy.