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Great actors wasted in poorly made 'Babylon A.D.' Hollywood Film Review - Rating: *
ENT13Entertainment/CinemaGreat actors wasted in poorly made 'Babylon A.D.' Hollywood Film Review - Rating: *By Sevanand GaddalaFilm: "Babylon A.D."; Cast: Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh, Melanie Thierry, Gerard Depardieu, Charlotte Rampling; Director: Mathieu Kassovitz; Rating: *Most bad movies can eke out some dignity by at least looking like ambitious failures. Then there are some movies like "Babylon A.D." that are just too much of a mess and destined to be failures. This movie did not have much hope from the get go, what with its director Mathieu Kassovitz publicly distancing and disowning the film, saying the studio interfered too much and made too many changes in the final cut.It would not be foolhardy to expect at least a somewhat entertaining movie if it stars Vin Diesel. Add to that his co-stars the Asian actress Michelle Yeoh, French actor Gerard Depardieu and the veteran British actress Charlotte Rampling, the director actually has some very fine actors to work with. But they are all wasted here and almost nothing seems to be going right for this movie.The script is weak and not clear in explaining the mystery of the all important young woman. The actors don't have enough of a background story or a decent script or some characterisation to work with. The movie starts off strong but towards the conclusion just peters out into a muddle. The ending is one of the most disappointing of any action movie in recent memory and very clearly seems tacked on.Diesel is Toorop, a mercenary who is hired by a Russian mobster Gorsky Depardieu to smuggle the young woman Aurura Melanie Thierry accompanied by her caretaker Sister Rebecca Yeoh.The trio is chased by some army guys who seem to be hired by the girl's father. But her mother also wants her and has some people hunting for her too. The movie never clearly explains what makes the girl so special and a bit after the halfway point you don't really care.The role of Gorsky is one of the most wasted and humiliating for an actor of Depardieu's stature. Rampling, who has starred in some classic movies like "The Verdict", plays nothing more than just a caricature here. Yeoh, with her radiance, has the power to light up any drab role given, but here the weight of the inanity seems almost too bleak for even her to shine through.The director, although having made his displeasure with the studios clear, doesn't seem to give us anything to cheer for him in the parts where he might have been given control. This movie suffers from much more than studio interference. It does at places try to take on some grander themes like global warming or the downside of globalisation in the future. But it doesn't dig deeper and uses them only as background detail.The action sequences indicate quite a bit of money spent but they are too few and coupled with the lack of empathy we feel for the characters, they sadly fall short. The movie has supposedly been shortened considerably by the studio. So for those looking for a light, brisk action movie which doesn't make too many demands on the brain, "Babylon A.D" just might be satisfactory.--Indo-Asian News Serviceseva/sh/jg569 Words11101554
2008-10-11 06:00:00
Pair arrested after rape attack
A Suffolk man and a 20-year-old man from Essex are arrested after a woman is raped in a Suffolk village....
2008-10-11 05:00:00
Man punched after insulting woman
A man is punched in the face on a night out in the Isle of Man after commenting on a woman's appearance....
2008-10-11 05:00:00
Israeli woman seeks father's Holocaust diary AP
AP - Baruch Milch was hiding from the Nazis in occupied Poland in the summer of 1943. His wife and 3-year-old son had been killed in Hitler's Holocaust....
2008-10-11 05:00:00
In Africa, Hope for the Stigmatized: Fertility Clinics
KAMPALA, Uganda -- In a country with one of the highest birthrates on Earth, where bearing children is considered a woman's singular purpose, Betty Apio leads an unusual life....
2008-10-11 03:49:48
Okla. abortion ultrasound requirement challenged - The Associated Press
Okla. abortion ultrasound requirement challengedThe Associated Press&ampnbsp;- 13 hours agoOKLAHOMA CITY AP - An advocacy group is suing over an Oklahoma law that prohibits a woman from getting an...
2008-10-11 03:00:00
Cusack 'stalker' is to face trial
A woman will go on trial accused of stalking actor John Cusack, after a last-minute plea deal collapsed. ...
2008-10-11 02:07:18
My hospital is my life now: Asha Parekh
ENT1Entertainment/Health/CinemaMy hospital is my life now: Asha ParekhBy Subhash K. JhaMumbai, Oct 11 IANS She is no longer seen that often on screen. But yesteryear's go-go girl Asha Parekh has big plans for the hospital named after her, the BCG Hospital aka the Asha Parekh Hospital.Besieged with problems and facing a lockout for the past eight months, the hospital in Santa Cruz is about to re-open and the actress wants to transform it into the best medicare facility for the working class.Recounting the deadlock experience, Asha Parekh told IANS: "It has been hell for us. Eight months ago some people barged into the hospital and forced the staff to leave the premises, arguing that we were going to convert the hospital into a shopping mall. I tried to argue with them, saying I wasn't a mad woman to do something so insane and insensitive to the needs of the people in and around Santa Cruz."Asha Parekh featured in some of the biggest hits of the 1960s and 70s such as "Love In Tokyo", "Kati Patang", "Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai", "Teesri Manzil" and "Do Badan".Throughout her career the actress has been involved in charitable work as well. "I don't even want to talk about my social work," she brushes off the compliment."The hospital is more than a project or a mission for me. It's my life now. Earlier, I never took interest in its day-to-day working. But the long shutdown has made me realise how important the hospital is to the common people of Santa Cruz."There are no other affordable health services for the middle class in and around Santa Cruz. Why are all the good hospitals in Mumbai only for the privileged patients Is the common man's life less important My hospital was and will be for the working class."As soon as the hospital re-opens, she wants to expand and improve it drastically."We've about 300 beds. We want to double that number and introduce several new health facilities that would make our hospital more efficient. We've big expansion plans. I want my hospital to be the one-stop healthcare centre in and around Santa Cruz.""I know people look at it as my hospital, and it is," says Asha. "I've therefore decided to take keener interest in the day-to-day working of the hospital."Keeping in mind the growing demand on her time to get the hospital back on its feet and to then modify, expand and develop the health centre, Asha Parekh has set all her other social and cinema-related work aside."I'm only doing the dance-based reality show 'Tyohaar Dhamaka' on 9X. It was a prior commitment and also I've never been a judge on a reality show before. So this was a new experience for me. Also, it was a dance-based show so I couldn't resist it. Dance was my main passion earlier. Now it's the hospital."--Indo-Asian News Serviceskj/ar/jg/tb531 Words**11100742
2008-10-11 00:00:10
Asian woman charged with killing her children
INT14International/CrimeAsian woman charged with killing her childrenLondon, Oct 11 IANS A Sri Lankan-origin woman has been charged with murdering two of her children and wounding the third.Sasikala Navaneethan, 36, stabbed Shanjayan, five, and his four-year-old sister Sharani to death in their quiet south London suburban house May 30.She was also charged with the attempted murder of her six-month-old daughter, who survived the attack.Magistrates remanded Navaneethan in custody Friday, and she is due to appear in court January 13 next year.Navaneethan was arrested alongside her 40-year-old shopkeeper husband Navarajah after she phoned 999 to call police. Navarajah was later released without charge, while his wife was detained under the Mental Health Act.--Indo-Asian News Servicedds/tb126 Words11100813
2008-10-11 00:04:10
Coroner blasts police over search
A coroner accuses the police of a lack of common sense, after they failed to find an 82-year-old woman, who died yards from her Newcastle home....
2008-10-10 15:42:16

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Great actors wasted in poorly made 'Babylon A.D.' Hollywood Film Review - Rating: *

Pair arrested after rape attack

Man punched after insulting woman

Israeli woman seeks father's Holocaust diary AP

In Africa, Hope for the Stigmatized: Fertility Clinics

Okla. abortion ultrasound requirement challenged - The Associated Press

Cusack 'stalker' is to face trial

My hospital is my life now: Asha Parekh

Asian woman charged with killing her children

Coroner blasts police over search