What's your favorite Scary Movie?

U.N.Owen’s Rating: 3.7/5

Victim to Ghostface : “Don’t mess with me. I have a 4.0 GPA & 135 IQ”

It’s been 11 years since we got to have a glimpse of Woodsboro again  a.k.a. Ghostface’s lair. Scream 3 was the last (I mean LITERALLY the last of a “trilogy”) & the worst one of the lot. Not only was it bad in terms of acting & the story, the horror element was absent with a lame ending. Craven felt the need for a 4^th installment despite stating Scream was meant to be a trilogy. Well either way we Scream fans were waiting with complete curiosity how they were going to change it up this time. No disappointment from my side, well at least not really, maybe a bit.

Several years after the Woodsboro murders, Sydney returns to her hometown on a book tour. She decides to stay with her cousin (her mom’s sister) while marketing her book. Soon she bumps into her Scream 1,2,3 friends : Dewey & Gale. Once the reunion is over, the murders begin &  “scream” stuff happens.

One reason why I didn’t like the movie was because it was trying too hard to be a stand alone but seemed more like a remake of the first movie. With a lot of known faces (from TV shows & movies), younger cast & more blood – Scream 4 doesn’t really disappoint. The climax was not great but I can live with it. The comedy interspersed with the movie was good as usual from any scream movie. They made Dewey more “intelligent” than the previous installments. Courtney Cox looks OLD! Too much make up & surgery does that I guess, Sydney has also aged (duh!) but she performed well.

Verdict: If you love the “Scream” genre (meta horror?), then Scream 4 or “Scre4m” won’t disappoint. While they threw a lot of red herring’s the ending was bit of a surprise to me. Would I want a Scream 5..not sure. If they can really come up with a good script unlike the previous screams then I wouldn’t mind giving it a shot. So till then y’all enjoy answering ghostface’s : “What’s your favorite scary movie?” 

Bruno can catch a Grenade

Album: Doo-Wops & Hooligans
Artist: Bruno Mars
U.N.Owen's Rating: 3.99/5
Standout Tracks: " Just The Way You Are", "Grenade","Marry You","Talking To The Moon"

1.Grenade : Bruno Mars' second single. Personally, I feel this is the best track of the album even better than award-winning first single "Just The Way You Are". The lyrics & tone are sublime on this record, you actually feel bad for him.The video accompanying the track helps it's success. Also, it has got to be the most "covered" track on youtube!

2. Just The Way You Are: The very first single from the album & has received a lot of praise for its awesome tune. Lyrics-wise this song is at the top with "Grenade" and deserves its #1 Billboard spot rightfully.

3. Our First Time: Now this where the album falls apart for me. This track tries too hard to be a R&B-reggae mix with its slow beats & its annoying "Oohs" & "Aahs". While Bruno does some cool runs & uses his flawless falsetto, it isn't enough to carry the track as a potential single.

4. Runaway Baby: Fast-paced,Motown-ish with a twinge of rock - this track is infectious. However, once it reaches the chorus, it fizzles out. Not a bad track, not great either. Meh!

5.The Lazy Song: Keinan "Waving Flag" Warsame (aka K'naan) co-wrote this song.Doesn't sound anything like what K'naan would sing! The title is pretty apt & the tune feels like a "loll-on-a-hammock" beach type song. Fun song, yet lazy attempt. Can anyone smell "Filler"!!!

6.Marry You: The only worthy track after "Grenade" & "JTWYA". Fun,catchy & vivacious song which has even been covered by Glee! Actually feels like a wedding song with the bells ringing in the background.Funny, it sounds like a Lene Nystrom song. Score 3 for Mr.Mars

7.Talking To The Moon: Whoah! Is it Grenade part 2?? Well it does sound a lot like Grenade but isn't as good as the former.His strong suit seems to be slow & heart-felt songs.

8.Liquor Store Blues Ft. Damian Marley: If you like Bob Marley-like songs(Bob's son is featured in this song), you might like this one. While its good at certain parts, its passable.

9.Count On Me: Snooze! Skip it.

10.The Other Side Ft. Cee-Lo Green & B.o.B: Bruno Mars had his first hit with the brilliant B.o.B song "Nothin' On You". Teams up with him again as well as "Crazy" hit-maker Cee-Lo Green. While the album ends on a good note, this song has too many similarities with "Crazy".

Verdict: Overall, a good album from Bruno Mars , but could have been so much better.He has a lot of potential & hopefully his second album will be proof of  his musical talent.Vocally flawless, this guy should do more collabs which would ensure more hits like "Nothin' On You" & "Billionaire". I would recommend you buy the standout singles from iTunes & skip the rest of the album.

Sparta! Let's Go! (for a third time!)

Platform : PS3

U.N.Owen’s Rating :  4.0/5

Kratos is back to avenge the death of his family. He did kill Ares in the first installment, but now he wants to kill the remaining Gods. With Kratos being so powerful, the Gods headed by Zeus are fearful & decide to do away with him. As you all know, Kratos isn’t going down so easily. With his blades & some additional weapons (cool ones!), he takes down each God one by one. In the end, does he survive against Zeus? You guys need to play the game to know the rest (or you could Wiki it xD).

Controls are the same with the graphics & cut scenes being epic as usual. However, I miss the Kratos of GOW1 & GOW2. The blood & general sketch of the characters seems very cartoony, ‘different’ would be the best word to describe it. Colors are more vibrant, though. The enemies are more or less the same (boo Sony!) making it a breeze to pass through the stages. Boss fights aren’t too difficult except the first one. Although the boss battles are easy, there is a logical continuation in the story without being abrupt or “huh-how did he get here?”.Once you defeat the bosses you get their souvenirs which can be used as weapons, like I said COOL CRUEL WEAPONS!!  The story was well-thought out while maintaining the Greek Mythology intact.

Verdict: While the game looks stunning & boss battles are interesting, the game as such is too short lasting about 2 days with game play of 3-4 hrs a day. Also  replay value isn’t great. All in all, a good experience & definitely worth the buy for those who haven’t played the first two & also for those die-hard GOW fans.      

Faute! ~ ATP/WTA 2011 News!

Monte Carlo Masters  :

1^st Round Results -

ü  Jarko Nieminen beat Julian Benneteau         4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3)

ü  Richard Gasquet beat Denis Istomin  5-7, 6-3, 6-4

ü  JW Tsonga beat Juan Monaco          4-6, 6-3, 6-2

ü  Ivan Ljubicic beat Jeremy Chardy     6-1, 6-2

ü  Oliver Rochus beat Juan Chela         6-4, 5-7, 7-5

ü  Radek Stepanek beat Marcos Baghdatis       3-6, 6-1, 7-6(7)

ü  Florian Mayer beat Mikhail Youzhny  6-3, 2-6, 6-3

ü  Frederico Gil beat Sergiy Stakhovsky           6-1, 6-3

ü  Daniel Gimeno-Traver beat Santiago Giraldo            7-6(4), 7-5

ü  Tommy Robredo beat Ivan Dodig      6-4, 6-2

ü  Viktor Troicki beat Jean-Ren Lisnard 7-6(4), 6-1

ü  Ernests Gulbis beat Alexandr Dolgopolov      6-1, 6-4

ü  Milos Raonic beat Michael Llodra      6-3, 0-6, 6-0

ü  Robin Haase beat Nikolay Davydenko          7-5, 4-6, 6-4

ü  Nicolas Almagro beat Marcel Granollers       6-3, 6-3

ü  Marin Cilic beat Filippo Volandri           6-2, 6-1

ü  Philipp Kohlschreiber beat Andrey Golubev   5-7, 7-6(6), 6-4

ATP Ranking :

            No change in the top 10.

WTA Ranking:

            Victoria Azarenka moves to 5^th spot having won WTA Marbella.

Matches to watch today:

·         P Kohlschreiber vs [2] R Federer

·         E Gulbis  vs M Raonic

Note:  Guys I’m playing ATP Fantasy, its fun. Do take part & let me know your picks in the comment section.

" Innocence Dies Abby Doesn't "

U.N.Owen’s Rating :  4.0/5

Remakes of Foreign movies has really taken over Hollywood. First it was J-Horror movies like Ringu & Ju-On which got a westernized face-lift (pheew ugly!) & now Swedish movies. Based on the Swedish novel, Let The Right One In, the Swedish version was remade into its English version & released in 2010. Surprisingly, this was a hit & a well-deserved one.

Strange happenings leads detectives to wonder if there’s a ferocious creature on the loose. Meanwhile, Owen is  a lonely kid (played by Kodi-Smit Mcphee) who is raised by his mom & is a constant victim of a  certain group of bullies. They bully him to the extent of giving him bruises. One fine day, his life changes as he meets his new neighbor, Abby. Abby is queer, she always meets him when its dark, she never wears footwear & doesn’t accept food stuff from Owen. Despite her peculiar nature, Owen & Abby get along well. She even gives him advice to deal with the bullies. The strange deaths continue to occur & Abby turns out to be a vampire being helped by her “uncle” (he isn’t her uncle though!). Owen & Abby form such a strong bond of friendship that when the time is critical he saves her & when he is being bullied, she comes to his rescue.

This movie maybe a bit clichéd with all the “you are my best friend & I will always stand by your side” view. But  the way in which it was executed was perfect. The blend of vampire-horror genre with such a delicate topic was splendid to watch. Heck it even made me shed a tear. With vampire tales like Dracula & twilight, this one is not only different but refreshingly good.

Verdict : With a good plot, acting & awesome concept, this movie deserves to replace Dracula from its spot of “The best vampire movie”.

Deliciously Devious

Dexter (Season’s  1,2,3,4,5)

U.N.Owen’s Rating : 3.6/5

Dexter your favorite serial killer is back for another season (6^th season) & fans are hopeful of a better season. Including me! Let me recap a bit..

Season 1 introduced us to Dexter the “blood splatter guy” , his dirty-mouthed sister Deb, and several cop friends including Angel Batista, Maria LaGuerta & Vince Masuka. However, underneath the innocent visage lurks a deadly killer waiting to pounce on his next victim.. ..mostly serial killers. Dexter is the resident Robin Hood minus the “stealing from the poor” part. Season 1 covers the killings of the Ice-Truck killer who happens to  have a link between Dexter & his sister. No spoilers but season 1 is worth the watch (3.9/5)

In Season 2, one of Dexter’s cop friends suspects him of all the killings & gets closer to foiling his plans. Meanwhile, Dexter & Rita get closer & more attached. Overall, a bit of a downer compared to Season 1 & its thrilling finale. (3.0/5)

In Season 3, a new character enters & befriends Dexter. They bond  & their friendship grows. But to what extent can Dexter  trust his new “partner”? Deb as usual has boyfriend issues & is perennially crying. The “Skinner” is torturing his victims, taking a bit of their skin. Also giving clues to Dexter. I found this to be the worst season! (2.9/5)

Season 4 started slow but was very interesting keeping my attention. Lithgow has portrayed his character with a great amount of conviction. Deb’s life is at risk & Dexter wants revenge. Dexter shuffles his work, his “other work” & managing a family (having married Rita with a 3^rd baby on the way).The finale is truly gripping. The best season apart from season 1. (4.5/5)

Julia Stiles plays a victim of abuse & torture who witnesses one of Dexter’s crime. While initially suspicious, she realizes his true intentions. She needs his help to extract her revenge on those who abused her. Can Dexter help her without getting caught? Will she be a liability to his “work”? Like I said, I don’t want to spoil anything for you guys, so check it out.  Season 5 is ok, step back from the 4^th. (3.5/5)

Verdict: If you like “anti-hero” concepts, this one is for you, with a gory twist here & there. The acting is good for most parts. Hoping the next season will be like Season 4. Watch it!!!

Resident Evil 5 : RE + FPS = Blech!

Platform : PS3*

U.N.Owen’s Rating :  3.0/5

As I mentioned in the “About me” section, I love Horror & everything associated with it (no im not some deranged psycho!). So decided to review the closest thing nearest to horror, a video game. “Resident Evil 5” the latest installment from the Resi-series from Capcom was expected to be a grand hit in the series. After watching the E3 trailers I thought so too. Boo Capcom! RE5 is not like the others, hell its not even close to RE4 which was a mega success.

RE5 stars Chris Redfield (from RE1 days) & newbie Sheva Alomar (sounds like some soap!)  assigned to the task of looking into strange happenings in Africa. Mostly BSAA & BOW stuff again. Las plagas from RE4 are replaced by some black goo called Uroboros. Albert Wesker, the resident villain (pardon the pun), is back to wreak havoc again (snore!). The sad & annoying part of the game is the fact that RE5 feels more like a shooter & co-op than a survival horror game. Even the chainsaw majini’s don’t instill fear in me.

The Gold Edition is worth the buy though, with loads of extras & playable stages/side stories. The voicing, graphics & controls are good though. However, nothing beats RE4 & its controls. The puzzles are dumb mostly non-existent.

Verdict :  If you like Mercenaries & multi-player co-op with friends blowing zombie brains, then this is the game for you. Else chuck it or rent it.

*The game version I played. I know the game is available on XBOX 360 as well.

Faute! ~ Tennis in 2010 (Part 3)

The Men’s Quarters witnessed the defeat of a heat-drained 3^rd seed Novak Djokovic  against the austrian Jurgen Melzer. The biggest upset came in the form of the fall of Federer against Soderling taking him out in four. The semifinal match between Berdych & Soderling was a crackler each slugging it out till a 5^th set. Soderling got the better of the Czech & moved onto the finals once again. Nadal eventually won the crown  and did it flawlessly, without dropping a set throughout the tournament.

In the Women’s Quarters,4^th seed Serb & former world number one, Jelena Jankovic extracted her USO’09 revenge upon Kazakh Shvedova in straight sets. Injured Russians Dementieva & Petrova  duked it out to 3 sets despite the fact that each was badly injured & hurt with Dementieva beating her compatriot 6-0 in the 3^rd.The “shock upsets” were the defeat of World Number 1. Serena Williams & Dane Caroline Wozniacki. The dane seemed out of sorts in her match against Italian veteran, Francesca Schiavone, losing in straight sets, 6-2 6-3.The Williams-Stosur match was one of the most peculiar women’s match of the tournament. Stosur raced to a one set to love advantage with her kick-serve & crushing forehands against an error-prone Williams. Her serve was clearly not working for her & her movement was appalling. Just when Stosur was ready to wrap up the match in the second set, Williams came back saving match points & clinching the second set in a tiebreak, 7-2. With time running out for Stosur, she threw everything at Williams (except the kitchen sink!) but with her new-found confidence, Williams got back her rhythm & broke Stosur. The momentum of the match began to shift in favor of the world number one, but Stosur was not going to let her take it away so easily from her. After about 3 hours or so, Stosur defeated Williams 8-6 in the third.

In the semi’s, injured Dementieva retired from her match against Schiavone while Stosur dismissed Jankovic , 6-1 6-2. In the finals, Stosur was the clear favorite having beaten 3 former world number ones (including a current world number one) en route to her dream final. Though Stosur lost her first final, 6-4 7-6, to Schiavone she didn’t play badly. In fact, Schiavone played her best tennis displaying “Rafa” like techniques & moves.

Next up, Wimbledon. Can Federer win another title here? Can Nadal repeat his performance of Wimbledon 2008? Can Murray break English history? Watch this space for part 4…

Faute! ~ Tennis in 2010 (Part 2)

Vamos!  :

The Clay court season is dominated by one man, “Rafa”, winner of 4 French Open titles & 2010 was no different. However, the Defending champ was not going to give it to him easy. Roger Federer successfully attained the trophy in 2009 which had eluded him for so long, in fact the only Grand Slam which he hadn’t won. Robin Soderling , the ruthless Swede, was another contender having taken out Nadal in 2009 en route to the finals where he lost to a determined Federer.

On the Women’s side, Svetlana Kuznetsova was the defending champion & the competition was wild. With the return of Justine Henin & Kim Clijsters, French Open 2010 was sure to be a stellar show. Henin was the clear favorite having won it 4 times in the past but in Tennis anything can happen.

Up till the quarters there were no “shock exits” apart from Murray’s listless play against Tomas Berdych, 9^th seed Verdasco & 8^th seed Tsonga exits. The Women’s 4^th round had a few upsets such as the defeat of Venus Williams to Russian, Nadia Petrova & the biggest upset would have to be the fall of Justine Henin to Aussie, Sam Stosur. Having won the first set, everyone expected it to be a straight set affair with Henin breezing past her  opponent. However, the Australian took the next two sets  6-1 & 6-4 crushing Henin’s hope of winning a 5^th French Open title.

What happened to the top 8 Men’s & Women’s  in the French Open 2010 is to be continued…

Faute! ~ Tennis in 2010 (Part 1)

I’m going to split this recap of 2010 into several parts, I’ll try squeezing it into 5 parts(1 each for the Grand Slams & 1 part for the Masters). Enjoy!

Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! :

The Hard court season is the first part of the ATP/WTA tour calendar & its one of the most exciting seasons as well. There aren’t any Masters 1000 prior to the first Grand Slam of the year, which I find peculiar considering Masters are held before the remaining Grand Slams.

Australian Open 2010 was strange in several ways: Rafael Nadal, the defending champ, lost (retired, to be precise)  to Britain’s Number .1, Andy Murray in the quarters. Murray went on to “choke” at the last leg of the tournament to an in-form Roger Federer, giving Federer his confidence & first Grand Slam since his French Open victory in 2009.

The women’s side was different in the sense that the finals had two Number.1 players & Grand Slam Champs. Serena Williams was the favorite despite her performance against feisty youngster, Victoria Azarenka & Chinese hard-hitter, Na Li (the first was a 3-setter & the second was a tight 2-setter ) .On the other hand, Justine Henin, who came out of retirement (following in the steps of mum Kim Clijsters) was a favorite too, having reached her first final since 2007. The first two sets went to both players while the third was a nail-biter with Williams clinching it, 6-2.

With these victories, Serena successfully defended her title & rank, while Federer’s win allowed him to sneak past Nadal, back to the Number.1 spot.

Coming up,  Clay Court season,watch this space..

This 'Prime' has nothing to brag about

Title : The Solitude Of Prime Numbers

Author : Paolo Giordano

U.N.Owen’s Rating : 3/5

This Book is my first tryst with “poignant” novels & sadly this could be my last as well. I’m not a person who can’t take a sad & touching tale, I really do “feel” them. However, when books like these come along I just can’t help but...snooze! “Solitude of prime numbers” is about two individuals: Alice & Mattia  who are so different yet they feel comfortable in each other’s presence. Mattia loses his twin sister while ignoring her at a party & grieves over his mistake for many years. This loss leads Mattia down the road of isolation & seclusion making him an odd ball in class. Alice on the other hand is lively & stubborn but struggles with her ski-accident injury much like Mattia suffers with his sister’s loss. When their two worlds collide, everything changes. I’m not going to give away too much for those who want to read this but all I can say is “stay away”! This isn’t a terrible book but it could have been so much better. After realising it was written by a mathematician, I wondered why he would create such a melancholy theme. I was expecting chapters on theories & principles in math which could be used in Life.In fact, there was a single instance in the book where the author makes a comparison between humans & prime numbers which was absolutely the best part of the book in a philosophical sense.Besides that single paragraph the rest of the book completely falls apart. Atleast the translation was good.


Verdict : Borrow this one from a friend (not worth getting it from a library).Hope the next book from this author is better.

Heavy Rain: Simply Superb!

Platform: PS3
U.N.Owen's Rating: 4/5

"Pitter-Patter - the Origami Killer is coming for you"

After countless shooters,RPG's & action/adventure games, Heavy Rain seems to be a rather pleasant welcome to the world of gaming. Developed by "Quantic Dream", this one is not your average "button-smashing" game. Heavy Rain is a mystery/drama which uses "rain" as its main theme.In the game,you can play as 4 characters,each with their own stories & missions (there aren't any real missions!). The game revolves around the hunt for the "Origami Killer"  who drowns his/her victims (mostly young boys) using extended periods of rainfall. Now before the game starts, I guess you need to update your PS3 version (well that's what happened for me) which can be rather long & tiresome. But the nice thing with this game is that you get a paper along with the game & they give you instructions on how to make an "origami" while the game is loading. Very nice touch QD! I usually go get a juice or something while its loading but this is the only game in which i was immersed in creating my first origami! Well once the loading is done & your set to go, you will notice that the ambience of the game is very dull,dark & gloomy, similar to a rainy day.Another brilliant touch by the developers, the feel & environment is very important for a game.

You start of as "Ethan Mars" who loses his elder son while shopping in the mall.Depressed, he refuses to let go of his memories & in the process distances himself from his younger son.Soon you find out that his son maybe the next victim of the "Origami Killer". Enter character #2, Madison Paige who is a photojournalist & lives alone. As the game progresses, Madison's & Ethan's worlds collide - she feels sorry for him & decides to help him in his search for 'Shaun'. Scott Shelby is another playable character who is a retired cop & helps in the investigation of the "Origami Killer". The last character, Norman Jayden, is an FBI profiler who helps in the investigation as well. Now I don't want to go into the details further as I would be spoiling all the fun for you gamers eagerly waiting to get their hands on the game.

The controls are relatively intuitive but  the "timed-events" can be a bother at times, a real pain if you ask me. There is no "Game Over" if your character dies (make sure it doesn't happen in the first chapter!), you just lose the character & continue on with the others. The graphics are top notch but "tearing" does occur at times, a little hiccup.Now onto the cons: replay value is low - you could restart the game & see what entails if you did things differently but the identity of the serial killer remains the same. The game isn't that long lasting over 2 days, 5-6 hours each thanks to the controls which can be annoying & time-consuming for beginners.

Verdict: This is the first noir-mystery game which is out on a leading console & its a winner in every way. The graphics & story-line is everything, which this game possesses.It truly deserves the Game of The Year (at least a nomination!) award.With an eery ambience & brilliant voice-acting, it would be tough to ask for more! Would I buy  Heavy Rain 2: NO! I doubt they can continue with the story but I would love to see more game developers & companies coming out with such daring & innovative games & story lines. I say BUY IT!!

R-r-r-u-s-h S-s-s-a-v-e-s t-h-e d-d-d-a-y!!!

U.N.Owen’s Rating:  3.7/5

*Spoiler’s Ahead!

Winner of several awards including the Golden Globes & the Oscar’s, “Kings Speech” may not  be a landmark in cinema history but it does send out a message , though a bit clichéd. The movie explains the rising of King George VI to the throne and freedom from his weakness, fear. “Bertie” ( George’s nickname) has a problem, his stammer. Every time he faces a gathering the jitterbugs shoots in & he begins to stammer. From that moment, Bertie finds peace & confidence in the form of a friend & help, Logue. As he goes through several emotional incidents, trying times, he realizes how much he could change & achieve if only he had that absent confidence & faith in himself. Through these times, he is accompanied by his loyal & faithful friend, Logue.

“Kings Speech” is ,in a nutshell, a story about a man who is at the pinnacle of attaining power & his friendship with a mere fellow being who in fact isn’t a certified Doctor. Geoffrey Rush’s performance as Lionel Logue is noteworthy, in fact he should have won an Oscar. Colin Firth, though not brilliant, did perform well enough to win an Oscar (the other’s in the category didn’t have a chance!). Scenes showing “Bertie” swear could have been cut, quite pointless.

Verdict: Overall, a good period movie in a long time with a hint of “I’ll be there for you, my friend” sprinkled on it. Watch it just for Rush’s performance. 

Goodbye lulla - BYE (Avril!)

Album: Goodbye Lullaby

Artist: Avril Lavigne

U.N.Owen’s Rating: 3.0/5

Standout Tracks: Black Star, Wish You Were Here, Darlin’, Not Enough

It’s been a year since her last album dropped & one would think that the result of her latest album would be the best since her first one. Sorry fans it isn’t. Some tracks are good but for the most part it just sounds.. pop-ish. Now m review covers the Japanese release of the album which includes 7 extra tracks.

1.Black Star : This track is sort of an intro song with a really nice piano accompaniment. Nice start to an oh-so-ordinary album.One of my favs.

2.What the Hell : The album’s first single. In my opinion this is one of her worst singles. Very generic & sounds more like “Girlfriend 2.0” (thank god its not multi-lingual!).Video doesn’t help the single as well. Skip this one.

3.Push : The first song from “Goodbye Lullaby” which sounds like a Avril Lavigne track. Not the best but worth a listen.

4.Wish You Were Here : Ok, this has got to be my favorite track of the entire album. Reminds me of her Eragon track(Keep Holding On), very nice pop ballad. Lyrics are good too.This is on repeat for me.

5.Smile : Gosh where does she get such songs. This is definitely not the “rocker-chick” avril we all know. This could be the “What the hell part 2.0” which is bearable but nevertheless not upto the mark.

6.Stop Standing There : Tough to really review this song. Not the best song nor is it the worst. In fact it sounds similar to another song, can’t put my finger on it. If you guys can, let me know (drop a comment).

7.I Love You : From the very first “La la la” I knew this one is going to suck. Yet another pop dirge, weirder version of “Wish you were here”. Till now only 2 songs are on loop.Not cool Avril!

8.Everybody Hurts : Thank god! just when I was losing all hope.Has a tinge of “I’m With You” unless I’m totally incorrect. The acoustics are the best part, her voice seems to shine when she sings “acoustic” songs. Echoes of “someday” are still ringing in my ear.Nice track.

9.Not Enough : Although the lyrics screams “Psycho” in a funny sort of way, this is actually a cool song.The music & tune is sweet.If they had used pop-beats & auto-tune this would have been a travesty.Score 4 for Team Avril ( 4 out of 9).

1. 4 Real : Boring.The snooze song of the album. Really awful.”Am I 4 real, are you 4 real..” who writes this crap.

11.Darlin’ : Yet another acoustic gem. I think Avril’s next album should have 12 acoustic songs.Bet it would score big time.

12.Alice : Taken from the “Alice in Wonderland” soundtrack. “Alice” has a haunting tone to it but it shows her versatility. She has a big range. Not a fan of the chorus though. The rest maybe, skippable in my opinion.

--Extras--

13.Remember When : Good song.Definitely the best “extra track” apart from the acoustic versions of other songs.

14.Goodbye : Skip. Good vocals but a really boring song. Some artist’s have the ability to sing slow songs/ballads in such a way that you can’t help but reaching for the tissue paper,  Avril doesn’t have it. Well atleast she hasn’t shown such techniques in this album

15.Acoustic versions of “What the hell”, “Push”, “Wish You Were Here” : Since I couldn’t stand the original version of WTH I couldn’t care less for the acoustic version. The acoustic versions of the remaining two songs are good with the latter being the only song in the entire album to have an awesome original & acoustic version.

16.Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door : I think this is a cover of a famous rock song. Sorry If my knowledge of rock-and-roll history is poor. Ok song not great.

1. Bad Reputation : Wow is this song annoying. Sounds very whiny & childish. It’s like “Mickey” turned into a rock song. Bad way to end an album.

Verdict: With so much time on her hands Its fair to say this was a lazy album. No effort taken. Felt like it was molded towards teens & pop fans, leaving behind classic Avril rock tunes.I’d recommend you to just download the standout tracks on itunes.With this album it felt more like “Goodbye Avril”.Share your views on the album in the comment section.

Don't Mess With Lisbeth...

Title : The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Author : Stieg Larsson

U.N.Owen’s Rating : 4.0/5

Mikael Blomkvist, the controversial journalist is hired by Industrial Mogul, Henrik Vanger to look into the disappearance of his niece (or great-niece). As Mikael delves deeper into the mystery, Lisbeth Salander helps him. Lisbeth has a dark past & she’s an expert hacker/programmer. Together, they piece the missing puzzle blocks discovering  a shocking truth. What happened to Harriet? Is she alive?

The above is the basic gist of the book. This is the first of a trilogy by the late Swedish author. The book was initially written in Swedish under the title “män som hatar kvinnor” (Men Who Hate Women). Seeing from the title it’s obvious that the book touches upon the subject of abuse & trafficking with respect to women. In fact, the female protagonist is named after a real person who went through the same kind of torture.

The translation is good, not great. While the book could have been cut down by about 100 pages, the story is so gripping that I had to stay up late till 4am to finish it. Two aspects of a book (especially a mystery) are important: first, the characters & second, the plot. As I mentioned the plot was flawless (parts were far-fetched, but hey it’s fiction!), so the book satisfies point two. The characters in this book are written with so much detail that they felt like real people. Having satisfied both my rules, this book is easily one of the best whodunits in recent times.

With the Swedish movie (trilogy as well) being a success, we can hope the American version doesn’t turn out to be a damp squib.

Verdict: Apart from the lengthy descriptive passages (I just skimmed through), this book is a real page turner with a nail-biting finale. If you like this book, don’t expect much from the next two of the series. Leave comments about the book or any other recommendations.   

Faute! ~ Young Guns! (Part 2)

3.Petra Kvitova - She reached the Semi's of Wimbledon at the age of 20 giving tough competition to eventual winner, Serena Williams. This 6 footer from the Czech Republic has a booming forehand & a serve which could make Venus shudder (ok! Venus still has the best serve). What makes her unique is that she isn't a one-trick pony. She has reached the semi's of a Grand Slam (Wimbledon '10), won 3 WTA titles & has helped her country get through the group stages of the Fed Cup. She defeated 5th seed Sam Stosur in the 3rd Round, Flavia Penetta in the round of 16 but lost to Current World No.3 Vera Zvonareva. Despite her loss, she came back with a bang, defeating Australian Open Champ & mom, Kim Clijsters in straight sets at Paris. She is dangerous when she is in the zone.

4. Andrea Petkovic - The oldest in my group of "upcoming talent", Andrea is known for her spunky nature & her famous dance move - Petko dance. Supposedly, her coach made her promise that if she won a particular match,she would dance in front of everybody. Ever since that incident, the Petko dance has become her signature move whenever she beats someone. Beneath the smile & moves, this German is all no-nonsense, delivering the goods with precision. Although, she had an easy pass to the round of 16 with Venus' early retirement, the match against her 4th round opponent was tougher than it looked. Maria Sharapova,coming back from her shoulder injury, showed no mercy to her opponents until the 4th round where she crumbled - ouch! Losing in straight sets makes it that much harder.Despite her loss to Chinese Runner-up, Na Li, Andrea seems to have finally found her rhythm.

I think this year is going to be a cracker whether it be ATP/WTA 1000's or Grand Slams - the competition is fierce! More "Faute!" to come soon!

Faute! ~ Young Guns! (Part 1)

Whoever said Tennis is a "Gentleman's Game" needs to check his noggin. It's bloody brutal out there! After years of tamed-play from players like Connors,McEnroe (his mouth isn't though!) & Borg , everything is so - fast. The players are really agile, surfaces are different making the ball speed way higher than before,serves are ridiculously fast too. I think this era of players like the Fab 4 (Federer,Nadal,Djokovic & Murray), Soderling & others are really competitive & ruthless when it comes to their game play. While the 90's were dominated by the likes of Sampras & Agassi, the 2000's have so many good players.Each player has his/her unique technique or style, no more serve-volley domination. Baseliners & two-handed backhanders are doing much better now than they used to 10 years ago - bye bye sweet one-handed backhand! Despite the changes, the game has remained intact when it comes to its rules,long rallies,occassional tantrums & controversies.

I personally love watching a one-handed backhand player - the way they move their arms like that is just awesome. Apart from the Fab 4, there are a number of other players who have great potential at winning Grand Slams.

So here goes my list of 'budding talent' :-

1.Alexandr Dolgopolov- This guy has a massive serve , Gonzo-style. His forehand is like a whip & his movement is on par with Nadal. Alexandr reached the quaterfinals of Australian Open 2011 where he lost to an in-form Andy Murray (Runner-up '10,'11). He demolished 2008 Runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga & French Open finalist Robin Soderling en route to the round of 8. With hair as big as his serve, this one should be on the lookout for 2011.


2. Milos Raonic - This 6'5'' Canadian blazed through his opponents & reached the 4th Round in only his second appearance in a Grand Slam.Having failed to reach the 2nd Round in his maiden Grand Slam (USO '10), this Yugoslavian-born player shocked everyone this year with his splendid performance. He defeated 22nd seed Michael Llodra in Round 2 & then went on to win against the mercurial Russian, Mikhail Youzhny who was seeded 10 at this year's Championships.Milos has already grabbed his first ATP Title at San Jose (SAP Open) beating title defender, Fernando Verdasco. In case ace-serving Roddick quits soon, Milos could be his successor!

Part 2 coming soon..

New Stuff coming out soon!

Hey I know my articles generally come under the "reviews" section, but I've decided to be more open & creative. I think you guys would find it a real drag if I review each & everything, so I've decided to add another section to my site.

"Faute!" is going to be my "tennis-analysis" section covering anything & everything that goes on in the ATP/WTA world. I may add a few articles on other sports as well (If I feel like writing one!).

I love Tennis  - watching & playing (on my PS3 i mean :P ). So any news regarding sports would be primarily covering Tennis, occassional news about Football or Cricket may randomly appear.
So hope you all like my new articles, will get one out soon!

P.S: I am not putting a full stop to my reviews. U.N.Owen will continue rating & reviewing. So don't worry :)

Top 10 Android Apps

Android: Google’s prized MOS (mobile OS)  has taken over the No. 1 spot when it comes to smart phones. They have left Nokia & their Symbian phones speechless. However, iOS has been steady in its path to reach the No.1 rank. So which OS do you guys like? Android? iOS? Or Symbian? Leave your choices in the comment section.

Since I own an Android-powered Smart phone , I thought I’d share with you guys a few good apps. These are the Apps which I like and use on a daily basis.

•   Aldiko : This has got to be the best e-book reading app in Android at the moment! With the new update, now you can read pdf & mobi formats apart from the restrictive epub file formats. Reading on your Android phone has now been upgraded to Kindle style!!! Woot for the Day/Night Style of reading as well J

•   TubeMate: Want to watch a youtube video without waiting endlessly for it to buffer? TubeMate allows you to download your fav Video from youtube and play it using the stock video player or one downloaded from the Market.

•  Twidroyd : Android’s official twitter client. While the “Twitter” app is good, Twidroid (F.K.A) has a lot of features like support of multiple accounts,preview of messages & media,suggestions,photo & video upload facility,etc. Tweeting was never THIS fun!! J

•  Smart Keyboard: I downloaded this app the other day hesitantly because of all the security breach problems. However, I have to say that texting using this compared to native keyboard/swype is far easier & more responsive. Love the iphone keyboard theme as well.Keys are spread well apart without causing incorrect typing (had that problem with the in-built keyboard). I’d suggest everyone to buy atleast the Lite/Trial version from Market & test it. Its totally worth it!

•   PowerAmp: The stock media player isn’t that loud even when its set to the highest volume.So I decided to check out PowerAmp & guess what? I am in awe! It has an equilizer, album art as well as playlists.Best media player for android! Beats the others hands down!

•    Rocket Bunnies: Fun 3D game. Nice way to kill time ;)

•               Ninjump: This is really addictive. Converted my sibling into a Ninjump fan (hehe!)

•                Fruit Ninja: iPhone’s most addictive game in recent times hits Android Market. Super fun! Do download it.

•              Astro:  A really good file manager for your android phone. Helped me several times in finding apps.

•       Angry Birds: Before Fruit Ninja, Angry Birds ruled the roost (pardon the pun!). Unlike its iPhone counterpart, the android version in Market is the full version. Couldn’t kill time any better J

Hope you guys like this list. Do suggest more apps if you know & post them in the comments section.

Happy ‘app’ing J