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

Fusilli & Isles

Rizzoli & Isles

U.N.Owen's Rating: 2.5/5

"Who is Henry Deduboto?"
"Ted Bundy!"
"That's five letters too many for that anagram"
*sarcasm* "How do you do that" *sarcasm*

These lines basically sum up what was & will be a potentially good show. 'Rizzoli & Isles' is based on author Tess Gerritsen's books & her characters. Feisty Boston detective Jane Rizzoli(Rizzoli - sounds like Fusilli!) teams up with quirky yet super genius Medical Examiner,Maura Isles. The first season comprises of only 10 episodes (guess the show producer's were scared in case it flopped!) of fun-filled mysteries. Well the mystery part is scarce,in fact it's plain non-existent. With competition from other comedy/crime  shows like Castle & House ( i know it's mostly medical-crime; if there is such a genre) , Rizzoli & Isles  need to really step it up for the next season.

The basic premise of the show involves Rizzoli & Isles solving crimes in the most wacky & goofy (Maura!) ways. From the very first episode, the viewers are introduced to a very sinister nemesis from one of Gerritsen's famous (the first in fact!) books: The Surgeon a.k.a Charles Hoyt.Usually, I don't like shows where a recurring villain makes his/her appearance in the very FIRST SHOW, but I decided to give this one a pass. Turns out Books 1 & 2 ('The Surgeon' & 'The Apprentice') of Mrs.Gerritsen is the basis for episode 1: Bummer! However, as the season progresses (10 episodes is a season?!?!) the episodes & "mysteries" (CAUTION: loose terminology!) get better. With each episode, you get to know a bit more about the characters: Rizzoli's family & their plumbing business, Dr.Isles & her love for clothes, Rizzoli's partners, even Hoyt. Sasha Alexander potrays the "goofy" Dr.Isles, brilliantly while Angie Harmon acts well..bad! Her tone is quite off-putting, one minute she sounds feminine & the next like Yogi Bear. Also, if they were trying to potray Rizzoli as a feisty,brave,"kick-you-in-the-you-know-where" detective, Harmon doesn't pull it off. She sounds whiny & vulnerable at times. Even Lorraine Bracco has acted well as Mrs.Rizzoli. The redeeming factor - rather saving grace , would be its humor. Some of the one-liners & comic exchanges between Rizzoli & Isles are really very funny. Overall, a good first season which could have been a bit longer, episode-wise & mystery-solving-wise.

Verdict: Season two looks promising with the season one finale ending like that! But if I were at the helm, I would kick in the crime-solving aspect & yet retain it's comedy. Worth a watch, if you're bored.

127 Hourszzzzzz!!!

Movie: 127 Hours
Starring: James Franco
Director: Danny Boyle
Producer: Christian Colson, John Smithson, Danny Boyle
Music: A.R. Rahman
U.N.Owen's Rating: 3/5

Academy Award Winning director Danny Boyle teams up with another Academy Award Winner, AR Rahman, yet again. However, this time the movie is not solely adapted from a book but also based on a true story.


The movie begins with blaring music (courtesy Rahman) & glimpses of a hyper-active man. Enter Aron Ralston, daring & adventurous, who decides on a whim to pack his bags & prepare himself for some canyoneering. Armed with his trusty video recorder & a music player, Aron blazes through the desert-like lands on his bike & relishes the moment. He then stumbles upon two lost hikers, Kristi & Megan, who are apprehensive at first to trust him & accept his offer to guide them to their destination. They finally agree & begin to warm up to his quirky nature. After having fun with the two girls (falling through a gap into an underground jump), he bids them farewell & continues on his journey to Blue John Canyon. Once he reaches the canyon, horrible turn of events ensue. Aron falls through a narrow passage & finds himself wedged between the walls of the canyon, with his hand stuck to the wall. Futile attempts to free himself & his hand from the rock occur but they’re all in vain. As days go by, Aron struggles with his dwindling resources & suffers through the mental torture. He begins hallucinating about his family, friends, his girlfriend , his mistakes – he even records an impromptu “talk show” to control himself from completely “losing it”. With little to go on, Aron decides to do the inevitable – amputate his arm with his dull “cheap-a$$ Chinese knife”. Having done the impossible, Aron limps his way through the canyon & finds a bunch of hikers who save him. The movie ends with a montage of Aron’s (the real one!) life with his wife.


Now on to my criticism, I found the movie a tad bit long. It could have been cut short by about 20 minutes atleast, saving us from his babbles & unending hallucinations. Also I felt, Franco’s enactment of the amputation scene was not believable. Sure anyone would be exhausted but amputating without an anaesthetic let alone with a dull knife would make anyone scream & howl like a rabid animal. Apart from these minor glitches, I felt the movie was taken well. Cinematography was top-notch; the panoramic view of the canyon & the scene with the “my feet touching sunshine” deserve special mention. AR Rahman’s music & score was passable, not award-worthy material. However, with the current Oscar nominations for a film score, I think “If I Rise” will win! Apart from strong similarities with Spanish tennis star Fernando Verdasco, Franco’s acting was good if not award-worthy (second time I’ve used the word).


Verdict:-  Watch it or Skip it? If u want a dose of “adventure-gone-wrong” with a pinch of “Snoooze-flashback-effects” then you might find 127 Hours watchable. My verdict: Skip it or rent the DVD!