Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (2005) is a fantasy animated film directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton. This movie tells a story about a corpse bride who was betrayed and murdered by her fiancé. Corpse bride resembles the fantasy-romantic stories of children’s animated movies. The striking uniqueness of this movie is that the movie ends with a tragedy whereas other films for children would prefer a happy ending. Corpse Bride does not bring a joy to heart but it makes you appreciate your life and think about how doomed and ruined one’s life can be.

The story of Corpse Bride takes dramatic turns several times. Such turns are unpredictable and they grasp the viewers in what-happens-next excitement. Tim Burton’s talent in picturing a European village in Victorian age where a supernatural incident of a dead bride’s returning to mortal’s world and a mortal’s journey in the world of dead is astonishing. A grim Dark-bluish imagery of the total movie carries the viewers to the world where they can actually picture the story happening and feel like they are right there with the characters.

The storyline of the movie Corpse Bride involves romance, murder, fantasy, a touch of musical and heartbreaking tragedy. The story begins with a young man, Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp) rehearsing his marriage pledges with his bride Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson) at Lord Everglot’s establishment. Victor’s parents are nouveau riche fish merchants and Victoria’s parents are spiteful aristocrats who are preparing the arranged marriage which will restore Everglot’s lost money and pride and raise the Dort’s social class in exchange. Victoria likes Victor at their first conversation over playing piano. Victor is a very shy man and he becomes nervous at the sight of Victoria. Victor was very nervous on the rehearsal and he messes the arrangement up by dropping candle from his hand in a clumsy move and setting fire on the Lady Everglot’s gown. An unknown Lord Lord Barkis Bittern (Richard E. Grant) who drops out of nowhere in scene takes pride in extinguishing the fire of Lady Everglot’s gown spurting wine onto it. The Pastor scolds Victor and embarrassed, Victor walks out. Victor has been given a little time to prepare for the rehearsal and he strolls out of the village in a nearby forest in the dark. The dark cold night shivers Victor. He practices his vows in the woods and puts his wedding ring on a dead root of a tree or he thought so. The root turns out to be the finger of a dead young woman clad in a tattered bridal gown, who rises from the grave claiming that she is now Victor’s wife. Spirited away to the surprisingly festive Land of the Dead, the bewildered Victor learns the story of Emily (Helena Bonham Carter), his new “bride,” murdered years ago on the night of her secret elopement. After being attacked and killed while waiting for her fiancé in a dark, scary forest, the Corpse Bride is bound and determined to never, ever be left again. Meanwhile, Victoria’s parents hear that Victor has been seen in another woman’s arms, and become suspicious.

Victor is taken to underworld of the dead and finds it very festive. He finds his dog that died in Victor’s childhood and it was a gift from Emily. He tricks Emily and gets back to mortal’s world. He tells Emily to wait in the forest and runs to Everglot’s place to tell what that he loves her. Emily soon arrives and sees the two of them together and, feeling betrayed and hurt, drags Victor back to the Land of the Dead. Victoria tells her parents that Victor has been unwillingly wed to a dead woman, but they believe she has lost her mind and lock her up in her bedroom. With Victor gone, Victoria’s parents decide to marry her off to a presumably wealthy Lord Barkis Bittern (Richard E. Grant). Emily is heartbroken by Victor’s deception, thinking he loves Victoria simply because she is alive. Victor, however, apologizes for lying to her, and the two reconcile while playing a piano together. Emily learns her supposed marriage to Victor was never valid. In order for their marriage to become valid, Victor must repeat his vows in the Land Of The Living and drink poison- thus joining her in death. Victor agrees to die for Emily. The dead ones go “upstairs” to join their union. After a quarrel with Lord Barkis -and realizing his greed for dowry – Victoria follows the procession of dead to the church. As Victor prepares to drink poison, Emily realizes that she is denying Victoria her chance at happiness the same way it was stolen from her. Lord Barkis interrupts them, and Emily recognizes him as her former fiancé – who is revealed to be the one who murdered her for her family Jewels. Lord Barkis tries to kidnap Victoria but Victor stops him. Lord Barkis mockingly proposes a toast to Emily claiming she’s “always the bridesmaid, never the bride!” accidentally drinking the cup of poison. The dead drag the “new arrival” away to the Land of the Dead. Emily sets Victor free of his vow to marry her, giving the wedding ring back to Victor and her wedding bouquet to Victoria before exiting the church. As she steps into the moonlight, she transforms into hundreds of butterflies, presumably finding her eternal rest, as Victor and Victoria look on.

At the end of Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, one of its protagonists must also peacefully contend with the reality of the situation. What makes these moments that much more meaningful is that they are essentially the opposite of what we are taught about practical love: we respond to rejection with anger, contempt, and a passive attitude that is accusatory and/ or apathetic. We aim to move on. Burton’s characters are uplifting in that they encourage an idealistic view that love and hope should exist beyond hurt and pain, both of which are temporary. “Always the bridesmaid, never the bride” is how one character describes the aforementioned Corpse Bride. Unlike movies which attempt to disprove or rise above such negative sentiments, the characters of Tim Burton accept the grim reality of their situation and are content with their lot in life.

The cute and funny panda named Po who became dragon warrior after defeating a villain tiger and saved the valley of peace returns in the second film of the Kung Fu Panda franchise, titled ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’. Po the dragon warrior who is not a traditionally hardcore kung fu fighter but a funny and glutton panda who reversed his incapacities and became dragon warrior as was prophesized by master of kung fu Oogway.
Unlike most American animated movies that has a storyline which features lives in America, Kung Fu Panda takes up a story that takes place in China and universalizes it. For the audience, it is a piece of work that parents and children watch through together.
The detailed animation of kung fu kicks and fire power satisfies the criteria of an animated action-packed thriller movie, a drama of emotional issues of Po’s past and the Villain’s too that is followed by  a self-discovery for Po the panda and comedy of full of jokes and humors.
The movie stars Jack Black as Po, Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu, Angelina Jolie as Tigress, Gary Oldman as Shen, Jacky Chan as Monkey, David Cross as Crane, Seth Rogen as Mantis and Lucy Liu as Viper.
In the movie the story resumes where Po with his friends and father, Mr. Ping the goose live happily in the valley of peace. Po is the dragon warrior and deemed with respect by the animals of the valley but his lessons are not over. His master Shifu says that Po must gain ‘inner peace’; the highest point of spiritual journey in the virtuous life of a Kung Fu master. ‘Inner peace’ is a state of knowing oneself best and reaching to depth of one’s self and taking control of the path of life. Po makes fun and tries to get away from the austere practices. The story gets intense when a new villain rises. This new villain is named Shen; a peacock.
The story of Shen tells the past of Po. Shen had a gift of firepower. He had dark ambitions to rule all of China. He learned from the court’s goat soothsayer that “a warrior of black-and-white” would one day defeat him. Shen thought that the warrior was a panda and he started destroying panda population to avert the prophecy. Shen’s parents were horrified at this atrocity and exiled Shen, who swore revenge.
Shen strikes back after thirty years and with his destructive weapon he defeats Kung Fu master Thundering Rhino. The news spread to the peaceful valley of Po’s. Alarmed, Po and furious five departs for Gongmen city. Po was adopted by Mr. Ping the noodle maker.
Po and his friends confront Shen’s army of wolves and find their way to the tower of cannons. Po and the furious five were on the losing edge in the battle but they stroke back with together and Shen saw that he did not stand a chance. Po was about to grasp Shen but he was distracted by the sign he had glimpse of previously on a wolf soldier of Shen. Po understood it had something to do with his past and his origin but he could not pull the strings of his memory to find out. Shen claims that Po’s parents never loved him before he blasts Po out of the factory and captures the Five. Po was saved and given treatment by the soothsayer of the court Gongmen City. Guided by the soothsayer to embrace his past, Po remembers that when he was young, his parents had sacrificed themselves to save him from Shen’s extermination, his mother hiding him in a radish crate before being subdued. Po thus attains inner peace, realizing that he had lived a happy and fulfilling life despite this tragedy.
Po returns to Gongmen City to save the captive Five. Shen is about to launch the battleships to on conquest of China. Shen orders to get rid of him. Po uses his inner peace to invent a kung fu technique that allows him to redirect Shen’s cannon fire against his own fleet and destroy it. After most of the ships are destroyed by the joint force of Master Shifu and his disciples and Storming Ox and Croc, two imprisoned Kung Fu heroes of Gongmen, Shen is in no state to strike, Po speaks to Shen urging him to let go of his own past, but Shen attacks Po until he unintentionally slashes the ropes holding up his last cannon, which falls and smashes him to death. Victorious, Po returns to the Valley of Peace. Mr. Ping who was always anxious about Po is overjoyed and runs in a hug with Po. Po was also happy to be back to his dad. At the same time, Po’s biological father living far away who survived the battle with wolves of Shen senses that his son is alive. The story ends here.
The movie Kung Fu Panda 2 is marketed by Dreamworks all over the world. Kung Fu Panda has been viewed as a movie for children as well as for adults. The superb comedy was perfectly commensurate with the fantastic Kung Fu action that was kick for animated comedy-thriller films in the entertainment world. The views of Valley of peace and Gongmen city are mainly based on Chengdu City known as ‘the city of panda’ and Qingcheng, a famous Taoist mountain.
On this movie, the popular film magazine ‘Empire’ notes, “…a richer plot, life lessons and loving Chinese cultural references turns sweet, scary and charming, with yet more fantastical kung fu, make this an engaging winner. Stunning visuals make it real art as well.”

Shakib Al Hasan confident of his team’s chances against Zimbabwe

Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh captain, thinks his team is slightly ahead of Zimbabwe as they prepare for their first Test match in more than 14 months. The 15-member squad left Dhaka on July 27 to play a one-off Test and five one-dayers in what will be Zimbabwe’s return to the game’s premier format after six years. While the hosts have played a number of games against the second-string sides of South Africa and Australia, Bangladesh have only gone through a long fitness camp and some two-day games against the Academy side before the tour. Still, Shakib believes that they go into the series as favourites.

“I think we are, but I won’t say that we are too far ahead of them since we’re playing in their weather and conditions and playing after a good gap. But still, I think we’re the favourites,” Shakib said during the pre-tour press conference in Mirpur on Monday. “I am not thinking about it as a problem and as Stuart [Law] said, everyone should be excited and I’m sure they’re interested to do well in the Test.

“They [Zimbabwe] are getting good practice against South Africa A and Australia A. They will be prepared so we’ll have to play our best cricket.” said Shakib.

Bangladesh Football Team’s dream shattered

Bangladesh’s dream of reaching the Asian group stage of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers was dealt a huge blow when they went down 4-0 against Lebanon in their round 2 pre-qualifying match at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium.
Bangladesh have never reached the proper group stage of the qualifiers since it was introduced in 2003, but this time they were looking to create history, boosted by their impressive win over Pakistan in the earlier round and with the knowledge that the opponents Lebanon are ranked below them in the FIFA ranking.
The falling standard of Bangladesh football was once again exposed in the 4-0 drubbing.. Lebanon, out of international football for a couple of years scored two each in the either half of the match revealing Bangladesh’s tactical and technical weaknesses.

Interestingly all of the South Asian countries played away matches this week and Bangladesh was playing against the lowest ranked opponents in that list. Iran ranked 48th in the Fifa ranking won 4-0 against Maldives in Tehran, 82nd ranked Jordan thrashed Nepal 9-0 at Amman, Oman beat Myanmar 2-0 at Muscat, and UAE routed India 3-0 at Al Ain. While most of these results look more or less logical, Bangladesh’s 4-0 loss is sure to raise eyebrows.

The sudden omission of the regular skipper and experienced custodian Biplob by head coach Nikola Ilievski was  talk of the football arena. Playing two matches against Pakistan and two Super Cup matches in front of the head coach Biplob was never in the Ilievski’s unwanted list. Bangladesh earlier defeated Pakistan 3-0 at Dhaka and drew goalless at Lahore to move to the second round and to playLebanon.

3rd Asian Zurkhaneh Sports & Koshti Pehlavani Championship held at Dhaka

A total of 300 wrestlers from 26 Asian countries took part in the 3rd Asian Zurkhaneh Sports & Koshti Pehlavani Championship held at the Wooden Floor Gymnasium in Dhaka.It would be the biggest sports event in Bangladesh as far as the numbers of the participating country are concerned. The 26 participating countries are Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Philippines, Uzbekistan, Nepal, Indonesia, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, Taiwan, Philistine, Chine, Japan, South Korea, Syria, Thailand, Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Bhutan, Mongolia, Singapore and hosts Bangladesh.
Along side the tournament, Bangladesh will hold the fourth World Congress on July 30.
Koshti Pahlavani (Heroic wrestling) will be held on four categories: 60-70 Kg, 70-80 Kg, 80-90 Kg, +90 Kg.
The Zurkhaneh Sports individual skills would be held in following disciplines:
Sang Giri (Shield Lifting), Charkh-e-Teez (Whirling), Kabbadeh (Chain & Bow), Meel Bazy(Juggling Club), Meel Gerefin (Heavy Metal Turning) & Shelang Takhteh (Wood Stick and Blade).
The expenditures for the tournament is estimated Tk 22m. Asian Zurkhaneh Federation will bear air fair of all participating athletes, juries and dignitaries as well as all the local transport costs.

Nikola Ilievski new national football coach

The Bangladesh football coach saga came to an end as former Macedonia coach Nikola Ilievski took over as the new head coach of the national team. Facing the media the new national coach spoke first, “I come from Macedonia, a small country, where I have coached league 1 teams and won the title 7-8 years ago.”
Ilievski is the 16th foreign coach of Bangladesh national team. Asked whether he thinks he could cope with the new team, new condition, and the new place, he replied in his laboured English, “No problem here in Bangladesh.”
In reply to what motivated his decision to take over the Bangladesh national side the Macedonian said, “The name does not mean much to me. It can be China, Argentina or any other international side. For me the main thing is being the coach of an international side.”
The 56-year-old was a former player of the Yugoslavian national team and played in the 1982 World Cup in Spain. He added, 35 years ago, he was part of the Yugoslavia team that played in Brazil.
Ilievski follows no famous coach like Mourinho or Sir Alex Ferguson. He said that he has his own philosophy and own strategy. But he admired the coaching style of Portugal’s Scholari and England’s Ericsson.
Before taking over the Bangladesh job he was coaching the Albanian club KS Bylis Ballsh.

Well viewers, this write up is somewhat different because it contains the movies that are yet to be released. To write before the release is tough because you can’t say whether it will meet your expectations. The expectations are formed because of names behind the film, sometimes it may be the director, sometimes it is the producer or stars on the movies. In most cases, the most expected movies are the sequels of another movie and they fail severely meeting the expectations of the viewers.

Lets take a glance of the movies that are going to be released this year but already created a buzz around the film industry.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Perhaps Harry Potter is the most successful movie in all of its sequels. Part 2 of ‘Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows’ will be released in July 2011. A test screening has already been held last month in Chicago and director David Yates expects this second part will also become very successful like the previous one and other parts of the movies. Based on the J K Rowling novels, this is the seventh and final instalment in the Harry Potter film series. Following the part 1 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 2 continues Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s quest to find and destroy Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is the third film in the Transformers film series, directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg. It is the sequel to Transformers and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and is scheduled for release on June 29. In this sequel the Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft on the Moon and must race against the Decepticons to find it and learn its secrets, which could turn the tide in the Transformers’ final battle. Although the last sequel didn’t meet the viewer’s expectations fully, this sequel may become successful.

Cowboys & Aliens

Cowboys & Aliens is the upcoming 2011 science fiction Western film based on the 2006 graphic novel of the same name created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. The film is directed by Jon Favreau, and starred Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde. It is executive produced by Steven Spielberg and produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard.

A spaceship arrives in Arizona, 1873, to take over the Earth, starting with the Wild West region. A posse of cowboys are all that stand in their way. Cowboys & Aliens will be released in the United States on July 29, 2011. A fight between the gunslingers and Aliens would be amazing to watch, what do you think?

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is the upcoming 2011 action mystery film directed by Guy Ritchie. It is the sequel to the 2009 film Sherlock Holmes based on the character of the same name created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law reprise their roles as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, respectively, as the duo join forces to outwit and bring down their most cunning adversary, Professor Moriarty. The first part was overwhelmingly successful that creates bigger expectation this time. Let’s see if it can successfully meet the expectation.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

Your favorite cartoon character Tintin with its lovely dog, Captain Haddock, two twin police officers Thomson and Thomson are on the silver screen now! Combining the stories of The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham’s Treasure, the film depicts Tintin’s first encounter with Captain Haddock and the discovery of a clue to the treasure of his ancestor Sir Francis Haddock. They set out to find it with protection from a prison escapee who tried to get the treasure as well as Detectives Thompson and Thomson. The is directed by Steven Spielberg (Jurasik Park) and produced by Peter Jackson (King Kong), the two famous film directors especially know for special effect use in movies. The film will be released in the last of this year.

Imagine Lionel Messi pulling off magic tricks and all in the city of Dhaka. Well that can come true as said by Kazi Salahuddin, the president of Bangladesh Football Federation. He is hopeful of successfully bringing the Argentine football team and so to say the magical Messi in the city.

“I am still working on it, yes, I admit it deals a big bag of money, but I believe it is possible. At this time all I can say is nothing has been confirmed yet” said the BFF president.

Asked about the motivation which prompted undertaking of such a big project requiring almost Tk. 25 crore, the BFF president answered that it has multiple effects. “Firstly, it will enhance Bangladesh’s image in the international circuit, secondly we can show our commitments and passion for football in the international stage which can help us open new horizons, and lastly we want to lift the spirit of the game in our country” said Salahuddin.

“I am hopeful of a positive outcome and hope it could be chalked out within a few days” added the BFF president.

Jamie Siddons bid farewell

Jamie Siddons, the Australian coach of the Bangladesh national cricket team bid farewell to Bangladesh after Bangladesh Cricket Board decided not to renew the contract.

In his three-and-a-half-year stint at the helm, Siddons guided Bangladesh to 31 one-day international victories from 81 games but only won two Test matches out of 19.

The Australian replaced compatriot Dav Whatmore to take charge of the Tigers in October 2007, but a poor World Cup on home soil led to his exit. Despite beating England and associate members Ireland and Netherlands, Bangladesh lost to West Indies, South Africa and India in the first round and failed to reach the quarterfinals. 58 and 78 run allouts against West Indies and South Africa will remain as the career low for him. Siddons definitely worked hard to uplift the level and was handed an extension on November 24, 2009 when Bangladesh Cricket Board extended the contract till June 30, 2011, keeping him in charge of the 2011 World Cup campaign. However, the World Cup campaign arrived as a nightmare for him though result-wise it looked ok. He succeeded in grooming in a bunch of new players. In his tenure Shakib al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal rose to the highest level.

After Mudassar Nazar, Mohinder Amarnath, Gordon Greenidge, Trevor Chappell, Eddie Barlow, Mohsin Kamal, Dav Whatmore the name of Jamie Siddons obviously looks the blazing one. May be it was just the time that prompted BCB to explore a new horizon. And it was evident in the statement.

“It has been agreed that national team head coach Jamie Siddons’ contract, which expires on June 30, 2011, will not be extended. We are appreciative of Jamie’s contribution over the last four years. However, we feel the time is right to ring in changes in the team management and support staff,” said the board statement.

Superb Siddikur flying high

Bangladesh’s golfing sensation Siddikur Rahman pulled off a stunning finish to place himself in the eighth position at the Maybank Malaysian Open leader board at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.

Siddikur was the top Asian Tour finisher after he signed off with a 69 to finish seven shots behind the winner Italy’s Matteo Manassero, making a cut of $62,500 (almost 44,37,500 taka) into the $2.5 million showpiece. While Siddikur, the premier Bangladesh golfer produced a grandstand finish with a birdie on the last which was received by a rapturous applause by the spectators.

“The crowd was very supportive and they cheered me on. It felt like I won the tournament after my birdie (18th hole). I had many supporters following me today. I’m happy to finish in the top-10 and show the world that a player from Bangladesh can perform in such a big event,” said Siddikur, the 2010 Brunei Open champion.

Siddikur is now placed second in the Asian Tours in terms of total prize money earned with $117,607.69 right after India’s SSP Chowrasia.

Bangladesh getting ready to host 2014 T20 World Cup

The ICC World Cup Cricket 2011 has projected Bangladesh as a cricket crazy nation with people clogging the streets in green and red waving the national flag to celebrate cricket. The 2014 T20 World Cup, which Bangladesh is going to host, will see the game to a new height.
“This World Cup was a learning experience. We will host the 2014 T20 World Cup and through that we plan to project Bangladesh as one of the most sought after tourist destinations of the world” said a high official of the  National Sports Council.

Meanwhile  ICC President Sharad Pawar has praised Bangladesh for its hosting of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

“The manner in which the whole country has embraced the World Cup has been a joy to behold. The passion that the people of Bangladesh have for cricket is wonderful.”

“I have also been very impressed with the facilities here in Dhaka. The Sher-e-Bangla Stadium is a world-class venue that all of Bangladesh should be proud of.”

“All eight matches in Bangladesh were well-attended and even those that did not feature the home team were played out in front of big crowds. The people came in and appreciated the good performances and enjoyed the game.”

“I am sure cricket in Bangladesh has a positive and prosperous future and we look forward to returning to the country for the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier later this year and the ICC World Twenty20 in 2014.”

Viewers have accepted the movie because it has a moving story to tell, and has various elements from action-adventure, comedy and drama all rolled into one, allowing an outpour of a kaleidoscope of emotions as a journey for close to 2 hours with Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), Mr and Mrs Potato Head (Don Rickles and Estelle Harris), Hamm (John Ratzenberger), Res (Wallace Shawn), Slinky Dog (Blake Clark) and the aliens (Jeff Pidgeon) for one last hurrah.

The storyline for all three Toy Story films may share some similar plot lines in having the constant fear of being discarded and unwanted when one turns old, or to obsess with the thought of being forgotten and unappreciated, and almost always comes with a distance to conquer. That continues here in stronger terms given that it’s been some 11 years since the last Toy Story film, and that the toys’ owner Andy has already outgrown the toys and have chucked whatever’s left all into a treasure chest. Making things worst, he’s about to relocate to attend college, and thus the anxieties that Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang has to come to terms with, being provided 4 options of heading for the trash, the attic, being given away or being that rare toy that gets to accompany Andy to his new environment.

New toys get introduced by way of how the story got crafted involving a children’s day care centre,  metrosexual Ken (Michael Keaton!) from Barbie (Jodi Benson), and others such as the Lotso bear (Ned Beatty), together with those belonging to a new human character called Bonnie (Emily Hahn) who owns a cool plush Totoro (which doesn’t speak of course)! Sequels tend to overcrowd their stories with plenty of characters, but it worked perfectly for this installment as other than those which get lines, there are plenty in the background that you may just spot a few that you too may have owned at some point in time. Things also aren’t quite what they seem at the day care being the paradise for toys in constantly being played with and loved but never to suffer a heartbreak or to be left feeling unwanted, and provides the basis upon which the story develops, providing plenty of challenges for the gang to overcome (gotta love that Monkey!)

What’s powerful about Toy Story 3 are the themes that get thrown in, such as that about loss, and the search and fight for things that are worthwhile. It emphasizes the bonds of friendship and courage, while tackling how the lack thereof in abandonment and the feeling of tremendous loss, can someone turn one into a bitter soul, which allowed for the film to take on tragic, darker consequences unseen in the earlier installments, while balancing the light hearted moments. We get to grow with the familiar characters a little more, while having new ones which are just as fun. Just ask Ken!

Toy Story 3 is a must see, and it’s contending for a space in my top 10 for the year. It’s a sequel done right, a tale with a lot of heart, with elements encompassing what essentially is a fitting tribute and farewell to beloved characters that have blazed the trail for computer generated animation to take centerstage. As with all PIxar feature films, a short precedes the main feature, and “Day and Night”, like the one offered in Up, comes without dialogue, but with plenty of imagination and again, a solid story for a well animated short film that only Pixar can.

By Dark Steel

Probably the hopes are too high, the hype and the expectations are created by the media and the real level of the Bangladesh cricket was not properly adjudged. The occasional successes are highlighted too much and the capacity of the cricketers was not rightly measured. They often were overwhelmed by the occasion and the pressure created by the opponents.

The players of the Bangladesh cricket team appeared as the new chokers with an erratic frame of mind. Sometimes over-confident and sometimes fragile from lack of confidence were the other weak points. The temperament was questionable.  Though playing a lot of international cricket the players broke down under the pressure. The lack of application, lack of self belief and an damn care approach due to the lack of back up players and a granted slot in the national team has taken the cricketers to a stage that they never hardly felt the sense of responsibility.
The commitment and the devotion were also questioned when the skipper Shakib al Hasan never felt sorry for the awful performances rather said he felt sorry for the fans whose expectations were shattered.
However Bangladesh’s successes should be counted. Even they were wrapped up for 205 runs against Ireland. Bangladesh could have been lost that match as well but a reverse-swing burst from Shafiul Islam and a massive roar from the stadium held off the Irish.  An inspired bowling performance by Shafiul Islam cataputled Bangladesh to a 27-run victory over Ireland. Ireland were set a victory target of 206 after dismissing Bangladesh for 205.Andre Botha captured 3/32 and George Dockrell, left-arm spinner of Ireland, finished with 2/23 from ten overs to frustrate the Bangladesh batsmen on a slow pitch.
But Islam enabled the hosts to successfully defend a meagre score of 205 as he and Shakib al Hasan, supported by the off-spinner Mohammad Ashraful, limited Ireland to 178 runs. It was sweet revenge for the hosts, who lost a 2007 World Cup encounter against the Irish by 74 runs.

A sheer confidence and bravery from Shafiul Islam and Mahmudullah Ryad in the late moment helped Bangladesh to win against England in Chittagong. With Bangladesh struggling on 169 for eight the frustrated spectators started to leave stands. Routing of Bangladesh seemed to be matter of time. But the were left repenting to miss the greatest show of the Bangladesh cricket when Mahmudullah and Shafiul Islam proved all the anticipations wrong. The six and the four hit by Shafiul off Graeme Swann in the 42nd over and the piercing boundary through the covers hit by Mahmudullah that notched up the victory will remain ever green in the mind of the people who witnessed them.
Bangladesh crushed The Netherlands in a clinical performance. Dismissing the Dutch for a paltry 160 and passing the target with six wickets to spare.
Imrul Kayes top scored, hitting 73 not out as Bangladesh maintained its challenge for a spot in the quarterfinals.
The innocuous Dutch bowling attack presented few challenges on a flat Chittagong wicket and Bangladesh passed the total in the 42nd over.
Only Ryan ten Doeschate, with 53 not out, managed a decent innings as the Dutch fell victim to four run-outs, a stumping and slow spin. Netherlands earlier won the toss and decided to bat.
Abdur Razzak took 3-25 as Bangladesh sought a victory that will take the co-hosts closer to a quarterfinal berth. Shafiul Islam was the pick of Bangladesh’s bowlers even though he didn’t take a wicket. He finished with figures of 0-15 from 9.2 overs, starving the Dutch of run-making deliveries.
Bangladesh now focus upon the three match ODI series against Australia billed to take place in April 9th, 11th and 13th at Dhaka.

]]> http://www.youthwavebd.com/cricket-fever-grips-the-world/feed/ 0 http://www.youthwavebd.com/the-karate-kid/ http://www.youthwavebd.com/the-karate-kid/#comments Tue, 04 Jan 2011 02:43:53 +0000 Youth Wave http://www.youthwavebd.com/?p=1092 Perhaps almost all kids love to learn Karate while they watch films with dazzling karate actions of Jackie Chan, Jet Lee or Tony Jaa of ‘Ong-bak’. A film titled “The Karate Kid” was released in the year 1984. The story dealt a teen boy who wants to learn karate and goes to an old man. The old man engaged the young boy with household chores and other activities. The boy was angry, indeed, he learnt karate. The film was such a success that three sequels were directed after this.