Yoga Helping Hollywood celebrities to age “backward”

Thanks to yoga, which is contributing to some Hollywood celebrities to age “backward”. According to People magazine:”They’re Aging Backward! With the Help of Yoga, Caviar Facials and Organic Diets, the Older These Stars Get, the Younger They Look”.It lists stars who are “Aging Backward” as: Demi Moore, Jennifer Aniston, Sandra Bullock, Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez, Courteney Cox, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Nicollette Sheridan. It calls Demi Moore “47 and fabulous”. About Jennifer Aniston, it says: “Getting her body yoga-fit …helped turn back the clock…After her 2005 split from Brad Pitt, Aniston started doing yoga at least three times a week and adopted an organic diet”. Regarding Jada Pinkett Smith, it points out: “Smith keeps her body ageless with a mix of yoga, hiking and weight training.”

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that yoga was a mental and physical discipline by means of which the human-soul (jivatman) united with universal-soul (parmatman).Zed suggested celebrities to explore the spiritual dimension of yoga also besides its physical benefits.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, further said yoga was one of the six systems of orthodox Hindu philosophy and urged celebrities to take a look at the rest of the five schools also.Some sages had described yoga as the silencing of all mental transformations, which lead to the total realization of the Supreme Self, Zed added.

Wolverine and its record openings

It surely hasn’t been the happiest patch for filmmakers and goers in India. If the multiplex trade off had resulted in several films not even hitting the screens in North India, it has been an unsuccessful period for many films in Tamil. Wolverine, featuring Hugh Jackson, which released recently, has had the biggest opening for any Hollywood film in India this year.

The film, produced by 20th Century Fox, has taken on biggies like 'Angels & Demons', apart from several other vernacular films in the country. And it has grossed a whopping Rs 10 Crore in its first week itself, earning the biggest opening in recent times for a Hollywood film in USA apart from India.

The fourth film in the 'X-Men' series, it has paved way and encouraged other sequels films like 'Night At The Museum 2’ and 'Ice Age 3' which are expected to hit the screens soon.

More Angels, Less Demons!!!

An adaptation of Dan Brown’s novel, the movie is a sequel to The Da Vinci Code, another Brown film adaptation. Interestingly the novel Angels & Demons was published first and takes place before The Da Vinci Code.

Tom Hanks plays the lead role of Robert Langdon, while director Ron Howard, producer Brian Grazer, and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman come together again after Da Vinci Code.

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The Roman Catholic Church mourns the death of the Pope. Until the College of Cardinals selects a new Pope, Camerlengo Patrick McKenna (Ewan McGregor) assumes day-to-day control of Vatican City. Reporters, nuns, priests, and other faithful all crowd into Saint Peter’s Square, waiting for the white smoke from the conclave.

The Vatican summons Professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) and Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer) to help them solve the Illuminati’s threat, save the four preferiti, and find the hidden bomb.

Langdon listens to the Illuminati message and deduces that the four cardinals will die at the four altars of the Path of Illumination. However, no one knows where these altars are located, but they are all somewhere in Rome.

Langdon requests access to the Vatican Secret Archives to see the original copy of Galileo Galilei’s banned book, as it contains clues to the Illuminati plot. Eventually, he is able to convince the camerlengo to grant him access.

Using the clue from this book, Langdon, Vetra, and Inspector General Ernesto Olivetti (Pierfrancesco Favino) of the Vatican police start their quest across Rome.

The film is as fanciful as it is controversial. Angels & Demons is a fast-paced movie with rivetting action scenes. Tom Hanks, who plays professor Robert Langdon, a Harvard University professor of symbology, has done well.

His measured performance makes it an interesting watch, while he is complimented by Ayelet Zurer who dons the role of Vittoria Vetra, a CERN scientist. Ewan McGregor, who plays the Camerlengo Patrick McKenna impresses.

2008's top 10 movies

The American Film Institute has named 'The Dark Knight' as one of the Top 10 movies of 2008.

Others in the list are political biopic 'Milk', animated fantasy 'Wall-E' and Brad Pitt's 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'.

Alongside the independent dramas 'Frozen River' and 'Wendy and Lucy', Clint Eastwood's 'Gran Torino' and comic book blockbuster 'Iron Man' also feature, reports BBC.

The list, which has been compiled by a panel of filmmakers, reviewers and academics, has been completed by 'Frost/Nixon' and 'The Wrestler'.

Unlike other awards bodies, the institute does not rank films or pick one as the year's best.

The filmmakers behind the AFI's Top 10 choices will be honoured at a luncheon on 9 January.