Reviews

By Omair Abassi

Lahore’s A-list was out in force last night for the premiere of one of the most awaited movies of 2011, MI 4, which took place at Cinestar. It was cold, but the mood was hot. Smiling faces, a flaming red carpet and media everywhere, resulted in a festive occasion. All were waiting in anticipation of what was to come.

Cinema’s most respected action hero, Tom Cruise is back, as Ethan Hunt, leader of the International Missions Force – IMF.

MI4 is a very successful, action packed, secret agent flick, with Tom Cruise leading the way.

“Blue is glue,” Simon Pegg’s Benji helpfully informs IMF secret agent/superhero Ethan Hunt (Cruise) as he’s about to climb up the side of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the tallest tower in the world, using only a pair of electronic suction gloves that light up when activated. Referring to the colour of that light, Hunt asks, “And what’s red?” “Dead,” says Benji, without batting an eyelid.

The aforementioned nail-biting set-piece on the side of the Burj featuring Cruise, defying every bit of the 49 years he has allegedly spent on this planet, forms the centerpiece of this film. This may just be the most breathtaking action movie sequence of the year.

Ghost Protocol is action packed from start to finish and gives you everything you’d want from a movie. At its best, Mission: Impossible 4 is all about high speed rolling sequences, cool gadgets, amazing locations and a fun feeling like this. The story is a fairly simple one, Ethan Hunt and his crew; have to stop a possible nuclear threat before its too late. We are first introduced to how everything starts in motion, with a simple pickup at a train station gone wrong. The good guys and villains are identified within the first 10 minutes of the movie, and you’re basically taken on a ride from every corner of the world.

Tom Cruise leads the way as usual, calm, collective and pretty comfortable in character as Ethan Hunt. The support cast of Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead), Paula Patton (Deja Vu), and Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) are pretty solid. Simon Pegg gives the audience a laugh here and there, Paula is basically the good looking partner of Hunt and Renner balances things out as the new recruit trying to figure out who’s right and wrong. A bombing at the Kremlin in Moscow sets plans in full effect to put the entire blame on the crew. IMF has been disavowed and considered a national terrorist. With little to no resources and no backup, they have to figure out who set them up, and how they’ll stop a nuclear catastrophe in the United States.

They certainly upped the action and locations for this final film as well – taking you from Russia, to India and a short death defining scene in Dubai. Director Brad Bird keeps the tone, style, and plot pretty simple. The action, humor and story is pretty slick, with just about everything you’d want with a film like this. While the other Mission Impossible films were all Cruise, it’s pretty even here, with his crew and even other supporting characters given a fair share of screen time.

The blend of different personalities and talents are well done here. Simon Pegg is definitely a great addition here as the tech guru. Renner’s character Brandt performs some pretty great close hand to hand action scenes. He also gives some more dramatic moments that actually brings his character in full circle with Ethan Hunt.

Sabine Moreau’s female assassin is suitably sultry, sexy and lethal.

Mission Impossible the film is a great experience – the self destructing messages, the souped up version of the theme music and the high octane chase across continents are tried and tested but very effective.

Ghost Protocol had a great spy thriller theme throughout; with some great action scenes that will make you watch this again and again. It’s definitely better than MI-3, and though it doesn’t deliver with the same greatness as the first instalment, this film fits perfectly in the franchise. I couldn’t find anything to dislike about this movie. The script, performances and scenarios deliver on all levels that can keep you entertained.

If you choose to accept your mission, I suggest checking out this movie.

By Seemal Jamshed

White lounge cafe is the latest addition to the extremely long list of cafes that are opening up on almost every street of the Lahore. White lounge has opened in the main restaurant and cafe hub of Lahore: m.m alam road and promises to offer something different and exciting for the youngsters.

So we went to try out White Lounge to see what it offered which differs it from the norms of all the other cafes. Situated at the basement, the descending white staircase and frosted glass doors make the visitor curious as to what is being offered inside. Having reached the place, we saw the restaurant filled mostly with youngsters marking it as an ‘in’ hangout place. The ambiance of the restaurant has been established such as to compliment the name of the restaurant; white painted walls, red velvet wallpapers on walls, white sofas with red and black cushions, wooden floors and wooden tables create an atmosphere of a comfortable lounge like one at our homes. A plasma television screen makes the atmosphere complete and is u As we got seated, the waiter served us with the menu. The two page menu disappointed us as it did not offer much variety in the dishes. The appetizers consisted of four dishes only, while the main course offered a typical menu of pastas, burgers and Chinese food. The dessert section also offered only three dishes which were basically the same things but with different names. But contrary to this, the beverages section was filled with a variety of drinks ranging from margaritas to fruit shakes to cappuccinos. As our choice was limited, we ordered the spicy chicken wings with honey sauce from the appetizer along with cashew nuts chicken and fettuccine pasta from the main course. The spicy chicken honey wings were the first to arrive and they were delicious. Next we were served with the main course along with the strawberry margaritas we ordered. The dishes in the main course disappointed us. The cashew nuts chicken was bland and the pasta consisted of nothing but white sauce and a very small amount of chicken. The quantity of the food was also a shock for us. Considering the price of the dishes, the quantity was very less. The strawberry margaritas were not good either and reminded us strongly of a cough medicine.

Our experience at white lounge was not a very good one. ‘Why would someone pay such high prices for food that is good neither in quality nor in quantity?’ says Hira, a visitor at the café. ‘And it doesn’t offer anything which makes it different from all the other cafes.’ another visiter, Ali added. Unfortunately I have to agree with them. The only good thing about the restaurant is the relaxing atmosphere it has to offer. The songs played in the restaurant are usually R’n'B and hip hop songs and caters to their target audience  i.e the youngsters, But being a part of the target audience, we would prefer to go to a place that provides a quality dining experience no matter how much money we have to spend on it.

By Zehra Ali

It was a night all boys only dream to experience in perfect splendor. It was a night worth reliving; one worth cherishing. That’s right, you guessed it: It was the night of the Fifa World Cup Final 2010. It is with the purest passion for sports that all Lahoris, men, women and children alike, scattered across the city in search of the perfect destinations from which to gain the best World Cup Final experience possible. Here at Ink, we were invited to perhaps the most exclusive of the exclusive events hosted by none other than Jbnjaws at Uptown L.A.

It can be rightfully stated that the event was definitely not what everyone present had expected. At an event which very boldly stated “no stags allowed!”, there were most certainly stags in all shapes and sizes (as well as ages) present. From boys clad in either Spain or Netherland jerseys and flags, to girls and families, (usually consisting of five or more members) we saw it all. Some couples sitting in the farthest corner from all these “non-hip” attendees were mortified to have followed instructions at all. We here at Ink however, are never quick to judge, therefore, we gave one of the organizers a chance to clear out this slight miscalculation.

Q-The event was supposed to be a couples’ only event. Why was this rule not paid much attention to at the said event?

Ans- Football as a sport is now growing in viewership and following in Pakistan. Since it is neither our national game nor do we have any representation, there is a limited fan following. Hence, our objective of writing couples only was to discourage single male entry, as chances of riots become more and they then cause problems for couples and families. Also remember that the right side of the hall was mostly occupied by couples and families, while the lounges were for couples only. So our purpose of attracting a good crowd and balancing the ratio was fulfilled.

Q-The posters stated that a strict guest list would be kept to ensure the perfect crowd. Why was the checking not as strict as it usually is as compared to all the other events hosted by Jbnjaws?

Ans-I would beg to disagree here. Since the guest list was followed very strictly. Bear in mind that we did not encounter a single incident of an unpleasant nature. There were around 550 people out of which around a 100 people were sent back as we did not have their names on the guest list. I think security was given a lot of preference and that is the reason that we invited guests mostly based on references. No mass mode of marketing was used to publicize the event, except facebook.

It is important to note here that in all our events we do deploy security and have a proper management team but we cannot stop people from coming to the event. We can only stop them from entering if they do not have a pass or if there name is not on the guest list. There is a certain discipline that we as people should have and by pushing at the gate, or coming without any pass that discipline is most definitely violated.

Before the management team at Jbnjaws begins to point fingers and name names as to who might have been the culprit to providing this cleverly articulated statement; let us make it easier for you and unravel the mystery ourselves. The answers to these questions have been provided by Sarfraz Niazi, one of the mastermind directors behind Jbnjaws. Hence, follows our third and final question:

Q-Are you actively working with Jbnjaws at the moment or have you currently moved on to managing celebrities such as Ali Zafar?

Ans-Both myself and Jb are the only two directors for jbnjaws productions and are actively involved in managing it. We recently started our creative ad and design agency called “gray matter” and the only events that this agency will handle will be managed under jbnjaws productions. Our commercial activities have surely been reduced due the security issues and the unstable conditions in the country however we have been doing some great corporate work. The World Cup final together with a concert was a limited commercial activity and InshAllah we are coming up with more events soon!

Yes I am managing Ali Zafar and the experience has been great so far. Besides that, I am working as a brand manager for Radio1FM91, News1 and TV One.  I have been a part of one of the largest and most popular ad agencies and I have learnt that art of multi tasking from there. At times it is difficult to do justice to all four, but that is quite seldom. I feel that it is always fun to keep yourself busy with the work that is your passion!

There you have it folks. Be sure to keep an eye out for more of the upcoming events and if there is one you just so happen to miss, Ink will be your eyes and ears.

The DJ could not have been more DJ-like and the atmosphere created was more than enough to imply the anticipation that everyone present was experiencing. A few free drinks here, and a tweaked up air-conditioning there – a few more of those projection screens strategically placed and Voila! Jbnjaws could have earned themselves a prize-winning event. It’s all in the details really. Though, can’t we say the same about the number of yellow cards given out to the Netherland players? The match was nothing short of a nail-biter and I think we all agree when I say that it will be pain-stakingly hard to have to wait for another four years to experience the wonders of the Word Cup again.

“Dearly Beloved,

Your eyes are like sparkling diamonds in the sky. Your smile is also radiant. I dream about it when I sleep. You are the beautiful queen of my world. You are princess of my heart…”

He wrote.
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Celebrating the best of Independent Asian cinema, Bollywood and beyond
By Sanam Hasan

The Tongues on Fire (TOF) is a London based non profit film festival dedicated to expressing the drive and spirit of Asian independent media and cinema cultures of South Asia.

The festival was created eleven years ago to provide an international platform for Asians working in film and media around the world. The festival founders were motivated by the need for a forum through which Asians could develop and promote their work and to Continue