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Synopsis

Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow answer the call to action when Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., initiates a daring, globe-spanning recruitment effort to assemble The Avengers team to defeat an unexpected enemy threatening global safety and security. Despite pulling together the ultimate dream team, Nick Fury and longtime confidant Agent Coulson must find a way to convince the Super Heroes to work with, not against each other, when the powerful and dangerous Loki gains access to the Cosmic Cube and its unlimited power.



Review





The good versus evil mythology built on the bones of classic comic book legend needs for the right side to triumph, against seemingly insurmountable odds. Which is why when we walk into a comic book movie, no matter how formidable the foe initially seems -- no matter how humongous Mickey Rourke's  muscles and how many intelligent arms Alfred Molina  has -- we always know he'll be licked by the end of it.

Which is where Joss Whedon's The Avengers truly scores.

The film isn't about the bad guys -- even though it has a captivatingly slimy villain -- but about an ambitious assemblage of larger-than-life superhero icons; heroes yet aglow from their own individual blockbusters totting up over $2 billion over the last few summers.


Men, in short, with preposterous identities, egos and issues with authority. And it is by wittily mining their invariably tempestuous dynamic that Whedon strikes comicbook gold.

The Earth is under attack -- from spurned Norse God Loki (played by a creepy Tom Hiddleston) -- and the eyepatch-wearing Nick Fury (an appropriately commanding Samuel L Jackson) decisively begins to put together a squad of superheroes equal to the task. Forever the man with a plan, Fury's been glimpsed in all the component blockbusters leading up to this one, speaking of an Avengers Initiative, the heist-master putting together his ace crew, step by slow-burn step. Those familiar with the books and recent Marvel movies have more than an inkling, but the rest need only know the basics -- -- and trust in the fact that the gents gathered here can spank an army apiece.

After they find their own groove, that is.

A film throwing as many one-liners as it does punches, The Avengers consists of the drily snappy Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), swiftly angered hammer-weilding God of thunder Thor (Chris Hemsworth), quaintly vintage Captain America (Chris Evans) and Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark, that Iron Man treading on everyone's shoes with his serrated-edge sarcasm. Somewhere in the mix also lie Scarlett Johannson's redheaded Russian superspy Black Widow and Jeremy Renner's impossibly good marksman Hawkeye, but while they too have their moments, they simply aren't super enough to trade quips with the big boys.

There is much to admire and to applaud, and all of it too well-written for a review to play spoiler. The words and the cast deliver, earning guffaws, gasps and wolf-whistles.


It's Stark -- that Jack Sparrow of superheroes -- who takes the obvious lead, literally poking Banner with a stick to bring out his big green alter ego, and making Shakespeare jabs at Thor, but despite his immense quotability, the film's genius lies in letting each icon get a rightful piece of the pie.

Cap A is positively irresistible when he, frozen from World War II, triumphantly catches on to a pop-culture reference (to 1939 classic The Wizard Of Oz), Thor is quick to retract sibling-love hearing of his half-brother's homicidal madness, and Ruffalo's Banner is an absolute masterstroke, an in-control scientist who strangely but perfectly seems almost proud of the beast within. The role has been played before by Eric Bana and Edward Norton, but Ruffalo's Hulk is by far the truest to the character's spirit, and has a hilariously electrifying screen presence. (He is also responsible for the film's finest line, a two-word instruction given to him by Cap, one that will cause many a fangasm around the globe.)

Yet when the villain imperils the world, oneupmanship is instantly sacrificed as the Avengers do indeed assemble. Each member of the team finds a role and is ready for the banal as well as the big: in one brilliant scene, with every Avenger surrounded by volcanic chaos and striking more glamorous blows, Iron Man, the inevitable star of the piece, sees his task reduced to that of a welding job.

By the time the heroes arrange themselves into a unified force and take attack positions, Manhattan is being ravaged by gigantic alien vertebrae, skyline-crumblingly snaking through midtown. This is the cue for a long and ridiculously enjoyable action setpiece that -- while amplifying the ante for a big-screen 3D spectacle -- keeps things cheeky as it oscillates from Avenger to Avenger (once even in a breathlessly unbroken shot) each getting the job done in their own uniquely awesome way.

The Avengers is wall-to-wall action, executed with a fluid coherence we don't get to see in most superhero films, and yet what stays with you are the lines and, resultantly, the characters. As this big, meaty film -- this hero sandwich of a film, even -- winds down, Whedon makes us do something increasingly rare in these over-franchised times: root for a sequel.

The Avengers -- from ambition to scale to the way it justly balances each remarkable character -- is an absolute blast, and it's far easier to lose yourself than to find fault. It's the most spectacular superhero party of all time. And you're invited. Go smash.

Synopsis

Peter Berg (Hancock) produces and directs Battleship, an epic action-adventure that unfolds across the seas, in the skies and over land as our planet fights for survival against a superior force. Based on Hasbro's classic naval combat game, Battleship stars Taylor Kitsch as Lt. Alex Hopper, a Naval officer assigned to the USS John Paul Jones; Brooklyn Decker as Sam Shane, a physical therapist and Hopper's fiancee; Alexander Skarsgard as Hopper's older brother, Stone, Commanding Officer of the USS Sampson; Rihanna as Petty Officer Raikes, Hopper's crewmate and a weapons specialist on the USS John Paul Jones; and international superstar Liam Neeson as Hopper and Stone's superior (and Sam's father), Admiral Shane.


Review


In the end, this week's Hollywood release Battleship looked like Alex Hopper (Taylor Kitsch) saved the world -- in his own words -- just so that he can win over his lover, Samantha's (Brooklyn Decker) father, a stern Vice Admiral who wouldn't be convinced with any lesser feat.


If there was no girl, there would have virtually been no plot points in Peter Berg's Battleship.

It all begins on a comic note; at a bar, Hopper spots a famished Samantha and promises to return with chicken burrito. He breaks into the neighbourhood bodega and steals it for her but is shortly nabbed by the cops.

This, by no logic, gives you any indication what would be coming your way but those in the know of its alien invasion subject would not find anything either surprising -- or new.


Meanwhile, Hopper is soon enlisted in the navy and continues to antagonise the Vice Admiral. Provoked by his bad behaviour, he admonishes Hopper: 'What my daughter sees in you is a mystery to me.'

It is at this point that the film picks speed.

The maritime exercise turns into a battleground between the US armed forces and the aliens, shuffling about in Transformers-like armour. Unlike other movies in this genre, Battleship offers an oceanic landscape for its action, because of which it gets a homogenous, yet distinctive look.

There is never any explanation about how the extraterrestrial contact is established, or why the aliens suddenly pay us a visit with what looks like an unvanquishable army.

Yet, it's even greater mystery how Hopper and a handful of crew, including Rihanna as a fearsome weapons expert, declare war on aliens -- and then, trump them so easily.

As a result, the climax doesn't hit you because the victory achieved is effortless and without any tactics and road maps.

The most rousing moment arrives when Hopper requests war veterans to help him sail a dysfunctional museum ship. Other than that, the interactions between trembling scientist Cal (Hamish Linklater) and paralysed war hero Mick (Greg Gadson) produce laughs every now and then but much of your time is spent wondering if you are in a fireworks factory, really.

Synopsis

Ida, a feisty and rebellious young girl, has dreams of finding her father, a rodeo rider. While searching for her dad, she connects with the Sweethearts of the Rodeo, a team of young female rodeo riders run by former rodeo star Terence Parker. Recognizing Ida's innate talent for trick riding, Terence recruits her for their ranks. Accepted wholeheartedly by her new "family," Ida finds a passion that redefines her life, and may also help her find the father she's been searching for.

Synopsis

The true story of a wealthy, physically disabled risk taker, the picture of established French nobility, who lost his wife in an accident and whose world is turned upside down when he hires a young, good-humored, black Muslim ex-con as his caretaker. Their bond proves the power and omniscience that love and friendship can hold over all social and economic differences.

Synopsis:

Agents J and K are back... in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K's life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him -- secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K to save his partner, the agency, and the future of humankind..

Blue-collar or white-collar, indoors or out; creative or mundane—every profession has its health risks. Some have dangerous working conditions, while others can slowly chip away at your mental and physical health with long hours, high stress, and depressing work environments.

We rounded up a few of each type, but these jobs aren't hopeless, says Dr. Chosewood, who works to help employers of all industries and backgrounds improve their work environments. "When a company really invests in the wellbeing of its employees, almost any job can be made significantly healthier." (Visit this CDC site for more on healthy workplaces.)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida  - Astronauts aboard the International Space Station captured the SpaceX Dragon cargo ship and guided the privately owned craft into a docking berth on Friday, opening a new chapter in the U.S. space program.

 The unmanned capsule was the first commercial spaceship to reach the orbital outpost.

 "This really is the beginning of a new era in commercial spaceflight," said Alan Lindenmoyer, who manages NASA's commercial space transportation programs.

 Using the station's 58-foot long (17.7-meter) robotic crane, NASA astronaut Don Pettit snared Dragon at 9:56 a.m. EDT as the two spacecraft zoomed 250 miles over northwest Australia at 17,500 miles per hour.

 "“It looks like we've got us a dragon by the tail," Pettit radioed to NASA Mission Control in Houston.

 The capsule, built and operated by Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, is the first of two new commercial freighters NASA will use to ferry cargo to the $100 billion space station following the retirement of its space shuttles last year. Rather than building and flying its own ships to the station, the agency is hiring private companies to do the work.

 The Dragon capsule is carrying about 1,200 pounds (544 kg) of food, water, clothing and supplies for the station crew, who were scheduled to open the hatch on Saturday.

 The spaceship will be repacked with more than 1,300 pounds (590 kg) of equipment to come back to Earth and depart the station on May 31. It would splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern California later that day.

 “"As a country we should be very proud," NASA's space station program manager Mike Suffredini told reporters after the station crew attached Dragon to the Harmony connecting node shortly after noon EDT.

 "We've taken a capability that this agency has nurtured for many, many years and combined that with a different thought process in the design and development of spacecraft," Suffredini said.

 The United States plans to use a similar process to buy commercial flight services for its astronauts as well, breaking Russia's monopoly on flying crews to the station.

 "I don't have words enough to express the level of excitement and elation that we feel here at SpaceX," company founder and chief executive Elon Musk said after the docking.

 "There's just so much that could have gone wrong and it went right. It's just a fantastic day," he said.

 Musk said he got a congratulatory call from President Barack Obama after Dragon reached orbit on its second and most likely final test flight. "Caller ID was blocked, so at first I thought it was a telemarketer," Musk quipped in a Twitter message.

 LASER GLITCH

 The cone-shaped capsule blasted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Tuesday.

 After a successful pass by the station on Thursday to test its navigation and communications systems, Dragon proceeded at a snail's pace on Friday, stopping, starting and occasionally retreating to make sure it could be controlled.

 At one point, the SpaceX ground operations team in Hawthorne, California, halted Dragon to adjust the capsule's laser imaging system, which it uses to see the station.

 Sensors were picking up stray reflections from the station's Japanese module, said NASA mission commentator Josh Byerly.

 Dragon ended up using just one of its two laser imaging systems for the final approach to the station, a bit dicey because a failure would have triggered an automatic abort.

 But one eye and a pair of thermal imagers was all Dragon needed to position itself 30 feet beneath the station and within arm's reach of the robotic crane that would haul it up for berthing.

 PRIVATE DELIVERIES

 Dragon's successful test flight will clear SpaceX to begin its 12-flight, $1.6 billion contract with NASA to fly cargo to and from the station.

 A second freighter being developed by Orbital Sciences Corp is expected to debut later this year. Orbital holds a second NASA cargo delivery contract worth $1.9 billion.

 The Obama administration is pushing Congress to embrace similar partnership arrangement for commercial space taxis to fly astronauts as well.

 Legislators last year halved Obama's request for space taxi design work to $406 million. Proposed spending plans for the year beginning October 1 would cut the White House's $830 million request to no more than $525 million.

 The Dragon docking marked a major step for the budding role of private enterprise in space travel.

 "I think this really is going to be recognized as a significantly historical step forward in space travel, so I hope we're the first of many to come," Musk told reporters.

For the past few years, BMW has made a habit of unveiling a new and usually daring concept car at the Concorso d'Eleganza, a classic car gathering for Europe's crustiest upper crust on the shores of Italy's Lake Como. Here, first seen in Yahoo! Autos' Motoramic, are live shots of its latest, the BMW Zagato Coupe, a first-time pairing with the Zagato design house that suggests what could be.

The Zagato name conjures images of fleet Alfa Romeos and Aston Martins among collectors, and the family has managed to maintain an independent business building limited-edition automotive bodywork while most competitors were either sold to corporations or went out of business. While BMW has called on Italian designers in the past to breathe new life into its cars -- namely in the '70s and '80s, with models such as the original M1 -- it has never worked with Zagato.


Built mostly by hand, the BMW Zagato isn't meant to suggest a production car and the two companies have no plans to build more -- but the one they did bolt together isn't a designer's dream confined to the turntable, but a coupe that can be legally driven. There's several features that hearken more to Zagatos past than any BMW, especially the glass rear hatch and faint double-bubble  roof common to all racing Zagatos, but the overall effect suggests a upper-class successor to the Z4 coupe.

Previous BMW show cars like the 328 Homage and GINA concept were never meant for production, and some BMW execs say the Zagato isn't either. Yet why build a road-ready, realistic concept only to confine it to an Italian lakeside resort once a year?

Bollywood bombshell Mallika Sherawat is truly living it up in Cannes. Mallika was lately in the news for heating up the red carpet in a ultra-deep back nude coloured gown and now the actress was snapped grooving with Hollywood actor Antonio Banderas.


Ms Sherawat met the heartthrob and partied along with him at Festival de Cannes. The two got along very well and the conversation ranged from Bollywood to Pedro Almodovar, who is one of Mallika's favourite directors.

Mallika posted on the social networking site, "So Much fun dancing with Antonio Banderas,he s a great dancer:)"

Well that's not all. Antonio also invited Mallika to Spain to visit his country and Mallika graciously accepted the invitation.

Actor Kamal Haasan is all set to make his maiden appearance at the IIFA awards to screen a few rushes from his upcoming film Vishwaroop. The film is a spy thriller, produced and directed by Haasan, and is bi-lingual i.e. in Hindi and in Tamil.

 The South superstar was quoted saying, "This year is particularly special for my film and me. I look forward to unveiling the first look of Vishwaroop and am hopeful that it will be well received."

 Another superstar is all set to return to IIFA awards. Salman Khan is going to embellish the star-studded event, to be held in Singapore. It is not clear whether the Ek Tha Tiger will be performing or not. However, he is going to attend the IIFA weekend that will be held from June 7 to June 9.

LOS ANGELES  - Last year around this time of France's Cannes film festival, movie producer Harvey Weinstein pondered how to turn a silent black-and-white film, "The Artist," into Oscar gold. His answer was to charm the socks off audiences with a simple tale of old Hollywood romance.

 This year, his Weinstein Co. has a different French movie on its hands with buddy comedy "The Intouchables," a box office smash around the world that opens in the United States on Friday with a race relations story that may not translate as easily for U.S. audiences.

 Nevertheless, after winning the best film Oscar in February with "The Artist," Weinstein is heavily promoting its new French movie, "Intouchables," and even if it fails to set cash registers ringing at U.S. box offices, the company has a Plan B - an English-language version is in the works.

 "We're happy to have 'The Artist' and now to work on 'The Intouchables," The Weinstein Co.'s David Glasser told Reuters. "Harvey has always been a lover of foreign film. And obviously this year, we have a lot of French films which are incredible."

 Based on a true story, "The Intouchables" follows an inner city petty criminal, played by Omar Sy, who is hired to care for a quadriplegic aristocrat, portrayed by Francois Cluzet. While it's rough going at first, the two become fast friends and impact each other in unexpected ways.

 After shattering box office records in its home country, "The Intouchables," has gone on to sell an astonishing $340 million in tickets worldwide with its odd couple comedy audiences can't seem to resist.

 "How do you deal with a handicap? How do you deal with a black character? All those things need to be addressed," Sy told Reuters. "That's the great challenge and the great opportunity, actually, to work with clichés and not fall into traps."

 BLACK AND WHITE IN THE USA

 Racially-tinged buddy comedies have worked well at U.S. box offices in the past. Examples include "48 Hrs." with Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte and more recently "Men in Black" with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. "Men in Black III" is expected to be a big hit this weekend when it opens.

 Co-director Eric Toledano said he wrote "Intouchables" with an American audience in mind.

 Yet ahead of its U.S. debut, the movie's racial characterizations have raised eyebrows among critics, which he hadn't expected.

 Showbusiness newspaper The Hollywood Reporter said the characters are "perilously close to caricature at certain junctures" and Daily Variety was less diplomatic, saying the movie "flings about the kind of Uncle Tom racism one hopes has permanently exited American screens."

 "Almost 20 million people have seen it and no one saw that," countered T oledano. "I think it's a big misunderstanding. I think the journalist who said that it was racist didn't understand the context of our movie."

 Glasser called the type of criticism in the two trade newspapers a challenge to overcome in reaching U.S. audiences, and noted that all movies face some promotional hurdles.

 "We obviously hope all the critics are there, but (audiences) come out of this movie really hot in the sense of wanting to talk about it. So that's what I think is going to sell it," Glasser said.

 Weinstein is no stranger to controversy, of course, and any good movie marketer knows a little publicity goes a long way in luring people to theaters. Earlier this year, Weinstein Co. demonstrated that rule when its documentary "Bully" earned a restrictive U.S. film rating that was eventually overturned.

 The debate over the rating made headlines and helped push the documentary's U.S. ticket sales to more than $3.2 million - a healthy theatrical box office for a non-fiction film.

 But even if "Intouchables" doesn't take off the way Weinstein Co. hopes, it already is hard at work on an English-language remake.

 "It's based on a true story so you're going to stick true to form on a lot of the facts," said Glasser, adding that the company won't try to re-work the story of race relations.

 Colin Firth is attached to play the Francois Cluzet role, and "Bridesmaids" director Paul Feig will helm it. The role of the black, petty criminal portrayed by Sy has yet to be cast.

 "I'm very curious to see how they navigate that very delicate minefield which we had to in France," Sy said. "How will they adapt it to the American context? That's the big challenge."

 When asked who he imagines in his role, he smiled broadly and said, "Meryl Streep. She has such amazing depth and range that she would be entirely capable of playing this."

After doing a couple of comedies like HOUSEFULL 2 and DESI BOYZ, John Abraham is now indulging himself in an action and dramatic outing, what with the shoot of RACE 2 and SHOOTOUT AT WADALA being currently on. While the former sees him in a cool avatar where he gets into some dare devil action for Abbas-Mustan, the latter has him getting into a period setting while playing a dreaded don for director Sanjay Gupta.


"It is quite an intense outing for SHOOTOUT AT WADALA. On the other hand RACE 2 is the most amazing commercial package that could have been put together," says John, "I am enjoying my space in the film and what is making it further special is the fact that Abbas-Mustan are lovely human beings. I try to work with good people, the ones who have a positive air around them and are good in their hearts. Rest everything falls into place by itself because once you have faith in your director and vice versa, it enhances the professional setup. That's the way I want to sign my films."

While one can get a sense of John's future plans, his past and present have been going good as well, what with multiple successes under his belt. While FORCE and DESI BOYZ were moderate money spinners, HOUSEFULL 2 and VICKY DONOR (as a producer) have only upped the ante for him.

"Well, for HOUSEFULL 2 all credit should go to Sajid (Khan). I am a director's actor and always completely give away myself to him. It is Sajid who got such a performance out of me. I had never played an over-the-top character like Jolly before but Sajid made it possible. The film has just completed 50 days and it shows once again that it was meant for those who wanted to be entertained. Guess there are many out there who felt the same," he smiles before signing off.

"Pirates of the Caribbean" actress Keira Knightley is engaged to marry her musician boyfriend James Righton, her publicist said on Friday.

 Knightley, 27, who was Oscar-nominated for her lead role in the 2005 film "Pride & Prejudice," has been dating Righton, who plays in British indie band Klaxons, for about a year.

 "I can confirm that Keira is engaged to be married to James Righton," British publicist Sara Keene said.

 No wedding dates or details of the engagement were released, in line with couple's low-key romance and few public appearances together.

A couple of months ago, it had been reported that actor Shahid Kapor had approached the police with a complaint regarding a female stalker, the daughter of a late actor, who would follow him everywhere and insist that she is married to him. Now, it seems that singer Sonu Niigam is also facing a similar kind of trouble.

 Sources claim that the singer has contacted the police authorities about a female fan, who has camped outside his residential building since the past one week. A source added that the women kept coming to his house, claiming that she had been invited by Sonu for a meeting and when the singer finally met her for some time on knowing that she had been turning up to meet him, she refused to leave even after the short meeting.

 It was finally after the police arrived that the woman was persuaded to leave the premises without creating a nuisance."Had it not been for the timely arrival of the cops, we don't know how we would have got the girl to leave," the source was quoted to have said.

Now that the ‘Rockstar' girl Nargis Fakhri is out of the Akshay Kumar starrer 'Khiladi 786', there are many Bollywood ladies vying for the role. Apparently, Ileana D' Cruz, who was initially chosen for the part, may be one of the contenders to play the role of Mithun Chakraborty's sister. Now, the latest buzz is that model-turned-actress 'Cocktail' girl Diana Penty is also being considered for the role.

 The shooting of the film, being produced by Akshay Kumar and Himesh Reshammiya, is slated to start early next month. While neither of the actor-producers was available for comment, a well-placed source associated with the production was quoted saying, "Yes, we have been getting feelers from Ileana's and Diana's end. We'll finalize the heroine in a few days."

What would you do if you found yourself face-to-face with Spider-Man?

If you're Emma Stone, apparently you've just got to put your hands on him.

I sat down with Stone and her costar (and real-life beau) Andrew Garfield to talk about their upcoming movie, "The Amazing Spider-Man," and I asked them both their reactions to seeing Garfield in the full Spidey costume for the first time.  Stone admitted that when she saw him in the suit, she got a bit handsy.


"It was so tactile," Stone said, "I immediately was just touching him. Because you never expect to be in the room with Spider-Man, and the suit was just so well made and so beautiful."

Garfield answered that his reaction to seeing himself in the costume inspired a mix of feelings: "It was overwhelming, of course, and surreal, and you kind of can't believe it. And that kind of remained throughout, actually. I didn't quite believe it, that it was me in the suit." He went on to say that the feeling of disbelief helped ground him. He said, "I think if I started to believe it then I'd lose my mind a little."


Garfield explained that the process of designing the suit and tailoring it to fit him perfectly was an arduous four-month long task.  He said, "I had to fly certain places to get certain body scans, and my body was changing because I was training."

Once it was finished, then the simple act of putting it on became its own ordeal.  Garfield stated he had to be virtually shoehorned into the one-piece costume, which took about 20 minutes every time. But he felt that he was able to use the discomfort in his performance.  He said, "It was really useful if in the scene I had to be stressed, because it was really stressful putting it on."

One element of the Spider-Man costume that makes it different from most superhero disguises is that it has a mask that completely covers the face. I asked Garfield if having his face concealed like that was inhibiting as an actor.  He replied he found it to be the opposite.  Garfield said, "It freed you up, more than inhibited, absolutely, because of the power of the mask."

Garfield drew a parallel to modern tech culture: "We all have contact with the power of anonymity on a daily basis now because of the internet. Being able to say and do anything and not be held accountable is powerful... You get to be whoever you want to be." Stone agreed that there was a certain charge to scenes where Garfield was behind the mask, saying "It's kind of exhilarating."

SANTA FE, New Mexico  - Firefighters managed to protect the remaining homes in a southwestern New Mexico subdivision overnight, but some outlying buildings were engulfed by flames from a fire that burned on rough mountain terrain near the Arizona border.

 Two fires merged in the Gila National Forest on Thursday and consumed 12,000 additional acres overnight, bringing the total burn area to 82,252 acres with none of it contained, said Public Information Officer Iris Estes.

 Estes said firefighters were able to build fire lines toward the north, and expected gusty winds of 15 to 28 miles per hour to move the flames in that direction by midday.

 Efforts overnight managed to preserve the more than 45 remaining vacation homes in the area. A total of twelve homes and 13 outlying buildings have been destroyed so far, Estes said.

 "The fire is still burning in the subdivision, but they did a good job of getting in there and getting some structure protection in there," Estes said.

 Estes said the fire "spread out and moved in all directions" as it burned late Thursday, which allowed firefighters to get closer to the blaze and build fire lines with bulldozers.

 "It didn't make a run in any one direction, so we're hoping it will continue to do that today," she said.

 More than 500 people are currently fighting the blaze. Voluntary evacuations were in effect for the nearby town of Mogollon.

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico  — Hurricane Bud weakened to a Category 2 storm as it headed early Friday toward an area of beach resorts and small mountain villages on Mexico's Pacific coast stretching south from Puerto Vallarta.

Authorities canceled school in 11 communities expected to be hit by heavy rains in Jalisco state, and emergency workers were preparing emergency shelters.

A hurricane warning was up for Mexico's Pacific coast from Manzanillo northwestward to Cabo Corrientes. A hurricane watch and tropical storm warning were in effect from Punta San Telmo westward to east of Manzanillo.

Bud had been a major Category 3 storm. But the hurricane's maximum sustained winds decreased early Friday to near 110 mph (175 kph) early Friday, making it a Category 2 storm on the five-level hurricane scale. The storm was centered about 105 miles (170 kilometers) southwest of Manzanillo and moving north-northeast near 8 mph (13 kph).

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said gradual weakening was expected but Bud was still forecast to reach Mexico's coast as a hurricane. There were indications the storm might make a U-turn after getting on shore and moving back out into the Pacific.

The government of Jalisco state prepared hundreds of cots and dozens of heavy vehicles like bulldozers that could be needed to move debris.

Officials in Puerto Vallarta said they were in close contact with managers of the hundreds of hotels in the city in case tourists needed to move to eight emergency shelters. It said the sea along the city's famous beachfront was calm, but swimming had been temporarily banned as a precaution.

An apparently "disoriented" passenger had to be calmed down and subdued on an American Airlines jet Friday as it was taxiing after landing in Miami International Airport, an airline spokesman said.

The FBI said the man, Ryan Snider, a 24-year-old Canadian, was arrested and faced federal charges of interfering with a flight crew.

"There were no injuries or damage to the plane. There appears to be no nexus to terrorism and Snider was not on the 'no fly list,'" said Special Agent Michael Leverock in a statement.

Snider rose from his seat and rushed forward shortly after the plane landed and was taxiing down the runway on a flight from Montego Bay, Jamaica, officials said.

"We had what appeared to be a 'disoriented' male passenger who stood up at his seat in the Main Cabin after landing in Miami as the flight was taxiing in," American Airlines spokesman Ed Martelle said in an email.

"He did not obey crewmember instructions to sit down and then moved toward the front of the aircraft where he was subdued. He was turned over to police upon arrival at the gate," he said.

He was subdued by passengers and crew, an airport official said.

About 120 passengers were aboard the Boeing 757, he said.

Snider was expected in federal court Tuesday in Miami, the FBI said.

The first theatrical trailer of Ajay Devgn and Abhishek Bachchan's BOL BACHCHAN is out now!


The trailer looks quite amusing with some hilarious punches and a couple of action-sequences which are a trademark of Rohit Shetty's mainstream commercial cinema.

The film also stars Prachi Desai and Asin as the leading ladies.

BOL BACHCHAN which is presented by Fox Star Studios and is produced by Shree Ashtavinayak LFS Infra Ltd and Ajay Devgn Ffilms is slated for release on 6th July, 2012.

Take a look at the trailer.

One of the most awaited spy thrillers, VISHWAROOP directed and co-produced by Kamal Haasan will showcase excerpts from his film and its first look at the 13th Videocon IIFA Weekend in Singapore this June 2012.


Made in both Tamil and Hindi, Kamal Haasan's much-anticipated movie is one of his biggest projects till date. The Hindi version entitled VISHWAROOP will be unveiled on 8th June at the Raffles City Convention Centre, giving world-media key glimpses from the film.

Kamal Haasan said, "IIFA is one of the biggest events for the Indian Film Industry. This year is particularly special for my film and me; it is a great opportunity to present my film on such a large and international scale. I look forward to unveiling the first look of VISHWAROOP and I am hopeful that it will be well received."


The film features Kamal Haasan in the lead role along with a superstar line up - Andrea Jeremiah, Rahul Bose, Pooja Kumar, Jaideep Ahlawat, Samrat Chakrabarti, Zarina Wahab and a special appearance by Oscar nominee, Shekhar Kapur. Musical trios Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have composed the film's musical score and noted lyricist Javed Akhtar has penned the lyrics for the film.

Bollywood diva Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's, who is regular at Cannes, appearance at the prestigious film festival is eagerly awaited and so was this year. While all eyes were waiting with baited breath to have a glimpse of the newest mommy of the B-town, the gorgeous lady made a stunning appearance in a black and ivory dress designed by Angelo Katsapis at the Media Call at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.


Aishwarya's post-pregnancy flab was a hot topic discussion across media circles lately and she received a lot of flak for the same. So there was enough curiosity with respect to her appearance at this year's Cannes. However, the beautiful actress shut all the wagging mouths by making a dazzling appearance at the big event.

At the red carpet, Ash chose to wore a gold embroidered sari accompanied with tailored jacket with Mandarin collar. It is being said that the attire was designed by Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla.

Checkout more pics of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at 65th Cannes film festival.

London, May 26 : Aishwarya Rai, who has been heavily criticised for not losing her baby weight in stellar time, Bachchan is not letting cruel weight jibes spoil her baby bliss.

The 38-year-old actress couldn't help but gush about her six-month-old baby girl Aaradhya as she posed on the red-carpet at the Cannes premiere of Cosmopolis this evening.

"Motherhood is wonderful. You ask the question and I beam!" the Daily Mail quoted her as saying.

"It's splendid... It's inexplicable. The joy, the bliss, is wonderful. A smile from my daughter and that's it! She's good. She's great," she said.

The former Miss World, who is married to Abhishek Bachchan, the son of one of India's best-loved stars, gave birth to her daughter, in November last year.

She found international fame in the Hollywood film 'Bride and Prejudice', and Julia Roberts billed her as the world's most beautiful woman.

But an unfortunate recent photograph that captured her with a double chin, sparked a flurry of cruel criticism, with some suggesting that she has a "duty" to her fans to regain her pre-pregnancy figure.

One website posted a video of the star looking less than her usual svelte self, flicking between photographs of her pre-birth, and photos now.

Called "Aishwarya Rai's shocking weight gain", the clip, which came accompanied by elephant sound effects, has been seen more than 500,000 times.

Dozens more videos in a similar vein have been posted, each with viewing figures in the tens or hundreds of thousands.

Comments left after the video prove that many of those watching have little sympathy for the star.

However, she has commendably remained cool-headed about the criticism, and has been open about the fact that she is in no hurry to lose the few extra pounds she gained during her pregnancy.

She has said that she simply wants to "enjoy motherhood".

Islamabad, May 26  At least four people were killed and two injured in a US drone strike launched early Saturday in Pakistan's northwest tribal area, Xinhua reported.

According to a Pakistani media report, the strike occurred around 4.30 a.m. and the target was a house suspected of being a militant's hideout in Miranshah town of North Waziristan.

Two missiles were fired at the house which was completely destroyed, it said.

This was the third US drone strike in North Waziristan within last four days and the 15th of its kind (counted on daily basis) in Pakistan since the beginning of this year.