Freelance Consultant's Diary

So often we take what others do for us for granted. While impolite, it is not so bad. What is really bad when we take for granted even when others risk their lives for us. Yes, police officers, firefighters, and women and men in the armed forces, risk their lives every day so that we can be safe. If you are one of those people who just think of firemen when there is a fire in your house, we strongly suggest that you watch Ladder 49. This is a very depressing movie; so don't plan on being entertained. In fact if it were not for its movie stars, it could very well be categorized as a documentary about the life of Jack Morrison (played by Joaquin Phoenix) as a firefighter. After starting his career as a firefighter, Morrison takes on the job of search rescue because he wants it, despite being warned about its dangers by his boss and mentor Mike Kennedy (John Travolta) and his wife, Linda (Jacinda Barrett). The film traces Morrison's life in flashbacks as he lies unconscious

Can you imagine a movie called " Scen t of a Woman" with no women? Indeed, there is a pivotal sequence in the movie in which Al Pacino takes beautiful Gabrielle Anwar to the dance floor at the Waldorf Astoria for an impromptu tango performance , but other than that it is a movie about men. I enjoyed watching this movie even more because it reminded me so much of my days at the Birla Public School in Pilani. Retired (and blind) Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade (played by Al Pacino for which he got the Oscar) is a man with a very complex and powerful personality. When his daughter hires Charlie Simms (played by Chris O'Donnell, who is a student from a poor family at a prep school in New Hampshire) to take care of him over the Thanksgiving weekend , he is in for a roller-coaster ride. Within moments of the daughter leaving for a family reunion, Slade and Simms are on a plane to New York City . Slade's plan: stay at the Waldorf Astoria, eat at the Oak Room, dance and

Horror is a genre that I tend to explore occasionally (and mostly alone) and I have enjoyed some good movies during recent months ( Vampyros Lesbos , Night of the Living Dead, etc.). But when I received the press kit for Marcus, I had no idea what the movie was about. It didn't take me long to find out. Within seconds, it was obvious that it was a horror film. In my opinion, there are two types of horror movies. The first category includes movies with monsters and ghosts - these don't scare me because I know that they are unreal and more often than not include just computer-generated characters. The second category includes sick human beings (or animals) - these do manage to scare me because they are depictions of real people and without our knowing it, they might be around us. Marcus belongs to the second category. You would not dream of any monsters or imagine that there are ghosts in your bedroom, but the image of this heartless killer will stay in your mind. Here is

Lorena was disappointed from the get-go that "America's Sweethearts" was not the movie she expected - that there was no humor so typical of Billy Crystal. On the contrary, this is a very light comedy that reminded so much of what Woody Allen ( Shadows and Fog , Casino Royale ) comes up with. There are some comic moments, but at no point are you falling off the couch, or as is typical of Woody Allen movies, smiling at the cleverness of the joke or the subtlety of the dialogue. The plot is essentially a satire on Hollywood relationships . Estranged couple Gwen (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Eddie (John Cusack) have no choice but to come together to promote their latest movie (which is otherwise and may not do much to lift the sagging career of Gwen), and only some drama at the press junket at a luxury resort in the Nevada desert can get good reviews from the media. Billy Crystal, who is an experienced publicist, takes charge and produces situations that will delight fans of

Whether it is Pinky or androids or Stepford Wives or robonauts , we will soon see robots the way we look at pets: friendly, helpful, and part of the family . Will that be in 2035? That is the premise of the movie I, Robot, which like The Day After Tomorrow is a visual masterpiece full of special effects. In Chicago of the future, robots are everywhere and definitely that is good news for US Robotics, the company that manufactures them. If the robots were simply to follow our orders and make life easy for us, everything would be great, but what if robots could evolve or even have emotions? Even worse, what if robots could also try to protect us from ourselves, which is not inconceivable considering that by not fighting global warming , we are deliberately destroying the chances for survival of the human race? If you are a fan of science fiction movies and get excited by robotics, this is an excellent movie to watch. Will Smith delivers a remarkable performance but we thought t

Global warming is a hot topic and there are a whole bunch of movies that use it in various forms. Some that I have seen and reviewed are Ice Age The Meltdown and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind . If you are still in denial about global warming ( How to fight global warming ), we recommend that you watch The Day After Tomorow, especially if you work for a polluter . The movie is very dramatic and is only meant to highlight what is possible, not necessarily what will really happen (unless a catastrophic event like a nuclear war or an asteroid hitting the planet raises the temperatures quickly). Even a fifth grader now knows that climate changes slowly, not within a matter of days, as the movie shows, but the point is made. The Day After Tomorrow tells the story through the eyes of Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid), his son (Jake Gyllenhaal) and friend Laura Chapman (played by Emmy Rossum). While New Delhi gets it first snowstorm ever and grapefruit sized hailstones drop in Tokyo, the Un

I was really hoping that Mario Lopez - Karina Smirnoff romance would lead to a real relationship but it seems that it did not go farther than a vacation in Mexico and family visit. But I do have some good news from Cheryl Burke (the two time champion is responsible for Dancing With The Stars trophies for Drew Lachey and Emmitt Smith ). She has found love with Matthew Lawrence, the brother of Joey Lawrence (who himself was a contestant earlier). Cheryl Burke (photo copyright: ABC) is busy with Ian Ziering of Beverly Hills 90210 hoping to turn him into a champ.

Global warming was the last thing on our minds when we watched "Ice Age The Meltdown," but the message was loud and clear: we have to fight global warming , even more because so many idiots are in denial about global warming . If you enjoyed the original movie "Ice Age," you should find the familiar characters (Scrat, Sid, Manny, Diego, etc.) even more adventurous and funny. Again, I wish this movie was rated G since it is a beautiful movie to watch with your family. And while we were not particularly impressed with the sequel " Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest ," this sequel is a good one. Like so many people who refuse to believe that climate change is for real , the movie starts off with many animals who just can't seem to accept the reality that what they had known their whole lives would change right before their eyes. Fortunately, there are no dead-enders and almost everyone listens to the warning and decides to escape. After a

Not far from Rosa Mexicano Union Square location is the University Place area, popular among NYU students as a place to find good, inexpensive food. Being from the Boston area (that has so many students from all over the world), we know that the chepeast (and often with great good) places to eat are around the campuses. After doing some research, we decided to eat at L'Annam restaurant (at 13th Street) during our trip to New York . We are not new to Vietnamese food and often eat at Le's (formerly Pho Pasteur), that has several locations in our area. What we like about Southeast Asian food is that if you pick the right dish, you can eat a meal with lots of fresh ingredients with little to no fat . We were not disappointed at L'annam either. It is obviously a neighborhood eatery and at dinner time you see both a lot of students and families (we were told that during lunch time, it is popular place among the office workers). The portions are big for the price and all di

As a followup to our article " How to be healthy ," we also wanted to share more tips that come from AP9 At Home Rewards. We follow all of them, except the one on eating garlic. While we love the flavor and occasionally use it for most of our Italian dishes, the flavor is a bit too much later on during the day/night. So our tip for garlic: avoid it on warm days and when you know you will be intimate . Use olive oil . An essential ingredient of Mediterranean cuisine, olive oil contains polyphenols, the potent antioxidants that have been shown to help reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The extra-virgin is the best kind. Switch to brown rice . The taste is great, and it's a whole grain, which makes it an excellent source of fiber. Brown rice is also rich in vitamins, manganese, selenium and magnesium, elements that help produce energy, improve the health of the nervous system, and help reduce the risk of colon cancer. It's a little bit chewy but you wil

As anyone who has ever watched a sequel knows, the sequel is almost always less interesting, though that does not mean you shouldn't watch this one. When we watched the "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," we were mesmerized by the costumes, the sets, and some excellent acting by Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley . In "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," you will not be disappointed - just not as fascinated since the novelty is not there any more. That does not mean the plot is not engaging or the acting is poor or the cinematography unimpressive. In fact, the movie improves upon the previous one in all of these. This time, the search is on for a chest that is linked to a key which is linked to a compass that Jack Sparrow has. Actually the plot is even very confusing, espcially if you saw the first movie a long time ago. But like any fantasy, don't get too involved with the plot or don't think too hard