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 THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY During an interview the popular director Quentin Tarantino was asked about his favourite film. He answered "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". With the popularity of western films in the US, Italian filmmakers started to shoot western films cheaply in Europe, especially Italy. These later became to be known as "spaghetti westerns". The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is probably the most famous spaghetti western out their.  The Sergio Leone classic was made in 1966 and captivated audiences around the world. The story is of three opportunistic men seeking a buried treasure with Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Cleef as "the Bad", and Eli Wallach as "the Ugly". The story is very simple, but still exhilarating. The high stakes, untrustworthiness and deceit makes the plot very attractive. Froom Mexican shootouts to explosions, this film has all the classic western elements.  This film has one of the most iconic...

Haris Rauf: A New Rawalpindi Express Rawalpindi has been known to produce world class bowlers such as Shaoib Akhtar and Muhammad Aamir. The recent bowler this city has to offer is Pakistan's cricket team's current fasted bowler: Haris Rauf.  Haris, who once used to work as a salesman in Rawalpindi, came all the way to Gujranwala in September 2017 to appear in PDP trials by Lahore Qalandars. He used to play street cricket initially, run on the streets, shadow practicing and rolling his bowling arm over. His family was always against the idea of him playing cricket and considered it as a waste of time. Haris used to sneak out from his house to play cricket and used to get scolded for it. He got registered for the trials in Gujranwala and got selected. He clocked at 92.3mph, which was the fastest recorded delivery in the talent hunt program. He was later sent to the Lahore Qalandars Academy, played for Abu Dhabi T20, Quin Series Australia and many other leagues. Originally from Ma...

Elon Musk Takes Control of Twitter World's richest man Elon Musk finally bought Twitter for $44 billion dollars. Musk had long wished to own the social media company but soon became hesitant about the purchase, citing concerns that the number of fake accounts on the platform was higher than Twitter claimed. Months of legal battles later, Musk finally owns Twitter (some say against his own will). As soon as Musk took over, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal was fired. Many employees resigned themselves as they refused to work under the leadership of Musk. It is unlikely that Musk would act as the CEO himself, and soon would be looking for someone capable to fill the role. Musk calls himself a "free speech absolutist" and dreams of Twitter to become a platform promoting free speech and opposing ideas. Many people celebrated the acquisition and hoped that Musk would end Twitter's left-leaning bias, whilst the people on the other side of spectrum fear that the new boss would embol...

 Apple's All New 10.9 inch iPad Apple has releases completely redesigned iPad in 4 new colours. The new iPad comes with Apple's latest A14 Bionic chip which offers fast performance and and a longer battery life. It offers 4k video and recording and a wider front facing camera for better zoom meetings. The cellular model features 5G for customers who are looking for lightning fast internet. The iPad comes with the latest iPadOS 16. The large retina display can be paired with magic keyboard and Apple pen to attract the creative users. The device will be starting at the price of $499. But the device is not popular among everyone. The new device lacks the support for the second generation Apple pencil. This was critisized by many people.  Time will only tell whether people will be opting for the 12 inch air which is more expensive or the cheaper 10.9 inch. 

Kohli: A Phenomenon Beyond Borders If you asked someone in India who is the most loved Indian cricketer in Pakistan, they would probably name Indian legends such as Tendulkar or Kapil Dev, but the reality could not be more different. Virat Kohli enjoys massive support in Pakistan, more than anyone else. Some may say that he even enjoys more support than some Pakistani cricketers themselves. When India beat Pakistan in the T20I World Cup match on the 23 of October, Virat Kohli was the man who made victory possible for his nation. But after this loss, Kohli was not hated but loved even more in Pakistan. The question is, how come this individual alone has garnered such a huge following in the rival country? The answer is pretty simple, Kohli is by far the best batsman in the world right now. One thing you need to understand about the Pakistanis is that we love the game of cricket more than the teams. A good game of cricket is what this nation craves, and even if that world class performan...

Review: The Legend of Maula Jatt The long awaited film finally hit the cinema screens this week. The film was actually finished in 2019, but due to copyright lawsuit filed by the producer of the 1979 original Maula Jatt, the film could not be released. But come 2022, and we finally got to see the masterpiece. The remake differs from the original in both the cast and the script. But the thing that stands out the most is the level of production. It will be true to say that The Legend of Maula Jatt was no less than a Hollywood blockbuster in terms of production quality. Whether it is the cinematography, CGI, sound design or the costume, the film delivered superbly. The action sequences were the best I have seen in a Pakistani film. Fawad Khan and Hamza Ali Abbasi gave stellar performances, but in my opinion the show stealer was most definitely Gohar Rasheed. Gohar brilliantly captured the mercilessness and malevolence of Maakha Natt. Mahira Khan on the other hand felt a forced character. ...

Tom Cruise: The Greatest Movie Star of All Time Just this year, the 60 year old actor starred in Top Gun: Maverick which grossed over $1.45 Billion at the global box office and became Cruise's career's highest grossing film. It would be safe to say that Tom Cruise is indeed the biggest movie star alive at this point. His sheer star power is the driving force for his movies successes.  There are other actors who have starred in more high grossing films, but Cruise's Top Gun: Maverick was different. One may watch a new Spiderman film because they want to see the character Spiderman, not the star playing it (Tom Holland). Similarly actors like Johnny Depp and Robert Downey Jr. gave global hits such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Ironman, but the audiences watched these films for Jack Sparrow and Tony Stark, not because of Depp and Downey. This effect is opposite for Tom Cruise, whos films gross Billions not because of their characters, but because of Cruise himself. Tom Cruis...

 The Sopranos: Still Great After 15 Years It was during the pandemic when The Soprano's popularity skyrocketed amongst the new and younger audiences. As people were trapped in their houses, many turned to binge watching classic shows and The Sopranos seemed to be a huge hit. The Rolling Stone magazine released a list of the "Top 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time" in September 2022 and put The Sopranos in the number 1 spot. The show aired in 1999 and told the story of Tony Soprano, a mob boss in New Jersey who had problems at work and at home. When people think about the Italian mafia they think about the Corleone family in The Godfather, who had great amount of power and influence. But this show tells the story of the mafia in the 21st century. A mafia which is very small scale and not as influential as they were back in the day. The Sopranos is hailed as the first TV show to introduce the concept of an "anti-hero" (the main character who lacks the conventional ...

 CRIME & PUNISHMENT: A RUSSIAN CLASSIC Russian literature has always been hailed one of the most best. From Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Alexander Pushkin and Nikolai Gogol, Russia has blessed the world with the very best authors. There is a common misconception amongst the people that Russian literature is lengthy and boring. While the former is true, the latter can not be furthest from the truth.  I had planned to read Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, widely considered as the best work of literature ever written. But when I was visiting an "Old Book Bank" in Saddar Rawalpindi, I caught sight of Dostoevsky's Crime & Punishment. I knew nothing about this book but bought it with an impulse. The book turned out to be an utter page-tuner. I finished the lengthy novel in a matter of days.  The premise of the book is simple, it tells the story about Rodion Raskolnikov, a young student living in extreme poverty in 19th century Saint Petersburg. His abysmal financial situati...

THINGS TO DO IN RAWALPINDI Rawalpindi, often referred to as simply Pindi by the locals, is the fourth largest city of Pakistan. Pindi is the sweet mixture of modern and traditional lifestyle.  ANDROON SHEHR Inner city (androon shehr) takes you back in time. From the bustling streets of Raja Bazar to the picturesque alleys of Bhabra bazar, Androon Pindi is a sight one has to experience themselves. The 117 year old Markazi Jamia Masjid is a must visit. If you want to explore the inner city, you better start at the heart of the city: Fawara Chowk. From this junction you can visit Raja bazar, Urdu Bazar, Kalan Bazar, Nankari Bazar, Kashmiri bazar, Kartarpura and the list goes on and on. Bhabra Bazar, Rawalpindi EXPERIENCE THE CUISINE  Grato Jalebi, Sadeeq Halwai, Pappu Soda and Majeed Nihari are some places one must visit at all costs to experience the rich tastes this city has to offer. But the staple food Rawalpindi is known for is no other than Savour Pulao. This light rice dis...