Is “The Happening” really that bad?
Not really. I went in expecting nothing and was fairly surprised by an unusual but fairly engaging B-grade scifi flick. In markets abroad, free of the American media hype, it even beat “The Hulk” in box office receipts, the caveat being “The Hulk” had a better per screen performance. [Variety]
Would I recommend it? As long as you’re not expecting another “Sixth Sense”, absolutely. It’s a scifi version of “No Country for Old Men”, slow-developing story and plenty of suspense, disappointing ending included. No brainy material just pure entertainment. I would compare it to Shyamalan’s “Signs”, which I also liked.
Read a detailed review of “The Happening” by Runa.
Nipa on “The Next Food Network Star”
After last week’s on screen meltdown, which nearly eliminated her, Nipa kept a relatively low profile this weekend. In the first Potato challenge, where the contestants had to come up with a potato dish in short order, Nipa made a Gujarati potato dish “Bateta nu Shaak”. The judges loved it. The second challenge was a relatively tougher challenge where the contestants had to create a sauce and brand it. After grabbing all the cayenne pepper in the store, Nipa created a “Spicy Peanut Sauce” brand which did not go well with the audience. Her marketing of the product was also fairly lackluster. She was voted to stay and is now in the top 7.
The problem with Nipa is that she doesn’t have the kind of bubbly hyperactive warm personality that Food Network viewers are used to seeing. To her credit, she had a clear agenda in mind – to be Food Network’s first Indian cuisine host. Will she make it? Stay tuned.
Other desi-related stuff in entertainment news: [tip S.I. of Desi Manifesto]
“Little Mosque on the Prairie” on FOX?
FOX has acquired the rights for the Canadian show “Little Mosque on the Prairie” [link]. It’ll be really interesting to see how a Muslim based show will fit in with the conservative base of FOX studios which is largely fed a steady diet of neo-con porn like “24″. I never had the opportunity to watch “Little Mosque” but my understanding is that it’s an “Aliens in America” like show which gives a great treatment to the issues of Muslims in a largely western culture.
Aziz Ansari on “The Office” spinoff
Aziz Ansari of the NBC comedy “Human Giant” is all set to join an ensemble of actors for a potential spin off of the popular comedy “The Office” [link]. Vera Chokalingam a.k.a Mindy Kaling already plays the role of Kelly Kapoor on current episodes of “The Office”.
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