At Least Justin Bieber Likes 'After Earth'

Can the Biebs give a boost to Jaden's movie? (Photo: Columbia/ Getty) 

  As a pal of star Jaden Smith, the Biebs is being supportive about the release of the already    much-reviled film "After Earth" and is encouraging everyone to see it via Twitter:

Everyone go see #AfterEarth this weekend. @officialjaden we got u. #supportyourfriends
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) May 30, 2013

It's nice of him. Especially since no one else is being anywhere near as nice about the M. Night Shyamalan-directed sci-fi flick that reunites father-son duo Will Smith and Jaden Smith, the co-stars of "The Pursuit of Happyness."
"You know you're in trouble when you find yourself feeling sorry for one of the world's wealthiest teenagers," wrote Alfonso Duralde at The Wrap. "And you're definitely in trouble when you wish the mess of a movie he stars in could be as entertainingly rotten as 'Battlefield Earth.'"
[Oof, a "Battlefield Earth" reference ... never a good sign.]
Lou Lumenick of the New York Post kept up his publication's reputation for pun-happy headlines with "The Son Don't Shine on Smith's 'After Earth,'" going on to say that the film is "Smith and his real-life son, Jaden (both affecting ridiculous mid-Atlantic accents) talking the audience to death for something like 90 minutes before the closing credits." Lumenick also says he gave the film a rating of one star out of four simply because "Smith's longtime enablers at Sony apparently encouraged him to whittle this humorless sci-fi epic down from a much longer movie."
Director M. Night Shyamalan, whose name is conspicuously missing from all of the film's marketing materials, gets blasted by Lou, too. "Eleven years and several progressively more dreadful movies after 'Signs,' director M. Night Shyamalan would be lucky to get a gig directing traffic," he wrote. Meanwhile, Dustin Putnam says the film "bears the mark of a work-for-hire who has all but given up."
Really, several critics are having a field day with this one, taking off the gloves for what looks to be the summer movie season's first official disaster.
"The level to which 'After Earth' is a catastrophe is amazing," wrote Laremy Lagel of Film.com, saying that the film is "terrible right from the outset, and woe be upon the person who holds out hope that it will get better after the initial wobbly start."
 
                                 

Jaden and Justin, friends indeed (Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty)Colin Covert of the Minneapolis StarTribune digs even deeper by mentioning the film in the same sentence as the man whom many consider to be the Worst Director of All Time. "'After Earth'" is a work of hubris magnified by multiple miscalculations, the kind of film that would cause Ed Wood to excuse himself and skulk to the exit."
The on-screen pairing up of father and son also seems to add an uncomfortable and distracting layer to the proceedings for some critics.
"As Will Smith coldly instructs [Jaden Smith] to feel, to root in this moment now, to master his own creation, I felt the purest horror I ever have at a Shyamalan film: What if this is what Jaden Smith's life is actually like?," wrote Alan Scherstuhl of the Village Voice, quite the companion piece observation to Duralde at The Wrap pointing out that "'After Earth' tells the story of an inexperienced boy trying desperately to please his father while making one mistake after another, and as such, it becomes an uncomfortable metaphor for itself."
The most creative slam currently goes to Peter Sobczynski of eFilmCritic.com, who manages to conjure a comparison to the wretched "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" video game created for the Atari 2600 over 30 years ago. "Watching 'After Earth' is not only akin to watching someone playing the old 'E.T.' game that Atari put out back in the day but it is one of the few entertainment experiences that compares unfavorably to that legendary betrayal of audience goodwill," Sobczynski writes.

Jaden Smith in Columbia Pictures' "After Earth" - 2013

"After Earth" has some supporters, though. Jordan Hoffman of ScreenCrush admits that it's "dumb" and "asinine" but also "thrilling and adventuresome" and, ultimately, "good fun." Michael Phillips of Chicago Tribune actually praises Shyamalan's work as director and says the film is "attractive." And Michelle Alexandria of Eclipse Magazine says the movie "spent a lot of time teetering on the verge of failure but both Smiths do enough to pull it back and make it fairly enjoyable."And then there's Justin Bieber, who like the elder Smith is quite the formidable and influential celebrity, encouraging us all to go see it. But will a handful of "it's not so bad" reviews and Biebs' blessing be enough to salvage this cinematic crash-landing? Maybe the Smith Men will rise to the occasion after all.


 By Bryan Enk | Movie Talk 
source:movies.yahoo.com

Owner Of Amigo Stores and Wonderland, Tahir Hotel Arrested

The military Joint Task Force (JTF) has arrested a Lebanese co-owner of Amigo Supermarket and Wonderland Amusement Park in Abuja, Fauzi Fawaz, following his alleged implication in ownership of a large cache of weapons of different types and calibre.

A report also indicated that a Lebanese owner of Tahir Palace Hotel in Kano, Tahir Fadallah, had also been arrested over his alleged involvement in the import of weapons.

But as at press time, there was a conflicting report on whether or not Fadallah had been arrested.

According to a military source, one of the suspects had been linked to a serving governor in one of the north–west states.

The weapons were uncovered at an underground bunker at No. 3 Gaya Road, off Bompai Road in Kano, after a combined team of the JTF involving soldiers from 3 Brigade in Kano and Kano DSS conducted a thorough search of the bunker.

Another Lebanese, Talal Roda, with a Nigerian passport, was said to have been arrested at the underground bunker by the military operatives.

The weapons recovered include anti-tank weapons, rocket-propelled guns, anti-tank/anti-personnel mines and other dangerous weapons. All the arms and ammunition recovered were properly concealed with several layers of concrete and placed in coolers, drums and bags neatly wrapped.

The discovery of the weapons also confirms the existence of Hezbollah terrorist cells in Nigeria.

The owner of Amigo Supermarket was arrested on May 16, 2013, and he was said to have implicated the owner of Tahir Palace Hotel.

Kano State director of the State Security Service, Mr Bassey Etang, also revealed that the owner of the weapons discovered has Hezbollah links.

All those arrested have confessed to have undergone Hezbullah terrorism training and further implicated one Fauzi Fawaz, also a co-owner of Amigo Supermarket and Wonderland Amusement Park.

The arms and ammunition were targeted at facilities of Israeli and Western interest in Nigeria. However, the security agencies are making frantic efforts to unveil the true situation.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the house where the weapons were uncovered was less than 500 meters away from the Kano State police headquarters, Bompai, and Immigration and Customs headquarters.

While conducting journalists round the house, the state SSS director, Bassey Etang, described the discovery as a huge success. He said the owner of the house, who is still at large, could be a dangerous terrorist with the ill-intention to attack Nigeria’s interest in disguise of attacking Israeli or foreign interests.

LEADERSHIP witnessed the deceitful way the man at large stockpiled the weaponry inside a hole about 12 feet deep in his master bedroom. It was observed that some cupboards attached to the wall in some parts of the house contained a stock of guns and armoury.

LEADERSHIP saw ammunition, dynamites used to make explosives and containers used in stocking the ammunition. AK 47 rifles were in large quantity and there were weapons that were not usually seen in the hands of even insurgents or armed robbers.

Meanwhile, the brigade commander, 3rd Brigade, Nigerian Army, Brig-Gen IIyasu   Abba, has described the cache of weapons as equal to weapons of mass destructions, considering their quantities and nature.

The 3rd Brigade commander added that the investigation that led to the discovery started in Abuja by the SSS and it was as a result of an arrest of a suspect.

Abba said among the weapons discovered during the operation on Tuesday were 17 AK 47 rifles, 44 magazines, four land mines and 12 RPG bombs, 14 RPG charger, 11 66 mm anti-tanks weapons, one SMG magazine, one pistol and magazine.

Also, 11, 433 rounds of 7.26 mm special, 76 hand grenade, rocket-propelled guns, 122-calibre artillery and anti-mines weapons were recovered.

“What you are seeing here are weapons of mass destruction in terms of our situation here right now in Nigeria. If these things had been brought out, only God knows the type of destruction they would cause to innocent persons in the state or in the country,’’ he said.

He said the Department of State Security Service (SSS) in Abuja had been investigating the case for a long time.

State director of the SSS Mr Ettang said that the three suspects had a link to the Hezbollah group in Lebanon.

According to him, the suspects have for a long time been using the bunker in the house to stockpile arms and ammunition.

He restated the commitment of the SSS and other security agencies to continue with the ongoing war on criminals nationwide.

How Abdullahi Tahini was arrested at Kano airport

On hearing the news of arms discovery, Abdullahi Tahini, a close accomplice of Tahir Fadallah, made a call to one Ibrahim Musty, who is a manager of one of Fadallah’s cafe and ice cream joint.

Tahini also promised Musty $20, 000 if he could arrange his safe trip out of the country through the afternoon Egypt Air scheduled for Cairo.

Musty agreed and promised to ensure Tahini’s safe trip out of the country but, unknown to Tahini, Musty himself had been under surveillance and had been in contact with the men of the JTF in the state.

Tahini refused to tell Musty his whereabouts until he had assured him of his tickets and travel details. He then asked Musty to meet him at the BQ of a travel agency along Airport Road in Kano.

Musty met him there and drove Tahini straight to the JTF men who were waiting at the airport.

A reliable source told LEADERSHIP that the Ukrainian cargo plane full of arms that was impounded in Kano in 2009 had a strong link with Tahir Fadallah.

The Lebanese kingpin used his connection to wriggle out of the mess then but has been on the watchful eye of the security service ever since.

Security operatives attached to the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) had on the early morning of July 17, 2009, impounded a Ukrainian cargo plane loaded with a range of sophisticated weapons.

The cargo plane with registration number UR-CAK and a crew of four made a technical landing in Kano at about 2am on that day.

Security sources at the airport said that the circumstances of the landing made curious security operatives on duty to undertake a full search of the cargo plane and its contents.

It was further gathered that, in the course of the search, the security operatives discovered and assorted sophisticated arms and ammunition in several quantities.

Consequently, all four crew members were arrested and taken out of public glare, ostensibly for questioning. A Nigerian, Ibrahim Musty (he was not manager then), the same manager of Fadallah’s ice cream shop, claimed to be a clearing agent was seen making frantic moves to secure the release of the cargo plane. He was also taken into custody then.

By: Abubakar Salihi

source:leadership.ng 

On bail for 19 years, son born in jail works to raise bond for mother

                                     

 (CNN) -- In a story that could step straight from the pages of a Charles Dickens novel, an Indian son has worked night and day in a garment factory to earn the bail money to get his mother out of jail.

This month, after ceaseless work stitching in the textile factory, Kanhaiya Kumari, 19, raised the 5,000 rupees (about $89) needed to pay his mother's surety.

His mother Vijaya Kumari, 48, was five months pregnant with Kanhaiya when she was arrested in 1993 in connection with the murder of a neighbor in India's Aligarh district, according to CNN   affiliate IBN.

Girl Found Dead In Her Boyfriend's Bathtub

Authorities are trying to determine what killed a paralegal found dead in the bathtub at her boyfriend's Philadelphia condo days short of her 27th birthday.

Julia Law had been dating prominent lawyer Charles Peruto, Jr. for about six weeks when her body was discovered in his condo by a maintenance worker Saturday morning, WPVI reported.

Law had also been working for Peruto's firm as a paralegal.

The maintenance worker said he found Law naked and facedown in a bathtub full of water, NBC Philadelphia reported, and he immediately called 911.

Train derails in Lagos

A section of a train returning from Ijoko in Lagos State to its base at Ebutte Metta, Lagos on Wednesday derailed at Agege.

The incident which occurred between 11.30pm and 12.30am was said to have been caused by defective tracks.

As of 11am on Wednesday, the scene of the accident had been cordoned off by policemen from the Railway police.

An employee of the National Railway Corporation told PUNCH Metro, on the condition of anonymity, that the driver of the locomotive also shared the blame in  the accident.

Reps Order Immediate Suspension Of $40 Million Internet Surveillance Contract

The House of Representatives has ordered the immediate suspension of the $40 million (N6 billion) internet surveillance contract awarded secretly by the Nigerian government to an Israeli firm.

A house resolution approved Thursday, said no further action should be taken on the controversial spy project, which has sparked national fury, until three house committees complete an investigation in three weeks.

Man Found Dead In House Full Of Snakes (Photos)

Police looking for a missing man were shocked to find him dead in his home — surrounded by over forty giant snakes.

Many of the reptiles, including a 30ft anaconda and four 35ft pythons, were slithering free around the decomposing body when police entered snake fan Heiko Rieder's apartment in Straubing, Germany.

A fire service spokesman said: "At least one was as thick as a human thigh."

Warren Buffett hears a pitch for a cupcake company from local fifth grader

When Krissa Hillman met Warren Buffett last week, the 11-year-old gave him a chocolate cupcake.
“He loved it,” she said. “When he tasted it, all he said was, ‘Mmmm.’”

Krissa was in Omaha pitching her venture, Cupcakes for Literacy, to the billionaire investor as part of a competition hosted by the animated television show “Secret Millionaire’s Club.” The fifth-grader at Bollman Bridge Elementary School in Jessup was one of 14 students selected to present their ideas to a panel of judges.

Application into Nigerian Navy (graduate entry)

Application into Nigerian Navy (graduate entry) starts 3 Jun to 12 Jul 13. Aptitude Test on 20 Jul 13.

APPLICATIONS ARE INVITED FROM QUALIFIED NIGERIANS FOR DIRECT SHORT SERVICE COMMISSION INTO THE NIGERIAN NAVY IN THE UNDER-LISTED DEPARTMENTS: