Movie Review
roving eye
The Departed
Reviewed by Afia Ahmad

It's a tale of Boston Irish tough guys on both sides of the law. Matt Damon gives the best performance of his career as the creepy and conceited young wise guy Colin Sullivan, who becomes the protégé of South Boston's biggest gangster: ageing sociopath Frank Costello played by Jack Nicholson.

Costello secretly sponsors Colin through police academy to become his personal executive-class snitch on the inside. Meanwhile, Leonardo DiCaprio is William Costigan, a moody kid who is genuinely trying to make it over to the right side of the track with a career in the police. He is headhunted by senior intelligence officers, fatherly Martin Sheen and his attack-dog lieutenant Mark Wahlberg, who offer him a new opportunity: use his family connections and credibility to go into deep cover in Costello's gang.

Nicholson, it should be stressed, is definitely the most eye-catching presence. He tends to overshadow the central thrust of the film - the cat-and-mouse relationship between Leonardo DiCaprio's undercover cop and Matt Damon's corrupt one, as they respectively labour to protect Nicholson's hide and bring him to justice.

Buffed up and goatee'd, DiCaprio delivers one of his most mature performances to date as the honest cop forced to sacrifice his principles for the greater good. Damon, meanwhile, skilfully uses his fresh-faced charm to make his two-faced crook even more diabolical, even if we never quite swallow his slavish devotion to Nicholson's flamboyantly evil mobster.

The movie is a classy remake of 2002 Hong Kong hit 'Infernal Affairs' and in a nutshell, watching this is real pleasure!

Book Review
Up on Cloud Nine
Author: Anne Fine

Reviewed by Iqra Asad

Meet Stol. He's the philosopher, probing the very pinnacles of truth. He's the dreamer, weaver of worlds, riding high on the waves of imagination. He's the discoverer, the charter of maps into territories of thoughts unknown. He's the planner, the investigator and the spinner of theories. He's stubborn, wilful, crafty, naive and forgetful. More than this all, he's also very special. And that's what this book's all about.

This book explores different aspects of Stol's life.  We see Stol through the eyes of Ian, his best friend and constant companion, who worries and speculates about Stol in his own characteristic way. Anne Fine's ticklish and thought-provoking observations on modern life and life in general are sprinkled profusely throughout the book.

The story is as deep as the main character, winding its way almost imperceptibly to a fitting end. No thrills or frills; the story is absolutely independent of the suspense-riddled plots that constitute the major hooking-factor of most stories. Undoubtedly there are chills, for Stol has a morbid streak that comes through in the form of gloomy and ghastly stories fit to please the greatest chill-guzzler. The other, softer tones of the book serve to smooth over these morbid tones and prevent them from becoming too disturbing.

The book is adequately sized, in the sense that it will not scare away those who prefer light reading, and its easily digestible language is fit for a wide range of readers. However, I would not recommend the book to one below thirteen, as it must be read with the mind and eyes open to such an extent that cannot be developed without a certain measure of maturity. You cannot get the full gist of this story if you do not take in every word, for it has much to say to those who hear.