Actress Genelia, Ritesh Deshmukh Marriage Reception Photo
Saudi Prince Salman seen as likely heir to throne
Saudi Arabia's Defence Minister Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, seen as more moderate than his hawkish brother Crown Prince Nayef who died on Saturday, is likely to be anointed heir to the throne of the world's top oil exporter.
Although the choice of a new crown prince must be confirmed by a family allegiance council, analysts said it would be highly surprising if Salman, now 76, was passed over.
"The most obvious candidate is Prince Salman," said Saudi politics professor Khalid al-Dakhil.
If appointed, he is likely to shoulder much of the burden of state immediately, given that King Abdullah is already 89.
An imposing figure, Salman controls one of the Arab world's largest media groups.
He believes that democracy is ill-suited to the conservative kingdom and advocates a cautious approach to social and cultural reform, according to a 2007 U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks.
A familiar figure to the kingdom's top ally - the United States - he is someone with whom Washington would be comfortable doing business.
"It appeared to me he had a good handle on the delicate balancing act he had to do to move society forward while being respectful of its traditions and conservative ways," said Robert Jordan who was U.S. ambassador in Riyadh from 2001-03.
"He doesn't blindly accept everything the United States says, but at the same time he understands the importance of the relationship, which goes beyond oil," Jordan added.
After nearly 50 years as governor of Riyadh province, Prince Salman now controls the big-spending Defence Ministry.
The ministry has long used arms purchases to turn the Saudi armed forces into one of the best equipped in the Middle East and to bolster ties with allies such as the United States, Britain and France.
Since being named defence minister last year, he has been to both Washington and London, meeting President Barack Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron.
A family insider, Salman has been part of the inner circle of the al-Saud ruling family, which founded and still dominates the desert kingdom in alliance with conservative religious clerics, for decades.
In a royal family that bases its right to rule on its guardianship of Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, Salman is reputed to be devout but relatively outward-looking.
"He's not extravagant, whether in his personal life or professionally," said Khaled Almaeena, editor-in-chief of Saudi Gazette, who has known Salman personally for more than three decades.
"He's not a spendthrift and makes sure public money is spent well on projects. If you go to his office he's there every morning meeting people. He has a knack of remembering people and events... He has travelled abroad a lot and is very well read and is very well versed in dealing with the tribes."
Although the choice of a new crown prince must be confirmed by a family allegiance council, analysts said it would be highly surprising if Salman, now 76, was passed over.
"The most obvious candidate is Prince Salman," said Saudi politics professor Khalid al-Dakhil.
If appointed, he is likely to shoulder much of the burden of state immediately, given that King Abdullah is already 89.
An imposing figure, Salman controls one of the Arab world's largest media groups.
He believes that democracy is ill-suited to the conservative kingdom and advocates a cautious approach to social and cultural reform, according to a 2007 U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks.
A familiar figure to the kingdom's top ally - the United States - he is someone with whom Washington would be comfortable doing business.
"It appeared to me he had a good handle on the delicate balancing act he had to do to move society forward while being respectful of its traditions and conservative ways," said Robert Jordan who was U.S. ambassador in Riyadh from 2001-03.
"He doesn't blindly accept everything the United States says, but at the same time he understands the importance of the relationship, which goes beyond oil," Jordan added.
After nearly 50 years as governor of Riyadh province, Prince Salman now controls the big-spending Defence Ministry.
The ministry has long used arms purchases to turn the Saudi armed forces into one of the best equipped in the Middle East and to bolster ties with allies such as the United States, Britain and France.
Since being named defence minister last year, he has been to both Washington and London, meeting President Barack Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron.
A family insider, Salman has been part of the inner circle of the al-Saud ruling family, which founded and still dominates the desert kingdom in alliance with conservative religious clerics, for decades.
In a royal family that bases its right to rule on its guardianship of Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, Salman is reputed to be devout but relatively outward-looking.
"He's not extravagant, whether in his personal life or professionally," said Khaled Almaeena, editor-in-chief of Saudi Gazette, who has known Salman personally for more than three decades.
"He's not a spendthrift and makes sure public money is spent well on projects. If you go to his office he's there every morning meeting people. He has a knack of remembering people and events... He has travelled abroad a lot and is very well read and is very well versed in dealing with the tribes."
Apple, Samsung account for 90%of smart phone profits
Korean mobile maker Samsung and US-based tech giant Apple have captured over half the global market for smart phones and over 90% of its profits, according to a research firm.
According to ABI Research, global smart phone shipments grew 41% year-over-year to 144.6 million in the first quarter of 2012.
The report said that Samsung and Apple accounted for 55% of smartphone shipments and over 90 percent of the market's profits, News24 reports.
The report revealed that Samsung and Apple delivered 43 million and 35 million units in the quarter respectively.
Nokia was third with 11.9 million and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) just behind with 11.1 million.
Of the top ten smartphone makers, only Samsung and Sony saw sequential growth from the fourth quarter, which is traditionally strong, the report said.
According to ABI Research, global smart phone shipments grew 41% year-over-year to 144.6 million in the first quarter of 2012.
The report said that Samsung and Apple accounted for 55% of smartphone shipments and over 90 percent of the market's profits, News24 reports.
The report revealed that Samsung and Apple delivered 43 million and 35 million units in the quarter respectively.
Nokia was third with 11.9 million and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) just behind with 11.1 million.
Of the top ten smartphone makers, only Samsung and Sony saw sequential growth from the fourth quarter, which is traditionally strong, the report said.
Saudi Crown Prince Nayef dies
Saudi Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz, a hard-ine conservative who
is credited with pushing back al Qaeda, has died, Saudi state TV said on
Saturday.
Nayef, who had been named crown prince in October
by his brother the king, was heir to the Saudi throne. State TV is
broadcasting Quran readings as an expression of mourning for the prince,
who died in Geneva, Switzerland.
"It is a shock. We are
knew his health was frail but his death is a shock," Saudi Foreign
Ministry spokesman Osama Nogali told CNN. "We still don't know the
reason behind his death."
The Saudi Press Agency
published a statement from the Royal Court, saying it "condoles the
Saudi people on the deceased prince pray to God to bless his soul and to
reward him for his services to his religion and homeland."
Nayef's body will arrive in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Sunday and will be buried after afternoon prayer in Mecca, Nogali said.
After the funeral, a
period of mourning -- most likely for three days -- will be announced, a
Saudi official told CNN. The official asked not to be named because he
is not authorized to speak to the media.
It is expected that
authorities selected by the king to choose a successor will meet as soon
as the mourning period is over, the official said. A new crown prince
could be named with next three to four days, the source said.
Nayef served as Saudi interior minister since 1975, having overseen the kingdom's counterterrorism efforts.
He also served as deputy premier.
A classified U.S.
Embassy cable leaked by the website WikiLeaks described Nayef as a
hard-line conservative who was lukewarm to King Abdullah's reform
initiatives.
Nayef led the crack down
against hard-ine Islamists who took control of Mecca in 1979, and also
oversaw the smashing of Saudi-based al Qaeda cells in the mid-2000s.
In recent years, his
son, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef has led the Kingdom's fight against al
Qaeda as the elder Nayef seemed to have taken more of back seat.
China launches first woman, first manned docking mission
A Chinese Shenzhou spacecraft carrying a space veteran and two rookies, including China's first female "taikonaut," rocketed into orbit Saturday on a mission to dock with a prototype space station module, an incremental but critical step on the road to building a Mir-class space station later this decade.
Broadcast live on Chinese television, the Long March-2F rocket carrying the three-seat Shenzhou 9 spacecraft roared to life on time and quickly climbed away from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in north central China at 6:37 p.m. local time (GMT+8; 6:37 a.m. EDT), arcing to the east through a cloudless blue sky.
The Shenzhou 9 spacecraft, perched atop a Long March-2F rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in north central China Saturday evening.
(Credit: CCTV)
The mission commander is 46-year-old Jing Haipeng, veteran of China's third and most recent manned mission in 2008 and the first Chinese astronaut to make a return trip to space. His crewmates are both making their first flight: Liu Wang, 43, and Liu Yang, 33, the first female Chinese astronaut. She is an air force major in the People's LIberation Army with 1,680 hours of flying time.
Live television from the spacecraft during the climb to space showed Jing, strapped into the capsule's center seat, with Liu Wang seated to his right and Liu Yang to his left. All three appeared relaxed and in good spirits as they monitored cockpit displays, occasionally waving at the camera.
"I am grateful to the motherland and the people," Liu Yang told reporters during a pre-flight news conference. "I feel honored to fly into space on behalf of hundreds of millions of female Chinese citizens."
Along with achieving the technical goals of the mission, "I want to experience the fantastic environment in space and appreciate the beauty of Earth and our homeland," she said in a report from the Xinhua news agency. "I will live up to your expectations and work with my teammates to complete this space mission."
Joan Johnson-Freese, an expert on China's space program, said Liu Yang's selection "will play well domestically. They're always quoting that Mao said women hold up half of heaven. So this is a big nod to half of 1.3 billion people. It plays well domestically and internationally."
Liu Yang, a 33-year-old Chinese air force major, is the first woman from China to be launched into space. She is seen here during training.
The goal of China's fourth manned space mission is to carry out the first manned rendezvous and docking with the orbiting Tiangong 1 module, a prototype of the much larger laboratory components that will be assembled into an operational space station by the end of the decade, a program that was approved by China's leadership in 1992.
Following a deliberate, step-by-step approach to that long-term goal, China became the third nation, after the United States and the Soviet Union/Russia, to launch a manned spacecraft in October 2003 when Yang Liwei blasted off aboard the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft. Shenzhou 6, carrying two crew members, was successfully launched in October 2005 and Shenzhou 7, carrying a three-man crew -- including Jing Haipeng -- flew in September 2008.
The Tiangong 1 -- "Heavenly Palace" -- research module was launched Sept. 29, 2011, to serve as a target for unmanned and then manned docking missions. One month after Tiangong 1 reached orbit, China launched the unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft, which carried out an automated rendezvous and televised docking with the research module two days later.
"Currently, China is still experimenting with docking technology, which is critical to its ability to transfer people and material from the ground to a long-term outpost in space," wrote Gregory Kulacki in a background paper distributed by the Union of Concerned Scientists.
"Docking requires careful and accurate control of the space capsule to allow it to rendezvous with and attach itself to a port on the station. Experience with docking will also allow China to gain valuable information and experience needed for the design and construction of the space station, which will be assembled from a series of large modules joined together with a similar docking mechanism."
Broadcast live on Chinese television, the Long March-2F rocket carrying the three-seat Shenzhou 9 spacecraft roared to life on time and quickly climbed away from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in north central China at 6:37 p.m. local time (GMT+8; 6:37 a.m. EDT), arcing to the east through a cloudless blue sky.
The Shenzhou 9 spacecraft, perched atop a Long March-2F rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in north central China Saturday evening.
(Credit: CCTV)
The mission commander is 46-year-old Jing Haipeng, veteran of China's third and most recent manned mission in 2008 and the first Chinese astronaut to make a return trip to space. His crewmates are both making their first flight: Liu Wang, 43, and Liu Yang, 33, the first female Chinese astronaut. She is an air force major in the People's LIberation Army with 1,680 hours of flying time.
Live television from the spacecraft during the climb to space showed Jing, strapped into the capsule's center seat, with Liu Wang seated to his right and Liu Yang to his left. All three appeared relaxed and in good spirits as they monitored cockpit displays, occasionally waving at the camera.
"I am grateful to the motherland and the people," Liu Yang told reporters during a pre-flight news conference. "I feel honored to fly into space on behalf of hundreds of millions of female Chinese citizens."
Along with achieving the technical goals of the mission, "I want to experience the fantastic environment in space and appreciate the beauty of Earth and our homeland," she said in a report from the Xinhua news agency. "I will live up to your expectations and work with my teammates to complete this space mission."
Joan Johnson-Freese, an expert on China's space program, said Liu Yang's selection "will play well domestically. They're always quoting that Mao said women hold up half of heaven. So this is a big nod to half of 1.3 billion people. It plays well domestically and internationally."
Liu Yang, a 33-year-old Chinese air force major, is the first woman from China to be launched into space. She is seen here during training.
The goal of China's fourth manned space mission is to carry out the first manned rendezvous and docking with the orbiting Tiangong 1 module, a prototype of the much larger laboratory components that will be assembled into an operational space station by the end of the decade, a program that was approved by China's leadership in 1992.
Following a deliberate, step-by-step approach to that long-term goal, China became the third nation, after the United States and the Soviet Union/Russia, to launch a manned spacecraft in October 2003 when Yang Liwei blasted off aboard the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft. Shenzhou 6, carrying two crew members, was successfully launched in October 2005 and Shenzhou 7, carrying a three-man crew -- including Jing Haipeng -- flew in September 2008.
The Tiangong 1 -- "Heavenly Palace" -- research module was launched Sept. 29, 2011, to serve as a target for unmanned and then manned docking missions. One month after Tiangong 1 reached orbit, China launched the unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft, which carried out an automated rendezvous and televised docking with the research module two days later.
"Currently, China is still experimenting with docking technology, which is critical to its ability to transfer people and material from the ground to a long-term outpost in space," wrote Gregory Kulacki in a background paper distributed by the Union of Concerned Scientists.
"Docking requires careful and accurate control of the space capsule to allow it to rendezvous with and attach itself to a port on the station. Experience with docking will also allow China to gain valuable information and experience needed for the design and construction of the space station, which will be assembled from a series of large modules joined together with a similar docking mechanism."
Police: Breakup led Buffalo doctor to kill lover, self
In the end, the gifted trauma surgeon widely beloved as a lifesaver turned to violence, killing himself with a gunshot to the head as he was being sought in the fatal shooting of his ex-girlfriend.
A two-day nationwide search for Dr. Timothy Jorden ended when police found his body in thick brush a half-mile from his Lake Erie shoreline home. A neighbor had reported hearing a gunshot from the area on Wednesday morning, and police with dogs found the body, dressed in surgical scrubs, on Friday morning.
Authorities had been looking for Jorden since Wednesday morning, when 33-year-old Jacqueline Wisniewski was found shot to death in a stairwell at the Erie County Medical Center, where they both worked. Friends said Wisniewski was afraid of the 49-year-old Jorden and had broken off their relationship some time ago.
Police said Timothy Jorden killed himself with one shot to the head from the .357 Magnum and didn't leave a suicide note. He had withdrawn large sums of money recently and had given friends gifts.
Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda said Jorden went to the hospital with a shotgun and a .357 Magnum pistol intending to kill Wisniewski because of their breakup. Jorden lured her to the hospital basement, where he shot her five times at point-blank range, Derenda said. He then ran from the hospital and drove home, where surveillance video showed him arriving about 30 minutes later.
Just four minutes later, Jorden is seen leaving the house, down a path to a ravine and disappearing into the woods.
Derenda said Jorden killed himself with one shot to the head from the .357 Magnum and didn't leave a suicide note. He had withdrawn large sums of money recently and had given friends gifts.
Police say they found body of fugitive surgeon suspected of murder
As Jorden's tailspin accelerated, friends, neighbors and colleagues painted a picture of a man in decline. Jorden, once 250 pounds and clean-shaven, had lost up to 75 pounds and let his face get scraggly. His neatly manicured lawn got overgrown. He just didn't seem the same; not as "nice" as before, was how neighbor June Dupree put it.
Dupree said she was distraught over what had happened.
"It doesn't make any sense that he did that and that he killed himself," she said. "Oh, my God, it's just terrible. I can't get over it. I'm just about in tears right now."
A two-day nationwide search for Dr. Timothy Jorden ended when police found his body in thick brush a half-mile from his Lake Erie shoreline home. A neighbor had reported hearing a gunshot from the area on Wednesday morning, and police with dogs found the body, dressed in surgical scrubs, on Friday morning.
Authorities had been looking for Jorden since Wednesday morning, when 33-year-old Jacqueline Wisniewski was found shot to death in a stairwell at the Erie County Medical Center, where they both worked. Friends said Wisniewski was afraid of the 49-year-old Jorden and had broken off their relationship some time ago.
Police said Timothy Jorden killed himself with one shot to the head from the .357 Magnum and didn't leave a suicide note. He had withdrawn large sums of money recently and had given friends gifts.
Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda said Jorden went to the hospital with a shotgun and a .357 Magnum pistol intending to kill Wisniewski because of their breakup. Jorden lured her to the hospital basement, where he shot her five times at point-blank range, Derenda said. He then ran from the hospital and drove home, where surveillance video showed him arriving about 30 minutes later.
Just four minutes later, Jorden is seen leaving the house, down a path to a ravine and disappearing into the woods.
Derenda said Jorden killed himself with one shot to the head from the .357 Magnum and didn't leave a suicide note. He had withdrawn large sums of money recently and had given friends gifts.
Police say they found body of fugitive surgeon suspected of murder
As Jorden's tailspin accelerated, friends, neighbors and colleagues painted a picture of a man in decline. Jorden, once 250 pounds and clean-shaven, had lost up to 75 pounds and let his face get scraggly. His neatly manicured lawn got overgrown. He just didn't seem the same; not as "nice" as before, was how neighbor June Dupree put it.
Dupree said she was distraught over what had happened.
"It doesn't make any sense that he did that and that he killed himself," she said. "Oh, my God, it's just terrible. I can't get over it. I'm just about in tears right now."
Max Payne Mobile Now Available For Android Devices; Time For Some Stylish Slow-Mo Action-Shooting!
After quite a few delays, Rockstar has finally
released the popular Action-Shooter Max Payne to Google Play. Max Payne
needs no introduction since chances are you must have you must have
already played the game on your PC in your teens.
Rockstar
has also made sure to optimize the game for Nvidia’s Tegra 3 SoC with
additional antistropic texture filtering and enhanced lighting
experience. Keeping in mind that the game controls might become too
complex for touchscreen gaming, Rockstar has also added support for
external gamepads to make the life of you gamers easy. The developers of
the game have also added Cheat code support in the game along with full
integration with Rockstar’s Social Club.
As of now, Max Payne Mobile is available only for certain Android handsets including the Motorola Droid RAZR/MAXX, Photon, Droid Bionic, HTC Rezound, One X, One S, EVO 3D, Sensation, Droid Incredible 2, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S, Galaxy Note, Galaxy S II, Galaxy R, Xperia Play, and the Xperia S. The game has also been optimized for the Xperia Play’s gamepad.
Rockstar has priced the game at a reasonable $2.99 as well. Before you head over to download the game, make sure that your phone has at least 1.33GB of free space.
Google Play Link
As of now, Max Payne Mobile is available only for certain Android handsets including the Motorola Droid RAZR/MAXX, Photon, Droid Bionic, HTC Rezound, One X, One S, EVO 3D, Sensation, Droid Incredible 2, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S, Galaxy Note, Galaxy S II, Galaxy R, Xperia Play, and the Xperia S. The game has also been optimized for the Xperia Play’s gamepad.
Rockstar has priced the game at a reasonable $2.99 as well. Before you head over to download the game, make sure that your phone has at least 1.33GB of free space.
Google Play Link
Jennifer Lopez' Sheer Catsuit In Panama Channels Britney Spears
Forget colored jeans and bright lipstick. The hottest trend for spring 2012 is dressing like Britney Spears.
No, we don't mean wearing Uggs and tattered jorts. Think 2004. Think the "Toxic" video. Think... catsuit.
Jennifer Lopez brought her newly recharged musical act (and style!) to the Figali Convention Center in Panama part of the Dance Again World Tour on Thursday night and during one of her myriad costume changes, she whipped out this little Zuhair Murad number, which consists of nude mesh, sparkles and not much else.
Thanks to rows of well-placed bling, though, the 42-year-old singer managed to avoid a serious wardrobe malfunction. After all, it's not like this is her first time at the catsuit rodeo; girl's been a big fan for years, whether they're made of leather, cobwebs, -- or even a similar diamond version that she donned at the 2011 American Music Awards.
Sheer bodysuits are having a total renaissance this month. Earlier, Jessica Chastain donned a sheer and sparkly dress to the 2012 Tony Awards that definitely gave us a hint of a Britney vibe.
But hold the phone, everyone. We need to think about the societal repercussions of ladies donning catsuits again. Is fabric about to be "so over"? Will we all start showing up to work with just two rhinestones in place of a bra? How can we make this look work for the office? Next time we run into Anna Wintour, we'll run all these questions by her.
No, we don't mean wearing Uggs and tattered jorts. Think 2004. Think the "Toxic" video. Think... catsuit.
Jennifer Lopez brought her newly recharged musical act (and style!) to the Figali Convention Center in Panama part of the Dance Again World Tour on Thursday night and during one of her myriad costume changes, she whipped out this little Zuhair Murad number, which consists of nude mesh, sparkles and not much else.
Thanks to rows of well-placed bling, though, the 42-year-old singer managed to avoid a serious wardrobe malfunction. After all, it's not like this is her first time at the catsuit rodeo; girl's been a big fan for years, whether they're made of leather, cobwebs, -- or even a similar diamond version that she donned at the 2011 American Music Awards.
Sheer bodysuits are having a total renaissance this month. Earlier, Jessica Chastain donned a sheer and sparkly dress to the 2012 Tony Awards that definitely gave us a hint of a Britney vibe.
But hold the phone, everyone. We need to think about the societal repercussions of ladies donning catsuits again. Is fabric about to be "so over"? Will we all start showing up to work with just two rhinestones in place of a bra? How can we make this look work for the office? Next time we run into Anna Wintour, we'll run all these questions by her.
Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux Match In Rome
It's official: Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux are the matchiest (yes, it's a word) couple in Hollywood.
We first caught on when they ran errands in jeans, black leather jackets, black hats, work boots and dark shades several months ago. Since then, they've been seen in all sorts of coordinating looks, mainly consisting of Jen's beloved jeans and tees and Justin's signature leather jackets.
Currently on a closely chronicled European trip, the attractive pair showed up to the Eiffel Tower in matching black suits (although she chose a tight tank instead of a classic white button-down). Today, they jetted off to Rome in gray tees, Justin pairing his with jeans and Jen wearing a dress version.
Jeans and tees, of course, are a fairly common clothing choice for anyone, couples included. But you'd think Jen and Justin would check with each other before leaving the hotel room, no?
We first caught on when they ran errands in jeans, black leather jackets, black hats, work boots and dark shades several months ago. Since then, they've been seen in all sorts of coordinating looks, mainly consisting of Jen's beloved jeans and tees and Justin's signature leather jackets.
Currently on a closely chronicled European trip, the attractive pair showed up to the Eiffel Tower in matching black suits (although she chose a tight tank instead of a classic white button-down). Today, they jetted off to Rome in gray tees, Justin pairing his with jeans and Jen wearing a dress version.
Jeans and tees, of course, are a fairly common clothing choice for anyone, couples included. But you'd think Jen and Justin would check with each other before leaving the hotel room, no?
'Rock Of Ages' Reviews: What Do The Critics Think Of Tom Cruise's Latest
Rock Of Ages Reviews
"Rock of Ages" is the story of a small-town girl (Julianne Hough) and city boy (Diego Boneta), but it's Tom Cruise who critics are praising most.
"Cruise is without question the best thing about 'Rock of Ages' and certainly the only reason to see it," writes Will Leitch for Deadspin about Cruise's performance as Stacee Jaxx. "It's not necessarily good, but it's insanely watchable, and every scene he's not in, you keep waiting for him to come back."
Echoed Manhola Dargis in the New York Times, "A whispering and writhing Mr. Cruise makes ['Rock of Ages'] watchable."
This is not to say every critic enjoyed Cruise's shirtless take on Stacee Jaxx, a rock god in the mold of Axl Rose.
"He’s fun to watch in his first few scenes, hamming it up as a spoiled rock’n’roll satyr," Movieline critic Stephanie Zacharek notes. "But the role quickly becomes a retread of the one he played in 'Magnolia,' only in a different costume. Cruise can’t hide his cockiness -- it’s in his blood. But even when he tries to kick back and poke fun at himself, he takes the job so seriously that it becomes a sort of grind. There’s nothing sexy about him, unless you find studied posturing erotic."
As for the film itself, there seem to be two camps forming: one which found "Rock of Ages" to be a cheesy -- if overlong at more than two hours -- delight; the other which found it unbearable.
"I haven’t seen a movie this bad since 'Battlefield Earth' and 'Howard the Duck,'" writes New York Observer critic Rex Reed. "The filthy, disgusting script is by three people who should remain nameless, but I can hardly believe one of them is Justin Theroux, a good actor who would do the world a favor if he dropped his laptop off the top of the Chrysler Building." Reed later compares "Rock of Ages" to an iron lung.
"Rock of Ages" is the story of a small-town girl (Julianne Hough) and city boy (Diego Boneta), but it's Tom Cruise who critics are praising most.
"Cruise is without question the best thing about 'Rock of Ages' and certainly the only reason to see it," writes Will Leitch for Deadspin about Cruise's performance as Stacee Jaxx. "It's not necessarily good, but it's insanely watchable, and every scene he's not in, you keep waiting for him to come back."
Echoed Manhola Dargis in the New York Times, "A whispering and writhing Mr. Cruise makes ['Rock of Ages'] watchable."
This is not to say every critic enjoyed Cruise's shirtless take on Stacee Jaxx, a rock god in the mold of Axl Rose.
"He’s fun to watch in his first few scenes, hamming it up as a spoiled rock’n’roll satyr," Movieline critic Stephanie Zacharek notes. "But the role quickly becomes a retread of the one he played in 'Magnolia,' only in a different costume. Cruise can’t hide his cockiness -- it’s in his blood. But even when he tries to kick back and poke fun at himself, he takes the job so seriously that it becomes a sort of grind. There’s nothing sexy about him, unless you find studied posturing erotic."
As for the film itself, there seem to be two camps forming: one which found "Rock of Ages" to be a cheesy -- if overlong at more than two hours -- delight; the other which found it unbearable.
"I haven’t seen a movie this bad since 'Battlefield Earth' and 'Howard the Duck,'" writes New York Observer critic Rex Reed. "The filthy, disgusting script is by three people who should remain nameless, but I can hardly believe one of them is Justin Theroux, a good actor who would do the world a favor if he dropped his laptop off the top of the Chrysler Building." Reed later compares "Rock of Ages" to an iron lung.
