Category: Lookit!

Categories
Watch

Benedict Cumberbatch comes to Mumbai

…via a live screening of his new play, ‘Hamlet’ at the Godrej Dance Theatre, the NCPA, this evening and tomorrow.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The man who took the world by storm by playing the titular role in the BBC One series Sherlock is in Mumbai. Well, not really. For those who are suffering from Benedict Cumberbatch withdrawal symptoms (S04 of Sherlock screens not before next year), the NCPA has a bit of a repreive.

Cumberbatch can be seen at the NCPA this evening and tomorrow as he portrays Hamlet in the Barbican production of William Shakespeare’s most popular play, ‘Hamlet‘. The play will be screened for audiences at the venue. For the uninitiated, the story of Hamlet goes thus: ‘As a country arms itself for war, a family tears itself apart. Forced to avenge his father’s death but paralysed by the task ahead, Prince Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the State.’

 

The British actor has won rave reviews for his portrayal of the Prince of Darkness, in a return to theatre alongside a trailblazing career in film and television. The play has now stopped production in the UK while the lead actor returns to his film duties in Hollywood, but it is being screened all over the world in association with the National Theatre Live.

Head to the Godrej Dance Theatre, NCPA today, Friday, November 11, 2015 and tomorrow Saturday, November 12, at 7 pm. Tickets cost Rs 500.

(Picture courtesy www.telegraph.co.uk)

Categories
Tech

Review: Samsung Galaxy Note5

This phone mostly performs well but stutters on a few basic parameters. It’s highly recommended for its display and camera.
by Manik Kakra | @Manik_K on Twitter

The Note series is perhaps the most popular line-up of smartphones that Samsung has produced in terms of dominance, incorporating a larger screen, a stylus, and various design parameters. Now, as almost all phone manufacturers have a large phone in their hand, what does Samsung have in store for us that others don’t?

The looks. Samsung changed its design philosophy for its high-end smartphones late last year, and this year it decided to continue on that path with the Galaxy S6, S6 edge and S6 Edge+, and now with the Note5. If you remember the Note 4, it had a plastic textured back that was removable, but the Note5 sports a shiny metallic and glass back that tapers on both sides, giving the phone a pretty premium feel, but also making it a lot slippery than its predecessor. The back is also reflective and catches fingerprints and smudges quickly.

The protruding camera at the back is joined by LED flash, heart rate monitor and the Samsung logo. The phone’s front resembles a typical Samsung Android phone with its familiar oval-shaped Home button (doubles up as the fingerprint scanner) surrounded by Recent Apps List and Back keys that light up just the right amount you would want; front-facing camera, visible sensors, ear-grille, LED notification right above the 5.7-inch Super AMOLED panel.

Things become even more interesting at the bottom: 3.5mm headset jack, microUSB port, loudspeaker, primary mic, and the S Pen placed neatly into its place. The top gets nano SIM slot and secondary mic.

Screen. The Note5, just like the Note 4, sports a 5.7-inch quad HD (2560×1440) Super AMOLED, but it’s slightly better this time, in my opinion. Samsung has been doing great work when it comes to phone screens and it shows with the Note5. This screen has deep Black colours you normally associate with AMOLEDs, as well as rich and vivid colours fairly more accurate than the Note 4’s screen. High resolution videos and images look great and the screen is much usable under sunlight. The Note5’s screen is undoubtedly among the best smartphone screens we have seen and that isn’t just because of its resolution, but also about sharpness, visibility, dimness for using in dark conditions.

Battery. The phone is equipped with a 3,000 mAh battery unit, which is a little smaller than the Note 4’s, but I found its battery life to be satisfactory. More often than not, with moderate usage and screen brightness at 20% level, the phone lasted me almost a full day (four hours of screen on time). But with a lot of HD videos and games, prepare to put it on charge within 15 hours. What makes things better is the quick charging feature that means getting 0 to full charge in a little about 70 minutes. The device also supports wireless charging for those that have a Qi standard wireless charging pad.

Sound. The loudspeaker at the bottom is quite loud and clear, but due to its placement you may often put your hand over it while watching videos or games in landscape mode. Otherwise, it does a really good job of handling sound and not distorting most of the times. Connectivity-wise, I didn’t find much of a problem with WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G, though I did find network reception to be a little on the downside when used underground compared to other phones (apparently improved with the last firmware update).

Camera. The Galaxy Note5 features a 16 MP (f/1.9) camera (OIS) with an LED flash. Here are a few sample images.

This camera can take really nice and detailed shots in almost any situation. Images look sharp even in low-light. Its camera app has a lot of modes including manual mode to give you a host of controls while taking a shot. It even has a Live YouTube broadcast feature where you can directly broadcast something to YouTube using your Note5 (similar to what we saw on the Xperia Z3). You can also choose to get RAW (DNG) images for extensive editing. I found Double-tapping the Home button for opening the camera app useful and mostly lag-free. The front-facing 5 MP (f/1.9) camera is more than capable to handle your selfies and video calls.

Software and performance. Under the hood, the Note5 boasts Samsung’s own Exynos 7420 SoC (2.1 GHz octa-core processor, Mali-T760 GPU) along with 4 GB of RAM. There is 24 GB of internal storage available (32 Gb model) and you cannot expand it as there is no microSD card slot for the first time on a Note device. Every buyer gets free 100 GB of storage on OneDrive, though. Like the Galaxy S6, there is UFS 2.0 for internal flash storage, meaning faster read and write speeds as well as improved OS performance. The phone runs on Android 5.1.1 with TouchWiz UI on top.

For every day performance, I had no issues with playing games or watching high resolution videos. A slight issue is with animations and switching between apps not being very smooth. Mind you, this is a top-end device, so your expectations are just that little more than those priced significantly below. While multiple tabs and pre-loaded apps work mostly as you like, there’s often stuttering in general UI that seems to be TouchWiz’s fault. It’s quite disappointing that a device this powerful inside has this minor issue that, while not everybody may notice, some who care about their phone’s regular performance, especially when paying this much, will feel their overall experience being a little low on the scale.

The S Pen is a lot more natural to use now and the added feature where you can pull out S Pen and straight away write something on the screen without having to unlock the screen is a useful addition.

The Note5 has two sides to it: hardware – top of the line hardware inside, fine, premium design and build, and better S Pen, fantastic camera and top-notch screen; software – can handle games and video apps fine, but stutters when switching between apps or less-than fluid animation in a few apps. For those looking to get a phablet, and don’t care much about the aesthetic and build may look at the Note 4, but those who are okay with no storage expansion and want a no-compromise display and camera, should consider this Note5 provided you have Rs. 52,000 to spend.

(Pictures courtesy Manik Kakra)

Categories
Film

Review: Hotel Transylvania 2

This week’s release is a sequel to ‘Hotel Transylvania’, an animated monster comedy that children will surely love to watch.
by Ravi Shet

Rating: 3 out of 5

This one is an ideal Diwali entertainer for the little ones: it combines animation, a story about ‘fitting in’ and vampires in the age of the Internet.

With the approval of her father Count Dracula (voiced by Adam Sandler), vampire Mavis (Selena Gomez) gets married to the human Johnny (Andy Samberg). Mavis gives birth to a son named Dennis, but Dracula worries that his grandson might not gain vampire powers, since he is approaching his fifth birthday and still has not sprouted fangs. Mavis wants to raise her son in the land where Johnny grew up, but her father wishes to transform his grandson into a blood thirsty vampire.

Dracula devises a plan to ‘babysit’ Dennis – he wants to train him into vampirehood with the help of his friends – Wayne the Werewolf (Steve Buscemi), Frankenstein (Kevin James), Murray the Mummy (Keegan Michael Key), Griffin the Invisible Man (David Spade) and Blobby the Blob (Jonny Solomon).

 

Dracula takes little Dennis to the summer camp where he perfected his own vampire abilities, only to get disappointed on learning that the camp is no longer as dangerous as it was in the past. In desperation, Dracula flings Dennis from a tall tower to force his transformation into a bat, but rescues him at the last moment. This incident is captured by campers and is uploaded on the Internet. The clip reaches Mavis and Johnny who immediately rush to Transylvania – Mavis makes the journey as a bat carrying Johnny because there are no flights to Transylvania available.

A stellar cast is ably supported by fast paced action, excellent animation and witty dialogue. Adam Sandler is the most impressive as Dracula. The film has many LOL moments and will do well with children.

(Picture courtesy www.forbes.com)

Categories
Event

Two women exhibit in solo shows in Mumbai

Mumbai artistes Harshada Tondwalkar and Mithu Biswas present solo painting shows in the city. Do not miss either of them.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The exhibition and painting scene is hotting up in Mumbai, and there are many shows to attend this season. Two Mumbai-based women, both of them painters, have set up solo shows in the city.

Artist Harshada Tondwalkar’s much awaited solo show ‘Krishnamay Radha’ opens today at The Leela, showcasing 12 of her artworks. An alumnus of the JJ School of Art, Harshada has been building a steady repertoire of acclaimed work over the years. She has participated in several group exhibitions with contemporary artistes, but this is her second solo showing. “The artworks are based on the mythological theme of Krishna’s escapades with his beloved Radha,” she explains.

“All of them are oil paint on canvas. The love between Radha and Krishna fascinated me and spoke to me. They were not married, they were lovers, sharing a kind of love that cannot be seen anywhere else,” she adds. Harshada has used a colourful palette, with meticulous detailing and a different story in each painting.

Meanwhile, artiste Mithu Biswas’ solo showing ‘Chasing the time’ stems from her parents admonishing her in her mithu01childhood. “They would keep saying, ‘Don’t waste time!’ but I never understood the idea of time then. I later realised how important time is in our lives. Time doesn’t wait for you, it is the most valuable resource in our lives. Through my series, I wanted to show this concept through a horse, drawing imagery of speed that cannot be reined in.”

Mithu is an alumnus of Government College of Art and Craft, Kolkata and set up a permanent studio in Mumbai in 2009. Her solo show is up at Kamalnayan Bajaj Gallery, Bajaj Bhavan, Nariman Point.

Categories
Tech

Review: Oppo R7 Lite

Less than good performance and a few design stutters mar what could have been a really good smartphone by Oppo.
by Manik Kakra | @Manik_K on Twitter

Oppo has been in the Indian market for a bit now, and while it hasn’t been a smash hit among customers, it has usually done well on design and features. Let’s see if the new R7 Lite is worth your Rs. 17,900 or not.

The looks. The Oppo R7 Lite (R7kf) has an all-around metal body with Gorilla Glass 3 on the front that curves around edges to give a nice feel when swiping near edges. The front has a small LED notification, an 8 MP camera, ear-speaker grille and sensors above the 5-inch HD AMOLED, and three capacitive keys — Options/Menu, Home and Back — that aren’t backlit. The Silver metal structure follows from the back and sides — with separate volume buttons and SIM and microSD card slots (micro + nano or microSD) on right, and Power/Lock key on the left side. On the back, you have the protruding 13 MP camera with an LED flash.

At 147 grams, it isn’t a heavy phone and is pretty thin, too. It has a familiar angular look that we have seen with previous Oppo phones and that means uncomfortable pocket baggage for some.

Screen. The device has a 5-inch (1280 x 720) AMOLED that has Gorilla Glass 3 on top. The screen is certainly not very high resolution compared to most smartphones in this price range today, but it does perform well when it comes to rich colours for images, videos and even text. The display does a decent job under sunlight, but many people may find its resolution to not be at par.

The device has a protruding camera at the back

Camera. On the back, there is a 13 MP (f/2.2) camera. Here are a few sample images.

I thought the camera app had plenty of modes to choose from. You get options like RAW mode, expert mode for more control, among the usual HDR, Oppo’s Ultra HD, etc. To try. As you can see, the camera performs well enough in daylight and can give good detailed shots, but struggles in macro and sharpness under low-light conditions. It isn’t the best smartphone camera under Rs. 20,000 today, but is surely a capable one for most use cases.

Sound. The loudspeaker on the back does a good job of giving punchy, clear sound for videos and games, but its placement (lower back) isn’t ideal for daily use. Basics like call quality, network reception and Bluetooth or WiFi connectivity worked fine, though for some absurd reason the phone doesn’t have a WPS option under WiFi, which is a basic thing for smartphones these days.

Battery life. The phone is equipped with a 2,320 mAh battery unit. The phone struggled to last a day (single SIM card) on moderate to heavy usage, but did show good standby time. It’s quite clear the battery really struggles when the screen is on for a longer time even with brightness level under 30%. Though the last firmware update did make the phone a bit more battery optimised, don’t expect much more from it. But the Power-saving mode might come in handy if you aren’t playing games of watching HD videos.

Software and performance. The R7 Lite is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 615 chipset Snapdragon 615 SoC (1.5 GHz quad core + 1 GHz quad core processor, Adreno 405 GPU), along with 2 GB of RAM. It runs on Oppo’s ColorOS 2.1.0i that’s based on Android 5.1.1. It’s good to see the company being serious about the base Android version and not shipping new phones that are running something far from latest. The look and feel of ColorOS is unchanged except for the notification bar, which now also gives you actions right under notifications just like other smartphones today.

The whole OS seems quite consistent, while much different from stock Android, its big bold icons, fonts are not really bad and kind of fit in well most of the times. The phone really loses out on everyday usage. It is fine for a few apps, but it struggles to keep up when you play a game. Frame rates drop and the phone really heats up. At this price point, it is disappointing to have this experience, and I am sure the 615 chipset (as with other phones having one of these) should be given some blame, and I would have really liked had Oppo gone with a better chipset even if it was last generation’s high-end one.

To sum up, the Oppo R7 Lite seems like a nice phone in terms of design and build quality. While it has average battery life, good screen, and a capable camera, its performance issues make it hard to recommend with the given price tag considering the likes of the Xiaomi Mi4, OnePlus One and Nexus 5 are priced similarly these days.

Categories
Film

Review: Titli

A superb directorial debut and excellent performances are just two reasons to watch this remarkable film about a dysfunctional Delhi family.
by Ravi Shet

Rating: 4/5

This is a film that takes you to the narrow bylanes of Delhi, with its small, packed houses. One of these houses belongs to Titli (Shashank Arora) and his family of car-jackers. Titli is desperate to escape from his criminal family and plans to invest money in a shopping mall parking lot.

Vikram (Ranvir Shorey) is Titli’s oldest brother; he is abusive and short tempered, and his wife and daughter leave him because of this. Pradeep aka Bawla (Amit Sial) is the second brother who is often the mediator between Vikram and Titli, while their father (Lalit Behl) is the silent type, maintaining his peace with a cup of tea even in the midst of huge fights between brothers – stepping in only to give wicked suggestions.

Titli is a part of their newest car-jacking plan; he asks for a lift from a car that slows down but does not stop. Vikram and Bawla ride past on a scooter, intercept the car and break the windshield before Bawla and Titli flee with it. However, the car soon meets with an accident near a police check post, but the duo is released after they bribe the cops. Titli soon discovers that Rs 3 lakh is missing from his bag; this is the first time his brothers hear of the money and they realise that Titli is saving up to escape them.

 

Instead, they persuade him to get married – they reason that a woman can be useful to their work in conning people. Titli soon marries Neelu (Shivani Raghuvanshi) who is in love with a married man, Prince (Prashant Singh). Titli tells Neelu that he will help her unite with Prince – but first, she must hand over her fixed deposit money. She agrees.

First time director Kanu Behl impresses with his tight grip on the subject and shines a spotlight on the realities of families that are driven by the lust of money and harmful to their own. Debutants Shashank Arora and Shivani Raghuvanshi are confident, while the best performances come from Ranvir Shorey and Amit Sial. Without a doubt, this is one of the best films released this year – it will stay with you long after you leave the cinema hall.

(Picture courtesy www.india.com)

Exit mobile version