Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel is the sequel to 2007’s Alvin and the Chipmunks. Starring Jason Lee, David Cross and the voice of Justin Long, Anna Faris, Christina Applegate, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel opens on Christimas day, 2009.

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Xiao Fang, a 14-year-old boy from Xingwen in eastern China has been drinking gasoline for five years in the hope of becoming a Transformers, a report has claimed. The boy consumed the petrol to obtain energy and become a “valiant fighter” like Optimus Prime, after watching the animated version of the successful film franchise, his father told Shanghai Daily.

The drinking pattern began in 2004 when the teenager’s mother owned a grocery stall, while she noticed that lighters were going missing from the stand.

“He began to drink gasoline five years ago, when we found (out) he liked smelling lighter fuel,” his dad said. “Afterwards, we found our motorcycle’s gasoline was always disappearing, and one day when we found the boy had drunk a half bottle of gasoline stolen from the motorcycle, we were too shocked to say anything.”

“Since my son started to drink gas, his IQ has dropped sharply and now he can’t figure out simple addition and subtraction. Before that, he was a very smart boy, and he could even repair the television. But now he does not know the answer of 7 plus 17.”

“The gasoline contains a lot of lead, which can do harm to people’s brains. To make things even worse, the boy is in the physical development stage, and the lead has caused serious damage to his body,” Dr Peng Houquan added.

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Bryce Dallas Howard who plays Stacy Gwen in Spider-man 3 and Kate Connor in Terminator Salvation will step in to replace Rachelle Lefevre in the villainous role of Victoria for “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”.

According to Summit Entertainment, Rachelle Lefevre had a scheduling conflict and would be unable to participate in the Eclipse shoot set to begin later this month.

Erik Feig, Summit’s president of worldwide production and acquisitions was quoted saying, “Rachelle brought Victoria to great screen life and Bryce will bring a new dimension to the character. The franchise is lucky to have such a talented actress as Bryce coming in to fill the role.”

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Empire Magazine has revealed new photos from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in its latest issue. The movie which is based on a popular video game tells the story of Prince Dastan, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who teams up with the sultry Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) to fight the villains.

Directed by Nike Newell and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is set to hit theaters on May 28, 2010. View more photos at Empire.

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Dorian Gray is a film about a corrupt young man who somehow keeps his youthful beauty eternally, but a special painting gradually reveals his inner ugliness to all. Starring Colin Firth, Ben Barnes, Dorian Gray opens on September 9, 2009 in the UK.

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There are billion of searches on the search engines everyday, but what are the top search words? Well, below are the top 10 Internet search words: -

1. Sex
2. Porn
3. MySpace
4. Youporn
5. Google
6. eBay
7. Yahoo
8. Pussy
9. YouTube
10. Hentai

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Kevin Heinz and Jill Peterson danced all the way on the aisle during their wedding which include seven bridesmaids, five groomsmen and four ushers. Kevin posted the wedding dance routine on YouTube and it quickly becomes an Internet sensation as it has now over 6 million views.

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Tron Legacy is a action sci-fi movie about a virtual-world worker who looks to take down the Master Control Program. Starring Jeff Bridges, Tron Legacy release date is tentatively set to 2010.

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Alice in Wonderland is a Tim Burton’s movie based on a novel about the adventures of a young girl, Alice, who falls into a magical world full of strange characters and darkness behind every corner. Starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Anne Hathaway, Michael Sheen, Stephen Fry, Christopher Lee, Alice in Wonderland opens on March 5, 2010.

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The Taking of Pelham 123 is a film based on the novel of the same name starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta.

SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Denzel Washington in "The Taking of Pelham 123"

In a busy New York City, a few suspicious men led by “Ryder” (John Travolta) hijacks a subway train but the overtaking of the train is not seen on the CCTV as these hijackers are not amateurs. The gang then uncouple the front car from the rest of the train as it is easier to take hostage of one car than ten cars.

Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) who used to be an MTA dispatcher is demoted to the Rail Control Center due to an ongoing investigation that he took a bribe. Garber numerous attempt to call Pelham 123 train is unanswered until Ryder takes over the microphone. He demands $10 million in ransom money to be paid within one hour, otherwise, for each minute after the timeline, one passenger aboard will be killed.

In the background, Ryder men set up a wi-fi booster to enable Ryder to access the Internet through his laptop to watch stock market as well as to view the camera set up just outside the RCC building in NYC. Unknown to him, one of the male passengers has an active laptop with a webcam connected to his girlfriend’s desktop. The girl witnesses the hostage situation through her webcam and provides the live feed to a local television station. Garber and his colleagues are able to instantly recognize Phil Ramos (Luis Guzman) as one of the hijackers since he used to work for MTA. Meanwhile, the Mayor is transported to RCC and he has agreed to pay the $10 million ransom money.

When NYPD Negotiator Lt. Camonetti (John Turturro) enters RCC, Garber’s boss orders him to leave the premise as Camonetti will take over the hostage negotiations but Ryder is angered by that and demands Garber be put back on the microphone. When Camonetti refuses, Ryder shoots and kills the motor man, who was Garber’s classmate in motor school. Camonetti has Garber brought back to the RCC at once. Camonetti is suspicious of the relationship between Garber and Ryder and even asks Garber for consent to search his home. When Ryder learns about Garber’s ongoing bribery investigation, he forces him to confess by holding the boy with the laptop at gunpoint.

A sniper accidentally fires a gunshot and kills Ramos instantly when a rat bites his leg.

In the meantime, NYPD transports the money using high-speed police patrol car but the car is involved in an accident in which the patrol car overturns. The NYPD motorcycles continue to transport the money to its destination. When it reaches Grand Central, Ryder demands Garber to deliver the money personally in 7 minutes. Garber delivers the money together with a 9mm gun hidden under a secret compartment in one of the bags. Garber is ordered to operate the train to another stop where the hijackers exit. When they reach their destination, Garber manages to escape from the hijackers. As the hijackers try to escape through an emergency exit underneath an abandon subway station, they are clueless about Garber’s pursuit. Ryder manages to grab a cab while his hijackers friend are surrounded by the police before getting killed.

In the cab, Ryder checks his laptop and it is revealed that Ryder has made over $300 million through his investment in gold as the stock market plunges tremendously. Not known to him, Garber is chasing from behind. In the end, Garber finds Ryder trying to walk away from the Manhattan bridge but he confronts Ryder with his gun. When Ryder threatens to kill Garber if he doesn’t kill him first, Garber open fires and instantly kill Ryder.

The mayor offers his gratitude to Garber and even vows on backing him up in the bribery investigation. The mayor later offers Garber a ride home in his car but Garber refuses, saying the subway is faster.

Overall, The Taking of Pelham 123 is a great movie although it lacks a number of elements of a successful film. While actors Denzel Washington and John Travolta gave inspiring performances, there is time when the film intentionally shows that both the cops and the crooks are human with loopholes and careless mistakes greatly visible. Why transport the money using patrol car when you can use the helicopter? Even the Mayor knows that.

My ratings: 7 out of 10.

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