The Rite

Inspired by true events, “The Rite” follows skeptical seminary student Michael Kovak (Colin O’Donoghue), who reluctantly attends exorcism school at the Vatican. While in Rome, he meets an unorthodox priest, Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins), who introduces him to the darker side of his faith.

Directed by Mikael Håfström (“1408”), “The Rite” is a supernatural thriller that uncovers the devil’s reach to even one of the holiest places on Earth. Contrafilms’ Beau Flynn and Tripp Vinson (“The Exorcism of Emily Rose”) are producing the film. The screenplay was penned by Michael Petroni (upcoming “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”), inspired by the book by Matt Baglio. Christy Fletcher and Emma Parry are co-producing. Richard Brener, Merideth Finn and Robert Bernacchi serve as executive producers.

Hopkins stars as Father Lucas. An Oscar® winner for his iconic portrayal of Dr. Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs,” Hopkins’ impressive career includes “The Remains of the Day” and this year’s “The Wolfman,” as well as the upcoming comics-based film “Thor.”

Making his feature film debut, O’Donoghue stars as Michael Kovak, the disillusioned American seminary student.

Alice Braga plays the role of Angeline, a journalist in Rome doing research on exorcisms. Braga will next be seen this summer in “Predators.” Her additional credits include “I Am Legend” and “City of God.”

Ciarán Hinds portrays Father Xavier. Known for his role as Gaius Julius Caesar in HBO’s “Rome,” Hinds will soon be seen in the upcoming “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” films.

Toby Jones plays the role of Father Matthew. Jones has appeared in such films as “Frost/Nixon,” “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” and “The Painted Veil” and will soon be seen in “Captain America: The First Avenger.”

Veteran actor Rutger Hauer takes on the role of Michael’s father, Istvan Kovak. Hauer’s career includes roles in “Blade Runner,” “The Hitcher,” “Sin City” and “Batman Begins.”

Håfström previously directed the John Cusack thriller “1408,” and “Derailed,” starring Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston. His most recent film, “Shanghai,” also starring John Cusack, will be in theaters later this year. His film “Evil,” which he wrote and directed, was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2004 Academy Awards® and won three Swedish Guldbagge Awards, including Best Film.

Slated for release in January 2011, New Line Cinema’s “The Rite” will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
                        

Sony unveils 'Next Generation Portable,' the new PSP

The new Next Generation Portable, from Sony. Known by many as the PlayStation Portable 2,
 the new device was announced at a live event in Tokyo on Thursday.

(Credit: Sony Computer Entertainment)

At a live event in Tokyo, Sony on Thursday unveiled what many had come to call the PlayStation Portable 2, its long-awaited, all-new handheld video game console. Known officially as the "Next Generation Portable," the device will be available this holiday season. Sony has not yet said what the new PSP will cost.

According to CNET sister site Gamespot.com, the new device will come in a brick form factor and feature a 5-inch OLED display with four times the resolution of current-generation PSPs. It has touch pads on both the front and the rear and dual micro analog joysticks. It also has both front- and rear-facing cameras and will use a Flash-based memory card. It will also offer 3G, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi connectivity, according to GameSpot. On-stage in Tokyo, Sony's Shuhei Yoshida said the new device boasts PlayStation 3-quality graphics.

Sony said that the device has an ARM Cortex A9 (core) CPU, and a SGX543MP4+ GPU. It also has a Six-axis motion-sensing system.

Games that will be offered for the Next Generation Portable (NGP) include Hot Shots Golf Next, Gravity Daze, Killzone, WipeOut, Resistance, LittleBigPlanet, Uncharted, Little Deviants, Reality Fighters, and Billiards, GameSpot reported.

Before unveiling the new PSP, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kaz Hirai also unveiled a new platform called PlayStation Suite that will ensure that first-generation PlayStation games will run on a wide variety of Android-enabled handsets and tablets. That could mean that a huge library of games will be available for the first time to Android users. Hirai also said that the Next Generation Portable is backward compatible, and will run downloadable PSP titles. And Toshihiro Nagoshi from Sega later said that it would be possible to port PlayStation 3 games to the NGP, according to Gamespot.

A view of the front of the NGP, showing its dual sticks, and its front-facing camera.

(Credit: Sony Computer Entertainment)

Nintendo's DS has dominated

Although Sony's PSP line, which first launched in 2004, has sold an impressive 65.7 million units worldwide, according to independent analyst outfit VGChartz.com, it has been overshadowed for years by the much more successful Nintendo DS line of handhelds. All told, according to VGChartz, Nintendo has sold 145.3 million of its portable devices--the DS, the DSi, and the DS Lite.

The slim PSP, which was released in 2007.

(Credit: CNET)

Sony has also tried to reinvigorate the PSP before, first with a slimmer version of the original device it put out in 2007, and then with a significant redesign that never really caught on known as the PSP Go. But neither of those devices were able to help Sony close the handheld sales gap with Nintendo.

And now, of course, the new Next Generation Portable will be going head-to-head with the very-well-received new Nintendo 3DS. That well-reviewed device, which offers users 3D capabilities without special glasses, will go on sale March 27, and cost $249. It will launch with six first-party titles, including Legend of Zelda and Nintendogs + Cats, and ten third-party games, including Electronic Arts' The Sims and Madden Football; Super Street Fighter IV 3D from Capcom; Dead or Alive: Dimensions from Tecmo, and others.

Still, the Next Generation Portable has a lot of people excited because of its rich collection of features.

The PSP Go, which Sony launched in 2009.

(Credit: Sony)

But while Sony got plenty of attention for the new NGP, it did not unveil at the Tokyo event a PlayStation phone, as many had expected. It appears, according to published reports, that such a phone, which could be based on Google's Android platform, and be known as the Xperia, will not be revealed in public until next month's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Additional coverage:

The Sony NGP/PSP2: what we still don't know

PSP2 gameplay video: Uncharted

Sony bringing PlayStation games to Android

Top 10 Nokia C6-01 Sports Apps

If you’ve managed to get hold of a Nokia C6-01 in the past month, you’ll be wanting to track down all the best apps. Sports fans should read on now, as we’ve put together the top ten sports apps for your Nokia C6-01, turning your mobile smartphone into the ideal sports accessory. Join us after the break to find out the best sports apps…
RaceChrono
If you’re a fan of motor racing, and love driving, the RaceChrono is well worth a look. Keep track of your own car’s 0-60 times, carry out standing starts on track, and download the latest circuit information to test yourself on track.
Nokia Sports Tracker
One of the most comprehensive sports apps there is, Nokia Sports Tracker should be one of the first apps that fitness fanatics download for their Nokia C6-01. Keep track of how far you’ve run or cycled, use it in conjunction with Ovi Maps to keep a route, and you can even buy a compatible heart-rate monitor for Nokia Sports Tracker.
ECB Cricket
As the title suggests, this one is for cricket fans only. ECB Cricket lets you keep up to date with live cricket scores from one-day tests and international matches at home and abroad, including tournaments such as Ashes.
Hockey Latest News
NHL isn’t big here in the UK, but there are plenty of National Hockey League fans across the world. If you’re one of them download Hockey Latest News for all the latest from the icy battlegrounds.
Sky.com
Get all the latest news and sports updates on your Nokia C6-01 with Sky.com – one of the top resources for sports fans. It’s ideally suited to the Nokia C6-01, offering easy to use pages and news that’s also easy to access.
Heart Rate Monitor
Heart Rate Monitor is an app for calculating your heart rate. To work it tap the screen of your Nokia C6-01 a few times as your heart beats, your heart rate will then show.
Boxing Community
This knockout Ovi Store app gives boxing fans fistfuls of the latest boxing news from all over the world. Videos, fight schedules, news. It’s all here.
Serie A
If you’re a fan of Italian football – and many of us are – it can be tricky to keep track of it in different countries. Lots of emphasis is placed on the Premier League, so the Serie A app is a godsend.
ESPNsoccernet
If your footballing tastes are more varied, then ESPNsoccernet is the one for you. Check out the latest news, match reports fixtures and far more with this handy app.
On The Line
If you like your tennis news fresh download On The Line for the latest from the world’s courts. Keep up to date with the latest battle for number one – can Federer regain the top spot, or is Rafa the new king?

Mac App Store Launched by Apple

The much awaited Mac Store was launched a few hours before with 1000+ apps. Now Mac users can use their iTunes password to download and install apps from App Store. App Store become popular by the introduction of iPhone as the users can choose from a a categorized list of apps, buy and install.
The store lets users browse through new and hot apps, staff favorites and top charts to find the best apps available. App categories include education, games, graphics and design, lifestyle, productivity, utilities and others.
For a sample of pricing, you can get Apple’s own iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand apps for $14.99 each; Pages, Keynote and Numbers are available for $19.99 each, while Aperture 3 costs $79.99.
You can check out the store either by downloading the latest Mac OS X update (v10.6.6) or by visiting apple.com/mac/app-store. Developers interested in creating apps for the Mac App Store can go to developer.apple.com/programs/mac for more info.

Most Anticipated Mobile Phones Of 2011

2011 is full of promise and the mobile market is always a good place to look if you are in need of some next-gen tech inspiration. Here is a quick look at the five phones which are the subject of serious speculation and most likely to win mainstream success in the next 12 months.
LG Optimus X2
The world’s first dual core smartphone, using the Tegra 2 chip from Nvidia to double the number of physical cores currently seen in common smartphones. It will run at 1GHz and feature version 2.3 of the Android operating system. It will also support full HD 1080p video recording and will be able to output at this resolution to your HDTV via an HDMI output.
Google Nexus S
Although it launched in the closing days of 2010, the Nexus S is very much a handset that could take 2011 by storm. With a curved, glass-fronted four inch Super AMOLED display, version 2.3 of Android onboard and 16GB of storage space it is every inch the modern smartphone and since it is branded with the search giant’s stamp it will be the first place to see updates to the Android platform arrive before anyone else gets a taste.
Apple iPhone 5
Although Apple has made no official announcement of the iPhone 5, its arrival is inevitable since there has been a new addition to this range every year since 2007. We can expect that the iPhone 5 will not change drastically from the hardware of the iPhone 4, with some rumours suggesting that it will have 4G LTE connectivity along with a Near Field Communication (NFC) chip like the one found in the Nexus S to enable mobile payments and hotspot interaction. Expect to see it touch down in the summer of 2011.
Windows Phone 7
The Microsoft mobile operating system was critically acclaimed but has yet to find the sales success that it deserves, but with handsets like the Acer E600 and manufacturers as diverse as Lenovo and even Nokia rumoured to be considering new mobiles based on the platform it is likely that 2011 will be the year for Windows Phone 7 to come of age.
Palm smartphones
In 2010 Palm died a small death despite the positive reviews of its WebOS platform and Pre smartphone but after a takeover bid by HP it is back on firmer ground. Expect to see multiple mobile devices sporting WebOS 2.0 arriving over the coming year, with an iPad-rivaling Palm tablet expected along with further smartphones that should be bolstered by the big-bucks backing from HP. Because of Palm’s relative obscurity you can also expect the best mobile phone deals to feature its handsets.

GTA 5

GTA series which is famous for its action, adventure, driving, and occasional role-playing, stealth and racing elements is planning to come up with its new installment in the series ; GTA 5. GTA 5 is expected to be released by the end of 2010 or the beginning of 2011. The game is expected to stay on top of the charts throughout 2011.

The Company Men

In his feature film directorial debut, John Wells paints a heroic and honest portrait of where our culture is today. The force behind such celebrated shows as ER, THhe West Wing, Southland and the upcoming Showtime series Shameless, Wells brings his signature combination of nuanced character work and uncompromising drama to this story of a group of co-workers who must rebuild their lives after corporate downsizing. Ben Affleck plays Bobby Walker, a golf-playing marketing and sales exec whose sense of self crumbles when he loses his job. Company founder Gene McClary (Tommy Lee Jones) tries to fight the good fight against the layoffs, only to discover that he has made himself a target. And older worker Phil Woodward (Chris Cooper) gives in to blind fury as he waits for the inevitable. With an extraordinary ensemble cast including Kevin Costner and Maria Bello, and inspired cinematography by Roger Deakins, The Company Men offers a resonant examination of the human spirit that asks us if we truly know what matters most in life. The Company Men debuted at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.