EVENTS
Best brands awarded in second Superbrands edition The best brands on the Romanian market were awarded during the second edition of the program Superbrands Romania. The awards were handed in during a special gala that took place at JW Marriott Hotel last week. During the Superbrands Gala, the tradition goes that a valuable and respected public figure in Romania is awarded, who has brought a remarkable image capital to the country. This year it was artist Dan Puric who received this accolade. Previous editions saw Raed Arafat, the creator of SMURD (the mobile emergency service), actor Ion Caramitru, initiator of the UNITER theater gala and Bogdan Baltasar, who is held in high esteem by the financial and business com-
munity. On the same occasion, the second volume of the Business Superbrands was launched. The volume includes top brands from domains and industries that are representative for Romania but also two categories that are a first. The first category which includes brands with development potential from neighboring countries is represented by three brands from the Moldova Republic: Agroindbank, Purcari and lawfirm Turcan& Turcan. The second category entitled Brands to Watch includes brands that were up to a remarkable start such as Radisson SAS and RBS, which will be monitored in the future by the business Superbrands programs. Otilia Haraga
A campaign meant to draw attention to the negative effects of plastic on the environment and fauna in the Danube Delta is unfolding. The campaign called “A World Without Plastic Would Be Fantastic” was initiated by Save the Danube and Delta Association in 2008. The aim of this campaign is to ring an alarm bell to the destructive effects that plastic objects that are discarded by tourists pose not only for the environment per se but also for animals. It is estimated that, annually, 100,000 birds and animals die because of plastic ingestion or wounds caused by it. The first three concerts that have been confirmed for the Bucharest Masters of Jazz festival are those of Richard Bona, Power of Three and Jan Garbarek Group. The festival will take place between October 23-25 at the Palace Hall. Norwegian saxophone player Jan Garbarek is a promoter of ambiental jazz who has penned about 60 albums so far. Power of Three is a group made of CHICK COREA, Lenny White, Stanley Clarke who are well-known for their virtuosity and their funk- jazz music. Last but not least, Richard Bona, who is considered one of the best bass players is an artist from Cameroon who is appreciated for his voice and verses. Bona will play on the first day of the festival. The previous edition of Bucharest Masters of Jazz brought to Bucharest artists such as Al Jarreau, Dianne Reeves, Erik Truffaz, Count Basie Orchestra, Monty Alexander Trio, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin and Nigel Kennedy. BUSINESS REVIEW / May 4 - 10, 2009
FILMREVIEW: Thick as
Thieves / The Code
Antonio Banderas and Morgan Freeman
What has happened to Morgan Freeman’s agent? In my limited knowledge of how Hollywood works, I had assumed that a top actor’s agent read the scripts his or her client was sent, and rejected the bad ones. But Freeman now appears to crop up in another dreadful movie every few months. Does he just say yes to every part he’s offered? This is the man, remember, who starred in Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Seven. He has an Oscar. Now it’s Bruce Almighty, Lucky Number Slevin and The Love Guru. And Thick as Thieves falls squarely in the latter category. Everybody loves a heist movie. While in real life, the type of person who robs banks is a brutal career criminal who would shoot your face off for a few thousand dollars, on screen bank robbers seem to have acquired an elegance and chutzpah. They are the Fred Astaires of the criminal world, debonair, graceful and ever on hand with a nifty move to surprise and delight the audience. We’re always going to be rooting for the gang, as they ingeniously outwit the dim-witted cops again and again. From the cream of the crop – classics like The Sting, The Italian Job, The Ladykillers and modern day greats such as The Usual Suspects and Inside Man – to the merely diverting – After the Sunset, Matchstick Men, Entrapment – it’s quite difficult to squander all that audience goodwill and make a disappointing caper movie. But it has been achieved here. In debt to thuggish and monosyllabic Russian gangsters (is there any other kind?), legendary diamond thief Keith Ripley (Freeman) is back for One
Last Heist. Think of him as a latter-day Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief, minus most of the charm. But the heist in question – stealing two hitherto unheard of Fabergé eggs – is a two-man job. Of course it is, it’s always a twoman job. So, he recruits young buck Gabriel Martin (Antonio Banderas, who’s pushing 50, so not that young of a buck really) to come in on the deal. We are introduced to Gabriel in the film’s first – and last – exciting sequence, an audacious diamond robbery on the New York subway. Yep, that’s how elite security guards carry USD 100,000 precious stones around the city – on the subway. Distracting Gabriel from the task in hand is Keith’s attractive, blonde Russian goddaughter Alexandra (Radha Mitchell), despite pop’s patronising and sexist warning that he should “stay away from her”. This lame romantic subplot seems at first to be largely a device to allow Banderas to show off his ripped torso in gratuitously lengthy sex scenes, and prove that even at 50 he’s still got it. Perhaps the ripped torso is the reason Banderas was cast, as it certainly can’t have been his acting: at times his oddly camp performance becomes almost painful to watch. Anyway, the two cat burglars set about planning the heist, until everything gets complicated by the thuggish Russian gangsters. Also on their trail is – and prepare to be astonished by this innovative plot direction – a dogged cop who has been chasing Keith throughout his 20-year NYPD career! Imagine. Events culminate in two big twists. One is so obvious that if you weren’t aware it was going to happen with five minutes of the start, your lack of foresight probably qualifies you to trade in sub-prime mortgages. The other is not obvious, and renders most of the preceding events nonsensical. As the credits began to roll, I couldn’t even work out what was supposed to have gone down. By the time they had finished rolling, I had ceased to care. Debbie Stowe Director: Mimi Leder Starring: Morgan Freeman, Antonio Banderas On at: : See listings for details 21