Man of Steel

Man of Steel, a 2013 American superhero film directed by Zack Snyder is produced by Christopher Nolan, and scripted by David S. Goyer. It employs non-linear story-telling. Based on the DC Comics character Superman, the film is a reboot of the Superman film series that portrays the character's origin story.

The film stars Henry Cavill in the title role with Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Michael Shannon as General Zod, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, and Russell Crowe as Jor-El Man of Steel is intended to launch a shared fictional universe of DC Comics characters on film.

The planet Krypton faces imminent destruction due to its unstable core, and its ruling council is under the threat of rebel General Zod and his followers. Scientist Jor-EI and his wife Lara launch their newborn son Kal-EI on a spacecraft to Earth, accompanying him with a codex to preserve the Krypton race.

After Zod murders Jor-EI for stealing the codex, he and his followers are banished to the Phantom zone.

The infant Kal-EI is raised as the adopted son of Jonathan and Martha Kent, who name him Clark. Clark's Kryptonian physiology affords him superhuman abilities on Earth, which initially cause him confusion and ostracisation, but he gradually learns to harness his powers.

Jonathan reveals to a teenage Clark that he is an alien, and advises him not to use his powers to publicity, fearing that society will reject him. After Jonathan's death an adult Clark spends several years living a nomadic lifestyle in different jobs under assumed names.

Asela's wildlife photographic exhibition

Asela Karunaratne will hold his wildlife photographic exhibition at the Harold Peries Gallery, Lionel Wendt Memorial Art Centre, Colombo 7 from July 12 to 14. The exhibition will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Asela Karunaratne hails from Kurunegala and had his education at Maliyadeva College.

His home was surrounded by the natural beauty of a lake, paddy fields and mountains. His childhood was blessed with activities revolved around nature, such as swimming in the cool water of the lake, running with kites along the lush, green paddy fields and scaling the magnificent rocks.

Times have changed and the younger generation either has limited time or interest in the great outdoors. He always had a passion for wildlife photography which began with his love for nature. However, during his career as a professional and subsequently an entrepreneur he found little time to pursue his interest in photography and exploring wildlife.

But after nearly two decades of taking care of business and fulfilling his family responsibilities, he thought the time was right to pursue his dream.

In 2004 he started photography with a Nikon FM3 and began exploring the great wilderness of Sri Lanka. What he loved the most about wildlife was its untamed behaviour and unpredictability.

He is fascinated by the unique behaviour of each wild animal that came across and strove to capture their behaviour in his photographs.

His passion is to always create images showcasing the magnificent animals and their behaviours, in their natural habitat. It's a challenging endeavour and he has spent days and nights in one place to bring to life images which are fragments of his imagination. But at the end of the day he enjoyed the challenge of creating something unique.

During his journey through the world of photography, he was privileged to receive many local and international accolades for his work. His images have been awarded with the Gold Medal at the Exhibition of the Photographic Society of Sri Lanka in the Wildlife section in 2007 and 2008 and the Silver Medal in 2011.

He was also a finalist at the International Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition organised by the BBC in 2008, 2010 and 2013. More recently, he was adjudged the "Nature Photographer of the Year 2012" at a competition organised by Chaaya Wild Yala and Etisalat. Some of his images are more like digital paintings rather than digital photographs.

Exhibition of handwoven tapestries

Tilak Samarawickrema will hold an exhibition of handwoven tapestries produced by the weavers of Thalagune, Uda-Dumbara at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery from July 12 to 14. The exhibition will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Balloth Ekka Be

Ravindra Ariyarathne's Balloth Ekka Be will be staged at the S. de S. Jayasinghe Hall, Dehiwala on July 14 at 6.45 p.m.

Exhibition of fabrics
 

Some of the exhibits

Sharmini Candappa will hold an exhibition of fabrics, jewellery, wall hangings and sarees at the Gallery Red, Gandhara from July 26 to 28.

Hulftsdorp Debates 2013

The Sri Lanka Law College will hold the Hulftsdorp Debates 2013 on July 13 and 14.

The English Literary Association which is organising the event welcomes everyone with a passion for English debate to watch the teams from several higher educational institutes put their wits and words to the test to see who gets the last word.