The Island (and Ong Bak) and more!

I went to Blockbuster this week - the first time in many months. Not feeling up to going out to the theatre, I decided to rent a couple of movies. My first choice was "Ong Bak - The Thai Warrior" (which I shall review later in this post), but my second choice was "The Island" starring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson.






From the official website:

"Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johannson lead an all-star cast as residents of an isolated, high-tech compound. But when they discover that they are acutally clones, and worth more dead than alive, they stage a daring escape. Battling an unfamiliar environment and an armed team of mercenaries in hot pursuit, they'll risk their lives and freedom to save those they left behind - and reveal the truth about 'The Island'"

This movie tanked at the box office. As a matter of fact, DreamWorks film execs Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald (a husband and wife team) wrote on their website that it was because of Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson that the movie collapsed so quickly. This from a pair of producers who visited the set only three times during the movie shoot and were basically uncontactable just before it was about to open.

Despite all of the negative press, I still wanted to see this movie. Michael Bay generally makes good action movies, and I am fans of both Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson. So what did I think?

This movie was GREAT!!! I have no idea what people were expecting, but I thought that the plot was good, and that the supporting cast was outstanding. Steve Buscemi was awesome, as was Dijimon Honsou. Ethan Phillips (Neelix from Star Trek: Voyager) had another good role, as did Sean Bean as the sinister administrator of the medical facility.

It also covered a subject that has been in the public eye of late - cloning. In this movie, clones were being created for spare parts. The issue here was that the customers were told that the clones were never conscious, and were basically vegetative all their (short) lives. In actual fact, the clones were very much conscious, and were told that they were survivors of a war that had more or less wiped out mankind. There were "lucky" ones who won a lottery, and were sent to "The Island", the last paradise known to man. Those "lucky" ones were then taken to a hospital above their secret location where they were butchered for parts.

Slight deviation from the movie!
There has been a lot of controversy recently, over the use of stem cells, and people's religious beliefs as to when life actually begins. From my side, I support the usage of stem cells to help cure debilitating diseases like Parkinsons and cancer. Cloning of a human being though - that's just wrong. While we're on the subject, those people who object to abortion - please make your way to the closest orphanage to you, and adopt at least 3 of the children there. Then come back and see if you can talk that garbage. The idea of men deciding whether or not a woman has the right to choose if she wants to have a child is ludicrous. It's like the pharmcists who refuse to fill prescriptions for birth control, as they feel that it is against their religious beliefs. I think that the law correctly states that if you cannot do it, then you must pass them on to another member of staff who can, or refer them to a pharmacy that can fill that prescription. If you cannot do that, then you are merely (and incorrectly) attempting to push your religious beliefs on other people - and that just isn't right!

Back to the movie!

The movie is fast paced, funny at times, and completely enjoyable. I would give it **** out of 5!

Now, onto the second movie that I saw - "Ong Bak - The Thai Warrior"


This movie stars Tony Jaa as a young disciple of "Muy Thai", the Thai martial art form, who goes to Bangkok to retrieve the stolen head of Ong-Bak, their village idol. It features some amazing fight scenes, and jaw dropping acrobatics. While the story and plot are pretty run of the mill, the action is well choreographed, and Tony Jaa excels at what he does - kicking ass!

If you would like to watch a well planned action movie, then this is the one for you!.

I would give this **** out of 5


Now, that was all that I had planned on reviewing, but as I was typing this, one of my favourite movies came on - "Shaun of the Dead".

This movie stars Simon Pegg as Shaun, the unlikely hero of this movie. One night, after breaking up with his girfriend Liz (played by the delectable Kate Ashfield), he gets drunk with his best mate Ed (played by real life best mate Nick Frost), and goes home. When he wakes up the next morning, most people have been turned into zombies. He goes to rescue his mother and his (now ex) girfriend, with some priceless moments of comedy in between.

The term horror-comedy is not used that much, but it is very apt here! While this does contain a lot of British humour, it is still enjoyable by any standards. Consider this - George A Romero, creator of classic zombie movies, was so impressed with Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's (director) work that he asked them to cameo in "Land of the Dead" the fourth part of his zombie series, released this year!

My rating = ***** out of 5!!!!

Well, I guess I should stop here. It's now 12:19 am on Saturday December 31st, 2005. I need to go and get some sleep, since I will most probably get next to none tonight. I like to end with a song (don't worry, I am not going to sing!) How about Angels by Robbie Williams?

I sit and wait
Does an angel contemplate my fate
And do they know
The places where we go
When we're grey and old
'Cause I've been told
That salvation lets their wings unfold
So when I'm lying in my bed
Thoughts running through my head
And I feel that love is dead
I'm loving angels instead

Chorus
And through it all she offers me protection
A lot of love and affection
Whether I'm right or wrong
And down the waterfall
Wherever it may take me
I know that life won't break me
When I come to call, she won't forsake me
I'm loving angels instead

When I'm feeling weak
And my pain walks down a one way street
I look above
And I know I'll always be blessed with love
And as the feeling grows
She breathes flesh to my bones
And when love is dead
I'm loving angels instead

Chorus
And through it all she offers me protection
A lot of love and affection
Whether I'm right or wrong
And down the waterfall
Wherever it may take me
I know that life won't break me
When I come to call, she won't forsake me
I'm loving angels instead

Repeat chorus

Good night all!

Solitude

I can't remember what it was that I was watching (maybe an old episode of Spin City), but one of the characters said that he was volunteering his time to the "Depression Hotline" as a lot of people were depressed over the Holidays. People like him, who were away from friends and family, which only emphasised their loneliness. Then I read an article today that made me sit back and think about this again. It's about a man in London who is going to crawl on hands and knees with a sign saying "Will you marry me" taped to his back. This crawl would take him 30 days and was meant to highlight the fact that he was single and alone at Christmas. The news article is available here :

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/26122005/140/man-hands-knees-love.html

Now, this chap's name is Mark McGowan, so I searched on his name, and came to his website:

http://clublet.com/c/c/house?page=MarkMcGowan

As it turns out, he keeps a running journal of his events on his website, and has his old exploits also listed there - check it out - it's a good read!!

Seriously though, as I mentioned in my last post, Christmas is a time that should be spent with family and friends. For some of us, it tends to also emphasise the fact that you are alone. No-one should be alone at Christmas.

What else has happened since I posted earlier today?
Natural gas prices have plummeted 10%. Wow. That does sound great!
Have you noticed though, that when prices are increased, that increase is reflected at the pump within a very short time, but price drops take days to have any affect. It's not really fair - if the increase is applied using a certain piece of logic, then surely the same logic should apply to price decreases? Not if you want to make even more money I guess. I hope that at some point the price gouging gas station owners get what is coming to them. Some sort of government regulation that makes their practices illegal would be nice. An alternative, cheap, environmentally friendly fuel source would be better though ! :)

Ok - that's all for now. Will see if I can post again later - if not, then I'll post again tomorrow - trying to make this a more regular affair.

Song for the evening? How about "You'll think of me" by Keith Urban :


I woke up early this morning around 4am
With the moon shining bright as headlights on the interstate
I pulled the covers over my head and tried to catch some sleep
But thoughts of us kept keeping me awake
Ever since you found yourself in someone else's arms
I've been tryin' my best to get along
But that's OK
There's nothing left to say, but
Take your records, take your freedom
Take your memories I don't need'em
Take your space and take your reasons
But you'll think of me
And take your cat and leave my sweater
'Cause we have nothing left to weather
In fact I'll feel a whole lot better
But you'll think of me, you'll think of me

I went out driving trying to clear my head
I tried to sweep out all the ruins that my emotions left
I guess I'm feeling just a little tired of this
And all the baggage that seems to still exist
It seems the only blessing I have left to my name
Is not knowing what we could have been
What we should have been
So
Take your records, take your freedom
Take your memories I don't need'em
Take your space and take your reasons
But you'll think of me
And take your cat and leave my sweater
'Cause we have nothing left to weather3
In fact I'll feel a whole lot better
But you'll think of me

Someday I'm gonna run across your mind
Don't worry, I'll be fine
I'm gonna be alright
While you're sleeping with your pride
Wishing I could hold you tightI'll be over you And on with my life
So take your records, take your freedom
Take your memories I don't need'em
And take your cat and leave my sweater
'Cause we have nothing left to weather
In fact I'll feel a whole lot better
But you'll think of me
So take your records, take your freedom
Take your memories I don't need'em
Take your space and all your reasons
But you'll think of me
And take your cat and leave my sweater
'Cause we got nothing left to weather
In fact I'll feel a whole lot better
But you'll think of me, you'll think of me, yeah
And you're gonna think of me
Oh someday baby, someday

Have a nice evening !

Christmas!

It's interesting the amount of furore that has been generated by the Happy Holidays vs Merry Christmas debate. I don't think that there is a right or wrong here, just that people should be allowed to do what they please. To be perfectly honest, having been raised as a Hindu, but in the UK, I would prefer to say Merry Christmas, as that is the time of the year that it is. I am not forcing anyone else to say it, but I believe that it is my God given right to do so. I cannot believe that it is offensive to anyone - if they say that it is, then all I can say is that you are intentionally looking to be offended. That's just in my humble opinion though.

Christmas can be a happy or sometimes even a sad time of year. I spoke with my family back in Cardiff, as they were sitting down to a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. This year they even had my Nana there, as old as she is, and we talked for a few minutes. These are the times that you wish that you were home. I think that this year was a little different too. Last week, my manager's husband collapsed at home, and died before they could get him to a hospital. He was in his mid forties. I read his obituary on a local San Jose newspaper's website, and I felt sad - even though I had never met the man. His wife (my manager) had only one thing to say - hug your loved ones, as you never know when bad things can happen, and you may never get another chance. In addition to feeling sad for her, I felt a little sad myself, since my family is far away, and I get to see them once a year if I am lucky. What can you do though - at the end of the day, you take decisions based upon your circumstances, and where you would like your life to go. I've always wanted to come to the US, so I left the UK and moved here. Just like my parents left India in the 60s and moved to the UK. I guess if I wasn't single, I wouldn't feel that bad. Christmas and Valentine's Day are two days that I tend to feel even more lonely that I normally do. You wouldn't know it to look at me though - I will always have a smile on my face.

Anyway, it is now lunchtime, and my friends are making comments about going for lunch and not taking me (spoken intentionally loud so as to generate some fun!). I am typing this at the office, listening to the soundtrack of "Batman Begins" on my iPod. There is some really nice music on that album - the piece that I am listening too is when he remembers his time with his dad when he was a child - not long before his parents were killed. The scene in the movie is moving, and the music is haunting - enough to bring a tear to your eye.

Before I go, if anyone does read this blog, then please check out an artist called Iron and Wine. He is a folk musician from Florida called Samuel Beam, and I first heard his music last week when watching the movie "In good company" starring Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace and Scarlett Johansson. The movie is great, and the music is perfect.

Iron and Wine's website is:

http://www.ironandwine.com/

If you have Rhapsody or iTunes, then please check out "The Trapeze Swinger".
Here are the lyrics:

Ooh, ooh, ooh
Please remember me
Happily
By the rose bush laughing
With bruises on my chin
A time when
We counted every black car
Passing your house
Beneath the hill
And up until
Someone caught us in the kitchen
With maps, a mountain range
A piggy bank
A vision to removed to mention
But please remember me
Fondly
I heard from someone you're still pretty
And then they went on to say
That the Pearly Gate
Has some eloquent graffiti
Like "We’ll meet again"
And "Fuck the man"
"Tell my mother not to worry"
And angels with their great handshakes
But always done in such a hurry
And please remember me
At Halloween
Making fools of all the neighbors
Our faces painted white
By midnight we’d forgotten one another
And when the morning came
I was ashamed
Only now it seems so silly
That season left the world
And then returned
But now you're lit up by the city
So please remember me
Mistakenly
In the window of the tallest tower
Call and passes by
But much too high
To see the empty road at happy hour
Gleam and resonate
Just like the gates
Around the holy kingdom
With words like "Lost and found"
And "Don’t look down"
And "Someone save temptation"
And please remember me
As in the dream
We had as rug burn babies
Upon the fallen trees
And fast asleep
Beside the lions and the ladies
That called you what you like
And even might
Give a gift for your behavior
Of lead and chance to see
A trapeze swinger high as any savior
But please remember me
My misery
And how it lost me all I wanted
Those dogs that love the rain
And chasing trains
The colored birds above
They're running in circles
Round the well
And where it spells
On the wall behind Saint Peter
So bright on cinder-gray
In spray paint
"Who the hell can see forever?"
And please remember me
Seldomly
In the car behind the carnival
My hand between your knees
You turn from me
Said the trapeze act was wonderful
But never meant to last
The clowns that pass
Saw me just come up with anger
When it filled the circus domes
The parking lot
Had an element of danger
So please remember me
Finally
And all my uphill clawing
My dear
But if I make
The Pearly Gates
Do my best to make a drawing
Of God and Lucifer
A boy and girl
An angel kissing on a sinner
A monkey and man
A marching band
All around the frightened trapeze swinger


It is worth listening to.

Song for the day - The Trapeze Swinger - Iron and Wine