"The Godfather II, III"...

Posted by Chol
4:07 PM, Jul. 18, 2006 .. 0 comments .. Link
 damn its been getting hot lately. today will be the 3rd day in a row that it will be 37.7° C (100° F). actually the weather is forcasted to be 40° C (104° F) to be exact. most of the nation is going through an early heat wave. i have some outside work that needs to be done but since my a/c doesnt work in my car and my windows aren't tinted, there's no way in hell you're going to be getting me out in this heat during the day.
 last night i pulled a godfather marathon. i started watching the "godfather II" at 8 pm and finally finished "godfather III" at pretty close to 2 AM. from the moment i watched the opening scene, i was lost in another world and in another time. i soaked up every scene, my senses overwhelmed by the authenticity of it all. everything was perfect, the cinematography, the music. throughout all of the brutality, the godfather still showed so much love and devotion to his family. for a man in such high status, you never saw him cheating on his wife. i respected that. the first 2 godfathers seen back to back is such a powerful movie. the 3rd movie on the other hand was such a huge disappointment, the godfather quickly became a frail old man and grooms his nephew to be his replacement. andy garcia is one of my favorite actors and in most of his films he shows such great intensity. everything else i found a little flat. perhaps its just that the 3rd part takes place during the late 70's, thus losing some of its historical charm.  the third part just had too much going on and didnt flow quite as smoothly. the forbidden love between first cousins, corruption in the church banking system. mainly i think it was due to the frailty of the godfather which doomed this movie. no one wants to see the godfather become a sickly old man. one scene i found memorable was when the godfather confessed his sins to a priest and breaks down emotionally. another thing i found memorable is the love for his ex wife and how he never re-married after their divorce. perhaps i like the movie so much because i admire so many of the themes that it conveyed. dedication to one's family, and loyalty. so many memorable scenes, such a powerful movie.
 have a wonderful day everyone.


dear anonymous...

Posted by Chol
8:42 PM, Jul. 17, 2006 .. 3 comments .. Link
 dear anonymous,
thank you for taking the time in providing a link to the source for the proof of your theory on america's reason to go to war in iraq. for the people out there that wants to read a little bit more about your source i have provided the link below so that everyone can see how biased the site really is. i mean what do you expect from a website that has a caricature of george w. bush holding a barrel of oil. again thank you for your efforts and have a nice day.... NOT! hahaha

http://www.oiladdict.com/facts.asp

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Ian Rutledge graduated in Economics and Social Science in the University of Cambridge in 1968. He continued his post-graduate studies at Cambridge and at the Centro de de Investigaciones en Ciencias Sociales (CICSO) in Buenos Aires, before receiving his PhD in Economic History in 1973. He has taught both economics and sociology in the Universities of London and Sheffield, as well as spending three years working for the British Coal Corporation. Between 1985 and 2003 he taught energy economics on the Sheffield University MA/MSc Energy Studies Program. In 1989, together with a colleague, he established Sheffield Energy & Resources Information Services (SERIS), an energy economics consultancy and publishing business.

Over the past fifteen years Ian Rutledge has authored or co-authored – 3 Books in the field of Economic History (one of which published in Spanish); 23 Papers in scholarly journals including: Cambridge Journal of Economics, Energy Policy, Journal of Energy Literature, Manchester Papers on Development, Economia delle Fonti di Energia e dell’ Ambiente, MedEnergie and the International Journal of Global Energy Issues; and 23 Articles in national newspapers, professional and trade journals, including the Financial Times, Guardian, Financial Times Energy Economist, Financial Times International Coal Report and Oxford Energy Forum.

Through SERIS, Rutledge has carried out consultancy work in the UK, France, Cuba, Colombia and Bolivia, and has participated in conferences in the UK, France, Holland, Colombia, Algeria and Qatar.

Rutledge is fluent in Spanish and has a good working knowledge of Arabic and French.

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OilAddict :: oiladdict.com :: addicted to oil :: It has long been acknowledged that in America the car is king. However, America's car-orientated and car-dependent lifestyle goes beyond the culture of fast cars and freeways. In Addicted to Oil, Ian Rutledge explores the political, economic and social ramifications of the motorisation of the US economy. He argues that America's dependence on the car has created a lifestyle leading to oil needs which have heavily influenced US foreign policy in the modern era. Rutledge traces the origins of America's addiction throughout the twentieth century and explains how America's relations with the Middle East were developed through its quest for energy security. America's motorisation and its consequent demand for oil at predictable market prices was and continues to be an important influence on US policy towards Iraq - especially given the uncertainties relating to what has so far been the securest source of Middle East oil - Saudi Arabia. Ian Rutledge argues that the war in Iraq was neither a war for 'freedom' or 'democracy' nor was it a plot to 'steal Iraq's oil', but rather an attempt to establish a pliant and dependable oil protectorate in the Middle East which would underwrite the soaring demand from America's hyper-motorised consumers. Addicted to Oil is the first book to undertake an in-depth analysis of the motorisation of US society which explicitly links it to America's foreign policy adventures, past and present. Addicted to Oil is essential reading for an understanding of America's international political priorities and its fraught relations with the Middle East.



"The 40 Year-Old Virgin"...

Posted by Chol
5:31 AM, Jul. 17, 2006 .. 4 comments .. Link
 i didnt realize that my last blog was going to start a such political debate. so anonymous hates the USA, big deal. take a number and wait in line like the rest of the world. i don't agree or approve of my governments actions in regards to world events and think that a foreign country should be responsible for governing and ruling itself. as for the US going into iraq only for oil is just rubbish theory. oil prices increased here because of the war and instability in the middle east. the billions of dollars spent on the war so far hasnt gained anything economically here back in the US. i respect your hatred for my country but at least back up your accusations with some facts.
 bleh! i said i didnt want to get into a political debate. now see what you made me do? hahaha.
ok now onto the lighter side of things again. i recently watched "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and thought it was a hilarious movie. andy, the 40 year old virgin, was such a dork in the beginning. u had to kinda feel sorry for the guy cause all he does is stay at home and collect action figures and paint little toy soldiers. sometimes when he feels wild and crazy he'll play his baritone or with his game machine. a night out for him is hanging out with old people and watching "survivor" with them. his co-workers were a pretty weird group of people also. u had the black dude that was a real lady's man. a rocker type dude that was into kinky sex. a normal looking dude from the outside who is still obsessing after an ex gf even after 2 years of breakup. a pair of middle easterners that really cracks me up, especially the old dude who claims he has a new york accent even when speaking with a thick foreign one. the "i know why you're gay" jokes were really dead on and reminds me of when i was back in high school. i really recommend this movie because its just so stupid and doesnt take itself seriously. 2 thumbs up.

here is a professional review below.

Brian Lowry, Variety


Carell plays Andy, an unassuming clerk in an electronic equipment store who gets drawn into a poker game with a trio of his co-workers. As the guys swap sex stories, it becomes painfully evident that Andy doesn't have any of his own, having given up on women after a couple of painful (and painfully funny) early miscues.

That's right, as hard as it is to believe, a fellow who collects superhero action figures that fill his apartment and still rides a bike to work has managed to reach 40 without getting laid. So after subjecting Andy to some schoolyard humiliation, his newfound pals -- salesmen David (Paul Rudd) and Jay (Romany Malco) and stock worker Cal (Seth Rogen) -- make it their business to remove the scarlet "V" from Andy's resume.

They begin with the easy stuff, coaching Andy on how to pick up "drunk *****es" in bars or prodding him to chat up customers, which leads to Andy's relationship with Trish (Catherine Keener), who runs a "store" that sells people's stuff via eBay. (It's one of several prominent product placements in the movie.)

Trish wants to take things slowly, which is just fine by Andy, whose lack of experience has him dreading the moment perhaps more than anticipating it.

Written by Carell and producer Judd Apatow, "Virgin" derives much of its humor from the non-virgins trying to lead Andy to the promised land -- three stooges who, each in his own way, are far more dysfunctional than he is. David, for example, hasn't gotten over a girlfriend he's borderline stalking, Jay chronically cheats on his soul-mate, and Cal is a roly-poly goofball full of moronic dating advice.

"Be David Caruso in 'Jade,'" he says in one of the better obscure non-sequiturs in recent memory.

Following his starring role in NBC's adaptation of "The Office" as well as first-class stints in "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" (which Apatow produced) and "Bruce Almighty," Carell is established as a possible addition to the ranks of comedy headliners, while pic wisely lightens his burden with an able supporting cast. Beyond the guys, that includes Jane Lynch -- a veteran of Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy's "Best in Show"troupe -- as Andy's boss and Elizabeth Banks as another potential conquest who he chats up, with surprising success, using Cal's seduction tips.

Although there are a few big sight gags -- highlighted by the hirsute Andy's extremely painful body wax -- most of the comedy comes from the quirky characters and their decidedly unenlightened views regarding sexual conquests. Rudd, the scene-stealing Malco (currently seen in Showtime's "Weeds") and Rogen (a veteran of Apatow's TV shows "Undeclared"and "Freaks and Geeks"are all dead-on, making the most of high school put-downs of the "You know why you're gay?" variety.

As with "Wedding Crashers," "Virgin" is occasionally guilty of trying too hard, and there are a few dry spells that probably could have been cured by judicious editing. For all the cleverness displayed here, there's not quite enough gas in the tank to sustain what's nearly a two-hour running time.

Still, there's an ample supply of inspired irreverence to amuse a younger audience, and pic closes with a catchy sequence that should stir even a slightly older demo into humming an especially appropriate song from the '80s -- "Just Got Lucky" -- as they head up the aisles.




world madness...

Posted by Chol
4:20 PM, Jul. 13, 2006 .. 5 comments .. Link
 yesterday i was goofing off online  and came across  an article  about the  "killing fields" of cambodia. the khmer rouge thoroughly documented their victims prior to executing them. seeing the faces of the victims touched me in a way i never would have imagined. u could tell how frightened they were by the looks in their eyes. they looked like ordinary people. not soldiers. not troublemakers. just common people who were rounded up because they were educated, a member of the former regime, or related to any of the above. whole families were rounded up to prevent fear of retaliation down the line. women, children, babies. some of the methods used to kill children was like reading something out of the middle ages. to save bullets, children's heads were slammed against a tree. babies were thrown onto bayonnets. adults were killed by bamboo spikes penetrating their skulls, bludgeoned using logs, or gardening hoes. once murdered, they were dumped into mass graves containing hundreds of bodies in each pit. it was estimated that up to 2 million people were killed during the 3 year reign of the khmer rouge from 1976 - 1979. that wasnt such a long time ago. how could such a thing ever been permitted by the world? the topic of genocide has always fascinated me because i can't imagine how a people can kill their own countrymen on such a wide scale. serbia, bosnia, yugoslavia, even now in iraq where u have muslims killing other innocent muslims with suicide bombings. just yesterday terrorists in iraq abducted 24 passengers on a bus, bound them, then shot each in the head. they werent killed because they were soldiers, just innocent people living everyday lives.
 sigh... so much madness in this world. when will it ever end?



"Shine On You Crazy Diamond"...

Posted by Chol
4:05 AM, Jul. 12, 2006 .. 2 comments .. Link
This song was dedicated to Syd Barrett, written and performed by Pink Floyd on the "Wish You Were Here" album in 1975, and is one of my fav songs of all time. I have the original album on vinyl record in addition to the mastered recording album, not to mention the cassette and cd version as well. The album cover poster was hung on my bedroom wall for the longest time. As each passing famous person I know dies, it makes me realize how old that I am getting and leaves me with the feeling of great sadness.
- Chol


Title: "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" (part 1)
Artist: Pink Floyd

Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
You were caught on the cross fire of childhood and stardom,
blown on the steel breeze.
Come on you target for faraway laughter, come on you stranger,
you legend, you martyr, and shine!

You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Threatened by shadows at night, and exposed in the light.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Well you wore out your welcome with random precision,
rode on the steel breeze.
Come on you raver, you seer of visions, come on you painter,
you piper, you prisoner, and shine!



Syd Barrett....

Posted by Chol
3:45 AM, Jul. 12, 2006 .. 0 comments .. Link
 one of my all time fav group is "Pink Floyd" and i  discovered a few minutes ago that one of its founding member recently died. late last year i was getting back into my rock mode and downloaded everything i could about Syd Barrett cause i had heard so much about his influence on alot of musicians. i thought his songs were ok but they werent really that special to me but what i found interesting about him was his transformation from a rock star into a very deranged and mentally ill person. i have many pictures of him from the early beginnings of his career when he was a cool looking dude to an old and weird looking old man during the latter stage of his life.
 i'm sure someone will make a movie about him pretty soon because his life story was very tragic.
may you always rock on and finally rest in peace, Syd Barrett.

Here's an article about his passing that i found online.


Syd Barrett, the brilliant, erratic catalyst for Floyd's early success, 
 'died peacefully at home' last Friday at 60, according to his brother. 
 The musician had been in ill health for years, battling type 2 diabetes, 
 as well as stomach ulcers.

Pink Floyd Founder Dies

By Josh Grossberg Tue Jul 11, 3:45 PM ET

Pink Floyd has lost its "crazy diamond."

ADVERTISEMENT

Syd Barrett, the brilliant, erratic catalyst for Floyd's early success, "died peacefully at home" last Friday at 60, according to his brother. The musician had been in ill health for years, battling type 2 diabetes, as well as stomach ulcers.

A singer and guitarist, and originally the band's principal songwriter, Barrett masterminded Pink Floyd's breakthrough album, Pipers at the Gates of Dawn, before being sidelined in the late 1960s by LSD-induced behavioral problems.

In a statement, the surviving members of the seminal band, said they "are naturally very upset and sad" at the news of Barrett's passing. "Syd was the guiding light of the early band lineup and leaves a legacy which continues to inspire."

Barrett teamed with bassist

Roger Waters, drummer
Nick Mason
and keyboardist
Richard Wright
to launch Floyd in 1965, deriving the name from two bluesmen, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.

Barrett fronted the band during its initial rise to fame, culminating with the 1967 classic The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, which mixed jazz, rock and R&B with psychedelia--a template for the prog-rock sound the band refined in its 1970s heyday--and propelled Floyd to stardom.

But Barrett couldn't enjoy the band's triumphs. He began to suffer from increasingly severe mental problems brought on by his heavy use of LSD and mood-altering drugs, frequently faltering during concerts.

In January 1968, his Floyd mates invited friend and fellow guitarist-vocalist

David Gilmour to take over playing Barrett's parts during live shows, but with the understanding that Barrett would continue writing and recording songs.

Ultimately though, as Barrett grew increasingly unpredictable and his musical output dwindled, he was booted from the band. Only one track he wrote, "Jugband Blues," made it onto Floyd's second album, 1968's A Saucerful of Secrets.

With Waters assuming band leadership, Floyd cemented its legendary status with a string of masterpieces, including 1973's Dark Side of the Moon, the 1975 tribute to Barrett, Wish You Were Here, which featured the epic track "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," and 1979's The Wall.

The post-Barrett Pink Floyd sold over 200 million albums and became one of the most mesmerizing live acts in music history. The band, Barrett included, was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

On his Website Tuesdsay,

David Bowie recounted how he was influenced by Barrett. "The few times I saw him perform in London at UFO and the Marquee clubs during the '60s will forever be etched in my mind. He was so charismatic and such a startlingly original songwriter. Also...he was the first guy I'd heard to sing pop or rock with a British accent," said Bowie, who recorded a cover of the Barrett-penned Floyd song "See Emily Play" for his 1973 album, Pin Ups.

"I can't tell you how sad I feel...His impact on my thinking was enormous. A major regret is that I never got to know him. A diamond indeed."

He was born Roger Keith Barrett, on Jan. 6, 1946 in Cambridge, England, the youngest of five children of a pathologist and his wife. Barrett studied music when he was a boy at the behest of his parents and acquired the nicknam, "Syd" as a nod to a local Cambridge musician named Sid Barrett.

After joining together, Barrett, Waters, Mason and Wright began by playing mainly R&B covers as did their contemporaries in the Beatles, Rolling Stones and the Who.

Eventually, Barrett and company began to improvise more and incorporate feedback and echoes into their live shows, drawing a passionate following at London's UFO club. The band secured its record deal based on the Barrett composition "Arnold Layne," and he wrote eight tracks on Piper, the most successful being the Top 10 U.K. single "See Emily Play."

After leaving Pink Floyd, Barrett recorded two solo albums, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett, both of which failed commercially. He subsequently exited the music industry altogether and became a recluse, spending the rest of his life living with his mother.

Barrett shocked his former band mates by paying them a surprise visit during recording sessions for Wish You Were Here.

According to Nick Mason's book, Inside Out; A Personal History of Pink Floyd, it was a sad reunion--Barrett had become virtually unrecognizable to the band, having gained weight and shaved his head and eyebrows. Barrett had also taken to randomly brushing his teeth and jumping up and down in place. The sight so upset Waters that he nearly broke down.

"Roger was in tears, I think I was; we were both in tears," Wright once told VH1. "It was very shocking...seven years of no contact and then to walk in while we're actually doing that particular track ["Shine on You Crazy Diamond"]. I don't know--coincidence, karma, fate, who knows? But it was very, very, very powerful."

That image of Barrett was later recalled in a scene in Pink Floyd's The Wall, Alan Parker's 1981 feature, when

Bob Geldof also had his eyebrows shaved.

No immediate word on a public memorial, but Barrett's brother Alan tells the British music site NME.com that there will be a private family funeral in the next few days.




i need a life...

Posted by Chol
3:00 AM, Jul. 12, 2006 .. 0 comments .. Link
 taking a break from writing movie reviews i started reading some peeps blogs. man u guys lead pretty interesting lives. it seems many of u are so talented with ur fancy little blog pages with lots of pictures and stuff. makes me kinda want to jazz up my page a little bit also. too bad i'm too damn lazy! haha. foreals some of u are extremely talented writers. sometimes i'm in my intellectual mode and write in a decent manner but usually my blogs show how crude i am. haha. i used to care how i come across but often i just write the blogs for myself as a record of what i have been up to.
 from personal observation it seems that bloggers are an intelligent bunch of individuals. i see lots of books reviews, poetry, art, and whatnot. personally i think blogging is what keeps me semi-literate. i mean i would be a complete idiot if i didnt blog. it gives me a chance to practice my typing skills and spelling. it also is a good way to exercise my two typing fingers. haha. they say to combat alzheimers u gotta keep ur brain exercised.  haha.
 don't get me wrong when u read some of my blogs. i'm not a complete hermit. i do get invited to parties. its just that i'm too damn lazy to ever attend. =)
keep up the good work everyone by continuing to blog cause i really need something to read while i'm eating. haha. have a wonderful day and enjoy the summer!


"Nacho Libre"...

Posted by Chol
2:34 AM, Jul. 12, 2006 .. 0 comments .. Link
  first of all, i love stupid comedies. when i saw the previews for "nacho libre", i thought to myself "man i gotta see that movie". the movie didn't let me down. it was so silly and retarded that u couldn't help but laugh. i'm not a fan of jack black and i think he's an extremely annoying actor, but he was perfect in this movie. the wrestling scenes were hilarious and seeing jack black in his "stretchy" wrestling pants will crack u up. 2 thumbs up for a very stupid movie that knows it was stupid.

here is a professional review below.

By Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

 Hurtling across the screen in sky-blue stretchy pants worn under apple-red underwear, Jack Black makes a lasting impression. He's bouncy. He's kinetic. He flies into solid objects with great force. Days after seeing him in "Nacho Libre," Jared Hess' sweet, dumb-funny follow-up to "Napoleon Dynamite" (which he also co-wrote with his wife, Jerusha Hess), I kept picturing Black as a giant Super Ball. I loved Super Balls as a kid, and regarded them as the amazing apotheosis of a major scientific advancement of some kind, just as the box copy told me to. Anyway, simpler times.

"Nacho Libre" is set in those times — specifically, the '70s — in a monastery in the countryside outside Oaxaca, Mexico. Black plays Brother Ignacio, a reluctant friar who works as a cook at the orphanage where he was raised but dreams of the fame and glory of the padded lucha libre ring. From the moment he experiences his first, small success, however, you know he's really in it for the kids. Pursuing his passion in secret, with the help of a fey man-urchin named Esqueleto (Héctor Jiménez), he pours his earnings into improving the lives of the orphans by increasing their daily roughage intake, and dreams of buying them a bus for field trips. He also entertains romantic notions of marrying the beautiful nun Sister Encarnación (Ana de la Reguera), who has come to the orphanage to teach. That is, if he can talk her into not being a nun anymore.
 Although, by comparison, "Nacho Libre" is a silly piece of kitsch, it put me in mind of the old Cantinflas movies, and not just because Ignacio's rival sports Cantinflas' trademark quote-mark mustache. Cantinflas was the well-known persona of Mexican actor and comedian Mario Moreno, whose characters were all variations on a penniless outsider who uses his gifts for obfuscation and confusion to get out of scrapes or get ahead. Ignacio is no wily Cantinflas, and "Nacho Libre" contains nothing like the barbed satire of Moreno's films, which merrily skewered Mexican society.

But there's a quality to Black's character that recalls a certain kind of underdog common to Latin American and Italian comedies of the '50s and '60s: the little man who is beloved precisely because he is ridiculous, pathetic and innocent, not in spite of it. His humanity gives him dignity, and his warmth and generosity earn him love. Underdog stories are relatively common in American films too, but their characters' happiness usually depends on an ultimate triumph, usually reached in a narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive, zero-sum quest for success. What's rare to see, and what ultimately makes "Nacho Libre" so enjoyable, is the story of an underdog who's allowed to remain a humble clown all the way to becoming a hero.

Black is a gifted physical comedian with surprisingly expressive eyes and an even more surprising tender streak, and Hess makes ample use of it in the training and fighting scenes, as well as those with the kids and Sister Encarnación. In one scene, he invites her to his room for an evening snack of toast, whereupon they discuss their favorite color. As Esqueleto, Ignacio's geeky sidekick, Jiménez is feral and cuddly in the most lunatic way imaginable, and Ana de la Reguera is charming as the nun who comes to appreciate the big-hearted, barrel-chested fighter.

Hess and his production designer Gideon Ponte also endow the movie with a visual flair that's rare in studio comedies — everything about the look of the movie is appealing — and he makes wonderful use of a score by Danny Elfman, old Mexican pop songs and music by Beck. The movie is closely attuned to detail, making excellent use of the locations and incorporating all sorts of local features. (A local treat — corn on the cob on a stick, slathered in mayonnaise and chile powder — is put to lethal use in one especially gruesome scene.)

Much of "Nacho Libre" takes place in the ring, where Ignacio (going by Nacho) and Esqueleto duke it out with a bevy of bizarrely attired wrestlers whose signature moves include things like slamming their opponents with folding chairs, and, say whatever you will about them, Black and Jiménez can take a beating. But the charm of "Nacho Libre" is mostly to be found in the two friends' ruminations on faith (Esqueleto believes in science), love, dreams and nutrition. If ever a movie paid homage to fresh fruits and vegetables, it's this one. And if ever a born loser looked like the winner of the future, it's Nacho.



"The Island"...

Posted by Chol
2:06 AM, Jul. 12, 2006 .. 0 comments .. Link
 the next few  entries will be about  movies that i have recently seen.n some were good ones, most were stinkers but i'm gonna go ahead and document them for future posterity. haha. i just realized that i watched ALOT of movies recently. i guess its better than goofing off online. =)
 first of all we'll start with "The Island".  the main reason i wanted to see the movie is of course because of Scarlett Johansson. the second reason is that i love science fiction movies. ever since i first saw her in "lost in translations" i have been a huge fan. what can i say but that she just has a "presence" about her. the premise of the movie was also quite interesting. a group of humans who were supposedly the only remnants of the human race after some kind of catastrophe who are forced to live in a self contained man-made environement. free thought is frowned upon. everyone is expected to fit in. they spend their lives in a very controlled manner. they are forced to all dress the same, and have their diets and everyday routine extremely regulated. every few days there is a lottery and the winner gets to be transferred to "the island". the island is supposedly the only place untouched by the catastrophe, a sort of paradise that is outside their little self-enclosed world. of course everyone dreams of getting chosen in the lottery so they can leave their dull lives. the lead character keeps having dreams and his inquisitive nature  finally exposes himself to the truth of what their perfect society really  is. he discovers that there really is no "island". people that win the lottery actually is killed and various organs are harvested from their body. when his gf (scarlett johansson) is chosen by the lottery, they find a way to escape their enclosed world to the outside. it is there that they discover that they are really clones. after going through many perilous events on the outside, they finally help lead a revolt by exposing the truth to all of the other clones. i will give the movie 2 thumbs up because it had very interesting concepts that really made you think.

below is a review written by someone else.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Chen:
Could “The Island” be that “Logan’s Run” remake we have all been waiting for?

“The Island” stars Ewan McGregor as Lincoln Six-Echo, a man who lives in a perfect, yet very strict environment. His utopian world is filled with duties and routines which Lincoln begins to question. How does his perfect world actually operate?

The only real salvation that Lincoln and the people of his controlled world have is a daily lottery where winners are whisked off to the mythical paradise “the island” to live the rest of their lives in freedom. Where is this “island” and what do you do when you get there?

The more questions Lincoln raises the more he begins to doubt his surroundings until he learns that he is in fact living a lie and that he is a clone. Lincoln grabs fellow resident and his friend Jordan Two-Delta (Scarlett Johansson) and they begin to run for their lives. Together they will find out all the secrets that their world hides.

“The Island” is one of those films that the less you know going in the better the experience it will be. The problem with that kind of film is that it’s very hard to market especially when you have a high-profile director like Michael Bay at the helm.

The opening and experiences that Lincoln Six-Echo encounters while still within the utopian society are interesting and really draw you in. Director Michael Bay’s restraint here is actually impressive where we begin to see a story with real substance and he allows his actors to act.

I really enjoyed McGregor and Johansson as the leads in this film and the humanity they bring to their characters. McGregor is one of the most intriguing actors working in Hollywood today and this proves it once again. I can’t imagine what this film would have been like without him. Can you imagine a hack like Colin Farrell in this role? Perish the thought.

The production design and basic plot elements reminded me a lot of the sci-fi classic “Logan’s Run” where the utopian survivors begin to doubt that the outside world is contaminated and that their society is in fact a lie so they must run. Don’t get me wrong this isn’t a direct remake but it does house a lot of the same philosophy.

The idea of replacing the whole “dated” nuclear holocaust angle in “Logan’s Run” with this cloning angle is actually very intriguing and seems a perfect way to bring that story into our world and deliver a similar impact it had back in the 1970s.

I was enthralled by “The Island” and started to believe it was the best movie of the summer. For over an hour, I was transfixed to the screen. Then the more the film moved along the more signature Michael Bay shots I started to see. Man stepping from helicopter in slow-mo with blades whizzing above him. A cluttered freeway crash sequence ripped right out of “Bad Boys 2”. And even more explosions and bellowing action stunts that are way, way over the top.

I liked Michael Bay a lot when he was restrained from using his signature stuff and I even believed for a second that he could be a great director if given the right material. But once I started getting hit with Michael Bay mayhem I started to lose touch with the story and the characters. Don’t get me wrong there was also some of the adrenaline junkie stuff I liked but it just seemed tiresome and routine especially the truck sequence.

Surprisingly the product placement in the film didn’t bug me as much as it has been talked about. There are some scenes where I did notice it but for me it wasn’t any worse than it was in “Minority Report”.

I liked “The Island” and a lot of what it had to offer but I think the film should have stuck more with the story and less with the explosions.

 


Walking on eggshells

Posted by Ashley
7:16 PM, July 11, 2006 .. 1 comments .. Link

I just don't know what to do.  I feel as if I have to walk on eggshells with Kara.  She's one of my best friends, and she says that I get her.  But sometimes I really wonder.  I can never tell what kind of mood she'll be in.  And when I think she's in a good mood, she's not.  And then there's me.  I never know what I'll say will set her off.  I don't try to hurt her, but in some way my words find some way to hurt her or make her mad.  I spend my time thinking so hard before I talk to her, that it's hard to talk to her. 

 

Like yesterday for example.  I said something to her, just teasing.  And she gets upset.  And completely hangs up on me.  I knew she was upset cause she always says bye and she didn't that time.  So, I figured I pissed her off, and she needed some time to calm down.  And later she calls me and apologizes for blowing up.  She says it was her and not me. 

 

She always says it's her  and not me.  So, if it's her, then why can't she do something about it.  If she's the problema nd not me.  Why can't she think before she speaks.  I love her, she's  one of my best friends.  And I want to help her.  But I just wonder if her attitude will end up destorying our friendship.  I sure hope not.  But that's my fear right now.

 

Not much else to say.

 

Ashley



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