Demented Thinking

A group has the right to enforce conformity among its members like a secret handshake, tattoos or burn marks, or walking naked around the campus which I hear some fraternities do. And so does the church with its policy of no abortion.

Not Innocent

Legally they may be qualified for parole. It is even never in doubt that they are not the mastermind.

Defiance (2008)

Defiance is a story about the struggle of Jews from Belorussia. Hunted like animals they retreated to the forests in order that they live as men. There, even far from the people that hates them; it proved no easy task to maintain the humanity day after day.

Valkyrie (2008)

In the later years of World War II members in Hitler’s own army were attempting to kill him, and the most famous of these, because it almost succeeded, was the July 20 Plot: the inspiration for the latest Tom Cruise starrer, Valkyrie.

W. (2008)

Watching W. was distracting to say the least. All the time I was thinking, this is a movie full of impersonators, good and bad. Which is not to say that they were bad actors, it’s just that I never had the ‘suspension of disbelief’ as they say in watching the film. There are physical limitations to looking and sounding like some else it would seem.

Passengers (2008)

The strangest manifestation of post traumatic stress I’ve ever seen depicted on film is the victim, almost like an addiction confronting death which is the very thing that traumatized them.I saw that in Fearless in Jeff Bridges. Among other self inflicted brushes with death, he ate strawberries, a fruit which he had history of near fatal allergic reactions.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans came as a surprise and in some ways a disappointment to me because instead of seeing what happens next to the main character Selene (Kate Beckinsale) the story went into rewind.

Lack of Probable Cause

What sufficient belief can you derive to determine a crime has been committed or will be committed with three persons riding an SUV? What is the probable cause?

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a movie meant to give the audiences the unique perspective of someone who ages in reverse as he goes through in life. There is no magic nor are there wizards; neither is it about biological warfare or bad DNA. It’s all drama about being born with a different deck of cards than people would normally get, and triumph in spite of it.

Revolutionary Road (2008)

 

The lead tandem of the highest grossing film of all time – Titanic – reunites in Revolutionary Road, a film adaptation of a book by Richard Yates.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are Frank and April Wheeler, husband and wife experiencing the ups and downs (more of downs in fact) of married life in 1950s America.

Seven Pounds (2008)

I don’t quite remember if the motives match but the title hit me at once as inspired from The Merchant of Venice wherein the Jew, Shylock, demanded for payment a pound of flesh instead of money. So Seven Pounds to those classically inclined would mean at once to seven people.

Return Duckpin Bowling for the Department's Anniversary

It was January of last year when I joined fellow members of the New Worlds Alliance (NWA) in weekly bowling (ten pin) at Farmer’s Plaza. The group then had a bowling craze which ended somewhere in the second quarter of 2008.

What I had hoped besides having fun with fellow fans of geeky shows was to ready myself for the office’s anniversary season; duckpin bowling in particular. I was a player for the yellow team in 2007 which collapsed in the championships. I wanted to get back and get some satisfaction.

License to Wed (2007)

It’s funny (or maybe not) that in driver’s license there is a mandatory age before you can apply, but sometimes in marriage people seem to have the idea that there is an age when you should apply regardless of anything else.

In License to Wed, comedy’s energizer bunny Robin William stars as Reverent Frank a highly unorthodox pastor of St. Augustine. Believing that desire (and majority age of course) does not close the deal for having a great marriage he holds what is in effect a stress test masked as a wedding seminar for couples wishing to use his church for the ceremony. His target, at least for the duration of the film, Ben Murphy (played by John Krasinski) and Sadie Jones (played by Mandy Moore).

Notting Hill (1999)

As vacations would often do around the world plus having budgetary constraints and struggling for company, I reached deep into my DVD collection (both the legal and illegal) for entertainment. Hidden deep among my stash, among the originals in fact, is Notting Hill. That movie is a rarity considering that among the handful of originals that I have it’s the only romance flick. . . so far.

The central theme of the film is perhaps the Holy Grail in the area of love; two different people, polar opposites, falling head over heals over one another. Hugh Grant plays the bottom half of that pole as William Thacker, a travel book shopkeeper while playing the prestigious top end of the pole is Julia Roberts as a world famous actress in Anna Scott.

Eagle Eye (2008)

In some ways Eagle Eye is a souped up version of The Net but with a little something extra. Love or hate the movie depends on how you swallow that extra.

Transformers star Shia LaBeouf plays Jerry Shaw a young man who unfortunately happens to have more money than he had actually deposited plus he now has an apartment he doesn’t have a spot to lie in since it’s full of explosives. To make matters worse, the FBI is on his tail just as he was barely coming to grips with money and crime he didn’t commit.

Quantum of Solace (2008)

The first thing that came to mind was bad cinematography or bad editing. There was just something unappealing to it, I don’t know how to describe it; maybe in the framing, the pace or choice of shots.Something’s just off.

For the fans who are not up to date it may be necessary somewhat to refresh from the preceding movie just to be in sync with James Bond’s (Daniel Craig) state of mind.Quantum of Solace started off in a sprint, a car chase in fact seemingly just minutes after Casino Royale.Remember the man that he shot ending Casino, the one supposedly in the shadows, holding the strings; for this movie there seems to be an entire organization in the shadows, and its name is Quantum.

Erap for 2010?

Erap’s logic escapes me in his recent statement implying a run for the presidency, again, this time in 2010. The candidacy, the former president said, hinges on the ability or inability of the opposition candidates to unite. He will declare in late 2009 if the opposition remains disunited and go forth with his magic solution of having his name again in the ballot for presidency.

It is entirely possible that the former president and actor did not do well in math during his school days. In fractions, the larger the denominator does not mean a larger piece, so how can his running be a solution when all other presidential hopefuls remain on the table.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)

The day the earth stood still for me when I watched the movie of the same name. It was as if I watched a movie from the ancient past never mind the new effects brought in.Granted that I never saw the original, a sci-fi classic from 1951, this 2008 Keanu version was predictable enough in the first 10 minutes.

Traitor (2008)

via GIPHY

To betray is to go against what is expected with the greatest of malice. It’s a stab in the back, not a pleasant surprise. He who betrays is the traitor.

For the film of the same name – Traitor – it was obvious from the title alone that someone will go against someone; there will be betrayals. Set in the age of the war against terror there are many sides to this film: the Americans, the Arabs, the terrorists, and the ideology.  The trick in this movie is to find out who betrays who, but most importantly who survives.

24: The Redemption (Fox) (2008)

 

 

24: The Redemption is a transition piece that should act as a bridge for season 6 and season 7.

Unfortunately the fact that it was shown in the same real time narrative as the series removed all chance of this piece being a stand alone film. Two hours in real time is just too short to establish deep plots and great action.