the god who hates

i first heard of wafa sultan on youtube while she was a guest speaker on al jazeera. it was highly irregular for anyone let alone a woman to be debating with an imam on islamic terrorism, islam itself, and as what she describes as the clash of civilisations so that it was not difficult to recognize her face printed on a book on a shelf months later while i was passing by the bookstore. i just had to have trhe book for i was already curious about her. i watched satisfied by the way when the imam resorted instead to strawman arguments for lack of anything better to say.

in the book however, i am not a fan of her writing style. it seemed repeatitious, disconnected, personal, and she seemed to make hasty generalizations about people but who is better and has the authority to talk about islam and its ills, than her -- a moslem woman who had lived in it and had actually experienced its horrors firsthand.

i also did not much appreciate her orgre metaphor. although she spoke the truth about the nature of fear and how it relates to islam, i felt that there has to be a better way to present the idea other than a parable about an ogre.

apart from her personal experiences giving insight on the origin and nature of islam, its followers and how they relate with other people, its fruits, she also talks about the obvious disconnect with what "moderate" moslems claim islam to be and what is happening in reality. it mirrors the state of christian theocracies all over the world. christian zealots behave much like islamic terrorists. people would always argue that these particular type of moslems have misinterpreted the real meaning of islam. that the true moslem never engages in violence and that they respect women. the evidence in fact showing the contrary is overwelming.

the koran is written solely in arabic, how likely is it that moslems outside of the arab world would have a filtered understanding of its teachings. meaning islam as a political doctrine and religion needs to present itself as something benevolent and beneficial in order to be accepted but the truth in detail is quite the opposite. just like the judeo christian bible, the koran is filled with archaic ethics giving justification to these brutalities all the way up to today the 21st century. and now it is encroaching in on secular societies like a disease as some put it.

wafa provides us with specific verses from the koran. too few in my opinion. but there is no escaping from that. muhammad had been very explicit and his ideas about women, jews, christians, and islamic morality questionable by today's standards. i am inclined to think that whoever subscribes to it is either ignorant, brainwashed, or have nitpicked specific teachings that suit their tastes just as moderate christians are doing with the bible.

my favorite in particular about her book is her observation about moslems living in the west. those who are reaping its benefits but at the same time claiming it to be morally inferior to their countries of origin. hypocrites. id say.

if living in islamic states is such a paradise then why leave at all. why the influx of immigrants from islamic states towards the west unless there be a sinister plot behind it all, that is to convert these secular societies into islamic states. as is happening all over europe and now even in the united states. how likely is it that people are oppressed in islamic societies and that most of them immigrate because they want to be free of it.

wafa paints a vivid picture of islam and what kind of societies it has produced. societies which lack in civil liberties, societies which slow or sometimes halt progress, where its inhabitants are automatons programmed to obey never to think nor question authority. a striking resemblance to christian theocracies. don't you think?

if immigration out of islamic societies not evidence enough that it is failed at making lives better for people, i dont know what else is.

rating 4 out of 5
****

over the edge of the world

je viens de finir le livre qui je lisais ces derniers jours. il raconte le voyage de magellan où il a fait le tour du monde au début du XVIe siècle (1521-ish). au fait, j'ai acheté ce livre d'un booksale pour seulement 100 PHP.

we are all familiar with the story of the portuguese, under the flag of spain, who for the first time had successfully circumnavigated the world and as a consequence discovered a water route to the spice islands across the "ocean sea" west of the new world.

magellan's encounters with fascinating natives and their customs including our own cebuans (to which i descend from) and the proud mactanese, betray european bigoted and self serving attitudes. they also betray our own weaknesses providing brief insight of why we continue to be divided even to this day.

pigafetta is i think as important as magellan himself for it was him who chronicled the entire voyage reminiscent of captain picard doing his log aboard the enterprise. besides being a representative of the pope, he also served as the ship's linguist and anthropologist. he (attempted to) put into writing the local languages and their sexual practices. this to me was a kind of expected. he was a man of the cloth and like many others, there was a kind of obsession with sex (just as it does today) and he means to impose his beliefs on to the natives. sans respect to their own beliefs.

most of the native chieftains who converted did so, mostly because they feared the armada de moluccas. magellan was all to happy to demonstrate their superiority. their weapons admittedly surpassed the bamboo javelins, bows, and poisoned arrows of the natives. and local politics paved the way for some of the chieftains to ally themselves with magellan thinking it would give them advantage over rival kingdoms.

i am surprised why his story had not yet made it on hollywood. it had the familiar elements of drama, political intrique, adventure, vicious villains, and noble heroes. vital ingredients that make up an epic adventure non fictional story.

rating 4 out of 5
an interesting and easy read

Diosa

A local legend recounts the tale of a nature goddess who had an affinity with humans. Her name was Luciérnaga. One day, her father found out about her dealings with them, it made her father furious. He slapped her senseless breaking her crown of gems into pieces. Each piece transformed into a firefly. The entire mountain was swarmed by them to which the town was named after. Bayan ng Alitaptap (Firefly town).

Another legend spoke of her unearthly beauty wearing nothing but gem stones to cover herself up. During the spanish era, Luciérnaga fell in love with a spanish soldier. She made love to him but woke up with all her jewels gone. The soldier stole them and since then fireflies have disappeared from the town. And all male descendants of the spanish soldier had been plagued by a curse. Each of them die horrible deaths. This intruiging tale is the backdrop of the story.

teddy allegre is played by lloyd samartino
jaime allegre jr is played by alfie anido
luz is played by lorna tolentino
katrina is played lorna tolentino

Rating 4 out of 5 ****
Not bad for a pinoy fantasy

la papesse jeanne

joan (played by johanna wokalek) was born a genius. she had a talent for learning and a natural curiousity towards the world. she picked up things just by listening to them. she grew up with her father who was the village priest, a religious and ruthless man; her pagan mother and her two older brothers.

joan's father groomed her brothers to be servants of the church just as he was. the oldest brother, as soon as he discovers her extraordinary abilities, secretly took time to teach her how to read and write. while her mother taught johnna the ancient healing arts by way of herbs. she learned diligently. her father though thinks that she was an abomination (unnatural) and forbade her from learning anything at all. unfortunately, she lived at an age when there was a low opinion of women.

one day she was discovered by a visiting monk who recognized her gifts. he taught her alongside with her brothers, the classics, philosophy, greek etc. the monk, excited of his find, sent word to the bishop to have her immediately transfered to the school to be given proper education, even though education was traditionaly given only to christian boys, the monk thought that it would be a crime against god not to send her. her father grew exceedingly furious. he only agreed to it if one of her brothers would be sent with her.

when the bishop's emissary came for her back at the village later, and was instructed to bring just one child. her father insisted on sending her brother instead. it was the last draw, joan decided to run away and pursue her calling.

the story is about her remarkable journey to rome where she becomes the pope in a world where she was forced to hide behind a disguise -- that of a man. where only behind this mask that she could be free. she quickly made a name for herself going against tradition but not without adversaries and allies along the way.

she became a distuigished healer and an accompished philosopher infamously arguing for equality. she was a scribe translating into different languages knowledge of the classics. she knew the value of education and took the time to teach others who were willing how to read and write.

unfortunately we could never know if this is a true story or not for if there had been any record of her, it looks like it had long been (maybe intentionally) erased from antiquity. today her inspiring story survives as mere medieval legend.

the film gives us a realistic view of why sexism perpetuates to this day. that there must be a relationship between religious doctrine and how religious people view and treat women. we can see how the story bears comtemporary implications against modern day sexism, ignorance and superstition, against gender roles, of politics in the church heirarchy. and how equality remains to be, not only a religious but certainly a social and political question.

4 out of 5 ****
read more of st paul and st. aquinas views on women

Les Fantomes de Goya

Francisco Goya was a court painter to the spanish crown. Ines Balbutia, daughter to a rich merchant, was one of his subjects. Another client of Francisco is Brother Lorenzo who is the one responsible for excacerbating the inquisition by re-establishing torture. Ines was accused of judaizing (practicing jewish traditions) and arrested because she refused to eat pork.

Such was the power of the Catholic church during those times. I watched horrified as they tortured the truth out of Ines. Although we are far from "those times", we could still witness this kind of barbarism in countries where religion/church reigns supreme. And this I believe is central to the message of the movie. It is a warning of what religion is capable of doing given sufficient power over the state.

There doesn't seem to be any justice for Ines even towards the end of the film where Brother Lorenzo was finally caught and executed because of something else (treachery) he has done.

Rating: 4 out of 5
I love history. See Peninsular War and French Revolution

shadow women

les femmes de l'ombre is a film dedicated to women who fought against nazi barbarity during world war 2. particularly this film is about 5 women who were hired by the french division of special operations created by winston churchill in britain a.k.a. the SOE.

it begins with the recruitement. a french sniper and her brother who were both formerly tortured in the camps, a prostitute convict who had no loyalty to britain nor france, an ex-wife of heindrich who is a nazi fficer hiding in britain in shame of her past connections, an explosives expert who was apparently catholic and very religious, and an italien/jew operative working as a secret agent disguised as a nurse in normandy. their mission was to deliver a geologist out of normandy france and back to england. unfortunately the sniper's brother was captured.

things get a lot more interesting after they were forced to make a side trip to occupied paris for what turns out to be the real mission - to assasinate heindrich who had knowledge of a big plan by the allies and he was trying to convince the third reich of the threat.

i was perhaps quick to judge the ladies as they each were compelled to display rather some unadmirable qualities during the mission as each take turns at valor and cowardice. in the end they were all just being human. when one is faced with the same predicament (torture), i wonder too, what would i do.

one by one each of the ladies played their roles valiantly having to give up their very lives for the mission.

rating 4 out of 5
i love films which depict women of strength, intelligence, skill and guile.

religulous

the word religulous is a play on the words religious and ridiculous. a satire comedy by bill maher. agnosticism for the common man. spoken in common words that can be understood and appreciated by everyone esp christian america as compared to but not much unlike the works of richard dawkins, hitchens, and others which are a bit more eloquent.

i managed to get a copy of the film here (RELIGULOUS). you have to download it asap for it might be asked to be removed. copyright issues tu sais. ^_^

the film talks of religion more than the existence of gods/dessess namely yahweh since bill was half catholic and half jewish. nevetheless, i enjoyed it thoroughly.

even though bill was posting the questions and i think the movie does not fall short of giving out the answers. at least to the thinking audience anyway (the questions are leading) and it almost always puts the theist to a defensive. it's what i believe in - end of discussion!

bill asks valid questions - on the subject of the virgin birth, is the earth 5000 years old, is islam a religion of peace, revelation and the self fulfilling prophecies, odd things but all makes sense from the average theist mind. other questions of interest. why politicians today (unlike the american forefathers who were secularists) pandering to churches. how some? church leaders profit from church coffers. homosexuality. the status of women in moslem society. how moslems think islamist terrorism has nothing to do with religion but everything to do with politics. hmm .. actually this maybe true to a degree ..

the funniest bit was when he played a joke on the guy who was clearly high on something and who believes in a religion that includes the use of hallucegenics. héhéhé.

Rate 4 out of 5 ****
bill. you are the man!

Kate Chopin: The Awakening

i do not know if the woman at the front of the book is kate chopin. or is it the heroine edna pontellier. kate chopin is a writer who wrote short stories in the late 1800s. the same time as our national hero josé rizal.

the first short story is "the awakening", notably her best work. the awakening recounts the tale of madame edna pontellier who just liberates herself from society's traditions. a time when women were considered property, when it was necessary to depend on being married to someone to provide for them, when women were restricted to the home and the kitchen, when women were in all respects functions primarily to provide assurance for the next generations - a baby factory. i am tempted to point out that this is a time that could describe the present as well. how ironic and horrible isn't it? but no, i am referring to the late 1800s.

some points i gathered from the short story - le réveil:

1. french créole society has similarities to pinoy high society as it exists as a microcosm.
2. infidelity was accepted if it does not cause a scandal.
3. the key to freedom is financial independence.
4. people do not own people. we are only in as much as we want ourselves to be.
5. i do not like the ending. i do not see the necessity of commiting suicide at the advent of her liberation from social bonds. maybe i misunderstood it? edna strikes me as someone who is strong but unless kate chopin meant to potray love as something that weakens people, both men and women. then maybe it makes sense.

Rate 4 out of 5 ****
Progressive ideas

The Notebook

An overly sentimental rich girl (allie) / poor boy (noah) love story that works for me (Maybe just me) . I guess one needs to draw something from real life to be able to appreciate it. That sense of wanting to be with someone from another world so bad and things are not in your favor. Where despite the improbability, we pursue it anyway.

A reminder that we have but a short while in this life. And we will all have to deal with endings despite how much we think we deserve eternity. And in the end, we just have our memories.

I disagree with what I felt the movie was in a way saying - that having a full life equals having someone to love (and back). Having someone or not should not deprive anyone from having a full life. There are many pursuits in life. In fact, it is not uncommon to find people who are in relationships to be at the loosing end, having compromised many things just to stay in it.

Rate: 4 stars ****
Made me cry like a baby ^_^

Children of Men

Watched the movie on HBO last night. I 'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic movies and this was one of the best. The movie paints a realistic and terrifying vision of the near future, a future that seems all the more probable with all the problems that the world is facing right now.

The movie is set in the United Kingdom of 2027. Mankind has less than a century to survive, since all women have lost the ability to conceive and bear children. Accompanying this crisis is a worldwide societal collapse, rampant terrorism, discrimination, and environmental destruction. Britain becomes the last functioning government, persecuting illegal immigrants and refugees.

Watching the movie gave me a picture of the world, if the present problems of global warming, political/financial instabilities, and terrorism would continue to worsen. Unlike other apocalyptic movies where mankind is quickly eradicated by some kind of holocaust, Children of Men shows a slow and more gruesome collapse of humanity and civilization. Coupled with the mysterious dilemma of infertility, people have lost all sense of decency and morality. Many of them have simply surrendered to their inevitable doom and destruction.

Despite all the death and suffering, the movie offers hope and redemption for humanity. It might not be that uplifting (at least not for me), but it still shows that there is something positive and good about people, and there is a chance for mankind to survive.

City of God

imdb page

I heard lots of good things about this movie, mainly for its realistic depiction of crime in the 'City of God', the name of a slum area in Rio de Janeiro.

I was a bit apprehensive, as I was afraid it would be too violent and disturbing to watch. But it didn't turn out as violent as I thought it was. Yes, lots of gang killings and violence takes place, but it doesn't revel in them unlike many of today's unimaginative and horrible torture movies that masquerade themselves under the horror category. City of God does its best to hide the graphic nature of the violence and only uses them to illustrate how dangerous and desperate the area is.

It is filled with many fascinating characters, each with his own storyline. I found myself believing that these were real people and not merely roles played in a movie. The main character is a gang druglord named Li'l Ze. We are introduced to him starting from when he was a little kid hanging out with a bunch of local thugs. At first, it is amusing to see how eager he is to try to fit in with the older guys and show that he will make a good gangster in the future. Then the film fast forwards to the point where he is all grown up and now quite a scary character capable of much violence filled with his desire to control the City of God.

The other main character is a young boy named Rocket, who somehow manages to avoid getting himself involved with the rampant crime and violence. He grows up to be a struggling newspaper errand boy, with a passion for photography. These two characters - Li'l Ze and Rocket frequently bump into each other at critical junctions, and their paths finally cross in the climactic final scene.

The sequencing of scenes are very nicely done and serves to advance the story in a captivating way. Through this method of storytelling, we are introduced to the secondary characters of the City of God - Benny, the popular gang leader and best friend and partner of Li'l Ze. Knockout Ned, the humble unassuming slum resident who is unwillingly drawn into the gang violence. We also get to know Rocket's love interest, Angelica, and Carrot, the rival drug lord to Li'l Ze's empire.

An interesting side note is how big the class differences are in Brazil. You've got the poorest of the poor living in the City of God slums, and we get a small glimpse of the other side in the newspaper scenes, where it seems like a very different country. The income gap between rich and poor is as wide as the differences between first and third world countries.

This was an entertaining and fascinating film to watch which I highly recommend.

Rating: 4/5 * * * *
Great characters and realistic story.

Death Proof

imdb page

Death Proof was originally shown in theaters as one half of the Quentin Tarantino 'Grind House' double bill, the other half being Planet Terror. The two movies were released as separate DVDs, though there is a planned 'Grind House' special edition release coming soon. I wasn't able to catch this during its theatrical run so I had to settle for viewing the DVD.

This film was shot B-movie style, with grainy film quality, skips, and even an occasional blooper thrown in. It's supposed to have the effect of going to a delapidated movie house showing old, low budget films. It reminded me back when I was in high school and college, where I wouldn't be too picky about the types of movies I watched, going to poor quality movie theaters to watch rehashed 70's and 80's movies. Most of them weren't good at all, but it was still fun to watch. Death Proof tries to replicate this effect with mixed results.

You get three different picture styles, as well as two sets of female victims. It starts with a rough, grainy, old film look, complete with audio and video skips. This is part with the group of girls led by Vanessa Ferlito. It then shifts to black and white (presumably as we're now on a separate roll of film) when the second group of girls led by Rosario Dawson are introduced. Then there's a very cool effect when the film shifts to color, and you see that the girls' car is actually yellow.

To get to the good parts, you have to bear with a lot of boring conversation by both groups of girls. I found the dialog between the girls very difficult to sit through and got increasingly irritated and bored with the seemingly endless talking. I think this was the intention of Tarantino, to make us so tired of listening to these characters that it would make the action scenes much more interesting by contrast.

We are spared from having to hang out with these unlikable characters once Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) is introduced. Here is a guy we actually like. An old school stuntman from the 70's and 80's. A loner who gets the attention of the only other likable character in the first segment, Rose McGowan, a sweet girl who feels alienated by the slutty, shallow, drug-using group of girls we had to bear with earlier. McGowan is able to hitch a ride with Stuntman Mike after they leave the bar. And this is where the action starts.

In the second segment, we have to bear with another torturously long chit-chat between the Rosario Dawson group of girls. While not as irritating as the first group, they had their own set of unlikable qualities. At this point, I was actually rooting for Stuntman Mike to finish them off. And I think this was the emotion that Tarantino was going for with his audience. For them to root for the bad guy. After all, if you take away the psychotic murderous serial killer side of Stuntman Mike, he's actually a pretty cool guy who you'd like to hang out with and can relate to.

My main complaint with this film is the overly long, boring conversation that takes place not once, but two times, with two different groups of females. Perhaps Tarantino could have found a way to make these parts shorter, while at the same time getting the same intended 'irritation' effect. Or maybe not.

The dialog also feels somewhat contrived, especially with Tracie Thomas' character, Kim. Just too much girl power. Only two girls were likable, the sweet and innocent Rose McGowan, and Lee, the cheerleader (who has a somewhat interesting side story in the end, when she is abandoned by the Spice Girls).

The best parts were the road action parts. These are not your ordinary chase scenes. Most vehicle action scenes in today's movies are spliced together in a way that they don't have the same cohesion, like watching a bewildering sequence of special effects on the road that leave you dizzy. The Death Proof chase scenes appear very genuine, like they were actually taking place, and they tell a good story, with emotional pacing. This is oen of the reasons why Quentin Tarantino is one of my favorite directors. You can feel the love, care, and attention to detail that he has for his movies in something as ubiquitous as a high speed car chase scene.

Overall, a very entertaining movie. And I'm eagerly awaiting Planet Terror, the other half of Grind House, when it comes out.

Rating: 4/5 * * * *
A little action with lots of annoying dialog.

Hot Fuzz

imdb: Hot Fuzz

Hot Fuzz is a brilliant and funny film from the makers of Shaun of the Dead. If Shaun of the Dead was a movie about all other zombie films, then Hot Fuzz is a tribute to every cop film made. It has the same director, writers, and two lead actors as Shaun of the Dead.

The plot revolves around a London supercop named Nicholas Angel, played by Simon Pegg, who's so good that he makes his superiors and colleagues look bad in comparison. So he gets assigned to the small, quiet town of Sandford. Here he meets his new partner, Danny, played by Nick Frost, who is Simon Pegg's real life best friend. They also played the part of best buddies in Shaun of the Dead. A couple of people get killed, which is chalked up as 'accidents' by the police chief. Everyone in this town seems so dumb, but things are not what they seem to be.

The first two thirds of the movie contains lots of references to cop movies. There's a scene where Angel visits his partner Danny's apartment and sees his huge DVD collection. They watch some scenes from Point Break and Bad Boys II, and Danny mimics his favorite scene from Point Break, which will be revisited in a later point in the movie. He also pesters Angel about whether he was able to do some of the cop stuff that he has seen from those classic cop films. To which Angel replies that he hasn't done any of those, and dismisses them. Again, this will be revisited in a later point.

The first two thirds is essentially a setup for the climactic last third. A lot of buddy cop movie cliches are thrown in - the amiable police chief, the rival cop team, the good-looking villain, and many others. If you watch a lot of action movies, you'll recognize them all. Then in the last part, all hell breaks lose and all the cliches come to life unexpectedly.

This was an extremely well made film, with great attention to detail. You'll need to watch this closely, or like what I did, watch it twice. As every scene turns out to have some important meaning later on. On my second viewing, I watched this with the commentary on in the DVD, where the director and Simon Pegg reveal a lot of the hidden gems. There's bits of humor sprinkled throughout that will only become apparent on second viewing. For me, the funniest part was the 'Point Break' reenactment near the end.

As you may have heard, this is a British film, but it was made to parody hollywood movie cliches, so the comedy feels very American. The spoofing is also very subtle, unlike what you're used to seeing in movies such as in the Naked Gun, Hotshots, and Scary Movie franchises. This will satisfy all action movie enthusiasts. I would love to see a sequel.

Rating: 4/5 * * * *
Everything you liked in cop movies.

Marit Larsen - Under the Surface

This is Marit Larsen's solo debut album. You may remember her as the blonde girl from M2M. I've gotten my fair share of ridicule in the past for being an M2M fan, but what can I do, they make good music.

At the young age of 24, with this album, Marit has established herself as a certified pop star with an extraordinary ability as a composer. The songs have catchy melodies, witty lyrics, and that x-factor that differentiates it from what you usually hear on the radio. You'll find yourself thinking how unique and refreshing each song is to listen to.

The individual tracks focus on a specific feeling and make a point. It's a combination of pop, country, folk and have a little bit of that M2M feel. It's clear to see that among the two M2M girls, Marit is the better composer and musician. She avoids the formulaic top 40 radio style by cleverly incorporating whistles, harmonica, claps and other cool sounds in her songs.

'Only a Fool' is my favorite song in the CD. It's the one making heavy use of the harmonica, hand claps, and whistles, and is a hybrid pop/folk song with country-style lyrics. Without listening to lyrics, you'll think it's a happy feel-good song, but listen clearly to the words, it's actually a sad and angry song.

"Don't Save Me" is the most commercial-friendly hit, staying number one in the Norwegian radio charts for several weeks. This comes closest to the traditional M2M sound only with a bit more edge. It's a angst-filled angry song disguised as a happy one. I like it because of its undertones on the M2M breakup. If you think about it, it seems to be directed towards her former M2M partner and best friend Marion Raven, who first went solo after getting a million dollar recording contract leaving Marit behind. I imagine this to be her feelings regarding the breakup.

'Under the Surface' is a haunting ballad with a slow Broadway-like melody. At first it sounds like your traditional boring love song. But there's a twist - she suspects her partner still holds feelings for someone from his past. And this thought dominates the rest of the song and she ends up sounding more desperate and obsessive with this realization. This may be the deepest and scariest song in the album.



Overall, this is a beautifully made CD filled with future classics from a rising star. You need to check this out.

Rating: 4/5 * * * *
From the better half of M2M

A Chinese Ghost Story

I remembered watching this classic Chinese horror story back in high school. Back then, the idea of spending a night in a haunted house really spooked me out. Despite the numerous scary and gory moments, the movie is basically a love story between a man and a ghost.

The original Chinese title of the movie is “倩女幽魂” or “a beautiful maiden’s spirit”. It stars the late Hong Kong actor, Leslie Cheung, as well as Taiwanese actress Joey Wong, and Wu Ma. The movie such a hit in Hong Kong and a few other Asian countries, it spawned off two other sequel movies and a cartoon.

The movie is an adaptation of a short story written back during the Qing Dynasty by Pu Songling. It is a typical tale of a lost traveler who spends a night at an abandoned house/temple, not knowing that the place is haunted by maligned spirits.

In the movie, the temple is haunted by a troupe of ghosts and demons, all controlled by an ancient tree demon. The ghosts are ordered to hunt mortals to feed to the demon tree.

The hero (Cheung), stays in the temple, and falls in love with the tree demon’s favorite ghost maiden (Wong). Despite all the horrible things he saw, the hero manages to fall in love with the ghost maiden and resolves to free her from the clutches of the tree demon.

Watching this movie again, reminded me of how I first reacted many years ago. I was too engrossed with the horror scenes and special effects to even bother noticing the love story. Now, I find the movie to be a tragic love story between two people. It is impossible for a mortal and a ghost to fall in love. Freeing the ghost from the tree demon’s clutches would only sets her soul back to the wheel of reincarnation. They would have to wait for another lifetime to meet up and fall in love all over again.

I gave this movie a four star rating for its story and its attempt to delve into the classic theme of a Chinese ghost story. After all, this movie is based on a Chinese horror tale written many dynasties ago. I wouldn’t recommend watching the sequels or the cartoons though (apparently Chinese movies are also prone to bad movie sequels).

Marvel 1602

I recently purchased the hard cover edition of Marvel 1602. This graphic novel is written by Neil Gaiman and drawn by Andy Kubert. Here, Gaiman reinvents the marvel universe by transporting iconic Marvel heroes to seventeenth century England.

We can see Stephen Strange working as the court magician of Queen Elizabeth, and Nick Fury acting as the Queen's spymaster (ala 007). Both Strange and Fury are working against the political maneuvering of Count Otto von Doom.

The two groups are seeking for the fabled treasure of the knights templar. Fury and Strange get to meet (and work with) other Marvel heroes: like the minstrel Matthew Murdoch (Daredevil), Peter Parquagh (Spiderman), Carlos Javier and his witchbreed (Professor X and the X Men), and the Four survivors of the Fantastick ship.

I like the way Giaman integrated the Marvel heroes into a Elizabethan-like setting. The plot invokes a sense of mystery and urgency. What is the legendary treasure of the Knight's templar? Who is Virginia Dare and his white American Indian bodyguard Rojhaz?

Overall, I find the series a nice read. It's been a long time since I enjoyed reading a comic book with an excellent storyline. I'm planning to buy the next series of the 1602 series (where some of the heroes have arrived in the New World).

princesse soraya d'iran

a biography on soraya esfandiary, queen consort to the last shah of iran. a beautiful woman. the shah is emperor. this film focuses on the romance and drama between her and her then husband reza pahlavi. like many monarchs, they were pressured to produce an heir. and as powerful as we perceive them to be, they are really more vulnerable and not in control because of their position.

in any case, my favorite part(s) is where it touched on the history of iran itself. the political backdrop. at this time, european powers (mainly the british) imposed an embargo, having sent battleships to prevent the arrival/departure of trade ships, so that iran will be forced to sell their oil and trade with them. sounds familiar? this has very similar underlying circumstances of when the US forced japan to trade.

the result was irans citizens starved and suffered for there was no food or anything coming in. nor oil coming out. depleting the country's coffers. this angered the people. and a nationalist movement was formed. iranian oil for iranians.

reza's family urged him to agree with the british so that the political threat of the national movement would be stopped. but soraya who was ideal at this time, and having talked with certain figures in the nationalist movement, urged him to not give in. to follow what the people wanted. this was the turning point.

a coup d'etat ensued. it was so easy. because the people had nothing to lose.

this was a good movie because it opened my mind as to what happened in iran. how it was the british who started it. how americans got involved, when they had a deal with the shah to retake the thrown after his brief initial exile in italy. and later, this was no longer part of the movie, but was soon overthrown with another coup by ayatollah khomeini and this time, iran became what we perceive of iran today. an islamic republic.

rating 4 out of 5
its all about power, greed and oil

Ong-bak: The Thai Warrior

Ong-bak is a Thai action/martial arts film with some of the best fighting scenes I've ever watched. Its main star, Tony Jaa, appears to perform all his own stunts, and every punch and kick is delivered with full impact. I have a feeling that many of the actors and stunt men had sore bodies after filming. If you're a fan of old school 80's fight movies, you've gotta see this one.

The best part is when all the bad guys chase the hero through the crowded streets. Our hero jumps through barbed wire, leaps over walls, and steps over the shoulders of the henchmen in order to evade them. And yes, there's lots of good fighting here. In fact, the movie is more than two-thirds fighting and action. Another good part is the fight club scene at the bar where Tony Jaa is forced to beat up colorful characters named 'Pearl Harbor' and 'Big Bear', reminiscent of Jean Claude Van Damme's Bloodsport.

The only shortcoming of this movie is that the fights get somewhat repetitive in the end. You see the same moves over and over again. The final battle scene is anticlimactic. When you get to it, you're so exhausted from all the action that you want to take a break.

Yes, there's a story here too. The protagonist, a lowly villager named Ting who has been trained in the art of Muay Thai fighting is tasked to recover the head of the Buddha which has been stolen from his village. Along the way he meets a scam artist named Dirty Balls and his sister Muay, who take advantage of his fighting abilities to make some extra money, as well as help him in the end against the bad guys. Muay, portrayed by a young Thai actress named Pumwaree Yodkamol, is one good-looking woman. Though she is portrayed here as a short-haired college-age tomboy with a somewhat irritating voice, she's the second best reason to watch this movie.

Rating: 4/5 * * * *
You want fights? This movie has it.

perfume

This is one of the films featured in the recent 2007 french film festival in cebu which I missed. But I was able to acquire an english copy from a colleague.

The backdrop of this fascinating story in 18th century France, a decade and perhaps a couple of years before the American Revolution. City of Paris. There was this fish vendor who gave birth to an unwanted child. A boy.

Early on, there had been many attempts to dispose of him, but he proved lucky enough to survive. Growing up he was obviously different. He has an extra ordinary ability to smell. Distance is of no consequence. He can track anyone for miles, if he so chooses. He can break down any smell to its parts.

Naturally, he became an apprentice to a perfume maker. He was so overwhelmed by his sense of smell that when he became an adolescent. He made his first kill. An accident. A woman. Consumed, there began his journey. Perfume making has similarities to the composition of music. Each note blends. His goal was to preserve the smell of the woman.

My favorite scene in the movie is when the city elders were deliberating on their plan of action. One of them, who was a religious nut, suggested that the local bishop excommunicate the killer. As if this single act would at any degree prevent any more killings. This I think is a relevant social commentary about how people from the present day, solve their problems either by incantations or having incantations told for them by some authority. in this case, the holy mother church. Fortunately, the voice of reason was heard. A serial killer is out there and its going to take human wits to catch him.

This is the kind of movie which lingers long after it has ended. Morbid, sensual, and shameful.

Rating 4 out of 5
Disturbing.

fair play

this is the only film which i was able to catch at this year's french film festival. its about a team of people and their politics. there were 4 major characters. jean-claude the manipulator, charles the manager, alexandre the loser, and nicole the executive assistant.

alexandre, who appeared to lack confidence, was an easy target. hed be the subject of ridicule. or spite. and he seems to get blamed for everything. jean-claude tries to give him advice. like thinking out of the box to solve problems. or how it was important to have the guts and be willing to do anything to achieve a goal. even if it means stepping on other people's toes. charles who is the manager - mr perfect - mr know it all - the man that society looks up to. he puts alexander down too. his words cuts like steel. i can relate very well with alexandre. and then there is nicole who is also an easy target being at the bottom of the food chain so to speak. people act as if they wer perfect incapable of making mistakes. its all just an illusion. or that sometimes we play the victim card. so that the responsibility is out of our hands.

one day, there were all in a company sponsored outing. that could represent the real world. real life. where every person is for him/herself. an accident happens and they were all trapped. the title says it all. the accident overturns the table. and they all find themselves in an unfamiliar territory. top becomes bottom and vice versa. noone escapes except one. good acting. good story. and it's not hollywood - perfect!

rating: 4 out of 5
life is one big accident