The Last Stand

Is it a comeback for Arnold or massive failure? In terms of a Schwarzenegger movie it's a roaring success. For the 65 year old actor he makes a very good comeback considering his limited acting abilities.

The film initially has two parts, one being a CIA operation in Los Angeles and the transport of a federal prisoner and the second is about a small town Sheriff (Arnold) and the town he lives in complete with an inept police department. Naturally the prisoner escapes custody and meanwhile strange characters show up in the small town.

From the opening scene itself the movie holds high promise and holds a certain amount of suspense that it manages to hold throughout the film. Credit should go here to the director (Jee-woon Kim), cinematographer (Ji-yong Kim)and the composer (MOWG) all of whom are Korean. The only area where this doesn't hold true are in the villain's scenes which continuously break the suspension of disbelief that is built up very well everywhere else in the movie.

Scenes in LA are very reminiscent of The Dark Knight robbery both in terms of the way it's shot and the musical score. But then again that film was heavily influenced by the film 'Heat'. Regardless this is the style used for these parts of the film.

There are plenty of car sequences in the movie, with the second by far being the best and if you ever wondered what a 'Need for Speed' movie would look like this scene would be a good indicator.

Latter car sequences look like they straight came from Bollywood in terms of their implausibility and are easily the worst parts of the film. Though there is one interesting game of cat and mouse. It's an all American Muscle affair which is not a bad thing. Sections where cars blaze down the road put the fifth entry of the Fast and the Furious series to shame.

Now on to Arnold. His performance is much as can be expected though its certainly better than in Expendables 2. He delivers one liners in spades. His action sequences are heavily toned down which is a good thing considering his age. Beyond that it's pretty much standard Arnie. He hasn't really gotten any better. Other actors with notable performances are Peter Stormare and Forest Whitaker who really help add credibility to the film.

The shootouts in the film are all well done with very believable tactics being used including and cover and suppression fire. There are also minute sniper on sniper battles which I haven't seen since since 'Enemy of the Gates'. In these shootout sequences everything is very plausible and all of the film's high points take place in the town.

There is also a steady supply of light hearted moments which convey the fact that the movie doesn't take itself too seriously. This is a good thing considering the lead actor.

The biggest weakness in the movie is easily the villain. It's a seemingly large blight on an otherwise very enjoyable film given the scale of his scenes in comparison to the movie. Still definitely worth a watch especially if you ever liked Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Why Mr. Anderson?

The Matrix Revolutions is the third part in the Matrix Trilogy. While both the second and third films lack in substance and are generally far inferior to the original movie, there are moments when you think 'oh... there is something good going on here'.

In Revolutions (spoilers ahead - but this is an old movie) everything leads up to one big final confrontation. During this scene we are treated to a superb monologue from Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving). This is one of those scenes that actually make you pause and consider.

Walking in to this final battle Trinity ( I suppose you could call her Neo's soulmate) has already given her life so that Neo can complete his task. In the second film he asks the Oracle "What happens if I fail?" to which she replies "Then Zion will fall." Zion being the last human city on Earth.

Keeping all this in mind Neo enters the Matrix to fight Agent Smith in one major final confrontation. They fight and Neo takes more of a beating then Smith. He gets up, spits out blood before taking up a defiant fighting stance in what is a homage to the first film.

The fighting continues until finally... Neo is defeated.

This is the scene that immediately follows:

Many would say that Neo's reply is stupid, and it is what I initially thought, but when you keep everything that has happened in the two films in mind it makes sense. Smith states "Why keep fighting? You must be able to see it Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now. You can't win... it's pointless to keep fighting." And that's where Neo's answer makes sense. Instead of choosing capitulation he chooses to keep fighting.

I believe that life is full of choices. At any given moment we always have a choice. Sometimes people say that they didn't have a choice. But here is a line from a different film that has been adapted from the original book:

"Dark and difficult times lie ahead. Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy." Albus Dumbeldore - Goblet of Fire the film.

Shortly after this scene Neo dies. But so does Agent Smith.

Expendables 2

Bigger, Badder and Better.

The first and most important thing to say is that this movie is vastly superior to the first. Everything is just plain better from the dialogue to the action scenes.

Actions scenes really have to be given a mention as the action sequences in the first film were severely underwhelming. In this film we have much more personal encounters that are well choreographed especially in one particular scene that takes place in a small town. This is where the action sequences really take off and hark back to the glory days of the 80's action flick.

There are also numerous scenes where the 'Good Guy's' just stand around guns blazing 24-7 with people falling front, left, right and centre. These are easily my least favourite sequences in the film. In the aforementioned town scene gun bursts are tight and controlled which makes for a far more interesting action sequence overall instead of non-stop guns blazing.

Jean Claude Van Damme really shines in his first scene as a villain who is quite naturally of Belgian/French ancestry which allows him to just act without being hindered by the way he talks. It's a smart move and his first scene shows that he can act in comparison to the other actors in the movie. Sadly he doesn't get nearly enough meaningful screentime and I felt that he was a bit underpowered as a villain despite showing off his trademark kick several times.

Liam Hemsworth also deserves a special mention as he is easily the best actor in the entire film and steals the show in several scenes. However even he can't save the film from plain bad writing in certain sections. Overall his segments are somewhat stronger than the rest.

Certain cameos are much better than others. The humour is also significantly better in certain segments especially the Chuck Norris joke which I laughed at once during the actual scene and again when I remembered it at the end. Some of the action sequences were also funny, some of which was intentional and some of which wasn't. The same could be said for Stallone's acting.

I have to say Arnold Schwarzenegger really didn't seem to have his heart in this film at all, or he just plain can't act. Not sure which it is. Bruce Willis is interesting but never really hits home. There was however *some* good dialogue between Willis and Arnold.

Overall I'd have to say the film is worth a watch just to get a kick.  It doesn't try to be Citizen Kane and doesn't pretend to be either. It certainly doesn't take itself seriously and has it's moments amidst some cringeworthy ones. If you ever liked or laughed at the long gone glory days of the 80's action flick, you should definitely check it out.

It Figures

See this wonderful figure? It may appear to be a piece of plastic or a toy to most of you. To me it is more of an effigy than a toy and it embodies the essence of a character especially if it is well crafted. After all it is the end user that dictates how an inanimate object is used.

But sadly you cannot buy this figure even if you wanted to. Why not you ask? The reason is simple. It’s what’s known as a custom job. Due to the less than stellar performance of the film ‘Dredd’ in cinemas no official figures were produced or no plans were made to do so prior to the film’s release.

So what this enterprising individual has done is build a custom figure. This is achieved by purchasing different action figures and gutting them for parts which are then modified. That is why the attention to detail on it is quite frankly exemplary. Since only one is produced the craftsmen can apply lots of love and dedication to his final work. Most mass produced figures do not have such caring hands behind their creation as they are produced on a factory line in the thousands.

This figure is pretty impressive and like many of its size has many points of articulation that allows for great posing opportunities.

You can find the original thread about it here:
http://www.toyark.com/judge-dredd-karl-urban-4-inch-custom-112647/

What's App Doc!

As many of you are already aware is that there is a SMS substitute software called What's App. After having been requested to use it by a work client who informed me he was stepping out of office I installed it on my phone.

Obviously it's needs a net connection to run. At work I can use Wi-fi at the expense of battery power. Essentially I can communicate with this client for free even when he no longer has access to Skype.

He gives me his phone number and then communication carries on. All the while I'm thinking what is the point of this app beyond communicating to people overseas. And yet people are using it even locally.

Some advantages obviously are group chats, sending images and other attachments though this will cost you on your data. However you always need to keep your data/wi-fi connection on unless you keep checking it at regular intervals. Doing this severely reduces the battery life of any device whereas sticking to traditional SMS has no impact on battery whatsoever despite the cost.

Now in an effort to embrace technology I've kept my wi-fi connection on and used what's app. The problem is my battery keeps draining at a much higher rate requiring me to charge once a day.

Also for some strange reason there is no iPad app. This way I could have switched off my Internet on my phone and left the ipad on which is anyway always on when at home. But apple or the developers have prevented this for some strange reason (yes jailbreaking will work). You can however keep it running on a Windows machine or tablet in addition to a Mac. iPod touch is also supported. So there is a win there if you want to stay connected permanently. None of these are official as far as I know except for the iPod touch.

You might have noticed that other popular Social Media platforms started on the web and eventually had a mobile version. When you're at home you can just use your machine. By default this is not how What's App is intended though it would seem to be a smart move to market it that way.

As it stands you need to be connected to the Internet on your mobile device constantly to receive information in a timely manner. When you consider this SMS seems to win out as you are guaranteed delivery though at a higher cost. For people who regular text people such as their boyfriend/girlfriend you do find other alternatives from mobile providers. So what I'm asking you is, is there any real point to What'sApp?

It has been cited that Whatsapp is cheaper which is most certainly true especially if you mange your data correctly. However What's App is not free giving users a year to try it on Android and Windows platforms while Apple users have to pay from the get go. Sure it's only $0.99 but are you actually willing to pay for it?

On the whole this doesn't seem like an SMS killer. Most non users I mentioned the app to suggested using gtalk or Facebook as alternatives instead.

What do you think?

Do Black Men Rule the World?

Black people have often been the target of much racism and discrimination throughout history, whether it’s been deemed as slaves or just generally being thought of as stupid or inferior.

But don’t you think it’s strange that there is one area where black people tend to dominate? What’s that area? Well it’s none other than the sporting arena. Been watching the Football World Cup? Ever notice that many of the Caucasian teams have at least one or two black players? Some have a lot more. England, France, Germany and the USA come to mind.

I remember it being funny that in the past ‘America’ won the World Basketball Championship and yet so many of their team are African Americans. The NFL and MLB also have a heavy representation of African Americans like nowhere else in the country.

But what’s that you say? African Americans are Americans? Yes quite right. They are. But it’s strange that there’s all this racism (though a black President is a change) but when it comes to sports African Americans have the best facilities and are as American as anyone else. Shame the same isn’t true when it comes to aspects such as education. In the past there were rules limiting the number of black players allowed on a team (Before the 1960’s). Yet racial equality was achieved in sports much faster than any other area for some strange unknown reason.

My only question is… what do the Ku Klux Klan remnants think of this? Where is the white power movement to clean up American sports? Oh that’s right… they play damn good, so it’s cool then.

I AM THE LAW!

Quite some time ago I found myself in a class at ACBT. The student population in that class was all Sri Lankans and one Chinese girl. During the casual idle moments of the class where people would just chit chat, the conversation amidst the group I was in went to what I felt was an inappropriate place.

They started saying all this stuff about Chinese people and calling out 'Chinaman' and having conversation saying that all Chinese women are prostitutes. Worst of all that person could hear all of that, sitting only a single row in front. The group of people was both male and female and they were having a good laugh. The Chinese person stayed still like nothing was happening.

It took me a few seconds before I turned on those guys with an outburst and told them to stop. 'It's not funny' I said. They all went in to a quiet mumble mumble and stopped. But I ended up being the 'fun' killer. I have my rules and according to those what they were doing was wrong. All moral play. Yay!

But you see come the next class they were at it again and under the same setting. But you know what? I didn't say anything after that. Why? Well quite simply I felt odd. Like I was the lone guy who actually cared. I mean who the heck am I to go about 'enforcing' things? At the end of the day all I ended up becoming was the buzz kill. By doing that I was alienating myself from everyone else which wasn't something I wanted to do... and hell I didn't even know this Chinese person. So what was the point? There was a class full of people in there... what were they doing?

Looking back, what I did the first time was the right thing. If I was in that same situation today I'd keep doing what I did. I guess that would put me at odds with the mob, but I wouldn't really want to be part of the mob.

The question is, can you really do the right thing when everyone doesn't want to? I've always found you'll be on loose ground if you do and ultimately heading for trouble. All those guys had to do was throw a big "APOOOOO" my way or "Who Cares?" and then what am I supposed to say? "I am the law?"

Racism Racism

Racism is a cliche problem. It's a cliche because it really just doesn't go away. But there is a misconception as to what it really is. Most believe that one group of people just automatically begins to hate another and that they are evil. Since things can turn violent then the people doing these actions must be very bad people.

But the reality is a little more complicated. Racism stems from fear. People who are racist are afraid of those people who are not like them. It's all fine when there is only one different person, it's like 'oh this person is from so and so'. Even if its just 10 people then its usually fine. But the problem begins to manifest when the numbers become significant, say when an entire population moves in.

Suddenly these strange people are a noticeable force and they moved in to your land. It's like some strange guy moving in to your house, the one you lived in with the people you know for the last 10 years. Suddenly this new guy comes and he's brought his friends. You're house is big but you can't say no because its a public house (example).

Now these guys need to eat. So they open your fridge and start to help themselves. You don't like that very much. After all they're not one of your kind. Then they might even begin to intermingle with the people you know and this makes you uncomfortable. One guy might want to marry your sister. There's nothing wrong with the guy but you get a strange uncomfortable feeling. You'd prefer it just didn't happen because it'd be much simpler and you'd rather just not go there.

You're not a bad person, but you just don't like these foreigners that much and worst of all they have no intention of leaving. At first it was ok, they didn't interfere, but now they're changing the decor to match their tastes and getting more and more vocal in the house. You don't like that at all after all its your house!

The funny thing is, the house always belonged to you in the past, and no matter how many generations of the newcomers live in it, you feel it still belongs to your people. After all... they were here first.

The feelings of resentment are there, like some baby brother you now have to share your toys with. But the worst part is having to share without someone you don't really know that well and you don't identify with.

Just imagine that I come to your house and stay there. You never invited me and now you have to share all your stuff with me. I have a job and I contribute fairly and all, but still I can help myself to things that you never really owned, but when others take them you feel jealousy. Worst of all I'm here to stay whether you like it or not. I dunno... I get the feeling you wouldn't like me very much.

We're the X-Men!

That’s right you heard me! Ok fine we’re not really... But we are a team... or at least we were. Over time the number of folks at Mathawaada has steadily dwindled. We were once 5, but now we’re like 2.

Teams are cool. Why? Well you get to work with other people who have some similarities to you. But a team also allows you to realize what makes you different from everyone else... sometimes you notice things about yourself that you wouldn’t notice when on your own.

Anyway here’s the Mathawaada roster!

Bawa: Bawa mostly wrote about politics, life at the medical faulty and of course the occasional strange monster. The good doctor hasn’t been in for quite some time now unfortunately. Posts from Bawa include Culture Shock: My First Day at Uni and Real Women What Rubbish.

Horton: The girl member of the team was the first to disappear. I always thought it was nice to have a female input to stop the sweaty smelliness of a sausage fest but sadly this didn’t last. Horton wrote about literature, relationships and love. Posts from Horton include Handling the Temptation and Booze Or Fag.

DRG: The Dirty Rap Gangsta was all about Hip Hop and Rap Music. DRG was also heavily in to film and theatrical productions many of which made appearances on the blog. He also was also in to books and a bit of romance. Sadly despite being one of the main members, he’s also disintegrated in to MIA status. Posts from DRG include hip-hop-and-sri-lanka-where-b&s-and-iraj ruined the show, and Falling in Love with a Psycho Chick

RealskullZero: He mostly writes about Sri Lanka, politics and some philosophical stuff. He’s still around of course but his posts have significantly dwindled in number as of late. There were times when he was the only one posting though... Posts from RealSkullZero include: Does India Really Care About Sri Lanka and Aliens in Sri Lanka.

Foxhound: Yeah that's me. I mostly wrote the philosophical stuff in addition to other stuff like Creepy Creepy Creepy and No Respect in the Bedroom

We're always a team regardless of the number and we have no intention of stopping anytime soon regardless of the situation. We're gonna keep on rolling yo!

Apologies for the self indulgent post.