Star Wars: The Last Jedi: A Fan's Opinion

Rey confronting the sorrowful shadow
of days gone by.

I finally got to watch Star Wars: The Last Jedi today, and I've got some conflicting feelings about it. To begin with, it's a departure from the original Star Wars story line, wherein the Dark Side/Galactic Empire is portrayed as a well-oiled and efficient death machine, run by a fearsome, mysterious warrior-dictator, while the Light side/Jedi are portrayed by freedom fighters struggling for justice and peace.

Music with expletives is not music!

I don't like listening to music that contains, or even references, sexual content, or swearing of any kind. I'm not being a prude, or defending my 40-something age or worried about poisoning the minds of our young and impressionable kids, or anything of the sort. I've always been this way, and that's probably why I've always been put off by the majority of Rap music, and some so-called R&B too. 

Good Games Don't Die!

I used to be addicted to online games, until i realized that I was spending more time trying to beat online strangers that enjoying the game itself, so I'm much better now. But yesterday, as I was looking for some PC stuff, I came across one of my favorite games, Battlefield 2142, by Electronic Arts. They're the same people that just released Battlefield Bad Company 2, and it's latest addition, BC2 Vietnam, and all the other great EA titles like Simcity and the Sims. But Battlefield 2142 is something else completely!

Mad Max 4 without "The" Mad Max!

I just read this on Scifi wire, if its true it'll be a crying shame!

Mel Gibson talks Mad Max IV: Possible cameo

January 18, 2010
Mel Gibson, the original Mad Max, will appear in the long-awaited fourth installment in the post-apocalyptic movie series.

Or he won't.

Star Trek to Show in Kuwait on May 7th

According to IMDB, Star Trek will be released in Kuwait on the 7th of May, that means tomorrow!

HOOYAA!!

I tried to pre-book on cincescape earlier this morning, but the online schedule only gives me Wednesday´s timetable. I suppose theyŕe gearing up for next week´s schedule.

I´ve been waiting for this movie to be released since August 2007, and man what a wait it´s been! Back then, it was slated for release by December 2008. If i´m able to make it tomorrow, it´ll be a great change of mood from all the dullness and economic insecurities that are happening in Kuwait these days!

SciFi Fans Rejoice: Neuromancer is coming!

For those of you who are not really into SciFi here's an introduction: Remember "The Matrix Trilogy"? Well, this is the story that made a direct influence over the story. IMHO, I would consider this to be the 'Grandfather' of Neo's adventures in the world of the Matrix. Some would say that it was a prequel to the story behind the Matrix.

Written by William Gibson, the story talks about a burned out Hacker who gets recruited by some shady characters in order to apply his skills towards stealing stored human consciousness, among other things. This is the surface of a much more and deeper plot. All in all, a terrific (and puzzling) read, if you like this sort of thing, that is.

The great thing about it is that this is the first of a trilogy of stories, called 'The Sprawl Trilogy', all inter-connected, and written by Gibson, and all portray a completely unorthodox view of futurism and I, for one, hope that this movie lives up to the author's written representation.

In the meantime, I'm really looking forward to the upcoming Star Trek Movie, due out on May 8th 2009, and not as I previously mentioned in my earlier post. And let's not forget the upcoming Terminator: Salvation....just click on this link and see for yourself!

Righteous Kill: My Dream Come True!

They finally got together for a full movie this time! DeNiro & Pacino star in the upcoming movie, "Righteous Kill" due to be released in September this year. Apparently it's not a dark movie like "Heat", but more of a crime thriller, with some smart one-liner undertones.

It's first release will be in Russia, by September 11th, so hopefully we'll get to see pirated copies circling around the torrents sites, or Shisha places around Kuwait soon afterwards.

Battlestar Galactica Season 4 Premiers April 4th

Not many shows produced fathom the depth and complexity of Battlestar Galactica these days, a remake of a 1970's Science Fiction series, wrapped in the mysticism and theological interpretations of Greek Mythology, Persian Zoroastrianism and Nordic theology among other faiths and religions, and presented in a CGI-enhanced storyline that rivals the best of SciFi series ever produced.

Now, before anyone jumps and says, "Another bunch of yarns about long interstellar spaceflight and ridiculous beaming technology, and more dumb tales and fables", just take a look at the awards and nominations that this series has received to date. It's so good, in fact, that a spin-off has been announced, just before the beginning of it's fourth season, called 'Caprica'

This season, sadly, would be the final season carrying the BSG storyline, albeit stretched across two years, but since there's a gigantic hole in the plot, everyone would know how it all began, and what caused the storyline to end the way it did. Mind-probing and intensive in it's twist of Human Mythology, BSG has created a new genre in TV.

Iron Man is realized!

Iron Man, Marvel Comics' latest addition to it's comic-to-movie adventures, is due to be released in Theaters on May 2nd, 2008. Although the movie hints at terrorism, and the main character's role in combating the Taliban (HO-HUM!), the Special Effects and soundtrack seem to be amazing. Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" is featured in the movie, how appropriate! I'm sure Ozzy Osborne would be thrilled-if he had enough working brain cells, that is :)

Here's the trailer..

Man, the '80's still rock!

Star Trek XI is on for December 25, 2008!!!

Word on the grapevine is, the Star Trek movie is slated for release on Chrismas Day 2008, and that it will have a 'prequel' theme to it. J.J. Abrams of the famed "Lost" series will Direct the movie, and will star, among unannounced others, Zachary Quinto (Heroes) and Leonard Nimoy (Spock in Star Trek).

The last movie, Star Trek: Nemesis, while a commercial failure, does fill in many blanks in the Star Trek universe (for those of us who are into the genre, anyway), and does go to explain some of the past events, like the Earth-Romulan War and the rise of the United Federation of Planets, the Treaty of Algeron and the signing of the Khitomer Accords. I liked it, and so did some of the fanbase, but others dismissd it as a failed attempt by the producers/writes to live up to the original theme of the late Gene Roddenberry, the creator of the Star Trek genre.

Hopefully, the new production team will be able to dismiss all controversy surrounding the future of the gener. In short, I hope it'll be as good as the series!

Well, it's SciFi, you get the idea..

Movies this Year

Some of the upcoming movies this year;
Shrek The Third,
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,
Ocean's Thirteen,
Die Hard 4.0: Live Free or Die Hard,
The Bourne Ultimatum,

These are just a few of the great movies coming this year. Shame we live in a place where censorship is still going on.

Away in Dubai, Continued

WHOOPS!!!!

I realized that all the posts I wrote while on Dubai weren't published! Thanks to my limited-but-increasing-knowledge of -Mac OSX!! Anyway, here is they are. WARNING: Long Post!

Day 3 (April 18)
1-Class review: Interesting opening lecture this morning, the recap of yesterday's subject was enough to consider yesterday's lecture as a waste of time! (10 minutes' summary was all it took!). We had an interesting speaking come in from NCR to talk about banking services & technologies & how people respond to both, yadda yadda yadda..Collected more business cards from a couple of bankers from Yemen. Apparently, in that country, people actually feel safer if they see as man with an AK47 in his hands standing outside the bank!

2-Movie review: Didn't go to the movies today, decided to stay in the room & catch up on my reading. Watched continuous coverage of the Virginia Tech shooting on CNN & BBC. Thank God they've started to ease off on the coverage. I suppose someone decided that CNN International doesn't have the same Demographics as CNN America!

3-Food Review: Burger King!!! It still rocks!

4-Reflections of the Day: To quote one of my one-liners: The difference between a dumb person and an idiot: An idiot doesn't realize that he's stupid!

Day 4 (April 18)
1-Class Review: Was physically in class, and that was it!! The afternoon session was OK, just can't remember what happened to the guy next to me, simply disappeared.

2-Movie review: I bumped into on of my cousins at the Mall, and we decided to go watch Christian Slater's The Deal. I'm always amazed at how Hollywood seems to re-invent stuff!!

3-Food review: Had McDonald's for lunch today. I've become attached to the fast-food chain, it seems, because I've become impartial to a double-cheeseburger (or a couple of them) with fries! During the evening, i went out withe a friend of mine & had a quiet shisha at the Business Bay, not more than 10 minutes away.

4-Reflections of the Day: People tend to check you out from head to toe, to size you up & see whether you fit a pre-set profile they've encapsulated within their minds from past experiences. In short, a person stands out simply from the way he dresses himself while outside his country. Proof: The next time you see some Middle-Easterners wearing Designer brand t-shirts over designer brand jeans, 9 times out of 10 they're tourists from another GCC country, and if they're wearing a baseball cap, they're almost always Kuwaiti! Try it out for yourselves the next time you're in Bahrain or Dubai.

Day 5 (April 19)
1-Class review: After a bit of arguing with the reception over my check-out time, I walked into class a 1/2 hour late. Wasn't a total loss, as there was a breing argument over the usefulness of the course and people's perceptions of it's contents upon signing up. (About time!) Towards the end of the day, we all said our goodbyes, made sure we had each others' business cards & set off on our own separate paths.

2-Movie Review: Spend a couple of hours at the closest Starbuck's at the mall, waiting for my friend to pick me up & drive to the airport. I decided to check in at the airport earlier than usual, since I had some last-minute shopping to do.

3-Food Review: Didn't have time to do much more than pack & check out. Didn't even have any meal on-board the flight. Just wasn't hungry all day. I was anticipating the home-made club sandwiches that my family's cook makes. They contain three slices of white bread, filled with cream cheese, fried eggs, chicken strips and lettuce. Simple but effective!

4-Travel review: Emirates is THE BEST! A hostess & bellboy welcomed me while I was still in the car, separate check-in lounge, smoothe-as-silk check in procedures, a couple of security checkpoints and I'm on my way shopping at the Dubai Duty-Free, all within 20 minutes of getting out of the car, and that's with other travellers in various queues before me!

5-Reflections of the Day: Nice to be back home. Ever notice that the color palates used at Kuwait Airport suspiciously include Pink?? Who else, but a complete poof would regard Pink as a viable corporate color?? Thankfully, I noticed that the logo on Kuwait Airport's Control Tower is now colored Blue...WAY much better!!

Away in Dubai, Part 2

1-Class review: Somewhat boring morning lecture. Everybody seems to be expecting something different that what is being delivered. Nice Coffee break amenities & smoker's facilities, though. The canape's were nice & juicy. I remembered that 'smoking' was a break-in for strangers with no other commonality, and witnessed it first-hand today, when a couple of delegates started talking to each other during the first & second break, more than yesterday.

2-Movie Review: I was so tired to eat anything after class, so I went straight to my room & straight to sleep. Woke up at around 6pm, showered, & was on my way walking around the Mall. Bought some mags then decided to watch a movie, which turned out to be Mr. Bean's Holiday. It was OK, some giggly scenes, nothing like the actual series, though,. Rowan Atkinson is still the greatest physical comedian in my books, so opening his mouth to say "Oui", "Non" and "Gracias" after the third time wasn't all that belly-aching!

3-Food review: After the movie, I bought some more mags & retured to my room to watch the creeping death story of the day on CNN. Decided not to go out for the evening, so I grabbed the menu & ordered a mini-feast: Chicken Caesar's Salad, Lobster Bisque and Spaghetti Bolognaise. Drowned it all down with just water...that's me for the day!!

4-Reflections of the Day: More Russian "tourists" around, and I've also noticed that there are many African employees at the shops. I wonder whether this signals the beginning of the end for Asian/Philippino salespeople. Also, ever noticed how, after asking a question, some guys listen to the answers with their index finger scratching their cheeks?? Why is that? :)

Away in Dubai, Part 1

I've had the opportunity to get sent to Dubai on a 5-day, 2-part course. Of course, Emirates Air are excellent, as usual, even though i had a nap on on the plane, I knew they served excellent food because my neighbor's stomach growled loudly at one point right before we landed, which is always a good culinary indicator.

I arrived at the Kempinski-Mall of the Emirates around 45 minutes after i touched down!! I was lucky enough to grab a free "limousine' ride from the airport to the Hotel, courtesy of Emirates Air's Business & First Class services. The driver-i imagine-must have some little pics of Michael Schumacher in his pocket because we were doing between 140 to 160KPH! I didn't, mind, i was eager to get a shower & unwind, especially after the slight turbulence we came across along the way!

I liked my hotel straight away! The Reception's ambiance was bright, modern, fresh, square motifs all over the place. I walked into my room and it was the same...square motifs, excellent layout, nice view, terrific bathroom...I had a shower almost immediately, ordered some dinner, watched TV on my 40-inch Plasma Widescreen LG TV.....but....

I tossed & turned all night! The pillows were so squashy & collapsible that my posture was never quire comfortable for sleep. Eventually all I could muster was 4 hours' sleep.

Woke up at 8am, reported to the classroom at 8:30 sharp..struggled to stay awake until the end of the fist day. Went back to my room to try & sleep some more, didn't amount to much.

Got up, dressed, walked down to the Mall, got some starbuck's to wake me up, did some window-shopping, & eventually decided to watch "Shooter" which is nothing more than crappy copy attempts from Commando, Sniper, Assassins, all wrapped together into one American-propagandized waste of time.

Point of Observation: Everywhere I look around I see non-locals as the majority, and they're all strutting to & fro, lugging sophisticated PDA's, talking to their friends, business associates or customers, or managers, always working or playing...in other words, living their lives. The locals, when they're around, are to some extent walking around, hunting for women, or sitting at coffee shops AND hunting around for women. I guess certain habits are across-the-board in the Gulf!

The Best SciFi Movies Poll

BBC just quoted SFX Magazine that "Serenity" has been voted the Number 1 Scifi Movie in terms of Special Effects! Here's the complete list:

1. Serenity (seen it)
2. Star Wars (seen it)
3. Blade Runner (seen it)
4. Planet of the Apes (seen it)
5. The Matrix (seen it)
6. Alien (seen it)
7. Forbidden Planet (seen it)
8. 2001: A Space Odyssey (seen it & read the book)
9. The Terminator (seen it)
10. Back to the Future (seen it)

My number one favorite out of this list would have to be "The Matrix", followed by "Blade Runner", and I include Sound, storyline, ingenuity as well as special effects.

And on that note, The X-Files universe is looking towards making another movie, finally!! I miss watching Mulder & Scully fighting off their attractiveness to each other as well as the evil aliens!!

"By Your Command!"

Of the number of series I download & watch these days is the new & improved "Battlestar Galactica". This TV show has changed the way people (like me) view & enjoy SciFi! A refurbished story with terrific plots & twists that make you want to jump up & shout "YEAAHH!!" & kiss the writers too!

Its about 12 colonies of humans who were attacked by sentient robots of their own
creation. The series begins with the Cylon attack on their Capital Planet and continues to unravel story after story of riveting drama, action and suspense (did I just sound like an Indian movie ad?!)

It was so successful that when it first aired in the UK (before the USA!!) people couldn't download it fast enough to watch it in the USA.

Try watching the first, two-part pilot then decide whether you can allow yourself to be addicted to downloading it weekly & watching it religiously, like me!

To my knowledge, this is the only TV show to launch a 10-part series of 'Webisodes'-webcast-only episodes that last for around 4 minutes, that fit in between two seasons and give the viewers an overall picture down to the micro-details of each plot!

More information can be found on their official website.

HINT:Season 1 has already aired on Showtime, and both Seasons 1 and 2 are available on DVD, but you can download all the episodes of all the seasons via Bittorrent or eMule.

More info can be found here

Piracy? Plagiarism? Worth it? You decide....

Film Review: Miami Vice

I recently got a chance to watch Michael Mann's latest work, the reincarnation of 'Miami Vice', one of the greatest TV shows of the '80's. Thanks KNCC!

I must say, Michael Mann's unique photogaphic and theatrical skills are terrific! You get the feeling of being 'in the discussion' with the actors, as opposed to being 'in the action' as with other movies (like 3D Special Effects in SciFi movies). You get this feeling when you watch his other great works, like Crime Story, Ali, Heat and the Last of the Mohicans..all great for your DVD collection. In fact, Heat is one of my favorites, I enjoyed it so much that I still listen to the soundtrack!

As for the movie, the plot was ok, the acting was good, the dialogue was realistic, the action was, well, active! My only gripe was the female villain, Isabella, played by Li Gong. I had such a hard time following the realistic and fast utterrance between the characters, I didn't need to concentrate my hearing on a character's jumpy English speech with a lousy American accent!

Jamie Foxx did an OK job, although in hindsight, I think his character's been overwhelmed by Colin Farrell, who plays Crockett, really well, I might add. And let's not forget the wheels!! A sexy Ferrari F430. I imagine the Gulf Road will be full of them pretty soon, hairstyle and all!

If you're into a movie that will get you lost in the world of crime and drug-running, enjoying buttery pop-corn, soft drinks and snacks, this movie is NOT for you! You need to concentrate on the dialogue in order to get the overall picture. Plus, some scenes will actually make you jump off your seat, they did with me, even when I expected what was going to happen! So, either wait for it to be released on DVD and enjoy it in the privacy of your own home theatre system, (or download it), or go watch it alone, with nothing but a bottle of water. Trust me, you will enjoy it more that way!

Open Season on Braveheart

The recent outburst by Mel Gibson while being arrested for drinking & driving reminded me of the willingness of Humanity to be 'spoon-fed' with stereotypical, morailty-infused 'one-liners', like "Racism is the scourge of the world" and "All men are equal under God" and "Jews have been persecuted all their lives" etc..

Let's consider that gulping pints and pints of alcohol makes a camel look like Brooke Shields (or Brad Pitt, whatever goes for you), and then mix that fact with a multi-millionaire Hollywood star like Mel, who brought us Silver screen gemsl like the Mad Max and Lethal Weapon series, the great Saga of Braveheart (a gem in my DVD collection!), and recently, the notorious Passion of the Christ, being arrested while under the influence of said alcohol, blurted out his inner feelings. An overwhelming response by anything and everything loosely connected to the Jewish community explodes! Along come a web-based report 'reporting the facts' as it were, and starting a chain-reaction, bringing in Gibson's past into the picture, his father's opinion, et al!


Even with two public apologies and official requests for assistance with his alcohol problem, entities like the Anti-Defamation League are still skeptical about Gibson's sincerity.

Personally, I think the Jewish community has decided that Gibson was Anti-Semitic from the moment he decided to direct the "Passion" movie, and that they were waiting for something like the DUI arrest to say "AHA! Now we got him!" Never mind that the"Passion" movie was closer to the true facts than any other biblical scripture, never mind the fact that Christ was to save the Jews, and was sold into persecution and death by the very people he was to save as a result...Oh no, Gibson crossed the line by reviving this issue, and now he's paying the price for it.

In view of his upcoming movie "Apocalypto" some anti-Gibsonites said that he won't succeed in promoting or selling the movie, but in the end, money talks-as I always say!

I believe it's prudent to say, here, that Gibson will continue to succeed, excel and make blockbusting and thought-provoking movies until he retires (or gets retired!)

What does it take to be forgiven, I wonder?