General

The Departed

By Jay Lagare on Saturday, October 7, 2006

I’ll have to admit that I was leery of The Departed after seeing the billboard. Coming from Hollywood, I thought it is just another one of those gunfire blazing unlimited ammo action flicks. And the title didn’t help: It actually got me expecting some demonic horror twist. But haven’t watched a movie for so long that I actually did go and watch it. Fortunately, I was oh so wrong. The movie turned out to be pretty good. It is essentially a cat-and-mouse game between a police mole in an organized crime gang and a gang mole in the police force. There were no guns blazing. During the whole movie there were probably just over a dozen pistol shots. And there was absolutely no demonic horror twist. Instead, there was intense palpable drama full of twists and turns as the two moles hunt each other out while at the same trying striving to protect their identities and maintain a grasp on the false life (or is it their real life?) they both live. The game culminated in a tragic ending though not without a few more twists.

Okay. That was actually my review, with some word changes, for Infernal Affairs where the movie was based on. But to a large extent, it was faithful to the original and the review is still quite applicable. What Scorsese did different was to make things less complex and easier to understand (or should I say made it idiot-proof?). In that he did quite well. He also strived to develop and establish the characters more. All the actors were great for their roles except for Leonardo De Caprio (okay so maybe it’s just my bias showing :P). And finally, he culminated with a montage of death befitting a classic crime drama (think The Godfather). The end result is a great remake that can stand on its own as a great movie.

Rating: 4/5

General

Which Serenity Character Are You?

By Jay Lagare on Sunday, September 17, 2006

I liked Firefly and Serenity so I followed my sister’s lead and took this online quiz. Results are below.

You scored as River Tam. The Fugitive. You are clever and dangerous, which is a nasty combination. The fact you are crazy too just adds to your charm. They did bad things to you, but you know their secrets. They will regret how they made you.

The Operative

69%

River Tam

69%

Kaylee (Kaywinnet Lee) Frye

63%

Zoe Alleyne Washburne

63%

Shepherd Derrial Book

63%

Capt. Mal Reynolds

56%

Jayne Cobb

56%

Simon Tam

56%

Inara Serra

44%

Hoban ‘Wash’ Washburne

38%

Which Serenity character are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

I always knew I was a hot psycho babe in a previous life :P

General

Pride and Prejudice

By Jay Lagare on Tuesday, August 8, 2006

There are chick flicks and there are chick flicks. On one hand you have those like Bridget Jones’ Diary and How To Lose A Guy. And on the other hand you have those like Pride and Prejudice. Based on the book by Jane Austen, the movie is of a serious tone and yet was able to be humorous at the same time. Furthermore, the acting is absolutely admirable and the dialogue decidedly delicious. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Keira Knightley is great as Elizabeth Bennet. I think I should stop now :)

Rating: 5/5

General

Miami Vice

By Jay Lagare on Thursday, August 3, 2006

Michael Mann sure knows his stuff. In Heat, Collateral, and now Miami Vice, he mixes us just the right amount of guns, cars, a dash of romance, and a fast paced plot. Granted, the story of Miami Vice is not as deep as Heat, but it still is plenty entertaining.

The movie is about two undercover cops who infiltrate a big drug smuggling organization. Pretty soon they got entwined into this world and Sonny (Colin Farrel) especially faced the risk of losing sight of the original objective. But he declared he hasn’t and proved it, somewhat, in the movie’s action packed climax reminiscent of Heat’s street shootout.

There are chick flicks and there are guy flicks. This is definitely a guy flick. And definitely not an art film. But don’t think that’s bad!

Rating: 4/5

General

It’s NOT Just A Case of Land Grabbing

By Jay Lagare on Thursday, August 3, 2006

“It’s just a case of land grabbing.” These words from my classmate grossly oversimplified the Middle East issue. The following is not as simplified and will surely muddle up the issue. But the world is never a simple place.

Jews, along with other people, have been in the Middle East area since the dawn of civilization. After all, the area is the cradle of civilization. And where there is civilization, there have always been war (so much for being civil). During these times, kingdoms (including Jewish kingdoms) rose and fell, people migrated and immigrated. So much so that you scarcely can tell which is which and who is who.

But it was the conquest by Roman Empire that really ended the Jewish kingdoms and led to the Jewish diaspora, the scattering of the Jewish people all over the world. There they became merchants, bankers, doctors, etc. and became well-off. For this people resented them and they were oppressed: forced to live in ghettos and suffering through organized massacres. They even had a word for it: pogrom. The funny thing here is that, though they were still oppressed, the Jews were actually generally treated better in Muslim areas than in Christian areas.

At some point in time, some Jewish thinkers decided that the only way the oppression will stop is through the [re]creation of a Jewish homeland. This is the basic tenet of the movement which became known as Zionism. The Zionists worked towards this end culminating in migrations by Jews [back] to the Middle East, the pressuring on the British for the allocation of land, and the formation of Israel.

This formation came about in the midst of an attack by Arab countries (which included Lebanon) opposed to it. Israel fought off the attack and several other attacks through the years. In this forge of war, Israel became a strong country. You can’t easily oppress a strong country but the hate goes on. People do not hate Israel for what it does. People have always hated Israel. Israel does what it does because people hate them.