Christmas movie

Today we saw Narnia in class. To me the movie isn't very "Christmassy", but an enjoyable film. Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the wardrobe is based on the book of the same by C.S. Lewis. The book is one of many in the Narnia series which in total is seven books.

The Narnia series has many similarities with another series; Lord Of The Rings. And this isn't purely coincidental. Both Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien fought on the western front during "The Great War". Many of the epic scenes in both series draw inspiration from both writers experiences during the war.
Maybe the best example of this is seen in Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings. In the second book the protagonists cross a wasteland where there was a battle long before. In the waters and pits there are dead bodies looking up drawing people in. This is partly based on a riverbed close to the Somme where Tolkien fought. When the soldiers crossed the riverbed they could see their comrades faces staring at them with a dead gaze.

The Narnia series has a religious perspective unlike its counter part. C.S. Lewis was going through a religious phase at the time of writing and many of the characters are allusions of biblical figures, e.g Aslan having a striking resemblance to Jesus, even though he's a lion.

It's leaking!

Julian Assange, self proclaimed watchdog and future Bond villain, is again in the spotlight of the world. The liberal hacker/journalist/philanthropist is on the run from the international authorities. Accused of rape and three accounts of sexual harassment he has now gone underground.

The most recent dump of documents is mainly diplomatic gossip. It gives an honest picture of the real diplomatic relations free of any false smiles and awkward televised conversations. It shows us that official policy isn’t the same as personal opinion. American diplomats call Kim Jong Il a “flabby old chap” and Putin and Medvedev Batman and Robin. The rant goes on and on about every major world leader, but is this so terrifying?

The opinion of the diplomat isn’t the same as the country’ foreign policy, so as long as no one starts crying the world won’t end in a nuclear holocaust, yet.
When it comes to Julian Assange he is currently in an undisclosed location waiting for the diplomats to stop calling each other names, and when they do it will all go back to normal. Or at least until WikiLeaks releases a new load.

Japan vs. World

In class today we read about how Japan has tackled the clash between their own and western culture.

When the Japanese surrendered after WW2 many westerners came to Japan and were shocked by what they saw. They thought of the Japanese culture as childlike and immature. But instead of folding to the western culture, the Japanese went on the offensive.

Today the phenomenon of "Manga" and "Anime" are taking over our animated culture. Disney Channel now broadcasts shows like "American Dragon" in "Anime-style". Pokemon and Digimon might not be as popular now as they were, but Japanese culture has definitely left it's mark on Western Culture.

Delivering expectations or…?

Last week we saw the adaption of the novel The Kite Runner. In the previous weeks (8 or more) we read the novel and did several tasks regarding it. The movie is a fateful adaption, and will please the ones who read it and those who's never even heard of it. on the other hand it is in a way too faithful; e.g. in a sequence where Amir returns to Afghanistan the dialogue is exactly the same. That itself is not a bad thing, but I don't think the screenplay and the novel should be the same thing.


But as always anyone who read can't help, but feel disappointed. It is an unbreakable law, we all have a different idea about how the characters look like and sound like. And when everybody's got a different idea someone is bound to disappointed. And this time it was me. It wasn't a particular person, but the feel of the movie.

Every Hollywood movie filmed that is supposed to take place in the middle east have this feel to it. They all the same music; some Lisa Gerrard or Dead Can Dance (same thing), the same visuals; a yellow filter and the same actors. I feel kind of sorry for actor Saïd Taghmaoui. I have seen him in several Hollywood-movies and he always portrays a terrorists. So it pleased me to see that he for once played a good guy.

But in the end it was an ok film. Nothing more nothing less, just bland.

Erin Brokovich

"Erin Borokovich" is a story about a single mom and uneducated legal assistant who uncovers a major cover-up of a pollution scandal in southern California. It stars Julia Roberts as the title character, Albert Finney as her boss and Aaron Eckhart as her love-interest. The movie is all about the title character and it relies on her for both plot and comical relief all the way through. If it hadn't been for Roberts performance as Erin the movie wouldn't have won the audiences hearts and minds. And that is a bad thing. There are few if any scenes without Roberts in them and those are either pointless or street shots of buildings. The other characters are one dimensional and uninteresting and only in the film to be ridiculed by Erin and to never be seen again. The film was nominated to four Academy Awards in 2001, but Roberts was the only one the film one. Steven Soderbergh lost the best director award to himself for his other film the superior movie "Traffic".

The Butterfly Circus

Last Friday we watched a short movie called "The Butterfly circus" in class. The movie takes place rural part of the U.S. during the 1920s and follows Will who works in a circus. Will has no arms or legs and is just a part of an act of the circus in which he is displayed as "perversion of nature". A member of audience approaches Will, but Will just spits in the mans face. Surprisingly the man is the one who apologizes. It then revealed that the man was the director of "The Butterfly Circus".

The next day the will escaped the circus and wants to join "The Butterfly Circus" The director will let Will travel with the circus, but he won't let Will the circus as an act until he has something to show for. One day Will nearly drowns in a river, but miraculously manages to stay afloat. He eventually learns to swim and can finally join the circus.

The movie is story of hope. The hope that everyone can accomplish anything no matter what physical challenges you may have.