Taken
Luc Besson had a hand in this as the writer, and if you don’t know who he is he has written and directed Leon AKA The Professional as well as produced Danny the Dog and Kiss of the Dragon. As well as a few others that he has had a hand in, I have purchased and enjoyed them all. This was supposed to be release in the US next month but has been pushed back until Jan 2009. Shame, I will probably buy it from another country before it even hits the US.
The movie is about a retired “Agent” (they don’t really say exactly what he did for who) who’s daughter takes a trip to Europe and is abducted by a white slavery oranization. Since I like this type of setup so much (as mentioned in my last entry), this one was cool because it wasn’t all depressing at the end, and he kicks some serious ass to get his daughter back. I hope it gets a good reception when it finally makes it to the states. Liam Neeson hasn’t messed this many people up since Rob Roy.
mike Movies
Dead Man’s Shoes
I like how IMDB now uses tags on categorizing a movie. And not just “Drama” or “Comedy”, cause it has those as well (and this movie is not a Comedy or a Drama), but it has plot keywords like “Revenge”, or “Shot in the Leg”, or whatever else pertains to the movie’s story. Very cool, it now helps me find movies that are similar to ones that I already like without limiting myself to the director or the writer.
The Revenge keyword usually gets my attention, cause I really dig a scenario where someone gets whats coming to them. So I went down the list, where I weeded out either really old movies, or ones that I’ve seen and thats where I came across this movie. I’ve never heard of it, or anyone that played in it, and it was an English movie (proper English, like from the UK) so that seemed interesting as well. The only problem I had was that it was an English movie. We speak the same language but I could hardly understand half of what they were saying unless I really strained and turned the volume up very loud. I almost prefer a subtitles movie than trying to decode a heavy english accent and figure out all their slang terms.
Otherwise, it was a fantastic movie. A quick synopsis : an ex-soldier returns home, years after his younger and mentally handicap brother was tormented by a little group of degenerates. That’s it, but of course that is also without me spoiling any part of the movie. I love finding movies like this.
mike Movies
Michele and I don’t get to the movies all that much, and when we do it’s not like we decide on a movie and then find a babysitter, a babysitter presents themselves and we panic for a while trying to figure out what to do with our precious spare time. This is where I can always catch Michele at a disadvantage. I tend to know whats in theaters at the moment and what I would probably like to see. I like to think I’ve warn Michele’s will down over the years, and she’s usually fine with whatever we see as long as it doesn’t have gratuitous sex and subtitles.
This time I suggested we see Iron Man, and I was a little ansy through the movie because I was really enjoying it but I couldn’t read Michele’s reaction. She enjoyed it a lot, and was happy with our evening of a dinner and a movie. Whew, glad I didn’t pick a dud.
Okay, so thats the background, now the movie. Iron Man wasn’t my choice superhero as a kid. He never seem all that exciting to me, just a rich guy with a metal suit. He didn’t have claws, spin webs, turn invisible, move things with his mind, etc… I was a kid though, with superficial opinions about what makes a cool good guy or bad guy. I’m still superficial like that, but I do appreciate a protagonist that isn’t as one dimensional as Wolverine.
It was a cool movie, well paced. I’ve had this entry as a draft for a month. I’m not going to wrap this up nicely, I’m ending it right here.
mike Movies
For the 3 that read my AnD blog, I’ve re-setup my blog import from http://www.mywushublog.com/
I finally finished re-copying the entries I lost when my server died. Letting AnD import my blog is a very nice way to keep a backup, and share with the HK community.
mike General
I put up two new gallaries on my main site
One is of the server rebuild and the other is of the family (mostly Owen).
Both Owen and Caralyne keep michele and I very busy. For instance, right now I’m typing this up as Owen is taking a short nap and Caralyne us playing a computer game. I may try and workout, but the little guy is already stirring and Michele wanted to take a nap so I don’t have any coverage.
Speaking of working out, its sort of weird how restless and ansy I am without Wushu. First off, I’m not sore constantly, and thats with doing a lot more weight lifting and cardio than before. I think most people would thing thats great. For me, its just a constant reminder that I’m being lazy 
. Secondly, since I don’t have those two intense classes a week that really sap all my energy I can’t stop thinking about how I should be working out even more. I think its because our classes at Wushu West were so physically demanding that I know how far I can be pushed, and nothing else that I do accomplishes that. I only last so long on my own will power too, I need others to push me. Now with the Olympics on and knowing that James is in Beijing training at Shi Cha Hai, I feel very removed.
I imagine this is what retirement will feel like. I’m like that old guy that keeps coming back, trying to comiserate with the people who are actually working but he only has those same stories and while everyone humors him with polite gestures and feigned interest, he’s not really part of the team anymore. I feel like that, a by-stander.
mike General