For more information about Sam Cooke, go here. The first one's my fave; it's from his album Night Beat. I like it best when I wake up surprisingly early on a weekday. I play it, and it's a good day. Enjoy.
With the exception of animated movies a la Ice Age, I vowed to never step foot in Kuwait's movie theaters. I'll get to that later but yesterday, my sister asked me to come see the atrocious horror flick, The Haunting in Connecticut. It's the type of movie that you don't really have to watch to figure it all out. Anyway, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone because it stunk. I went there mainly for the caramelized popcorn because it's been almost a year since I've had it.
Anyhow, the thing that really got to me is the spirit, ghost, demon or whatever it's called. Why are they always terrorizing the occupants of the household when really, the ghost wants everyone to help him/her out and be "set free" and/or wants the story of their never uncovered murder or what have you to be known to all? Why the destruction, manipulation, hallucinations, etc.? I mean, if I want to get something across, I wouldn't hurt the person I'm trying to get my message through to. I wouldn't slam doors or drawers, break a dish or play around with the lighting. That's just stupid.
Now that I think about it, the same thing happened with the idiotic ghost in Halle Berry's equally crappy movie, Gothika. I remember the ghost (I think it was a girl) tormenting Halle Berry's character. Why couldn't she, the ghost that is, just show up and say, "Hey, that dude killed me. Here's the evidence. So...what can we do? Can you help me out or...Oh, great thanks Halle's-character! Yeah *chuckles* I won't possess you don't worry!"
And there you have it!
I mean, ghosts were human beings once upon a time. Seems like once they cross on over to the other side they lose all sense of reason! I swear if I get a ghost who hassles me and ruins my day with mixed messages I won't try to figure his/her story out unless they settle the hell down and talk to me straight. I, however, wouldn't come to the ghost's aid if they like, hurl a lamp across my room. Supernatural tantrums will never work. Just tell it like it is, ghost!
The only ghost I sort of am sympathetic with is the chick in What Lies Beneath, mostly because I liked the movie. See, that's how they do it. I mean, I still theoretically don't like how the dead girl possessed Michelle Pfeiffer. There were some scary scenes in that one. But yeah, if the ghost is going to act like a jerk, maybe spin it the way it is in this film. Oh wait, and The Sixth Sense. Poor kid, had to see a lot before figuring it all out in the end. I guess the surprise element is more evident in the last two.
NB: The reason why I don't go to cinemas here is because it's a legalized rip-off. Now, say you get a pair of pants but they only give you ones with one leg. The other's just cut off. Either way, you have to pay full price for them. Same thing goes for movies here. They censor the films and make you pay full price (it actually went up from 2.5 to 3 KD). That's just not right.
25th Hour – Recommended by a friend I've written two movie review posts and not once did anyone mention Spike Lee's the 25th Hour! I was at a friend's house and we were picking out some movies to watch. My friend's brief synopsis of it sounded good so we popped the DVD in. It was incredible. Everything about it was amazing. The story, the spectacular cinematography (my favorite part was in the end, when Edward Norton and his friend were talking against the glass that showed off the dance floor), just everything. Now keep in mind it is an intense movie; it's not entirely depressing, just thoughtfully depressing, if that makes sense (it will after you watch it though). This is a definite must-see in my books. My rating: 9.5/10
The clip below is of Monty's (Edward Norton) famous New York hate speech. Don't worry, it's not a spoiler. It just gives you a taste of his angst against his fate behind bars.
Transsiberian– Recommended by a friend I was taken off guard by this movie. It really is a good film with interesting characters and a hand-wringing story that's going to suck you right into the thrill just before you're on the edge of your seat as I was. After they finished working on a goodwill project in China, the main characters Roy (Woody Harrelson) and Jessie (Emily Mortimer), a married American couple, hop onto the Trans-Siberian Express train that starts out from Beijing and ends up in Moscow. The two make friends with Carlos (Eduardo Noriega) and Abby (Kate Mara) on the train and the film starts to unravel then. I don't want to say anything else because I might ruin the story for you. In short, it's a tense, terse and tight must-see. My rating: 8.9/10
I've been catching up on classic movies and this one was in the bunch. I knew that this movie was pretty up there on the sex-o-meter, I just didn't think it was almost two hours of watching Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke doing the rumpy-pumpy in various locations and mannerisms, so to speak. In terms of eye candy, this is a sure treat; the pre-face disfigured Mickey Rourke is rather edible in this movie, both in terms of looks and his saucy character and Kim Basinger is a young, naïve stunner, sort of a subtle cross between Brigitte Bardo's sass and Twiggy's angelic allure. Although steamy, there is a psychological factor in the film especially in the end. My rating: 6.9/10
"Because we're walking on the beach and I don't want to run out of batteries."
The battery bit was a lie. I knew our walk would last for less than an hour. And plus, I rarely get some complete alone time with him, away from everything.
"Oh look, this is mama's favorite seashell."
"Let me see."
"Here."
"I want to give it to her."
"Okay."
"Can you hold it?"
"Sure…I think we need a bag though. I can't hold all these seashells in my hand. Do you see any loose bags around here?"
Unfortunately, there were a lot of bags strewn around the beach area. All along the way, him and I tossed plastic and glass bottles that were near the shore toward the soft, grainy sand area that is farther away from the waves.
"Okay, here's one bag that isn't torn."
We continued to walk with no destination in particular. I had some black tar stuck on my right foot that I scrapped away on the mossy rocks. I don't know how some of it ended up on my fingertips.
We passed by kids that were about his age, three of them. They were looking at something that was being washed over and over again on the shore.
I was as curious as the children. I looked over at him as his face lit up.
"It's a crab!"
It sure was. And the three boys were trying to catch it but their attempts were uneventful. He was a bit older than them.
"Here, give me that."
He took the plastic shovel from one of the boys and managed to drag the little crab out onto the dry sand. The three boys were ecstatic.
One of the boys flipped the tired crap onto the flat surface of the shovel and skipped away to show one of the two women who were sitting on the wooden benches facing the beach. We saw him shove the crab between the two women and heard both of them yelping.
"Take it away!"
I was suddenly embarrassed. I smiled and waved. They waved back and laughed. All was well.
