The First Update

When I decided to create this blog, I had the intentions of discussing my thoughts about the media. However, I neglected to remember something: I am a college student. As such, I do not have all of the time in the world to research my extracurricular thoughts. I do feel as though I owe it to myself, and potentially the rest of the world, to put something on this page. So, I have decided that if all else fails I will update every Sunday with whatever kind of review I can give, whether it be movie, book, video game, or any other facet of the media. Hopefully it is still entertaining.

I rented two movies during the week: a crime thriller entitled Chaos, and a dramatic thriller from South Korea called Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance.

Chaos stars Wesley Snipes, Jason Statham, and Ryan Phillipe. It's about two detectives (Statham and Phillipe) trying to track down a bank robber (Snipes). That is a very vague and bland synopsis, but I don't want to spend the entire post retelling the story. Odds are I said everything necessary for you to know if you are interested in the movie or not. Another thing that should be mentioned about Chaos is it was a straight to DVD release. I'm normally nervous about movies released in such a way, but, as you will discover, I am in love with Jason Statham. I will watch anything with him in it, even his new Uwe Boll movie In the Name of the King.

Even though it was straight to DVD, Chaos isn't bad. It doesn't define or remake the genre, but it is a solid movie. The acting is fine, with the exception of some minor characters. Wesley Snipes does what he does best, which is talk trash and kick butt. Statham is tough as ever. Phillipe is kind of bland, but that's because his character is kind of bland. Can't blame the actor the the writer's problem. The plot has a few twists and turns, some of which I honestly didn't see coming. This is another reason as to why I didn't go too deep into the synopsis. That's about all I can comment on. This isn't a piece of fine art. There isn't subtext I can read and analyze. It's a fun movie, and if you like the crime thriller/action genre, then give it a shot if you're bored.

Now, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, that movie you can read and analyze. The plot revolves around a deaf and mute man who lives with and is taken care of by his sister. His sister has kidney problems that could lead to her death, so the brother tries to find a way to save her. Once again, I don't want to spoil anything, so this is as far into the literal plot as I'll get. Oh, and I should also disclose this is the first part of a thematic trilogy directed by Park Chan-wook. The second part of the trilogy, Oldboy, is quite possibly my favorite movie. So, needless to say, I may be biased.

The acting is amazing in this movie. I would say the deaf and mute guy and the owner of an electronics company stand out the most because they are the main characters, but every supporting actor and actress is amazing as well. The story, if you like deep stories, is great. It's like Thanksgiving dinner with how rich and fulfilling it is. The movie takes two different narratives, that of the deaf and mute guy and the electronics company president. The two narratives butt heads and clash with each other and it leaves you not knowing who is the good guy. The story is very depressing and moderately graphic, though, so if you can't handle that sort of thing, be aware.

The subtext of the movie is intricate and deep. I like the moral relativity the film expresses. The characters do things that are bad, but the film never makes them out to be bad guys. In both stories, the protagonists are just doing what they feel is right, and because Chan-wook wants you to, you sympathize with them. However, it doesn't change the fact the heroes are doing very un-heroic things. Also, the recurring theme of the trilogy is vengeance and retaliation won't make you happy. Both of the protagonists have been wronged in the film, and they both get revenge. Neither of them end up happy in the end, though. They actually end up worse than they were in the beginning, but I promise no spoilers. Obtaining vengeance will kill you though, either physically or spiritually. It's very Buddhist or Taoist, which reminds me....

I finished reading the Tao Te Ching this week. I went through a period where I wanted to find my spiritual side and I narrowed down the religions I was interested in to just a handful. Taoism was the one I was most interested in, so I picked up the main text, the Tao Te Ching. It's very poetic, and, to be honest, is hard to decipher so of what the author is saying. However, there are notes to help explain some of what is said. Also, me being moderately intelligent helped a lot, too. I plan on reading it again. And again. And again. As many times as it takes for me to understand everything in it. I'm really going to devote myself to this.

I started reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau, and then promptly stopped. Maybe it's just not what I'm looking for right now, but it was nearly unreadable when I tried. Thoreau's other famous essay, Civil Disobedience, is included in the book I bought, and I tried reading it as well. However, the attempt ended with the same outcome. Thoreau writes too flowery, at least for my state of mind right now. There's always hope for the future, though.

I am also reading The Audacity of Hope by Barak Obama. He, presuming Obama is the actual author, is an amazing author. He has a way with words and coming up with the perfect anecdotes for each chapter. It's is just fun to read. However, he is a democrat, and a liberal one at that, so if you lean to the right, then you may not enjoy it.

Music is something I probably won't touch too often. I recently purchased Spoon's album Ga ga ga ga. I bought it primarily for one song (The Underdog), but I can say I honestly like about half of the songs. I won't decipher the meanings to each song because frankly I don't care about music as much as other things, but I will tell you the CD is fun to listen to. If you like Indie rock, then give it a shot.

I watched some television this week, as well. I saw the finale of the rebirth of American Gladiators. That show is trash, but it is entertaining. It should be known I watched the entire season, not just the finale. I will admit I was upset because my guy (Reverend Andy) didn't make it to the finals, but the lady I liked won (the house wife). Her husband is, in my mind, the luckiest man in the world. I also have been watching Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles since it debuted. This show isn't great, but I am a terminator nerd. And, to be honest, it has been getting better. Not this week's episode, though. It was two-thirds flashback of some character I don't care about, but the last couple of episodes have been decently entertaining. Plus, it's hard for me to refuse Summer Glau.

As for the world of video games, my time is divided between three contenders. First is Luminous Arc for the DS. It's a tactical RPG and it's fun. I love the genre, and a lot of people don't, so it is easy for me to like it. The story is essentially about witches who are trying to save the world, but there's more to it. I'm not being skimpy with details purely because I'm lazy, but to discuss the story of any RPG would take a great length of time to do, not to mention a bucket full of spoilers. It is fun though, and the writing for it is amazing. An RPG never made me laugh so hard.

I have also been playing Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. And let me say this, fuck that game. I will try to keep my posts PG-13 as much as possible, but fuck that game. Fuck it. Fire Emblem is a franchise of Tactical RPGs and the one I'm playing is the newest iteration for the Wii. There is a tradition in the games that if a character dies, then it stays dead forever. I don't like my people dying and staying dead, so when a soldier dies, I restart the game from my last save file. For the game's predecessor, Path of Radiance for the GameCube, this wasn't too big of a deal. But for Radiant Dawn it is grueling. My save file says I have 55 hours logged into the game, but in reality it is at least 100. Probably more. I am almost finished with it, though, so I might as well press on.

Lastly, but not least, I have been playing the Japanese version of Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii. It's a lot of fun, the characters are great, the options are many, the adventure mode is deep and compelling. It is just a great game. I can't wait until I can play it in English.

Do I really consume this much media in a week? Man, Sundays just got a lot harder. Oh well. See you next week, and maybe I'll have something extra on Wednesday.