Green Zone [Blu-ray]

Green Zone [Blu-ray]

Director: Paul Greengrass

Writers: Brian Helgeland, Rajiv Chandrasekaran (book)

Stars: Matt Damon, Jason Isaacs and Greg Kinnear

Extravaganza of high tech militarilism, politics, and art., March 20, 2010       

            Matt Damon surpassed his exceptional acting in the Informant and Invictus. The fast pace of the movie, the great depth and diversity of the culture and landscape of Iraq, the gigantic advances in military technology, and the politics of building a nation, all made every actor in the movie a big star. The movie maker capitalized on every second of the movie, by intense sound, rich and moving photos, and engaging dialogue. One side of the movie displays the exceptional might of the United States in going to far places, making enormous changes in the course of history of other people, and spreading its unique way of looking at things differently from the other superpowers. Iraq is a tough, tribal, and enormous place for any foreign power to even attempt to meddle with, a challenge that America took and triumphed. Another side shows the struggle of the locals for water, basic needs, and security, intermingling with a foreign army, armed to the teeth with steel, high tech equipments, and space-based fast and accurate communication and information resources. Of course the Green Zone with its lavish swimming pools and buildings was Saddam's making. The focus on the WMD and the attempt to capture one General, who could reveal the initial motive for going to war, was as poor of a choice as choosing Rugby, in Invictus, to show Nelson Mandell's new role after Apartheid. The irony is that both the collapse of apartheid and Saddam's tyranny, which represent the dawn of new era, were taken out of context in the film making arena. The Green Zone tried to emphasize the vanity of invading Iraq based on the bad intelligence on WMD. Even though the motive of the Iraq war will always remain a controversy, the fact that America was decisive to exercise its exceptional power in diverting the course of history will always embody the unique American identity of shaping the future of the human race. The movie would have been able to extend for another 6 hours or more and would never lose its appeal, especially if other views were balanced in the historical and political contest of the war. The trigger-happy atmosphere of soldiers making rules as they see fit and taking lives at random, and without recourse, will always inconvenience people on both sides. On the American and Western side, people might not gauge the brutality of a tyrant like Saddam when comparing the Military taking over the lives of the Iraqis. On the Eastern side, many would hold immeasurable contempt to the trespassing of a foreign army on their own cities and backyard in such vigilante - style. With the long and extended intoxication of the Old World with tyranny, complacency of the masses, and the contemporary crisis of spread of nuclear technology and explosive population overgrowth, the Green Zone could not undermine the positive and refreshing role of America in policing the Globe. The irony of the War, however, stems from the lack of public sympathy with Bush's presidency, regardless of its overreaching and intrusive world policing that is impossible to measure within a short time scale.

My Life So Far by Jane Fonda

My Life So Far

by Jane Fonda

Edition: Hardcover

Great pains make great women, May 11, 2005

            Because of parental detachment, she grew up with immense emptiness. She dismissed her grandfather's desire to earn living away from the "make-believe" world of acting, mother's advice not to marry a musician, father's antithesis to competition and awards for actors, and neighbor's advice not to use dirty words. Such dismissals brought great pains into her life. She plunged into the degenerate society of histrionic artistry, married amoral drunkard moviemaker, and put academy awards ahead of marriage, maternity, education, and religion. Her good instincts inspired her to transform personal pains into universal humanistic activism. Her father's disdain for injustice and racism had long been ingrained into her genes and reinforced with his worldly fame and iconic stature. When she tried to escape her father's shadow and her own insecurities by moving to France for six years, her father's image and values were reverberating among the French activists. Those had mentored her on distrusting politicians, antiwar activism, and progressive social changes. She returned to America in 1968 to fight the government deception on the causes and conduct of Vietnam War and the political manipulation of the public by intimidation, sabotage, and fear. The Nixon's government went to prison in 1974 and she stayed free to make more movies, invent a whole new industry of workout for women, and found organization to help young women prevent early pregnancy. Like a candle that burns to illuminate the dark, she incurred life long insecurity and anxiety, ruined three marriages, dumped her two children on nannies and ex-husbands, hid her bulimia and drug abuse from others, yet took historic stances that bride America in its brave, humanistic, and intelligent citizens. She went to Hanoi during the war and shared bunkers with the Vietnamese during the American bombing of North Vietnam. After six decades of struggle for identity, she sought spiritual guidance in the Church, yet her good instincts and bravery led her to discover the endemic plaque of hierarchal patriarchy that corrupt religion, demean women, and discriminate against believers of other faiths. The book is briefly summarized as follows. Act One: Gathering Resilience. Chapters 1 thru 5 describe her early memorization of her parents, from childhood till their divorce and her mother's suicide. Chapter 6 thru 8 describe living with her new stepmother, her high school years and introduction to bingeing and purging, Dexedrine addiction in college. It ends with her escape to Paris searching for meaning and avoiding her father's shadow. Chapters 9 thru 14 describe her early engagement in acting through private classes with "Lee Strasberg" that resulted into starting his film and play acting in 1959 and entered the artistry society, where she met the French movie director Vadim, married, had a girl child and played in few movies. Second Act: SEEKING Chapters 1 thru describe her return from France to America in 1968 after learning about the American atrocities in Vietnam from two books "The Village of Ben Suc" and autobiography of "Malcolm XIII her divorce thoughts, touring the GI coffeehouses in protesting Vietnam War, and the Winter Soldier Investigation about atrocities that the government claimed to be isolated incident of aberrant behavior. Chapters 8 thru 14 describe her turning into America as a new person mentored by Tom Hayden about the Vietnamese people, history, and culture, her solo visit to Hanoi during the American bombing, being framed as anti-soldier, traitor, anti-American, remarrying and having a boy child, and getting the idea of the story "Coming Home" from dealing with Vietnam veterans. A love scene in that movie upset Tom and ruined her marriage. Chapters 15 and 16 describe her starting of exercise business in order to support her second husband's campaign for office and her disappointed by his rigidity and ingratitude for her role that angered her and led her seek liberation. Chapters 17 thru 20 describe her transformation in acting after antiwar activism in the form of environmental activism, defending women rights in work place, her father's final days, and the effect of acting on her psyche, family, and society. Chapters 21 thru 25 describe her divorce from Tom and remarriage to Ted Turner. Although she felt "unseen" because of his indifference to what was not himself, yet she moved south to Atlanta and followed Ted. That engaged her in global issues such as the role of educating women in birth control, which she implemented in Georgia. Yet, giving up her career and idling for 10 years with unfaithful lover gave her the sense of emptiness and homelessness and led to her yearning to spirituality. Act Three: BEGINNING Chapters 1 thru 3 describe her transformation after becoming grandmother, which led her seek liberation from womanly victimhood, her reliance on books and people during hardships, and her search for spirituality, not tradition or dogma. God bless her bravery. 

My FBI: Bringing Down the Mafia, Investigating Bill Clinton, and Fighting the War on Terror

My FBI:

Bringing Down the Mafia,

Investigating Bill Clinton,

and Fighting the War on Terror

by Louis J. Freeh

Edition: Hardcover

Deep insight into the myth of the FBI November 24, 2005

            The book depicts the dissatisfaction of a government paid employee with his income and his obsession with criminal justice against little players with obvious disregard for civil justice or national security. Preface: Redundant praise for the men and women of the FBI and excessive bragging about his social attachment towards the people and the mission of the FBI. 

Chapter 1: "Khobar Towers". Deals with the 1996 attack of Hezbollah on the Saudi soil on the building housing the American air force enforcing the no-fly zone over Iraq. Freeh' s discovery that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard had hands in the attack was dismissed by Sandy Berger. On page 30, Freeh writes how George Tenet witnessed the frequent meeting with the White House people who plan to deceive the public by manipulating information. Chapter 2: "Only If I yell Duck!". Brags about his lack of desire to accept the job of the FBI director. Though he claims to come from Democratic family, yet was recommended for judgeship by a republican senator, which proves his lies about his lack of political partisanship. He claims to accept the job to please his parents' patriotic respect of the presidency of the country. Although he admits that Clinton planned to fire judge Bill Session for political reasons, yet he accepted his replacement without any conscionable objection, neither for the president who he does not like, nor for the unfair treatment of a fellow judge. Chapter 3: "You're Not Really College Material". Deals with his school years in New Jersey and his relations with his siblings. His community work through a Catholic school took him to Kansas and exposed him to doing good to help the poor by growing "pickles" (which he mixes up for cucumber). The chapter's title refers to the discouraging remarks of his school counselor to seek trade school since he was unfit for college. 

Chapter 4: "The FBI? You're Crazy!". In Rutgers, in 1967 during the anti-war movement and Vietnam War, Freeh was contemplating to join the FBI, which all shows his conforming, pro-government mind, and lack of understanding the value of activism and liberties. Instead of joining the anti-war movement he sought part time job with Senator Clifford P. Case that exposed him to the legal work of the FBI in Newark. Chapter 5: "The Kid's Got Nothing to Do with It". Deals with work as an FBI street agent chasing the mafia between New York and Sicily, Italy in the "Pizza Connection" case. The title refers to his dealing with of one of the mafia members by arranging his arrest such that his kids would not witness him being snatched in front of their eyes and how that humane gesture helped gaining more insight latter from that suspect. Chapter 6: "That's Moody's Bomb". His aggressive prosecution of Roy Moody for his bomb makings that killed a judge and a lawyer turned circumstantial evidence after extensive forensic investigation. Yet Moody was charged with 71 counts and sentenced to 7 life terms plus 400 years. He describes a similar attempt to convict a drug and gun dealer while the jury acquitted him because of mistrust in the government agent. Freeh overzealous bias against defendants assumes that people are guilty until proven innocent. His prosecution of the Chinese scientist form Los Alamos Wen Ho Lee ended in acquitting him after 9 months imprisonment for unsubstantiated acquisition. Chapter 7: "If Anything Happens, You Drive. I'll Shoot". Describes his life as a new FBI director who resents large security escort and prefers low profile lifestyle for the sake of easing his kids' social relations. Chapter 8: "... and the Guy's Bob Hanssen". Describes how an FBI agent commits treason by spying for the KGB for $600,000. Freeh himself whines and complains in many parts of the book on how his low government pay is forcing him to seek private employment where the real money is made. With six children born during his three decades between street agent, judgeship, and FBI director, how much money would make that man happy? In the "Afterword", in a degrading and demeaning fashion, the director kisses the rear ends of the authority figures in the MBNA Bank of America for signing his paycheck. His greed and lack of talent couldn't be separated from his dismal performance that ed to 9/11 and the war on Iraq. 

Chapter 9: "Bill and Me". Constant insults on Clinton, in a language of a street guy from Jersey City. Had Clinton followed Freeh's advices, he would have been deep in war with Iran, Syria, and Iraq with nothing to gain other than what Bush did later of creating more enemies, empowering al-Qaeda, and reneging on the spread of democracy by making friendships with the dictators of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan. Chapter 10: " 9/11". Pure lies of blaming everybody else for failure to predict 9/11 while wasting eight years chasing little criminals and destroying Bill Clinton. He claims the FBI lacked high tech when it comes to finding who was being trained on flying airplanes, even after being warned by an FBI agent from Arizona. His praise of Bush-I’s war against terrorism and Bush-I's war against Noriega in Panama, show his simplistic mind of waging wars as a solution for all problems that face America. Epilogue: Shows a loser running away from the highest responsibility of protecting national security while asking the government to grant the FBI and CIA free hands on tampering with civil liberties.

Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight

Courage and Consequence:

My Life as a Conservative in the Fight

Hardcover Edition (2010)

by Karl Rove

Lucky Rove escapes the grueling Grand Jury to make this public appeal with impunity., April 10, 2010

            Lewis "Scooter" Libby pops up on the second page of the Prologue. Libby's testimony in front of the Grand Jury landed him in prison despite Rove's initial release of the classified in formation that incriminated Libby. George Bush played safer by hanging to Chaney's presence in their informal testimony. Karl Rove's credibility could be assessed form his casual statement on page 238, in which Rove wondered why the FAA and airlines force passengers to turn off their wireless devices. Rove claims: "My BlackBerry didn't interfere with the operation of Air Force One on September 11". How did Rove discern that his use of his BlackBerry on that date and airplane did not bring the airplane down was because he concluded that the airplane kept flying. This simplistic analysis will dominate Rove's approach to most of his writings. In chapter 21, "Bush Was Right On Iraq", Rove adopted his previous casual analysis to justify the Iraq war. His justification was with and without those Bush would have never invaded Iraq. The only facts Rove offered were that many senators from both parties urged Bush to find Saddarn's WMD before the war. Even though Rove cites Daschle's "War is a very powerful word", on page 271, Rove himself was taken aback by the Democratic leader's unexpected resentment for declaring war on faceless terrorists. The most shocking facts the book discloses are the events that took place on 9/11 within 102 minutes. The president of the United States and his immediate seniors were in Florida, a day earlier, to promote the No Child Left Behind legislation by getting the president to read a book on the Civil War to the second graders at Emma E. Booker Elementary School. The president ran five miles prior to starting his Elementary School lecturing after 8:30 am. At 8:46 am. 9:03 am, and 9:38 am, three hijacked airplanes struck the WTC and the Pentagon. No single Air Defense interception of those occurred in the 17 and 30 minutes intervals between each attack. Then comes the most perplexing question from Dick Cheney phoning the president, twice, asking for authorization to shot down uncontrolled hijacked airplanes that refused to heed orders. As if that was too complicated for the VP to decide without phoning the president. 

Soon after, United Airlines Flight 93 was claimed to have been brought down by the charismatic acts of its passengers, which was disputed by many sources. Rove describes the backwards technology on Air Force One that prevented the president of the United States to watch live TV when the nation was in war from 102 long minutes. Worse yet, was the fact that the president was prevented from arriving to Washington, D.C., until 8:45 pm in the evening. That is almost 12 hours after the war started. Rove explains how those 102 minutes were the longest minutes in the history that transformed the president's policy from domestic into national security issues. As lithe president who was on the job since January 20, 2001, could not define his responsibility until September 11, 2001 arrived. Running early in the morning and lecturing eight-year old kids on the Civil War was the main occupation of Bush for eight months. Rove's personal endeavor to climb from despair and poverty to such prominent status is well narrated. He does not hide his mother's mental illness that kept husbands at bay, attempted to blur his father's and his own ex-wife's entanglements with his growing up. Yet, Rove admits his dirty tricks in campaigning from his early twenties. One of those almost eliminated him completely from politics when is he maliciously advertised for the opposing Democratic candidate by promising voters with free beer, girls, and good times, at no expense. Another, when he cheated an opponent in students' election and started an investigation. Yet, Rove's ascent to such prominence is reasonably explained. His broken family led him to find his way in life. A motivating history teacher led him to engage in political campaigning. Here, he learned and mastered the art of organizing a political campaign, getting information to the running candidate, getting money to the campaign, and getting voters to believe in the campaign mission. Rove succinctly explains that dirty tricks are one of among many factors that make a successful political campaign. That being the main mission of the campaign, the image, the effort to advance both of the above, and most importantly is the cycle of the national theater in favor or against one party or another. The dirty tricks play into the image factor but could not sway from the larger issue such economy or national security. Rove then splits the campaign mission into one-sided issues and two-sided issues, economy being the former and abortion the latter. He asserts that the campaigner must clearly ascertain his/her stand on the two-sided issues if he/she is to earn the trust of voters. His supporting evidence, Obarna was vague on abortion yet won on the one-sided issue of economy and the national cycle of mistrusting the GOP. Rove's genius is his perseverance in the mailroom and customer service business that led him to climb to the position of presidential advisor without college degree or any advanced or standard education. All Rove has to do was to master the trust and loyalty business, send mail to willing donors, answer phones, and tell people what they want to hear. Rove's learned the hard way, what al I law students learn after long and tedious practice: 'Tit is all about winning". And Rove won at all costs including escaping prison hair thin.

Alpha & Omega

Alpha and Omega

Directors: Anthony Bell, Ben Gluck

Writers: Chris Denk (screenplay), Steve Moore (screenplay)

Stars: Hayden Panettiere, Christina Ricci and Justin Long

A masterpiece of art and literature. Probably, the best animation movie ever made., September 23, 2010

            The artist carved his masterpiece with packs of wolves, caribous, birds, grizzly bears, forests, mountains, steam train, full moon, and plenty of wolves howling styles. Each element blended gracefully in an old fashion narration of love, family, marriage, and unity for the good of the whole. From the remote forests of Idaho and Canada, to the remote cultures of tribal marriage that strengthens the bonds between families, to the intriguing elements of nature such as mud slides and downhill skiing, to the stampedes of caribous that frighten ferocious wolves, the movie touches on the issue of real love founded on genuine choice. The alpha wolf, Kate, was struck with two choices. One, was uniting the packs and marrying the alpha wolf, Garth, which would have pleased their fathers, Toni and Winston. Two, Kate already experienced the fun and joy of the omega wolf Humphrey during their capture and dislocation ordeal. Kate dared to go against her father's wish and chose the omega wolf, which engulfed the wolf packs into war. Fortunately, for Kate, the forest took care of its own inhabitants. As the packs of wolves engaged in rage and fight, the birds were sacred, which alerted the caribous to stampede. The stampeding caribous brought greater dangers on the wolves, which forced them to cease fighting. Humphrey was also fortunate to have missed the train in his effort to break away from the pack. Both Kate and Humphrey were presented with one in life time opportunity to save their elderly wolves from the stampede of the caribous. The wolves' love story ended peacefully with Kate marrying Humphrey, and Lilly marrying Garth. Both were mixed marriages between alphas and omegas. At the end of the movie, the different artistic elements were displayed to represent the basics thoughts that gathered in the artist's mind in the making of the movie. The howling of two stranded wolves, befriended by two birds, on the background of train wheels knocking the rail transitions, added extra sense of serenity to the milieu. Living the peaceful and tranquil nights in an open train car, zipping through the Rocky mountains and valleys, under the majesty of open space, full moon, and captivating nature, were the best experience the viewers will enjoy by sitting in a movie theater. The howling 

Robin Hood

Robin Hood

Brings History alive with meticulous artistic endeavor. A masterpiece, indeed!, June 19, 2010

This is one of few memorable movies I have ever watched twice, in the same evening. In order to beat the opening date, the movie played a minute after midnight of Thursday April 15. Even though the movie theater has four screens playing Iron Man 2, which was fully seated on most days, Robin Hood played on two screens, simultaneously, and seemed to attract very special viewers. That explains why some reviewers did not see the magnanimity of such high quality movie making. 

The movie is a great lesson on the Western Civilization, with England and France at the center of world power, driven by religious rivalry. By watching the living history on the big screen, one could easily appreciate the confidence of the moviemakers in their ability to transcend viewers into the far past with its intriguing people and their needs. At the hallway, a father explained to his young teen that King John was such sleazy person as the movie depicted him. Another commented on the betrayal of Godfery to King John and the plot to invade England by King Phillip. Getting historians, psychiatrists, scientists, lawyers, and moviemakers to sing, think, and play in such harmonious mariner that the movie displays are signs of great genius. Aside from the thorough performance of actors of many characters, spanning high social classes and common folks from the far past, the movie connected all the dots on how military warfare was conducted by primitive tools, how soldiers were being compensated for their service, and how kings played pivotal roles in leading their armies to battle. 

Crossing the English channel by both French and English troops was played in such convincing manner that represent the technology of the far past. Sending and receiving message by pigeons explains the creativity of man in exceeding his limited means and exploiting nature to its limits. The movie constructs the chronology of the development of modern economics, law, civil rights, and religious conflicts that existed prior to the arrival of the industrial revolution, few centuries later, yet through the lives of real people. Like our contemporary George Bush, King Richard ventured into the Crusade unaware of its high cost that affected the lives of every English household. With the heavy hand of the Kingdom, citizens have to endure the organized militia of the King if they have to keep their property, remain free from persecution, incarceration, and loss of lives. The farmers must depend on manpower to cultivate the land and feed their families. The King must collect taxes to plan and execute greater plots proposed by few close associates. Even though 900 years do not seem a long span in historical terms, the movie succeeded in showing the greatest strength of man of mastering the globe with the simplest tools. 

The arrow and bow that sounded too simplistic to inflict greater harm were convincingly mastered at exceptional accuracy and power compared to the modern firearms. Similarly, the impressive castles and places, combined with the massive man-powered ships attest to the genius of man in pursuing greater purpose. Horses, swords, and armored, and gold distinguished the classes of the populace. Moving up higher in class required either death or strike of luck. On the third time I watched the movie, I could easily jump of my seat and travel back in time 900 years into the gloomy farms of England, the emaciated and poor farmers, the Kings that have to lead their armies to battles and incur equal harm as their soldiers, the exceptional skills of men in mastering the archery, rowing, horse back riding, fencing, and fighting for something they believe in. The sense that the national struggle between France and England was brewing since 1199 over the global control could easily understood from the harsh living conditions in the cold North. One could not resist but applaud the moviemaker .s for such masterpiece of history making.  

Jackass [Theatrical Release]

Jackass [Theatrical Release]

Director: Jeff Tremaine

Writer: Preston Lacy

Stars: Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O and Bam Margera

Degenerate voyeurism, October 15, 2010 

            This was the only movie I a have ever watched where people waited in lines to get in and the movie theater assigned guards to check the passes. Among the great movies I watched multiple times in a week, neither the theater was crowded, nor did the guards show up. The saddest aspect in this movie (Jackass) was the pain and disdain displayed by few actors who appeared to be forced to act for living. A terrible fat and unfit actor appeared on the verge of weeping for performing disgusting acts to get paid. Another sick and fat actor sounded detached and incomprehensible as he was forced to get his body mutilated. It is shocking how a punch of losers with deep pockets could enslave others to perform the most heinous acts. It is even more shocking that a civilized society could sanction such behavior with impunity. Apparently, the moviemaker guessed quickly that porn is the fastest way to fortune when all taboos are violated. Broken bones, concussion, drinking and swallowing feces, performing explicit sexual acts, with no restraint or sense of decency!! Actors bragged about broken bones, other bragged about being the devils. There is nothing that the moviemaker spared in terms of exposing the actors to the extremes of danger and humiliation for the sake of easy money and quick enrichment. Of course there were many funny and innocent or even constructive comical scenes; but the main trend of the movie was the sadistic torture of vulnerable actors for the sake of quick monetary gain. One might argue that the movie tests the boundary of sanity by enticing others to do the unimaginable. Only few women appeared in the movie and assumed either the role of bystanders or sarcastic witnesses, with the exception of a young girl who pretended to be fondled by her grand father. As such, women abstained from trespassing on the foolishness of few degenerate men. In comparison to prisons and mental asylums, all actors appeared either in their way to or out such sanctuary institutions. The movie could offer invaluable uplifting for someone in his way to life-long incarceration, where all limits are violated.