Sunday, March 31, 2013

25



In few more hours, I’m a getting a bit older. However, the atmosphere that was there last year this time around is gone. What was a bright little light bulb is now somehow dimmed and faded. Friendships have changed quite so much. Some only were there with me till the studying is over, that much is clear. Some still maintain strong friendships. The way I see my life is completely changed. And to think all of this was different one year ago. Time is right for me to leave behind certain friends and move on with my life. It’s easier said than done, but there is no looking back.

It is indeed amazing how much things have changed. The first three month of 2013 sure was an eye-opener. I learned who my friends truly are. I’m left with a sour feeling, a bitter taste in my soul. I don’t know when I can be happy again. Happiness is drained away from me. Sucked like a leech drinking blood.

“Life , As I See It” is indeed the blog about the way I see “Life”. But I have forgotten one thing to put in here;” My Own Life”. I have achieved great success and made good friends. I helped other but have forgotten to help myself. Sometimes I feel I should have been more selfish. But if I do that I may not be the “Udana” which most of you know and love.

Some only saw me as an asset. They were just there till the job was done. I’m not angry with them. It was the way they chose to act. They have hurt me more than I can bear. But my life will go on without them. They certainly won’t be missed. But to those who lied, cheated and tricked me I have this to say: Shame On You!

If I have made mistakes I do apologize from everyone. 2012 was a great year and my 25th Birthday was marvelous. But all that has changed as I step into 26.

No matter, as Doc Brown once said: The Future is unwritten, it’s what we make of it.

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Movie Review: G. I. Joe: Retaliation [SPOILERS]



Enjoyed G. I. Joe: Retaliation very much and here's my review. But beware of SPOILERS!

First of all I’ll talk about the plot, in other words “the story” of the movie. While G. I. Joe: Retaliation is no Matrix, this isn’t Expendables 2 either. I always believed the script of The Expendables 2 was written with just 2 lines. The Matrix series was rich when it comes to its story. However, I love the way how Retaliation is written. Special mention should go to scenes such as revealing Storm Shadow as Snake Eyes and how Zartan eliminated Nuclear Weapons of other G8 Countries. Those kinds of scenes were cleverly written and were honestly good surprises for me though I’ve seen every Retaliation trailer ever existed. Some of the dialog written were very well done. Roadblock commenting “Damn Ninjas” was a clever allude to the popular internet quote “Damn Ninjas Cutting Onions”. There’s  humor thrown in but the script didn’t went overboard with it.

Creativity, is one of the strong points of G. I. Joe: Retaliation. The opening sequence felt like ARAH with its opening narration similar to the usual “G. I. Joe is a code name for… Cobra; a ruthless terrorist organization…” etc. Speaking of which, Joe collectors love Diorama and the set pieces felt as though gigantic Dioramas and the credit should go out to the Set Designer. It is very clear that Jon Chu must have been like an adult kid playing with life sized G. I. Joes. All throughout the film we feel that with all the action, weapons and vehicles. The movie is open for future development. Hints of new characters were hidden in the opening narration (“Is that Major Bludd I just saw?”) and Joe Colton handing over his pistol to Roadblock indicated ‘this is just the beginning’. Flint’s beret was a nice touch too. Speaking of creativity, having Channing Tatum on promotional materials must be one of the biggest Marketing Ploys ever done in the entertainment industry (I say it as a good thing rather than a bad thing). Duke was handled much much better than ROC, which brings me to…

Characterization. When we first heard the movie was little over 90 minutes many expressed their concern regarding there may not be enough time to flesh out the characters. But we have forgotten the fact that this movie was directed by Jon Chu who previously directed Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never. If he can make a character out of JB*, he is certainly up to the task for the second Joe movie. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes! Character Development was very strong in this movie. In fact Storm Shadow storyarc was one of the strong points of the movie. Arishikage Clan felt like how it suppose to be. A special mention is the Father-Daughter relationship between Joe Colton and Lady Jaye. The general felt very real like how a retired war veteran should be; he was strong, proud and above all else teased Lady Jaye a.k.a Brenda but deep down cared like it was his own daughter. The kind of character we expect from any retired war veteran. Speaking of Jaye, the character of Flint was strong too. He was stubborn at first but after the event of Duke’s death became more responsible fellow. There was a certain G. I. Joe: Renegades vibe to him. Which reminds me… the Cobra Commander. He felt as though from Renegades. The look and the way he keeps a low profile behind Zartan is exactly how the personality of Renegades Commander who operated behind Baroness.

G. I. Joe: Retaliation is action packed. In fact it felt too Michael Bay-ish. Some of the times I had a hard time keeping up with all the explosions, punches, kicks and shooting. Honestly, there were times I went "What the flying f*** is going on here?!?". But the trailers made the action so clean and polished. The confusion is a minor complain. Overall, it is a good popcorn movie like The Avengers.

There were other negative aspects but the movie was overall so good, I have honestly forgotten them all by the time I got home. But the massive disappointment was to learn how much they have edited out from the main movie. In fact, entire TV Spots were missing (ex "Fist", "Gentlemen"). While watching the scenes during the credits, I actually shouted "Why did they leave that out?!? What were they thinking".

I need to talk a bit about Special Effects. This is no Transformers, but special effects were much better than ROC; where everything felt fake. Despite the movie is a Post Converted 3D, it felt as though it was shot in 3D from the start. CGI was good and realistic.

Finally, I’ll put every minor complain aside. To me G. I. Joe: Retaliation was completely positive. The movie was enjoyable for both Joe fans and the general public. Last time, they could have renamed ROC as Action Man and still call it not a Joe movie despite the character names. Retaliation felt like a movie based on the G. I. Joe Franchise right from the start till the end. This is how it should have been done the first time around. Mr. Jon Chu, you have my respect.

*No disrespect meant for Justin Bieber fans.