“BULLET TO THE HEAD” Movie Review. The RETURN of the VINTAGE HEROES.

“BULLET TO THE HEAD” PRESS PREVIEW

The fragrance of this season is very probably, a sniff at nostalgia, with vintage ACTION DADDY-O’s making their comebacks.

 We just had ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER fighting fast and ferocious in “THE LAST STAND”.

Now, move over, ARNOLD.

 Tagging behind is SYLVESTER STALLONE who will not be second best.

He is now blasting  the giant screen with a fistful of bullets in “BULLET TO THE HEAD” to herald his majestic presence.

 STALLONE plays JAMES BONOMO, a craggy underworld hitman on a vengeance trek to avenge the murder of his partner.

 Dour faced American Asian actor SUNG KANG takes on the role of a straight-edged law officer TAYLOR KWON, who’s in town to uncover the killing of his ex-aide and acts as if the whole world is at his disposal.

 The two guys without the faintest display of chemistry, meet, argue and finally collaborate as an unlikely team who will stop at nothing to tear apart the vile network of criminals (crooked cops) that obstructs their path.

 “BULLET TO THE HEAD” is a STALLONE film crafted for him, with some funny liners and pulse pounding actions. Excuse me.

 Stallone may be aesthetically complex but his compelling on-screen presence will draw you in.

From the tagline “REVENGE NEVER GETS OLD”, we know this film is not going to be big on originality.

In this formulaic buddy-movie “BULLET TO THE HEAD”, 66-year-old Sylvester Stallone plays up his old-school credentials, but we can observe that he is no longer young and springy. His drawl gets a tad slower and his moves stiffer.

It does not matter.

This movie exists solely to prove that the 66-year-old hunk can still kick ass. If not, the clever post production enhancements can make him look as if he can.

Watch him as he fights tooth-and-nail with his fists as with guns and knives, and, in the finale, axes.

Three cheers, STALLONE.

This one is definitely for fans and baby boomers.

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WHEN LOVE DIES, LONELINESS CAN BRING ON THE CHILLS. An Unabridged Trudge down Memory Lane.

TRYING to BLEND into this FORLORN WORLD when PEOPLE continue to DISAPPOINT …

WHY do YOU have to be this LONELY?

“I LOVE YOU, I really don’t care if you need to stay up all night bellowing like the wind.  All I wanna say is that I’ll always be there for you.”

“The MOST terrible POVERTY is LONELINESS.”

LONELY, LONELY.

I wrote this Article 3 years ago, on a bleak day in November 2009.

It has always been one of my firm favorites for its easy spread of poetic indulgence.

Today, I am bringing the essay back, completely unabridged, with its warts, bruises, everything.

I am trudging memory lane, so pray, help me.

“This storm is breathing, brewing, bellowing …..

Outside of the window, you watch the rain pelting down heavily -

coupled with the howling of wind,

Frenzied passerbys with umbrellas are busy scurrying pass,

The overall mood is depressingly cheerless,

Awww … isn’t the desolate sky reeking in a thousand gloom?

ARE YOU LONELY, my friend?

Yes, LONELINESS can come calling and crawling like ants all over you,

When love dies,

WHEN LOVE FINALLY DIES ….

We make mistakes, big and small, comic and tragic.

We pledge commitment, in all sincerity, to another person, only to realise later that our love and passion for the person isn’t as deep as we once thought and believed.

From there follows the broken promise, the bitterness and heartache and the guilt of having misled someone despite our best intentions.

Rainer Maria Rilke [1875-1926], her poem ‘Loneliness’ is full of angst and anguish.” …

“Being apart and lonely is like rain.

It climbs towards evening from the ocean plains;

from flat places, rolling and remote, it climbs

to heaven, which is its old abode.

And only when leaving heaven drops upon the city.

It rains down on us in those twittering

hours when the streets turn their faces to the dawn,

and when two bodies who have found nothing,

disappointed and depressed, roll over;

and when two people who despise each other

have to sleep together in one bed-

that is when loneliness receives the rivers… “

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THANK GOD IT’S FRIDAY, TODAY.

THANK GOD IT IS FRIDAY.

Really.

That we’ve lived through another week.

Lucky us.

Now, let’s say a LITTLE PRAYER to soothe the flow of the day.

The DALAI LAMA has guided us with this:

“This is my simple religion.

There is no need for temples;

no need for complicated philosophy.

Our own brain, our own heart is our temple;
the philosophy is kindness.”

Now, folks, follow your loving heart.

Listen to its murmur, cajoling you to tread carefully.

You can’t go wrong.

Not ever.

PUTTING MY BEST FOOT FORWARD IN 2013.

THIS ZODIAC YEAR OF THE SNAKE,

I SHALL BE PUTTING MY BEST FOOT FORWARD.

 LIFE’s a BITCH, ain’t it always?

Try telling me otherwise.

The steady or chaotic rhythm that comes with life struggles will surely depend on the choices we make, on whether we gonna remain steadfast or fickle in our directions.

 Sure, I want the best out of life, don’t everybody?

Talk is cheap stuff, practicality will always be a tough act to follow.

LIFE is a rollercoaster paved with “road diversions” to lure us away, to distract us from staying focused.

There will be clingy leeches under guise of “friends” who will swarm around us, draining us of our time, energy and resources. Write these off.

 LIFE comprises of capricious “moments” that are elusive. We acknowledge this a million times.

These “little angels” dangle in front of us teasingly, and as silently as they come, they flicker away in a jiff. CATCH !

 Owe your lofty aspirations to no one but YOURSELF.

Work hard. Live hard.

Relish anything you aspire, as long as your ideals do not trample on anybody, or hurt them emotionally or physically.

 Danger is invisible, it lurks behind a facade, so be cautious, play safe.

I am not an advocate on the subject of LOVE.

But I read somewhere that love is not something we give or get.

It is something that we nurture and grow, a connection that can only be cultivated between two people who really care about each other.

We can only love others as much as we love ourselves.

LIFE’s a BITCH, but we’ve to go on trying, falling, picking ourselves up, and trying again.

Finally, think PEACE.

Peace of the world, peace of the mind.

 LIFE’S REAL.

So get real, folks.

“THE LAST STAND” Movie Review. Tactical POWER PLAY in this TERSE, DENSE Actioner.

“THE LAST STAND” PRESS PREVIEW

With the current onstream avalanche of action offerings dressed in the splendor of the 3D stereoscopy, it is a welcome respite to appraise something as simple as “old school”.

Such is ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER ‘s newest flick “THE LAST STAND”.

This spectacular vintage action star is back again to prove that he is in absolute top form, none the worse for wear and tear.

Hear him roar as he slams his opponents: fist-fights, gun fire, car chases, explosives, one follows another, with dedicated ferocious glee.

 For sure, this ageing grand dad can still command a fight movie any time.

 If you go with a free mind, you might well leave the cinema assailed with a twinge of nostalgia, because this is one hell of a rollercoaster ride.

Like JACKY CHAN, he is looking a teeny old and crinkly and you would not expect him to be prancing about like a devil-may-care hero in this movie.

But he did. With delicious aplomb.

ARNOLD is absolute tops in THE LAST STAND, a role that is crafted specially for him and loyalist fans.

What’s more, ace Korean director KIM JEE-WOON is at the helm to create a non-Hollywood treatment.

The DOP is Korean too. Well, a nice change of talent transcending borders.

It’s been a decade since ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER toplined a movie.

Fast forward, and you see ARNOLD  as the sheriff of a sleepy border town who becomes the last line of defense when a notorious cartel leader and his heavily-armed henchmen attempt to escape into Mexico.

From then, it is pure action, power play between the good cops and the bad guys spiced with dry, dark humor.

“THE LAST STAND” offers almost 1 hour-and-47 minutes of aesthetic escapism.

It is a mind blowing ride with a competent ensemble cast.

Never mind what the armchair critics are trying to cajole you to believe in.

It is a decision of the heart.

For the baby boomers and die-hard fans of ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, rally around folks.

This one can do no wrong.

In summary, it is another of ARNOLD’s standout film: rich, absorbing, the right locale and the right subject undertaken by KIM JEE-WOON.

GO WATCH IT!

THE COLORS OF DAYBREAK

An hour before daybreak.
The air is serene.
You see trees sprawling alongside the road as you zoom past.
You feel the crispness of the morning breeze and the murmur of leaves as they rustle and bask in the pre-dawn light.
I have just finished a few rounds on my bicycle … ahh..my daily morning ritual.
I feel enlightened … now ready to tackle the chores of the day.
Yeah, LIFE is GREAT, but only if you will it to be.
I know, I surely know.

WORLD WITHOUT WOES. Revisited.

THE WORLD IS GETTING TO BE ONE HELL OF A ROTTEN PLACE TO LIVE IN.

GLOBAL warming, conflicts, political strife, inflations, economic recessions, power struggles, terrorism, civil wars, greed, cruelty….

HEADLINES like these scream for attention, from the media and internet every day, making us quiver with disbelief.

We go to temples and churches to preach our sermons, and then leave afterwards to plunder our own mankind, thus creating a paradox of ideals.

Will the world end one day?

It’s anybody’s guess.

Anyway, let’s do our part to infuse some cheer in this senseless world of slaughter and mayhem.

SO MANY GODS,

SO MANY CREEDS,

SO MANY PATHS THAT WIND AND WIND.

WHEN THE ACT OF BEING KIND,

IS ALL THIS SAD WORLD NEEDS.

Maybe there’s a kinder world up there, over the rainbow...A WORLD WITHOUT WOES.

Only time can tell.