tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76040570787895880252023-11-15T22:24:42.212-08:00The Action EffectCome here for your action needs!Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-38292830105784159782011-11-14T15:16:00.001-08:002011-11-14T15:20:43.104-08:00Fistful of Awesome<br />
Becky and I have combined our efforts and created a new blog. Please check it out! :)<a href="http://fistfulofawesome.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b45f06;"> Fistful of Awesome</span></a>!<br />
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Our mission:<br />
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The internet can be a negative place -- full of snarky hipsters, nihilistic critics, and spiteful media junkies. A Fistful of Awesome is a refuge from the mean-spirited and soulless landscape known as the world wide web of haters. Come celebrate the best in movies, music, food, books, and anything else that's awesome. <br />
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You will like this blog if...<br />
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You remember blowing into SNES game cartridges <br />
You liked Chuck Norris before he could cure cancer <br />
Your idea of dinner and a movie does not involve expensive wine and Hugh Grant <br />
You've entertained the idea of hiring H.R. Giger to design your house for at least a minute <br />
You think an over-the-top gorefest is funnier than a Judd Apatow movie <br />
Your musical tastes in no way align with the selections of an MTV award show <br />
You've discovered that the best restaurants usually don't have valet parking <br />
You'd rather talk about your favorite band than make fun of American Idol contestants<br />
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Drop by <a href="http://fistfulofawesome.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b45f06;">Fistful of Awesome</span></a> today and have a hell of a time! :) </div>
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We are also looking for writers. Let us know if you are interested.</div>Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-76169747328215261772011-01-07T19:21:00.001-08:002011-07-14T09:58:07.466-07:00Vengeance: Or Why I Love Johnnie To<img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.moviexclusive.com/review/vengeance/poster.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 444px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /><br />
<div>Johnnie To's Vengeance hinges on the edge of perfection. Like most films by To, there is a flawless mix of action, comedy, and brotherhood. Vengeance not only exposes To's cinematic prowess, but shows that he can direct characters with rich complexities with minimal dialogue. With every glance or subtle twitch of the eye the audience already knows what the character is thinking. Vengeance relies on this because the protagonist is in a predicament. His daughters family is killed by a hit squad and he is charged to avenge them.</div><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxlD7dHworkaC_-Z0IXeExXZCizjaqnOwRG6ymw7X84fgUD7QCLCujjFEdk2OYLbJMgFXzUnY1EvF2w4nf0IyE9lNljp_e_Yqf1SpcnsC-GfqQHjPmg7X-H_-W-CbBfjrmK-27aMVURCs/s1600/vengeance.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 315px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 600px;" /><br />
<div>There is a problem though: his memory works in spurts of a few hours and sometimes minutes. Costello, played by Johnny Hallyday must take polaroids of people and write notes about them like Nolan's Memento. For a while Costello even forgets why he is even in China, which calls into question what is vengeance for? Costello doesn't even remember his daughters family being slaughtered. So why should he avenge them?</div><img alt="" border="0" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/12/10/arts/10VENGEANCE-span/VENGEANCE-articleLarge.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 330px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 600px;" /><br />
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</div><div>To's Confucian themes of brotherhood and fatherhood answer this question throughout the movie. Vengeance is not a personal vendetta or selfish action, it is an action which carries the weight of justice. Whether one remembers why they must avenge matters not. The importance relies on the fact that debt must be paid. Johnny To could have taken a nihilistic approach like most Hollywood films and had the thirst to kill be inspired by a relative and emotional based sense of justice. Instead To reminds the audience that our actions carry weight in the world and vengeance in a sense needs to be done to balance the world. A sort of blow your brains out karma.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div>Watching Vengeance is yet another breath of fresh air in contrast to the state of action films coming out of Hollywood. Instead of over budgeted messy action sequence's, To gives the audience a graceful dance of well thought-out shots and perfect visual storytelling. To trades the frantic, hand held nauseating style of y2k's action films for a reserved style, which holds on shots and lets the audience react instead of constantly guess what they just saw. In Vengeance there is a gun fight in a park which seems like a violent ballet with mixed slow motion, extremely wide shots, blended with a dance of bullets, and mist filled exit wounds. To's visual style continues to evolved and inspire awe in those who watch at his craft.<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="http://wildgrounds.com/img/news/vengeance-ws4.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 340px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 480px;" />Overall I must say get out there and buy all of Johnnie To's films, skip the rental, but they are hard to find so please rent them and support pure and true action at its finest. </div><div><br />
</div><div><iframe frameborder="0" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_kHndrsfGZA?fs=1" width="425"></iframe></div>Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-2617057577357588662011-01-04T07:05:00.000-08:002011-01-04T08:34:49.430-08:00Valhalla Rising<a href="http://thefilmstage.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/valhalla-rising.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 600px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 254px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://thefilmstage.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/valhalla-rising.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Valhalla Rising could have been a great film! The first fifteen minutes are violent, enthralling, and visceral. The beautiful Norse/Celtic landscapes are contrasted with the scarred face of One-Eye, a slave, gladiator, and kill-your-ass-for-looking-at-me-wrong kinda guy. Being a history and religion nut, this film immediately grasped me with conversations about the Christ God taking over and how abnormal Christians were to the "heathens." I mean they do devour the flesh and drink the blood of their "god", which seemed abominable to most pagan religions.<br /><br /></div><div></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 274px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 172px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.nobeliefs.com/communion/eating-christ.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>But the religious discussion of the film turned out to be very base, favoring a nihilistic note. This nihilistic tone took the (perfection of the) first fifteen minutes and turned it in the longest hour and a half I have ever spent watching a movie. With drawn out boring sequences where the audience is supposed to "get something deep" out of pretty shots, long stares, and senseless character development. Then when director Refn throws random things in the film such as good ol' male on male viking rape it proves to be an exposè into crappy themes of "indie" filmmaking more than an exploration of Norse (vs Christian) religion, culture, and violence. </div><br /><div></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 627px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 325px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://a.onionstatic.com/images/media/movie/11413/Valhalla-Rising_jpg_627x325_crop_upscale_q85.jpg" border="0" /> <div></div><br /><div>By the end of the film if you aren't bored you must be into cinematography, because the film is beautiful (save the constant CGI blood that looks like shit). The film was shot with the RED camera, which is the best showcase of its prowess I have seen to date (F U Book of Eli, bleh). Overall I'd say if you are only mildy into Vikings or history then skip this movie. If you want to have a so called ultra-violent movie as a bedtime story go for it.</div><div> </div><div>And I really wanted to say this movie was Refn Awesome! Instead it was Refn boring...</div>Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-33195950449702668922010-08-25T09:56:00.001-07:002010-08-25T09:56:25.759-07:00Die Hard<p>Format: Bluray</p> <p>This old classic can't be beat. Everyone has seen it so I won't waste time on a regular review. Some details I have picked up over the past few views of it are the subtle humor. </p> <p>A SWAT guy runs through a thicket of roses and gets poked. He stops in his tracks and says OUCH.</p> <p>The un-kept Asian bad guy (Al Leong) holds up behind a snack food counter. He can't help himself so he grabs a Crunch Bar.</p> <p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9mgobt4gmjQS5rsuCNAteCwCIRzbEzvfam4HUkBXS47hz7IET6czGMzNOHff1g1P0CMz-cDUwdzjDB0xaXhEr2xn9HCrp9DGk6HdYVf5ZBnvgfye1S6Gttc6EHNmt2gZg-Fi7y24YlIQf/s1600-h/asian-terrorist_01_1195011309%5B2%5D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="asian-terrorist_01_1195011309" border="0" alt="asian-terrorist_01_1195011309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOPfwFW1xAM84d8kKYmubTl8AUnxd4OkN0QmZecwemkmmEi3NHhfzfW0eXiMcE_Y1cKGcKLZnrFlNJJbCTaPw0DU3ZTE6MnZivmyLL2biJQ9C6ahd6H0R98sTAykp4oC-sxKqq8_rB2uR0//?imgmax=800" width="244" height="139" /></a> </p> <p>A drunk guy randomly kisses McClane on the cheek. McClane laughs to himself and says "California." I don't know how many times I also laughed to myself about how Californians act or almost committed hari-kari in the car when watching them drive.</p> <p>Apart from those small revelations on this viewing the movie is still outstanding.</p> <p>A further note on the bluray: The DVD is just fine. Sure some of the anamorphic shots look better on bluray, but overall it is not a very good upgrade. Sadly Fox is in the business of spamming out second rate blurays for first rate movies.</p> Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-824510652422979532010-08-24T20:55:00.000-07:002010-08-24T21:02:05.837-07:00Blood on the Border: A look at Lone Star and No Country for Old Men<p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="text-align: justify;text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%; "><span style="line-height:200%;Times New Roman","serif""><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The Mexican-American border film interests historians because of the racial and social nuances that can be exhibited from a particular time and period. </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Lone Star</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> is a film which delves into the racial complexities of a fictional border town. Director John Sayles explores a history of violence and a town-wide cover-up of this history. The protagonist, Sheriff Sam, works though this bloody past and the mythic images of his father, to eventually recognize the reality of a history filled with racism and violence. Joel and Ethan Coen’s </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">No Country for Old Men</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> also revolves around a lawman, by the name of Ed Tom Bell, who also struggles with violence and a counterfeit history. </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">No Country for Old Men</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> differs from </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Lone Star</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> because it chiefly focuses on the violence of the drug trade and leaves little room for racial context. Both films follow sheriffs struggling to understand tumultuous worlds and both men must eventually come to terms with the changing borderland. Sayles' </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Lone Star</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> confronts the social flux by attacking the very concept of a border, while </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">No Country for Old Men</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> utilizes violence to dispel any romantic notions about the riches of the drug trade. </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Lone Star</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">'s conclusion gives the borderland an indication of hope amidst a dysfunctional society, but there is no hope at the end of </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">No Country for Old Men</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> when death and greed conquer any semblance of courage and justice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify;text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%; "><i><span style="line-height: 200%;Times New Roman","serif""><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">No Country for Old Men</span></span></span></b></span></i><span style="line-height:200%;Times New Roman","serif""><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> is a fictional tale set in the 1980's when the drug trade became a serious plague of life in border cities. Mexican cartels established "economic motivation to develop and organize relatively sophisticated distribution systems across the Mexican border and into all parts of the United States."</span></span></span></b><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[1]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">No Country for Old Men</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> is only broadly historical in its depiction of a changing culture of violence in the eighties within a context of the increasingly prominent drug trade. Sheriff Bell must manage the volatile carnage on the border when the "bloodshed and brutality that followed the booming illegal drug industry" haunted his county.</span></span></span></b><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[2]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> Throughout the film, Bell reflects upon a time before the cartels, unable to grasp the scope of the greed and materialism that came with illegal trade. Bell trembled before "the bloodshed that orbited around the maintenance and control of illegal drugs," which "became the context for all other legal and illegal activities along the [Rio Grande]."</span></span></span></b><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[3]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> The violence that haunted Bell in </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">No Country for Old Men</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> is very much a part of Mexican-American history. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify;text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%; "><i><span style="line-height: 200%;Times New Roman","serif""><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Lone Star</span></span></span></b></span></i><span style="line-height:200%;Times New Roman","serif""><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> explores a different type of violence on the border—violence divvied out by Anglos in the early 20th Century. Just like </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">No Country for Old Men</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">, </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Lone Star</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> is a fictional account of social phenomena in a changing border town. Sayles shows that past hostilities between the Anglos and the Mexicans is still damaging their cultural relationships today. Charlie Wade, Sam’s father, is the film's phantom antagonist, haunting characters in the past and in the present. He represents a time when "abuses of the local Anglo citizenry against undocumented workers"</span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">was commonplace.</span></span></span></b><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[4]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> In this era, the "farmers and the ranchers treated these men and their families... like serfs," indicating a distinct Anglo dominance.</span></span></span></b><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[5]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> The film’s scenes which take place in present day reflect a much different time, one where Mexicans have forged social standings and are quickly becoming the majority. Sayles addresses a post-NAFTA border, exposing the myth that "transnational capitalism" effects "immigration, birth rates, and other demographic[s]," which challenges "the notion of a nation's singular identity."</span></span></span></b><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[6]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Lone Star </span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">accurately portrays the racial and nationalist identities falling into a state of interconnection. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpLast" style="text-align: justify;text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%; "><span style="line-height:200%;Times New Roman","serif""><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Sheriff Ed Tom Bell in </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">No Country for Old Men</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> and Sheriff Sam in </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Lone Star</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> both struggle with the history and violence of their lands. Sam faces the old, idealized vision of his father set against the tyranny of old-timer Sheriff Wade. Sam investigates the skeletal remains of who he correctly believes is Sheriff Wade. The town is invested in a legend that Sam’s father, Buddy, courageously ran the crooked Sheriff out of town and brought the community to peace. Retired deputy Benton exclaims that “Buddy Deeds said a thing; he damn well backed it up. Never be another one like him.” Everyone else in the town seems to have the same view of Buddy. However, Sam is hesitant to romanticize his father’s memory and commits to uncovering the truth. In his search to defuse the historical myth of his father, he uncovers a history of violence—a history where folks had to succumb to bullying “if you were colored or Mexican and wanted to stay breathing.” Sayles utilizes flashbacks to reflect upon the racial and economic-driven brutality administered by Wade.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></p> <pre style="text-align: justify;line-height: 200%; "><span style="line-height:200%; Times New Roman","serif""><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Charlie Wade is the vehicle Sayles uses to communicate an old way of thinking about racial classes and material wealth. The philosophy of “might makes right” is Wade’s paradigm. Every time Wade commits an act of violence, it is usually motivated by a person choosing not to cut him in on some cash. At one point, he beats young Otis, who is African American, nearly to death and attempts to execute him for running a gambling operation without giving him any of the exploits. Wade also executes Eladio Cruz because the “little greaser son-of-a-bitch been running a god darn bus service. Thinks he can make a fool out of Charley Wade!” </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Lone Star</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> is more subtle in its connection to violence and materialism, while </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">No Country for Old Men</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">’s chief focus is in the interplay between blood and greed. Sam comes to the conclusion that even after Sheriff Wade was killed, the town still faced the same identity crisis with Buddy as their Sheriff. In a predominantly white bar, the bartender points out an interracial couple and says “Buddy woulda’ been on them two warning. Not ‘cause he had it in for the colored but just as a kind of safety tip.” Buddy still revealed traces of the same racism found in Wade’s aggression. Yet, Buddy did not resort to the same violence and thirst for power, preferring to conduct himself more akin to a politician. Buddy also required material wealth and political support, but instead of sweating down the town’s people, he would offer them services. This is why Sam wanted to spoil the mythic symbolism of his father being a shining example of what it means to be a Texan. Sam believes his father to be more of a hypocrite than hero when he "uncovers his father's graft, the shady real estate deal, illegal uses of prisoners for private work, and infidelity."</span></span></span></b><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[7]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></pre> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: 200%; "><span style="line-height:200%;Times New Roman","serif""><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Sam recognizes that the town is in conflict because of the historical myths people fabricate. The older Texans exclaim that “we were here first” and make their displeasure with all the Spanish street names known. They fail to see the reality of history. Mexicans were in Texas first and “19 outta’ 20 are Mexicans” in their town, as Bell says. Sayles makes his point clear at the teacher’s meeting, where the townspeople protest the teaching of the Mexican perspective of the Alamo. The town cherishes a mythical view of the Alamo, where brave white Texans defended their land. A furious Caucasian mother says, “You're just tearin' everything down!</span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Tearin' down our heritage, tearin' down the memory of people that fought and died for this land.” A white male adds, “</span></span></span></b></span><span style="line-height: 200%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Winners get the bragging rights, that's how it goes.” Sayles is highlighting the ignorant argument that the oppressors and assassins who come out on top get the right to record history as they see fit. The Anglos see "Mexico as a defeated foreign country, lacking political and economic might."</span></span></span></b><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[8]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> Sayles associates the legends of Wade and Buddy with the Alamo, then uses the new generation of children to conquer this myth. This is accomplished through the interracial relationship of Pilar and Sam.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify;text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%; "><span style="line-height:200%;Times New Roman","serif""><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The relationship of Pilar and Sam is a metaphor of the two cultures on the border. Sayles illustrates that Sam and Pilar were destined for love since they were children. Flashbacks are used to reveal that they had a romantic relationship in their teens.</span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Sam’s father, Buddy, and Pilar’s mother, Mercedes, stop at nothing to keep the young lovers from seeing each other for reasons they cannot begin to comprehend. As adults, Pilar and Sam gravitate towards each other again and their passionate relationship resumes where it left off. This is accented when Pilar says, “It feels like it used to,” referring to their childhood relationship. Even as adults, town politics and Sam’s investigation seem to tax their romance. The separation between them cannot be sustained though, because they feel a connection that transcends petty politics. This is reminiscent of the divide between Mexicans and Americans. The two are married together by a connection neither can understand, but the cultures mix in a beautiful manner when they ignore political that historical obstacles. Ideally, the two countries would live without the border like siblings. In essence, Pilar and Sam were supposed to live as brother and sister, but past politics disrupted the natural order of things. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify;text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%; "><span style="line-height:200%;Times New Roman","serif""><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">In the end of the film, Sam regretfully tells Pilar that they are brother and sister after they had become lovers all over again. The conundrum created by their forefathers has turned their relationship as brother and sister into something dysfunctional. The forefathers of the Mexicans and U.S. citizens in Texas created a mess of the Alamo, which placed a divide between the two cultures. The children of those who believed in myths about history and built their identities upon them arrived at an impasse. Sayles’ solution to the impasse of ethnic separation is felt in the words of Pilar: “All that other stuff, all that history? To hell with it, right? Forget the Alamo.” For a torn culture fighting over historical myths to move on, it must give up a history that divides. Pilar and Sam are siblings yet lovers. The most they can do is remain lovers because their parents' lies and deceit forced them to evolve this way. The relationship between U.S. citizens and Mexicans carries this dysfunction. The border that separates the cultures is a historical illusion to Sayles, a dying myth proven by the cultural collisions in border towns because "everyone is involved in the mix, and it is almost impossible to separate oneself completely."</span></span></span></b><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[9]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: 200%; "><span style="line-height:200%;Times New Roman","serif""><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Sayles communicates this message when Sam visits the Tire King, Chucho, and he puts forth his view of the nature of a border. Chucho tells Sam that a "b</span></span></span></b></span><span style="line-height: 200%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">ird flying south…you think he sees that line?</span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Rattlesnake, javelina—whatever you got—halfway across that line…they don't start different.</span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">So why should a man?" The border is a creation of nations and something abstract—not concrete and visible. Sam thinks he can be clever and turn the conversation around on Chucho, saying that the Mexican government has invested the same amount of ideology into the border as the States. Chucho replies, "My government can go fuck itself, and so can yours.</span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">I'm talking about people here, men." Sayles professes that "the natural world holds to no boundary,"</span></span></span></b><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[10]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> and neither should humans with their interpersonal relationships. Chucho then tells Sam the story of the violent execution of Enacio Cruz by Charley Wade, blaming the brutality on the border and separation in general. Sayles believes that "the symbolic and physical borderline has bred a malevolence that" is "poisonous" to the cultures on either side of it.</span></span></span></b><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[11]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b></span><span style="line-height:200%;Times New Roman","serif""><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The separation and collisions in </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Lone Star</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> are sometimes violent. </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">No Country for Old Men</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> seizes this violence and makes it the focus of the film.</span></span></span></b></span><span style="line-height: 200%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpLast" style="text-align: justify;text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%; "><span style="line-height:200%;Times New Roman","serif""><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">At the start of </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">No Country for Old Men</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">, Sheriff Tom Bell reminisces upon a history of myth and legend which he believes in. Unlike Sam in </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Lone Star</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">, Tom Bell is caught up in the past, which prevents him from being an effective hero in the story. Throughout most of the film, he is hemming and hawing about a new violence he cannot understand that is taking over the borderlands. Bell recalls that “some of the old time sheriffs never even wore a gun… I always liked to hear about the oldtimers. Never missed a chance to do so. You can't help but compare yourself against the oldtimers. Can't help but wonder how they’d have operated these times.”</span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">By these times, Bell is referring to the budding violence created by the emerging drug enterprise on the border. The new explosion over drugs and money make Bell feel small and ill-prepared to confront the type of bloodshed characteristic of the border. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></p> <pre style="text-align: justify;line-height: 200%; "><span style="line-height:200%; Times New Roman","serif""><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Anton Chigurh represents this new type of violence. Beyond being an embodiment of violence, he is also racially bewildering because he looks Latino, sounds Eastern European, and acts like a Texan. He terrifies everyone who he comes into contact with. He is the manifestation of a nihilistic and murderous force. He lives by an obscure code where remorse and sympathy are negated by cold fate and a killer’s logic. He is hired by the cartels to find the missing 2 million dollars, but quickly kills the men who hire him. His motive is never quite clear. It could be that he wants the 2 million for himself, or it could be simply because he is a psychopathic killer. Sheriff Bell sees this man as a new breed of killer than he cannot comprehend. When Bell and his partner investigate the scene of the cartel shootout, he cannot handle the layers of violence that being to compile. The first layer is the cartel standoff, where bodies were bloated by time and riddled with bullets. The second layer is Llewelyn Moss’ escape from the scene when he brings a wounded man water, but is chased by dogs and men with guns. The third layer is the execution-style murder of the cartel’s henchmen by Chigurh. The entire thing has Bell “</span></span></span></b></span><span style="line-height:200%;Times New Roman","serif"; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">feel[ing] overmatched”.</span></span></span></b></span><span style=" line-height:200%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></pre> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="text-align: justify;text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%; "><span style="line-height:200%;Times New Roman","serif""><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">At the center of the film is Llewelyn Moss' exodus from everyday life after he steals a satchel of money. Every violent entity on the border is looking for him, including the police and cartels. Chigurh is presented as the primary antagonist and Moss as the film's hero. Moss is likeable and can hold his own against the powers after him. This is proven to viewers by the film's reference to his Vietnam experience. He is established as a normal guy thrown into extraordinary circumstances that everyone in the audiences can cheer for. Throughout the first two acts of the film, the viewers want Moss to get away with the money and kill Chigurh. The Coen Brothers and author Cormac McCarthy have something different in mind for Moss. In movies, the everyday human can often hold his or her own against violence, but on the border, not even a protagonist in a Hollywood film can escape the violence. One would think that Moss would meet his end in a battle with Chigurh of climatic proportions, but that is not the case. Moss' undoing is off screen and the audience is simply shown a body laying in the entrance to a hotel room. He does not even die at the hand of Chigurh; he is simply killed by anonymous Hispanics with uzis who are seen driving away. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: 200%; "><span style="line-height:200%;Times New Roman","serif""><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Seeing Moss' body pushes Sheriff Bell into a state of defeat. At the end of Moss' story, the audience never knows who obtains the satchel of money or where it is. Now, with the main hero dead and the enemy on the loose, the audience is left defeated just as much as Bell. The Coen's and McCarthy purposely craft this subversion to express the madness that is created over drugs and money. Roscoe illustrates this madness when talking to Bell in a diner: "It's all the goddamned money, Ed Tom. The money and the drugs. It's just goddamned beyond everything. What is it mean? What is it leading to?" Moss is the example of what happens when an everyday person becomes entangled in the viscious border. Sheriff Bell even explains the death of all the men involved in the drug trade as being "</span></span></span></b></span><span style="line-height: 200%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">natural to the line of work they was in." <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: 200%; "><span style="line-height: 200%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Sheriff Bell’s nostalgia for past reflections upon "old timers" not needing to carry pistols and creating law and order just because people wanted order is obviously idealistic. To Bell, times have changed and like Sam in </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Lone Star</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">, Bell has trouble coping with it. The broken sheriff states, "I used to think I could at least some way put things right. I don't feel that way no more." This hostility seems far too great for him to do anything about it. He does not understand the nihilistic void left by the drug trade—a void where human life means nothing and psychopathic killers can roam with no worries of the law. Also similar to </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Lone Star</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">, Bell's sense of history is corrupted and shown as myth. An old friend of Bell informs him that he is not dealing with anything new:<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;tab-stops:45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt"><o:p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 1in; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">...Shot down on his own porch there in Hudspeth County. There was seven or eight of 'em come to the house. Wantin’ this and wantin’ that. Mac went in and got his shotgun, but they was way ahead of him. Shot him down in his own doorway. Aunt Ella run out and tried to stop the bleedin,’. Him tryin’ to get hold of the shotgun again. They just sat there on their horses watchin’ him die. Finally one of 'em says somethin’ in Injun and they all turned and left out. Well Mac knew the score even if Aunt Ella didn't. Shot through the left lung and that was that. As they say. ...What you got ain't nothin’ new. This country is hard on people. Hard and crazy. Got the devil in it, yet folks never seem to hold it to account. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;tab-stops:45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 400.5pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt"><o:p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: 200%; "><span style="line-height: 200%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Bell believes his old friend, but simply shrugs off the violent story. The fact that people have been killing on the border since cultures began clashing and that money has been changing hands does not alter Bell’s feeling of being "discouraged." This is discouraged in the truest since of the word, where it sparks a negation of courage. The film ends on this note, with little closure and no real victory on any side.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: 200%; "><span style="line-height: 200%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Lone Star</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> concludes similarly, but with a small hope for the future. Pilar and Sam can move forward, even with the past in their memory. Bell, on the other hand, is rendered useless. In the closing scene of </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">No Country for Old Men</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">, Bell tells his wife that he will help around the house now that he is retired and she says he "better not." Even in his wife’s presence, he is unable. To Sayles, the social and racial situation on the border has hope and life within it. To McCarthy and the Coen Brothers, the border is a cesspool of violence with little meaning other than selfish greed. Bell fails to live up to the ideal he establishes at the start of the film when he says, “</span></span></span></b></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style=" line-height:200%;Times New Roman","serif";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">I don't want to push my chips forward and go out and meet something I don't understand. A man would have to put his soul at hazard. He'd have to say, ‘O.K., I'll be part of this world.’” In the end of the films, both sheriffs retire: Sam with closure and Bell with dissonance. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: 200%; "><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="line-height:200%; Times New Roman","serif";"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">No Country for Old Men</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> and </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Lone Star</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> highlight a turbulent culture on the border. </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">No Country for Old Men</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> uses a distraught sheriff to show the disconnect between idealism of the past and a new type of violence brought into the south of Texas by drug cartels in the 1980's. </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Lone Star</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> is set apart from </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">No Country</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> in that it focuses on the interconnectedness of cultures on the border. Deep within Sayles' film is the notion that borders and division creates a state of hostility. </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">No Country for Old Men</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> has no solution for the violence. It merely serves as a literary piece to strip away any romantic notions of the border, utilizing gruesome violence and the failure of courage and justice. </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Lone Star</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">, on the other hand, presents the social situation on the border as dysfunctional, not hopeless. Sayles uses metaphor and flashback to show that borders are national constructs, which create a state of violence and social alienation. Each film is a snapshot of prevalent issues in Mexican-American history, encapsulating specific time periods as well as ongoing quandaries along the border. </span></span></span></b></span></span><span style="line-height: 200%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;tab-stops:45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt"><o:p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;tab-stops:45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt"><o:p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;tab-stops:45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt"><o:p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;tab-stops:45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt"><o:p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;tab-stops:45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt"><o:p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;tab-stops:45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt"><o:p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;tab-stops:45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt"><o:p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;tab-stops:45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt"><o:p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;tab-stops:45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt"><o:p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;tab-stops:45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt"><o:p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;tab-stops:45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt"><o:p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;tab-stops:45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt"><o:p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b></o:p></p> <h1 align="center" style="text-align: justify;"><span style=" line-height:115%;Times New Roman","serif"; font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Bibliography<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b></o:p></p> <p class="MsoBibliography" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="line-height:115%; Times New Roman","serif";mso-no-proof:yes"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">No Country for Old Men.</span></span></span></b></span></i><span style="line-height:115%;Times New Roman","serif"; mso-no-proof:yes"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> Directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. 2007.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoBibliography" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height:115%; Times New Roman","serif";mso-no-proof:yes"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Gordon, Rebecca M. "Psychic Borders and Legacies Left Hanging in Lone Star and Men With </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Guns." In </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Sayles Talk</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">, edited by Diane Carson and Heidi Kenaga, 215-237. Detroit: </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Wayne State University Press, 2006.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoBibliography" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height:115%; Times New Roman","serif";mso-no-proof:yes"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Maril, Robert Lee. </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Patrolling Chaos: The U.S. Border Patrol in Deep South Texas.</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> Lubbock: </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Texas Tech University Press, 2004.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoBibliography" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height:115%; Times New Roman","serif";mso-no-proof:yes"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Rotella, Sebastian. </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Twilight on the Line: Underworld and Politics at the U.S. - Mexico Border.</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1998.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoBibliography" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height:115%; Times New Roman","serif";mso-no-proof:yes"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Ryan, Jack. </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">John Sayles, Filmmaker.</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> London: McFarland & Company Publishers, 1998.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoBibliography" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="line-height:115%; Times New Roman","serif";mso-no-proof:yes"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Lone Star.</span></span></span></b></span></i><span style="line-height:115%;Times New Roman","serif"; mso-no-proof:yes"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> Directed by John Sayles. 1996.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;tab-stops:45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt"><o:p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b></o:p></p> <div style="mso-element:footnote-list"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></b></span></span></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" style="text-align: justify;"> <div id="ftn1"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[1]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Maril, Robert Lee. </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Patrolling Chaos: The U.S. Border Patrol in Deep South Texas.</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press, 2004.</span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> Pg. 148.</span></span></span></b></p> </div> <div id="ftn2"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[2]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> Ibid. Pg. 149.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></p> </div> <div id="ftn3"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[3]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> Ibid. Pg. 150.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></p> </div> <div id="ftn4"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[4]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> Ibid. Pg. 145.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></p> </div> <div id="ftn5"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[5]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> Ibid. Pg. 145.</span></span></span></b></p> </div> <div id="ftn6"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[6]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Gordon, Rebecca M. "Psychic Borders and Legacies Left Hanging in Lone Star and Men With Guns." In </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Sayles Talk</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">, edited by Diane Carson and Heidi Kenaga, 215-237. Detroit: </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Wayne State University Press, 2006. </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Pg. 215.</span></span></span></b></p> </div> <div id="ftn7"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[7]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Ryan, Jack. </span></span></span></b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">John Sayles, Filmmaker.</span></span></span></b></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> London: McFarland & Company Publishers, 1998. </span></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Pg. 225.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></p> </div> <div id="ftn8"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[8]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> Ibid. Pg. 223.</span></span></span></b></p> </div> <div id="ftn9"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[9]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> Ibid. Pg. 226.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></p> </div> <div id="ftn10"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[10]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> Ibid. Pg. 224.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></p> </div> <div style="mso-element:footnote" id="ftn11"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Latin%20American%20History%20In%20Film/SayersFinalPaper.doc#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">[11]</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> Ibid. Pg. 226.</span></span></span></b></p> </div></div>Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-20400609739375394212010-04-24T12:58:00.000-07:002010-04-24T13:00:41.742-07:00New Pre-Alien NewsScott says:<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(253, 251, 252); line-height: 16px; "><i>"It's set in 2085, about 30 years before Sigourney [Weaver's character Ellen Ripley]. It's fundamentally about going out to find out 'Who the hell was that Space Jockey?' The guy who was sitting in the chair in the alien vehicle — there was a giant fellow sitting in a seat on what looked to be either a piece of technology or an astronomer's chair ... Our man [Tom Skerritt as Captain Dallas] climbs up and says "There's been an explosion in his chest from the inside out — what was that?" I'm basically explaining who that Space Jockey — we call him the Space Jockey — I'm explaining who the space jockeys were ... [The film] is about the discussion of terraforming — taking planets and planetoids and balls of earth and trying to terraform, seed them with the possibilities of future life."</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(253, 251, 252); line-height: 16px; "><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(253, 251, 252); line-height: 16px; "><i>Read it all <a href="http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=14954">Here</a></i></span></div>Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-30328994918612042812010-03-25T17:12:00.001-07:002010-03-25T17:12:38.476-07:00Amazing fight scene.... HITLER was a STARFISH<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/H3SzmfZ6F24&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/H3SzmfZ6F24&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-7165368789312069332010-03-22T08:48:00.000-07:002010-03-22T08:49:14.370-07:00Predators Trailer: In case you haven't seen it yet<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9u8vZwvP57Y&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9u8vZwvP57Y&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-58036818796802161092010-03-18T08:55:00.000-07:002010-03-18T08:57:06.273-07:00EXPENDABLES: ARE YOU F'N READY?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.aintitcool.com/images2009/expposter.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 486px; height: 720px;" src="http://www.aintitcool.com/images2009/expposter.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />This is one of the coolest posters I have seen since the golden age of posters in the 80s. <div><br /></div>Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-66125143478537233712010-03-15T08:36:00.001-07:002010-03-15T08:37:05.289-07:00This could be the best cast in a flick ever. THREE THE HARD WAY<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Qileulvwi-A&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Qileulvwi-A&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-11103871085276635022010-02-14T18:10:00.000-08:002010-02-14T18:13:53.532-08:00WolfmanIt was a bit of fun! I liked it more than my friends. Not much for story and acting, but keeps you interested with posh British style and some funny gore. Some flashback scenes seemed like they were shot but a made for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">tv</span> 2<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">nd</span> unit director, but it was all apart of the flicks charm. If you are looking for a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Wolfman</span> reboot or something ground breaking look elsewhere. If you wants a silly British flick with gore and cool werewolves kicking ass then check it out.Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-71981786200274035742010-01-30T00:05:00.001-08:002010-01-30T00:10:05.987-08:00Holy shit a movie about Larping!Joe Lynch the genuis behind Wrong Turn 2, (I know you horror hounds all love him!) is doing a hardcore asskickin flick coming up called Knight of Badassdom! Here is some buzz.<div><br /></div><div>"After being dumped by his sexy girlfriend Beth, Joe reluctantly decides to join Eric and his Larping friends in the woods rather than stay behind and feel sorry for his newly single status. There he meets hot, ass-kicking, intimidating huntress LARPer Gwen, and finds himself a surreal adventure wilder than he ever imagined when a make-believe wizard casts an all-too-real spell from an ancient book he bought on EBay, releasing an actual demon with a taste for human blood — and souls — that starts systematically decimating the players in this suddenly deadly “game.” Will our guys become the heroes they have been pretending to be before time runs out?</div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; COLOR: #000000; OVERFLOW: hidden; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; TEXT-DECORATION: none" id="TixyyLink"><br />Read more: <a href="http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/01/20/peter-dinklage-in-talks-for-knights-of-badassdom-synopsis-revealed/#ixzz0e54zVC5W">Peter Dinklage in Talks For Knights of Badassdom, Synopsis Revealed | /Film</a> <a href="http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/01/20/peter-dinklage-in-talks-for-knights-of-badassdom-synopsis-revealed/#ixzz0e54zVC5W">http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/01/20/peter-dinklage-in-talks-for-knights-of-badassdom-synopsis-revealed/#ixzz0e54zVC5W</a>"<br /></div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; COLOR: #000000; OVERFLOW: hidden; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; TEXT-DECORATION: none" id="TixyyLink"><br /></div><div style="border-bottom-width: medium; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-color: initial; text-align: left; border-left-width: medium; border-left-style: none; border-left-color: initial; background-color: transparent; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; border-top-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; border-right-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right- text-decoration: none; color:initial;" id="TixyyLink"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">I seriously can't wait for this being a huge nerd who knows what LARPING is and consulted a larping group in high school that was based on the Alien Legacy... Keep an ear and eye out for this one :D </span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: medium; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-color: initial; text-align: left; border-left-width: medium; border-left-style: none; border-left-color: initial; background-color: transparent; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; border-top-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; border-right-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right- text-decoration: none; color:initial;" id="TixyyLink"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: medium; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-color: initial; text-align: left; border-left-width: medium; border-left-style: none; border-left-color: initial; background-color: transparent; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; border-top-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; border-right-width: medium; border-right-style: none; border-right- text-decoration: none; color:initial;" id="TixyyLink"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">w00t</span></div>Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-8658868245304502722010-01-27T08:21:00.000-08:002010-01-27T09:22:31.023-08:002010 in Video/Computer games...2010 has some damn good games coming out! Here are some game trailers to get you ready! There's stuff for everyone this year... Inferno and Splatterhouse for horror fiends, then theres Crackdown 2 and AVP for our action fans. <div><br /></div><div>AVP: The next AVP game is a simple reboot of one of the greatest multiplayer games ever. Aliens and Predator are two of my favorite films so I am fucking ready! I will chomp all of your heads off as an alien... My friends and I all have it preorder on steam... so if you would be so kind as to challenge us... Its on. This would be my #1 awaited game of the year :D w00t.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/D5tZpUbF8J0&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/D5tZpUbF8J0&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></span><br /><div><br /></div><div>Star Craft 2: Will it come out or not... Who the hell knows... This is one of the most anticipated games ever... And I will be lining up to get a copy.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YT_0IRNbN14&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YT_0IRNbN14&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Splatterhouse: is a remake of an old school side scroller brawler that was fashioned so the gamers could kick some ass as a Jason Voorhees knock off. The reboot looks like its filled with interesting creatures to kill and brutal ways to do it... This game hasn't got much press but it is a must buy for me.<br /><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q5igCWkI0po&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Q5igCWkI0po&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></span><br /><div><br /></div><div>Dragon Age: Awakening. The expansion to one of the highest rated and most popular expansions on PC and Console will be released in March. If you got addicted to this game like I did, then this is one of your most anticipated titles of the year. I cannot wait for it. My Grey Warden mage, Elgyn is eager for battle!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/p0yh6DX8pZ8&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/p0yh6DX8pZ8&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Bioshock 2: Not much to say... Just check out this cool trailer lol. Fucking creepy kids...</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dIopXUPVGFE&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dIopXUPVGFE&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Red Steel 2: Is a game with sword wielding ass kicker with a gun. With the somewhat recent Wiimotion plus release this game will prove to bring me back to the wii for a while. (apologizes to the wii for giving its buff ass kicking brother the PS3 too much attention). </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: -webkit-xxx-large; white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px; "><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/W9cp8Wn0Ml8&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/W9cp8Wn0Ml8&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></span><object width="560" height="340"></object></span></div><div>Splinter Cell Conviction: I played the first two and got a bit tired of the franchise, but now I think I will return!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/e6tg7n6idTg&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/e6tg7n6idTg&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Dead Rising 2: Hell its about time! Looks okay.. not a fan of the trailer but here you go!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uUdA2VVNY3w&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uUdA2VVNY3w&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Alan Wake: Very cinematic and mysterious. I will decide on it when I see some more gameplay. Does look interesting... Prolly alien abduction!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/m-xaiMaru64&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/m-xaiMaru64&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Final Fantasy 100 Billion: A new final fantasy is coming out! I put this here for nerds who like this crap... Enjoy or skip.. I will not be buying this game.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uAFyFCqCEW0&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uAFyFCqCEW0&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></div><div><br /></div><div>I Am Alive: Not much is know about this, but the games teaser caused the gaming community to obsess over it. It looks like a post apocalyptic survival horror game. Should be sweet.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/flhRp6ZjypM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/flhRp6ZjypM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Dante's Inferno: Play through the classic poem, but not as a wandering philosopher type... as a muscle bound crusader ready to kick some ass. The Demo is out to check it. There ultra violence and excessive nudity...</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SdqY2a9iRXw&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SdqY2a9iRXw&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></span></div></div></div></div>Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-15540023008561066882010-01-22T17:48:00.001-08:002010-01-22T17:49:24.503-08:00Aliens Vs Predator: Kill trailer... HELL YAWow this is gonna rock. Whose down? Hit me up on steam! <div><br /></div><div><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZgN2ChA49N8&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZgN2ChA49N8&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></div>Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-44585105828140799072010-01-17T15:50:00.000-08:002010-01-17T15:54:03.273-08:00Predators' set photos<div>Everything looks by the number. Exciting :D Predators are cooler than in AvP films where they were over sized and dumb looking. </div><div><br /></div><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.brutalashell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/predators7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 604px; height: 468px;" src="http://www.brutalashell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/predators7.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.brutalashell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/predators5-1024x768.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 1024px; height: 768px;" src="http://www.brutalashell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/predators5-1024x768.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.brutalashell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/predators6-767x1024.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 767px; height: 1024px;" src="http://www.brutalashell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/predators6-767x1024.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.brutalashell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/predators4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 604px; height: 453px;" src="http://www.brutalashell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/predators4.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.brutalashell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/predator1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 604px; height: 408px;" src="http://www.brutalashell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/predator1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.brutalashell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/predators3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 363px; height: 479px;" src="http://www.brutalashell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/predators3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.brutalashell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/predators2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 604px; height: 477px;" src="http://www.brutalashell.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/predators2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /></div>Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-78112306297879240182010-01-13T15:41:00.000-08:002010-01-13T15:45:35.560-08:00Avatar Sequels and The DiveWe all knew this was coming. Sounds interesting. I hope Cameron does something between them that is more grounded in reality like True Lies. <a href="http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/05/16/james-camerons-next-movie-might-be-the-dive/">The Dive</a> seems interesting. Another underwater type flick. <br /><br /><br />"After muttering about how an AVATAR franchise would make sense and hinting that there could be a trilogy of AVATAR films, James Cameron has confirmed that there will be an AVATAR sequel, fueling speculation about how it might top the original.<br /><br />Things we do know: There are two planned sequels but they won't be one continuous story, they'll be self-contained. They'll also follow Jake and Neytiri. It could take place around a different moon of Polyphemus this time, although producer Jon Landau has already hinted about exploring Pandora's interior. Some bloggers guess that James Cameron, famously obsessed with water, has an amazing underwater environment mapped out for Pandora. There are also different Na'vi tribes that call the planet their home and we never really got a sense of how intra-species politics work between the different tribes. Cameron confirmed he’s mapped out what will happen in the sequels, although he hasn’t written any scripts yet.<br /><br />The good news? The sequels won't take four years to make. Cameron has said he can get them out faster than the first AVATAR. <br /><br />Underwater, inside Pandora, another planet - what's your favorite idea for the sequels?" - <a href="http://avatarblog.typepad.com/avatar-blog/2010/01/avatar-sequel-confirmed.html?fbid=2xMWTTySWRS">Avatar Blog</a>Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-17622350074030489182010-01-11T17:00:00.000-08:002010-01-11T17:10:48.216-08:00Spiderman4 got pwnedI am sure you have all heard the Spidey 4 is getting canned along with Raimi and the rest. I hope the make Maximum Carnage. I can't say I am too upset considering I like Raimi's non-spidey films a lot more... I just hope he returns to horror or reboots Darkman. <br /><a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SPIDER_MAN_4?SITE=SCAND&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">Full story here</a><br /><br /><br />Check out this amazing old school sega game I used to play... which should be the next spiderman flick :D<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bppH0hGUUuc&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bppH0hGUUuc&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-26474626968207064802009-12-24T12:45:00.000-08:002009-12-24T12:46:44.423-08:00AVATAR<meta equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><title></title><meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 3.1 (Win32)"><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> </style> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Avatar</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">James Cameron set out to create an epic that rivaled Star Wars. He succeeded. Avatar already has the largest opening for an original film (not a sequel or adaptation), and will keep climbing through the holiday season. I got to see it in IMax 3D, which was phenomenal being that the picture was crystal clear and sound was explosive.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The Story:</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The story was a mix of Dances with Wolves and Aliens. There is a colonial force trying to subjugate a population of natives for a resource. A few people start to see the evil and destructive nature of colonialism and imperialism and side with the underdog. Enter Aliens where it becomes about the failures of human technologies against a so called "primitive" weaponry. Despite the technology difference the Na'vi (alien race) have something to fight for. By today's standards the story nothing exciting, but that's not what the film is about. Its about taking a universal story, (sadly the horrors colonial rule are universal now) and bringing it to life with spirit and heart. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The heart and spirit:</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I have been beat into a stupor over big budget action films. None of them have heart. Michael Bay's take over of mega-budget films (to my demise) has been a scar on cinema for the past decade. Even Lucas and Spielberg have been making heartless garbage. Look at the latest Indiana Jones or the last three Star Wars films. The only success in moving the human psyche besides something violent or sexual was Lord of the Rings. Avatar has a heart and soul unlike Bay's films. When one watches Avatar they can feel Cameron's love for the story and characters. The love story was beautifully done between Jake Sulley and Neytiri. Even though they are animated you still feel the emotion and nuances in their performances to pull off the exposition of love between the two. I was surprised about the many spiritual themes in the film. They used the Zen story of a person being like a filled cup so nothing else can be taught to them. The cup thing was a little too much for me since I have been exposed to Zen quite a bit, but others who don't have that experience won't think it is as corny as I did. The real spirit comes through in another Buddhist theme (also Hindu) which is the interconnectedness of all things. Cameron uses a beautiful way to communicate this truth through metaphor in the film. I won't give away how things are bound and what role it plays, but it takes a seemingly "eastern" idea of ecology and makes it easy for audiences in the west to understand. Overall it's not a hollow in your face spamfest of special effects.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The Effects:</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Wow. If this film takes an Oscar it will be in effects! There is just nothing to compare it to. The bio luminescent plant life on Pandora is fantastic. The environment was computer generated, but was photo realistic. I was blow away. The lighting was perfect, the trees and leaves swayed naturally, and movement never looked unnatural. The na'vi facial expressions were better than any motion capture work I have seen. As I mentioned before you can FEEL their performances behind the animation it is hard to explain since there is not much to compare it to. The end battle is one of the most epic and dynamic fights in film history. There are giant lizards dog fighting with huge gunships. 6 foot long arrows smash through the glass of cock pits, while machine gunners tear down Na'vi from the top of a flying aircraft carrier. On the ground mech suits rip the jungle apart with machine guns and flamethrowers, while na'vi and native animals are trying to destroy the human invaders. Its magnificent.
<br />
<br />The Actors:
<br />
<br />Worthington did a great job as usually. I was impressed with Weaver and Joel David Moore. The best performance came from Stephan Lang, playing Quaritch. He will go done as one of the biggest hard-asses in cinema. He drinks coffee while he slaughters na'vi. He doesn't realize hes on fire for at least 40 seconds then with little effort bats it out. He goes into Pandora's atmosphere to kick ass without an o2 mask... and holds his breath. He means business and wants to kill everything that moves. By no means it he a hero, but you have to hand it to the guy he know how to play a bad ass.
<br />
<br />The music:
<br />
<br />Meh.... Horner recycles his work on Titanic, Aliens, and Wolfen, which wasn't anything special. Don't expect to see trailers cut together using Avatar music in the future. I wish he wasn't so lazy. Cameron really should have got a different composer. The song at the end of the credits is full of cheese and felt out of place. Maybe just thrown in to put Avatar up for another "best song" nomination... I guess. They should have ended it with rock music or something cooler than a Celine Dion sound alike.
<br />
<br />The Score:
<br />
<br />GO SEE AVATAR!!!! YOU WONT BE SORRY!</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></p> Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-87775091609931232452009-12-12T12:53:00.001-08:002009-12-12T12:59:37.556-08:00Kilometre Zero: My first Kurdish film related to Iraqi history<p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="text-align: left;line-height: 200%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: normal; font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10px;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gmEjgbTMnCU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gmEjgbTMnCU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: normal; font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:16px;"> </span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="text-align: left;line-height: 200%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: normal; "><span></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Kurdish filmmaker Hiner Saleem's</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Kilometre Zero</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> is a tale about a Kurdish man's journey across a war-torn Iraq. </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Zero </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">takes place weeks before the chemical bombings in Iraqi-Kurdistan in the culmination of the </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">al-Anfal</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> operation. The film exposes the fission between Arabs and Kurds in Iraq through the relationship of the protagonist, Ako, and his Arab driver. This relationship is portrayed in a comical manner, showing that the disconnect between the two ethnic groups is much-a-do-about-nothing. The exposition of historical events in the story is sometimes executed through radio reports, but most of the history is insinuated as the narrative unfolds.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height:normal"><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Saleem's story is experienced through Kurdish eyes. The Kurds are located primarily in the North of Iraq, which was "created by Britain," with "an enormously diverse population."</span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Modern%20Middle%20Eastern%20History/Kurd%20Movie%20Review.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">[1]</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> This diversity among the population was ignored since Iraq's creation, leading to a Kurdish striving for an independent state separate from the Arab majority. The Iraqi government saw this as a problem because they wanted a centralized state, which would exist under the banner of "Arab nationalism."</span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Modern%20Middle%20Eastern%20History/Kurd%20Movie%20Review.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">[2]</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Conflict erupted between the two groups throughout the 1970's. The conflict usually ended in stalemates because Iraqi forces could do little against Kurds in the mountainous regions. The militants were also receiving significant amount of support from Iran. The Kurdish relationship with Iran would become a chief reason for Saddam Hussein to conduct ethnic cleansing through a reign of chemical terror on Iraqi-Kurdistan. This relationship was put on hold by a deal brokered between Iraq and Iran over the Shatt al-Arab waterway, which caused Iran to shut its borders to the Kurdish peshmerga, or militia, which caused the Kurds to be "decimated by the Iraqi air force."</span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Modern%20Middle%20Eastern%20History/Kurd%20Movie%20Review.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">[3]</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> A ceasefire was later forced on the Kurds and Hussein "uprooted as many as 250,000 Kurds" then "forced large numbers of Arabs to move to Kurdish territory" to dilute the population.</span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Modern%20Middle%20Eastern%20History/Kurd%20Movie%20Review.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">[4]</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Despite Hussein's attempts, the Kurds were able to organize small pockets of resistance and keep the peshmerga in operation until the Iran-Iraq War, which dealt a devastating blow to Iraqi-Kurdistan.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height:normal"><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The film focuses on the weeks before the Iraqi destruction of the Kurdish communities in the North. In 1987, Hussein became nervous about his stalemate on the Iranian front so narrowed his forces on the Kurdish territories. Hussein did this because he wanted to crush the peshmerga for sharing intelligence with the Iranians.</span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Modern%20Middle%20Eastern%20History/Kurd%20Movie%20Review.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">[5]</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Ako, the main character, is introduced as a reluctant army reservist afraid of being sent to fight Iran for a country he cares little about. His feelings towards Iraq are illustrated by an early scene of the film where Kurdish men are rounded up and taken to a fortress for no reason other than to humiliate or kill. An obese man, Sami, is stripped to his underwear and told to run around and dance for the pleasure of Iraqi officers. Furthermore, there is an impromptu interview process where Kurds are asked about their profession and what they thought of President Hussein. If the answers are not sufficient, they are walked to a steep ledge and executed. This highlights the culture of fear the Iraqi government used to dominate any dissenting factions. This is accomplished by reinforcing an Arab identity and turning the Kurds into the binary opposite of Arabs. One way the Iraqi state achieved this state of fear can be seen in the film when Kurds are lined up and proclaimed agents of Iran, which is an agent of Imperialism. They are then shot in front of the predominantly Arab troops. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height:normal"><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The binary is expressed in Ako's relationship with his Arab driver. Ako is sent to deliver a body in Iraqi-Kurdistan, only after a few days of fighting near Basra in the South. The driver and Ako rarely talk and when they do, it usually expresses an aggressive, yet comedic, disdain for each other. The driver does not hide the fact that he thinks Kurds are the source of Iraq's problems throughout the entirety of its national history. The filmmaker sets this hatred up, then has it climax when the two men get out of the truck in the middle of streets to talk about "Iraqis and Kurds." This is meant to finally set the story straight and explain the hatred between the two. Ako and the driver both tell each other to "say something," but neither says anything. This is the writer/director's way of saying the hatred is nonsense and irrational, because neither man can create a rational argument and make sense of the fractured relationship.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height:normal"><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Another historical nuance in the film is expressed when the Iraqi check point officers want Ako to keep off the road during the day to hide the amount of causalities wreaked by Iran. This was characteristic of Hussein's policy during the war. He wanted to hide failures far away from the people, because he was afraid of losing support when his subjects saw the amount of loss inflicted by the Iranian neighbors.</span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Modern%20Middle%20Eastern%20History/Kurd%20Movie%20Review.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">[6]</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> The losses are seen when Ako's makeshift hearse pulls behind a wall and over fifty other cars carrying coffins are revealed. This exposes the extreme number of casualties that Iraq was experiencing during the war—a war that Hussein mistakenly thought would be a quick success.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height:normal"><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">By the end of the film, Ako returns to his beloved Kurdistan, which was deserted as a result of Kurds trying to escape the Iraqi bombings. After Ako is reunited with his family, director Hiner Saleem tries to paint the screen with terror. Ako and his family run for their lives as a jovial afternoon is turned into a war zone. The Iraqi jets pound the region without pause. The excessive bombing was commonplace in the </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">al-Anfal</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> operation. This is translated as the "spoils of war," which was largely a scorched earth policy against Kurdish territories.</span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Modern%20Middle%20Eastern%20History/Kurd%20Movie%20Review.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">[7]</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> In 1988, this culminated in the chemical slaughter of Halabja, where 5000 people were killed. The attack is referenced when Ako listens to the radio by an abandoned home.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height:normal"><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The film ends on a positive note for Kurds. Ako and his wife, Selma, listen to another radio report in the 2003 at the time of Baghdad's fall. When they hear this, they exclaim, "We are free, our people are free!" The celebration is justified because Hussein's </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">al-Anfal</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> and ethnic cleansing of Kurds resulted in 80% of Kurdish villages destroyed and countless dead.</span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Modern%20Middle%20Eastern%20History/Kurd%20Movie%20Review.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">[8]</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> After Iraq's war with Iran, the Kurds constantly experienced forceful treatment and oppressive laws. One law even outlawed the Kurds from farming. This destroyed any form of self-sufficiency for the Kurdish population. With Saddam Hussein gone, Ako believes the Kurds are finally free. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <div style="mso-element:footnote-list"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span> <hr align="left" size="1" width="33%"> <div id="ftn1"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Modern%20Middle%20Eastern%20History/Kurd%20Movie%20Review.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">[1]</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Cleveland, William L., and Martin Bunton. </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A History of the Modern Middle East.</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Fourth Edition. Philadelphia: Westview Press, 2009. Pg.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> 410.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> </div> <div id="ftn2"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Modern%20Middle%20Eastern%20History/Kurd%20Movie%20Review.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">[2]</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A History of the Modern Middle East.</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Pg. 410.</span></span></span></p> </div> <div id="ftn3"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Modern%20Middle%20Eastern%20History/Kurd%20Movie%20Review.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">[3]</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><i><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A History of the Modern Middle East.</span></span></span></i><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Pg. 411.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> </div> <div id="ftn4"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Modern%20Middle%20Eastern%20History/Kurd%20Movie%20Review.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">[4]</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><i><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A History of the Modern Middle East.</span></span></span></i><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Pg. 411.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> </div> <div id="ftn5"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Modern%20Middle%20Eastern%20History/Kurd%20Movie%20Review.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">[5]</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Maher IV, Liam. </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Kurd's In Iraq Lecture</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> (December 2, 2009).</span></span></span></span></p> </div> <div id="ftn6"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Modern%20Middle%20Eastern%20History/Kurd%20Movie%20Review.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">[6]</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Ibid.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> </div> <div id="ftn7"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Modern%20Middle%20Eastern%20History/Kurd%20Movie%20Review.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">[7]</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Ibid.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> </div> <div style="mso-element:footnote" id="ftn8"> <p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Nick/Documents/Writing/Modern%20Middle%20Eastern%20History/Kurd%20Movie%20Review.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">[8]</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Ibid.</span></span></span></p> </div></div><div style="mso-element:footnote-list"><div style="mso-element:footnote" id="ftn8"> </div></div>Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-53364659632794517602009-12-03T23:39:00.000-08:002009-12-03T23:42:31.985-08:00AliensAliens is my favorite movie. There is too much I could write about it... Instead of doing a small review I will just post a paper I wrote about Aliens and how it has inspired me. Please enjoy.<div><br /></div><div>Next is the Abyss in the countdown to Avatar.</div><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Sweat surges from my forehead, as I huddle in a gloomy corner like a prey awaiting the opportunity to escape. My only salvation is the pulse rifle pressed against my chest—held with white, trembling knuckles. I want to close my sagging eyelids, as I see the glossy-black, banana-shaped head round the curved corridor. My adrenaline swells, as my brain becomes a piston.</p> <p class="MsoBodyTextIndent">Thump! Thump!</p> <p class="MsoBodyTextIndent">I snap the rifle to my shoulder and discharge a burst of molten-cased rounds. The ammunition dives through the creature’s exoskeleton, as skin-shredding acid sputters from its body.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Thump! Thump!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>“Nick, come get something to eat,” my mom yells as she pounds on the door. The claustrophobic corridors melt away, revealing a ten-year-old boy’s cluttered bedroom. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Every child fantasizes about hunting a fearful beast or adventuring with a favorite superhero. My enemy just so happened to be the extraterrestrials from the film <i>Aliens</i>, and my heroes were of course the elite squad of United Space Marines featured in the movie. After seeing <i>Aliens </i>at the age of ten, I felt more than an urge to become an Alien-fighting marine—I wanted to capture these dreams and create my own films. <span style="color:red"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>What makes the film <i>Aliens</i> great enough to influence my future? Every aspect of this phenomenon of cinema inspires me, so much that I could write a doctorial thesis on the infinite qualities that make this movie special. When I was younger, the atmosphere, characters, and creatures intrigued my adolescent mind. Now, with a wiser eye, I see what a true prodigy in film <i>Aliens</i> is, as it has not allowed time to deplete its worth. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>The atmosphere for the science-fiction masterpiece follows the intimidating, claustrophobic ambience of its predecessor, <i>Alien</i> directed by Ridley Scott. James Cameron, the writer and director of the sequel, takes Ridley Scott’s terror tactics and perfects them by creating an environment even more menacing. With a feeling of ultimate seclusion, an alien creature brings down a marine transport, leaving the troops with very little exits from the planet LV426. For me, the setting alone created tremendous tension. As a child, I was terrified by the images of marines cramming inside a small corridor, only to become reproductive necessities to a bug-like, yet perfect organism.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>The design of this ultimate organism also inspired my love for science fiction. No movie monster can out-scare or out-battle H.G. Giger’s basic design of the majestic, biomechanical alien. The elusiveness of the creature stirred curiosity and an obsession with its every feature. What is more mystifying than an eyeless, elongated, ebony head resembling more of a shield than an animal? What is more terrifying than a silent killer creeping across ceilings and walls with soundless speed? What is more threatening than a thrashing, daggered tail and a vicious second mouth, ready to cocoon victims who will become hosts for another ugly alien? <span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">A unique feature of <i>Aliens</i> is the patient method of revealing the space monster; the viewer cannot see it, but he or she feels the presence of an Alien army ready to destroy. Cameron’s greatest display of skill was his ability to foreshadow the ominous Queen Alien. When filming the original <i>Alien,</i> Ridley Scott used a deliberate pace, building up to the alien’s first appearance. Cameron, however, hinted at the Queen throughout the entire movie. He tricks the audience into forgetting the Queen when the human characters seize the forefront of the story. Then, abruptly, a character finds herself standing inside an egg-scattered nest, as the Queen leers over her. It is this ingenious writing that continually places Cameron as a leading member of the film industry.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>The characterization in <i>Aliens</i> has influenced much of the ways I reveal the strengths and weaknesses of characters in my writing. The character Private Hudson, played by Bill Paxton, is one example. Hudson begins as a cocky, smart-mouthed joker, but when the aliens begin attacking, he becomes a whining pessimist with little hope for survival. In contrast, Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver, enters the film as a woman broken by nightmares of her first encounter with the beast. By the end of the movie, she demolishes the Queen Alien with a piece of warehouse machinery. Through the skillful building of Ripley’s character, Cameron demonstrates a person’s ability to transition from fragile to strong. When she finds an orphaned girl with tattered clothing and dirt-smeared skin, Ripley acts as her protective mother and valiantly faces the aliens that once petrified her in order to protect the child. With Hudson and Ripley, Cameron realistically portrayed the positive and negative human reactions to unthinkable situations. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><i>Aliens</i> is the first movie that taught me to notice atmosphere, detail, and dramatics. <i>Aliens</i>’ influence has increased with my age, rather than becoming obsolete over time. With advancements in computer graphics and special effects, older films seem outdated and “corny” at times. <i>Aliens</i>, though, is still an amazing piece of cinematic history because its effect is comparable to the films of today. <i>Aliens</i> inspires me to create motion pictures equally as timeless so that someone else can write an entrance essay for a film school, hailing my movie for its inspiration. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Today, another marine stoops with a rifle in his clutch, awaiting the assault of a gruesome beast. Meanwhile, I capture frames of drama, as the alien rounds the corner.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Thump! Thump!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>“Nick, you need to get ready for work,” my wife yells, as I stop envisioning the future and smile.</p></div>Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-24282956083423924672009-12-03T23:24:00.000-08:002009-12-03T23:37:47.127-08:00Rocky IIIt took me a while to get into Rock II. Compared to the first film it seemed to lack heart and motivation. The vanity of Rocky leads to his downfall, so he ends up having to get a shit job. The personal story in all this wasn't really communicated. I just didn't care. There are a few heart warming scenes (like those that made the first film) but they are two few to count. It is most likely because Stallone was budding as a young director and hadn't had much experience in the craft. <div><br /></div><div>The high point of the film is of course the end fight. I wouldn't say it is as vicious the first Rocky v. Apollo, but it was shot pretty cool. There is a priceless hit for hit slowmotion sequence that should be revisited on youtube if you can find it. They also an interesting thing for the end of the fight where Rocky and Apollo both fall down and the fight is won by who can get up first, instead of who gets knocked down. </div><div><br /></div><div>Overall I would say this one did very little for me. Rocky IV's shitty 80's feel at least kept me entertained. </div><div><br /></div><div>Trailer</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/U2J_n8_x11g&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/U2J_n8_x11g&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></div>Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-42536899172621756822009-11-25T10:15:00.000-08:002009-11-25T10:35:28.337-08:00Some Cool Avatar Videos<a href="http://movies.ign.com/dor/objects/800318/avatar/videos/avatar_trl_thanator_chase.html?show=hi">IGN Video: Avatar Movie Clip - Thanator Chase</a><div><br /></div><div>Check this one out for sure. The effects and mocap animation blow me away. Its crazy how far they have come even since Beowulf.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GKkBqQ5IwGc&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GKkBqQ5IwGc&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, serif;font-size:85%;color:#CCCCCC;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre;font-size:10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial;"></span></span></span></div>Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-25522074377103930892009-11-19T14:15:00.000-08:002009-11-19T14:29:55.981-08:00TerminatorTerminator is slowly making it's way into my top ten films of all time list. The atmosphere, tone, effects (at the time were fucking crazy), and story are all top notch. The only thing that is silly is the sex scene, which was referenced in Planet Terror sex scene with hilarious music and editing. Check out the action sequences and look up how much Cameron actually had to work with, it wasn't much. <div><br /></div><div><div>On another note, I have a thought that has to do with the latest film; Salvation... The best part of the Terminator films is the flash forwards to the future war with the machines. It was dark as hell, barren, and brutal. All of these things were omitted from the atmosphere in McG's lame installment into the series. The potential for a great film was there, but there was also a lack of concern for this potential in Salvation. Just a sad thought.</div><div><br /></div><div>I would rather have this film :D Back to the Future fusion with Terminator</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bBBw9E2Q_aY&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bBBw9E2Q_aY&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Next is my favorite film of all time. Aliens.</div></div>Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-18867824314639895262009-11-13T19:10:00.000-08:002009-11-13T22:42:25.197-08:00Countdown to Avatar with Cameron films!Alright, Avatar comes out December 18<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">th</span>. There is about 6 weeks until then and each week I will be watching a Cameron film. Sorry to say I will be skipping <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Xenogensis</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Piranha</span> 2... I just don't have the time for those ones. Please if you want to have some fun do this countdown with me.<br /><br />Week 1 - Terminator (this week)<br />Week 2 - Aliens<br />Week 3 - The Abyss<br />Week 4 - Terminator 2<br />Week 5 - True Lies<br />Week 6 - Titanic<br /><br />And I leave you with some Scream 2 :D<br /><br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0648249/">Mickey</a>: It's Bullshit generalization. Many sequels have surpassed their originals.<br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005085/">Randy</a>: Oh yeah?<br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001264/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Cici</span></a>: Name one.<br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005045/">Film Class Guy #1</a>: Aliens. Far better than the first.<br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001264/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Cici</span></a>: Yeah, well, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">theres</span> no accounting for taste.<br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005085/">Randy</a>: Thank you. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Ridley</span> Scott Rules. Name Another.<br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0291698/">Film Class Guy #2</a>: No way. Aliens is a classic. "Get away from her, you Bitch!"<br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005085/">Randy</a>: I believe the line is "Stay away from her, you Bitch." This is a film class right?<br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0291698/">Film Class Guy #2</a>: Got you. Whatever. You know what I mean.<br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005085/">Randy</a>: Name another.<br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0648249/">Mickey</a>: T-2.<br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001264/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Cici</span></a>: You got a Hard-on for Cameron.<br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005085/">Randy</a>: A big one.Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604057078789588025.post-61763942777410718962009-11-10T20:53:00.001-08:002009-11-10T20:53:58.753-08:00Clash of the Titans teaser out!HELL YES!!! CHECK IT OUT. Exactly what I wanted in this film!<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pcBNHZEiX0g&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pcBNHZEiX0g&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></span></div>Nick Sayershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847401542140680363noreply@blogger.com6