The idea behind The Final Cut is a facinating one. The question it poses is somewhat subtle: are your memories reality? While even the casual viewer will pick up on this subtextual storyline (although may not realize it), the overall story is a basic thriller.

From Netflix : "In this futuristic tale, chips inserted into the brain at birth record a person's entire life; when the person dies, the video is edited and shown at the funeral. Video editor Alan Hackman (Robin Williams) hacks out the worst of a person's life, depicting sinners as martyrs. Alan's turned into a cold megalomaniac, but things change when he finds his own scary childhood memory in the databank of a client. Mira Sorvino and Jim Caviezel also star."

Robin Williams really shines in this film giving an extremely subtle, well balanced, under-acted performance. His lines are kept to a minimal amount, most of his thoughts and emotions portrayed through his eyes. It's a rare performance extremely pleasurable to witness when films today suffer from excessive dialog. The Final Cut is truly a minimalist film.

The supporting cast is just as good the exception being Mira Sorvino. Unfortunately, her acting here is comparable to previous performances: giddy smiles of affection. Only in one instance does she give us a very strong performance.

Right now I'm sort of torn. I would have liked to have had more about what is memory, what is reality and what is our perception. But then I wonder if these questions had been more inclusive would it detract from the subtly I love about films like this?

Even though this is a slighty slow-paced film it's worth checking out. With the performances and questions raised the idea behindThe Final Cut are as interesting as the conversations viewers will have on the subject matter.

Recently, the Sci-Fi channel has been playing marathon-length strings of Kolchak: The Night Stalker episodes, which is good because I love the show. Anyway...one of the episodes which I'd completely forgotten about was on just a week or two ago, and it featured a certain kind of Indian demon which walked around in various guises which appeal to the eyes of the beholder. I do believe this creature was called...Rakshasa! Yes, the very one upon which a certain other kind of demon was based by The Man...

I love this concept that keeps popping up in the RJ novels.

I can only guess that in order for Jack to be honed into a fine-tuned weapon, he'll have to lose everything close to him... everything he holds dear.

Damn... this is just such a tragic concept, that it can't help but be so cool, (in a literary sense).

I am so hooked onto these books.

I'm currently in THE HAUNTED AIR.

We have two t-shirts available with the new Isher Sports Shop logo!

One is just a plain white tee and the other is an organic tee. Don't laugh, it was all Cafe Press had left! LOL

http://www.cafepress.com/repairmanjack.13263425

http://www.cafepress.com/repairmanjack.23809688

front pocket:


back of tee:


Susan

from Variety online:

Paramount has stopped watching over "The Watchmen."
After two months of speculation, the studio pulled the plug on the action-adventure and put it into turnaround over the weekend. Producers Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin were taking the project, with British director Paul Greengrass ("The Bourne Supremacy") attached, out to other studios.

"The Watchmen," based on the DC Comics series of the same name, came under heavy scrutiny even before ParPar chief Brad Grey's surprise move to replace Donald De Line with Gail Berman as studio president in late March. De Line found out about the change while in London meeting with Greengrass about "The Watchmen" and the need to cut its budget, rumored to be $100 million.

Par had been aiming for a summer start but began releasing crews working on pre-production at that point.

"The Watchmen" was previously set up at Universal, where David Hayter signed a seven-figure deal in 2001 to adapt with an eye toward directing. Story, set in the 1950s, centers on an ordinary man donning superhero garb to track down criminals and being joined by other vigilantes.


(That's not the Watchmen I read)

This is an Asian film trying to capitalize in on the Asian horror film market. Ever since I saw Ringu (the original The Ring) I've become obsessed with the Asian horror film market. Gone are the over-the-top special effects, music to hook you in the cheek and string you along, and cliched characters (nerd, prep, princess, stoner, and jock). Instead we are left with minimal lighting, eerie music and sound effects, and genuinely creepy imagery.

When I heard that A Tale of Two Sisters was an excellent horror film I immediately had to rent it and see what everyone was talking about.

From Netflix : "Terrified sisters try to exorcise their home of two dark forces -- their evil stepmother and a vengeful entity -- in this ghostly tale. Hospitalized after their mother's death, young Su-mi (Im Su-jeong) and Su-yeon (Mun Geun-yeong) return home to find a nasty new stepmother (Yeom Jeong-ah). The girls suffer terrifying events, but their father doesn't care, even though evil lurks around every corner. Can the girls free their home from its demons?"

At first I became a little concerned because lately even the Asian horror has become cliche. Usually there is a creepy boy smarter than he should be and a creepy girl with long black hair that covers her face and walks funny. A Tale of Two Sisters begins in a mental hospital with the introduction of Su-mi who, like a lot of movies before it, have her shuffling about in a lop-sided way with her hair covering her face. But, as the story progresses and Su-mi begins to tell her story, she sits up and her face comes out of hiding. That's when I knew this was going to be something different because right off the bat the filmmakers showed us they knew the cliches and were going to try and break them.

Throughout the movie a lot of strange things happen. While this is a horror film in its truest sense, A Tale of Two Sisters strives to be more. The stepmother and the girls don't like each other and all seem to be sick and require medicine, the father is depressed because he feels he has failed his daughters, his daughters barely speak to him, and the infrequent guests all seem to be off in their own worlds trying to conquer their own problems.

Nothing in this movie makes much sense yet is still extremely compelling to watch. That is up until about an hour and a half in. When everything seems to be wrapping up nicely and everything is starting to make sense, the filmmakers decide to throw a few more wrenches in the gears and twist everything around. While at a hour and a half the reveal would have been up to par with a movie like The Sixth Sense (by that I mean everything is explained and makes sense) apparently that wasn't good enough. For the next twenty minutes so much more happens that leaves you scratching your head trying to figure out exactly what is happening. I've watched this film twice now and, while I have a theory, have no way of proving it nor would I share it hear for fear of spoiling the film.

While I recommend the film because there is more story here than the typical horror affair I can't say it is one of the best Asian horror films out there but it certainly is one of the better ones. If you like moody atmosphere and genuine creepy moments, A Tale of Two Sisters is worth a look.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...:B:SS:US:1

Next lines are famous movie's lines. Make a guess.

1,"Shut up. We didn't lose Vietnam. It was a tie."

2,"The chain in those handcuffs is high-tensile steel. It'd take you ten minutes to hack through it with this. Now, if you're lucky, you could hack through your ankle in five minutes. Go."

3,"Well, what do you wanna hear, man? Do you wanna hear that sometimes I think about eatin' a bullet? Huh? Well, I do! I even got a special bullet for the occasion with a hollow point, look! Make sure it blows the back of my goddamned head out and do the job right! Every single day I wake up and I think of a reason not to do it! Every single day! You know why I don't do it? This is gonna make you laugh! You know why I don't do it? The job! Doin' the job! Now that's the reason!"

4,"No, you submit, do you hear? You be strong, you survive... You stay alive, no matter what occurs! I will find you. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far, I will find you."

5,"I'll tell you, Nick. You're the only guy I go hunting with, you know. I like a guy with quick moves and speed. I ain't gonna hunt with no assholes."

6,"Do you spend time with your family? Good. Because a man that doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."

7,"Today is thanksgiving day for cats. But only if they came back from the dead."

8,"There is no escape. Don't make me destroy you."(This is too easy :p )

9,"You want to know the secret to surviving air travel? After you get where you're going, take off your shoes and your socks then walk around on the rug bare foot and make fists with your toes."

10,"I'll go home and call the TV stations. Give them what they want. Let them take their cameras into my daughter's hospital room - put it on the evening news. i don't give a shit whether you did it or not and neither will anyone else but I will put such a strangle hold on your gun money that you'll be out in the street throwing rocks! I will fucking destroy you! I will make it my mission in life."

Has anyone on here seen the BBC show Wire in the Blood?

Each episode I watch is on par with some of the best big screen thrillers I have seen. The Brits have it down when it comes to the perfect mix of thrills and humor. Each episode has enough mystery, violence and wit to hold my attention for the full 90 minutes.

If you havent yet seen Wire in the Blood on BBC you are missing perhaps one of the best thrillers on the airwaves to date.

I liked it a lot. The ending, where Jack gets the sex-change operation, was quite the shocker. Big changes will have to be made in the Nightworld rewrite.

But seriously, the book rocked. Creepy, compelling, and damn ballsy as well. Plus (no kidding) I actually got a little misty-eyed in spots. Not that I'll ever reveal that outloud, because I'm 100% macho man.

It was a pleasure running into you in NY, Paul! You're looking good, for an older guy.

love,

Joe, who invites all to my booklaunch party June 18. My website for details. http://www.jakonrath.com