Law Abiding Citizen [2009]
This film had an interesting plot line that at first wasn't overly appealing to me. A man has his family killed in front of him and the justice system does what it can, but it's not enough and doesn't appear fair or just to the survivor. This sounds like any day of the week in the court system in the USA to me. Some people are criminals and receive what they deserve and others don't appear to receive justice at all. Gerald Butler plays the main character in this film and his family is shown to be killed in the beginning of the film. We see the trial and Butler's character is not happy that one of the criminals is about to be a cooperative witness and receive preferential treatment by the D.A and the judge.
Ten years flashes bye and we are at present day. Butler as we later find out has taken the last ten years to prepare his teaching plan and is ready to implement it, but it's not an easy plan to watch or to follow at times in this movie. Butler begins a systematic removal of each of the criminals as well as each of the members of the courts who he deems as responsible for the lack of justice in his family's killing. It is an interesting story-and one in which can only be told in film. In a movie you can do anything and have any outcome and this is definitely true with Butler's character. He's put in prison for the alleged murder of the remaining criminal who was involved in his family's killing. He then proceeds to get himself thrown in solitary confinement and despite being under 24 hour scrutiny he's able to eliminate the judge, district attorney and DA staff involved in the original case.
The movie is suspenseful and at times intense, but I found myself rooting for Gerald Butler. I'm not sure if it was because his character lost his family, or if it was because they were murdered in front of him, or even because of the apparent lack of concern by the DA's office that made me want him to succeed in his quest to eliminate everyone involved, but I had no desire to see Jamie Foxx win at the end of the film. I kept thinking to myself that this is a movie and that all things are possible, so that means that somehow Gerald Butler will walk out of prison and everything will be made right.
Needless to say I was not happy with the ending. It may make others happy or feel that justice was served in the film, but I wasn't pleased to see that Jamie Foxx walks away and Gerald Butler dies at the end. Films at times are supposed to make you feel better or help teach you something, and that can be done by suspending your disbelief. I suspended my disbelief through two hours of this movie only to find the last page to be quite bitter.
Law Abiding Citizen [2009]
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1197624/
Tuesday- 3rd November 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Romeo Void-Warm in Your Coat [1992]
Romeo Void-Never Say Never [1992]
Back in the early 90’s I was in college and listening to music that seemed to represent my mood, thoughts and feelings! The Goth-new wave era had arrived in full force and Romeo Void was one of many groups that I heard on cd’s, in concert and over the air. They seemed to have only two widely popular and well played songs-Never Say Never and A Girl in Trouble-but despite this lack of superficial popularity they became quite popular in the groups that I was around.
I loved the music and the lyrics-both seemed to convey my dark feelings and I was attracted to the way the music flowed than the lyrics themselves for many of the songs I enjoyed. It wasn’t until years later when I was in grad school that I really began to look at the song’s lyrics and analyze what they meant or what they might be trying to say to the larger world and maybe even to us who listened to the music every day.
My thoughts recently have returned to Romeo Void’s cd “Warm in Ur Coat” which has strong lyrics in the songs “Never Say Never” and “A Girl in Trouble”. Both present what appears to be a very strong willed feminist who is living her life on her terms, but on further examination I’ve noticed what appears to be the subtle undertones of women being used and abused by society and they then are required to become self-sufficient and emotionally hard to survive.
In “Never Say Never” I wonder if this song makes reference to incest. We hear in the opening verse that “sun suit girls must be discreet” and I wonder if this is not a reference to a young women, a pre-teen, who is sunning herself outside in the back where her father could be watching. And the verse ends with the words-“Nursing their fathers locked inside. They masqueraded as his bride.” Is this a reference to a father having sex with his daughter? As the obvious metaphor of the father being locked inside-inside her? And only with your spouse are you to have sex so is the last line a reference to the daughter playing the wife? The next verse makes reference to an old man, who sounds homeless and sleeps outside covered in newspapers, but would be “warm in your coat”, and I’ll ask what coat that might be? When I first heard these lyrics I always thought of it literally-being sheltered in someone’s winter coat to stay warm. As I’ve gotten older I wonder if it doesn’t mean a woman’s personal coat that is made of hair and at times called furry. I’ll leave it at that so that this blog can remain PG-13 for the moment! Then there is the chorus that repeats the title-“I might like you better if we slept together…never say never!” And does this make reference of what the father says to his daughter or daughter to father? I suppose it’s open to interpretation.
Now when I listed to “A Girl in Trouble [is a temporary thing]” back when it came out I thought it was a bit of a pop-like song with lyrics that were a bit more upbeat but still quirky. I had thought that it made reference to any pretty girl who could just flash her smile and toss her hair and some guy with money would could bye and help her out. I think the lyrics paint quite a different picture which I’d not noticed until recently. The lyrics say that “she’s heard every line” and she has to save her tears for later when she can afford to cry, but for the moment she has to take care of business. She has to be strong and hard and go get it done. Further reflection on these lyrics indicates she’s a pretty girl and she’s been hit on by plenty of guys. But at least one of these guys may have had his way with her as she has something that is tearing her up inside and is making her want to cry, but she can’t allow herself to cry. I knew of two girls when I was in college who described events like this to me. They had boyfriends or a guy they were dating and they were physically intimate with the guy. During the relationship they became pregnant and the guy left her. They spoke of how they were in trouble, but were going to take care of it, or made reference to how they had business to take care of-before they could collapse and cry. I’m sure this scenario must have occurred many times on college campuses in the 80’s, 90’s and today as well. Pretty girls get in to trouble because they fall for a guy and his lines and then they become pregnant.
The lyrics to some of my favorite songs haven’t changed, but like life itself your perspective of things does change as you get older. Some things have more meaning, some less and others no meaning at all. A girlfriend who dumped me two years ago broke my heart at the time and made me wonder how I’d pick myself up. Two years later I sit and write about song lyrics and wonder why I ever dated her in the first place-and why I’d want to bother dating anyone again. Returning to the songs of my youth reminds me of how dark and jaded my outlook on life was and that I never thought I’d live as long as I have at this moment. I tried to live as much as I could and experience as much as possible thinking that life would be short. Now that I’m older and am old by my own definition during my youth I have a dark outlook on life but not so much that it will end soon, but more so that life doesn’t change. Those that were beautiful and had it all when I was young still do, and the beautiful still have a different life in the USA. Those who were not born with money or looks must work hard to make a living and try and find what happiness they can in the time that they are given. Perhaps the music of my youth can help me to find a smile-even if it is dark music!
Romeo Void-Never Say Never
http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/dodgeball/neversaynever.htm
Never Say Never-listen online
http://popup.lala.com/popup/504684693663463194
rhapsody-never say never
http://www.rhapsody.com/romeo-void/warm-in-your-coat/never-say-never/lyrics.html
rhapsody-a girl in trouble
http://www.rhapsody.com/romeo-void/warm-in-your-coat/a-girl-in-trouble-is-a-temporary-thing/lyrics.html
Monday, November 02, 2009
Back in the early 90’s I was in college and listening to music that seemed to represent my mood, thoughts and feelings! The Goth-new wave era had arrived in full force and Romeo Void was one of many groups that I heard on cd’s, in concert and over the air. They seemed to have only two widely popular and well played songs-Never Say Never and A Girl in Trouble-but despite this lack of superficial popularity they became quite popular in the groups that I was around.
I loved the music and the lyrics-both seemed to convey my dark feelings and I was attracted to the way the music flowed than the lyrics themselves for many of the songs I enjoyed. It wasn’t until years later when I was in grad school that I really began to look at the song’s lyrics and analyze what they meant or what they might be trying to say to the larger world and maybe even to us who listened to the music every day.
My thoughts recently have returned to Romeo Void’s cd “Warm in Ur Coat” which has strong lyrics in the songs “Never Say Never” and “A Girl in Trouble”. Both present what appears to be a very strong willed feminist who is living her life on her terms, but on further examination I’ve noticed what appears to be the subtle undertones of women being used and abused by society and they then are required to become self-sufficient and emotionally hard to survive.
In “Never Say Never” I wonder if this song makes reference to incest. We hear in the opening verse that “sun suit girls must be discreet” and I wonder if this is not a reference to a young women, a pre-teen, who is sunning herself outside in the back where her father could be watching. And the verse ends with the words-“Nursing their fathers locked inside. They masqueraded as his bride.” Is this a reference to a father having sex with his daughter? As the obvious metaphor of the father being locked inside-inside her? And only with your spouse are you to have sex so is the last line a reference to the daughter playing the wife? The next verse makes reference to an old man, who sounds homeless and sleeps outside covered in newspapers, but would be “warm in your coat”, and I’ll ask what coat that might be? When I first heard these lyrics I always thought of it literally-being sheltered in someone’s winter coat to stay warm. As I’ve gotten older I wonder if it doesn’t mean a woman’s personal coat that is made of hair and at times called furry. I’ll leave it at that so that this blog can remain PG-13 for the moment! Then there is the chorus that repeats the title-“I might like you better if we slept together…never say never!” And does this make reference of what the father says to his daughter or daughter to father? I suppose it’s open to interpretation.
Now when I listed to “A Girl in Trouble [is a temporary thing]” back when it came out I thought it was a bit of a pop-like song with lyrics that were a bit more upbeat but still quirky. I had thought that it made reference to any pretty girl who could just flash her smile and toss her hair and some guy with money would could bye and help her out. I think the lyrics paint quite a different picture which I’d not noticed until recently. The lyrics say that “she’s heard every line” and she has to save her tears for later when she can afford to cry, but for the moment she has to take care of business. She has to be strong and hard and go get it done. Further reflection on these lyrics indicates she’s a pretty girl and she’s been hit on by plenty of guys. But at least one of these guys may have had his way with her as she has something that is tearing her up inside and is making her want to cry, but she can’t allow herself to cry. I knew of two girls when I was in college who described events like this to me. They had boyfriends or a guy they were dating and they were physically intimate with the guy. During the relationship they became pregnant and the guy left her. They spoke of how they were in trouble, but were going to take care of it, or made reference to how they had business to take care of-before they could collapse and cry. I’m sure this scenario must have occurred many times on college campuses in the 80’s, 90’s and today as well. Pretty girls get in to trouble because they fall for a guy and his lines and then they become pregnant.
The lyrics to some of my favorite songs haven’t changed, but like life itself your perspective of things does change as you get older. Some things have more meaning, some less and others no meaning at all. A girlfriend who dumped me two years ago broke my heart at the time and made me wonder how I’d pick myself up. Two years later I sit and write about song lyrics and wonder why I ever dated her in the first place-and why I’d want to bother dating anyone again. Returning to the songs of my youth reminds me of how dark and jaded my outlook on life was and that I never thought I’d live as long as I have at this moment. I tried to live as much as I could and experience as much as possible thinking that life would be short. Now that I’m older and am old by my own definition during my youth I have a dark outlook on life but not so much that it will end soon, but more so that life doesn’t change. Those that were beautiful and had it all when I was young still do, and the beautiful still have a different life in the USA. Those who were not born with money or looks must work hard to make a living and try and find what happiness they can in the time that they are given. Perhaps the music of my youth can help me to find a smile-even if it is dark music!
Romeo Void-Never Say Never
http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/dodgeball/neversaynever.htm
Never Say Never-listen online
http://popup.lala.com/popup/504684693663463194
rhapsody-never say never
http://www.rhapsody.com/romeo-void/warm-in-your-coat/never-say-never/lyrics.html
rhapsody-a girl in trouble
http://www.rhapsody.com/romeo-void/warm-in-your-coat/a-girl-in-trouble-is-a-temporary-thing/lyrics.html
Monday, November 02, 2009
Lions-Rams 11/01/2009
Lions Loose Again…
I’m really getting tired of writing that subject line! It’s been two seasons since we’ve had anything to cheer over, be excited about and have any hope that the future might be brighter than what the past has been. After yesterdays 17 to 10 loss to the St.Louis Rams I’m starting to wonder what we have left to look forward to this season. I’d like to think that the Lions played well at least in this losing effort, but that would be a lie. The Lions played one of the worst teams in the NFL and should have been able to beat them handily if the Lions were a team that had it together. The Lions were losing by a field goal at the end of the 1st quarter. Why they couldn’t have scored themselves against a team that has had nearly as many looses as the Lions had in the past two years I couldn’t tell you. Then Stafford was intercepted in the 2nd quarter in t he end-zone. The only reason we got on the scoreboard was that the Rams defense made the mistake of coming out of the end-zone and then being tackled back in the end-zone. A safety! Wow a 10-2 game at half-time.
The Lions did show some life in the 2nd half by tying the game 10-10 by making the two point conversion in the beginning of the 4th quarter, but with less than two minutes left the Lions allowed the Rams Steven Jackson to run 25 yards into the end-zone. He couldn’t be stopped and the Lions had nearly half their defense on him and with this the Lions found a way to lose again this week.
The Lions need to do something to make tackles, to move the ball, run the ball and score!
Lions/Rams week#8
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2009110104/2009/REG8/rams@lions
Box Score Lions 10 Rams 17
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2009110104/2009/REG8/rams@lions/analyze/box-score
Monday, November 02, 2009
I’m really getting tired of writing that subject line! It’s been two seasons since we’ve had anything to cheer over, be excited about and have any hope that the future might be brighter than what the past has been. After yesterdays 17 to 10 loss to the St.Louis Rams I’m starting to wonder what we have left to look forward to this season. I’d like to think that the Lions played well at least in this losing effort, but that would be a lie. The Lions played one of the worst teams in the NFL and should have been able to beat them handily if the Lions were a team that had it together. The Lions were losing by a field goal at the end of the 1st quarter. Why they couldn’t have scored themselves against a team that has had nearly as many looses as the Lions had in the past two years I couldn’t tell you. Then Stafford was intercepted in the 2nd quarter in t he end-zone. The only reason we got on the scoreboard was that the Rams defense made the mistake of coming out of the end-zone and then being tackled back in the end-zone. A safety! Wow a 10-2 game at half-time.
The Lions did show some life in the 2nd half by tying the game 10-10 by making the two point conversion in the beginning of the 4th quarter, but with less than two minutes left the Lions allowed the Rams Steven Jackson to run 25 yards into the end-zone. He couldn’t be stopped and the Lions had nearly half their defense on him and with this the Lions found a way to lose again this week.
The Lions need to do something to make tackles, to move the ball, run the ball and score!
Lions/Rams week#8
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2009110104/2009/REG8/rams@lions
Box Score Lions 10 Rams 17
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2009110104/2009/REG8/rams@lions/analyze/box-score
Monday, November 02, 2009
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