Pirate of the Air Waves

It’s Saturday night, the kids and the wife are exhausted from all the outdoor activities we did.  They go the bedroom and hit the air-conditioning for some relief versus the evening heat. I settle down with my portable movie-player at the dining room table and start watching some movies I downloaded.   Yep, I am my own pirate.

To say that the “Expendable” is an action movie is really an understatement.  It has a powerful cast that kicks ass even when the actors are just lounging about in the movie. It features Sly Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Randy Couture, and Steve Austin.  The fight scenes are crisp and fast, however,I particularly pay attention to the knife-fighting sequences.   I have a “thing”for blades and its practical application.  I must say, Jason Statham handles the knife pretty well in the movie.  But the question really is – what’s the message of the story after all the dust and explosion settles? It’s actually a grim reminder that we, the ordinary people in the work-force, can be replaced, retired, or fired at any given time. So people, better stay sharp and  focused on your work.  Don’t be caught fucking around because really, ten new college graduates would gladly fill in your spot at an instants’ notice.  To all the people who slack-off and don’t want to finish school for one reason or the other, wake up. The reality is that the working-world has sonofabitch rules and one of them is getting a degree before you are allowed to compete in the corporate rat-race.  You will also be labeled as an “expendable” if you keep putting off school. I wont be surprised if you will find yourself old and with no stable job because you chose to hold on to the “contractual chain” for much too long. Get back in school, finish it.

“Real Steel” takes us into the future where humans are no longer allowed to fight in the ring.  Whether it is boxing, muay-thai,mixed martial arts or anything of that sort is considered illegal because it could maim and kill another human being for sport.  Instead, fighting-robots are built to fight in the ring.  Androids controlled by their human-masters is not a bad idea. It actually preserves the humans from bashing each others head and that’s ok with me. The fighting ‘bots is just the back-drop for the story about a father who meets his son for the first time in eleven years.  The story is actually the triumph of the human-spirit against adversity when the trouble is within the family.  The son in this movie is actually more mature than the character of the father, played by Hugh Jackman.  It is the pureness of the boy’s heart which awakens his father’s senses.  The awakening is a slow and dramatic process until the father finally owns up to his responsibility of being a parent. Children, don’t give up on your parents. Parents, sometimes your children are wiser than you think.

“The LakeHouse” tells of a mystical tale between a couple distanced by time.  Yep, it’s a  bit complicated at first because two stories are developing at the same time while they are actually happening two years apart.  The character of Keanu Reeves is living two years in the past while the character of Sandra Bullock is living at the present time.  They apparently both lived in the same lake house at two different points in time.  It is the rusty Mail Box on the front lawn that serves as their conduit between time.  They would exchange letters through the mailbox and get to know each other better. They both know it a relationship that can’t work but they try anyways.  In the real world, that happens a lot. Not the part where you encounter a mystical gateway through time. The part when we encounter possible relationships  at the wrong time.  Hell yeah, you know what I am talking about. You don’t have to look far. Almost everyone who knows anyone has a story like this.  But don’t loose hope.  Maybe in this lifetime you can’t make it work. However, in your mind, nothing stops you from caring for that special someone that is already bounded by time.  

Well would you look at that, it’s 2:30 am. I have to knock-off now.