BATMAN BEGINS

4/5
stars christian bale, katie holmes, liam neeson

i saw the ads for this movie well in advance and thought to myself that it looked alright. but then i remembered that's what i thought when i saw the Episode III (2/5) trailer, so naturally i was quite apprehensive. and after Batman and Robin, i wasn't expecting much from the lastest batman film. thankfully, i was woefully mistaken.

the story traces the beginning (really? oh my god!) of bruce wayne's (christian "best-batman-ever" bale) path into becoming th dark knight. the film starts off with a series of flashbacks that shows us where wayne first encounters the bats. the film also pays tribute to bruce's parents and portrays them as noble and righteous. a saying that has been passed down the wayne family line is one that epitomises the notion that one person, if they wanted to, could make a difference.

"why do we fall? so we can learn how to pick ourselves up"

the story takes its time to get to the real action when bruce returns to gotham city after exiling himself after the trial of the guy who murdered his parents. he returns with a hope to bring gotham to salvation, and to prove to the world that gotham is a city of heroes, a city that is worth saving.

enter liam neeson (i mean ra's al ghul) and his minions who are hell-bent on destroying gotham, a society which they believe have reached its decadent peak and must be extinguished.

diretor christopher nolan (of "memento" fame) creates a world that, while being slighly over stylelised, that is believable and very much real. the backdrop of economic depression and corruption is one that all audiences, both local and global, can relate to. the film takes a very X-Men/X2 approach by making the film look as though it could actually happen in real life. all the gadgets are explained this time round, as are the histories of the main characters.

micahel cain does a fantastic job as alfred, as does liam neeson as ra's al ghul. all performances were top-notch, even katie holmes as the outspoken assistant district attorney rachel dawes. i usually don't like holmes, but in this film, equipped with a awesome script, she does fine:

"...he's been missing for two days, which in this city means i should start looking at the bottom of the river."

christian bale also proves he's got more than an american psycho in him. he plays the part perfectly, being the reluctant playboy billionaire and as the caped crusader. it's ironic in a way that "bruce wayne" is his mask, and batman is who he really is. and as rachael says, "it's not what's inside - it's what you DO that defines who you are." this could not be closer to the truth.

my only criticism of the film that it was a bit long; at 141 minutes the viewing experience does become somewhat arduous. even with this said, the film kicks arse so badly we can almost forget about the other aboniation of batman films... almost.

i wouldn't see this film again any time soon, but from my first viewing, i loved it.

-LOki

HOLY SHIT!

yeah yeah, i did it.

Qui-Gon got it lucky; he got killed off before Episode III was made.

-LOki

"adversely possess this, asshole." -monin

well, it has been exactly one year since i started my blog. goddamn it's been a while.

well i jsut got home from my property law exam which went better than i expect, which means at least i'll get a Pass. that, i'll be happy with. i'll humour you with my exam experience this time round...

LAW5159 - EVIDENCE
this exam went kinda well, i knew all my shit and was pretty happy when i left. the main topics were hearsay (curse you!) this was a pretty ordinary exam come to think of it, nothing really to report.

LAW5144 - MEDIA LAW
ahhh media law. funny story; as i was leaving the house to catch the train i remembred i had to check my seat number. i was so goddamn tired from being awake for 30 hours studying and working on the comic i felt like i was going to die. but then when i checked my seat number at 8:50am (the exam was at 9:30), i should've said that "hopeless expectation of death" feeling for then. you see, i thought i had my TORTS exam and that 30 hours of being awake was spent on that. furthermore, i hadn't been to any media law lecture and had no note prepared. "awwww fuck!" was my verbal and mental respone.

so i jump online and grab some bs lecture notes which i've never read before, staple them together and rush out the door. i get there at 9:25 and take my seat and open my bag.. "awwww fuck!" i left my notes at home! so i rush out again and call my bro to drive them down which, albeity under protest, does.

so i'm in teh exam, 20 mins late with no fucking idea what to do. i think, i might as well have a crack at it and rolled my sleeves up and started writing. i'll probably fail it, but hey, at least i tried!

LAW2210 - TORTS LAW
ahh torts.... finally. i liked this one, all about people getting jabbed with syringes and people stealing other people's shit. i always like torts cos people are always finding themselves in stupid situations and are usually always liable for it. it's hilarious. so i was very well prepared for this one since i thought it was on monday so yeha, no worries.

only problem was half way through the exam i was informed i was in teh wrong seat, so i had to pack my shit and move. it was annoying but my own stupid fault.. i guess at moments like this you can only laugh. ha-ha.

LAW3401 - PROPERTY LAW
and my hardest, most hated subject! i have to admit i went into the exam room knowing that i hadn't gone through all the topics and that somehow i'd get screwed over. so i went in there with my notes and just did the damn thing. it was easier than i had expected which was god, though not really cos i thought it was going to be the equivalent of trying to swallow glass. meh.

i'm out of the exams now and back in action! well, more like inaction... i'm tired, i'm shitty, but i feel like a beer so i'm heading out. and for those who have also finished exams, i suggest you do the same!

it's been a year since i've squatted on this blog domain, and if this belonged one else and was real land and i was trespasser, all i'd have to do is wait another 14 years and it'd all be mine.. mine.. mine!!! yeah, i know, i've lost it a little...

adverse possess this, assholes!

i need a beer.

-LOki

"it's like real life tragedy" - sam, garden state

i remember once some old wanker said:

"some people have likened exams to death... it's really not that bad"

i'm sitting here on the dawn of my three-in-a-row-screw-me-over exam period and i think i should be freaking out. i think i am a little, moreso than i'm used to. but i seem to managing it alright. i've had my six cups of tea and the recommended maximum of 2 cans of red bull, and i feel fine! FINE!

i think i'm jsut too damn tired to be stressing. meh, i dunno. at least its helping me in a way; by not stressing i'm not burning up extra energy and wasting it by wallowing in my own self-doubt and pity. instead, i'm jsut gonna stay chilled and just work through my exams systematically and as calmly as possible.

the next three days will be pretty intense for me but i'm determined just to blaze through them. my last exam (property law) is on wednesday afternoon and finishes around 6pm. that's the perfect time to catch the train into richmond and find the all too familiar couches at the great britain pub on church street.

time to get back to it,

-LOki

"You're my best friend," - queen, shaun of the dead.

happy twenty-first vito for june 5, 2005.

here's the speech i wrote and gave on the night. there was plenty of slurring of words also, but this is pretty much how it went.
---

first i'd like to thank everyone on my own behalf as well as vito and his family's. i know a lot of us have exams or whatever starting in the next few days, so it definitely does mean a lot that you're all here.

i know vito doesn't really like speeches so i've made it as short as possible.

i've known vito since about 1989 back at oakleigh primary school, but in my mind, while there have been countless experiences we've been through together - both good and bad - there is really only one that all others can be referred to.

it was in grade one were about 6 and had just gotten pupil of the week awards. they're these thing you get for doing just about anything at primary school and ironically vito's was for reading and writing, and mine was for drawing a demented horse.

the same day we had an excursion to the zoo and we had to catch the train as a class from oakleigh. on teh way back, vito and i thought it'd be kinda cool sit up the back of the carriage and act all cool and whatever.

there we sat, smiling stupidly with out purple ribbons pinned to our shirts when a train inspector came up to us. we didn't know what to do, were we in trouble? did she want our ribbons? we didn't know!

she then informed us that our entire class had already gotten off the train and that our grade one teacher, mrs. pisani was at oakleigh going out of her mind. i don't think we really understood the gravity of the situation as we just sat there, still with the stupid grins on our faces.

we never had any more experiences like that in primary school, but for the next two years we'd be drawing, playing in the sand pit, or debating about what colour the elbow pads were that the ninja turtles wore.

but then i came to school on the first day and grade 4 and vito was gone.

it wasn't until year 8 when i went to salesian that my saw him again, and it was as if we'd had always ben in contact and every thing was cool.

And now here we are, all growed up. I look back on my life and am just thankful that vito has been there pretty much the entire time. i know there have been times where i've put him through hell and he did nothing but listen and be a friend.

i won't be telling you anything you don't already know when i say vito is the guy who always puts his friends before himself. he's the guy with a heart of gold and is always ready to offer an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on.

but something that a lot of us do, myself included sometimes, is under-estimate him. sure, he has the drawing ability of alex ross, and is the king of the editing room - and of course can drink plenty of beer. but he's also the guy whose always a kid, his imagination and his enthusiasm are things that i have always admired and have always tried to live up to. vito's the one who has the ability to lift people's spirits when they're down, and make someone feel good about themselves when everything seems to go to shit. and that, i think, is what being a super-hero is all about.

I look at us now and think back to that time we got lost on the train, and think to myself that we're still those two kids smiling stupidly (or drunkenly) at the back of the carriage. And even though we had no idea of where we were going, we at least we knew that we'd be venturing there together.

Thanks for everything you've done for me, or done for any of us. Thanks for always being prepared to give everything and expecting nothing in return.

there are plenty of uncertainties in life, but right now there are two things i'm absolutely sure of:

1. that i'm drunk, and
2. vito, you deserve the best fucking birthday ever!

happy twenty-first dude.

---

-LOki

BIG BROTHER: HIS WHORES AND THEIR CANYONESQUE TWATS

i hate big brother. what a wanker of a show.

i don't know where to begin when it comes to how horrible and stupid this show is. is it the whole setup, planning, and programming? or is it the stupid people in the house selling their dignity and self-respect like $2 hookers? you pick.

let's start off with gretel. i'm sure she's a nice person generally, but on screen she's as annoying as a pebble in your shoe - and no matter how much you try to ignore it, it just shits you up the wall. she empahsises the wrong words and always has to act suprised, hip, and in, every time something that has been pre-planned happens.

secondly, there are the contestants. i don't see the attraction of seeing a bunch of arrogant, self-glorifying people thrown together in such a calculated way that of course there's gonna be bitching, going to be two 'alpha males', and - wait for it - the "vidictive" vixen. GET FUCKED YOU WHORES!

it's like they have to prove they're wankers by parading around the house in their underwear, as if they'd do it in their ordinary day lives. bullshit. the contestants alway says "once you're in the house, you forget about the cameras lol!" - give us a break, you tools. you're wearing mics every where you go, you're always looking into the camera, and you're always acting like idiots. try sitting down; i'm sure that brick of a mic reciever digging into their backs is something they used to experience in their every day lives before big brother. or maybe it was something else digging into their back - yeah that's right, it was their heads up their arses cos they're all so arrogant and up-themselves.

i have to say there are some redeeming characters in the house who seem to know they all this is bullshit but want to win the million dollars in the end. but that doesn't matter, as long as they're good looking and add to the group 'dynamic' it's all good - who cares what they have to say, right? and there's no better way of making a politcal statement than on live tv - where everyone thinks you're some kind of human rights activist of whatever and have channel 10 quickly trying to cover it up.

which leads to my next "why i fucking hate big brother" point: the advertising.

"EXPECT ANYTHING! ASSUME NOTHING!"

it's funny how they needed to remind us of that, because that's exactly what everyone does. oh my god, they've put 'intruders' into the house - what on earth will happen next? a celebrity? a ex-housemate? a fucking goat? all the devices have been used before, and just by addind a new dumbarse to the equation aint gonna change anything. shut up gretel, we don't give a shit.

the most recent ad goes something like this: "JUST LIKE BRAD (PITT) AND ANGELINA (JOLIE) - THEY'RE ON A MISSION!"

a "MISSION"? what the fuck are they trying to pull? channel 10 never seem to cease ripping off MTV for their advertsing strategies; looking for bs connections (if any at all) between upcoming films and thier dodgy shit they're producing. if angelian jolie was actually in the house, maybe i'd be more inclined to watch - and have her bash the shit out of all of them like in tomb raider. that'd be so funny.

also in the ad, it stated that two 'intruders' were going to be put in the house. one of them states:

"I'M A BIT VINDICTIVE?"

note the question mark, cos she's so stupid that she's not even sure. what a twat. that line is follwed by:

"HOW WILL THE HOUSEMATES REACT?!" *gasp!*

oh i don't know, exactly how they've being manipulated to react? throw in some dumb cow to stir things up and what can you expect - the alpha males having a new chick to impress, and the chicks having a new chick to bitch about. gold!

i hope that whole goddamn house burns to the ground. and when it does, i'm gonna get a first class ticket to the gold coast so i can piss on the ashes.

-LOki

NB: i was a little enraged while writing this post, but i'm alright now.