Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

The Book Of Eli - My Thoughts

I watched The Book of Eli with expectations of feasting my eyes before an all-out action movie. I didn't expect it to be... well, moving. I didn't have a chance to look at plot summaries so I was expecting something entirely different. As it turned out, it was better than I hoped for.

Book of Eli International Movie Poster Double Sided Original 27x40The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world after "the war" that caused unsurpassed damage to the environment. Eli talks about a hole in the sky that burned the surface of the earth and made the surface unlivable for some years. He recounted how he had wandered after going back to the surface, finding the book under ruins after heeding "a voice" inside of him that guided him. The book, the last of its kind, is the last known Bible of his world. He recounted how people destroyed all other copies because they blamed it for causing "the war". He held on to that book until the very near end of the movie, showing dedication in keeping it safe from other people who may wish to destroy it or use is for other-than-good intentions.

With the world around him so desolate, Eli appears like a post-apocalyptic prophet, guide by his faith and only by that faith's purpose. He confessed to walking for the last 30 years, not knowing his destination, only following the voice inside of him. There are scenes in the movie that are violent, least to say, but it comes across as a means-to-an-end justification as the movie progresses.

The Book of Eli (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)The final twist, which will amaze you, reveals itself when the Book is taken from him. Eli gave it up to save a life, was mortally wounded and continued to walk “west”. The Book was taken by the antagonist, was later unlocked and it revealed what Eli truly was. Eli reached his destination, and all was revealed. He did not need the physical book. He knew the words by heart and he found a way to preserve it by passing on his knowledge.

Though the Book is a Bible and Eli clearly professes his religious leanings throughout the film, it doesn't come across as proselytizing. The emphasis is on his faith as a man and what his faith enabled him to accomplish. It would not have been as great except for what was revealed near the end. I won't do a spoiler, so I guess you'll have to watch the movie to find out how that came to be. But I can say that The Book of Eli will be worth your while. Very worth your while.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Derailed

The AlchemistSo I started reading The Alchemist before last week ended. I was half-way through it in a matter of hours. However the convenience of the ebooks lined up and saved on my phone was just too hard to resist. I ended up reading a couple of pages on each of my breaks, then my pace gradually sped up again. I'm at least 80 pages into The Bourne Legacy. I've put The Alchemist on indefinite hold. Worst still is the fact that I've yet to start Cryptonomicon, just the kind of story a geek would naturally be drawn to.

The Bourne Legacy (Premium Edition)Cryptonomicon had been on my line up of To Read's for a few weeks now along with Daemon. I just can't seem to pull away from the Bourne series. I'm just so into it right now that I've forgotten I was supposed to read the first three so I could compare notes when I watched the Bourne movies. But I'm stuck. I haven't read the other books I had lined up. I haven't watched the Bourne movies. I'm more or less increasing my pace into The Bourne Legacy and I'm blogging less (yes, I had posts I was planning to write up). Oh, well. It's best to go with the flow for a while. I'm still more or less a happy camper.

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Do-It-Yourself Media Center...

I'm itching for another device. The Mediagate MG-35. Three reviews after I see an ad and I'm convinced this would make a great media device for my home. I've been wrestling with storage lately, as three years worth of burned media is starting to pile up. I already have three large CD wallets stealing closet space from my wardrobe. I just bought a fourth one from CDR-King. I'm having second thoughts about storing my music and movies on my PC, since I usually reformat my hard drive regularly. My first thought was to get a NAS, and that idea I've given up on. It would be extra handy if I could carry my storage device around.

Then I see an ad in PC Buyer's Guide for the Mediagate MG-35 and the idea grows on me. I can solve several problems with one device. It's small enough to lug around. It connects to PCs for managing media. It doesn't require MS-Windows to manage that content :-)) It can connect to your LAN, you can use it as network storage (NAS). It can play movies or music on it's own and supports the main plethora of codecs you'll need, including Ogg Vorbis, Divx and Xvid. Its outputs can connect to your TV or stereo. It supports (at max) a 500GB hard drive. This is one flexible device. I want it! There is the question of money, though. Haha... It's a bit too expensive for my means. So I'll have to be content with writing about it and why I want it.

BTW, here are the reviews that I read: