Facebook Timeline Remover revisited

Mark Zuckerberg managed to make my life miserable, once again. For you, good people, who don't stand the "facebook timeline" crap, navigate to www.timelineremove.com and reinstall the add-on. Zuckerberg, you suck, buddy!

Hunger Games (2012)

Long ago there was a war, 13 districts rebelled against the County until nothing remained. And then came the peace; people rose up from the ashes and a new era of freedom was born. But freedom has a cost and the traitors were defeated. So then it was decreed within a Treaty of the treason, that in penance for their uprising each year the various districts of Panam shall, at a public “Reaping” offer up one male and female between the ages of 12 to 18. These tributes shall be delivered to the Capitol and then transferred to a public arena where they will fight in a pageant to the death until only one victor remains. Forevermore this pageant has been known as The Hunger Games, and the lone victor is to serve as a reminder of the Capitols generosity and forgiveness for the uprising.

It’s the morning of the “Reaping” and Prim (Willow Shields) wakes horrified from a nightmare where her name has just been picked. Her older sister, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) comforts her back to sleep by assuring that her name won’t be called, as this will be her first entry into the Games and first timers are never picked. Katniss is a very good hunter so she slips out into the woods to hunt for something to sell to the peacekeepers. But there’ll be no prize today as her best friend Gale shows up and frightens off her prey. He talks of running away together and how life might be if they didn't live there. But Katniss is a realist and she knows it’s time to return to the village to prepare for the Reaping.

A stupid shameless public mockery of drafting innocent children to death! At any rate, a Horn signals the beginning of the ceremony, and children rain in from all around the district. Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) is the host and she reaches in to the girls bowl to draw Primrose Everdeen’s name, Katniss rushes out and volunteers to replace her sister. Then Effie chooses a boy, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), with a shake of hands they are declared this year’s tributes for District 12 in the 74^th Annual Hunger Games. They are allow brief farewells and then whisked off to a luxurious train that will deliver them to the Capitol. While on board they meet their mentor Haymitch (Woody Harrelson), he is a victor from many games ago and will feed them with insight and tips that may help to save their lives. Soon they reach the Capitol. A brilliant city straight out of a fairytale story, where they will spend the next few days training and building public hype; but first they must go through a primping process and then meet Cinna (Lenny Kravitz) he is like their coach. Finally the day comes to be transferred into the arena; an open spot out in the middle of the woods where centerfield is a smorgasbord of weapons and supplies. But these goodies are only for the worthy and several tributes die trying to claim their share. There are hidden cameras everywhere so that the public from all districts can watch the tributes every move and, every kill. There are also thundering booms followed by holograms to signal and identify the fallen tributes. 26 go in but only 1 will be allowed to leave, unless the rules get changed.

For me, there was not a lot of greatness in this movie; mainly because I can’t see being forced to sacrifice your children to death every year as defining the reward of freedom! However, it wasn't all bad in fact the acting was very good; and I would have even enjoyed it had the tributes been equal in maturity.

Immortals (2011)

Visions: Once again an age old question; a blessing or a curse?

For Phaedra (Freida Pinto), they are a gift not subject to query but rather an expected way of life, she is the Sybelline virgin oracle. It’s believed that her dreams, visions, are messages from the gods. The good, seek these messages as a guide toward a divine and fulfilling life. But King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) seeks Phaedra for her knowledge to locate the Epirus bow. With this bow he will have his revenge and the power to conquer the gods, take over the world and rule all of mankind.

You see, way back when the world was still very young, there was a war in the skies and a great weapon, the Epirus bow, was lost in the battle. Immortals had once thought they were above death, but later discovered they did have the power to kill each other. The victors declared themselves Gods and ruled the heavens from Mt. Olympus; while they declared the vanquished as Titans and imprisoned them on Earth deep inside Mt. Tartarus. The gods knew that evil would rise again someday, but Zeus (Luke Evans) had forbid them by law to intervene in the affairs of man, hence rendering all powerless to aid or protect against harm, unless the Titans are released.

Now Hyperion is leading his merciless Heraklion army across the lands killing everyone and destroying everything in a vow to find the bow and unleash the Titans. The people of Greece are defenseless against such evil, but there is one hope; Theseus (Henry Cavill), a strong young peasant chosen by a god and trained by a wise old man (John Hunt). After his village is ordered to evacuate, Theseus gets into a throw down with Lysander (Joseph Morgan) over the safe rite of passage for all. He is offered a spot in the royal army but rejects the invitation to stay behind and protect his mother and the other outcasts; while Lysander gets ousted from the army and later defects to Hyperion. The Heraklions reached Kolpos before the outcasts could retreat, Theseus was forced to watch while his village is destroyed and Hyperion kills his mother. He was then taken to work the salt mines along with several others as slaves. That’s where, near death, he meets Phaedra and her ladies, and is urged to stay alive. Later that night she escapes with him, a monk, Daerios and Stavros (StevenDorff) a thief; while her ladies fulfill their duty by pretending to be her, so she can get away. After a brief discussion Phaedra realizes that Theseus must return to Kolpos to give his mother a proper burial, and while inside the crypt he makes a pledge to his mother that her family will not die with him. He finds something odd about the strange rock beside her vault and breaks it apart, inside, a magnificent magical weapon, the fabled Epirus Bow. But then he gets attacked by Hyperion’s beast. Oh man, Theseus becomes a mighty warrior and decapitates the gruesome brute, meanwhile outside, Daerios falls dead at the hands of heathens. Theseus rears his magical bow and with four true shots, kills the Heraklion soldiers. Later that night while tending to his wounds, Phaedra seduces Theseus with an intimate embrace of her own desire to be touched and loved as a common mortal woman and freed from the burden of her visions. The next morning they all regroup outside and set course to return to the monastery, where with bow in hand, Theseus plans to protect Mt. Tartarus and save his people by vanquishing the evil King Hyperion and his forces.

"It's not living, as such, that's important. It's living rightly!"

Immortals should not be viewed as a young Family Flick. However, with action, drama and fantasy, it is another Must See Movie!

Contraband (2012)

A life of crime can be like a never ending high stakes card game with many ways to play and many ways to pay; but once started very few are ever able to cash out or fold and just walk away.

Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) played the game and became a successful smuggler who not only cashed out but was also able to walk away as a legend and vowed to never return.  But he is forced to break his vow when his ‘not so successful’ young broth-in-law, Andy (Caleb Landry Jones) gets caught up in a bad drug run. Andy’s boss, Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi) expects full compensation and he doesn’t care who foots the bill. Briggs makes that clear to Chris when he explained that “family inherits the debt” and he aims to collect even if he has to seek it all the way down line to Chris’s lovely wife, Kate (Kate Beckinsale).  Now Chris has just two weeks to pay Andy’s debt and save his wife and kids, but that kind of money doesn’t come easy, and he’s against the risks of playing with drugs. So he hooks up with some of his old team mates and plans a run out of Panama for counterfeit money.

Unbeknownst to Chris, Andy’s real boss is being pressured for debts of his own and decides to turn up the heat by ordering a threatening house-call for Chris’s family. But Chris is stuck on a Cargo ship at sea with Andy, so he sends Kate into the lion’s den when he tells her to call his best friend, Sebastian (Ben Foster), who arrives like a knight in shining armor to protect her and the boys. Now Chris can concentrate on the job at hand, and it’s a good thing too because Chris knows his shyt, and with a clear mind he realizes that his ordered load of ‘Funny Money’ is just a little too funny. Tough luck, and the clock is ticking but now the plans have changed and he has to go to the Top Dog to get the good stuff before his ship leaves port. Wouldn’t ya know it, Andy runs off with the buy money and leaves Chris hanging for a compromise, yup, Chris can have the funny money for free, but he has to help the Top Dog with a dangerous side-job first!

Well, no problem; I mean after all Chris is considered a legend. Right? So, with cars flipping and bullets flying, he gets back to the ship just in time, and even manages to make it all look as smooth as belting butter. But while back on board, there seems to be major kinks in his finish. Andy made it back too, but he has a forbidden stash of drugs. Captain Camp (J.K. Simmons) has been brought into the game and he knows Chris is making a run on his ship; he threatens to turn Chris over to C.B.P (customs) if he doesn’t surrender the goods. Meanwhile back at home, Kate is in shambles battling Sebastian’s drunken advances.

I must admit, I do enjoy seeing Giovanni Ribisi. But for me, it was just too funny watching him as a Kingpin bully thug.

And although I did really like the way Chris gets back at Captain Camp, I was still in tears over Kate being rolled in that plastic tarp, and then overwhelmed with anger as they began to pour the concrete. All I can say is, God bless cell phones! Ha!! 

John Carter (2012)

After ten years of endless searching, John finally realizes that he will never be able to return to Barsoom without Ned’s help.

In the year of 1881, a young man, Edgar Burroughs (Daryl Sabara) has come to New York City to visit with his uncle John Carter (Taylor Kitsch). Upon arrival he learns that his uncle John has suddenly passed away, and named Edgar as sole beneficiary to his estate. The attorney concludes by passing over John’s private journal, and explaining that he left explicit instructions for only Edgar to read the contents. The journal tells of a tale that began 13 years ago. However, it actually takes us back even farther, back in fact to 1868. You see, John Carter was a highly decorated civil war veteran from Virginia. He served his country well, and then laid claim to his land for mining gold and becoming filthy rich. But his life took a turn when he was arrested and refused to enlist in the US Army. After a short Blue Coat and Indian adventure in the Arizona desert, John takes shelter in an inviolable cavern full of gold, but his safety is short-lived there as well and he is attacked by an alien, a Thern. The Thern has a glowing medallion and is using his last dying breath to recite a verse; John grabs the medal and repeats the last word. In an instant, he’s waking up all alone, back out in the desert somewhere, but everything looks so strange and he doesn’t remember ever being here before.

OMG, it’s so funny watching him try to walk! He takes a step then flies through the air and violently crashes back down onto the ground. But he soon learns how to navigate as he makes his way to the mountains in the distance. That’s when he realizes he’s really not alone, in fact, he’s being chased, but they are not the same Indians he escaped from earlier! They’re not on horses, and they’re not even humans, they are Tharks (giant green creatures).

Yes, so strange indeed, though he doesn't know it yet, John has managed to slip through a portal; he left Earth and is now on Barsoom, Mars. The Tharks have come to retrieve hatchlings that will be raise to become work animals, they see John and think he’s a white worm so they try to kill him. But Tars Tarkas, the Jeddak (King of the Tharks), has found the medallion and has seen John jump, he thinks John will be more valuable as a pet. So he orders Tal Hajus and the others to stand down, they later collect John and the hatchlings and take them to their kingdom. John is given to Sola (Tarkas’s daughter), but later he is sent to the Thark’s dungeon when he refuses to jump for Tarkas. While there, Sola gives John a special drink and suddenly he can speak and understand her language, he also meets and protects Woola (a dog like creature that becomes his loyal pet).

Like a boy and his puppy; at first John thought this monster was going to eat him, so he broke free from his chains and jumped to a higher ledge, but Woola beat him there. He jumped even higher and again, Willa was already there panting and wiggling with excitement.

The next day Sola is punished for John’s escape, and he is given another chance to jump for Tarkas, but before he can refuse again, spaceships fly across the sky. Tarkas orders all Tharks to take cover in the rocks and he begins to explain. The Red Men of Barsoom are at war, Zodanga is winning but Helium is still in the fight. While they watch, John sees a female thrown from a ship, he realizes she is human and leaps up into the sky to rescue her. He makes his way to the highest Red Flagged ship and fights Sab Than (Dominic West), the leader of the Zodangan army. Sab has been chosen by the Goddess of Barsoom, to become Ruler of all Barsoom. She has sent three Therns (her loyal servants) to guide and assist Sab in his quest to take over the world.    John victoriously returns to the ground and to Tarkas who is so proud of this pet, that he renames John as Dotar Sojat (my right arms) and announces that he will now fight for the Tharks. But again, John wants nothing to do with anyone’s war; Tarkas explains that if he denies this title, harm will befall his red woman. Well, of course John accepts the honor and claims his prize, Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). Later he will learn that Dejah is the princess of Helium. Zodanga was about to demolish Helium, they offered only one demand to spare the great kingdom, so with no other choice her father, the Jeddak granted her hand in marriage to Sab Than. But Dejah is also defiant, she believed there had to be a better way to save their kingdom than to marry an evil man that she despised and dare not trust. So she escaped and tried to kill Sab Than, and that’s how she came to fall from the spaceship on the day John saved her.

As time passes, Tal Hajus finally gets his chance to challenge Tars Tarkas, and as victor he becomes the new Jeddak of the Tharks. On the other side of the world, Sab Than’s patience pays off, and he gains possession of both Dejah and John Carter, then plots forward for a royal wedding. 

We have a saying here on Earth “Never count your chickens before they hatch.” Apparently they don’t have that saying on Barsoom, if they did; the Thern Matai Shang (Mark Strong) might not have disclosed Sab’s final plans for Dejah. You see, knowledge is power, and power is priceless! 

But this is where I stop; I never enjoy telling the whole story to the end. Instead, I urge all to go and see this movie, and I promise you’ll not be disappointed.