Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

Light the fuse...

Boom!

The 4th installment surely was full of fireworks and worth the wait. And on IMAX, this movie was simply spectacular.

The Lion's Game

In ex-NYPD cop and terrorist Task Force contract agent John Corey, author Nelson DeMille has created a character that is a replica of what a real NYPD cop should be -- brass but effective, wise-cracking but intelligent, and street-smart but knows how to navigate his way in and out of the system. He may be obnoxious to others, but he's also loyal to his job and peers.

Asad Kahlil (aka The Lion) is on a mission -- to kill the men responsible for his family's death, in this case, the pilots and navigators of the F-111s that raided Al 'Aziziyah in Libya in retaliation for Libyan involvement in various attacks against American interests in Europe.

The moment the commercial Boeing 747's 'unusual flight' from Paris landed at the JFK Airport, the game was on and the players were put into motion.

Nelson DeMille plotted this novel with attention to some historical events and data incorporated into the course of the story. The dialogues are laden with cop jargon and street lingo but are also serious and humorous in substance at other points.

In a novel of this proportion, some miscues and inaccuracies are inevitable, but the misses are few and forgivable. And the author has more than redeemed himself with crisp pacing and superb storytelling.
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The Lion's Game (2000)

Kafka on the shore*

Literature as comics, why not?

Peter Kuper's adaptation of Franz Kafka's classic is a good start for the not-so-serious reader to be introduced and get acquainted to the Czech writer's works.

The comic book is simple and is easy on the eye that gives new life on the old novel that easily metamorphosed into a a serious graphic and dark work of art but still retains Kafka's original narrative and expression.

This is not only a faithful adaptation but the artwork is also kafkaesque- dark, nightmarish and surreal. Another good introduction to Franz Kafka's brilliant catalog of works.


*with apologies to one of my favorite Japanese writers, Haruki Murakami, for usurping the title of this post from his 2002 fantasy opus.

Shortcomings

Food for thought for Asian men: “Is your attraction to white women a sublimated form of assimilation?”

WAR as seen through the eyes of Sebastian Junger

A personal experience and in- depth look at the war on terror in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley wherein US Troops were engaged in a war of attrition against a rag-tag but determined group of Taliban fighters whose unwelcome presence is a constant; where living and dying is measured by mere inches and precious seconds.

Sebastian Junger (The Perfect Storm), who was embedded with 2nd Platoon, Battle Company of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team for months, gave us a raw picture, the horrors and reality of war, as seen through the eyes and experiences of the men who were there.

This book is an 'expanded version' of materials culled from his articles on Vanity Fair Magazine about his journey to Afghanistan's Korengal Valley wherein he was on assignment from June 2007 to June 2008.

The book also mentioned the exploits of Specialist Salvatore Giunta, the first living recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. His unit was ambushed by the enemy and he earned the award for risking his life while preventing a wounded comrade from being captured by the enemy.