The C-Spot: A Photography, Travel and Culture Journal

Rating: ★★ Category: Movies Genre: Action & Adventure I've been watching out for this movie since I first saw it as a trailer for one of the movies I saw recently. I just thought that my longing for a great martial arts movie minus the spectacular location shootings and the cast of thousands that usually attend many of the recent films in this genre, e.g. Hero, and House of Dagger of Jet Lee, and without the zany humor that are the mainstay of Jackie Chan movies, would be a little refreshing if not a little nostalgic for the Kung Fu films of the great Bruce Lee. I am happy to note that indeed there were no spectacular scenery shots, and the story and action very serious indeed. Of course, how else can a portrait of an assassin be presented but seriously. But in so far as action ala Bruce Lee was concerned, it didn't quite measure up. If there is one word though that will always be used to describe this movie is Gory. It seems that all the wounds inflicted in all t...

Rating: ★★★★ Category: Movies Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy If it's spectacular entertainment you're after, this movie delivers! With the Himalayas, the highest point on the planet with peaks in excess of 23,000 feet, swallowed in a giant tsunami, it could not get any more spectacular. You will also see familiar landmarks such as the US White House, The Vatican and the giant Cross of the Resurrection in Rio de Janeiro, toppled down like a house of cards and crushed to pieces. And if the spectacular does not quite catch your attention, the thrill and suspense definitely will. It is somewhat a combination of what you'll feel in the movies "Twister" and "The Titanic," and the car-chase sequences of the "Bourne Identity" series. While 2012 may be dismissed as just another end-of-the-world movie, this one apparently is based on a common prediction as foretold in several civilizations including the ancient Mayan history (Mayans are ...

Rating: ★★★★★ Category: Other This Asian Hospital experience happened on June 18, 2009 between 11AM and 1PM. I went there to have a doctor take a look at what seem to be a ganglion cyst appearing on my left wrist. RECEPTION At the hospital entrance, I went through a guard who was dutifully inspecting all incoming persons, just like what they do at shopping malls and other public places. But I must say the manner by which the guard did this was quite pleasant in contrast to those in malls where you seem to be immediately under suspicion. I asked him a question as to where I could go for my consultation and he kindly directed me to what seem to be a reception station not unlike those you see in hotels. As a matter of fact the entire ground floor area looked very much like a hotel lobby. In just a few moments upon reaching the station a guy in white long-sleeved shirt with a tie was already asking me, "Can I help you, Sir?" I repeated my question and he not only directed me to...

Rating: ★★★ Category: Movies Genre: Drama The Reader is a 2008 movie adaptation of a novel published in 1995 entitled "Der Vorleser" written by a German author Bernhard Schlink, who is also a law professor and a judge in the German justice system. The book won several awards and made it to the top of the elite New York Times Bestseller List. The film adaptation which was directed by Stephen Daldry (and top-billed by Kate Winslet of the Titanic fame) also received critical acclaim and was nominated in 5 Academy Award categories including the Best Picture category. It won for Winslet the Best Actress Award in the 81st staging of the Oscars (last February) and the Best Supporting Actress in the Golden Globe Awards for 2009. SUMMARY: Middle aged German barrister Michael Berg recollects to himself his lifelong acquaintance with Hanna Schmitz, a relationship with whom he never disclosed to anyone close to him. Michael first met Hanna in 1958, when he was fifteen, she thirty...