Old Boy Versus Oldboy

OK so after many years of saying, and apparently doing Spike Lee, has finally brought out the American version of Oldboy, based on the Korean filmed with the same title that came out in 2003. I had to watch it because I have seen the Korean film and let me tell you it is AMAZING(Oldboy 2003). An intriguing story line, amazingly portrayed by some extremely under appreciated actors.

 

 

An ordinary man named Oh Dae-su, who lives with his wife and adorable daughter, is kidnapped and later wakes up to find himself in a private makeshift prison. Dae-su makes numerous attempts to escape and to commit suicide, but they all end up in failure. All the while Dae-su asks himself what made a man hate him so much enough to imprison him without any reason. While suffering from his debacle, Dae-su becomes shocked when he watches the news and hears that his beloved wife was brutally murdered. At this very moment, Dae-su swears to take revenge on the man who destroyed his happy life. Fifteen years later Dae-su is released with a wallet filled with money and a mobile phone. An unknown man calls Dae-su and asks him to figure out why he was imprisoned.

The story is filled with more twists and turns than a roller coaster, and the emotional ride you might as well be a roller coaster. But the story is absolutely fantastic and with such a shocking ending that will make you cry and go WHAT THE FUCK. 

With Oldboy 2013, the story is still the same, but it is based in some run-down American city, the main characters name has been changed to Joe Ducett and instead of being married he is divorced, and is pretty much a dick-head. I feel no remorse when Joe is taken like I did for Dae-su. Joe is basically a bum, that has a drinking problem, and just acts like a grade A prick. 

Its a shame that this film has been redone, and not only that it has been redone to such poor quality I feel it is going to taint how amazing the original was. The actors in the remake are bland, one dimensional and just do not hold your attention at all. The whole time i was watching the film (I only watched it for this review) I wanted to go to sleep, I wanted to scream and shout at the screen for ruining a film that will go down in TV and film history. It was being ripped apart, and butchered to a whole new level. 

Oldboy 2013 didn’t captivate or hold the same suspense that the original did for me. It was like being forced to watch Keeping up with the Kardashians, whilst have my eyebrows plucked, and being force fed my worst food ever. I would rather have been in a room full of rats (which are a big fear of mine), than watch the remake. I wish i hadn’t because that is 2 hours of my life gone, I will never get that back.

Josh Brolin plays the main character in the remake, and i normally like him as a actor he’s likeable, not the best not the worst but likeable, but in this film i wanted to rip his face off. He just didn’t have the same wow factor as Choi Min-sik, he didn’t keep my intrigue or my attention like Choi Min-sik did in the original. The remake felt rushed, unpolished, and basically as if nobody understood what was going on. 

So this is my verdict. Oldboy 2003 YES, big huge thumbs up. Oldboy 2013, HELL NO, huge thumbs down. Throw it in the bin and never let it surface again. DO NOT waste your time in buying the film, in downloading it, and if you went to the cinema to watch it i hope you screamed for a refund. 

If you haven’t seen any of the films i recommend you watch the Korean film. It is just so much better, Its witty, Choi Min-sik is fantastic in it. And the Hammer scene is performed beautifully instead of the crap they put in the remake. Which just, i don’t have words to describe how bad it was. 

I could go on, believe me I could, but for fear of my brain exploding with so much hate for the remake i will leave it at this. And please beg you readers to watch Oldboy 2003. 

What Rocked In 2013

This is pretty cool

THE WRITINGS OF DENNIS EARL

1. David Bowie’s The Next Day.  Slowly recorded in secret over two years, it marked his first proper studio album in a decade.  Even in his mid-60s the British legend can still reel you in with his ageless vocal and a sharp, melodic hook.

2. Edward Snowden.  His heroic whistleblowing may finally lead to the end of the American Surveillance State and the Obama Presidency.

3. The song Howard Wolowitz performs with his friends for his beautiful wife Bernadette on The Big Bang Theory.  Very sweet and very funny.

4. I joined Twitter in January.  It’s been a lot more fun than expected.  Wouldn’t you agree, Sophia Bush?

5. Alberto Del Rio’s brutal assault on former personal ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez on Raw.  Way to generate heat, amigo.

6. The Rob Ford crack scandal.  Now the whole world knows what Toronto has endured for 13 years.

7. The Canadian Senate expense scandal. …

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All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness

Right so i found this series of books a couple of months ago and i have to say that these books ARE AMAZING. It was actually a friend of mine she let me borrow the first book in the series called A Discovery of witches, and it was not what i thought it was just by reading the title. The book was so enlightening, witty, funny, intelligent and a real fresh air from some of the crap that has come out lately.

A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES is about a a young woman called Diana Bishop, she comes from a long line of witches, and from a young age she has suppressed her witchy tendencies, until one night she comes across a manuscript called Ashmole 782, and it opens her world up to so many possibilities, problems and forces her to come face to face with her family legacy and the fact that she cannot run away from who she truly is. She also finds love in the most unusual place in the form of a 1500 year old vampire. I know what you are thinking Twilight all over again. BUT IT IS NOT.

Diana Bishop is actually a role model that young women need in this day and age, she is smart, she is strong and she has worked to get to where she is today, she isn’t some pathetic excuse of a woman that cannot live without her vampire boyfriend and goes into a catatonic state if he leaves. Diana actually fights for what she wants, for what she believes in and more importantly she is a woman, a teacher, and a witch before she is anyone’s girlfriend. And to be perfectly honest that is the type of role model that girls need in this day and age of TOWIE and Made in Chelsea, were all you need to be is good looking and ORANGE.

Deborah Harkness really does know what she is talking about when she wrote this story, i mean she is a historian along side being an author and she truly does know her stuff and it shows in her writing, the way she merges history, with everyday life and the supernatural is so flawless and so beautiful that it makes me jealous of her talent but also so grateful that someone with her talent and caliber is out there. Deborah just has a way with words that is awe inspiring and i just don’t have the words to describe how amazing she is.

IN ADOW you see Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont  (1500 year old vampire) fight for what they believe in, and also fight for there forbidden love for each other. You see their relation ship grow into a beautiful relationship. You learn bits about Matthews past and you learn a lot about Diana in the first couple of pages in the book. And it sets everything up for her next book Shadow Of Night.

SHADOW OF NIGHT, Diana and Matthew travel back in time to 1590 London Elizabethan time to escape the congregation (you learn about them in ADOW) and also to find a witch that can help Diana with her powers. In SON you see Diana battle with a different Matthew that she is not use to, a Matthew that is use to taking control, and having everyone answer him and not defy him, as that was the type of person he was in 1590. You also learn A LOT about Matthews past, and meet past family members that you thought were long gone.

In the second book Diana and Matthews relationship goes through a lot of strain, and as Diana learns more about the witch in herself she becomes more self reliant and becomes more of a whole character, and you see that strain on their relationship, but at the same time it grows there relationship as well. They go through a lot, with the witch trials and Diana Bishop being accused of witchcraft by a jealous old woman, to the subject of Matthews father, and a wedding, to a loss in a family and also jealousy. But in the end the two are stronger and not only did the travel back in time do Diana good, but also it does their relationship good and it does Matthew some good as well.

Once again in SON Deborah uses her knowledge of Elizabethan England to her advantage and introduces people of history  to the story and and winds them into the life of Matthew beautifully. She certainly has the knowledge of Elizabethan England that when you are reading the book, the amount of detail she puts into it, you can almost feel yourself being pulled back in time, and if you close your eyes you can picture how Elizabethan London is like.

Now the third book in the series is not out yet, it will be out on the 15/07/2014, and if its anything like the last two books it will be amazing. I am really looking forward to the next book, and even though i do NOT like the long wait i am kinda glad there is a long wait because that means the series is over just quite yet, and i will be sad when i have finished reading the third book, which is going to be called The Book OF Life.

If you want something decent to read that is smart, funny, witty, intriguing then these are the books for you. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED, and you will be reading these books in the years to come. 

I started reading these books back in august this year and i have   re-read them 8 times already i am on the 9th re-read because they are that amazing, and you do not get bored of them at all.

ADOW: A Discovery of Witches

SON: Shadow Of Night

Joss Whedon

OK so quite a few people in the last year to two years have heard about Joss Whedon, if you haven’t then you have either been living under a rock or you are just too young to understand. Just encase you are neither of those two and have no life i will give you a quick back story.

Joss Whedon is a Writer, producer, actor, musical producer, basically just an all rounder in the film and TV industry, which is a pretty rare commodity.  He produced and directed Avengers Assemble (2012), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel and loads of other films and TV shows. 

So there’s a bit of background on the guy. 

Anyway back to the reason for this blog, i was re-watching Dollhouse(another TV show that Joss Whedon wrote, produced, directed etc)  the other day and also Avengers Assemble, now it took me a long time to watch Avengers Assemble because i had heard so many bad reviews for the show saying that Joss Whedon had ruined the story f the characters it was just another generic superhero show, etc etc. But i honestly thought that it was actually pretty good, considering all the characters were strong protagonists with their own comic books and their own films, apart from Hawk-eye, and Black Widow, even though we do see her in Iron Man 2, I thought Mr Whedon himself had split the screen time evenly between the 5 protagonists rather well. It seemed no one had extra scenes no one seemed favorited and nobody seemed left behind. I felt whilst i was watching the film i was really watching a true Joss Whedon piece of art, it was witty, comical smart and very beautifully done.  

It was nice to see Whedon get the chance to show to the world and the big guns the magic he can make happen on small time TV be seamlessly and effortlessly onto the big screens. I honestly think the man is a genius he somehow captures the audience and makes you fall in love with the characters he creates, whether he is writing is own work or whether he is doing an adaption. 

 

Now i am always going to love Joss Whedon’s work i am a true Fan-girl (call me a geek, call me a no lifer) but i am. I love all his shows and so far all his films (even Buffy the film) and its nice to see that Whedon is finally getting the attention and credit he deserves. I love Dollhouse, and Firefly and Buffy and Angel and Dr Horrible’s Sing-a-long blog and for a long time especially after Buffy and Angel finished it seemed like ALL of Whedon’s shows were being cancelled first there was Firefly (granted he was able to wrap that up with the film Serenity), and then Angel was actually cancelled after Buffy was finished, Angel was supposed to go on for another two seasons. 

Then there was Dollhouse that lasted two season and had two extra episodes added to finish them off. Now a lot of Whedon’s shows that he has directed and written do get cancelled, but his work is genius and the only explanation i can think of why they get cancelled is because over time Mr Whedon likes to build characters over a long period of time, and networks don’t like that they like instant ratings, instant money, and if you actually sit down and watch a lot of Whedon’s shows you will instantly be pulled in by is eccentricity, mind boggling plots nad stories, and yet they are not given the chance to be fully appreciated.

 

So take the time to watch a load of Mr Whedon’s stuff, and i will tell you one thing you will not be disappointed and before you know it you will be geeking out over Joss Whedon with the rest of us.