August 23rd, 2002 by Eshin
This is Mike Myers third outing as the reknowned British spy Austin Powers. The plot, which is not exactly the main focus of any of Myers’ films, hasn’t changed from the first two. Austin Power must stop Dr. Evil from bringing certain havoc to the people of Earth, and in the process engage in a little time jumping along the way. The chosen time destination is the 70’s although most of the action happens in the present.
This film was not as good as the first two and I have a feeling that this will be the last and final Austin Powers installment. As one of my friends said after the film, there was enough to carry it through. But only just. Most of the really funny stuff happens at the start (and I really mean the start). It loses steam towards the end.
It also pokes fun at the Dutch for some reason which is really unclear (maybe because everyone loves us?). Myer’s accent is funny and quite accurate. It’s amusing if not a little bizarre. At least Dr. Evil was raised by evil Belgians.
Not much to say on this film. Go watch it. You know everyone will have seen it and you should to. It’s an evenings entertainment.
August 12th, 2002 by Eshin
As the Americans consolidated the position in Belgium, the young Lt. Thomas Hart is captured by German soldiers. After a brief interrogation, he is sent to Stalag VI. After lying during his debrief to the ranking POW, he is sent to bunk with the enlisted men. Shortly after his arrival, he and his men are forced to share their billet with two downed Allied pilots. The fact that they are black begins the start of their problems.
It is not long before the dead body of a racist antoganist turns up and one of the black officers stands accused of the crime. Lt. Hart is forced by Col. McNamara to defend the officer. With friction playing up between Hart and McNamara, set against the backdrop of the German POW camps and the racial divisions the American’s brought from home, a court martial seems unlikely to find the truth of the murder.
This film I enjoyed. It seemed to come and go quite quickly from the cinema’s but I guess that’s Hong Kong. It is also continuing a line of war films coming out from the US. The premise of this film, however, is not based in fact which means that history is saved from the usual American whitewash of the facts to suit their patriotic needs.
In fact, it deals very much with the issue of what it means to be an American. It raises the issue of segregation and how it travelled to the war camps. Ironically, black or white, they were fighting against the tyranny of fascism.
The film also touches on the idea of responsibility and accountability. Both Hart and McNamara have to face tough decisions about what it means to be an officer and to sit in the leadership role. A key theme in the film is the idea that “one man must sometimes be sacrificed to save the lives of many”. This is a basic principle that forms a keystone in military thought.
The acting and casting were okay. Bruce Willis still retains his hard-assed role but on the other hand, he isn’t the hero of the story. Colin Farrell plays the role of a token lieutenant well, demonstrating his shortcomings and insecurities with ease. However, his character’s development to a strong, moral centre as a leader who deserves respect is a little unconvincing. Marcel Iures plays the German commandant. Whether it was his acting or the scripting, I’m not too sure, but his portrayal of the character left me neither feeling horrified at him nor particularly warm to him (the film tries to do both).
The one problem I have with the film is that it takes on some meaty issues but too many of them. It needed to focus on only few to make a valid point. At the moment, it deals with none with any great depth. However, the film is enjoyable and I would recommend it an evening’s entertainment.
August 6th, 2002 by Eshin
The story revolves around two Chinese orphans that were sent to Soviet Russia to attend special communist schools. With the outbreak of war with Germany and the subsequent fall of Moscow, the children fall on hard times. While it follows both children, the main focus of the film is on the girl ChuChu who is captured and forced to serve in a Nazi general’s household/HQ. There he indulges in his pre-war artistic hobby on ChuChu, leaving her a “gift” that she will remember for the rest of her life - a horrifyingly beautiful Nazi emblem tattoed on her back.
This one is not an easy film to watch and it left me feeling sick and angry for at least a day afterwards. To be honest, I have only seen the second half of the film so maybe I am not in position to comment on it. But the part that I did see was enough for me to conclude that it was a film full of a wide variety of emotions - anger, sadness, and bittersweet happiness.
As you know, I’ve watched my share of war films and at an early age I was exposed to images of the Holocaust. Yet, this film brings a new dimension of horror to me as the creation of something that is meant to be beautiful (i.e. art) is used more to brand a permenant horrific image into a young girl for the world to “appreciate”. While the tattoes of the death camps were bad enough, living life with a full colour Nazi symbol on your back for the rest of your life is torment I could only imagine at.
The film does have a some brief moments of happiness and optimism. This is represented by Luo, ChuChu’s older brother. In contrast to the depraved antics of a the Nazi general, he represents a glimmer of hope for humanity - symbolizing heroism, compassion and simplicity.
Apparently based on a true story, the real ChuChu has since passed away in Beijing. I hope she finds peace in the next life. Watch this movie.
August 4th, 2002 by Eshin
Okay, so it’s been a while since I’ve been involved with my own website. The last two months have been busy and now I’m finding the time to revisit it.
In the meantime, it seems CZero that hosts N-Terface have introduced a more sophisticated and sleeker interface. Hopefully it works a little better and easier. We wait and see.
One thing that I’ve done, and am now able to do with these changes, is to introduce a tiered membership system. Essentially, this will dictate which parts of N-Terface you have access to, how much you can contribute to each section and so on. The three levels of membership are - Silver, Gold and Platinum. Everyone starts at Silver status. Gold status is conferred on members who actively contribute and participate while Platinum status is reserved for those who will help manage N-terface.
Also, the main site is losing its appeal and is in the process of being revamped into a cleaner and more stylish version. We are migrating from FrontPage to Dreamweaver which is also taking time. Additionally, new features and functionality will be added to the main site to - such as online Classifieds, Guestmaps and a Mailing list. While I hope the site will be up in the next week, I do have two other sites that I am working on so please bear with me.
With the new relaunch, I’m planning on bringing more exposure to my website and N-terface, so hopefully the community will become more active.
Eshin
He's found his mojo, baby, and now Austin Powers is back again in this shagadelic comedy-adventure! The "sshhh!" hits the fan when Dr. Evil and Mini-Me escape from prison. Joining forces with the superfreaky Goldmember, they kidnap Austin's father, master spy Nigel Powers, in a dastardly time-travel scheme to take over the world. Before you can say "Shake Your Booty," Austin cruises to 1975 and teams up with sexy Foxxy Cleopatra to stop Dr. Evil and Goldmember from their mischievous mayhem.
(Summary written by Robert Lynch.)" title="LinkedIn">
In the last months of the Second World War, an American administrative Lieutenant is captured by German forces during the Battle of the Bulge. Sent to a German Stalag Prison camp, Lieutenant Hart is at once thrust into the social order of POWs, where every man thinks of himself first with bribery and trading with German captors commonplace. When two African American pilots become the first non-white soldiers in the camp, one is murdered and the other accused of killing a white sergeant. Lieutenant Hart must then defend the black pilot against charges before an obviously racist American tribunal; unaware that the trial itself is only a front for the real secret of the prison camp.
(Summary written by 
It is 1940. Chuchu and Luo Xiaoman are Chinese students who have been sent to study in Moscow, at the International School. She is 13; he is 12. Xiaoman is from Yanan, Mao's base after the Long March; Chuchu had seen her father executed by Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang. The youngsters fit in well and learn to speak Russian... A large group of students, including Chuchu, leave for summer camp in Byelorussia accompanied by their teacher, Miss Vera. Xiaoman remains behind... The Nazis invade the Soviet Union. Moscow remains unoccupied. Xiaoman takes a job delivering condolence letters to soldiers' families. At one apartment, he finds a mother has died. Her very young daughter, Nadia, has not realized it... The summer camp is occupied by Germans. Miss Vera is murdered. One of the Russian boys, Carl, is half-German, and helps the others to escape. They are quickly recaptured. Chuchu and several other students are sent by Gen. von Dietrich to work as servants at Nazi headquarters in the Yakovliv Monastery. The general is also a medical doctor with a peculiar hobby, tattooing...
(Summary written by