Movie Review: "The Mechanic (2011)"... Poetic Mayhem

The Mechanic (2011) - Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Donald Sutherland (8/10)

This movie is a remake of the 1972 classic starring Charles Bronson. While the main theme remains the same, the plot and nature of operations has been updated to reflect the human condition and technology of our times.





Jason Statham is a hired assassin, a mechanic who fixes problems and makes them go away (generally bad people who 'deserve' it). Don't mistake him for a mindless trigger man. When he gets an "assignment", he first takes time out to study it. He is part scientist, part magician. A master strategist and a cold operator. And in the end as it turns out, very much human, much to the detriment of his boss.

He kills people for money, which is a grave sin. And like all sinners he has found a way to somewhat rationalize that aspect of his life. His code of ethics however, are not immune to personal pride and guilt, which make him vulnerable and put him in jeopardy.

I like this movie because it's a in-your-face, no-nonsense action flick. It does not feel obligated to make frequent detours into "touchy-feely" and "get-in-touch-with-your-emotions" bit to appease the PC liberal police, who I suspect would love to see Superman in a tutu, Batman doing Yoga (Oh shit! that's already been done, damnit) and Wolverine sprawled out on a therapist's couch, working out his "daddy issues".

One can make a case that gratuitous violence, as depicted in this movie, desensitizes the audience against real-world violence. Yes, it does. But there is a redeeming quality to this movie. Simon West (who has directed Con Air, Lara Croft and The General's Daughter) has directed this movie like it was a ballet performance. It is violent, but beautiful. The rich colors, controlled movements, perfect timing, synchronized feats of murderous acrobatics and human beings in fine mental and physical form is almost poetic. Far from being sense-less, it rings out all the six senses.

And speaking of senses, what would be violence without sex appeal ?. Coming to the rescue are Mini Anden, a leggy Swede supermodel and Christa Campbell, for the junior partner-in-crime. Their roles may be small, but their parts are substantive. However, there is hardly any character to develop here.



There is a brief topless scene and backside nudity. Nothing major. This was exactly what I came looking for, got it, and enjoyed it. This movie does not make any excuses for what it is. I am not about to, either.

Faisal Raza Abidi (PPP) Goes Nuts On Ahmed Raza Kasuri

Sahibzada Ahmed Raza Khan Kasuri's father Nawab Mohammad Khan was murdered. His son fingered Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (ZAB), leader of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP). The case went up to the Supreme Court of Pakistan and by a verdict of 4-3 Bhutto was convicted and sentenced to death.

Now, 30 odd years later, when nothing is going PPP's way and it's Chairman stands to be indicted in several criminal cases, it has chosen to dig this case out of the ground and is trying to get an acquittal for ZAB from the Supreme Court.



To hash out the particulars of that murder trial, Fariha Idrees got the son of the victim and one of PPP's jiyalas, Faisal Raza Abidi, together on her show. As expected, the young Turk exploded all over the TV screen and blamed the murdered victim's son, for orchestrating the murder of his own father, among a stream of other foul and personal insults which ended in this threat of bodily injury, "Mein ney aik chamaat mara, bahar ja ke giro gay (With one hit of my fist, I can throw you out on the street)".

I wish at the end there, when Faisal Raza Abidi was threatening Ahmed Raza Kasuri (who is a long-time practicing barrister), he could have just smiled and replied, "So what are you gonna do ?, kill me too ?".

Faisal Qureshi & Wife, Mixing Facts & Opinions

What is wrong with this picture ?. Faisal Qureshi is the co-host of the show Karvan, on News One channel with his wife. They had four guests on this particular show. A reporter, a retired Brigadier, a Baloch leader and a PPP representative, N.D. Khan. The topic was Balochistan.



When Faisal Qureshi raised Bhutto's role in the dismemberment of Pakistan in 1971, N.D. Khan the PPP loyalist, of course jumped to defend him. What happened next, you can follow in the video. What Faisal is alleging, may have merit behind it. What N.D. Khan is demanding --that there be a separate panel, with independent guest of stature who should argue Bhutto's role in East Pakistan's secession-- also seems fair. So why does this exchange appear so unseemly ?.

Because N.D. Khan in his advanced age is right, however, he gets clobbered by a young husband-wife duo, who are better actors with larger lungs.

Faisal Qureshi & wife are the hosts, conducting the show. They can ask questions, "Sir! I have the right to ask questions [in a democracy]" as Faisal contends. But as N.D. Khan points out later, Faisal cannot become partisan and fling accusations. Especially, when he loses it and starts casting absolute allegations in the guise of facts. "This is my future which you have ruined!... you have categorically ruined the future of this country...".

These are not opinions. They are stated as facts. Categorical facts.

His wife (bless her heart), hammers the final nail into the coffin. She starts accusing N.D. Khan of not having a "democratic mindset!", since what Faisal just finished saying was "just an opinion!... everybody has an opinion!". When cornered at the end, for flinging accusations, Faisal again retreats behind the safety glass of democracy. "Democracy means I have the right to question!", finger digging into the table and looking around for approval.

Democracy, is not some chador you use to cover up personal bad behavior.

Yes, you can question. But that, is not what you did. You flung personal accusations. You badgered him, slammed your fist onto the glass table, pointed and wagged your finger into the face of an elderly gentleman. All the while wearing that smug, self-satisfied, oh-I-am-so-clever look. You were not only wrong in principle, but also in appearance, manner and tone. And what it did was, shift any sympathies from you, to your guest.

That's why there is only one Talat Hussain in Pakistan. A man who has the gift of weighing situations and intentions. Who can negotiate his way through dangerous waters, political static, baits and rhetoric to arrive at a thoughtful resolution. That not only requires brains (which Faisal has too), but an emotional IQ tuned at the highest frequency.

Faisal & Co. has a lot of work to do, starting with learning how to differentiate fact from opinions. Journalism 101.

Movie Review: "From Paris With Love"... No, Not Really.

From Paris With Love (2010) - John Travolta, Katia Smutniak 6/10

Hollywood has a very good track record for following the lead of the State Department when it comes to identifying bad guys to the world. During WW-II it was the Germans and Japanese. After the cold war they were all linked back to the Communist block. During the drug wars of Reagan and Bush, the bad guys were wearing South American faces. Initially, after 9/11 it was the Arabs who were holding Arnold's wife for ransom. Now, you frequently hear the word "Pakistanis" peppered in with Arabs.

So it was no surprise that Hollywood made a movie dedicated to the drug-running, bomb-making pimps and suicide bombers from Pakistan. Sadly, Pakistanis are not even given any character development. They are faceless, nameless, crazed villains who are massacred one after the other, in an assembly-line fashion. Like chickens at a poultry plant.

Enter, From Paris With Love.



John Travolta is playing the role of Raymond Davis. A special op soldier, who cleans the "trash". Kills at the drop of a hat. He has the license to kill, with the entire military might of the US behind him, including satellites orbiting in space that are mobilized into service with a click on his wristwatch.

An unfeeling, uncaring, arrogant murderer who flies in, kills dozens, and flies out. Just like our Raymond. As the voice on the phone says, he may be unorthodox, but "...he gets the job done".

France has the largest population of Muslims in Europe. Most of them are from Northern Africa. After 9/11 the right-wing racists in France have been trying their level best to paint Muslims in a corner. Piss them off, any way they can. In this movie, John Travolta is hunting Pakistanis from Karachi, in Paris. The Pakistanis are shown to be the masterminds behind every vice on the Parisian street. They are so cold-blooded and calculating that they press into service unfocused, young, beautiful, white, Parisian girls and compel them to don suicide jackets for their nefarious ends. Yeah, that's one thing Pakistani fobs are good at. Getting the babes. Right.

Pakistanis are getting help to run cocaine in Paris from their best friends, the Chinese. The Chinese oprerate from their chain of Egg Fu Yung restaurants where the mild-mannered Chinese waiters and chefs carry AK-47s. It doesn't matter that cocaine is strictly a South American drug and has no association with Asia, but since cocaine is the drug of choice for Americans, that's what the Pakistanis be smuggling from Pakistan. Why confuse yourself with facts when your purpose is to smear and malign.

The most egregious and odious aspect of this however, is the attempt to directly link Islam, the religion, with terrorism. In the Pakistani hideout in the red-light area, from where they run their prostitution business, cut drugs and assemble their bombs, the word "Allah" in large lettering in Arabic is painted all over the walls. In one instant, you associate every known vice in the west to the world of Islam, it's most sacred symbols and icons. This not-so-subtle, subliminal imagery is akin to placing crosses and icons of Christianity in the homes of Ted Bundy, Ted Kaczynski or Dr. Hannibal Lecter. This is playing dirty and if the shoe was on the other foot, the Christians would be howling their heads off --and for good reason.

Muslims ?. Oh we are sleeping. We can't be bothered. We have not prepared ourselves for this high-tech, take-no-prisoners, psy-op war. We don't even know what it means! how dangerous it is and how it will shape our future. We will just slurp this movie down and return to our blissfully ignorant slumber.

*YAWN*

The only good thing about this movie is Kasia Smutniak. The philandering suicide bomber.

Marvi Memom: Will The Real MQM Please Stand Up ?

When I saw the two main Chaudhrys of Punjab, flanking the tiny troll, Farooq Sattar behind a row of mics, in a photo-op designed to show solidarity with a promise of their full co-operation in their areas of influence in Punjab (for reciprocal help in Sindh), I thought the PML-Q had lost their minds, altogether.

Let's cut the BS. MQM is not a political party. As opined by many professionals who have had the unenviable task of managing Karachi, MQM is a mafia. From extortion rackets, hits, shakedowns to assassinations of high profile targets, this outfit does it all. Every member of this organization has to come up with a certain amount of fixed cash to fill up it's coffers. Most of it's high profile leadership have multiple murder cases pending on them.




So it was a breath of fresh air to see Marvi Memon, MNA of PML-Q, take on the MQM rep, Sheikh Salahuddin (MNA) on the Javed Chaudhry show Kal-Tak. Marvi did everything, except pull out his awful hair plugs from his head.

She had some help from the PML-N rep on the show, Engr. Khurram Dastagir, but as usual, she took over the show and set the agenda. She basically laid out the facts:

(1) MQM is not a new party with a clean slate. It is a party with a long checkered history of willing to shake hands with anybody in power, as long as they get their share. (2) Mohajirs were welcomed with open arms by Sindhis in 1947, but their attitude quickly earned them the ire of the locals.(3) MQM has worked to create and fuel ethnic divides, to perpetuate it's rule through the divide-n-rule recipe. (4) MQM has tried to isolate Karachi & Hyderabad from the rest of Sindh, denying local population their rights and opportunities, by design (5) MQM rules by threats, fear and violence to curb dissent and force it's agenda. (6) MQM is lead by a man who is a UK national, who has been living in self-exile for decades, exhorting his followers through long-distance telephonic addresses.

The MQM agent tried his best to dodge, fake and juke these charges, peddling the usual MQM manjan. But he was out-witted and intellectually over-powered by the two PML stalwarts, who gave him no quarter and exposed the lies and hypocrisy.

Punjabi voters, it is said, are forgiving and easily manipulated by slick shysters with forked tongues. Let's hope they still retain the power of sight. See what MQM has brought to the City of Lights in 26 continuous years of being in power: death, destruction, darkness and despair. Is that the kind of future they wish to impart to the future generations of Punjab ?. Like any epidemic, MQM should be quarantined in Karachi and straightened-out here.

Marvi, has set the record straight. Much appreciated.

Faisal Qureshi... Come On Down!*

At this time, "Bang-e-Dara", the program hosted by Faisal Qureshi, is just more of the same. Political conflict and controversy are tossed back and forth, disguised as current affairs and to what end ?. What possible good could come of it ?. We expect this fare from a hack, but not from a highly educated, erudite young man.

In my humble capacity as a viewer, I would like to suggest that Bang-e-Dara be the fountainhead of knowledge that informs and inspires the future generations of Pakistanis.

For instance, invite Dr. Samar Mubarikmand or Dr. Ata-ur-Rehman for in-depth discussions on the various (green) energy resources in Pakistan and how we can best tap them. Dr. Hoodbhoy for how best to institute educational reforms. Sen. Khwaja Asif on the pitfalls of the Rental Power 'Scheme'. There are plenty of experts who could discuss the engineering aspects of infrastructure programs which have become political footballs, like Kalabagh Dam. Similarly, we can discuss Health, Economics, Ecology, Consumer Affairs, etc armed with graphs, charts, maps and Power Point presentations.

These thorny issues and challenges should be explored with experts in the field, one-on-one, with conclusions based upon facts and merit of their arguments. Not political wrestlers who try to showcase the strength of their vocal chords and paucity of grey cells.

In short, you can continue to try and compete with the talking (shouting?) heads, or shift the paradigm of discourse to something meaningful. Something of real value and not just more fluff and static. And who best to do it, than a fellow who is comfortable with science and technology, is aware of his surroundings and has the gift of communication ?.

You are the right man, at the right time and in the right place to play your unique part. Question is, will you do it ?.

(*) "... Come On Down!", is a phrase made popular by Bob Barker

on his longest-running game show on CBS called "The Price Is Right".