3boud's Space

Moving away from blogger

2009-09-04T01:16:00.000+01:00

If you are reading this, then you have probably already noticed the changes.
3boud.com has been changed to point to another host while this blog
reverted to its old URL: 3boud.blogspot.com
I am sorry to say that this blog will be terminated and restarted again on a private host.
the new blog will not include the posts here since it will be an all Arabic blog.
But, this blog will not be deleted since it has all those memories of two years of blogging.
I've decided to start all over to avoid the mistakes I made in this blog and hopefully I will.
For now I will only focus on Arabic blogging.
Visit my new blog once it has started and tell me what you think.

Movie Stars Who Die the Most

2009-08-28T07:46:00.000+01:00

***Possible Spoilers Ahead***

Mostly Unscathed

Will Smith (2 Deaths)

Death Toll: Seven Pounds, I Am Legend
Close, But No Flatline: Smith "died" temporarily in Hancock, but was revived – therefore, it doesn't count.

Harrison Ford (2 Deaths)

Death Toll: The Mosquito Coast, What Lies Beneath
Cheater: Ford was made immortal (albeit briefly) in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Mel Gibson (3 Deaths)

Death Toll: Mrs. Soffel, Hamlet, Braveheart
Glutton for Punishment: Although he only notched three deaths, Mel's torture numbers are bigger: Lethal Weapon, Conspiracy Theory,Braveheart, Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, Payback.

Tom Cruise (4 Deaths)

Death Toll: Taps, Vanilla Sky, Collateral, Valkyrie
Death Before Dishonor: Cruise's most violent offing was definitely Taps. At the end of the movie where he played the military academy hothead, he lost his shit, opened fire with an M-60, and got thoroughly perforated by National Guard artillery. ("It's beautiful, man!")

Check the Pulse

Robert Downey Jr. (5 Deaths)

Death Toll: Less Than Zero, Natural Born Killers, Richard III, The Gingerbread Man, U.S. Marshalls
Doppelkiller: Downey was killed – by himself – in The Singing Detective, but it's a hallucination sequence.

George Clooney (5 Deaths)

Death Toll: Return to Horror High, Red Surf, The Perfect Storm, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Syriana
In the Can: Although Clooney notched a couple of early B-movie deaths, his character actually survived in Return of the Killer Tomatoes.

Denzel Washington (7 Deaths)

Death Toll: Cry Freedom, Glory, Heart Condition, Malcolm X, Fallen, The Preacher's Wife, Training Day, Man on Fire
Count It: We gave Denzel half an entry for both Heart Condition (he played a ghost) and The Preacher's Wife (he played an Angel).

Dead and Loving It

Christian Bale (8 Deaths)

Death Toll: Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna, Henry V, The Secret Agent, Mary Mother of Jesus, Shaft, Harsh Times, The Prestige, 3:10 to Yuma
Dual: Bale got to have it both ways in The Prestige. Those who saw it know what we're talking about.

Dustin Hoffman (9 Deaths)

Death Toll: Midnight Cowboy, Who is Harry Kellerman and Why is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?, Lenny, Death of a Salesman, Billy Bathgate, Hook, Wag the Dog, Perfume, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
Most Creative Death: In Hook, Hoffman was eaten to death by a reanimated crocodile.

Jack Nicholson (9 Deaths)

Death Toll: Easy Rider, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Passenger, The Shining, Batman, Hoffa, Mars Attacks!, The Departed, The Bucket List
R.I.P.: Nicholson's deaths all tend to be horribly violent – shot to death, dropped from high places, beaten to death – with the exception of The Bucket List, where his character was beaten to death with a bucket. Or so we heard.

Al Pacino (9 Deaths)

Death Toll: Scarface, Dick Tracy, The Godfather: Part III, Carlito's Way, Donnie Brasco, Insomnia, People I Know, The Recruit, Righteous Kill
Funny How? Al has twice been killed by comedians (John Leguizamo in Carlito's Way and Robin Williams in Insomnia).

Brad Pitt (9 Deaths)

Death Toll: A River Runs Through It, Kalifornia, Legends of the Fall, The Devil's Own, Meet Joe Black, Troy, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Burn After Reading, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Nice Try: Brad "died" in two additional movies: Cool World and Fight Club. But in one he's instantly revived as a cartoon and in the other he never actually existed.

Johnny Depp (9 1/2 Deaths)

Death Toll: A Nightmare on Elm Street, Platoon, Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, Ed Wood, Dead Man, The Astronaut's Wife, From Hell, The Libertine, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (This one gets a half because he comes back to life in the third movie.)
Red Sea: Johnny holds the honor of bloodiest death on this list – in his debut movie, he played an Elm Street teen who was sucked into his bed by Freddy Krueger and turned into a giant plasma fountain.

Bruce Willis (11 Deaths)

Death Toll: Billy Bathgate, Mortal Thoughts, Death Becomes Her, Twelve Monkeys, The Jackal, Armageddon, The Sixth Sense, Hart's War, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Sin City, Grindhouse: Planet Terror
Till Death…: Bruce was killed twice by his ex-wife, Demi Moore (Mortal Thoughts and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle).

Robert DeNiro (14 Deaths)

Death Toll: Bloody Mama, Bang the Drum Slowly, Mean Streets, Brazil, The Mission, Cape Fear, This Boy's Life, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Heat, The Fan, Jackie Brown, Great Expectations, 15 Minutes, Hide and Seek
You, You're Good: DeNiro was killed by Pacino in Heat, and Pacino was killed by DeNiro in Righteous Kill.

Schan started

2009-08-28T07:44:00.000+01:00

It has been a while since I last posted something on this blog and for that I apologize. I will be trying my best to post again here. However, I have started a new image blog inspired by the numerous image blogs online. I will be posting anything interesting I find.
Hope you enjoy it.
http://schan.3boud.com

Schan stands for Saudi Chan (like 4chan :)
It is an exclusive group I started on Google with a bunch of my friends.
The blog however is public.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

2009-01-16T23:38:00.005Z

First of all, Happy new year everyone. I'm sorry I stopped updating this blog. I have been stuck with some school issues. I'm happy to tell you though that I have just got my MA in Arabic - English translation.

Any way, I have sen so many movies in the past 3 to 4 months and I'm gonna write about them all some time. For now I am going to tell you about the Woody Allen Movie (Vicky Cristina Barcelona).
*Woody Allen wrote and directed this movie.
It is about the story of two American girlfriends (Vicky: Rebecca Hall & Christina: Scarlett Johansson) who has different views about love. They go to Barcelona, Spain for the summer where they meet an artist (Juan: Javier Bardem) who has just came out of a disaster relationship with his ex-wife (Maria Elena: Penélope Cruz). Both girls become infatuated by this man who is still involved with his tempestuous ex-wife.
Even though this is a check flick, it is still enjoyable. The dialogues are interesting and the plot is easy to follow. I give it a B. Hope you like it.

EMMYs Winners

2008-09-22T08:27:00.003+01:00

It is Finally here.

Here are the results for 2008 EMMY Awards

Outstanding Comedy Series

"Curb Your Enthusiasm" (2000)

"Entourage" (2004)

"The Office" (2005)

"30 Rock" (2006)

"Two and a Half Men" (2003)

Outstanding Drama Series

"Boston Legal" (2004)

"Damages" (2007)

"Dexter" (2006)

"House M.D." (2004)

"Lost" (2004)

"Mad Men" (2007)

Outstanding Made for Television Movie

Bernard and Doris (2007)

"Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale (#3.0)" (2007)

The Memory Keeper's Daughter (2008) (TV)

A Raisin in the Sun (2008) (TV)

Recount (2008) (TV)

Outstanding Miniseries

The Andromeda Strain (2008) (TV)

"Cranford" (2007)

"John Adams" (2008)

"Tin Man" (2007)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock" (2006)

Steve Carell for "The Office" (2005)

Lee Pace for "Pushing Daisies" (2007)

Tony Shalhoub for "Monk" (2002)

Charlie Sheen for "Two and a Half Men" (2003)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Gabriel Byrne for "In Treatment" (2008)

Bryan Cranston for "Breaking Bad" (2008)

Michael C. Hall for "Dexter" (2006)

Jon Hamm for "Mad Men" (2007)

Hugh Laurie for "House M.D." (2004)

James Spader for "Boston Legal" (2004)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie

Ralph Fiennes for Bernard and Doris (2007)

Ricky Gervais for "Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale (#3.0)" (2007)

Paul Giamatti for "John Adams" (2008)

Kevin Spacey for Recount (2008) (TV)

Tom Wilkinson for Recount (2008) (TV)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Christina Applegate for "Samantha Who?" (2007)

America Ferrera for "Ugly Betty" (2006)

Tina Fey for "30 Rock" (2006)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus for "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (2006)

Mary-Louise Parker for "Weeds" (2005)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Glenn Close for "Damages" (2007)

Sally Field for "Brothers & Sisters" (2006)

Mariska Hargitay for "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999)

Holly Hunter for "Saving Grace" (2007)

Kyra Sedgwick for "The Closer" (2005)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie

Judi Dench for "Cranford" (2007)

Catherine Keener for An American Crime (2007)

Laura Linney for "John Adams" (2008)

Phylicia Rashad for A Raisin in the Sun (2008) (TV)

Susan Sarandon for Bernard and Doris (2007)

Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Series

"The Daily Show" (1996)

Road to the EMMYS 2008

2008-07-21T14:12:00.003+01:00

TV's big day is coming soon.

Here are the major nominations.

Outstanding Comedy Series

Nominees:

"Curb Your Enthusiasm" (2000)

"Entourage" (2004)

"The Office" (2005)

"30 Rock" (2006)

"Two and a Half Men" (2003)

Outstanding Drama Series

Nominees:

"Boston Legal" (2004)

"Damages" (2007)

"Dexter" (2006)

"House M.D." (2004)

"Lost" (2004)

"Mad Men" (2007)

Outstanding Made for Television Movie

Nominees:

Bernard and Doris (2007)

"Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale (#3.0)" (2007)

The Memory Keeper's Daughter (2008) (TV)

A Raisin in the Sun (2008) (TV)

Recount (2008) (TV)

Outstanding Miniseries

Nominees:

The Andromeda Strain (2008) (TV)

"Cranford" (2007)

"John Adams" (2008)

"Tin Man" (2007)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Nominees:

Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock" (2006)

Steve Carell for "The Office" (2005)

Lee Pace for "Pushing Daisies" (2007)

Tony Shalhoub for "Monk" (2002)

Charlie Sheen for "Two and a Half Men" (2003)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Nominees:

Gabriel Byrne for "In Treatment" (2008)

Bryan Cranston for "Breaking Bad" (2008)

Michael C. Hall for "Dexter" (2006)

Jon Hamm for "Mad Men" (2007)

Hugh Laurie for "House M.D." (2004)

James Spader for "Boston Legal" (2004)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie

Nominees:

Ralph Fiennes for Bernard and Doris (2007)

Ricky Gervais for "Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale (#3.0)" (2007)

Paul Giamatti for "John Adams" (2008)

Kevin Spacey for Recount (2008) (TV)

Tom Wilkinson for Recount (2008) (TV)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Nominees:

Christina Applegate for "Samantha Who?" (2007)

America Ferrera for "Ugly Betty" (2006)

Tina Fey for "30 Rock" (2006)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus for "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (2006)

Mary-Louise Parker for "Weeds" (2005)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Nominees:

Glenn Close for "Damages" (2007)

Sally Field for "Brothers & Sisters" (2006)

Mariska Hargitay for "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999)

Holly Hunter for "Saving Grace" (2007)

Kyra Sedgwick for "The Closer" (2005)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie

Nominees:

Judi Dench for "Cranford" (2007)

Catherine Keener for An American Crime (2007)

Laura Linney for "John Adams" (2008)

Phylicia Rashad for A Raisin in the Sun (2008) (TV)

Susan Sarandon for Bernard and Doris (2007)

Wanted

2008-07-09T01:04:00.003+01:00

This is by far, summer's greatest movie. Sorry Iron Man fans.
The movie is about a young man named Wesley Gibson (played by James McAvoy) who works in a lousy company for a lousy boss. He finds out that his father was a great assassin but was killed recently. His job is to follow his father's footsteps and become a great assassin and to kill his father's killer. He is trained by a man named Sloan (played by Morgan Freeman) who is the head of a secret society of assassins called "The Fraternity". Another member of this society is a woman named Fox (played by Angelina Jolie).
Rated R for strong bloody violence throughout, pervasive language and some sexuality.

One thing about this movie is that it will make you go "WOW". If you are one of those people who are always complaining about how movies are not realistic, this might not be your movie. I should add "IT'S A MOVIE. GET OVER IT". I give this movie A+

Here is the movie's trailer from the official website:

Simpson's Avatar

2008-06-12T12:30:00.001+01:00

Create your own Simpson's avatar here

Juno

2008-06-09T12:02:00.002+01:00

This Oscar winner for "Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen" is one last year's best. It is about the story of a teenager facing unplanned pregnancy. The 16 years old Juno MacGuff played by the talented Ellen Page discovers that she is pregnant from a one time encounter with Paulie Bleeker played by Michael Cera (from the movie Superbad and the famous TV show "Arrested Development"). Long story short, she decides on giving the baby for adoption. She finds a decent family of two through a newspaper add. Mark and Vanessa Loring - played by Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner - are thrilled that they will finally be parents, or are they??? :)

I'm not gonna ruin the movie anymore. I have already seen it twice. YES is is that good. I give it A+. (forget about the five stars system, there is a new system in town).

To read more about the plot and the stars, visit the movie's imdb page.
Or visit the official website JUNO to buy the DVD.

Here is the trailer:

Narcolepsy

2008-06-06T14:21:00.000+01:00

Narcolepsy

الخدار : حاله مرضيه تتميز بنوبات نوم عميق قصيرة‏

Narcolepsy is a neurological condition most characterized by Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS). A narcoleptic will most likely experience disturbed nocturnal sleep, which is often confused with insomnia, and disorder of REM or rapid eye movement sleep. It is one of the dyssomnias. A narcoleptic may also fall asleep at any random time.

My Arabic Blog

2008-06-06T12:04:00.006+01:00

So, I know I haven't had the time to update this blog. It is clearly obvious that English is not my native tongue and writing those reviews is not as easy as I first thought.
Therefore, I decided to start another blog in Arabic where I will be posting my threads in other websites such as Joreyat and Abu Nawaf.
To check out my Arabic website, just change the www in the URL to ar.

Visit me now at ar.3boud.com
It is still being edited for the theme and style.
I just thought I should tell you :)

Update:
I have added a permanent link to the Arabic blog
Just click
عبود بالعربي
in the top right corner of this blog :)

New SR1 coin from tomorrow

2008-05-11T10:55:00.004+01:00

Saudi Gazette report
RIYADH - A new golden and silver color one riyal coins will come into circulation from Monday, said a Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) announcement Saturday.The head of the new coin will have a golden color with the emblem of two swords and the palm tree. The margin will be silver color with the writing “The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Aal-Saud.”The tails will have “One Riyal” inscribed in Arabic, while the margin will have a silver color with ‘One Hundred Halala’ written on the upper part. In the bottom, the year of the minting of the coin (1429 AH) will be written. The new coin will be available at all SAMA branches from Monday.

Drillbit Taylor

2008-04-09T17:10:00.003+01:00

This great movie tells the story of three high school students who are being bullied by another deranged student. They use the Internet to post an add looking for a bodyguard. That's when Drillbit Taylor (played by Owen Wilson) shows up and takes the job.
The kids: Wade (Nate Hartley), Ryan (Troy Gentile) and Emmit (David Dorfman) are not completely new to the big screen. I have seen Troy (the big boned one ) in Good Luck Chuck (2007) and he played young Jack Black in Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006). It is not a big role, but it got him to this movie which is great. David (the short squeaky voiced one ) was Naomi Watts's son in The Ring (2002).

The movie has some great comedy moments, but what makes it great is the last few minutes when everything turns O.K

Here is the trailer

and the official website
http://www.drillbittaylor.com/

Enjoy...

Joreyat Video Publishing Contest (RS)

2008-04-08T16:36:00.002+01:00

So, this is a playlist of the videos taking part in a video publishing contest I started on Joreyat.net forum. The theme was Saudi Arabia and the prize is a 1mbs DSL subscription for 1 month. The winner will be announced tomorrow on the forum.
Check out the videos here or come visit the contest thread on this link (Arabic content):
http://www.joreyat.net/vb/showthread.php?t=21090

This is for those who don't have a widescreen to view the Youtube player. This is strictly for viewing purposes.

Joreyat Video Publishing Contest

2008-04-07T03:25:00.008+01:00

Manchester Photos

2008-04-05T01:34:00.001+01:00

Photos I took of Manchester, UK. I used a Sonyericsson K850i mobile phone to take these photos over a period of 6 weeks from various locations in Manchester. Mostly from the City Center.

Most Historically Inaccurate

2008-03-23T13:23:00.003Z

So, I found this interesting article on Yahoo! Movies. I thought of sharing it with you along with my personal notes (in red).

We all accept that movies stretch the truth in the interest of building drama. The following ten flicks, however, treat the truth like it was Silly Putty -- pulling and twisting it until it's unrecognizable.

10,000 B.C.Director Roland Emmerich is usually a stickler for realism (see: sending a computer virus via Macintosh to aliens in Independence Day). So we hate to inform him that woolly mammoths were not, in fact, used to build pyramids. Heck, woolly mammoths weren't even found in the desert. They wouldn't need to be woolly if that were the case. And there weren't any pyramids in Egypt until 2,500 B.C or so.
A week after seeing this movie, I'm rethinking my previous review. Maybe because I haven't seen a good movie for a while I thought this was good. Now I realize it wasn't so great after all.

GladiatorEmperor Commodus was not the sniveling sister-obsessed creep portrayed in the movie. A violent alcoholic, sure, but not so whiny. He ruled ably for over a decade rather than ineptly for a couple months. He also didn't kill his father, Marcus Aurelius, who actually died of chickenpox. And instead of being killed in the gladiatorial arena, he was murdered in his bathtub. I hate this movie..

300Though this paean to ancient moral codes and modern physical training is based on the real Battle of Thermopylae, the film takes many stylistic liberties. The most obvious one being Persian king Xerxes was not an 8-foot-tall Cirque du Soleil reject. The Spartan council was made up of men over the age of 60, with no one as young as Theron (played by 37-year-old Dominic West). And the warriors of Sparta went into battle wearing bronze armor, not just leather Speedos.
This is one of my favorite movies. 5 out of 5 for this one. I can never not see it again and again.

The Last SamuraiThe Japanese in the late 19th century did hire foreign advisers to modernize their army, but they were mostly French, not American. Ken Watanabe's character was based on the real Saigo Takamori who committed ritual suicide, or "seppuku," in defeat rather than in a volley of Gatling gun fire. Also, it's doubtful that a 40-something alcoholic Civil War vet, even one with great hair, would master the chopsticks much less the samurai sword.
Another top movie. 5 out of 5 even knowing it wasn't accurate :)

ApocalyptoThis one movie has given entire Anthropology departments migraines. Sure the Maya did have the odd human sacrifice but not to Kulkulkan, the Sun God, and only high-ranking captives taken in battle were killed. The conquistadors arriving at the end of the film made for unlikely saviors: an estimated 90% of indigenous American population was killed by smallpox from the infected Spanish pigs.
3 words: Mel Gibson Rules. 5 out of 5.

Memoirs of a GeishaThe geisha coming-of-age, called "mizuage," was really more of a makeover, where she changed her hairstyle and clothes. It didn't involve her getting... intimate with a client. In the climactic scene where Sayuri wows Gion patrons with her dancing prowess, her routine - which involves some platform shoes, fake snow, and a strobe light - seems more like a Studio 54 drag show than anything in pre-war Kyoto.
Never saw it. Never will.

BraveheartLet's forget the fact that kilts weren't worn in Scotland until about 300 years after William Wallace's day and just do some simple math. According to the movie, Wallace's blue-eyed charm at the Battle of Falkirk was so overpowering, he seduced King Edward II's wife, Isabella of France, and the result of their affair was Edward III. But according to the history books, Isabella was three years old at the time of Falkirk, and Edward III was born seven years after Wallace died.
3 words: Mel Gibson Rules. 5 out of 5.

Elizabeth: The Golden AgeIn 1585, when the movie takes place, Queen Elizabeth was 52 years old - Cate Blanchett was 36 when she shot the film - and was not being courted by suitors like Ivan the Terrible (who was dead by then). And though the movie has her rallying the troops at Tilbury astride a white steed in full armor with a sword, in fact she rode side saddle, carrying a baton. She was more of a regal majorette than Joan of Arc.
I'm going to see this one soon hopefully.

The PatriotRevolutionary War figure Francis "The Swamp Fox" Marion was the basis for Mel Gibson's character, but he wasn't the forward-thinking family man they show in the flick. He was a slave owner who didn't get married (to his cousin) until after the war was over. Historians also say that he actively persecuted and murdered native Cherokees. Plus, the thrilling Battle of Guilford Court House where he vanquishes his British nemesis? In reality, the Americans lost that one.
3 words: Mel Gibson Rules. 5 out of 5

2001: A Space OdysseyAccording to this film, in year 2001 we would have had manned voyages to Jupiter, a battle of wits with a sentient computer, and a quantum leap in human evolution. Instead we got the Mir Space Station falling from the sky, Windows XP, and Freddy Got Fingered. Apparently the lesson here is that sometimes it's better when the movies get the facts all wrong.
Never seen it.

10,000 BC

2008-03-18T15:25:00.005Z

"A prehistoric epic that follows a young mammoth hunter's journey through uncharted territory to secure the future of his tribe."
The story takes place in the mountains where the mammoth hunters live. They live only on the meat of mammoth and if they can't hunt enough of it, they will face a harsh year.
They are attacked one day by a group of men riding horses which is strange for this tribe.
O.K That's enough spoilers. Go watch it, it is great.

I thought it was a great movie and I haven't seen a decent movie for a long time now. It could be a cliche plot (hero guy saves girl) and historically and geographically inaccurate but it is still a decent film.

I give it 3 out of 5.

Watch the trailer here

or click here

visit the films official website for info and some downloads here.

Misc Photos

2008-03-14T01:33:00.004Z

Three sets of photos in one slide show
First: an old train station in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia that was built by the Ottomans and is now deserted.
Second: some art work inspired by food
Finally: an accident that took place 2 days ago in AbuDhabi where over 200 cars were involved. 25 of which caught on fire.

Top 22 Al Pacino Movies

2008-03-12T21:29:00.001Z

I found this amazing video on the best movies of Al Pacino. The background sound is a speech from the movie "Every Giving Sunday".
Enjoy...

Rambo

2008-03-05T17:22:00.010Z

The forth installment of the Rambo movies was just released here in the UK. I wasn't sure about watching this one but I did anyway after receiving some good feedback from my friends who saw it.
The plot starts in Thailand where a number of American aid workers use John Rambo's help (Sylvester Stallone) to cross the border into a Burma to help the villagers and local who are suffering in that war zone. When the aid workers are captured, Rambo helps a group of mercenaries cross the border to rescue them.
The movie starts slowly with an overview of the torture and murders taking place in Burma and the aid workers trying to get there. It picks up steam half the way and it becomes interesting. Unfortunately, it's a short movie (that's not my opinion alone). However, if you get the DVD, you can simply rewind half the way and watch it again.

I give this movie 4 stars (out of 5).

or watch the trailer on youtube
Enjoy

My very first earthquake

2008-02-28T14:06:00.009Z

"Did you feel that?" I asked. She looked at me like nothing happened and said "Yes".
I replied "It was scary, I am actually shivering, I thought the building would fall". She laughed and tried to calm me down "No, it's O.K it happens all the time in Taiwan".

Yes, it was my very first earthquake, and it was scary. Maybe because I didn't know it was an earthquake. I thought that someone in the room next to mine fell and got hurt. But when I immediately stood up and almost lost my balance, I knew something was wrong. I was just hoping that it wasn't some fault with the new building I live in (You can never trust the contractors).
But, I found out later that it was an earthquake and to be honest, I am a little happy with this first encounter. I just hope no one was hurt.

This is how the news broke:

Largest earthquake in two decades hits UK (from the telegraph)

By Julian Kossoff and Tom Chivers
Last Updated: 11:32am GMT 27/02/2008

The largest earthquake to hit Britain for almost quarter of a century was felt across large parts of England in the early hours of this morning.
Tremors were felt in areas including Merseyside, Birmingham, Leicestershire, Bedfordshire, Northampton, Norfolk, Surrey and Greater London - including the offices of Telegraph.co.uk, near Victoria Station. The five-second tremor struck at 00.55am.
Its epicentre was 15 miles north of Lincoln, near Market Rasen, and the British Geological Survey reported the earthquake as measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale - the largest in Britain since 1984. A spokeswoman for Lincolnshire Police said they had received dozens of phone calls about the tremor and some damage to homes had been reported. Ian Gilmore, 63, from Rainford near St Helens on Merseyside was watching a film when he felt the tremor. His wife Patricia was also woken up and rushed downstairs to see what had happened.
Mr Gilmore said: "It was incredible - I have never felt anything like it."
A resident in Norfolk described it as "a real mover and shaker".
advertisement
She said: "It was like a big juggernaut coming down the road The whole house shook - it was a real bone shaker"
Richard Sprakes of Thorne in South Yorkshire was asleep when the tremor shook his house and woke him up. "It was pretty scary I can tell you. Stuff was falling off the shelves. It was pretty rough."
Other witnesses reported to Sky News that wildlife - birds and pets- became highly agitated as the ground shook.
Telegraph readers have been writing in to tell of their earthquake experiences. Ian Lashford of Manchester described how the "building shook dramatically" and "books fell off the bookcase" in his fourth-floor flat, to the consternation of his cats, while Tom Elliot of Manchester Metropolitan University said that the quake made the buildings feel like "papier maché".
David Cannon in north Suffolk, meanwhile, said that he felt a "four-second rumble, like a train going under the house".
British Geological Society press release
The earthquake was the largest since 1984, when north Wales was hit by a tremor of magnitude 5.4 on the Richter scale. The largest this century came when the West Midlands was hit by an earthquake in 2002 in the Dudley area that reached 5.0 on the Richter scale and caused damage to homes.

How and where it was felt: Google map

زلزال بقوة 5.2درجات يهز بريطانيا

لندن - رويترز
قال مسؤولون إن زلزالا قوته 5.2درجات هز اجزاء من بريطانيا في وقت مبكر من يوم الاربعاء لكن لم ترد انباء عن سقوط قتلى او خسائر مادية كبيرة. وقع الزلزال بعد حوالي ساعة من منتصف الليل وقال كثيرون في العاصمة لندن ومناطق اخرى أنهم استيقظوا على الهزة. وقالت متحدثة باسم مصلحة الاسعاف في مدينة بارنزلي بشمال انجلترا إن رجلا اصيب في الحوض حينما انهارت مدخنة فوق غرفة نومه. ونقل الرجل الى المستشفى.

وقالت جيما هاريسون التي تعيش في مدينة مانشستر بشمال غرب انجلترا لراديو هيئة الاذاعة البريطانية (بي.بي.سي) "كان شيئا سيئا حقا. كنت أغط في النوم واستيقظت لأجد الغرفة تهتز." وقال المرصد الجيولوجي الأمريكي عقب الزلزال انه قوته بلغت 4.7درجات لكن مصلحة المساحة الجيولوجية البريطانية قدرت في وقت لاحق ان قوته بلغت 5.3درجات قبل ان تستقر على انها كانت 5.2درجات.
وقال المرصد الجيولوجي الأمريكي في موقعه على الانترنت ان مركز الزلزال كان على بعد 205كيلومترات شمالي لندن و 80كيلومترا شرقي مدينة شفيلد في شمال انجلترا.

The Bucket list

2008-02-27T00:45:00.002Z

Even though the reviews of the movie showed that it wasn't received well among young viewers, I had to see it for myself. It would be crazy to miss a movie with both Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.
The story of the film is about two old and terminally ill men who share a hospital room. One of them - Edward played by Jack Nicholson - is rich and actually owns the hospital while the other - Carter played by Morgan Freeman - is a mechanic who likes to read about almost everything. They come up with a list of things they want to do before they die, or kick the bucket - hence the title - and they start doing them.
The film is more of a drama than a comedy but it has its funny moments specially between Edward and his assistant Thomas, played by Sean Hayes from the hit seriese Will & Grace.
I give this movie 4 stars (out of five) for its original plot and for the fact that it has Jack and Morgan.

(If you visit the movie's official website, you can watch a music video that is absolutely amazing. It is of the song 'Say' by John Mayer)

80th Annual Academy Awards Winners

2008-02-25T10:50:00.004Z

80th Annual Academy Awards Winners

The results are in:

Best Motion Picture of the Year
Atonement (2007): Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster
Juno (2007): Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick, Russell Smith
Michael Clayton (2007): Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox, Kerry Orent
No Country for Old Men (2007): Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin
There Will Be Blood (2007): Paul Thomas Anderson, Daniel Lupi, JoAnne Sellar

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
George Clooney for Michael Clayton (2007)
Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood (2007)
Johnny Depp for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Tommy Lee Jones for In the Valley of Elah (2007)
Viggo Mortensen for Eastern Promises (2007)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
Julie Christie for Away from Her (2006)
Marion Cotillard for Môme, La (2007)
Laura Linney for The Savages (2007)
Ellen Page for Juno (2007)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Casey Affleck for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men (2007)
Philip Seymour Hoffman for Charlie Wilson's War (2007)
Hal Holbrook for Into the Wild (2007)
Tom Wilkinson for Michael Clayton (2007)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Cate Blanchett for I'm Not There. (2007)
Ruby Dee for American Gangster (2007)
Saoirse Ronan for Atonement (2007)
Amy Ryan for Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton (2007)

Best Achievement in Directing
Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood (2007)
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen for No Country for Old Men (2007)
Tony Gilroy for Michael Clayton (2007)
Jason Reitman for Juno (2007)
Julian Schnabel for Scaphandre et le papillon, Le (2007)

Get the other winners

Finally

2008-02-24T19:55:00.008Z

We are finally up and running...
Hope you all like the new theme and colors.
Here are some tips to best enjoy this blog.

The blog Archive has all the posts organized by date

Or you can read the posts by their "Label"

On your right you will see the "Highlighted Posts". These are the most important posts to read.

"Movies" has the posts about the movies I watched and how I rate them.

Every post has its own page where you can read the post and the comments. To go there, just click on the time stamp under the post title (See example pic).

Finally, if you click on the post title you might be redirected to a website that has more information about the post or the original article cited in the post.

What's new

2008-02-24T14:06:00.007Z

Hello everyone...
So you have probably noticed this mess...
The blog - as you can see - is still undergoing a process of re-shaping. I'm still confused on which theme to choose .
One is blue and white (you are probably looking at it now) and the other is reddish.
I promise you to choose one by the end of the day, before announcing the Oscar winners .

Re-Construction

2008-02-23T13:14:00.002Z

This Blog will go through a serious re-construction process.

Please visit later.

Maybe tomorrow.

Abdu's new album available now

2008-02-13T14:30:00.005Z

محمد عبده يطرح ألبوم "الهوى الغايب"

أخيراً وبعد تأجيلات عدة طرح أمس الثلاثاء الألبوم الغنائي الجديد للمطرب محمد عبده، والذي يحمل اسم "الهوى الغايب"، ويعد باكورة أعمال الفنان مع شركة روتانا.
يشار إلى أن هذا الألبوم استغرق وقتا هو الأطول مقارنة بكل ما طرحه عبده من ألبومات خلال السنوات العشر الماضية، حيث تم إعداده وتنفيذه على مدار أكثر من عامين ونصف العام، وتم تسجيل أعماله في عدد من الدول العربية منها الإمارات وقطر والكويت ومصر إضافة إلى السعودية.
ويضم الألبوم 8أغنيات لحن عبده 4منها بنفسه، وهي "هذا المساء" كلمات الأمير بدر بن عبد المحسن و"تعجبيني" كلمات الأمير نواف بن فيصل و"الهوى الغايب" كلمات الأمير خالد الفيصل و"أحوال" كلمات طلال الرشيد.
وقدم المغني رابح صقر للمرة الأولى لحنا لمحمد عبده الذي اتجه أخيرا لتقديم أعمال لكتاب وملحنين لم يسبق له التعاون معهم حيث لحن له صقر أغنية "حبيب الحب" من كلمات الأمير فيصل بن خالد في أول تعاون فني مع عبده أيضا.
كما يضم الألبوم أغنية "مغرورة" كلمات غازي القصيبي وألحان أيمن عبد الله و"ما تمنيتك" كلمات تركي وألحان طارق محمد وأغنية "تعال" من كلمات حمدان بن محمد بن راشد آل مكتوم وألحان فايز السعيد.

أغنية: الهوى الغايب

Light Graffiti

2008-02-13T01:29:00.000Z

Rediscovering the old songs

2008-01-30T10:26:00.000Z

An old song By Nabil Shuail about Alriyadh
This was written by the great Abdullah AlFaisal
Enjoy

Yasser photographY

2008-01-26T15:08:00.000Z

While I was surfing the web, I came across this amazing website.
It is called Yasser photographY and it is about, yes you guessed it, photography.

It has a number of amazing photos taken by Yasser and it comes with a blog where he actually gives some tutorials on photography and photo editing software.

Check it out and;

Enjoy

Dan In Real Life

2008-01-24T21:58:00.000Z

Dan In Real Life
AMC Theatre

Plot: Dan who is a widower and a parent of three girls, meets a lady and immediately falls in love with her. Unfortunately, it turns out to be his brother's girlfriend.

A beautiful love story mixed with lots of humor.

My rating: 10 out of 10

A must see.

Enjoy

Goodbye Sami AlJaber

2008-01-23T04:45:00.000Z

الهلاليون يودعون (جابر عثراتهم ) بهزيمة مانشستر يونايتد

رسم الهلاليون ليلة البارحة لوحة وفاء رائعة كان عنوانها التقدير ورد الجميل لمن يستحق وعكسوا في نفس الوقت صورة مشرفة عن الرياضة السعودية من خلال مواجهة واحد من أشهر الاندية

...تفاصيل

النجم المحتفى به : الجماهير حققت حلمي بالحضور

شكر النجم المعتزل سامي الجابر الأمير عبدالرحمن بن مساعد والأمير عبدالله بن مساعد على الجهد الذي بذلاه من خلال احضارهما النادي الانجليزي وقال خلال المؤتمر الصحفي أمس كل الشكر لأصحاب الفضل الأميرين عبدالله وعبدالرحمن ابني مساعد بن عبدالعزيز.

...تفاصيل

الجابر صاحب مستوى فني رفيع.. والهلال حقق فوزاً مستحقاً
أشاد صاحب السمو الملكي الأمير سلطان بن فهد بن عبدالعزيز الرئيس العام لرعاية الشباب وراعي مهرجان سامي الجابر التكريمي أمس بالنجم المحتفى به وقال انه لاعب ذو مهارات عالية ومستوى فني رفيع بجانب أخلاقه العالية مشيراً إلى ان الجميع استمتع بمباراة الهلال ومانشستر يونايتد وأضاف سموه بأن فوز الهلال كان

...تفاصيل

80th Annual Academy Awards Nominations

2008-01-23T01:52:00.000Z

80th Annual Academy Awards Nominations

Best Motion Picture of the Year
Atonement (2007): Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster
Juno (2007): Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick, Russell Smith
Michael Clayton (2007): Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox, Kerry Orent
No Country for Old Men (2007): Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin
There Will Be Blood (2007): Paul Thomas Anderson, Daniel Lupi, JoAnne Sellar

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
George Clooney for Michael Clayton (2007)
Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood (2007)
Johnny Depp for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Tommy Lee Jones for In the Valley of Elah (2007)
Viggo Mortensen for Eastern Promises (2007)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
Julie Christie for Away from Her (2006)
Marion Cotillard for Môme, La (2007)
Laura Linney for The Savages (2007)
Ellen Page for Juno (2007)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Casey Affleck for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men (2007)
Philip Seymour Hoffman for Charlie Wilson's War (2007)
Hal Holbrook for Into the Wild (2007)
Tom Wilkinson for Michael Clayton (2007)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Cate Blanchett for I'm Not There. (2007)
Ruby Dee for American Gangster (2007)
Saoirse Ronan for Atonement (2007)
Amy Ryan for Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton (2007)

Best Achievement in Directing
Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood (2007)
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen for No Country for Old Men (2007)
Tony Gilroy for Michael Clayton (2007)
Jason Reitman for Juno (2007)
Julian Schnabel for Scaphandre et le papillon, Le (2007)

Get the other nominations here...

Heath Ledger is found dead in US

2008-01-23T00:56:00.000Z

Hollywood actor Heath Ledger has been found dead at a residence in downtown Manhattan.

"He was found unconscious at the apartment and pronounced dead," the New York Police Department said, adding that pills were found near the body.

Police are reportedly investigating if the Australian actor, who earned an Oscar nomination for Brokeback Mountain, died of a drug overdose.

The 28-year-old was found dead in the flat at around 1530 (2030 GMT).
Police said they did not suspect foul play and that his body had been discovered surrounded by pills.

'Pills'

"We are investigating the possibility of an overdose," police spokesman Paul Browne told Reuters news agency. "There were pills within the vicinity of the bed."

The BBC's Matthew Price in New York says the exact cause of death was still being investigated, but suicide has not been ruled out.

Police, journalists and crowds of fans are outside the Broome Street apartment in the fashionable SoHo area.

Investigators said Ledger had been due to have a massage at the flat.

The housekeeper went to tell him the masseuse had arrived and found him dead on Tuesday afternoon.

The medical examiner's office said an autopsy would be carried out on Wednesday.

In September the Perth-born actor split from his girlfriend Michelle Williams, with whom he has a two-year-old daughter, Matilda.

She played his wife in 2005 film Brokeback Mountain.

The film's director Ang Lee said Ledger's performance had been a "miracle" of acting, echoing a young Marlon Brando.

He won an Oscar nomination for his role as a gay cowboy in the film but the award went to Philip Seymour Hoffman for his role as Truman Capote.

Ledger starred in I'm Not There, as one of several actors in a role representing singer Bob Dylan.

He also plays the Joker in yet-to-be-released Batman film, The Dark Knight.
Ledger also starred in A Knight's Tale and The Patriot, and played a suicidal son in Monster's Ball.