Author: Mohamed Marwen Meddah

Mohamed Marwen Meddah is a Tunisian-Canadian, web aficionado, software engineering leader, blogger, and amateur photographer.

links for 2006-06-28

V for Vendetta

I finally got to watch “V for Vendetta” this weekend, and I have to say I just loved it.

I heard the following quote in the trailer that I saw a few months ago, and ever since then I’ve been dying to see the movie.

“People shouldn’t be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.”

The movie is by the Wachowski brothers, the duo behind the Matrix, was directed by James McTeigue and features Hugo Weaving (as V, doing a great job “talking”, reminding us of Agent Smith) and Natalie Portman.
The movie is based on the popular graphic novel by Alan Moore, “V For Vendetta“, but it seems he didn’t really like it.

The story takes place in a dark future that is very reminiscant of George Orwell’s “1984”; after years of various wars, England is under “big brother” Chancellor Adam Sutler, whose party uses force and fear to run the nation.

Under this rule: people are living in constant fear; minorities and political dissenters are rounded up and removed; artistic and unacceptable religious works were confiscated. Cameras and microphones are littered throughout the land, and the people are perpetually sedated through the governmentally controlled media.

Taking inspiration from Guy Fawkes, the 17th century co-conspirator of a failed attempt to blow up Parliament on November 5, 1605, V dons a Fawkes mask and costume and sets off to wake the masses by destroying the symbols of their oppressors, literally and figuratively.

The reviews I read about this movie were mixed, and it amazes me why.
Some people say it encourages terrorism, although I don’t think it does.
The idea of the movie is simply that radical and drastic events often need to occur in order to shake people out of their state of indifference in order to bring about real change.

Of course use of force is never a good thing that anyone should promote, but sometimes and in certain conditions it remains as the only option.

Personally, I enjoyed the movie, both story-wise and artistically, and I truly recommend it to everyone.

My score for it would be: 8.5/10.

links for 2006-06-23

Foot In Mouth

Have you ever been in a position where you think about something, and in your head it sounds really funny and cool, but then you say it and it comes out all wrong and makes you sound like a stuck up arrogant asshole?
Well that happened to me at work yesterday!
And it felt like shit!

To make things worse, one of my co-workers kiddingly jumped on it and kept amplifying it, only making it even shittier, and making me feel guilty as hell, even though I never meant anything bad from it.

I hate situations like that, and well even though I hope the people around me know me well enough to realize that I’d never mean something in a bad way like that, but still it bugs the hell out of me.

There’s this old saying in Tunisia that tells us to turn our tongues in our mouths several times before saying something, meaning that we should think about things well enough before talking.

But the problem is that sometimes, the way you meant to say something and the way it comes out are very different.

William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice

Last night, I watched the movie adaptation of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, directed by Michael Radford, featuring Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons and Joseph Fiennes.

I read “The Merchant Of Venice” a long time ago, back when I was in school, I think, and I remember really liking it.
And as the guy I rent movies from is a big fan of Jeremy Irons and Al Pacino, he’s been pushing me to see this movie adaptation of it ever since he knew me. I heard the movie didn’t do that well, but eventually I gave in and rented it.

Now, I can see why it didn’t do that well; it’s not your usual commercial, popcorn movie.
The movie is a serious work of cinema that does its best to stick to the spirit of the play, recreating a decadent renaissance Venice with its fitting set of characters and places, not to mention the strict use of Shakespearean language.

I was impressed the most by Al Pacino’s performance in the role of Shylock, he did a great job, and really brought the character to life. You understand and feel sorry for him yet you hate him at the same time, and Al Pacino carries it perfectly.

I’m usually not really into movie adaptations of old plays or literary pieces, as they mostly turn out a bit boring, but this one was worth watching, because it was pretty well done and again because of Al Pacino’s performance.

My overall score for this movie would be: 6.5/10.

links for 2006-06-21

How To Be Good (Nick Hornby)

In the halftime of the England-Sweden match last night, I finished reading “How To Be Good” by Nick Hornby.
I’m quite a fan of Nick Hornby and his style of writing. I also really like the movie adaptations of his books.
Thanks to my friend Sleepless Jojo for lending me this book.

I’m going to quote some of the Amazon review on this one because it basically says all I have to say about the book’s story.

How to Be Good, Katie Carr is certainly trying to be. That’s why she became a GP. That’s why she cares about Third World debt and homelessness, and struggles to raise her children with a conscience. It’s also why she puts up with her husband David, the self-styled Angriest Man in Holloway.

But one fateful day, she finds herself in a Leeds parking lot, having just slept with another man. What Katie doesn’t yet realize is that her fall from grace is just the first step on a spiritual journey more torturous than the interstate at rush hour. Because, prompted by his wife’s actions, David is about to stop being angry. He’s about to become good–not politically correct, organic-food-eating good, but good in the fashion of the Gospels.

Back to what I think, well I really liked the book, very enjoyable just like Nick’s other books and very humourous.
This book also makes you think about “good” and “bad” and what lies in between, and where the line should be drawn between being a saint and your personal life.

I recommend this book as well as almost every other book by Nick Hornby. And as we’re on the subject, I also recommend watching the movie “High Fidelity” and “About A Boy” that are based on two of his bestselling novels.