Diary of a Network Geek

So, way, way back a couple of weeks ago, I saw the surprisingly good Ninja Assassin.

Now, I recognize that not many of my regular readers are likely to be into martial arts films of any kind as much as I probably am, much less the somewhat specific sub-genre of ninja films.  But, somehow, I did manage to talk one of my friends into going to see this one with me.  And, you know what?  When it was all over, he thanked me for it!  Yeah, that’s how good a film this little sleeper was!  I mean, really, this is the best ninja movie I’ve seen since Sho Kosugi did Enter The Ninja back in the early 80’s, practically launching the ninja craze in America.  In fact, the Great Master himself was in this movie as the old master who teaches Raizo, the main heroic ninja assassin of the title, played by the Korean pop-star, Rain.

The plot is a ninja film classic; the hero suffers through a brutal and very thourough training as a child to become the ultimate silent assassin only to be betrayed by his clan, who hunt him even as he seeks to bring them to justice.  No, really, this is a pretty common theme in these kinds of movies.  Honest.
So, the hero, Raizo, has help in the form of an international police researcher and her partner, though, he ends up not being as much help as you’d think at first.  She, however, gets in over her head by getting a file, of sorts, from a former Soviet intelligence agent who died under somewhat mysterious circumstances, who had been researching the ninja.  Mika, the researcher, played by Naomie Harris, had also been researching the connection between the ninja and several high-profile, virtually impossible assassinations.  The only problem is, no one else believes her.  No one, that is, except the ninja themselves and they come to kill her.
That’s where Raizo comes in.  He intervenes and saves her, then takes Mika on the run.  Not so much out of choice as neccessity.  They run from both the clan and Mika’s organization, who both come after the pair.  And, really, that’s pretty much the entire movie, right there.  It is, in the truest sense of the word, an action movie, but it’s a bit more than that, too.  It’s a kind of archetypal ninja action movie, with all the “required” elements, including honor, justice, a really good training sequence flash-back, a skilled master, a beautiful girl, and, of course, a love story.  That, along with the most amazing martial arts action you’ve ever seen in your life, make this a winner.

Now, you may think I’m exaggerating on this, but consider for a moment who made this film.  This bad boy was produced by the Wachowski’s of The Matrix fame and the script rewrites were done by J. Michael Straczynski, the guy who wrote Babylon 5.   These folks are geniuses in their field and have done truly revolutionary things for science-fiction, movies and television.  Really.
I mean, you’ve got the guys who reinvented action and, essentially, set an entirely new standard for action movies.  Then, you combine them with the guy who changed the face of episodic television science-fiction.  Mash them together with a ninja theme and think about where this might go.  And, yes, it really goes there.  Honest.  It was a visually stunning film.  Not in the same way that Avatar was, but, again, as an action movie, it took filmed martial arts to a whole new place.  It was fantastic.
Also, while it was paying homage to the ninja films of the 80’s, it included the guy who started it all, in a kind of ultimate homage; Sho Kosugi.  I’m pretty much convinced that any really great ninja film has got to include Kosugi or at least reference his work, so, you know, they score on that point.

So, yeah, this is kind of a special sub-genre of film, but if it’s your thing, you have got to rent this one.  I’m sure it’s not in the theater any more, but this should absolutely be in your Netflix queue.  If you love acttion, martial arts movies, or ninjas, you need to see this one.  Really.

And, there you have it.  Three movie reviews in three days.  A pretty good start to the new year, I think, even if I am reviewing movies from last year!

Yeah, it’s been one of those days.

Oh, not that anything has really been going on or that anything has been particularly bad… Well, except my writing. Everytime I try to sit and write something it all comes out bad. I remember a story told in an interview once about that problem. J. Michael Straczynski, the creator of Babylon 5, was talking to Harlan Ellison, science-fiction god. Straczynski was complaining to Ellison that everything he wrote was crap and, according to Straczynski, Ellison told him simply, “Well, then just stop writing crap!”
If only it were that easy for me.

I seem to have a communication problem sometimes.
I seem so witty and bright until my fingers hit the keys and out comes purile pap, half-digested cardboard that leaves nothing more than a bad after-taste. And, it’s not just on this blog! Oh, no, dear readers, you’ll be pleased to know that I write just as poorly in e-mail. Earlier today I was slacking at work taking a mental-health break, and reading a few blogs. I read one particular blog by a successful, attractive young lady, well, younger than me, at any rate. She was having a rough morning, but it wasn’t her coffee spill that interested me. Rather, it was her internal dialog. She was so sure that she was being judged, and being judged harsly, by the coffee shop patrons.
It startled me, her certainty of judgement from without. I see her and see everything that I cannot be, beautiful, popular, solvent, but still, she had the same self-doubt that rattles about in my slightly over-weight, more-than-slightly in debt, almost middle-aged self. Iconcievable. Is it possible that everyone has a critic living inside them that is as loud and constant as mine? I’m begining to wonder if maybe they do.

My therapist keeps telling me that I’m more normal than I think I am. Oh, to be sure, I had some aberrant behavior, but that’s been under control for years now, before I started to see him, in fact. It’s just that I listen so carefully to that internal critic that I hear him in everyone else’s voice these days. I’ve been told that I’m defensive and I know it’s true. Of course, I’m more defensive with some people than others. My mother tells me that there’s fine line between defending myself and being defensive and, maybe, some of those people don’t know the difference. Maybe, but I think they’re closer to the truth than my dear, sweet mother who only thinks the best of me, her baby boy. (As a side note, dear readers, you’d like my mother. She’d make your favorite dish for you when you visit, or bake you something sweet. She’s like June Cleaver, if June knew how to shoot a .38 and used sarcasm like a precision instrument.) In any case, that damn critic is why I haven’t writen for publication in so long, why I have such trouble asking a pretty girl out on a date, and why I’m so sure that no one really likes me, but keeps me around for my utility. I mean, c’mon, a guy with my technical skills is pretty damn useful sometimes. And, whatever else I may believe about myself, I know that I’m damn good at what I do. I routinely pull off the impossible, at least, technically speaking. (I tell myself that over and over both to remind myself and at the request of my therapist. I think it’s working.) In fact, I worked so hard to develop skills that few have because I knew that was the only way anyone would have anything to do with me.
Crazy, isn’t it? What’s sad is that I have absolutely no explanation for why my internal critic should be so strong, so loud. That’s why I pay a nice man who’s name starts “Doctor” every other week. To help me figure that out and, more importantly, over come that little bastard.

I took a move from one of my favorite bloggers this week and “burned” one of my “ships”. No, I didn’t quit my job, but, deeply in debt, I still bought a very good laptop computer that was on sale and loaded with extras and rebates. I found that I do seem to get more writing done on a laptop, away from my main system with all its distractions. Like e-mail and this blog. So, the way I see it, the only way for me to pay off my debt is to start writing for publication. I think I’ll start with some contests and see how it goes.

Oh, if you didn’t catch it from the comments, I did e-mail that girl from college. No word back yet, but I’ll keep you posted.
As Bartles and Jaymes used to say, “Thank you for your support.”