Beijing 2008 Olympic may be over already, but you still can catch the closing ceremony in DVD that’s 2 hours long.
The highlights include a performance by Three Tenors’ Placido Domingo, a “human memory tower”, and an 8 minute presentation by London 2012, including the appearance of David Beckham, Leona Lewis and Led Zeppelin’s lead guitarist, Jimmy Page. Also, you can catch the performance of Wei Wei, Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, Karen Mok and Joey Yung as well.
Babylon A.D. is a futuristic movie based on the novel Babylon Babies by Maurice Georges Dantec, starring Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh and Mélanie Thierry.
Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh and Melanie Thierry in "Babylon A.D."
The movie begins with the voice of Vin Diesel telling the stories of his life. He mentioned that everyday we see signs of saving the planet but from who? From ourselves? Then he said “I’m tired, tired of it all.”
Toorop (Vin Diesel) is a retired war soldier and lives a war torn life in Eastern Europe. He is having breakfast when a SWAT team busts in to bring him to Gorsky (Gerard Depardieu). Gorsky wants Toorop to take the job of escorting a woman named Aurora (Mélanie Thierry) from Eastern Europe to New York. Toorop demands half a million and Gorsky agrees.
Toorop then goes inside a car which is carried by a helicopter to a Mongolia convent where Sister Rebecca (Michelle Yeoh) is waiting for him. She tells Toorop that wherever Aurora goes, she will goes with her.
So, the journey begins and the three set off to a train station in Kazakhstan where a bomb detonates but Aurora has predicted it and they survive.
Then, they stop at Vladivostok nightclub as Toorop plans to meet his friend, Finn (Mark Strong) there who can provide transport to the United States. Some unidentified men show up and offers Toorop a million dollar, tax free. Somehow, Toorop prefers half a million dollar better and fights them off and tries to escape with Sister Rebecca and Aurora but he ends up in a cage which is staging Ultimate Fighting Championship-style death matches as Aurora is protected by the fighter. Toorop has no choice but to survive by killing him off.
The men who tries to kidnap Aurora claim they are sent by Aurora’s father, which Sister Rebecca and Aurora have thought he has been long dead, which makes Toorop even more confused. Somewhat, he still stays with the girls and they have to fight their way into a submarine before arriving in North America.
In North America, snowmobiles await them and they travel at a high speed but is tracked down and chased by fighter jets. Toorop distracts the jets and even escapes at least two guided missiles before plunging his snowmobile into one of the jets causing both to explode. Miraculously, Toorop survives.
When they finally reach New York — in which the futuristic New York is pictured with more skyscrapers and tonnes of electronic billboards, Toorop prepares to hand in Aurora to Gorsky’s men whom in turn will hand her in to Neolite Priestess (Charlotte Rampling). However, a television channel reports news of the Mongolian convent being bombed has changed Toorop’s mind. Instead of handling her to either one of the gangs, he opens fire and once again they run. Only now, Toorop learns that Aurora is the host to an organism that has the potential to become the next Messiah and everybody wants to get their hands on it. But it’s too late as Aurora fires a shot at him to prevent him being killed by a guided missile.
Toorop is later resurrected by Aurora’s creator, Darquandier. Toorop is seen with artificial leg and his right arm is fitted with metals. Although, Toorop manages to find Aurora in the end, it is unknown how Aurora dies as she gives birth to twin girls of whom Aurora hands them to Toorop’s care.
Overall, it is a movie with a good storyline. However, Vin Diesel seems like a very tired mercenary whom at first willing to transport Aurora to New York for half a million dollar but refuses a million dollar, tax-free?
Unlike what Toorop said earlier in the movie, “I learned something that day: you can’t always walk away. Too bad it was the day I died”, you can still walk away from this movie.
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Babylon A.D. is nice to watch but as the movie goes on, the 90-minute film seems like a 3-hour movie. Vin Diesel simply does not show the energy level he has in The Fast and the Furious and xXx. Futuristic and somehow slightly twisted, the movie lacks many elements that successful films have. I learned something today, you can always walk away. From this movie.
Death Race is brutal, violent and yet action-packed. It's almost like an adult version of Speed Racer. Though predictable, still, it's worth watching on the weekends.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is the first animated Star Wars film. It's probably not fair to compare an animation with the previous featured films. Still, The Clone Wars is good enough, it is a pretty neat animated movie with action-packed scenes, good plot and credible special effects. A must watch for Star Wars fans. Otherwise, it's still an entertaining flick.
by Maurice Georges Dantec, starring Vin Diesel, 
