Thursday, November 17, 2005

Movies: Steven Spielberg's 'Munich'

11.17.05 - During the 1972 Olympic Games held in Munich, Germany, gunmen of the terrorist group "Black September" raided the Olympic Village, taking the Israeli Olympic team hostage—and eventually murdering eleven atheletes.

Whilte the German police managed to kill all the terrorists, the games continued the following day! After all, Jewish blood had been spilled for centuries and there was no reason to make a fuss and disrupt such an important world event.
Israel, of course, was not going to sit back and take it. The surviving Israeli atheletes returned home the next day, and plans began in finding and killing the masterminds behind the murders.

Golda Meir, then the Prime Minister of Israel, put together a team of Mossad agents that would hunt down and assassinate the PLO terrorist responsible for the slaughter. Now, Steven Spielberg, the director who brought us the unforgettable "Schindler's List," has documented the clandestine operation that spanned Europe and the Middle East and resulted in the elimination of several dangerous Palestinian figures.

Munich, to released December 23, follows the historical tale of the agents that tracked down those responsible for the murders. Starring Eric Bana (Black Hawk Down, The Incredible Hulk), the film promises to offer a generous dose of drama and international intrigue of the true story, which reads like a Robert Ludlum thriller.

When I first heard of the upcoming film, I recalled reading a book entitled "Vengeance", sometime in the 1970s, that told the story from a first person's point of view—that of the leader of the counter-terrorist team. The book, I recently discovered, was just re-released in time for the movie's opening. The new edition's cover boasts, "The book that inspired Steven Spielberg's Munich."

It was one of the most memorable books I have ever read.

Aeon Flux: Charlize Theron's Latest Film

11.17.05 - One of the most exciting upcoming film for sci-fi fans this holiday season is Aeon Flux. Scheduled for release December 2, this slick-looking movie may just reach Matrix proportions.

AeonFlux, based on an MTV animated series by the same name and featuring Charlize Theron looking hotter than ever, is set 400 years in the future. Theron's title character is a top underground operative at war with the totalitarian regime governing what appears to be a perfect society. Aeon Flux leads a rebellion that will reveal a world of secrets.

The trailers for the movie look promising. Let's hope we are not let down again by a movie we hold high hopes for that winds up disappointingly lame.

If nothing else, at least this movie looks cool.

Net Surfing: Lose the 'Back' Button

11.17.05 - Your browser's "BACK" button is probably the most used part of the program when you are surfing the Net. And it is also the most frustrating.

If you find yourself waiting for a page to reload everytime you click the "BACK" button, you may want to consider the following tip: When clicking a link on a Web page, use the RIGHT mouse button and select "Open in New Window" from the context menu. This will keep the current page open on the screen. When you're done reading the linked page, simply close that window and you'll be back in your previous window without having to wait for it to load.

In addition to saving you time, this method of surfing will also keep you from losing track of where you you have been. I wouldn't surf any other way.