Update: I added *Spoiler Alert* as per one of the reader’s suggestions and edited slightly the post.
I went on Saturday to watch the avant-premiere of the new James Bond movie Skyfall at Grand Cinemas in ABC Dbayyeh. It was supposed to be released last week but was delayed until Thursday November 1st due to recent events in Lebanon.
Skyfall is a major improvement from the last two bond movies but it wasn’t as great as I thought it would be. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy it a lot but I was hoping for it to be a bit better in some aspects. In fact, I thought it was a bit too long (almost 2 hours and a half), action scenes weren’t that intense and I didn’t like the part where he hides in a house to fight the bad guys (I remembered Home Alone for some reason). We are used to Bond scenes in glamorous cities with sports cars and gadgets etc …
Last but not least, I thought I was watching a scene from Taken2 in the first part of the movie on the Grand Bazaar Rooftop except Daniel Craig is riding a bike while Liam Neeson was on his feet. Of course Skyfall’s action scene was much better and more exciting than Taken2 but It would have been better if they picked a new location, not the old worn-out Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.
Aside from those minor critics, I love how Bond’s character is resurrected throughout the movie, the way the plot is built, the crucial role M plays in Skyfall (and the superb performance of Judi Dench), Ben Whishaw playing Q, the villain character and specially the mid-section of the movie in London and underneath it in the subway and MI6 new headquarters. More importantly, Skyfall is one of the most “realistic” Bonds, more of a “Jason Bourne” than a “James Bond” as some critics are saying. No more invisible cars, crazy stunts and out of this world gadgets.
All in all, Skyfall put Bond back on track after the last two editions, and provides the perfect transition to a new series of Bond movies, specially after the surprising end. It’s a must-see Bond and the best we’ve had in the past 10 years or more (since Golden Eye). I will not dig into further details as there are tons of professional and thorough reviews all over the internet that you can check.
Millions of people are without electricity in the US and in some parts of Canada mainly due to Hurricane Sandy, one of the biggest to hit the US & Canada throughout history. However, the reason behind the power outage is not completely due to Sandy but to another factor that most people have forgotten about.
This is the second time an electricity outage occurs upon Bassil’s arrival to a foreign country. Is this a coincidence? I think not.
You can take part in Lebanon’s Independence celebrations in Beirut this year by adding your picture to the large Lebanese flag that will printed out and put on display on that day. Beirut.com came up with this initiative in an attempt to “unite all of faces on one flag”.
If you want to read more about it and join, click [Here].
Very funny and satirical article by the Pan Arabia Enquirer on the Lebanese society.
The recent sectarian violence that has sprung up across Lebanon took a new twist over the weekend after rival tablet computer gangs engaged in fresh clashes on the streets of Gemayze in Beirut.
The fighting is believed to have been sparked by the launch of the Microsoft Surface on Friday, which saw heightened tensions in a traditionally Apple-dominant district.
According to eyewitnesses, several hundred supporters of the California-based tech giant took the streets that afternoon to show their support for the new Apple iPad mini, which was unveiled just days earlier as a smaller and more economical alternative to the original iPad model.
I am going tomorrow to the 20th edition of the Salon du Livre Francophone and I invite all book enthusiasts to go there because this event is the third largest cultural event in the francophone world after Paris and Montreal and one of the most important cultural events in the region. The largest number of participating publishers will be Lebanese, so you will also have the chance to meet them and show some support. [TimeOut] [LorientLeJour]
Le Salon du livre francophone de Beyrouth will take place at Biel from October 26 till November 4 2012.
Israeli warplanes (I am guessing they are Israeli since they were far up in the sky) were entertaining the Lebanese drivers stuck in traffic this morning. They are probably rehearsing for Lebanon’s independence day.
Brgr Co, my favorite burger place in Lebanon, is now open at Beirut Souks. I highly recommend it to all burger lovers in Lebanon. Mark has already reviewed the place, you can check it out [Here].
My Last Valentine in Beirut is a new Lebanese movie, the first 3D film in Lebanon and the Arab world, that will be released on November 15, 2012. It is produced by Assaad Tarabay, written and directed by Salim El Turk. I watched the trailer but it doesn’t say much about the movie. I just hope they didn’t overdo the 3D part and focused on making it an interesting and appealing movie.
Anyway, I will be surely watching the movie and reviewing it as soon as it comes out.
I was surprised to see Leila Abdel Latif on LBCI last night as I thought Lebanese were no longer interested in such stupidities. I hope LBCI are not relying too much on her or on Michel Hayek to see if they will be winning their appeal in court against the Lebanese Forces party.
In one of her predictions, she claimed Najwa Karam is going to get married. I will add to that prediction that the guy will have Hitler-like mustaches.
When I first heard about Roland Chbeir’s murder, I thought it was some robbery gone wrong, or someone settling personal issues with Roland, but the last thing that came to my mind was that his best friend shot him. The worst part is that Charbel Shallita, who confessed to murdering Roland, walked in his funeral and sat next to Chbeir’s family.
The only good thing out of this story is that the ISF were able to find the killer before he committed other crimes, since he had taken money from many of his friends according to LBC’s report.
I first read about this app today on Joe’s box. It’s a nice app to have as you can check out strictly Lebanese blogs and maybe get to know some that you aren’t aware of, but it would have been nice to have a list of the blogs added or if we could filter the blogs we want to be reading.
Also, I didn’t like the logo at all but I am guessing it will change with time as the app evolves. It reminds me a lot of lebanonfiles.com with the blue and red.
