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Remember the Titans (2000)

In recent times, with seen many films come and go that follow the same “inspirational film” formula. From Drumline in 2002 to The Great Debaters just last year, these films all serve to inspire all of us in one way or another, usually by portraying an underdog team/individual overcoming all odds. However, what some people don’t realise is that all these films root from this one unique film: Remember the Titans (2000).

Remember the Titans (2000) is a Disney film which was released 8 years ago, yet till this day it is still an extremely popular film. It is set in 1971, a period when racial strife was at its highest. Yet despite this fact, T.C Williams High School in Alexandra Virginia is finally desegregated, causing Whites and Blacks to have to go to the same school and tread the same hallways. Herman Boone (Denzel Washington) is then hired to be the coach of the school’s football team, replacing former head coach Bill Yoast (Will Patton) who then takes up the offer of becoming assistant head coach after some hesitation. The newly formed football team is made up of both Blacks and Whites, which then results in many disagreements and even brawls. However, coach Boone brings them to a camp and it is there where, through forceful methods, he finally gets the team to bond together and look past each other’s skin colour. However, when they return from camp the best of friends, they then have to deal with racial tensions back in their hometown. Despite all the problems, including coach Boone getting a brick thrown through his house window, the team manages to go through an entire season undefeated and finally clinch the championship.

While the story may seem too good to be true, the film is actually based off the true events that took place at that time. That’s probably the best thing about the plot, that the characters and events that occurred are mostly real. This helps the audience relate with the characters, especially at the end of the film as it goes on to explain what happened to each individual after he left the school right before the credits roll. The events themselves make for a great Hollywood storyline as well, even though a large part of it was probably rewritten for Hollywood’s sake. However, the very fact that the team could go from fighting among themselves to playing an entire season undefeated is inspiration enough for any average person. You won’t find many plot holes in this film either, since it’s not all that complicated anyway, but it’s a good thing that the plot is easy to keep up with since the audience will be better able to appreciate the film.

The actors themselves do a great job of portraying the characters as well. From Denzel Washington playing the role of a strict coach who never lets up on his team, to Ryan Hurst and Wood Harris playing individual White and Black players on the team who manage to capture the overall problem of racial strife at a personal level. You can really feel the frustration of the players when their forced to play with people of a different race; you’ll feel the strong bond of friendship between them once they get over their indifferences; you’ll feel their elation by the time the climax of the film is over. . Even the supporting characters such as coach Boone’s wife and children do a great job when they’re required to do their job. Also, even when there are so many members on the team, their each given their own time to shine, allowing the audience to be able to relate with all of them instead of only one individual. Director Boaz Yakin has done a great job by trying his best to give all characters a decent amount of time onscreen so that the audience relates with the team as a whole.

This was probably one the most popular and successful Disney movies and was the reason why we see so many of these “inspirational sports films”, so much so that they might as well have their own genre. The original team of ‘71 have even set up their own website and the 71′ Original Titans Foundation is now a non-profit organisation which is “dedicated to helping High School Students pursue post-secondary education”. There, you’ll also find an FAQ which addresses the various discrepancies between the film and what really happened all those years ago.

For those of you who haven’t watched this film yet, there’s absolutely no reason for you to not try and grab a DVD of the show as soon as possible. I’m pretty sure next to anyone will enjoy this film, even families could watch it together if they wanted to. With all that being said, just remember to watch Remember the Titans (2000).

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Jazz has been experiencing a revival lately. Numerous artists are responsible, but none so much as Michael Bublé. The name is likely to be known even among those who do not ordinarily listen to jazz. Bublé’s pop-jazz renditions of the classic standards has reintroduced famous jazz pieces back into the mainstream, and some even bigger than they were back when they first came out.

Call Me Irresponsible (2007) sees a continuation of Michael Bublé’s contemporary renditions of jazz classics. Generally, the album is an excellent demonstration of what makes Bublé so popular. The opening track, a cover of Frank Sinatra’s famous “The Best Is Yet to Come”, is tastefully performed; Bublé’s vocal dynamics, ranging from the soulful opening to the jubilant ending, are skilfully executed. It is evident from the title track - made famous by Frank Sinatra, as well - why Bublé is so popular today: Bublé’s smooth, sultry vocals in “Call Me Irresponsible” with its playful lilts portray the bad-boy persona of the song with finesse, but the upbeat and well-structured instrumentation accompanying him ensures that a young audience which grew up on the likes of Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears are not lost on complex rhythmic changes or lengthy improvised solos. Bublé’s light-hearted rendition of “I’ve Got the World On a String” has got just the right swing feel, and is bound to make anyone happy.

The album, however, is not just about upbeat music. Many of the tracks prove that Michael Bublé is a master at sentimental music too. The more pensive and soulful tracks such as “Me and Mrs Jones” and “Always On My Mind” display an expressive and emotional side to Bublé that is seldom heard in his earlier albums. “Me and Mrs Jones” is movingly rendered; Bublé’s vocals brim with emotions, and show that he has grasped very well the inner turmoil of the song’s persona who is involved in a relationship with a married woman.

“Call Me Irresponsible”, unlike many of Michael Bublé’s previous albums, does not contain solely of covers. There are two original songs in the album, “Everything” and “Lost”, both of which Bublé himself had a part in writing. “Everything”, in my opinion, is the better of the two because its feel-good melody and admittedly sweet lyrics are far more memorable and captivating. That is, of course, not to say that “Lost” is bad; in fact, it is well-composed, and has a set of powerfully heartfelt and emotional lyrics.

Towards, the album lapses into quieter and slower music which may or may not be able to hold the attention of an audience accustomed to a fast-paced, hectic life, but that does not mean that the tracks are not worth a listen, of course. The bonus track, a cover of the classic “Love”, is a great song to end the album with not only because it is a familiar tune, but also because Bublé’s haplessly-in-love rendition of the song is captivating to listen to and creates a happy ending to the album’s musical ups and downs. Overall, Call Me Irresponsible (2007) is a testimony to the talent of Michael Bublé and to his pivotal role in bringing jazz back.

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Abercrombie & Fitch (commonly referred to as ‘A&F’) is an American clothing company that specializes in producing fashionable sporting apparel and is considered an international designer label. It is a globally renowned brand of clothing, featuring their iconic men’s polo T-shirts with their trademark moose logo. A&F has a distinct style and cut and has termed their own apparel as ‘Casual Luxury’.

The brand operates three flagship stores and a whole multitude of smaller branches. The three flagship megastores are located in Fifth Avenue (New York City), The Grove (Los Angeles) and Savile Row (London). There are plans to open a new international flagship store in Tokyo in early 2009.

The distinctive features of Abercrombie & Fitch clothing is the graphical humour and unabashed jibes at certain parts of the American society. This drew mixed reactions from consumers in America, some being outraged at how sports or minority were being ridiculed; some adored the slapstick humour and blatant insults dished out. As a result of all the hype, A&F was labelled a brand pandering to the ‘white, American pretty boys and girls’ and is ‘all about sex, something this country is so cynical about’.

This generated much criticism for A&F, with many groups such as religious and minority groups boycotting the label. One example occurred in November 2005, when Abercrombie & Fitch launched a T-shirt that read ‘Who needs brains when you have these?’, in a blatant reference to large breasts and dumb females. The Women and Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania launched a nation-wide ‘girl-cott’ of the store in response to the undermining of females. Eventually the company stopped production of the T-shirts, however, it left much negative publicity on the brand.

Gradually, the theme and styles of Abercrombie & Fitch clothing evolved. Less emphasis is put on loud and shocking designs on T-shirts, but rather more focus was put into improving the materials and cuts of their clothing. The iconic Abercrombie polo tees feature their distinctive muscle-fit and trademark stripes, made of high-grade sueded cotton. The moose logo is embroidered in most designs and they come with unique double-layer velvet neck taping.

Most complaints are that the A&F label is grossly overpriced. Also, there were many comments that A&F is racist, not employing minority sales personel and models. Yet, we still do see A&F using black and Asian models and sales staff, especially in New York.

Price, I feel, is a big deterrent for potential consumers. I refer to, not only the retail price, but also the absurb shipping costs A&F levy on overseas shipping. As A&F only have international outlets in London and Canada, most international buyers would have to pay for the item, as well as the shipping fees, which is more expensive than the item in most cases.

Basically, Abercrombie & Fitch is your trendy, upscale teen store but its successful branding sets it apart from others. You will definitely find the clothes to be of good quality, with exceptional materials and workmanship. The styles appeal greatly to the mainstream consumers, my personal favourite are the Muscle-fit and Classic-fit for men’s polo T-shirts. The trademark sueded material from A&F makes their clothing supremely comfortable to wear, even in the humid conditions in Asia. Even without physically entering the Asian market, it has already successfully carved out a niche for itself. Thus is the success of the branding of the label. Price aside, I do hope that Abercrombie & Fitch would expand further into Asia, as the styles are exceptionally trendy and fashionable, and spare me the agony of paying for shipping.

Find the Abercrombie & Fitch Store nearest you or Click here to buy some of the Abercrombie & Fitch products
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For some strange reason, sequels have always been notorious for being lousy successors to the original work. Be it video games, movies or even books, plenty of sequels have been known to not live up to the original work. Plenty of sequels share on thing in common: they’d always be inferior to the original piece of work in one way or another and unfortunately, that formula holds true for Ocean’s Twelve (2004).

For those who don’t know, Ocean’s Twelve is the very aptly titled sequel to Ocean’s Eleven, a 2001 film (which I reviewed on this site previously) about how eleven men managed to pull of a heist, making all of them millionaires. However, the moment this film begins, Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), the man from whom the original eleven stole $160 million from in the previous film, is on the hunt for Ocean’s eleven, eventually tracking all of them down one by one. He even goes so far as to detonate a bomb placed in Rusty’s (Brad Pitt) car as a warning. In the end, Benedict asks for all $160 million, plus $38 million interest and the eleven come up short by $97 million. Hence, they have no choice but to go back to their old ways, stealing valuable items to pay off their debt, but since their too “hot” to work in the United States, they travel to Europe in order to continue with their dirty work. However, as they are about to steal the world’s oldest stock certificate from an eccentric old man, they realise that they’ve been beaten to the document as it has already been taken by another thief who left them a message through an MP3 player. Soon, they discover that it was the Night fox (Vincent Cassel), a legendary European thief, who beat them to it. After which, the Night fox reveals that he is partially responsible for them being lured to Europe as he then proposes a challenge to the eleven: both them and the Night fox will attempt to steal the Corronation Egg within a week, if the eleven win, the Night fox will pay off their debt to Benedict. Hence, the team accepts the offer since there’s no other way for them to raise $7 million in a few weeks, which leads to even more twists and turns in the plot.

While the plot might seem quite interesting, it actually makes for a pretty boring movie on the whole. Most of the movie shows the team discussing rather than putting their plan(s) into action, which was more of what we saw in the first film. In fact, it almost feels as if the action is about to pick up when the team tries to steal the document and you’re on the edge of your sea, then when you realise it was all for nothing, you just sink back into your seat, getting bored with it and the rest of the film just doesn’t redeem itself. The plot is just sloppy with a lot of plot holes, like how the team suddenly got released when they were arrested by the police, and it just stinks of lazy writing on the whole. Not to mention the climax is practically non existed since there really isn’t much to get excited about even in the later parts of the film. By the time the movie ends, you’re probably stunned by the fact that the film simply ended the way it did, then you’d probably wonder why you wasted your time with it.

Still, not everything about the film is bad. If there’s one redeeming quality about it, it’s the acting. The original cast is back from the original film and they put on a great show here even with a broken plot. The ensemble cast still do a great job of portraying a team of professional thiefs who know what they’re doing every step of the way. Not to mention the few scenes in which we actually see the team in action are pretty exhilarating, such as one scene in which they need to raise a building to gain a clear shot through a window in the second floor. These scenes are what made the first film so great, it’s just unfortunate that the filmmakers and writers failed to see this, or else this could have been a great, if not better movie as compared to the original.

Still, Ocean’s Twelve (2004) didn’t do that bad in the box office, in fact it was a commercial success in comparison to other films. However, when you compare it to the original Ocean’s Eleven, it fell below expectations. If you were a fan of the first film, I’d suggest you don’t waste your time on this one, since it really is nowhere near as good as the original film was. Unless you’re a real die hard fan and can’t wait to see what happens to the team after the original film, this film might be worth a rent.

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The number of opportunities for meeting new people slowly diminishes as age catches up with you. You find your usual group of friends deviating from your life, one at a time. Your favorite hang-out haunts become boring. Day in day out, your interaction is only with the same people at work. You find yourself socially stranded in the sea of loneliness. What do you do next?

If you find yourself facing any of the above problems and want to make a change to your social life, try out BunchOut.com.

BunchOut.com is somewhat similar to a dating service. If you are raising an eyebrow to that thought, pause for a moment and allow me to change your mindset. You do not go on one-to-one dates with users of BunchOut, unlike some dodgy dating websites. Truthfully, I had that first impression when the BunchOut Kuala Lumpur version was launched in January 2008. After dwelling deeper into the concept for a month, I think this website has good potential. Come, follow me to the journey of discovery with BunchOut.

BunchOut.com at present, spans 6 locations around the world; San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, London, Singapore and last but not least Kuala Lumpur. Locations will grow when the listing of groups reach to 20. Now, how does this listing work and most importantly how will the listing work for you? Let’s tackle the former question first.

A city needs to have 20 group listings to launch - a pioneer batch of people get on it first, so it will be populated and useful by the time other people from the same city sees it. In a simpler context, you create a listing for your group(s) of friends. This listing will get you in touch with people you want to meet. How? Simple, just hit the “Contact Them” button when you browse through the listing that you like and then, you initiate a contact point with that group. However, the party on the receiving end can choose to ignore the call.

So, now, how does the listing work for you? The keyword is “group”. I’m sure you may have heard of meeting criminals and other shady characters via the Internet. It is indeed a scary world out there. However, by going out in a group of friends, you lower this risk. I’m not implying that there’s no risk at all. There’s risk to everything you do. So, an arranged outing with a new group of friends, this I refer to as a “friendly outing”. Imagine the worst scenario, you meet a group that was out of your expectations with no common interests, you can always flee the scene with your friends. A harmless and most polite way to excuse yourself is to leave with a group. Since a city requires 20 groups to exist, you’ll still have 19 groups to meet if the first one does not meet your expectations. Whoever has had the complaint of meeting new people, surely had not heard of BunchOut.

Next, another discovery about BunchOut.com. As defined by the founder of BunchOut, “BunchOut is a list of interesting groups of people in your city!” Finding the right people who share your passion and hobby is like finding a needle in the haystack. Finding like-minded individuals in today’s hectic society is no doubt a considerable challenge. For instance, you may like a variety of extreme sports, thus you need to join a specialized club/organization that organizes such events to meet people. Where on earth do you find the time to do that? It is definitely not impossible but extremely cumbersome. BunchOut.com creates the opportunity for you to meet this interesting group of individuals all in one place. Best of all, it is free!

So, whatcha waiting for? Start BunchOut’ing now!

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