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Money matters: Wall Street’s Crystal Ball Reveals Overcast in 2005 (Part three)
Graham Macdonald
MBMG International Ltd.
Time to look at more analysts’ views
and the basis for these views - 3 more lambs to the slaughter please:
PNC Advisors
Jeff Kleintop, chief investment strategist
Pittsburgh
S&P 500: 1275 to 1325
10-year yield: 5%
Mr. Kleintop points out that while stocks have had a
decent run recently, the broader market remains far below the peaks
reached in 2000. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, he notes,
must rise more than 25% to reach its March 24, 2000, high of 1527. But
don’t expect the S&P to regain all of that territory next year, he
says. Mr. Kleintop expects the broad index to end in between 1275 and
1325, a decent return of about 8% for the year. He recommends investors
put 65% of their assets into stocks and 30% into bonds. “We lean toward
large-capitalization stocks and have a bias toward the growth style of
investing,” he says.
MBMG cannot understand the mental processes on the
Street sometimes. Once a bubble has been punctured and we’re starting
the downturn, the reasoning that the market must go back up now because
it’s 25% below the peak staggers us by its simplicity. Halfway down a
slide is only halfway down, Mr. Kleintop, and doesn’t indicate that a
change of direction is imminent.
A.G. Edwards
Stuart Freeman, chief equity strategist
St. Louis
S&P 500: 1270 to 1300; DJIA: 11600
Real GDP: 3.25% to 3.5%
Fed-funds: 3.5%
10-year yield: 5 %
Mr. Freeman expects corporate profits and consumer
spending to slow down in 2005 – and that’s not necessarily bad for
stocks, he says. If spending and corporate growth get out of hand, he
says, investors have to start worrying about inflation and higher interest
rates. Such fears held back stocks in 2004, he says.
Moderate consumer spending and declining profit growth,
therefore, should be “more favorable for U.S. equities” in 2005, he
says, as corporations increase capital spending and add new jobs. As the
environment ripens for equities, investors will be drawn toward large-cap
stocks and away from small caps, Mr. Freeman says. “We’re into a
period of about five years of small-cap out-performance, and that’s at
the longer end of the cycle,” he says.
Whither inflation? Mr. Freeman forecasts core inflation
of 2.5% for 2005, since the economy isn’t “going to get the impact
from oil prices that we saw in 2004” and a declining worker
productivity, according to government data, should slow growth.
MBMG re-iterates its disbelief at the Street’s
inability to read the signs. The facts are there, but they’re being
ignored. How a slowdown for an economy teetering on the verge of recession
and unable to service its debt burden could be interpreted as anything
other than disastrous makes no sense to us.
Standard & Poor’s
Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist
New York
S&P 500: 1300; NASDAQ: 2360
Real GDP: 3.6%; CPI: 2.3%
Crude Oil: $39 a barrel
The weakening consumer also crops up in the outlook
from S&P investment strategist Sam Stovall. The consumer will
“support economic growth,” but won’t lead it, he says, citing an
increasingly worrisome “mountain of debt” consumers have built up in
recent years.
Much like other strategists, Mr. Stovall expects
businesses to start spending the cash that’s been piling up. One result
will be a sharp increase in equipment investing, which he expects to grow
near 11% next year. And that should translate into job growth as companies
staff up to meet the new orders.
One of the primary risks to growth next year, he says,
is a return of crude oil to $50 a barrel or more and a freefall in the
dollar, which could cause a spike in inflation. Mr. Stovall expects the
CPI to rise to 2.3% by the end of the year. But when push comes to shove,
he says, it’s more likely that it will go higher than lower. “All of
the major economies in the world are expected to rise in 2005,” he says,
“And that should put pressure on prices.”
MBMG would love to know why on Earth any businesses are
going to invest so heavily to chase consumers who are in debt up to their
necks, having their properties foreclosed left, right and centre, losing
jobs by the day and seeing their real incomes fall.
More victims to come in the final part of our survey.
The above data and research was compiled from sources believed to be
reliable. However, neither MBMG International Ltd nor its officers can
accept any liability for any errors or omissions in the above article nor
bear any responsibility for any losses achieved as a result of any actions
taken or not taken as a consequence of reading the above article. For more
information please contact Graham Macdonald on [email protected]
Snap Shots: Time exposures produce great pictures
by Harry Flashman
How many times have you used the “time exposure”
facility on your camera? Probably never if you are like most weekend
photographers! However, you are missing out on some great and different
photographs.
 Asking
around in camera clubs, the usual reason given for not trying time
exposure photography is that it is technically too difficult and it is too
hard to work out the exposures. Read this week’s column and you will
find that it is not at all difficult.
Let’s look at the “too technical” situation
first. There is really nothing technically difficult about time exposure
photography at all. A camera is purely a device that lets a certain amount
of light fall onto sensitized film for a predetermined amount of time.
This is the old “f8 at 1/60th” sort of routine. The number of the
“f” stop (the aperture) tells you how large the hole is that lets the
light in, and the 1/60th denotes how long the hole was left open. Sounds
technical - but it’s not!
Way back, when photography was in its infancy, the film
material was so insensitive that the exposure times were nowhere near as
“short” as today. 1/60th was unheard of - it was more like six days at
f8 in the days gone by! However, with today’s super-sensitive film
materials and printing papers you can get away with much shorter time
exposures and you don’t even need to be accurate any more. There is
margin for error both in the exposure of the film and in the printing of
the photograph, which works in the photographer’s favour. Near enough is
good enough!
What equipment do you need for time exposure
photography? Well, a camera is a good start, but it has to be one with
“T” or “B” settings. The “T” setting stands for time exposure
- one “click” opens the shutter, the second “click” closes it.
“B” originally stood for “bulb” and the way that works is by
holding the shutter release down keeps the shutter open until you take
your finger off, which closes it. Why two settings? Simple, use “B”
for time exposures up to a minute and “T” for longer ones (mainly
because your finger will go numb holding the button down for 20 minutes!).
Film stock to use? The newer 400 ASA films are fine
(but you can use anything, I generally just use the standard 200 ASA film
in the camera). Now if you have read about time exposures you will come
across the phrase “reciprocity failure” with long time exposures.
Ignore it! Give up reading! It’s photo industry techo-speak and won’t
stop you getting good pictures, it just changes the colours a bit.
The last thing you need is a tripod, unless you are
good at standing motionless for twenty seconds or so. You should have one
by now anyway, even if it is just one of those small ‘table-top’ ones
that folds up and slips in your camera bag.
The important point to grasp is that all time exposure
photography is “hit and miss”. There’s no real way anyone can tell
you exactly “f8 and 24 seconds”. There’s too many variables, but all
you have to do is to take the same scene or picture with a few different
exposure times - one of them will be right. Believe me!
Here’s the rough guides. In all of these the film is
ASA 200 and the aperture (f stop) is set on f8. To take a street scene at
night, try 2 seconds, 4 seconds and 8 seconds. For the interior of a room,
lit with ordinary light bulbs, try 5 seconds, 10 seconds and 20 seconds.
To take a picture, just before dawn try 5, 10 and 20 seconds. Now, for a
completely dark, night landscape (or seascape) try 30 seconds, 1 minute
and 2 minutes.
Make a note of the order your time exposures were shot in, and jot down
the “best” result after you get your films back. Sure, the colours
will be strangely different - but if you wanted a “normal” shot
you’d have taken it in daylight, wouldn’t you? Try time-exposing
yourself this weekend!
Modern Medicine: More on wonky knees!
by Dr. Iain Corness, Consultant
A few weeks ago I wrote on Osteo-arthritis of
the knee, and this produced this letter from one of the readers. “Dear Dr
Corness, I always enjoy reading your column. I was especially interested in the
one about knee joints. In 1994 (I was 49 years old) I developed pains in my knee
joints, which were so severe that even walking up a slight incline was agony. I
also developed severe pains in my wrists, so much so that picking up a bunch of
keys was agony. My hairdresser told me he had similar problems but now used a
tablet containing 1500 mg Glucosamine and 1200 mg of Chondroitin (marine
Chondroitin) and had no problems. I started taking this and within two weeks my
pains had completely vanished and they only returned once, when I ran out of
tablets. I took this supplement until 2001, when I came to Thailand and hoped
that the warmer climate here would do the job of the tablets. I have since had
no problems. Many people do not agree with the use of supplements, but a survey
was carried out at St Peter’s Hospital in Chertsey and they agreed that the
taking of Glucosamine did show benefits. In conclusion I was surprised that you
did not mention this supplement as an alternative to injections or surgery.
Regards, Russ.”
This is a most interesting letter as it brings up an
immediate couple of points that should be examined. The first is, from the
description, I am not convinced that Russ was suffering from ‘osteo’
arthritis, but rather ‘Rheumatoid’ arthritis. This form of arthritis is
noted for spontaneously settling and then flaring up again, and many factors
seem to be involved with this. Look upon rheumatoid arthritis as a form of
inflammation in the joint, whilst osteo-arthritis is more of a
‘degeneration’ in the joint.
The other point is that whilst it is undoubtedly possible for
all kinds of compounds to affect arthritis (rheumatoid in particular), it is
incorrect to then generalize and suggest that this form of medication is good
for everyone. To prove the efficacy (or otherwise) of prescription drugs takes
more than one expat and a hairdresser. Yours is called ‘anecdotal’ evidence.
True ‘hard’ evidence needs enormous studies, following rigid protocols where
the results produced by active substances are compared to those from non-active
(placebo) substances.
For example, a group in Norway, Research Fellow Jan Magnus
Bjordal, Professor Anne Elisabeth Ljunggren, Associate Professor Atle Klovning,
and Professor Lars Slordal, wanted to look critically at Non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), including cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitors, in
osteo-arthritic knee pain and reported their findings in the British Medical
Journal.
They began with a literature search from 1966 to April 2004.
They crosschecked reference lists in systematic reviews, searched conference
abstracts, and talked to clinical experts. They included papers in English,
German, and Scandinavian.
The trials only included patients whose knee osteoarthritis
had been verified by clinical examination according to the American College of
Rheumatology criteria and by X-ray. All trials had to be randomised, double
blinded (neither the patient nor the doctor were to know which were the
‘active’ tablets), placebo controlled, and of parallel design. Pain
intensity had to be scored on a universal pain scale. The number of patients
exceeded 10,000, and only after that could they come up with some ‘hard’
data.
However, I am not saying that non-medical treatment does not
work for certain individuals, but I myself do have to follow current medical
protocols in my writings. In the meantime, I am glad that your knees continue to
be settled!
Learn to Live to Learn: Where Good Work and the IBO meet
with Andrew Watson
For the last ten years, Dr Howard Gardner has
been leading research entitled the “Good Work” project, and the last session
of the day at the Sofitel Central Plaza in Bangkok four weeks ago was devoted to
an area which will resonate strongly with readers of this column, even if some
of the audience in Bangkok appeared distinctly uncomfortable as he shared his
findings.
The project is a wide-ranging empirical investigation of the
experiences of new and veteran professionals in a variety of occupations. The
project seeks out individuals and institutions that exemplify “Good Work” -
work that is simultaneously excellent in technical quality and is at the same
time “responsive to the needs and wishes of the broader community in which it
takes place”. Work can be good technically and ethically, but the project is
particularly interested in those persons and institutions that perform “Good
Work” in both senses.
Dr Gardner seems to have decided to a large extent that if
you want something done, you’d better be prepared to do it yourself. So the
“Good Work” project looks at examples of good practice, talks about the
relationships between, for instance, multi-nationals and the environment and the
moral responsibility of this generation to look after the environmental future
for the sake of the next.
Implicit in an ethical study of this kind, Dr Gardner seems
to suggest, is the responsibility of individuals in their everyday lives, to ask
themselves, “Is what I am doing ethical?” and “Am I doing the right
thing?” and “Am I doing good work?”
He spoke in much the same impassioned way as the esteemed
South African political commentator Richard Callard, whose seminal work, “The
Right to Know, the Right to Live” celebrated the role of the “whistle
blower” and maligned societies that appear to readily eschew responsibility
for those who bring injustice to light.
Gardner does the same. He said, “The people we most admire
are those who go into an institution, discover injustice and unethical behaviour
and try to change it. Then if having exhausted all possibilities they decide
they can’t, then they exit.” I was privileged to hear similar sentiment from
the IBO conference in Perth in Australia two weeks ago.
IB conferences are all about ideals and they never fail to
remind me of the reasons I entered the teaching profession in the first place,
whilst explicitly reaffirming me personally of the “Good Work” they
recognise I have done on their behalf over the years.
Educationally, there is no doubt that it’s the family to
whom I belong and meeting IB friends from all over the region feels like going
home. There is an unmistakeable drive about the delegates, who display a zest
for life and learning that is tangible and genuinely uplifting.
I do not intend to repeat the entire IBO mission statement,
which has appeared in this column previously, suffice to report that I have
rarely witnessed such a vibrant environment where individuals in such numbers
from all over the world, managing and delivering IB programmes in Asia Pacific
region schools, reflect the Mission Statement of the organisation in their
manner and conversation.
Often at conferences of this size, one might expect to
encounter a sizeable proportion of sceptics who are there for the ‘beano’
and the beer but at the IB conferences, sour puss purveyors of misery,
notoriously short in character, are so few in number that they stand out a mile,
looking like they are determined to have a bad time. I (and my friends too) am
utterly engulfed by enthusiasm and it’s not just because all my conferences
have been self-funded!
This particular conference was titled, “Leadership and
Learning: the Role of the IB Coordinator” and attracted a couple of inspiring
key-note speakers, of whom I will speak later. It was presided over by some
truly splendid individuals, chief amongst whom was Professor George Walker,
director general of the IBO and a father figure to many of us who do his
bidding.
Professor Walker, whom I regularly quote in this column, is
an inspiring, visionary educator, a brilliant speaker and a great
conversationalist. He retains the qualities that would have made him a brilliant
classroom teacher – he holds his audience captive and challenges, amuses,
enchants, saddens and enlightens as he educates with great eloquence, palpable
compassion and gravitas. I probably should have already written about him as a
great leader, for that he is. When George talks, you listen.
George spoke about leadership. He spoke about the
characteristics of leadership, frankly in much the same way as I have done over
the past few weeks so I won’t repeat that part.
Having attended Howard Gardner’s seminar the previous week,
I was particularly interested in any convergence, or indeed divergence, in
educational philosophy regarding “Good Work” and ethics in leadership. I
found plenty of the former.
Regarding IB coordinators he said, “The IBO is well aware
of the very substantial and sometimes unrewarded contribution that you make”.
As an authorisation body, rather than an accreditation body, the IBO sometimes
finds itself in the precarious position of ethically having to recognise and
support good work and conduct in a coordinator, whilst being unable to lend
their considerable weight to their cause, however justified, due to their quite
correct reluctance to become embroiled in internal machinations of an
institution. The only leverage they hold is over the criteria for authorization.
I spoke to Professor Walker at length during the week about
the apparent links between Howard Gardner’s Good Work project and the IBO,
focusing in the main, on what I perceive as the two greatest challenges
currently facing the IBO. Firstly, with such exponential growth as they are
experiencing, how can they be sure that their ideology is actually being imbibed
by the schools that are authorized to deliver their programmes? In short, how do
you put pedagogy into practice? And second, in aspiring to produce individuals
who understand, “that other people, with their differences, can also be
right,” whilst maintaining a possibly contradictory position of being unable
or unwilling to involve themselves in issues ‘on the ground’ in schools, are
they not unwittingly promoting benevolent polyvalence?
Next week: What George had to say…
 Heart to Heart with Hillary
Dear Hillary,
I took her home for some slap and tickle, she brought her electric toothbrush
and left it in my bathroom. On her next visit she had her electric hair curlers
and electric hair drier. On subsequent visits she brought her electric clock
radio, lap top computer, oscillating fan, vibrator, chargers for her digital
camera and mobile phone, microwave oven, plasma television screen complete with
X box and games, CD player, DVD player, popcorn maker, jug and her rice cooker.
Tonight she has carried in her electric keyboard and a noisy electric drum kit.
I was not looking for any on-going relationship, a one night stand would have
been enough, but now all of the power outlets in my apartment have been taken
up with her vast collection of electrical gadgets. I hate to think how much my
next power bill will be. It is only my fear of the electric chair that prevents
me from strangling her. Watt do you suggest I do?
Mighty Mouse
Dear Mighty Mouse,
You do get yourself into some shocking situations, endangering your happy Ohm,
my smooth grey furry Petal. I can see how this power point problem would be
revolting for someone as sensitive as yourself. However, I would not worry too
much about your electric bill. Since most Thai houses or apartments have 2.5
amp fuses and 1.5 amp wiring, the place will fuse long before the electricity
meter goes incandescent. In the meantime I suggest you enjoy the plasma TV and
X box, eat the popcorn and stay cool under the fan.
Dear Hillary,
Nit and Ying (the adorable wee Smartie bandits) have returned and so we popped
down to Percy’s Puds the other day for a celebratory nosebag. Pattie pie for
Nit, Rice pud for Ying and I tried the stuffed Beanteddy with diced Blackadder
con turnip. I had my crumpet later! Percy would like to point out but never
mind. Chocolate pud for you, Hillary?
Mistersingha
Dear Mistersingha,
Confabulating again, aren’t we. Haven’t been taking our tablets again, have
we? Upon receipt of the promised champagne and chocolates I can recommend a
friendly brain surgeon, skilled in pre-frontal lobotomies. He can help, I am
sure.
Dear Hillary,
Thanks for airing my self-adoration letter, thus spreading the wonderfulness of
me to an even wider public. Incidentally, I’m quite sure by your spell-bound
expression, that you were aware of my awesome presence as we brushed shoulders
outside your office the other day. As I’ve worn out my camera taking
adulatory photographs of myself, an artist pal now accompanies me to capture
heart stopping moments, such as that, and I’m quite sure you will appreciate
his talent by way of this one of you and scrumptious me. By the way, I am
hoping for a ‘first’ - an illustration in your column by way of the editor
giving less space to the fifth division marble-rolling results, thus giving
readers more of the most talked about Agony Aunt column in Asia, which in turn
will make me the most talked about hunk in the eastern hemisphere as I
rightfully deserve. Humbly,
Nairod Remraf.
Dear Nairod,
Did we brush shoulders the other day? What was I wearing so that I can burn it?
I would be afraid of catching whatever disease you have got, and it certainly
isn’t humility, is it Petal. Your artist friend also has taken more than
slight artistic license. I would never wear my hair like that, and champagne is
never held where it might get hot. Champagne is always chilled, Petal. And the
dress! What is he thinking of? My Coco Chanel and Dior numbers (made in China
as I can’t afford the real thing on my salary) do not have random flowers on
them. Sorry to disappoint, but I have published both photographs and
illustrations before, and the marble-rolling championships too. Were you there?
Such fun and excitement!
Psychological Perspectives: Harm-reduction for sex workers
by Michael Catalanello,
Ph.D.
Pattaya is known around the world as a
popular tourist destination. The area boasts of many mainstream tourist
attractions, such as miles of sandy beaches, luxurious resorts, luscious
golf courses, and plentiful water sports. It is no secret, however, that a
major attraction of this former sleepy fishing village is the ready
availability of relatively inexpensive commercial sex.
Although illegal in Thailand, the commercial sex
industry is permitted to flourish openly here in Pattaya, as well as in
other parts of the country. The economic benefits provided by sex tourism
appears a powerful incentive for authorities to look the other way, as
opposed to biting the hand that feeds an arguably feeble local economy.
Economic considerations aside, attitudes of societies
toward human sexual behavior generally, and commercial sex in particular,
might be characterized as contentious. On one extreme is the attitude that
sex work is a legitimate and acceptable form of employment which is freely
chosen by consenting adults. Proponents of this view include many
feminists, sex workers, and prostitutes’ rights advocates. From their
perspective, the criminalization of prostitution helps perpetuate the
stigma associated with sex work, and represents an infringement of liberty
and personal freedom by the state.
Opponents of the practice argue that prostitution is
degrading to the women and men thus employed, and that the practice causes
severe psychological damage. The feminist writer Sheila Jeffreys, for
example, views men’s commercial use of women for sex as intrinsically
violent, abusive, and a violation of human rights. Others opposing
prostitution base their arguments upon moral codes rooted in
Judeao-Christian taboos concerning fornication and sexual promiscuity.
A psychological approach to the issue of sex work would
not necessarily approach it as a moral issue. Psychological research often
examines issues such as factors contributing to a person’s decision to
become a sex worker, whether engaging in sex work is necessarily
psychologically damaging, and the health risks that are attendant to that
profession.
A recent study by Melissa Farley, for example, found
that 55 percent of a sample of Thai sex workers reported having experienced
physical assault during the course of their work, 57 percent had been
raped. Sadly, 72 percent met the criteria for a diagnosis of partial
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Farley’s study also found that 56
percent reported current or past homelessness, 71 percent reported a
current physical health problem, 56 percent acknowledged having an alcohol
problem, and 39 percent reported a current drug problem.
Does sex work lead to emotional or behavioral
disturbance? Early psychological theories, particularly those derived from
Freudian or psychoanalytic theory, tended to view emotional disturbance as
developing as a result of unresolved conflicts, usually rooted in early
childhood development. By contrast, modern psychological theorists
generally hold the view that people develop emotional and behavioral
disturbance not purely as a result of their experiences, childhood or
otherwise, although experiences are undeniably a factor. Cognitive
theorists like Albert Ellis, Aaron Beck, Martin Seligman, and Donald
Meichenbaum point out that people play a significant role in creating and
perpetuating emotional disturbance by the way they think about the
adversities which they experience in life.
On the question of whether sex work is intrinsically
damaging to the sex worker, there is little evidence to support this
conclusion. At most, it could be inferred that sex work places sex workers
at increased risk for experiencing a number of adversities, including
violence, physical assault, rape, and exposure to sexually transmitted
diseases (STDs). Those experiences are, in turn, associated with an
increased risk for developing psychological and medical problems, including
PTSD, alcohol and drug problems, and homelessness.
Given the fact that the oldest profession is unlikely to be legislated
out of existence, authorities would do well to institute appropriate
harm-reduction strategies to provide sex workers with the knowledge and
skills they need to reduce the risk of assault, rape and other occupational
hazards. In addition, steps should be taken to increase the availability of
medical, mental health and rehabilitation services to individuals employed
in the sex industry.
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Dr. Catalanello is a licensed psychologist in his home State of Louisiana, USA, and a member of the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Asian University,
Chonburi. You may address questions and comments to him at [email protected], or post on his weblog at
http://asianupsych.blogspot.com
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Sound and Vision
By Justin
Trousers
Movies
Luang Pee Taing
(The Holy Man)
I have to confess that my exposure to Thai movies has
been limited. My first experience was Suriyothai, an epic Thai
historical story. The movie was critically acclaimed internationally,
and Francis Ford Coppola was so impressed that he offered to assist in
producing a revised, edited version. You can find the DVD locally and it
is highly recommended.
Then there was Jan Dara which achieved notoriety in
the local press for being sexually explicit; so much so that they had to
use a Hong Kong actress for the leading female role, as any Thai actress
who took the role would then have to leave the country and never return.
Leaving scandal aside, this was a well crafted, averagely acted, movie
about life in a Thai family in the early 1930s.
Finally, and perhaps more representative of
mainstream Thai movies; there was Streelek, a film about a katoey
volleyball team; based on a true story of course!
My latest foray into the local movie scene was to see
Luang Pee Taing (The Holy Man). This is a comedy about a monk assigned
to a small town where the local people are being duped by a con-man and
his cronies. Much mirth ensues as the bad guys try to get rid of the
good guy and the cinema was often in uproar with laughing and clapping.
Unfortunately, for those of us who have not yet mastered the Thai
language, the subtitles were not the best. While Miss Julie was
sniggering, I was trying to decipher a sentence where the nouns had
clearly been picked at random and some of the verbs had decided not to
make an appearance at all. Still, I enjoyed the gag at the end about the
box of matches.
Lemony Snicket’s
A Series of
Unfortunate Events
Last week we reviewed Bad Santa, a film that looked
like it was made for kids but wasn’t. This week the local cinema is
offering Lemony Snicket, a film that looks like it wasn’t made for
kids, but was. The story; based upon the books of the same name; starts
with three children losing their parents and home in a fire; and then
life only gets worse as the wicked Count Olaf (Jim Carrey) tries to get
his hands on their inheritance. It’s a gloomy tale, and at the start
of the movie you are advised to leave the cinema if you want a cute
story with happy endings! Don’t leave, because Lemony Snicket is
stylish, inventive and funny. Apart from Carrey who manages to tread the
fine line between maniacal and annoying, the cast includes Billy
Connolly and Meryl Streep. In addition, Dustin Hoffman wanders onto the
set for no apparent reason, provides one line of script, and is never
seen again. The child actors are perfect in their roles and Jude Law
narrates in his best Jude Law voice. A children’s movie which adults
will feel is just too good for the kids.
DVD
Collateral
If you have not been able to catch Jamie Foxx in his
Oscar winning role as Ray Charles, then you can see him playing a taxi
driver with Tom Cruise as a contract killer in Collateral (or
“Cholesterol” as Miss Julie insists on calling it). With Michael
Mann directing, what you get is a finely observed character study of
lives being changed over the course of a single night. You also get a
thriller with a steadily mounting body count as Cruise, who spent three
months researching and training to be a convincing killer, convincingly
kills his targets and anyone else who gets in the way. Using high
definition film, Mann shows us a Los Angeles at night which is pulsing
with colour, with the danger of the unknown waiting to pounce in the
shadows. Foxx easily matches up to Cruise, totally convincing as the
taxi driver with dreams who is suddenly exposed to a world of death and
uncertainty. Another quality movie from Mr. Mann, available on DVD
locally at around 700 baht.
Cellular
In the bargain tray at less than 200 Baht you can
find Cellular. The clich้ count on this one is high. Ageing cop
about to retire who rises to the occasion and becomes the hero? Tick!
Vulnerable woman hostage who is very brave and unexpectedly skillful?
Tick! Well meaning but lazy young man whose cute girlfriend has just
dumped him, but he will impress her back into his arms by the end of the
movie? Tick! Very bad man with no morals who kills people and who has to
die in a set piece at the end of the movie? Tick! For extra clich้
points; have this bad guy played by a Brit with a shaved head? Tick!
In spite of this; Cellular is tongue in cheek fun,
mixing humour, action and suspense. Disengage brain and enjoy.
Music
Doves – Some Cities
The Justin Trousers fact of the week is a unique
blend of music, geography and meteorology (musigeorology!): Manchester
is a city in the north west of England; an area where the rainfall is
above average, in a country not famous for sunny weather. It is also the
home of Doves, a band who manage to sound both depressing (it is hard to
be cheerful when you are standing in a puddle) and uplifting at the same
time. The brooding negativity is courtesy of vocalist Jimi Goodwin whose
voice is nothing special, but the music that supports him is very
special indeed. Every track has surprises in store; orchestras,
harmonicas, synths, choirs, raging guitars, you never know what is
coming next but you can be sure it will sound interesting and at times
beautiful. There are hints of Prefab Sprout, but with more swagger and
attitude. What I particularly liked was the variety in the music,
something that can be lacking in other currently popular bands such as
Keane and Razorlight. This is the third Doves album. Their first two
albums were critically acclaimed and Some Cities is already being placed
in the “essential to own” category. Ideal listening for the upcoming
rainy season!
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