Boots Made For Stomping

Conditions: Warm, Sunny

The Dog of War

After spending the last decade hip deep in the middle east, you would think America would be looking forward to some quality peace time, a chance perhaps to unwind, or at least reload, especially while staring down the barrel of a double-dip recession. However to think that would be to ignore the seemingly central tenant of the American way of life. First always be preparing for war. So it is that this week president Obama announced that while he may be cutting half a trillion dollars out of the defense budget, he still wants to keep tensions ramped up, and has decided to increase them in Asia.

The new defence strategic document titled 'Sustaining US Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defence' calls for the US military to strengthen its presence in Asia-Pacific and identifies China as a security threat in long term. The military review says US economic and security interests are "inextricably" connected with the area and the US military accordingly will "of necessity rebalance toward the Asia- Pacific region" , including strengthening Asian allies and investing in the strategic partnership with India, state-run China Daily reported. China's state media also accused US of being a "troublemaker" .

- timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/

I can't see how this is the time for re-posturing against yet another nation and ramping up yet more tensions. The only thing this really plays to is 2012: the US election year. As though the only way Obama can win back the presidency is to ensure everyone continues to remain on a war footing. We criticised this when it was George W Bush doing it, and I see no need to stop criticising it now.





Film Review: Puss in Boots

The famous cat from the Shrek franchise gets his own prequel/origin story. And it turns out to be a pretty nice origin story. An orphan raised in a small Spanish town, Puss befriended Humpty Dumpty - a shrewd character who's always had a dream to find the fabled magic beans and use them to get to the giant's castle. There he will find the famous goose who lays golden eggs. And while he doesn't say much about what happens after that, Humpty allows Puss to be his partner. Years pass in the orphanage with the two getting into and out of all sorts of trouble, until Puss inadvertently becomes a hero and receives his boots as a reward.

Now Humpty has a problem, because with Puss going straight he no longer has a partner in crime. So he sets Puss up to take part in a bank heist, which all goes wrong. Outraged, Puss leaves Humpty to be arrested and escapes town as a fugitive. Now, a long time later, they team up again since Humpty has finally found the magic beans, in order to get the golden eggs, in order to finally repay the debt. Oh, and Salma Hayak also is in there as a sassy cat-burglar, to make a third partner. Its actually a fairly complicated back story for what's a fairly well-plotted movie. It's essentially a western, with a rogue character looking for redemption in order to restore his name, while there's also a long-term debt and revenge to be worked out.

The animation is top notch, but while it is humorous I wouldn't call it a film that is constantly reeling off one joke after another. In fact given the western setting and the boots, it kind of has the feel of a one-gag film that is stretching that gag out as far as it possibly can. And every now and then you get a glimpse of the strain. But at least it doesn't pander too much to the audience, and it has a reasonably good ending. Two and a half boots out of five.


- Peace out