Rambo (Extended Cut)

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" Even with its flaws, Rambo is an entertaining ride.

Extended Cut

APPROX. 99 MINS. - PROD. YEAR: 2008 - MPA RATING: NR

FIRST PUBLISHED Jul 26, 2010
By Ranjan Pruthee

When the first movie in the "Rambo" series, "First Blood" (1982), was released, the "Rocky" series was already in its third offering, "Rocky III" (1982). It became increasingly clear that each sequel in the two series was worse than its predecessor. Over the years, the characters of "Rambo" and "Rocky" became fodder for countless parodies. Weird Al Yankovic´s "UHF" (1989) poked fun at "Rambo" by copying Rambo´s action sequences and his dialogue delivery style that now has its own cult following. No doubt by the late Eighties: "Rambo" and "Rocky" were shunned and renounced by critics and moviegoers. Then in 2008, Stallone decided to resurrect his American Hero, John Rambo, in "Rambo," perhaps for the last time. The movie was well received by audiences and became a decent earner at the box office.

In the story, John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) now lives in Thailand in an area close to the Burmese border. He makes his living by hunting snakes and selling them in a nearby local region. Soon, a missionary, Michael (Paul Schulze), approaches Rambo and asks him to take a group of missionaries to a region in Burma so they can provide the needy with food and medicines. Initially, Rambo refuses to take the job, but at the insistence of Sarah (Julie Benz), he decides to help the missionaries. Along the way, Rambo´s boat is stopped by pirates. After getting rid of the pirates, the group arrives at the destination, and Michael tells Rambo that their group will travel by road for rest of the journey.

Upon reaching the village, Michael´s group is attacked by an opposition military leader who later kidnaps the missionaries. The pastor soon comes back to Rambo and informs him that the missionaries have been missing for the last ten days. He asks Rambo to lead a group of mercenaries that will eventually rescue the missionaries. Meanwhile, Sarah and the other members are rescued, but the group is again attacked by the Burmese army. Rambo engages the entire army and saves the group.

I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed this movie in my second viewing. "Rambo: First Blood Part II" and "Rambo III" were downright miserable, and I had no hopes from "Rambo." Surprisingly, I was pleasantly entertained by Stallone´s latest Rambo movie. One thing that struck me about "Rambo" was its serious tone, which connects at an emotional level. Stallone fabricates Rambo´s character in a manner that is, in fact, a continuity of his character from the first movie. Here, Rambo is disillusioned and angry with the world just as he was in the beginning of "First Blood." He retreats to a quite village in Thailand away from his home in the U.S. All these years, he has become emotionally cold and rigid. Considering his past, Rambo´s behavior is completely understandable and realistic. In addition, "Rambo" deals with a similar theme about war and its harmful effects on the community, as seen in the previous Rambo sequels.

"Rambo" succeeds because of the prevailing on-screen tension between the characters, which was also evident in "First Blood." Sarah´s persistence in getting Rambo onboard and Michael´s disapproval of Rambo´s maverick ways inject adequate drama to the story. The action occurs much later in the film, and the buildup to the action is carefully planned and executed. The editing is superior, and the movie breezes fast in its nine-nine-minutes of duration. As an action movie, "Rambo" erases our memory of its dreadful sequels and comes very close in the entertainment value to "First Blood."

Nonetheless, "Rambo: First Blood Part II" and "Rambo III" were both criticized heavily due to the filmmakers´ propensity to show out-of-context and overextended action sequences along with sloppy stories. "Rambo" is no less in this aspect, but the action has a place in the context of the overall story. Then again, the action is overly stylized with a high body count, in which people are blown to bits, not once, but on numerous occasions.

Kyrgyz president says Uzbek barricades will be removed

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

By Philip P. Pan
Saturday, June 19, 2010; A11

BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN -- Kyrgyzstan's interim president instructed police Friday to begin dismantling the barricades that ethnic Uzbeks have built to protect themselves from Kyrgyz mobs, a high-risk move that could ease the refugee crisis in the nation's south but spark more violence.

In an interview after making her first trip to the region since the deadly clashes between Kyrgyz and minority Uzbeks began a week ago, President Roza Otunbayeva said she ordered local authorities to work with civil society groups and to exercise restraint as they removed the trucks, trees and concrete barriers that Uzbek enclaves are using to keep Kyrgyz out. But she said police might need to use force to complete the task if Uzbeks resist.

"There are worries, certainly," she said. "How can I not be worried? But we can't just leave it like that. This will continue and continue, and there will be closed sectors, and how can you deliver humanitarian assistance? We must move. We must do something."

Otunbayeva and her government, which took power in a violent revolt in April, have come under intense public criticism for not restoring access to the Uzbek districts. Some nationalist Kyrgyz politicians have threatened to organize militias to remove the barricades if the government doesn't act, saying Kyrgyz sovereignty over the areas is in jeopardy.

In addition to clearing a path to bring relief aid to hundreds of thousands of Uzbeks who have been driven from their homes, Otunbayeva said removing the barricades will allow Kyrgyz families to search for missing relatives in ethnic Uzbek districts, help troops reestablish public order and encourage refugees to return home.

In Osh, the country's second-largest city, where the riots began, a senior police official, Kursan Asanov, set a deadline for Uzbeks to cooperate. "Within two days, access will be opened to the barricaded districts and the Uzbek communities where military forces can't enter," he said.

But the barricades have kept Kyrgyz and Uzbeks largely apart in recent days. Taking them down could result in renewed fighting between two traumatized and angry communities that accuse the other of atrocities.

The government says 223 people have been killed in the clashes, which have subsided in recent days. But the number of deaths could be 10 times higher because many victims have been buried without being taken to hospitals, Otunbayeva said.

"I think they should be very careful, and negotiate and build trust. Trying to tear down these barricades forcefully will not be received well," said Ole Solvang, a researcher with Human Rights Watch in the region, noting that many Uzbeks say Kyrgyz police and soldiers allowed mobs to rampage through their neighborhoods and even participated in the mayhem.

Solvang acknowledged that the barricades are slowing the delivery of aid to Uzbek refugees and are preventing ambulances from entering the neighborhoods. But he said Uzbeks are "afraid that if we take down the barricades, they'll be vulnerable to attacks again from ethnic Kyrgyz."

"There are good reasons why they feel insecure," he added. He noted that he and a colleague have documented that Uzbeks who leave their enclaves continue to be attacked, beaten and raped despite the government's assertion that it has restored order in Kyrgyz areas.

In a letter Friday, Human Rights Watch and another influential organization, the International Crisis Group, called on the U.N. Security Council to send a neutral police or military force to the region to establish a corridor for the delivery of aid, provide security for refugees to return home and make it possible for reconciliation programs to begin.

"The instability in southern Kyrgyzstan cannot be wished away, and without a decisive international response, there is considerable risk that widespread violence will reignite," the groups said, urging Russia and other countries that can deploy forces quickly to participate in the mission. Kyrgyzstan hosts U.S. and Russian air bases in the country's north.

Asked about the appeal, Otunbayeva expressed skepticism. "Nobody's ready to come in so far," she said.

She also acknowledged for the first time that some Kyrgyz police and soldiers may have participated in the violence. But she expressed faith in the ability of Kyrgyz prosecutors to conduct a fair investigation and said Uzbek witnesses and community groups had already provided much more evidence than Kyrgyz.

In Uzbekistan, where he was visiting a refugee camp near the Kyrgyz border, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake called for an international inquiry to complement the Kyrgyz probe into the violence.

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Murder on the Flotilla ...

The Hindu

Murder on the flotilla

Press TV - Mohieddin Sajedi - ‎37 minutes ago‎

The Obama administration frowned upon the idea of singling out Israel, and US officials announced they would not allow the next NPT conference in two years ...

Video: Gaza aid convoy intercepted by Israeli military ITN NEWS

Reaction from around the world to Israel's attack: Aljazeera.net

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VOA News - Philippines Launches Massive Relief Operation After Flood

By Heda Bayron Hong Kong 28 September 2009

Bayron Report - Download (MP3)
Bayron Report - Listen (MP3)

The Philippines has appealed for international assistance following the worst flooding in more than 40 years. At least 140 people have been killed as a result of the heavy rains and, as the death toll from the disaster continues to rise, the government has been overwhelmed by its scale.

Elated flood victims reach out to receive relief goods after flood water subsides in Cainta, east of Manila, 28 Sep 2009

The Philippine government is scrambling to provide shelter, food and basic supplies for hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the floods.

Tropical storm Ketsana brought torrential rains to the northern Philippines Saturday, inundating most of the capital Manila and surrounding provinces. Surging water washed away buildings and cars. Scores of people were killed and many are still missing.

President Gloria Arroyo called the disaster an "extreme event" that has strained the government's capabilities to the limit. She said rescue efforts will continue until all residents are accounted for.

Two days after the flooding, rescue and relief operations continue to be hampered by the lack of rubber boats and helicopters. Many victims are demanding answers from local authorities for the lack of advance warning and the slow response to the emergency. Victims said they were stranded on their rooftops for hours before help arrived.

Flood waters in some areas subsided Monday but thousands of homes are still without power.

The government has appealed for international humanitarian assistance. Vilma Cabrera, assistant secretary of the Philippine Social Welfare Department, said Monday her agency needs donations of basic necessities.

"Right now we need mats, blankets, mosquito nets, cooking utensils. We need hygiene kits and we need flashlights and lighting equipment," said Cabrera.

People have been warned about the danger of water-borne diseases. Schools are closed until Tuesday and many offices remain shut.

Storms lash the Philippines every year and tropical Storm Ketsana was not one of the strongest, but it brought very large amounts of rain. In Manila Saturday, a month's worth of rain fell in 12 hours.

Group reaches grateful Penans after rough, three-day journey - Star

By STEPHEN THEN

LONG TANYIT: After three days of hard work, a team of people managed to bring more than 10 tonnes of food to some 1,500 Penans who are facing acute food shortages in the Kapit Division.

About 10,000kg of rice and other essential foodstuff such as canned food, milk powder, sugar and salt arrived here and the nearby Long Lidem, Long Kajang and Long Abit.

These isolated settlements are more than 12 hours drive along a timber road from Bintulu town.

Essential item: Penan folk and children receiving packets of rice from relief aid workers in Long Lidem.

The food was delivered using a heavy-duty timber truck and a convoy of six four-wheel drives. The team was greeted with smiles, hugs and handshakes.

Long Tanyit chief Salu Ugat said he was grateful to God for answering the people’s prayers.

“Food shortages here are serious. It has happened several times this year already. We waited weeks for this food supply,’’ he said.

Long Lidem chief Naran Pua said the people were surprised that the team managed to make the journey.

“We thought we are being attacked when we suddenly saw the lorry and the 4WDs coming. This is the first time we are getting so much food. We have been facing food problems for six years,” he said.

Kind-hearted souls: The team of volunteers who made it to the settlements. With them is Father Ding (wearing batik).

The Miri Catholic Church, which is coordinating the relief aid collection, had two weeks ago received appeals for aid, saying the Penans had run out of rice and other food items.

Twelve volunteers from the Malaysian Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association, a non-governmental disaster and relief aid organisation, flew in from Kuala Lumpur after reading about the Penans’ plight.

The team, led by volunteer Captain K. Balasupramaniam, arrived in Bintulu on Wednesday and travelled to the Sungai Asap Resettlement Scheme in Bakun.

He met up with Reverend Father Sylvester Ding, who is coordinating the deployment of the food aid, and a village head Penghulu Saging Bit.

From Bakun, the team sought the help of a timber firm to help send 1,600 bags of rice and hundreds of boxes of dry food. The journey along the timber roads was difficult. The team faced problems like vehicle breakdown, bad weather and delays resulting from permit requirements to enter a logging concession area.

The team will now focus on bringing food supply to the Lusong Laku Penan settlement, SK Lusong Laku and the teachers living there.

The Penans in the Sarawak interior have been cut off from the outside world after a timber giant dismantled an iron bridge across the Sungai Linau because the area was going to be flooded for the Bakun Dam.

It is learnt that the company had placed several pieces of logs across the river for the people in Lusong Laku to use as a temporary bridge.

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Refugees From Russia-Georgia Conflict Might Never Go Home

By Sarah Marcus
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, August 11, 2009

TSEROVANI, Georgia -- Just off the highway between the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, and the city of Gori, epicenter of last year's war with Russia, lies this settlement of single-story, boxlike houses stretching toward the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains.

As Georgia marked the anniversary of the war this weekend with ceremonies and speeches, the internal refugees living here continued their daily struggle with the fallout of the fighting -- gathering in clusters to wait for humanitarian aid, searching in vain for jobs and managing the bittersweet memories of their lives before the conflict.

"I never expected this would happen," said Marina Dzhokhadze, 50, sitting in her basic, sparsely furnished home and describing how she had been forced to leave the South Ossetian village of Kemerti a year ago. "I am afraid that it will happen all over again. I pray that God will preserve us from another war."

Dzhokhadze is one of an estimated 30,000 people, mostly ethnic Georgians, who have been unable to return to their homes in the breakaway region of South Ossetia and the nearby area of Akhalgori, which was under Georgian control before the war but is now occupied by Russian forces.

Like many others, Dzhokhadze and her family, though not wealthy, enjoyed a comfortable existence in South Ossetia as farmers on fertile land. Now they struggle to make ends meet.

In an address to the country Friday night, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili paid tribute to internal refugees like Dzhokhadze and vowed to reunite the nation not by war but by "peacefully strengthening our democratic institutions, by constantly developing our economy."

A neatly lined collection of bright green and whitewashed houses, Tserovani is the largest of 36 settlements established by the Georgian government. The authorities won praise last year for quickly building the settlements before the onset of winter.

But today, the limits of the settlements are obvious. Almost all are located far from jobs that might be found in urban areas, while the houses sit on small plots that are all but useless for commercial farming.

As difficult as life is for residents in Tserovani, they at least live in structures that don't leak and are equipped with indoor toilets and running water. In other settlements, the houses are damp and as many as eight families share a tap.

"The living conditions are really bad here," said Neli Peruashvili, 53, a Georgian woman who fled her bomb-damaged house in the Ossetian village of Eredvi and now lives in a nearby settlement named Shavshebi. "We have no money. The water in the taps is too dirty to drink so the men have to bring clean water from the next village by hand."

In a nation suffering the effects both of war and the global financial crisis, most displaced by the fighting survive on humanitarian aid and monthly government subsidies of $16 per person because there are few jobs available. They joined a previous wave of more than 200,000 internal refugees from South Ossetia and the Black Sea region of Abkhazia who fled during the separatist wars fought in the 1990s after Georgia gained independence from the Soviet Union.

The Georgians who fled South Ossetia are coming to grips with the reality that they may never be able to return to homes and farmlands that they struggled for years to accumulate. The ethnic Ossetians, many of whom are married to Georgians, wonder when they will be able to see the relatives they left behind.

The South Ossetian authorities have made clear that Georgians who left are not welcome to return. But many of the estimated 6,800 people who fled homes in the Akhalgori region have been allowed to go back. Most, however, have been too frightened to stay for long.

"There is little security there. There are tanks in the streets, and if you speak Georgian, the Ossetians and Russians there dislike you," said Irma Basilashvili, 24, who fled the region in the days after the war as Ossetian militias looted homes and rumors of rape and other violence against Georgians circulated.

Though Russia signed a cease-fire pledging to withdraw troops to prewar positions and strengths, it has boosted its military presence in South Ossetia and refused to surrender Akhalgori. Russia says it is no longer bound by those promises because it has recognized South Ossetia as an independent state and Akhalgori as part of South Ossetia.

Addressing troops at a base not far from the Georgian border, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Saturday that Moscow would never withdraw its recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

"Some of our partners have an illusion that it's a temporary thing, some kind of maneuvering," he said. "Such decisions are made once and for all, and there is no way back."

Over the past week, Georgia and South Ossetia have traded accusations of mortar fire and shootings. Since the end of the war, nine civilians and 11 police officers have been killed in Georgian border areas, according to the Georgian government.

Some residents said they felt caught in a never-ending cycle of conflict.

Khatuna Kasradze, 39, first fled Tskhinvali, the South Ossetian capital, for the village of Ergneti during fighting between Ossetian and Georgian forces in the early 1990s. But then her new home was burned down by Ossetian militia in last year's war.

"Just as life was starting to improve a little bit, everything began again," she said, sitting in a small cottage she built with United Nations and European Union aid next to the ruined shell of her former house. "I don't think the situation will ever normalize."