Taken Away, Or Taken Aback?

Taken Away, Or Taken Aback?

                  Taken 3. The most recent release in this thrilling, action-packed series.  Starring Liam Neeson, this series covers a story of a man who always seems to be down on his luck.  The third movie to potentially wrap up the series as a trilogy, is no different.  Bryan Mills is down on his luck again (isn’t he always?) and has to find his way out of another sticky situation.  But the real question here is: As a serious fan or someone who has at least seen the prior two movies, is this third installment going to enhance or destroy the experience?

Is It Related?

                  Of course, most people who are fans of the series want to know if this movie would follow the same general plotline that they fell in love with.  Regardless to say, you have nothing to worry about.  This movie is no different from the rest in terms of plotline.  Bryan finds himself taking a job to help another man, and ends up putting his family in harms way (go figure).  The idea of Bryan finding trouble, then having to use his skills and various talents to save his family is ever present.  Without ruining too much of the movie however, it does take an interesting spin off of the regular idea.  The standard, “I will find you, and I will kill you” idea is pushed to the limits (as it would need to be in a third movie with the same type of storyline) and Bryan is faced with much more pain and turmoil this go around.  Of course, he faces this danger with his usual grim look and amazing count of facial expressions, similar to that of Kristen Stewart.  Of course, there is no lack of fight scenes, though it did seem to be more story based this time around.  The fight scenes also seemed a bit more lack-luster in comparison to the first two installments.  Obviously, there will be benefits and drawbacks to such focus on story.  The drama is REAL.  There is even less focus on Bryan during the course of the movie as well, covering his daughter Kim’s point of view.  It definitely adds a new perspective to the storyline.  All in all, the movie tends to stick mostly to its roots in a slightly new way.

What Do They Say?

                  Of course, many people would like to hear more than just my opinion.  There are plenty of other opinions out there, many of which are much more diverse views.  One of the reviews really smacks down on the interesting choice of dialogue sequence, though she does cover the fact that Neeson still sells the part.  She goes on to say that no matter what Neeson s doing, there is always an underlying tone to his actions that he is doing it all for his family.  On the upside, the fight scenes are well done and there is never any, “where did that one guy go?” feeling.  Megaton, the one in charge of creating all the fight scenes, did a great job in this aspect.  She rounds it all off stating that this is the weakest in the trilogy, but could still be worth a watch.

RELATED LINK: Why We Can't Wait

Do I Have An Opinion? Of Course I Do.

                  So, you heard some other views besides my own (though my views probably show through at times), but how do I really feel?  This movie is definitely the weakest of the trilogy, but still has its strengths.  The fight scenes are well constructed, but seem to be very constricted by the PG-13 limitations.  The dialogue is interesting at times, but all in all, the movie is worth a watch.  The movie keeps your attention decently well, even though some scenes are….interesting to say the least.  If you are a fan of the series, it would be a shame to skip out on the final piece, even if you may be slightly disappointed. 

Weird Statistics about daily life | Create infographics

Caribbean Adventure

If you ever find yourself cruising the Caribbean Sea and have nothing to do, I have managed to scrape together a list of some of my favorite beaches along the way. See to it that you stop in and see at least one of these magnificent works of nature.

Cable Beach:
This is a beautiful, long stretch of beach that can easily be almost deserted at times, found on the Bahamas. Most of the time, the water is calm, save a few jet skiers. There are rental places along the beach, so there is always room for adventure here.

Colonial Beach:
Probably my personal favorite beach among the list.Located on Paradise Island, this beach is almost always completely deserted. It is one of the most beautiful locations, though; flaunting plenty of palm trees, expanses of white, sandy beach, and several alcoves to see marine life, and watch the tides come in. All around calming and gorgeous place.

Baie Loungue:
Or more specifically, Long Beach. Long Beach can be a major tourist spot, since it is in the main chain of beaches on the French side of Saint Maarten, but that does not take away from this place. The beautiful white sand, no lack of stands for activities, and food and drink all around; this beach leaves nothing to the imagination.

Anse Marcel:
Another of of the large group of tourist destinations, but much more family oriented and less crowded. This is the opposite end of the spectrum for tourists to go on Saint Maarten, more for peace and quiet without giving up too much on extra curriculars. There are still plenty of adventures to go on at this chain of beaches.

Coki Point:
Found on the lovely island of St. Thomas, This is an all around beach, with great places to snorkel, amazing areas to wade out into the bay, or go kayaking or jet skiing on open ocean. This beach is usually pretty spread out tourist wise, but can get crowded from time to time since it is a small beach.

These are my 5 personal recommendations for places to visit on a trip around the Caribbean. Hope you get to visit at least one!

Freedom Is Movement

                  What does it mean to be free? To be free to move? Why “freerunning”? What is parkour?

                  All of these are questions I have been asked when I explain my hobbies. Parkour and freerunning is the way to move through an environment as quickly and efficiently as possible and was designed originally for military and rescue service. Though it started as some obstacle course run, three men changed it into something great: Raymond Belle, David Belle, and Sébastien Foucan. Even the name derives from these men. Raymond had a phrase that he always used when the father and son would practice: “Le parcours”, meaning “the course”. Raymond claimed that their course was the world, and they would conquer each boundary in France. They broke own personal boundaries, set new goals, and broke those too. The father-son duo teamed up with several others to develop the grueling way of life known as parkour. The name changed happened, of all places, on a film set. David showed a video of parkour to a friend of his, Hubert Koundé, and he suggested to change a few letters to make the word sound stronger. Thus, the word “parkour” was born.

                  In the mind of a traceur/traceuse, a male/female who does parkour, what we do is an art. The ability to climb buildings and scale walls with no equipment is an accomplishment not many others can have a claim to. We train hard, and play hard. Though many people just see parkour as “jumping and climbing things,” it is much more than that. To someone that has never done parkour, I could not explain the feeling more than you complete freedom. You feel like you can do anything and there is nothing stopping you to just keep going, striving for more, and reaching for the sky. The only judge or coach is yourself, and your only responsibility is to focus on what you are doing, and enjoy every second of it. You have the ability to make your own path. This is the true freedom of movement.

                  Now, there are millions of traceurs across the globe. We are always growing and expanding, as a group and on personal levels. The need to become better, faster, stronger, and more fluent fuels the blood in our veins to continue to push forward through our mistakes. We push forward through scraped bodies,
bruised egos, and broken bones for pure love of self-advancement and out of pride. We will not quit no matter the circumstances. We will continue to better ourselves and our abilities. Though we may not be some French firefighters working to rescue someone from a burning building, we have taken this art form and done something that David never could have dreamed of. We created a family. Go to any gym across the U.S. and say that you do parkour, and there is someone bound to let you in with open arms. The ability to create such a close-knit group by only sharing one major thing in common at the start. That is where the true freedom is. Our freedom.