This action flick, mimicking the style of the Bourne Trilogy, adds to it an element very close to the hearts of those with someone they care about.  Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) will do anything to get his daughter back, and he has all the skills he needs to make that possible.  The premise of that father-daughter relationship gives it an edge over similar action flicks.  In fact, I felt the story was far more compelling than the Bourne Trilogy and other similar movies.  I lost interest in Jason Bourne after a while, but thanks to Liam Neeson’s acting I stuck with Bryan Mills through every gut wrenching moment. 

To be honest, Liam Neeson's acting isn't as good as Schindler's List, but this is definitely one of his more memorable roles.  In Taken, he takes (no pun intended) the audience on a roller coaster ride of action and emotion convincing the audience that he is both an ex-CIA operative and a father.  He really brings alive the intensity of the character.  As a matter of fact, I don’t think they could have made a better pick for this role.  I would put this movie in his top 5 of all time, and with his long career that says a lot.  Still, you never know what he’ll do next.  

As mentioned before much of the action in the movie is reminiscent of the Bourne Trilogy and similar movies.  Expect to see fast bone breaking martial arts mixed with blazing car chases and loud gun blasts.  However, the action does have its own unique feel to it that you won’t find anywhere else.  I personally found it to be some of the best Hollywood has churned out.  It isn’t too over the top like Wanted, but it doesn’t drag along.  Once you add the very human element of the story to the final package, I’d say director Pierre Morel deserves recognition for a job well done.  I will certainly be watching his career more closely. 

Finally, let’s look at the few things that made it lose a star.  Understand that when I think of a five star action flick I’m thinking of a movie like The Dark Knight.  The first reason why I wouldn’t give it a five out of five is that it focuses too much on Liam Neeson’s character.  The movie does it so much so that you really cannot make a good judgment on the other characters’ performances.  It may work for Castaway, but for a spy action flick I personally require another character to add to the story.  The other problem I had with the movie is that, like most other action flicks, the main character just seemed too good to be true.  I for one like it when the protagonist has a few more character flaws.  I also prefer it when the protagonist gets hurt a little more often as well.  Both these issues threaten to take the human element out of a film. 

It should be noted that the movie definitely isn’t “fun for the whole family.”  The movie contains scenes depicting sex trafficking.  These scenes contain no nudity or sexuality, but they are still very disturbing.  More than one of the audience members where shocked at what they saw. 

In closing, there hasn’t been much in terms of action flicks this year.  Still, I’m hopeful that Taken will remain amongst the best action movies of the year.  Four out of Five Stars.

In light of the recent election, I feel that it is necessary for me to discuss my decision to vote for McCain.  You see both candidates had their ups and downs.  If I had a choice I would have preferred that both parties pick new candidates.  However, there was one issue that stood out in my mind: abortion.

You see abortion is one of the greatest moral dilemmas of our time.  In fact, the soon to be overturned Roe v Wade decision is going to be a sad day for me.  I understand the opposing viewpoints so please don't assume that I am talking out of my ass.  The facts as I see them are that life begins when the egg is impregnated and cells start dividing.  Thus, any procedure that kills the cells after that point is just plain murder.  I hate to use that term, but I understand that to have the viewpoints that I have I must see things this way.

However, there is something much more important to consider in my political beliefs.  I recently graduated college, and since then I have come to believe that our culture values sex over responsibility.  That being the case, I see abortion as just a cop out for those who have been irresponsible or don't want to accept responsibility.  I ask, "Why do these people deserve a way out of a situation they got themselves into?"  It is pretty much a universal truth that sex leads to kids.  Even if protection is used there is ALWAYS a chance that someone might get pregnant.  You ALWAYS take a risk when you have sex, and people ALWAYS know this before they get into it.  So, I ask now, "If they know the risks then why do they deserve a cop out?"

The truth is that no one deserves a cop out in this situation.  Some people just do not want to take responsibility for their actions.  Since that is the case we now have people who support murder just so they don't have to be responsible.  If you fall in this category then you are a coward, on top of being a murderer.  I hate to use absolutes, but it is the honest truth.

On a side note, perhaps we should all consider why so many people encourage us to wait for marriage before intimate behavior ensues.  Maybe it's because someone will be there for you if pregnancy happens.  I mean how many men duck out when they hear the word pregnant?  How many married men duck out?  Think about it.

Finally, any argument about being unable to take care of the child once born is complete crap in my opinion.  There are plenty of people out there who are willing to adopt.  In fact, many people will pay for the costs of the pregnancy just so they can have a healthy child.  Please be responsible and put the child up for adoption if you do not want it.


Note: In the rare situations of pregnancy complications and pregnancy from rape, the moral dilemma is much different as are my views in those situations.

Unfortunately nowadays I seem to see less and less of a quality that I believe is essential to living a mentally healthy life, forgiveness.  The truth is I don't think people appreciate how much it actually helps them to forgive those that have wronged them.  It lets us continue our life without hanging on to those bad moments.  Let me elaborate.

The greatest story of forgiveness that I know involves the famous serial killer Gary Ridgeway, also known as the Green River Killer, and the father of one of his victims, Robert Rule.  During Gary Ridgeway’s sentencing hearing all of his victim’s families where allowed to exercise their right to speak out against him.  The hearing was recorded on video.

Hatred and rage were in the air.  I had never seen true hate till I saw the look on the families of the victims.  Worst of all, Gary Ridgeway didn’t even flinch once.  He is what you call a textbook sociopath.  He didn’t give a shit about anyone.  A family member could say anything on that podium, and he wouldn’t be fazed at all.  However, there was one man that was able to finally reach the sociopaths heart, Robert Rule.  Instead of yelling out hate speech like all the other victim’s family members, he did something that no one else could muster the courage to do.  Robert Rule took the stand and forgave Gary Ridgeway for murdering his daughter Linda.  It was at this moment that Gary Ridgeway finally broke down in tears and succumbed to one of the most beautiful things on this earth, human kindness.  For one sociopath it wasn’t hatred that made him remember what it means to be human, it was forgiveness.

If anyone actually reads this journal I want to remind them to think of the tears Mr. Ridgeway finally shed.  Always remember that scalding hate towards someone who hurt you won’t make you feel better or right the wrong.  Instead know that forgiveness can make even the coldest heart melt, as well as free you from a memory that can haunt your life.

Job searching is a pain in the ass.  I want a job.  I am a qualified, motivated, ethical, and hard working person.  Unfortunately, my career interests have yet to get back to me as far as even an interview is concerned, let alone a job offer.  It isn't that the job market is terrible either; there were more job opening than I expected in my areas of interest.  In fact, at least one place seemed a little desperate to find people.  In my opinion, the issue is that I want a job with the federal government and that takes a long time to get.  So, I am stuck either waiting or getting a "filler" job (which currently is an issue since I may move back in with my parents at the end of July). This puts me in a predicament.  Right now, patience and perseverance are the two ideals I have to hold on to.

My father thinks I should expand my search to places in the private sector.  It just doesn't feel right to me though.  Let me elaborate.  I am currently looking for a career within the intelligence community.  I don't want to be James Bond, but I find the work of intelligence analysts to be quite interesting.  Interesting to the point where I have decided that it is what I want to do for a living.

To elaborate more, this interest in intelligence work stems from a presentation a CIA recruiter gave at my school this past March.  It was the best presentation I have ever seen, bar none.  The recruiter was an incredible speaker and the information was compelling.  I had never really given much thought about a career in intelligence.  Since then I have started reading non fiction books on the CIA and intelligence work.  I can honestly say that I have fallen in love with this area of work.  Not only is this area of work intriguing, but it is also challenging.  Not to mention just researching this area has opened me up to politics and world news.  Again these are areas I never thought I would be interested in, but now I am finding that I want to know more.  I kinda like that feeling.

What really sold this line of work to me was something the recruiter said.  When he talked about his time working as a case officer in the CIA he mentioned how his work never felt like just any old job to him.  He was serving his country, and that it was made his work special.  It was the aspect of his job that made it such that he wanted to get up every morning to go to work not matter how difficult the work has been or will be.

For me that is the type of job I want.  I have never been someone who wanted to make money.  I want a career that makes me want to go to work in the morning, no matter what is in store.  Serving my country in a challenging occupation like intelligence could quite possibly be it.

For anyone who thinks that the recruiter was just phrasing his words that way to make me want to join, I would say that you weren't there.  The sincerity in his voice was real.  So real that its what has been compelling me to do the research and pray for a job in that field.