My Coke Fest

Last year Metallica headlined the CocaCola Massive Mix. This year, it's renamed to My Coke Fest, and features Evanesence, Guns N' Roses and Hoobastank. I am a big fan of Evanesence, so I am definitely going ... and with Golden Circle tickets at R550, it's going to be a tight squeeze. Aparently, there will be a total of 10 bands on the line up; and I am hoping the other bands include Springbok Nude Girls (in their now original line up), Seether and Karen Zoid. In fact, I am quite sure the Nudies will be on the bill ...

Movie: Apocalypto

Yes the movie is violent, and blood flows from begining to end. But it is also a beautiful movie, and it is one of the best action movies I have ever seen. Like Braveheart, Apocalypto can't be relied on as a historic record; and many of the cultural aspects, including the human sacrifices are overblown, and most probably in accurate.

This is not a movie about a clash of cultures, but something much simpler, resembling what can be considered very much a classic action movie plot. The hero is exposed to a great wrong (Mayan headhunters rape and pillages his village, and enslaves most of the adult villagers including the hero). The slaves are now taken to the main city, and the hero manages, against all odds, to escape, and tries to go back to his wife and child. He is off course pursued by the Mayans and he has to not only escape, but get rid of the threat as much as possible.

Yes it's violent, but it is great entertainment.

Movie: Kairo (Pulse)

The Japanese Film festival is on at the V&A,and it's free. Simon and I went to watch a movie, not even knowing (or caring) what the movie was about. The concept is pretty simple (and easy to understand if you have seen other Japanese Anime/Manga etc) ... after death all souls (from all types of animals) go to one place. That place has a finite capacity, and thus one day it will over flow, and then it will over flow to a different space - ours, and it has begun. In between that, there is also a bit of interesting philosophising: most religions with a heaven usually promise a life of fulfilment. However, what if it was the opposite - what if, eternity is just boring, and completely devoid of any company and completely lonesome.

And as ghosts start appearing, people who meet the ghosts are torn by this realisation, and usually get shocked to death that no one really cares; and no one will care. And to compound problems, it has spread over to the electronic systems, and every one is becoming infected.

It is a slow, and rather haunting movie. It's not horror through blood and gore, but rather of the bone chilling variety ... where you get scared by the reactions of the characters and the environment. And as people disappear, the new empty environment itself is a nightmare ... like the empty subway train in Tokyo, or the deserted streets. In a way, that is more terrifying.