Saipan Update & Dark Man Movie Review

Hi family and friends. So, in the last update I promised I would write a mini-review of the movie “Dark Man” (an early Liam Neeson film). The film was made in 1990 and by made, I mean cheaply. The opening scene in the movie is of two rival gangs meeting in warehouse. One gang has more members than the other and should be the obvious victor, but it turns into a blood bath as machine guns are brought out. This scene is hilarious because cars start appearing out of large crates in the warehouse, a man pulls off a fake leg to reveal a hidden machine gun in a move reminiscent of Quentin Terentino, and the infamous cigar cutter intimidation is brought out as the other gang’s boss loses his fingers. That was just the opening scene! The looks each actor gave during the confrontation were, to put it frankly, on par with a poorly done spaghetti western film. The next thing that happens is Liam Neeson’s character, who is a scientist trying to develop artificial skin, has an attempt on his life made by the crime boss and his hooligans. The attempt on his life reminds me of three movies: Ninja Turtles, Batman, and Phantom of the Opera. It reminds me of Ninja turtles and Batman because Liam Neeson’s character gets blown up and his face/body is deformed both by the experiment he was working on and the explosion in his lab similar to the disfigurement that the Joker and Shredder received. The funny part about this attempt on his life is that the “supposed” corpse is thrown from his lab by the explosion but in the movie it looks like a flying dummy in flames as it hits the harbor water nearby; the special effects could not be any cornier. The tie to the Phantom of the Opera is that the main character has a girl friend who after finding out that her love is still alive, wants him to understand that she would be there for him and would have understood. I will let you watch the movie to figure out how the romance ends. Oh, and the reason the movie is called “Dark Man” is because Liam Neeson’s character uses his formula for artificial skin to make masks that allow him to look like anybody, but the skin breaks down after a certain period of time and can only be formed in a lab that is in the dark due to the compounds used. The superhuman power the character Dark Man has is that because of his burns he can display super human strength when angered. The movie was made to be serious but due to the acting involved, the film’s budget, and the special effects it will do nothing but make you laugh.
Now about Saipan… Well I don’t have a whole lot to mention, however, I can tell you of a funny game I overhear my students playing in study hall that reminds me of their maturity level. The game is one based on “repeat after me.” In the game the student 1 will say something and their peer (student 2) must say whatever phrase student 1 told them to say. One I overheard the other day was as follows:
Student 1: Ok, you must say whatever I say regardless of what I say. The phrase you must say whenever I am done speaking is “I’m a man.”
Student 2: ok (giggle)
Student 1: You were invited to a party the other night.
Student 2: I’m a man.
Student 1: You went to play Halo with the guys because…
Student 2: I’m a man.
Student 1: You saw a beautiful woman there who you began to hit on because…
Student 2: I’m a man.
Student 1: Until she came up behind you and whispered in your ear…
Student 2: I’m a man.
Student 1 and 2: laughter, laughter, laughter


I hope you enjoyed the blog and that it made you laugh.
That is all for now, good night! Grant