Kill Bill: A Bloody Good Movie


Kill Bill stars Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Viveca Fox, Michael Madsen, David Carradine, Sonny Chiba, Julie Dreyfus, Gordon Liu and Chiaki Kuriyama. Directed by Quentin Tarantino.

I've seen it.

What can I say? Kill Bill Vol. 1 is a film that is pretty odd thanks to some chronological backtracking (the opening scene actually happens AFTER the finale), lots of homages to stuff like the 70s, Bruce Lee and martial arts films, samurai and heroic bloodshed theatre and, yes, anime.
It's a tale of revenge, plain and simple, in black and white and red. Uma Thurman plays 'The Bride', a former assassin who is betrayed by her former boss and comrades when she decides to retire and marry. Despite being beaten to within a centimeter of her life AND shot in the head, she survives to wake up from a coma four years later. After willing her formerly-paralyzed body back into action, she sets out to hack and slash her retribution whatever the cost.

KB is a live-action anime, set in a world where the police don't seem to be worth shit, where EVERYONE seems to carry a sword (Uma carries her pigsticker openly on a PLANE! And this after 9-11?) The violence is bloody and often gruesome, which leads me to believe that this film will either be butchered itself by censors when (or if) it is released here in Manila, or be given a Mature rating. However, from my desensitized senses there is really nothing in the film any more gory than cartoony fountains of blood and severed limbs- cut off body parts are quick and the shots don't really linger, so I've seen worse in terms of stomach-turning gore. Of course, this is coming from a guy who's quite used to Asian films like Ricky-Oh, Versus or the anime Ninja Scroll.
Suffice to say that this is a movie NOT for the squeamish, and I'd save it for watching with barkadas and mates, not with the family.
As for the story, it's pretty simple but the proof is in the execution. This film oozes style and attitude, which is cool (the best and coolest part being O-ren Ishii's entrance at the House of Blue Leaves). Some scenes could have been trimmed down a bit, but there was never really any dragging part.
Anyway, that aside, I enjoyed the film from beginning to end. Uma Thurman proves her worth not only as a solid lead but as a kick-ass action heroine (DAMN she's nasty); and I found the rest of the cast quite excellent. Lucy Lui is perfect as Yakuza goddess O-ren Ishii, and her character's anime origin (produced by Production IG, makers of the Ghost in the Shell movie) is both violent and gorgeously stylized.

Still, I have to say that the main reason I was so stoked to watch this movie was to see Chiaki Kuriyama's Go Go Yubari in action... and I have to say I was not disappointed. The fight between O-ren's mace-wielding schoolgirl bodyguard and The Bride is brutal, lethally graceful and eerily presented without music, making every hit and strike bite like crazy. And of course, Go Go gets to look gorgeous AND evil the whole time. I am quite sure that countless guys will be having killer Japanese schoolgirl fetishes from now on, despite a pretty 'penetrating' scene in the film... heh. Chiaki had BETTER win the 'Best Villain' and 'Best Fight' awards from the MTV Movie Awards next year or there is no justice in this world.


Contrary to rumours, none of the Kill Bill cast were killed in the making of the movie .

DARN Chiaki's cute...

As for the rest of the bloody finale, it was a whirlwind of death and swordplay, and I have to say I think the bloodiness and brutality of this BATTLE just has to break or set a benchmark somewhere. It kinda went on a bit too long, but in the end it was fine, and serves as a good penultimate event to the finale.
Kill Bill Vol. 1 ends with a cliffhanger, but really it feels like a full movie thanks to the intensity of the action; you'll want a breather after all that. I just wonder how Mr. Tarantino is going to top the stuff in this film in the next installment, due in theaters six months from now. This movie's a keeper, and I am going to see this in the movie house whether it's cut up or not, when it eventually arrives. And when the genuine DVD arrives next year, it is MINE.

SIGLO

Last night the gang convened at UCC Coffee at The Podium to talk about stuff, and one of the points we talked about was that it was time to announce the secret Project 100 thing we've been working on for the past few weeks. Well, here it is.
SIGLO AKA Project One Hundred, is an illustrated anthology of stories set in the Philippines, in various decades from the 1900s to the year 2000. Ten stories will be featured, worked on individually or in a writer-artist team by our group along with several new and young faces in the field of local comics.
Included in Siglo's lineup of creators are Dean Alfar, Nikki Alfar, Vin Simbulan, Arnold Arre, Jason Banico, Honoel Ibardolaza, Andrew Drilon, Elbert Or, Carl Vergara and myself. Along with us will be several surprise guests who grace the pages of our little project with their art.
The overall theme of this first release will be Freedom.

Perhaps our gang's most spontaneous yet driven project yet, Siglo was conceptualized in a night in a discussion on a sidewalk, the talent pool filled in within a week and development given less than a month and a half for stories and art. For some reason, the Muse of Comic Books blessed this undertaking and so the book will see print this December, along with a brace of other illustrated works coming out very soon.

Whew! That's that. Siglo is coming. Wait for it!

Voices of the Wind

From Ain't it Cool News: The latest anime film by Hayao Miyazaki to receive the full Hollywood-style voice dub is the ecological epic, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Lending their vocal talents will be Patrick "The line must be drawn HERE" Stewart, Uma "Wiggle your big toe" Thurman and Natalie "I was not elected to let my people suffer and die while you argue in a committee" Portman.
Previous Miyazaki features dubbed with high-profile talent include Princess Mononoke (with Minnie Driver and Claire Danes), Spirited Away (Daveigh Chase, Jason Marsden) and Castle in the Sky (Mark Hamill, Anna Paquin).

SNORE

When I get short of sleep, I tend to doze off on long drives. It's a fitful dozing; I basically just try to rest my eyes, and I hover between sleep and getting roused when my elbow falls off the taxi window-sill. It's worse when I get woken up by my own SNORE. A big freaky NGORK. Ick.

Good thing the only other person within earshot is the taxi driver. Heh.

Groggy

I stayed up till 5:30 this morning finishing Nikki Alfar's story for Project 100. I finished it, and I am proud of it, which is a good sign that it is nicely done. Heh. Unfortunately the guys and girl in the group have to take my word on that for now since my frickin' CDR-RW burner suddenly chose today to go on the fritz. GAAAHHH!!!

Now I am stuck burner-less and with a line of pages that eventually need to be seared onto a CD-R for submission within the next couple of weeks. I really can't fathom having to lug the drive all the way to Greenhills or wherever to have it fixed; I am much more inclined to throwing money (just a little) at this problem and getting a brand-new (albeit cheap) CD burner drive, perhaps this weekend if the old drive doesn't shape up. Sigh.

Anyway, it's now on to MY own Project 100 story; have to take this out within the next few days so that I can finish it by next week in preparation for my next priority, Angel Ace Next. Just a little more effort... You can do it, MAD...

Ragnarok


Myung-Jin Lee's art simply ROCKS.

The latest gaming sensation, Ragnarok Online, comes alongside a comic series released by Tokyopop (and soon by Summit) that features simply spectacular art. But it's not manga style, nor is it from Japan. The wonderful characters drawn in wonderful detail in Ragnarok are from Korea, courtesy of artist Myung-Jin Lee. Apparently, Korean comics are called manhwa, not manga. Despite this, I really like Ragnarok's artwork, thanks to beautiful females, lavish action scenes and detailed panels. Over the past few days I've picked up Ragnarok graphic novels from Comic Quest, and it looks like I'm in for the long haul. The art in the volumes I have (6 and 7) are spectacular, and I hope it remains so throughout (though I read that the first volumes weren't as good).
As for the story, Ragnarok is about a war between gods and mortals. The wolf goddess Fenris is reincarnated as a beautiful warlock, who sets off on a quest to find the mortal avatar of the god Balder. Balder's destiny is to bring about the Age of Mortals, a new time when man can live beyond the power of the fickle deities. In order to prevent this, the Valkyries, servants of Freya, the goddess of death and beauty, are unleashed. If the gods have their way, their rule will continue for another thousand years!
The Ragnarok comics seem to take off from the RPG, seeing as how there are character stats for the various heroes and villains at the start of each volume. Cool.
Wonderful art, a simple but exciting story and cool characters- even if you don't play the game, check out the manga- er, manhwa, for great sword-slashing, spellcasting fantasy action fun.

Matrix Redemption

I love The Matrix, or to be precised, the original film in this cyber-kungfu trilogy. I mean, the presentation was flawless, redefining coolness (and starting the black leather fetish of Hollywood) and introducing the magic of bullet-time and all that jazz. The characters were cool (Trinity was a goddess) and Agent Smith was the most memorable villain in recent memory (must be Hugo Weaving's drawl).
Reloaded, however, holds the distinction probably of being the most disappointing sequel ever, in that it actually caused countless filmgoers to lose their liking for the franchise. Yep, Reloaded had it's sucky parts (which I will not go into here), which overwhelmed the cooler bits. Even so, I personally found the film fairly entertaining, and I am definitely looking forward to seeing Revolutions this November.
The endgame is here, and if the trailers and features online are to be believed, we're going to see what everything is all about. The Truth about the Matrix, Zion, Neo, The One and the gobbledy-goo that Architect dude was spouting. There's going to be loads of action, of course; the siege of Zion complete with battlesuits, hovercraft, guns blazing and 250,000 tentacled Sentinels closing in for the kill (oddly enough, Return of the King also has 250,000 orcs attacking Minas Tirith... how's that for synchronicity?). Not all the action will take place in the 'real world'; Trinity and Morpheus will have to cross swords once again with The Merovingian and Persephone in order to complete a pivotal quest. Neo will face Smith(s) once again in a battle which apparently will NOT be limited to the ground.
There are tons of hypothesis and speculations hovering around as to how The Matrix will end, or what it really is all about. I for one am quite curious to see what the Wachowskis have up their sleeves to save their franchise. And it all comes to an end this November. Zowie!

Smelly cab, smeeeellly caaab...

That's what I rode home in last night. A men's locker room on wheels. An armpit full of day-old sweat and grime in the guise of a taxi. I couldn't tell if the musky odor came from the seats, the sides or the driver... maybe from all. It was that baaaad... It was so impressionable that I took a bath upon reaching home. Gah.

Anyway, spent the evening at the Blood Bank and had dinner with Vin and Dean (who left after a bit to spend time with his family), and then watched with morbid fascination the utterly hilarious Japanese film, Versus. Lots of mobster-shooting, leather coat-swinging, karate kicking, zombie fighting, girl bashing (a feminist film this ain't), gun pointing, stand-offing, limb-severing fun. Darn, maybe I should get that DVD from Vin after all. Heh-heh...

Danger Girl


Martial arts action, intrigue and a butt-kicking, scantily-clad heroine. Sounds good to me...

After the release of Angel Ace Next, we're going give Angel a little vacation and shift the spotlight on another character. Kai Mishima has always been my secret, guilty-pleasure favorite character, and sometime next year I am going to give her the exposure (heh) she deserves. She'll be starring in her own solo comic, Kai: K.I.A., to be released sometime next year.
After the debacle in Angel Ace Again, Kai was 'demoted' because of her failure (explaining her skimpier 'training' uniform), and soon finds herself training with the dregs of the SIVA organization, and going on missions where she's not necessarily expected to return (hence the K.I.A. subtitle)!

We're going to rev up the fan service on this one, far more than we ever dared with our main Angel Ace book (which will please a lot of red-blooded guys out there); no hentai though. Expect a bit of Danger Girl crossed with a few parts ALIAS and Agent AIKA. WOOHOO!

Anyway, we'll be working on this as soon as we can. Wait for it!

Full Metal Alchemist


Heavy-duty fantasy anime action!

I was able to get a gaggle of new anime over the weekend, but the best hands-down has to be the intriguingly-named fantasy-action series, Full Metal Alchemist.
Well, this new series is set in a world where both fantasy and science mix; the general culture, setting, clothing and architecture resembles that of other fantasy anime/RPG (in fact, there's a game version of FMA in development). Anyway, in this world, Alchemy is a form of magic- alchemists can, by inscribing runes on the ground called arrays, transmute objects. They can transform things into other things, or repair damaged goods. While powerful, alchemy is bound by the laws of nature- you have to give as much as you get- this is the Law of Conservation that governs the use of alchemy.
The first episode begins with two young boys, Edward and Alphonse Elric, drawing an intricate array on the ground. The spell they cast is taboo and the price they pay for doing what they do is severe- Ed loses an arm and a leg, while Al... well, Al loses MORE.

After the quite graphic prologue, we come upon the two brothers years later. The older brother, blonde-haired, handsome but diminuative Edward Elric is the titular Full Metal Alchemist. He's now a nationally-recognized alchemist of the highest rank despite his young age- think Mao from Cooking Master Boy but with magic. But of course, thanks to the incident years ago, Ed has to use a special robot arm and leg called automail to move around. But if you thought that Ed has it bad, younger sibling Al lost his WHOLE body. Yep, Al was transformed into a living suit of armor. Together, the brothers go on a quest to reclaim the flesh that was taken from them, through the rare and legendary Philosopher's Stone.

This is a pretty cool new series, and there are a lot of intriguing mysteries that are teasingly held back. What was the spell the brothers cast? What were they trying to create that cost them so much? What happened since then? Ed and Al are also apparently involved with their world's military (though they claim to be working for themselves), and an eerie group of baddies apparently named after the Seven Deadly Sins are stalking them from the shadows.

Full Metal Alchemist is a good show, judging from the first couple of episodes. Despite the somewhat light look, the overall feel is serious (given the premise), and there are some pretty dark and mature themes touched upon pretty early in the episodes, including the futility of resurrection and corruption and deception behind organized religion. The action is pretty well-done, with lots of pyrotechnics and impressive magic thrown around as Ed and Al kick butt with their impressive powers. The animation, by Studio Bones, is excellent with cool character designs. The look brings to mind anime like Soul Taker- cute but moody and atmospheric.

From the first two episodes, I can tell this show is something special. Check out Full Metal Alchemist when you can for some heavy-duty anime goodness.

It's a mall world after all.

Despite my resolve to NOT join the crowds that will surely clog the insides of Megamall this weekend... I did. Well, at least today I did. Anyway, it was on the way and... well... I at least resolved to NOT spend any of my hard-earned cash on this blatant scheme to sell. But withdraw I did and when I walked through the doors of the climate-controlled inner world I was at once a SHOPPER. Darn.
Anyway, I got myself a couple MORE T-shirts from Spoofs Inc. (Mahahaha), a new belt and FINALLY the new stocks from Comic Quest. Got the second issue of Street Fighter by Udon Press, which is still good but DAMN it really IS the same old storyline Capcom has been telling for the past ten years. Street Fighter I guess can never outgrow Ryu, Ken, Akuma, Bison and Shadaloo, Chun-Li's quest for her father, Guile's quest for Charlie, yada-yada-yada... Sigh. At least the art's great and there's a cool (albeit indecisive) fight between Chun-Li and bad girl Cammy drawn by Adam Warren. The other comic I got was the latest issue of Blade of the Immortal (probably the only real series I am still collecting these days). Also got a Slayers Special comic, which is pretty cool.

I have resolved to try and spend most, if not all of tomorrow at home to finish Project 100. Perhaps on Sunday I can go out and check to see if there are any new DVDs (PLEEEEAAASSSE have a Kill Bill disc ready...) or anime and gaming. Have to keep the ol' instincts in check if I wanna get things done though.

Too bad The Sanctum doesn't have a mast to tie me up against. AAARHH... I hear the mall calling...

Busy Weekend Ahead

It's going to be crazy tomorrow, and it's not just because the US President's coming to the country to spend 8 hours or so under the Manila sky. It's not just because all the major malls in my regular haunts are having HUGE SALES.
I have to try and finish the pages for Project 100 this weekend. It's a daunting task, though not impossible. I still have about fifteen pages to go, both for Nikki's story and my own entry. And when I say finished, I mean everything from pencilling, inking, rendering and lettering. Burn it onto a CD and send it out to Carl next week. Only when this thing is over can I totally concentrate on my own personal baby, Angel Ace Next, of which I have at least 30 pages to render and letter, and covers to conceptualize and execute.
And I still have to do some work-related stuff (perhaps on Sunday) which suddenly popped up out of nowhere (GAH!).

Tonight I get my stash of comics from the Blood Bank (AKA Comic Quest), and provisions (Junk food) to stash in The Sanctum. Then it's on to pencilling and inking panels till dawn. That is, if I can resist snoozing the whole time or playing Xbox games. Yipe.

Crazy. Crazy. Crazy. CRAZY.

Pow Wow

Last night the guys (Nikki abandoned us in favor of Alias), including me, Dean (whom I dubbed "The Yoshinoya Kid"), Carl, Jason, Vin and Andrew talked about stuff ranging from Project 100 to a projected Christmas party where we're all supposed to get plastered with alcohol. Ah, Christmas. If all our projects push through- Project 100, Angel Ace NEXT, Cherry Blossom High (Psicom) and the Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah compilation, this will be a GRAND comic Christmas.

Crossing fingers and praying that all goes well...

Cut me some slacks!

My mom went to a tiangge (Hi, Mom!) and got me some Dockers 'mobile' pants, which I am told is in fashion these days. I think they're so named since there is a special pocket at the side along the thighs of the pants for your cellphone. Now, I really won't ever put my phone in there, but I can put keys, little knick-knacks and other stuff quite snugly. For a while we troubled over how long or how short we should have the pants cut; I really didn't like having it too long and have me step on my own pants-legs. Then again, it shouldn't be too short that you can see too far up my leg (always a horror) when I walk or sit. I'm just hoping I don't look silly in them, 'cause after wearing almost exclusively denim jeans all these years, I feel pretty naked in them... My only other gripe is that the pants I have aren't the special 'water proof' ones that have tiny particles embedded in the fibers that repel liquids like rainwater off glass. That would have been cool to see... Heh...

Angel Ace Guest Art


A refreshing new take on Angel, by Jeremy Arambulo.


Kai looks like she's going to do something naughty...

Here are some pieces of Angel Ace character art done by US-based indie comic artist Jeremy Arambulo. These and several others (along with a 12-page story) will be coming out in the upcoming Angel Ace Next this December. I think both pieces really show off the characters excellently, and I just LOVE Kai's somewhat naughty expression and pose. My only disappointment is that Jeremy's story, The Gift doesn't have much girlfighting action; perhaps in a future Angel Ace issue... or the projected KAI:KIA comic... Hmmm...

Killer Schoolgirl


Despite being able to look thoroughly cute AND evil in her films, Miss Kuriyama is a normal teen who loves videogames and anime. DAMN I love her.

I LOVE Chiaki Kuriyama, aka Go Go Yubari from the recent no. 1 blockbuster film by Quentin Tarantino, KILL BILL. And I think so do a LOT of other people since my blog's hit counts just went up about 200 percent thanks to searchers looking for info on this Japanese sweetie.
Anyway, Miss Kuriyama got the role for the schoolgirl assassin/bodyguard to Lucy Liu's O-ren Ishi character thanks to her previous performance as the lovely but dangerous Takako Chigusa in the critically-acclaimed Japanese film by Kinji Fukasaku, Battle Royale. I found a cool, lengthy interview which relates her preparations for Kill Bill, experiences on set (she clocked QT with that ball and chain!), friendships with the other actors and plans for the future.


THE scene to watch in Kill Bill.

Some extra bits: Miss Kuriyama turned 19 last October 10, on the same day as the Kill BIll premiere in the States (What a coincidence!). In her role as Takako Chigusa in Battle Royale, Chiaki wore a yellow tracksuit similar to what Uma wears in KB. In the original Kill Bill script, there was another character named Yuki Yubari who was Go Go's younger sister. The younger girl had a whole chapter in the film to herself as she goes after Uma Thurman's Bride character with a submachine gun. Unfortunately, the whole character was taken out since the film was already too long at that point (besides, who can top Chiaki?). Battle Royale fans will no doubt notice the 'reenactment' of Chiaki's killer scene in BR in Kill Bill, Tarantino-style.

Oh, and one last bit of trivia: Her name translated into english means, get this... "Chestnut Mountan filled with Brightness". Hoho...
You can read a long and cool interview with Miss Kuriyama here.

Hacking away in the Sanctum


Take up a heroic quest and kill a LOT of monsters. And defenseless crates.

Last night I hurried straight home after work with the goal of devoting the whole night to Project 100. Let me just say that the commute really drains strength from a body, so even though I got home at just a little after 6 PM, all I could do was just flop into bed after turning up the climate control to frigid. Ahhh...
Anyway, after a nice dinner of spicy tuna, rice and corn soup (NEVER underestimate the power of soup), I hunkered down to doing the pages of our group's 'mercenary' endeavor. And gladly, I was able to pencil three pages, which all boils down to four pencilled pages and one totally finished page.
After which I decided to take a break and play my new Xbox game, Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes! Yay!
DnD:Heroes is a pretty straight hack-and-slash dungeon crawler in same vein as Diable, though it is far closer in look, feel and play to the console-only Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance game (which is itself an excellent game).
The story is pretty basic; 150 years ago in the fantasy kingdom of Baele, an evil force threatened to extinguish all life. This menace was confronted by four valiant heroes, and in a climactic duel to the death, they managed to defeat their enemy. Unfortunately, this victory came at the cost of their lives as well.
Now, a century and a half later, the ancient evil stirs once more, raised by a group of misguided, ambitious clerics. In order to save the kingdom, the heroes who fought the evil have been resurrected to fight once more.


Predictably, the elven wizardess is a hottie.

A game for one to four players (taking full advantage of the Xbox's 4-player ports), DnDH puts you and your mates in the boots of a bold human fighter, a rock-hard dwarven cleric, a beautiful and powerful elven wizardess or a stealthy (and cute) halfling rogue. After you get used to the controls (which is pretty easy), you're off into the monster-infested dungeons, killing monsters, throwing spells, using special powers and feats, trying on armor and weapons you find and steadily working your way to the final Boss.
DnDH is a pretty game, with quite nicely-detailed character models, settings and monsters. The spell effects are pretty cool and the sounds are well-done. There are some CG cinematics and the story is just enough to keep you hacking away. The controls are excellent, and you'll be customizing your character in weaponry, armor and skills to make your own badass hero/heroine in no time. It's really not that far away from Baldur's Gate, which itself is getting a sequel that's due out very soon as well. Action fans will do well to sign up for this exciting and addictive hack and slash adventure.

Okay, back to Project 100. REALLY! Heh...

Sand through my fingers...

October is almost halfway gone and I have only done ONE page for Project 100's 20-page quota.
...
AAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!

Well, actually, I really think that if I cut down on the downtime and just hunker down in The Sanctum and work on them, I can finish the stories within the week or so.

That still leaves about 30 or so pages to be done for Angel Ace Next. This includes colored covers, character art, pinups and layouting.
...
...

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHKKKKKK!!!!!

Damn! Gotta speed things up!!!

Dragon Flick

Last night I watched the movie Dragonheart on Star Movies. While HBO showed a bad sequel (TV movie crap), I stuck with the original firebreathing adventure starring Dennis Quaid as the valiant knight Bowen, David Thewlis as the evil King Einon and the voice of Sean Connery as Draco the dragon.
To all those unfamiliar with this title, the story is set in a midieval-type world where dragons and fantasy are waning; an evil king is slain by rebel peasants, leaving his son, Einon, on the throne. Though mortally wounded, Einon is saved when his mother asks a dragon for a favor. The favor entails that the dragon share his heart with the dying prince, hereby granting the human immortality as long as the dragon lives. Unfortunately, the new king proves to be more evil than his father, starting his own evil reign. Bowen, once the young prince's fighting mentor and bodyguard, vows to find and kill the dragon, thinking that the reptile's heart caused Einon's turn to the dark side.
Anyway, years later, Bowen has become a wandering dragonslayer, killing the wyrms for money. He has apparently killed the last, save one- a shrewd and wise dragon named Draco who soon teams up with his hunter for mutual survival. Eventually though, the two join up with rebels to once again clash swords with King Einon, and meet their respective destinies.
Now, Dragonheart came out with fanfare years ago thanks to the participation of Mr. Connery. To be fair, it's a decent fantasy-flick, though magic and fantasy elements are limited to Draco and the whole heart thing, and some subplot involving knights and Avalon. That means no spells, non-humnan races or other D&D trappings.
What you have though is an entertaining action flick, with lots of swordfighting, some cool peasant vs. soldier battles, and some nice dragon-fighting stuff. I still think to this day that Dennis Quaid is a bit miscast (he seems young for the part of a veteran, older warrior), and David Thewlis' King Einon really really strikes me as looking like an evil, bratty Rod Stewart,, with a thoroughly irritating look (which is not bad since he is the villain). Aside from them, the rest of the cast is pretty forgettable, though there's a monk/priest character played by Peter Postlewaitt who interestingly becomes a master archer (predating Legolas) who's pretty hilarious. Another thing I realized watching the movie again is that Jason Isaacs, who played the lead baddie in Mel Gibson's The Patriot and Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets appears in DH as a snivelling evil vassal. Heh. He's movied up in the world since then.

Watch the original Dragonheart for some not-so-draggin' fun. Forget the sequels though; they'll burn you to no end. Heh.

Modem Madness

I'm BACK!

Darn, I seem to be saying that a lot these days. Anyway, I wasn't able to log in for most of this weekend since a freak lightning storm on Saturday apparently fragged my old internal modem. Today, I went off to Greenhills with my friend Pot. We walked around looking for our own stuff; I eventually got an external USB modem instead of another internal device. We met up with Alex and retreated back into the Sanctum to have pizza (courtesy of birthday-boy Pot) and just chill out with a DVD movie or two.

Over the weekend I also got myself the whole Onegai Sensei anime on DVD; it's a really sweet romance-comedy series between a short guy and a tall, beautiful and utterly loveable alien girl. It's actually pretty short at just 13 episodes, and story looks a lot more involved than the more popular and similar series, Oh! My Goddess ever got- at the very least, the lead hero in Onegai Sensei gets to kiss the girl and then some (HOHO!).

This weekend I also started on the pages for Gig's Project 100 story. Hopefully I will be able to work on the pages within this week, so I can start work on my own story, and then later on Angel Ace Next. Deadlines are steadily getting closer; have to start cracking the whip and working.