Discovering Meridian

I finally got to read the travel-sized trade paperback of Meridian from Crossgen comics. I bought the thing weeks and weeks ago, and I only now got an opportunity to actually look inside. Funny that it happened in a taxi in heavy traffic. Heh.
Anyway, the story of young Sephie in her world of treacherous uncles, floating islands and ships and powerful sigils bears many elements similar to another favorite of mine, Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaa (flying craft, flying heroine, semi-midieval setting, political intrigue). The character of Sephie herself reminds me of my own character, Angel Ace, in that she is very innocent but daring, brave and capable, and possessed of awesome powers she doesn't fully understand. Ilahn on the other hand is a good villain, not entirely evil but very, very dangerous. I have to say that the rest of the cast is still of no consequence at this point, and I can only recall Jad, Sephie's boyfriend, among the multitude of Meridian rebels.
As for the art, it's quite rough and unspectacular at the start, though progressively getting better. I've seen later issues so I know the comic will indeed look awesome eventually. I find it kinda comforting that even these high-profile titles go through awkward growing pains. Heh.

Nice story. Should pick up succeeding trades when they appear. Should always have good fuel to power my own creative fires.

Death and Taxis

I got up late today, and so in order to get to the office earlier (and to get there more comfortably) I rode a taxi. BIG mistake. Nay, let me rephrase... costly mistake. Thanks to the fricking traffic, the meter racked about a hundred pesos just getting me to EDSA. That's less than halfway. AAAARRRGHHH!!!
Well to lessen the injury I got off at Santolan near Camp Crame and decided to go the rest of the way on a far cheaper bus. I was late enough as it is... better to not be poorer than I needed to be. Before I got on my next ride I had a little light meal of some squid balls and gulaman... which unfortunately is nowhere near as delicious as my usual fare at the Farmer's Plaza MRT terminal. Oh well. Anyway, I have good stuff to show later tonight at Comic Quest, where I expect some blood to be spilled as the new comics will hopefully arrive (Eh, VIN?). Grey day like yesterday, minus biting rain. I like it. Heh.

Grey Day

It's a stormy, rainy, gray-cloaked Wednesday. I got up at 7AM and since there are things to do at the office I had to resist the urge to just cover up and sleep because it is STILL raining cats and dogs outside. Luckily I was able to hitch a ride with my sister to work, so I was spared the inconvenience of riding a full MRT or bus through pouring rain. On the way it was all the same; heavy rain and gusts of wind. On the radio, a very late announcement by Malacanang came informing all that government employees did not have work today on account of the storm- cold comfort to the thousands already in transit or at the office.
As for me and the throngs of privately-employed workers, work is dictated by load and by supervisor; basically for us, as long as you have something that demands your attention, unless the apocalypse is occuring outside your window... you have to work. Heh. Well, actually it's not that bad but just the same I envy government people. Oh well.
Hopefully after my obligations here I can slink away back home as soon as I can. Of course I will probably pass by Comic Quest later, if only to submit my pages for our group's little comic book project. Didn't see anything particularly inviting in the week's comics to shed blood for. Just want to go home and sleep... and get warm. Warm. That sounds good...

Coming Storm...

No, I'm not talking about the present conflargation in our atmosphere. I actually like the damp, cool air; the pitter-patter and steady swish of rain; the cloudy curtain of grey... I'm talking about the stuff at work I have to catch up on tomorrow. Work goes on despite the storm and the fact that the office sent the staff home early in the afternoon. Have to get in early tomorrow to finish some copy sheets and jobs that have to be presented tomorrow. Sigh.

The Return of the Cat 2 Resolved (I Smell A Rat!)

After bearing a night of dead air, I finally was able to inform my mom about the stink in the ceiling. Luckily we found someone who could go up into our roof and see what's stinking. It turned out to be a big, dead RAT. Funny that cats and rats smell pretty much the same, though fortunately for me this time around, it hadn't yet reached the charnal proportions of last year's feline fetidness. After the man took out the rat, he scrubbed the spot with cleanser. On my end, I opened the windows, had the fan on full blast and lighted several sticks and cones of incense. BEGONE, Foul spirits... BEGONE!!!
Next I'll have to have my sheets and pillowcases changed. And maybe take a bath later. I'm just glad it's over... for now...

The Return of the Cat (Or, Stink of Dead Cat 2)

No, I am NOT talking about the latest Miyazaki animated feature of the same name... though I wish I was. Longtime readers of SRM will probably remember The Stink of Dead Cat that once permeated my room from the ceiling. To refresh all our memories, last year, a big old cat crawled inside my house's roof and just DIED near my room. The result? After a while the STUPID cat's body began to rot, and the smell slithered down into my sanctum. GAAAAHHH!!!
Well, that telltale stink is back. This happened after a few nights of scuffling sounds from the ceiling. Without a doubt the noise was made by cats; now WHY is there a stink again? Did some old cat crawl up and die there again? Why the HELL are these stupid beasts making my ceiling a graveyard??? It's insane! Are they drawn by the smell of that first dead cat? Is there something I don't know? Is my ceiling an ancient cat tribe's burial ground? BAH!
Now I have to convince my mom (who has no sense of smell) to get someone to climb up and remove the fricking corpse. And hopefully bar up the entrance. Damn, there it is again. GOD that reeks. Tomorrow can't come soon enough...

DVD Picks

There are a couple of cool DVDs I want to pick up soon. One is The Animatrix, the compilation of anime short films based on the universe of The Matrix movies. There will be about 9 episodes at 10 or so minutes each, ranging from the Noir-ish Detective Story to the samurai swordfighting Program to the CG eye candy-rich Matrix Reloaded prequel, Final Flight of the Osiris. Special features on the DVD include commentaries, a 'Making of' feature and a History of Anime documentary.
The other disc I am intrigued in is Double Vision, a HK film starring HK actor Tony Leung and US character actor David Morse (who came out in films like The Green Mile and The Rock). Leung plays a burned-out detective who is investigating a series of baffling (supernaturally-laced) deaths; Morse plays the FBI profiler brought in to assist the investigation. Their probing soon puts them in collision course with a fanatical cult worshipping immortality and... demons. Can you say, creepy? Anyway, Double Vision was one of the films hyped on AXN (like So Close, Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and I really want to see it.

Soon, very soon. The Animatrix should be available in June, while Double Vision should be on racks in a few days. Swell!

DeliveRAGE.

I am a veteran at having food delivered. I have to be, or I'd probably starve to death since I hate cooking and get these heavy cravings sometimes. The best food for takeout is pizza, IMO, though sometimes you want something else for variety. Well, recently on Sundays my mom would just order food since she's not in the mood to cook. Recently we've been trying the new delivery services of Jollibee and McDonald's near Katipunan.
Well, I have to say they SUCK.
Jollibee has the annoying penchant for taping the styrofoam packages so tightly and clumsily, you will need to have a cutter handy if you want to eat anytime soon after getting your food. Plus, you'll have to get used to the taste of scotch tape glue with your chow. AARGH!!! And I have to say that these restaurants seem to employ their most incompetent people on the phones. Jollibee Katipunan has consistently gotten orders wrong, with some items missing and undelivered. Often, we just shrug that off, but last night's order from McDonald's Katipunan really got me MAD.
My mom gave the order on the phone, and even repeated the order twice. We waited, and when the delivery finally came, we were missing one sandwich. MY SANDWICH.
Well, we called back and the fricking manager had the gall to say that we had to order the minimum order of 150 pesos if they were going to send another rider to our house. THEY WERE AT FAULT BECAUSE THEIR MORON OF A PHONE OPERATOR DIDN'T TAKE OUR ORDER CORRECTLY!!! AAAARRRGHH!

Now here is the worst part; my mom asked them to reconsider. The manager replied that they would 'call back' if they decided they could send a rider. No call came back for at least ten minutes.

I was steaming angry. I was hungry. An EVIL combination. I went on the phone and gave the degenerates my piece of mind. SO WHETHER I EAT OR GO HUNGRY IS DICTATED BY SOME SCHMUCK AT A FAST FOOD JOINT? DAMN!!!!

Well, whether it was for my threatening rant to report their ludicrous service or a matter of course, they eventually sent a rider with my sandwich, and I finally had my meal (after checking the sandwich for any foreign material, of course). Well, that was the first and LAST time we order from that crappy McDonald's branch at Katipunan. Until I find out they FIRE those IDIOTS from the staff. WIPE THEM OUT. ALL OF THEM. BAAAAHHHH!!!

We should have just ordered pizza. Pizza is nice.

Perfection is...

... a Dencio's feast of hot, crunchy and savoury sisig, wonderfully hot and sour sinigang na baboy, sinful crispy pata and enough garlic rice to accompany it all down to your palates in a satisfying melange. This the gang experienced at The Fort over the weekend thanks to our friend, Dino, who celebrated his Nth birthday. Thanks, Dino!

Staked through the Art


Nice character art, not-so-nice game.

I picked up a copy of Stake for the Xbox yesterday. The game is by Taiwanese company Gameness and Metro 3D, and looks on the surface like a Power Stone-type fighter; four players (human and/or CPU) are thrown into a multi-area arena loaded with traps, bombs and special items and the one to score the most kills wins at the end of a time limit wins. The storyline is pretty simple; The Stake Tournament invites the craziest fighters to battle their way for a cash reward. The character lineup has your staples; good-looking buff male fighters, a tomboyish buff female fighter, a conservatively-dressed female cutie, a half-naked hot babe, an old man, a hulking brute and a knight.
However, aside from having the same gameplay mechanics and several similar character designs, Stake is about as similar to Power Stone as Homo Habilis is to Homo Sapiens.
The graphics are clean, with nice hi-res characters and large stages with good detail and multiple levels. However, even with real-time lighting and nice shadow effects, the game hardly uses the Xbox's power to any great effect. If the characters looked half as good as DOA3, this game would work on looks alone, but as it is I've seen better Dreamcast games. Animation is limited, though kinda smooth; specials lack the flash you'd expect and are limited.
Sounds are horribly weak; limited and repetitive voices, droning music. Muting the TV helps though.
As for gameplay... ARGH. Attacking someone is a losing proposition, since it's pretty pointless to chase enemies (they move too fast). If you wait for them, they usually get the drop on you. For some reason, I can hit an enemy ten times and they hit me once, I die. EH? Combos seem to be non-existent, and moves extremely limited. The arenas are too big, and it is entirely possible for CPU characters to just get lost and stranded in one part of the arena. There are only two modes of play (single and multiplayer) and a USELESS Watch mode. Split screen play during multiplayer makes the view smaller, which is crappy. The camera is ludicrously limited; you can zoom in or out and elevate or lower the view, but you can't rotate around your character, which is WEIRD and makes gameplay even more frustrating.
I played this game and I couldn't progress at all. Can't tell if there are any bonuses or unlockables. The only good things in this game are the character art, which has a nice Capcom anime-ish style, the sexy gypsy/fortune teller Barty Beart (and her revealing alternate costumes) and the clean but unspectacular graphics. Everything else pretty much... SUCKS.

Keep away from this one if you value gameplay. Let me rephrase; If you want your game playable, keep away. This game is a big miSTAKE. Heh-heh.

Anime: Kiddy Grade


GOTT agent Eclair is cute, lively, sexy and awesomely powerful.

Despite the weird name, this new series from Gonzo Animation (Blue Submarine No. 6, Vandread, Hellsing) is not about kids or adventures in grade school. It is a futuristic action/drama series akin in many ways to the classic Dirty Pair, in that it's main characters are two lovely young (or at least young-looking) cybord babes working for a galactic peace organization. Taking the helm in the series are Eclair and Lumiere (how cute!), two agents of GOTT, or the Galactic Organization for Trade and Tariffs. GOTT is basically the 'good guys', doing everything from settling peace treaties to escorting VIPs from planet to planet.
Eclair is a sexy cyborg who apparently has been re-set (meaning rebuilt since she's been killed in action several times before) so many times that she acts like a young girl (despite having a very mature physique). Despite this, she's probably one of the most powerful members of GOTT's ES Section (a special powers division), given superior fighting skills and powers. Lumiere on the other hand is a silver-gray haired little girl who has the ability to hack into any system at will, for a multitude of effects.
As GOTT agents, Lumiere and Eclair basically head into dangerous missions independently, letting their super powers and GOTT's superior technology and resources do the talking. Along with the slick action and mecha, there's tons of cute girl images and quite a bit of fan service to spice things up. And of course, since it IS a Gonzo work, it resembles past series like Vandread and Samurai Girl in art style.
Though it looks cute and light with the bright colors and child-like characters, Kiddy Grade is apparently a very serious series, and it gets pretty dark as the series moves along. I am quite intrigued at this, given an intriguing article in the latest Newtype. Have to see what the fuss is all about. Anyway, as the latest Gonzo anime, I think I will enjoy this one. Recommended to mecha fans and enthusiasts of cute girls along with big guns, big mecha, fast starships and lots of hi-quality animation.

INCONCEIVABLE!!! Part Deux

I've already ranted about the DAMNABLE Dungeons and Dragons movie. Well, it seems that a great evil still lives within that thing since a SECOND movie in that series is being planned. GAH! The movie is apparently being dragged forward by Courtney Solomon, the same guy who made the first (it failed miserably due to horrible acting, a moronic script and bad production values) who coincidentally hasn't made another film since that one (resting on our laurels, aren't we?). Somehow, he managed to get producer Joel Silver to put this evil plot back in motion. Perhaps he used a Charm Person spell?
Anyway, no word if any of the incompetent cast and characters from the original are returning. I say, burn ALL the ties to the original and get a decent script from any of the hundreds of great novels, worlds, heroes and legends from the D&D franchise. Or at LEAST get something from a good game module. Anything is better than the troll crap goblin vomit orc shit that was the original D&D film. I have seen stains on toilet paper that made more sense than the script of that hellish first movie. BAAAHHH!!!!!

Haah. Rant over. Moving on.

Too much Spaghetti.

Yesterday, I had a Spaghetti Bolognese dish for lunch at The Green Tomato in my office's cafeteria.

Last night, I had Spaghetti Bolognese at Salsa Rossa.

Today, I just had lunch at home. It was mom's spaghetti with meat sauce. In other words, Spaghetti Bolognese.

Yesss....

Gotta getah a-something else-ah before-ah I-ah start-ah feeling I gotta join-ah the Mafia.

Missing Anime

I haven't been able to devote enough time to anime lately. The past couple of weeks have seen me go to Greenhills and walk away with nary a single VCD or DVD of any new stuff. The last series I was able to watch a bit was the girlyboy action comedy Getbackers, which stars a couple of super-powered pretty-boy repo men and their many equally super-powered rivals and allies. I was able to catch a couple of the closing episodes of Groove Adventure Rave on AXN, but unfortunately I think I missed seeing the final episode (thus I may be forced to buy the VCDs to see what happened at the end).

The sad part is, I've got a ton of anime just waiting for my attention back in the Sanctum. Got to give it time. But given that I have so many art and comic requirements, I won't be able to do that very soon. It just simply won't do to draw AND watch subtitled anime. It's impossible.

Oh well. Then again, maybe I am just waiting for that next Big Thing in anime. Or the next Inu Yasha DVD collection. Whatever.

Animated Angels 2

The second episode of the Charlie's Angels 'prequel' online cartoon is now available for download. As before, the animation isn't groundbreaking (apparently all the great anime artists and producers went with the Wachowskis) but I have to admit, there's lots of action and the leggy heroines have a penchant for sexy fetish outfits (a feature from the actual movie), so it's quite interesting to look at, at least. I am thinking that while Animated Angels won't see a DVD release like The Animatrix, the 6-part cartoon should be a nice, no-brainer extra for the Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle DVD later.
You can download the 2nd episode of Charlie's Angels: Animated Adventures here.

Inconceivable!!!

According to some sources on the web, there will be a live-action Evangelion feature in the near future! This project will be a collaboration of Gainax (the anime production house responsible for the original series), ADV Films (the US distributor) and, get this, Peter Jackson's WETA Workshop (which made a name for itself with a recent fantasy movie trilogy of some repute).

On another anime/game to movie tidbit, a SECOND Street Fighter movie is in the works, reportedly starring
Jean-Claude "I'm gonna keeck Bison's ahss" Van Damme and Dolph "You will lose" Lundgren. Another name identified with this sequel is Australian actress Holly Valance. No word yet if this new film will be in any way connected with the first live-action Streetfighter movie (which starred Van Damme and the late, great Raul Julia).

Anyway, no word on release dates for both projects. Evangelion is a critically-acclaimed anime about giant mecha called Evas and the pre-teen pilots that guide them into battle. It is as much about psychological drama, personal intrigue, X-files-esque conspiracies, generation gap conflicts and religious symbolisms as it is about giant robots battling alien monsters.
Streetfighter is based on the classic Capcom videogame series about an international cast of battling martial artists and the various evil plots they get involved in.

My Gosh. We'll keep everyone warned... I mean, posted... on any updates on these disturbing subjects...

Mummies and Matrices

What happened to the heavy-handed Matrix sequel is something that happens often in Hollywood movies. A relatively unambitious film which happens to strike a chord of excellence whether in theme or execution gets big returns or reviews. The resulting sequel becomes infused with a bigger budget, more ambitious plans and storylines that often involve epic proportions, more eye candy and fan service, and tons of hype. Such is the need for sequels to go beyond the tiny borders established by the earlier film. Unfortunately though, the flavor and elements that made the first so great are lost in the next film.

Remember The Mummy? It was a relatively quiet and understated film that started off as a remake of the old monster title. However, it took the original premise and gave it a shot in the arm. Not so much a horror movie, it was part scary movie, part pulp-action, part period film, part comedy. It had thrills and chills, a wonderful cast of characters, great special effects, rivetting action and an original take on the mummy story. It remains to this day one of my favorite films.
However, then came the sequel. Bigger budget, bigger cast, bigger story... which translates to tons of CG that looks like CG, heavy-handed large-scale battles, an Egyptian catfight with Japanese sai (EH? Okay, I enjoyed the skimpy outfits but SAI? EH?), an over-abundance of villain characters, a hokey airship and... The ROCK! The Mummy Returns was loud, corny and pretty crappy compared to the original. Though most of the blame I think goes to the WWE, which apparently bought the whole kit and caboodle as a star vehicle for Dwayne Johnson. And I won't even mention the awful 'third' part of the Mummy Triad (not a trilogy), which is horrid beyond words (despite having Kelly Hu... who gratifyingly was able to leap from that into X2).

Sigh. I still regard The Matrix as one of my fave films, despite Reloaded. I really hope that Revolutions somehow redeems the trilogy. This November I hope it's not another Scorpion King. AAARRGHH... mentioned it...

Recovery Period

Yesterday I didn't go to work since I spent pretty much all of Sunday and a good part of Monday morning working on an AVP (Audio Visual Presentation) for a client. The whole job was passed to me just last week; with little time to come up with a feasible but presentable concept, the necessity to accommodate an additional requirement in the same time, with no budget to speak of and having to deal with an inexperienced and barely adequate production house. Wonderful!
Of course this is on top of the fact that I was then forced to watch Matrix: Reloaded a third time, spend money to feed myself and infuse coffee into my veins. Grrr. Anyway, I got back my time by having a vacation of sorts, percolating at home and trying to ink pages and draw, play an odd session of Neverwinter Nights and watch anime.
Little pleasures, but with the madness that is imposed on you, they're vital to keeping your sanity. Ah.

Well, back to work.

X-Play!!!!!

YES!!! TechTV on my cable service is FINALLY going to show their new X-Play gaming show soon. No more endless replays of the now-defunct Extended Play. Thanks be... THANKS BE!!!!

Matrix Reloaded Top Tens (SPOILERS!)

Having watched Matrix: Reloaded a THIRD time since I was stuck in Greenbelt having to kill time while waiting for a work-related thing (ON A DAMN SUNDAY!!!!), I am now compelled (insert Smith impression here) to make a couple of Reloaded Top 10 lists...

Top Ten Coolest Things in Reloaded

1. The Freeway Chase. Big, loud, exciting, long and thrilling. Morpheus and Trinity get to shine as they race to keep the Keymaker from the hands of the Merovingian's evil Twin henchmen and Agents. Lots of cool fighting, car wrecks, jumps and leaps, motorcycles and guns aplenty.
2. The Twins. These dreadlocked albino nasties have the moves, the power to phase and the attitude to make them distinct in a movie full of generic thugs and evil programs. Coolest moment: When they say the line: "We are getting aggravated. Yes, we are." Heh.
3. The Merovingian. He's French. He's foppish. He's evil. He's funny! Yeah, I thought that whole dialogue with the Why's and the cake thing were all hi-faluting gobbledy-goo, but he leaves a good impression. He'll probably be coming back to stir up more trouble in revolutions...
4. The Burly Brawl. Yes, it was long and had a bad resolution, but it was fun seeing all those Smiths. Actually it made me think of some pretty funny things; Like it was kind of the 'Attack of the Dead Poets' Society'. I pictured a school bus full of Smiths driving in. All those Hugo Weavings scrambling into the area looked like kids in a playground. Heh-heh. Fun.
5. Neo's Flight Powers. I can't remember the last time I saw flying done this coolly, this nicely. It's so smooth and fast it makes the power of flight (which I believe is one of the coolest super powers you can have) really awesome.
6. Neo's new black costume. Damn he looks cool in those threads. Nothing like a bad-ass kung-fu priest to strike the Fear of The One into evil programs everywhere. Remember how Luke Skywalker looked uber-cool in his black outfit back in Return of the Jedi? Neo's outfit is many times cooler.
7. Zion Battlesuits. Wanna see those things kick Sentinel ass in Revolutions.
8. The New Agents. Upgraded baddies Thompson and company are a lot meaner and imposing than Jones and Brown in the first.
9. Persephone. It's Monica Bellucci. With no bra. Nuff said.
10. The Revolutions Trailer at the end of the credits. Worth the wait. Cool as hell. Almost worth agonizing through the Rave again just to see it.

Top 10 WORST things about Reloaded.

1. The RAVE. Boring, long and seemingly out of place. This encompasses Morpheus' bad speech, imagery of The Flinststones and Fraggle Rock, Bob Marley clones and an uninteresting Neo-Trinity sex scene.
2. Trinity. WHY does Carrie-Ann Moss look so old in so many of her shots?! When a Trinity-spoof in a Heineken beer ad looks TEN times cooler than the actual character in Reloaded, something is very, very wrong. The Matrix's number one girl seems to have lost her edge, going from super-sleek to shiny but frumpy.
3. The Mansion Fight with the Merovingian's goons. At this point, I actually got tired of kung-fu fighting. And I love kung-fu fighting. Too long, generic and uninteresting opponents, too many jumping up and down and slow-mos.
4. The Burly Brawl ending. Pointless and unsatisfying.
5. The Zion Interlude. Too long, boring and reminded me of Episode One...
6. The Architect's Exposition. Hi-faluting jargon that is a poor climax after the wonderful Freeway chase.
7. The Kid- Almost as irritating as Jar Jar Binks. Almost...
8. A Heart-gripping ending. Okay, it had to happen, but did it had to have to be done so badly?
9. Too many Smith puns about his cloning powers.
10. The RAVE. Yes, It's that bad.

Heheheheheh....

Ninja Freakshow

I splurged and got a dvd of the Japanese movie Kunoichi Lady (Ninja Lady) at Greenhills yesterday. The film stars Yuko Minamura, who has also starred in a large number of other Japanese samurai/ninja fantasy films. It's about seven ninja women who seek revenge against an evil lord and his sorcerous minions. Aiding the women is the legendary swordsman, Jubei Yagyu.
The film features lots of bloody swordfights, hammy Japanese acting, pretty Japanese girls, quite a bit of nudity and dramatic death scenes and drama as only the Japanese can do. B-movie all the way... and not the kind of film I expected to see (when ninja girls start radiating magic out of their breasts, I can't take the film seriously). Haven't found a ninja girl film yet that isn't hentai (LA Blue Girl) or live-action sex-fantasy (THIS movie). I'm beginning to think the perfect ninja girl film doesn't exist (unless Capcom does an anime featuring Ibuki from Streetfighter or something). I'd hate to say I wasted my money on this, but I think I did. Sigh.

Matrix Repeated

Last night, the gang trooped to Greenhills Theater Mall for our first (and last) viewing of Reloaded as a group. We watched the Last Full Show and got nice reserved seats. Some of us came in looking simply for eye-candy (Hi Carl!), which suited them perfectly. Some of course, were utterly horrified by the film (Hi, Dean!).
I came in for my second viewing of the film, and went away with several things. I finally got to see the Matrix: Revolutions trailer at the end of the credits, I finally was able to understand the Secret of the One more or less.

I still found that Reloaded suffers still from a glaringly boring first third (ALL of the Zion sequences are BAD. Morpheus' speech, the 'Rave', the talk with the councillor, Link and his wife, etc.). The fights go on too long (never thought I'd say that), much of the writing is just masturbatory (writers went wild thinking their stuff is hot shit) and again, the movie's climax comes long before the end of the movie, leading to a boring lull and a horrible exposition section at the end. Oh well.

The Revolutions trailer looks nice, and it all just convinces me that Matrix is probably better as a manga. Maybe someone should do that... have a great manga artist adapt the trilogy into printed form. It would probably ROCK as a comic; far better than as a film.

Movie Review: The Matrix Reloaded


Milli Vanilli returns from the dead in Reloaded.

Some spoilers but no plot-specific stuff. Basically, if you’ve seen the trailers, you shouldn’t be worried.

I seemed to have lucked out today; our department went out on a ‘creative excursion’ to watch the hottest movie of the season… The Matrix: Reloaded. Unfortunately, thanks to some delays and traffic, we missed out on a few minutes at the front of the movie (which warrants that I see this flick again) and the supposed Matrix: Revolutions trailer at the end of the credits. Oh well.
Reloaded is set some time after the end of the original film; Neo, Morpheus and Trinity are still fighting the good fight both in the real world and in the make-believe world of the Matrix to protect the last remaining free human city of Zion. We finally get to see this human stronghold (WOW!) and see the bigger picture of the struggle which was just talked about but never seen in the first film.
At the end of the original, Neo (Keanu Reeves) becomes The One, a human who has heightened perceptions within the Matrix, allowing him to bend it to his will. This pretty much translates to him being able to fly (making Reeves look like a black-garbed Superman), fight on a level above the more powerful Agents and other computer programs and beings in the Matrix, and do other… stuff. Despite gaining his incredible powers and able to kick Agent butt pretty much at will, Neo isn’t perfect and the fact that everyone else on his side is still mortal and perishable makes the battle just as costly as before. It doesn’t make any matters easier when the opposition they face ups the ante as well. Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) returns, seemingly from the dead, with an ability that will make you see double and then some. Then there are the rogue programs; vastly more powerful computer beings that are as deadly or even deadlier than the ever-present and even tougher Agents. This pretty much just translates to a bunch of martial artists- which convinces me that at it’s heart, without all the psycho and technobabble, Matrix is just a kung-fu flick. Heh.

Anyway, the battle for Zion’s survival gets revved to high gear when a threat of invasion is detected. Of course, Morpheus believes the solution lies in Neo and the mysterious prophecy. They believe that the true weakness of the machines lies inside the Matrix… contrary to the belief of other Zion elements that want a more direct, physical defense for the city. This politicking and adding of various characters, council meetings and a ridiculously long RAVE sequence are baggage which for me just bogged the action and pace of the story down. Get on with it already!
Once Neo and gang get sent on a path, it’s a race against time and evil programs to find the answers, or Zion and the human race is doomed. Predictably, along the way there are action sequences aplenty, culminating in an awesome chase and battle along a crowded freeway.

That’s the movie. Oh, and it doesn’t end conclusively, since this IS the middle of a trilogy… but unlike The Two Towers which let you pause and breathe for the next film, Reloaded will have you screaming “NEXT MOVIE, NOW!!!!”.

Which brings me to the nitty-gritty. Did I love it? Or are those many disappointed reviews on the Net in the right?

First of all, the film has incredible visuals. I mean, you go into a movie like this with that pretty much a sure thing.
YES, the characters still look cool. DAMN I want to be able to wear something like Neo’s long black costume. He looks cool and moves cool. Yeah, Keanu Reeves isn’t the most perfect actor in the world but he’s awesome as Neo. Not invincible, but I actually like that they still have martial arts since turning this into a Dragonball/Psychic Powers/Akira thing would probably turn Matrix into something like Dark City… which is NOT a good thing. Yeah, it’s weird to see him fly but it’s also darn awesome; Matrix so far bags the best-looking flying sequences; I want my Angel Ace to fly like him. Woooh.

Trinity kicks butt still, but while she sees more action here than in the first film, her bad assedness isn’t as great, which is sad since Neo kicks butt so effortlessly and Morpheus gets to look good a lot in Reloaded. And I have to say that while Carrie-Anne Moss is damn sexy, she’s not the most beautiful woman in the world (with competition like Monica Bellucci's Persephone I would indeed be worried if I was Trinity), and she looks even worse with blood and stuff all over her…

Jada Pinkett-Smith’s Niobe and the cannon-fodder Zion fighters… Guess I have to play the videogame before I care for them…

Agent Smith is back, and I love it. Smith gives the villainy of The Matrix a face (and a voice) which is cool. The Merovingian and everyone else on his gang don’t hold a candle to Smith. Without a doubt, the most fun segment in Reloaded has to be that BIG BRAWL between Neo and an escalating horde of Smith clones. However, after the fiftieth or so clone appears, I suddenly began expecting them all to start dancing in a synchronized production number. The choreography just seemed to look… choreographed. All those suits... all those identical faces, no blood or bruises... surreal. It would have looked funny set to Keystone Kops music, I think. Heh.

Bullet Time, zippy cuts, slow-mos… still here. Nothing terribly new.

The Twins. Cool, scary and challenging. Like most every cool henchmen, they don’t really stay too long onscreen but they will probably be the first action figures kids want.

Zion… in some ways awesome, with cool touches and stuff… in some ways laughable. Some segments reminded me of those HORRIBLE Flintstones movies. That RAVE thing just went too long… Just a vehicle to make the Neo-Trinity love scene more sensuous…

LOTS of stuff to nitpick about, to talk about… lots of stuff I liked and disliked… but in the end what I disliked was…
The pacing was erratic, jumping from martial arts fight to boring lull to Matrix to real world and back and again. The first third of the movie is abysmally slow, with council meetings and ultimately useless infighting/feuds to give the conflict a real-world factor.

Then there are the confusing and heavy technobabble and psychoblahs which will overwhelm you the first time. When the revelation finally comes, don’t be surprised to suddenly say…

SO THAT’S THE SECRET OF THE MATRIX!!!

And then say…

Um… I didn't get it.

Yep, I missed whatever it was. Flew over my head. I consider myself pretty sharp and I enjoyed the stuff from The Oracle and other science gobbledy-goo the film threw at me… but when The Colonel , er I mean, The Architect started talking… Ah… What the?

Have to watch it again to listen to it again. Well, whatever the secret of The Matrix was, bottom line is, it was bad and the result is another movie to wait for in November. Heh.

Ultimately, Reloaded’s erratic pace has all the best action finishing long before the actual end, and then saddling the audience with high-faluting dialogue that only tech geeks will fathom the first time around. And THEN it ends at a cliffhanger. AAAAAAHHHHHHGGGHHH!!!

Yep, I was disappointed. Disappointed that the story has as many flaws and holes and iffy parts as there are bullet holes in the movie.
Fortunately though, they are still offset by the movie’s undeniable COOL factor, tons of very fun action sequences and the fact that given the quality of the first film (which Reloaded ultimately fails to surpass, I think), I’m in for the long haul. Yep, I’ve taken the red pill and have no choice but to watch Revolutions. And Reloaded again. And maybe again. DARN!

The Matrix Reloaded

This is THE hot movie of this season. Proof of this is the fact that several major theaters have already been booked solid in advance from opening day (TODAY!) till the weekend. Thankfully, I will be watching this much-anticipated sequel later this afternoon at the Power Plant mall with most of my department (we're treating it as a kind of creative excursion. That's the ticket!).
I'll be putting up a review (with proper spoiler warnings, if needed) as soon as possible. Heh.

Pickpocket in my dreams!!!

Yep, it's true. Early this morning I had a dream that I was in some sidestreet in Cubao, outside some store. I felt a tugging at my side and I caught this kid on a bike trying to lift my phone from its holder. I collared the kid but eventually let him go.
Then I woke up. Hmmm.
Well, aside from that failed phone theft (the real one, not this dream), I've been pickpocketed once before; I lost my wallet, with some cash, IDs and cards. Once that happens to you, I think you get paranoid. But I didn't think I'd even be careful in my dreams. Weird.

Animated Angels

No, I haven't won the Lotto and gotten my own Angel Ace anime. Taking a cue from The Matrix's animated shorts, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle will be having some online-only animated prequels released before the movie reaches theaters in June. So if you've been dreaming of seeing cartoon versions of Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz, this is your lucky day. There are six episodes to be eventually released, which should be fairly quick in coming since there's only less than a month to the movie's showing.
Anyway, I've seen the first episode and I have to say; It's no Animatrix. The animation is fair but the cartoon Angels look nothing like their real-life models, the story's pretty basic and the character designs are generic. However, there's a lot of action, and the cartoon DOES use some real voice samples from the real actresses (perhaps grabbed for use in this side thing rather than an actual dubbing session).
Anyway, you can download the first free episode of the animated Charlie's Angels here.

Phone Theft

Last week, an officemate of mine had her cellphone stolen. It was made all the more painful since her phone was a relatively new Sony Ericsson P-800. Yep, that spiffy PDA/Internet Surfing/Digital Camera phone. She said that it probably happened in the ladies' room at the Greenbelt Mall, where a woman had gotten close to her bag (she didn't think of it too much at the time). Right there, she lots an invaluable piece of equipment both for business and personal use worth over 36K. DAAAAAMMMMNNN!!!!

I can't fathom losing such a costly item so easily. The same way I can't fathom carrying around something so expensive as a matter of course, on just any day. If I owned such a thing, I'd keep it close to my body at ALL times. Trouble was, my officemate was a girl and she, like most women, usually kept things at a distance, in purses or handbags.

I've had my phone, a Siemens M35i, for over 3 years. Even after all this time I think it's still pretty neat. The size and shape are perfect, it feels durable and sporty, and simple goes well with someone like me who is out on the street walking around as much as I am sitting at a desk. The signal and sound are great, and it just works perfectly all the time. My only complaint? That I actually got the thing years ago for the WAP functions, which are totally, utterly, unforgiveably WORTHLESS. WAP is CRAP.
Anyway, the phone isn't worth anywhere near a P-800, but just the same losing this phone would ruin my day. It would crash me for weeks. It wouldn't be easy to get another phone.

And to think that years ago, it actually got STOLEN. Yep, I was victimized by cellphone thieves as well. Unlike my unfortunate friend though, I got my phone back.

It happened on the MRT. Me and my friend Brandie had left the office early. We were on the train, joking and chatting about stuff. At that moment, the MRT operator's voice sounded on the speakers.
"Please keep your belongings safe and watch out for pickpockets." He warned.
At that moment both of us laughed, joking that the pickpockets would have to invest in stored value tickets to be able to make their getaway. We were still chuckling when our stop at Megamall came, and we stepped closer to the doorway. As we did, other passengers crowded along with us.

The doors opened. I stepped off the train and immediately ran my hands over my pants pockets (which was my SOP) to check my wallet and cellphone. Wallet... check. Cellphone... Cellphone...

What the HELL?!? My pocket was empty!!! My phone was GONE!!!

Immediately, I turned to face the open doorway of the MRT car I had just exited. Brandie had stopped behind me, not knowing what was going on. Actually I didn't either. All I know is, I started yelling.

"PUTANG INA! (Son of a BITCH!) There's a PICKPOCKET on this train!!! My phone has been stolen!!!" I shouted. "GUARD!!! GUARD!!! Pickpockets on this train!!!"

All this time, Brandie was probably nervously looking around, and perhaps an image of my cellphone, sitting safely on top of my desk back at the office came to mind.

To their credit, the MRT security acted en punto. A guard kept the train from running, and several ringed the outside of the car. I, on the other hand, had entered the car again and was scanning the men in the immediate radius. I looked for the most suspicious one I could find.

"YOU!!!!" I snarled, at a short guy wearing a cap. I immediately started FRISKING him. To HELL with right to privacy. MY PHONE HAD BEEN STOLEN! I had deputized myself.
Of course, I found NOTHING.

I stepped back, and nodded. "Okay."
Then, I looked for another vic- er, suspect.

At that point, there was a commotion behind me, and I turned. I saw one of the passengers, a guy, pointing to a guy he collared. Immediately, guards came in and held the suspect. They led the thin man outside the train, along with some other dubious-looking youths.
One of the guards held up a familiar-looking object he had recovered from the man. It was my phone!!!

I approached the guard, declaring it was mine. He asked what the phone number was. I said it. He handed it to me. I HAD MY FREAKING PHONE BACK!!! BACK FROM OBLIVION!!!

Apparently, according to the witness (a guy named Dante; bless you, wherever you are), he had seen the phone get lifted from my pocket. When I started frisking people, he said that the phone was passed around by the gang. In panic, the unfortunate guy left holding the phone tried to just drop it into his pants (Eewww...) and let it fall to the floor where it was to be found. Good plan, but someone had seen him, so tough.
Anyway, the bad thing was, once they had their confirmed suspect, the guards let everyone else go, and let the train on its way. That included, I think, the OTHER gang members. Why they let that happen I will never know. Anyway, we had a criminal in custody, and that was that. Brandie, me and the witness accompanied the guards and the suspect back to the MRT police headquarters to file charges. There, I spent an hour, seeing other captured pickpockets being charged, and acting out a scene straight out of a police drama. Surreal.
It ended soon after. I left and never looked back. It was too much trouble to file charges, attend court and what have you. I had my phone, and a pickpocket was at least caught and his picture put up for reference in the MRT stations. Since then, I keep my phone in a proper holder at my belt, not in my easily-accessible and vulnerable pants pocket.

Love that story. Been telling it countlessly. I wish my friend was as lucky as me, but them's the breaks.

What a world we live in. Sigh.

Cute Vampire Girls sucked my Blood!!!



Expecting nothing more than dinner and a chat, I was waylaid and bloodsucked tonight at Comic Quest. I spotted a couple of special statues/figurines of anime anti-heroine Vampire Princess Miyu and her manga-only creation, Vampire Princess Yui. I could not resist their exquisite detail, from the folds of their costumes to their scuplted faces, hands and feet... DAMN YOU VINNIE!!!! AAAAAHHH!!!!
Anyway, after I shed blood for them, I later discovered that they require assembly... DAMN YOU VINNIE!!!! AAAAAHHHH!!!! Once put together though (the pieces fit nicely), they look nice, with Miyu in a kneeling pose while Yui is standing (the position showing off nice folds of her costume). They look so nice atop my desk in the Sanctum... DAMN YOU VINNIE!!!! AAAAAHHHH!!!!

Vampire Princess Miyu is all about the adventures of an immortal, ever-childlike vampire who battles evil creatures known as Shinma who prey on humans. Unlike your usual girly-heroine anime though, Miyu's episodes rarely end happily, and always have a macabre twist. A 4-episode OAV and a 24 episode TV series is available, along with manga for both VPM and Vampire Princess Yui.

Takaw-Mata (Hungry Eyes)

Visual stimulus is important to me. Extremely important. When I eat, I prefer to do so with an appetizing portion about food or eating playing on TV. Or with a book opened to a page where a lavish feast is being described. Does anyone here love watching Globe Trekker (formerly Lonely Planet)? I actually taped their Food around the World special so I can play it while I eat. My favorite parts include the earlier segments; where Ian Wright has a Japanese breakfast eating a raw egg mixed with rice. Or when Justine Shapiro eats the sour veggie stew called Samba with soft buns for breakfast on a houseboat. Or the many other sundry delicacies shown throughout the hour-long feature. That's a great thing to watch while eating (though I will probably turn it off when the 'worst' meal segments come along- Gak... kangaroo tails and sheep eye...).

Well anyway, there was that steak sequence from The Matrix that I saw last night; and when I went out to have lunch I was looking for a bloody raw steak like Cypher (Joe Pantoliano) was eating. So when I went to Food Choices at Greenbelt I ignored the dozen or so Thai and Asian food kiosks and had my eyes focused on Tender Bob's. I ordered roast beef, and had several bloody cuts sloshed with gravy. To be honest though, I had the meat seared well-done before I had it. Can't take bloody meat. Screw the juice.
Anyway, the meal was good, and I enjoyed mouthing Cypher's dialogue ('Ignorance is bliss...') as I chewed the meat. Heh. In a way, it's true I guess. Enjoyment and appetite are all in the mind. But good meat never hurts.

The Matrix Reloaded (into my DVD)

Last night I popped in my copy of The Matrix into the DVD and sat back to re-visit the original movie in preparation for Matrix: Reloaded later this week. The movie is still slick and sharp and cool as it was when I first saw it. High points still include Trinity's opening chase, the dojo battle between Neo and Morpheus, the hallway shootout and the exciting (albeit in my opinion, unnecessary and futile) fight between Neo and Smith. A personal favorite scene of mine in the film is where Cypher is eating steak as he betrays Morpheus to the machines. DAMN that steak looked good. Heh.
The fight scenes are still cool and the gunplay rocks. From the trailers of Reloaded, it's obvious that the Wachowski Brothers have revved up the action by ten; the brawl between Neo and the hundred Agent Smiths brings to mind similar scenes of one-versus-many in Hong Kong movies like Jet Li's Once Upon A TIme In China. Only this time, CG effects stands in for most of the slam-bang action. Still pretty awesome just the same though.
Sad to say we don't have any premier showings lined up; we're going to have to wait till opening day like everyone else. Can't wait. Reloaded is going to rock. It's just a matter how much.

Mother's Day

It's Mother's Day today. Greeted mom. Not planning anything extravagant, but at the very least, I'll be treating dinner tonight with maybe a pizza. Will be staying home for the day. Want to rest, draw, play and just chill (literally; I'll be keeping the aircon on).

The Quest begins!



Questers is an action/fantasy/sci-fi comic coming soon from a small but growing US-based comic company called Manga Graphix. Mixing magic and technology, Questers stars Team 325, a young but hungry party of questers, or adventurers, who seek treasure, magic and fame in dangerous otherdimensional worlds and monster-infested dungeons. No release date yet; the only info we have on this is that pencilling and inking chores will be done by someone named Marc Dimaano. Heh.
I hope this nice little side job pans out well. Check out Lone Wolf and Cherub for updates on this one as it develops. Or, you can go visit the official Manga Graphix site to check out info and art of Questers and their main comic, Witch Girls.

Silent Hill 3: Made to Scare You


Bearing a striking resemblance to actress Cate Blanchett (or is it Gwyneth Paltrow?), the mysterious Claudia plays a crucial role in Silent Hill 3.

Yesterday I went over to the Black Market in Makati Cinema Square and was surprised to see a copy of Konami's latest scare-fest, Silent Hill 3. The copy I have is the European version (the game has yet to be released in the US), and gives you multiple language options. Otherwise, the dialogue and text is in english, so it's fine to play.
Unlike the first two games, SH3 puts you in the boots of a teenage girl named Heather. She's been on a trip of some sort and is at a mall headed home when she starts having strange dreams of being in a weird, bloodstained, monster-filled place. As she's headed home, she is met by a detective who tells her he knows something about her birth. Soon after, she suddenly finds that the beasts from her dreams are real...
Silent Hill 3 has PS2 quality graphics, even better than the Silent Hill 2; the character models are very close to each other, from the CG cut-scene models to the in-game characters. The real-time model for Heather may seem a bit grimy-faced compared to the CG model, but the game is pretty... well, as pretty as a bloodstained, rusted, rotting corpse can be. As for the sounds, the effects are chilling... and I don't mean the voice acting (which is not bad- though the dialogue is kinda stilted)... creepy sounds like muffled voices, rusted hinges and moaning monsters will surely be more frightening than anything else in the game.
Controlling Heather is very similar to Resident Evil; 'up' in the directionals is always forward, 'down' is always back, left and right will turn your character. It will take getting used to, but after a while moving will be easy. Fighting monsters will take up your time a lot, but ammo is limited so choose your battles or risk fighting brutes with just a little knife.

Silent Hill 3 is still scary, though I have to say perhaps not as scary as the first one. Pretty much so because despite the fact that SH3 has more gore and blood, and the monsters are more twisted than ever... but we've seen it before, and we know what to expect. From experience I've found out that when you've got more than enough ammo, and have gotten the monster-killing technique down pat, it's all a matter of just going through the paces to kill the bosses and get to the twisted ending. Still, Silent Hill 3 is sure to have many deranged moments and creep-out chases.

Highly recommended to mature PS2 owners who want a good scare and a chill...

Textmen 2 arrives in stores!

The second issue of Textmen is now available at Comic Quest. The cellphone-wielding heroes go on a brawl at the Greenhills Theater Mall with their nemesis, the La Buena Familia. Story by Nikki Alfar, Art by Armand Canlas (Armor Troopers), tagalog translation by Dean Alfar (heh). Textmen is created by Jason Banico of Dynatica.

Chatting at Kitchen

After closing down Comic Quest, the gang (sans Vinnie, Jason and Cams) settled on the fusion cuisine of Kitchen at the Megastrip. It's a funny place that I describe as a prison cafeteria for rich people, where you order stuff with descriptions that make your mouth water at the start but suddenly turn you off when you see the end. Think black squid ink with pork. Eew. Oh well, it's a challenge to decide (though I usually order something I ordered before) what to eat there. This night though both me and Gig ordered the same thing Carl did; A dish called Buttered Up, which is the catch of the day (gindara) served with rice and lots of butter sauce. Now, the servings at Kitchen are served on huge plates which I likened to bucklers, and you use either chopsticks or huge spoons that would be used as serving spoons at my house. It was a good meal, but just too much. And the butter demanded a countertaste soon after. Bleh. Anyway, the talk over the meal gravitated from our probing again of Carl's life, to writing and our group's upcoming little comic project.

We adjourned slightly after midnight. I am so tired. Glad that this week's finally over. It wasn't a hard week, but a long one, seemingly. Have to catch up on sleep and get to draw a bit. Thanks to the Questers comic gig I seem to have bagged, I may be in for some busy art chores in the next few weeks; that's on top of continuing Angel Ace and other stuff. Whew. Gonna have to keep downing those vitamins. Can't afford to break down anytime soon.

Dare to enter the Underworld

Yet another black leather-clad movie is lurking around the corner. Underworld takes us into a shadowy no man's land where a war is raging between Vampires and their ancient werewolf enemy, the Lycans. In the middle of this fang-baring, guns blazing, sword slashing, wall crawling action/blood fest, romance blooms between a beautiful young vampire (played by Pearl Harbour's Kate Beckinsdale) and a powerful Lycan. Blade the Vampire Hunter meets Romeo and Juliet?
The film has a stylized look, and there seems to be some cool weapons and fighting scenes. Miss Beckinsdale gets to wield two guns like that Tomb Raider babe, and she's hot in black leather. But how many more black leather / monochrome-black films like The Matrix, X-Men 2 and Equilibrium can we take before we have to run for a copy of The Wizard of Oz? Sigh.

More DOA! MORE! MORE!!!
The Xbox is the Dead or Alive fan's console of choice.

Tecmo of Japan has announced that they are coming out with Xbox remakes of the earlier Dead or Alive fighting games this summer. Entitled Dead or Alive Online, the remakes will come in one volume, or disc, and will include a port of the Saturn version of the original Dead or Alive, and a graphically-optimized and updated Dead or Alive 2. No word yet on any new elements, though it is pretty obvious that DOA2's enhancements will include DOAX-quality character models and animation, and new details to the stages like falling snow. It's not clear if the new characters from Dead or Alive 3 or DOAX will be included in the remakes, or what extras will make it into these games.

Tecmo was also quick to point out though that DOA Online is NOT Dead or Alive: Code Cronos, which is yet another upcoming game in Tecmo's flagship franchise. More light should be shed on these games at the upcoming E3 Entertainment Expo 2003.

Me, I'm doing cartwheels at this news, though it's pretty disappointing that the divine Playstation version of the original DOA seems to be snubbed in the remake (since it IS a Sony game and DOA Online is for the Xbox). The Saturn version's fine; but the PS game has better animation and more good stuff. Then again, the Saturn game has Lei Fang in a string bikini, so that's not bad... Heh. As for Code Cronos, it's anybody's guess what THAT is.
On a final note, it seems as well that Tecmo is also working on a sequel to the very successful Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball. This time around I hope they answer all the flaws and shortcomings of the first game. Oh well. That's for the future... Mmmm...

Darna # 2 lands in stores

The second issue of Mars Ravelo's Darna by Mango Comics arrived last night in Comic Quest in the nick of time (just before closing time). Thanks to the fact that the store was in the thick of the weekly bloodletting, I was able to sneak in a copy into my stash of other purchases, including a copy of Official Xbox Magazine, Playstation Magazine and R.A. Salvatore's Demon Wars#1. Anyway, this is about the local comic, so here it is.

In the second issue, Darna encounters the evil that is surrounding her in the Amor Concert, originating of course from the arch-villainess Valentina. As the snake-goddess's plot begins to unwind, can Darna save her friends as well as her own life against her well-prepared and ruthless nemesis?
Artist Lan Medina takes over the reins of the pencilling chores, and it is a marked improvement over the last issue. Not to say that Ryan Orosco's art was in any way ugly; it's just that you could pretty much see much more in terms of substance, emotion and gusto in the second issue's art. Perhaps it is also in the way the writing and panelling is done; improved and containing a fair effort to give characters more expression. Darna in particular shows more humanity and doubt in her thoughts, which makes her more engaging as a character. Some lines of dialogue and text still sound iffy, but overall gets the job done well.
Of course, being the story's middle, this is where Darna meets the villains in earnest, and action ensues. Yet again there is quite a bit of skin and fan service, but that's not a bad thing, especially in the context of the situations they are presented. The action's still not as hot as I'd like, but that's just me expecting detailed action and fight scenes in every comic I buy. Oh well. A good middle makes me look forward to the finale, in a month or so.

Mars Ravelo's Darna from Mango Comics is now available at Comic Quest. Full color, Php 120.00.

Which X-Man am I?


You are Jubilee!

Though you may be young and inexperienced, you have
great potential and will someday become an
admirable figure. For that to happen, though,
you must overcome your juvenile belief system
and adopt a more mature view on life.


Which X-Men character are you most like?
brought to you by Quizilla

LXG trailer now up!

The obscure comic (well, obscure to me) League of Extraordinary Gentlement or LXG is coming this summer. Not too sure about the exact plot, just that master hunter Allan Quatermain (played by Sean Connery) is asked to lead the newly-formed League in order to stop a madman known as The Fantom who's threatening the world with 'unstoppable assassins'. The League of course is composed of various individuals who come from other works of great literature, such as a grown-up Tom Sawyer who's now working as a spy; a vampiric Mina Harker; an invisible thief named Rodney Skinner; the tormented doctor Jekyll (and his bestial 'partner, Hyde); scientist and submariner Captain Nemo; and finally, the immortal adventurer Dorian Gray.
Though reknowned, most of these characters are flawed, sinister and nowhere near being squeaky-clean. Can the free world rely on the League in its time of greatest peril? We'll find out later this summer when LXG hits the screens. The movie looks... well, extraordinarily cool, with lots of fireworks, a very-stylized Nautilus, big brawling battles and quite a few CG beasties.

Download the first full trailer of LXG here.

Castle in the Sky DVD redux

As I noted yesterday, I got a copy of the Disney-released Castle in the Sky anime, and I have to say that it doesn't work as well as the Spirited Away dub. I just felt that James Van Der Beek is too old to play the young hero Pazu; Anna Paquin's performance as Sheeta was negligible, and Mark Hamill's Muska sounds far too close to his Joker voice in the Batman animated movies. It didn't help as well that the copy I got was missing a pivotal part of the film towards the end- have to have it replaced.
By no means is it horrible... but disappointing given that I really like Laputa's story and given it's Jules Verne/European character, an excellent english dub would have been great. With the so-so dub, it doesn't shine as brightly. Oh well.

Gotta love ENGRISH.


Squaresoft: Software producers or drug traffickers?

Freudian slip? Digital crack gives way to Digital heroin? Is this the secret of the addictive nature of the Final Fantasy games??! Heh. Just had to post this. Moving on... moving on...

Creative Guild Awards

This night I went with most of the agency to the Creative Guild Awards, which was celebrating the best in the country's advertising last year. The show was held at Onstage at Greenbelt 1 in Makati. I don't usually go to these things, but I was quite entertained by the funny commercials that made it into the finals. It was also nice to see friends and acquaintances from other agencies and companies who were present. Unfortunately, our agency didn't have too many winning entries... in fact, we went away with nothing. Oh well, I just joined last year. Let's see how we do in the next awards.

Dead or Alive Fashion Show

This May at the upcoming Entertainment Expo 2003 (E3), the latest computer and video games will be previewed. Included in the lineup will be a new Dead or Alive game, which will be given a sneak peek right after a DOA-themed fashion show (!). This new game is almost certainly the elusive Dead or Alive: Code Cronos, which is reportedly NOT DOA4. There has been a lot of speculation on what kind of game Cronos will exactly be; the most popular and perhaps accurate theory being that Cronos will be a compilation game or sorts; putting together elements from all the past DOA games (costumes, characters, Danger Zones, bosses) and giving them an Xbox DOA3 or better quality of eye-popping visuals. We'll be keeping our eyes on this come E3 from May 14-16.

DVD in the Sky

Was able to grab a copy of the english-dubbed Castle in the Sky (originally Laputa: Castle in the Sky), the Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away) film now being released by Disney on DVD. As with Spirited Away, the translation was directed by Pixar's John Lasseter. The cast includes James Van Der Beek as lead hero Pazu, Anna 'Rogue' Paquin as heroine Sheeta and Mark 'This droid has a bad motivator!' Hamill as the villain, Muska.
Castle in the Sky is about the adventure of two young kids as they race to keep the secrets and treasures of a fabled floating city from falling into the wrong hands. It is one of director and anime legend Hayao Miyazaki's earlier works before Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away

Ding Dong!

Delicious cream-filled chocolate fudge cupcake. MMMMMmmmmmmm.... Thanks to Vinnie for giving me a sample from his stash. Damn good. Now I'm craving for Twinkies. Or Hostess cakes. Mmmmm.... Gotta check out the PX Stores...

Life is Unfair.

Life is like a great highway where we all have to await our fortunes and tickets to and from our destinies. Great opportunities are empty, honest taxis with full-blast aircons who'd take you all the way to Baguio if you asked.
It's unfair when you spend more than an hour waiting in the hot sun and fetid, steamy air and when that lovely taxi finally appears, you get beated to it by two freakin' SOBs who just pop out of nowhere a few meters before you. GAAAAADAAAAAMMMMNNN!!!!!

Oh, and this didn't happen to me this morning. It's just a metaphor I just happened to think of. Really.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! VANISHING RAY!!!!

Wet Dreams

Have you ever pissed in your dreams? I mean, have you ever dreamed that you were pissing? It's infuriating. Usually you forget dreams when you wake up, but pissing dreams are pretty memorable.
I remember wanting to go answer Nature's Call. I remember the unpleasant sensation of a full bladder wanting release. I remember that the dream doesn't make things easy; Nooooo... instead of having a nice, well-lit comfort room like those in posh theaters or malls, I found myself in an obviously stinking, unmaintained, decrepit college building-class toilet, with primitive wall-urinals that haven't had flowing, cleaning water down them in years. It's either that or I am forced to relieve myself on a lavabo. Argh. When I finally let go, I distinctly remember having no relief despite anything.

About at that time, I wake up and immediately head for the real toilet.

Thankfully, I have never actually let go in my sleep, during a pissing dream. Thinking back to it, perhaps the setting of a yucky, horrid CR is the dream's way of protecting you from actually feeling TOO comfortable when pissing in your dream, so that you actually DO start tinkling in bed. Hmmm. Intriguing.

Moving on... moving on...

Steak through the Heart

Today I went out with my college friends and watched X2 at Greenhills. It was their first and my third time watching it. Have to say that despite my reservations with it, I guess I really like it. Afterwards we had a gravy-drowned, hot plate-searing, tongue-burning meal of artery-clogging STEAK at the ubiquitous, ambience-free Steak Joint.
We headed home and I treated the guys to the Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust anime movie. This 2001 movie was produced by Studio Madhouse, the same animation house that produced the anime classic Ninja Scroll. This remake of the original Vampire Hunter D anime is still influenced by the designs of Yoshitaka Amano (who also did cover art for Final Fantasy, and even Neil Gaiman's stuff), but you can easily see Madhouse's unique look and high quality animation.
Bloodlust's title character, the Vampire Hunter D, is a Dunpeal (a half-vampire/half human hybrid) whose life's work is protecting humans and hunting down evil leeches. D is contracted to rescue a young lady named Charlotte, who has apparently been kidnapped by a powerful vampire noble named Meier Link. Along for the chase are an elite team of human vampire killers called the Marcus Brothers, and protecting Link are monsters known as the Barbaroids. Though the quest starts off as a simple chase and rescue, it soon becomes apparent that not all is what it seems, and an evil, manipulating hand is influencing events for a sinister agenda.
Bloodlust has it's share of violence, though not at the level of Ninja Scroll, and has pretty little in terms of nudity or sex. Still, it's a very mature anime with exceptional music, truly excellent animation and a superb english voice cast (Yep, it's in english). VHD is available in VCD and DVD at good anime stores.

Free Comic Book Day

I'd like to thank Vinnie for the cool free comic books as part of Free Comic Book Day. The nice freebies include Metallix (Future Comics), Skinwalker (Oni Press), Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things (Oni Press), Landis (A-Bomb), Slave Labor Stories, Way of the Rat (Cross Gen) and Transformers: Armada (Dream Wave).
Many thanks to Vinnie and Comic Quest. To support this wonderful tradition, I'll be bringing a pile of copies of my original Angel Ace 2: Hunter's Heart Gaiden to give away free at the store. Here's to a successful Free Comics Day and an increased number of comics readers everywhere.

My New Blog: Lone Wolf and Cherub



I've replaced my old anime-themed blog with a page that is to focus primarily on me as a manga creator and indie comic producer. This will also serve as my online manga production/development diary/journal, both for my ongoing Angel Ace title and anything else that comes into the picture. So that pretty much means anime talk will trickle back here in Stark Raving MAD. Heh.

Anyway, check out how hard yet rewarding it can be to live with high-flying manga superheroines and slinky comic femme fatales. Visit Lone Wolf and Cherub.

The Challenge of the Superfriends


Classic Superhero versus Supervillain fun.

This is a guilty pleasure/nostalgia classic piece that I've been waiting for quite some time now. Warner Brothers finally released the first few episodes of this classic Superfriends cartoon on DVD, which first aired in the late 70s. Unlike the earlier DC Comics-based Superfriends series which saddled the heroes with teenage troublemakers like Zan and Jana (and their space monkey, Gleek), The Challenge of the Superfriends tackles the heroes' battles against their many arch-foes, banded together as The Legion of Doom. Let me tell you... this series is ALL about the villains. We're talking baddies like Captain Cold, Sinestro (He of the Yellow Power ring), Solomon Grundy (whom we learn has a Cajun accent), Bizarro, Giganta (evil jungle girl/growing woman), The Scarecrow, Toymaster, Grodd and more. This show was cool because it was all about heroes versus villains, evil plots hatched around a council room (complete with Lex Luthor banging a gavel) and some pretty wild scenarios. Most of the time the plan would seemingly succeed... at least until the Justice League finally figures out what's going on and turns the tables on the Legion. The fight scene at the end pretty much always has the Legion getting beaten (in non-violent ways, usually). However, in order to aid in show continuity, the baddies almost ALWAYS have an escape plan; of course the good guys don't care since if they caught the villains then, what would they do for the next episode? Heh.
It's all as I remember it; the funny voice acting, 'zooming-light' transitions, the cheezy voiceover blaring "Meanwhile... at the Hall of Justice..." and so much more. This is great stuff. The DVD comes with four episodes, and a couple of extras including some villain files (no hero files though; no big since the baddies are more interesting... heh), episode introductions by one of the series' producers, and a little guessing game. Not bad, but I would have wanted more episodes. Oh well.
I am hoping they come out with the rest of the series soon. Gosh, it's great to watch these cartoons... they don't make them like this anymore.

The Original X2 Story

I went to Comic Quest today, braving the expected holiday crowds. I picked up my weekly haul, which includes a reprint of God Loves, Man Kills, the original X-Men comic on which the just-released movie X2: X-Men United is based, and one of my all-time favorite comics.
There are some cuts though, since the reprint is in the usual comic format while the original material was a larger graphic novel. The art is still excellent, the action great and the story compelling; albeit a bit wordy at times. GLMK is about the X-Men's battle against the plot of a tele-evangelist named William Stryker to exterminate all mutantkind. Stryker comes with the considerable resources of his Stryker Crusade; a fanatical corps of heavily armed paramilitary troops called the Purifiers (led by a woman named Anna; who is replaced in the movie by Deathstrike) and a plan to use the powers of Charles Xavier to carry out his genocidal scheme.
The comic stars the classic X-Men lineup; Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Colossus and Kitty Pryde. A somewhat reformed and more benign Magneto also joins the heroes in this epic story, lending his awesome powers to the defense of mutantkind (and with far less dark motives than Ian McKellen's character in the film).

Crash Collision

During our X2 screening, I sat beside James Palabay of Culture Crash. As the two manga guys in the group that night, we naturally gravitated towards talking about our favorite topic; our works and how we can improve them. I have been reading Culture Crash from the first issue and have every single copy; I consider myself pretty expert in the series, it's characters and also, it's drawbacks and shortcomings. James asked me my opinions on his best-selling mangazine and told me to be brutally frank. So I was. Heh. To be fair (to myself) I really didn't have to be; I just told it as I saw it, and I hope that James found stuff that he can use to further push the envelope in Culture Crash in terms of story development.

Basically, my one all-important suggestion to James was this; focus on characters and invest in good, solid character development. That's the one thing that I find lacking in most of CC's series; it is rich and abundant with comedy, SD expressions and sight gags, but light on stuff that makes readers feel kinship or closeness for the characters. In general, characters lack depth.
I personally didn't find Airee Collette, the cat-girl protagonist of comedy-fantasy title Cat's Trail , very engaging or sympathetic since you never actually ever got into her head. After 10 issues, I have no idea what kind of person she is, or if she even really cares about her compatriots Polaris and Butler. Why should I care about her when she seems outwardly to be a self-serving, larcenous pickpocket? I think it would benefit all the stories in CC if they show sides to each character which make them more human, rather than anime caricatures.

On the plus side, the latest issue of CC does indeed seem to be finally heading for more plot, with particularly status-quo shaking events happening in One Day, Isang Diwa. CC already has the production and art down pat; if they up the ante with likeable, deep characters and a compelling plot... that would be something to look forward to.

Now I have to keep upping the ante and pushing the envelope in Angel Ace as well. Heh.

X2: X-Men United


An X-cellent sequel.

Thanks to Cams, the whole gang (along with James of Culture Crash) spent the night watching the sequel to one of the best comic book-to-movie translations yet filmed. I've read tons of reviews raving about the film, about how it's SO much better than the original, and how kick-ass it is overall. So, how did I like it?

Pretty much, actually. Though I had issues. X2 is based on one of my most beloved comic stories of all: the original X-Men graphic novel, God Loves Man Kills. Well, X2 doesn't live up to the source material. Oh well. Taken as it is, though, the X2 movie really isn't bad at all. Yes, it IS better than the first movie. It ups the ante. It pushes the envelope and then some.
The returning X-Men cast have sunken into their roles more comfortably, though no one will obviously be winning any acting awards for this film. What makes up for this is the seemingly endless cascade of fanboy service, references to the comic books and a wealth of quite exceptionally shot and choreographed action sequences.

Minor Spoilers Ahead

Rating high on the Awesome scale for me in X2 are:

The brilliantly executed opening sequence in the White House. Nightcrawler is just perfectly realized, complete with German accent and brimstone. Can you say... BAMF? Heh. Teleportation rules.

Mystique KICKS ASS. And what a lovely ass that is, too. I just have to say that the movie version just blows away anything in the comics. Screw the Wolverine solo movie. Give Rebecca Romjin-Stamos a Mystique-starrer. All her scenes are action-packed and exciting, and she just dominates the screen whenever she appears. Bad to the bone she may be but I can't help but feel jealous at Magneto for having his own personal blue shapeshifter at his beck and call.

The assault on the mansion is tightly shot with the right amount of suspense, super powers and yes, berserker rage.

LOTS of X-kids seeing action. Kitty Pryde and a certain Russian...Heh.

Deathstrike is X2's version of Darth Maul. She kicks ass. She also hardly speaks...

Magneto's jailbreak. My God. I may just stop taking iron tablets now...

Pyro is X2's version of Anakin. This minor character has some hot scenes (heh).

Mutants versus mutants. Mutants versus soldier guys. Lots of action all around!

The Deathstrike-Wolverine duel. DAMN that must hurt...

And now, for the Not-so-Cool scale...

Brian Cox may be a great actor, but he just looks too nice and fatherly to me to be too menacing as villain William Stryker. And his tin soldiers just pale in comparison to the graphic novel's Purifiers...

Iceman goes home... Yawn...

The Blackbird versus the air force. No matter how cool, tornadoes just aren't as effective as missiles...

Deathstrike is X2's Darth Maul... which means she's way cool, but underused and won't be coming back for X3...

The finale was just overlong. Too many scenes, too many shifts and plot twists and events that kinda dragged, and it eventually bogged down and got awkward. Sigh. Still, comic fans will LOVE what happens in the end...

Professor X's heavy-handed visit to the President. I throw your line back to you, Professor. "Whenever you feel like showing off... Don't."

The BIG thing that happens in the end. No precursors to it. Where did that come from? Oh well. At least it bodes well for the future.

While this movie is entitled X-Men United, I am very sure each of us in the gang have VERY different opinions. But, after all is said and done, I liked it. A lot, actually. The show was exciting and breathtaking at parts, though there were some iffy parts and the final act kinda dragged. Still, the action rocked and the characters are still pretty cool and it can only get even better. At the very least I am looking forward to the DVD release. Yep, that will be swell.

Just give us more Mystique. More... Heh.

X-cited. X-static. X-pectant.

Tonight the gang will watch a premier showing of X2: X-Men United(Saw that coming, didn’t you?). The show starts (supposedly) early, so I will have to make it a point to disembark from the Salt Mines as soon as I can. To this end, I have already bribed several of the guards to allow me passage via an abandoned aqueduct. Several other prisoners from my cell block have been promised freedom as well. Little do they know all they will profit from distracting the main garrison will be a quick and painless death. Hahahaha…

Ahem. Predictably, there will be reviews aplenty from our blogger clique. Arnold has specifically asked me to either minimize or clearly mark any spoilers. Heh. Anyway, this sequel looks awesome, from the trailers and features I’ve watched online to the many rave reviews to the awesome source material; the first X-men graphic novel, God Loves Man Kills. I kinda know what happens since I ventured a look into the comic adaptation (I love spoilers) but I pretty much know that the comic adaptation is NOTHING like the actual film.
Hope this night will be free of any wrinkles, but I will expect a long, boring pre-movie show, long, crowded lines and your requisite struggle to get some decent popcorn.
On the other hand, I also hope for a healthy, entertaining conversation about the film after the show with the group.

Later then!

KICK ME! KICK ME! KICK ME!



Forgot that I deserve some butt-whupping after messing up the blog AGAIN after swearing just a day or two ago to never fiddle with the template at the office. Bad Mad. BAAAADDD...

Back to Abnormal

Thanks to our Webmistress Supreme, Cynthia, Stark Raving MAD's back to being it's eye-burning, rant and rave-filled self. Thanks, Cyn! WOOHOO!

Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah 2 Now Available!



The second and concluding part of the wonderfully hilarious and artistically brilliant comic, Ang Kagila-gilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran ni Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah, is now available!

To recap, Zsa Zsa is all about a gay beautician named Ada whose quiet life of working in his beauty parlor, dreaming about an impossible love with the cute guy next door and dealing with his sassy sidekick Didi is turned upside-down when a rock falls from the sky to hit him on the head while he was showering (exhale!). Like the magical stone from the Darna mythos, the rock imbues the person who swallows it and utters the word ‘Zaturnnah’ with super abilities. It also, apparently, causes a gender switch, turning gay Ada into a totally female sex bomb superheroine named Zsa Zsa!
In the first issue, Zsa Zsa battles several threats that appear from out of nowhere to menace his/her hometown; first a giant frog, and then a plague of zombies. Fortunately, Zsa Zsa is able to conquer along with the aid of her friends, Dodong and Didi. However, the real threat revealed itself at the end… in the form of Alien Women from Outer Space calling themselves The Amazonistas from Planet XXxxx…

In the concluding issue, Zsa Zsa must gather all her courage, strength and hutzpah to take on the Amazonistas, particularly their Queen; the hifallutin' Femina. The Battle of The Sexes begins like you’ve never seen it before!

Anyone who reads Zsa Zsa simply has to fall in love with the wonderfully hilarious dialogue (which contains quite a lot of tagalog and local references), the brilliant art and action sequences and fresh presentation. Aside from the action and comedy, Zsa Zsa also has deeper and less obvious themes of being honest and true to one’s self, the need for love and acceptance and the courage to go on with or without it, and the true meaning of being a hero. I heartily recommend this to anyone who loves to laugh, cry and simply have fun with a good story, comics or not.
Zsa Zsa # 2 (Art and Story by Carlo Vergara) is sold at Comic Quest for Php120. Get your copy NOW before they run out!

And in closing, congratulations to Carl for selling through the roof and breaking even with the first issue! Zsa Zsa’s a certified hit! And for the record, I AM serious about that Angel-Zsa Zsa crossover, Carl. Heh...

Blood-soaked Battle Royale 2 Trailer!

The latest trailer to the late Kinji Fukasaku's black-comedy/social commentary/survival-action classic, Battle Royale, has hit the web. Upping the ante by about 200 percent, BR2 takes place some time after the first movie and yet again throws a batch of young Japanese teens into a meat grinder of a situation. The new batch of fresh meat, er, talent is pitted against the survivors of the first film (Shuya Nanahara, who's now a professional revolutionary and terrorist). Many of the scenes remind me of the Omaha beach landing scene from Saving Private Ryan. Except in Japanese. Heh.
The bad news is that the trailer is in Windows Media, not Quicktime. Still, see it if you're a BR fan. Lots of blood, violence and Japanese screaming. Oh, my. Download the BR2 trailer here.

Comic Quest Blog

My friend Vinnie, owner/proprietor of my favorite blood donation center, Comic Quest, has finally been persuaded (he'd say coerced... don't mind him) into entering the wonderful world of blogging. Vin's a writer and a romantic at heart, and without a doubt has tons of stuff to talk and write about; from the endless parade of customers and personalities he has to deal and converse with over the counter, to the wealth of fantasy stories he has gleaned from a lifetime of living and working around comics and toys (He's working on his future opus, Twilight Empires, even now). Check out his new blog, My Life As A Bed.

TechTV Farewells

WAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!! My favorite show on TechTV, Extended Play, is over. It's being retired. It's gone. This gaming reviews, previews and news show, hosted by game-guru Adam Sessler was so entertaining for me... I could watch episodes again and again. And I did, since they rotated episodes and showed them daily, slipping in reviews and features like lego bricks to make up a show. Yes, new reviews and nuggest of updated info came few and far between, but the show was funny and cool. It will be missed.
The good news though is that it will be replaced by X-Play (heh), a late night show that will feature edgier content. Described as a 'level up' from before, XP will feature more cutting-edge game reviews, news and previews. Adam will continue to give his prickly comments, hatred for cut scenes and other quirks, together with a new co-host, Morgan Webb (from The Screensavers).
On a less happy note, I finally found out that resident geek Chris Pirillo has indeed left Call For Help for some reason. I actually realized this when I saw the animated intro of the show feature a cartoon of Leo Laporte (The Screensavers) rather than the bespectacled gnome. Oh well. Things change, I guess.

Coming Soon

Yeah, X2 aka X-Men United is coming within the next couple of weeks, but there are a lot of films coming that have me excited. This is aside from Return of The King and The Matrix sequels, mind you.
There's Identity, a whodunit-murder mystery thriller set in a secluded inn/motel cut off by rain and flood. By what first seems coincidence a large group of strangers congregates, coinciding with the approaching execution of a serial killer. Soon though, people start dying in morbid ways and it soon becomes apparent that nothing was coincidental, nothing random, nothing is what it seems. A killer is among them, and his... or her... identity will only be revealed after more blood and chills are let loose. This puzzling thriller stars John Cusack and Ray Liotta.

Pirates of the Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a period fantasy film where a cursed, undead band of cutthroats (led by Geoffrey 'It's Captain Amazink' Rush) is seeking the many pieces of Inca gold that turned them into skeletal ghouls. Orlando 'Legolas' Bloom plays a young blacksmith whose fiancee was kidnapped by the undead pirates. To save her, Bloom teams up with a scruffy Johnny 'You've bewitched me' Depp, who plays Captain Sparrow, a pirate himself who seems to have a link with Rush and his mates. Lots of swashbuckling, swordfighting, musket-firing, skeleton fighting action here.

The Real Cancun is a big-screen version of The Real World; the first reality-TV show to make it to movie screens. Basically it's what you'd expect of a Spring Break movie... lots of T&A from various young, attractive nobodies, drinking and implied sex. I've read some reviews that this movie is pretty much crap, but hey... It's crap with lots of T&A! Heh-heh... Umm... Yeeeesss....

Sinbad: Legends of the Seven Seas is the next animated film from Dreamworks/SKG. It's animation style is similar to that of Road to El Dorado and Prince of Egypt, predictably. Besides that though, the material gives to tons of swashbuckling action, CG sea monsters that are either intentionally made rough (to emulate the classic Harryhausen stop-motion stuff) or just plain bad. Anyway, Brad 'What's in the box...?' Pitt voices Sinbad, and there are reportedly some pretty BAD (as in, not good) lines like 'Who's BAD? SinBAD!'. Groan. On the good side, there's a sexy femme fatale love interest and a slinky villainess, so this may not be too bad. Heh.

Check out the trailers for these films and more at the Apple Movie Trailers page.

Vampire in Outer Space

Just watched an episode of Andromeda, the sci-fi action series on AXN starring Kevin 'Hercules' Sorbo. While I usually don't watch this series (not particularly because it's bad or anything... just never really got into it), the Buffy fan in me found it neat that James 'Spike' Marsters was a guest star. Marsters' character was a powerful official named Charlemagne Bolivar whom Captain Dylan Hunt (Sorbo) has to convince to join the Commonwealth of Worlds (an alliance of good planets Hunt is trying to rebuild). When a mysterious enemy attacks, Bolivar takes up arms alongside Hunt, and in the end joins the Commonwealth.
Sadly though, we probably won't be seeing Spike back in Andromeda; this episode was apparently Marsters' only appearance in the series. Despite the reported popularity of the kick-ass character of Charlemagne, apparently the producers wouldn't pay Marsters' price to reprise the role. Oh well.
What's funny though is that despite being galaxies away from Sunnydale, he STILL looks like Spike. I guess slicked-back blonde hair and long leather overcoats are universally cool. Heh.

Local Comic Gems


The catch of the night: Grafic and Culture Crash 10

I picked up a copy of the Atenean student comic anthology, Grafic. Dean recommended this gem to me and I agree... there's good stuff between them covers. There are interesting articles and editorials on the comic medium, a look at the finalists of Likha, a comic-making contest held on campus, and some really engaging pages of sequential art. Andrew Drilon's White, the winner of the comic contest, is a spooky yet beautifully-told tale that really deserves the win. Then there are some other wonderful panels, including a story about the battle between Ferdinand Magellan and Lapu-Lapu.
The art styles vary a lot; there are quite a few manga artists in the book, though more experimental art styles are on feature. There's a whole lot of promise, raw talent and enthusiasm in the young people who made this book... These are the next generation of artists and writers, hopefully. Makes me kinda wince that I didn't have an org like that way back in my college days. Back then, comics were all superheroes and kidstuff. How the world has changed since then; today, comics and art is a viable option for employment for the ambitious and skilled, and it's being taught in colleges (albeit still rarely). Great!
Grafic: Words-Pictures-Comics is available at Comic Quest branches. Forgot how much it is, but it's worth every peso. Get it and read it! Who knows... you might be inspired to do comics too!

On a sidenote, I also got a copy of Culture Crash 10, which was promptly scooped up by Angel. Check out her thoughts on it at her blog, Straight from the Angel's Mouth.

Angel has a blog!


When she's not sitting on ledges, Angel watches lots of anime.

I've decided to revamp my anime blog, MAD About Anime and wouldn't you know it... Angel volunteered to write it. Before I knew it, she made it totally her own! Heh. I guess she got bored watching TechTV (She likes Cris Purillo for some reason)and playing Xbox games with Rip. For the best anime news, reviews and views this side of Newhaven City, visit Straight From the Angel's Mouth!

Forceful Billboard

Near White Plains there's a spot where a billboard for Kamiseta is usually found. Well, today I saw that the Mandy Moore (Want Moore?) board's gone, replaced by a black teaser billboard with copy that goes: "Kamiseta is reaching for the Stars. May the Force be with you."
Okay, since Carrie Fisher is probably too old to be a Kamiseta girl, I'm probably guessing a certain former Queen of Naboo-turned Galactic Senator who was a professional hitman's little sidekick in another life is going to start modelling for Kamiseta. Just a guess.

Brand New Ride


The new MRT is big, sleek and new, with a purple-yellow color scheme.

I was finally able to snap pics of the brand new MRT that runs from East to West in Metro Manila. At present, the trains only have a limited range and running time; basically from the Santolan station to Cubao, and only during rush hours (6-9 AM and 5-8 PM). The ride costs 12 pesos, which is worth it if you're going for speed and avoiding traffic.
The MRT stations are spiffy new, and, blank. People probably don't know much about the MRT, or as yet don't consider it worth the effort given the limited range. They're big places, and pretty cool. The trains themselves are large, maybe 25% larger, wider and a whole lot longer than the Edsa MRT cars. I simply cannot picture these big trains filled to capacity since they're so large. Eventually the trains will be fully operational and hopefully make commuting a whole lot easier.


The cars are spacious and cool... for now.