Retro Film Review: Land of Faraway

For not much reason, I began remembering recently this movie that I watched years ago when I was a kid. It was entitled Land of Faraway. Back then, DVDs (and VCDs/CDs, even) were nowhere around, and movies were available on betamax tapes for rent in shops or neighborhood merchants. I wasn't expecting much from the tape- I mean, the title was kinda blah- but the movie got me interested soon after I plucked it into the player.
Land of Faraway, AKA Mio in the Land of Faraway, is a European-produced storybook fantasy, based on a novel. It is all about the adventures of a young boy named Bosse, a seemingly ordinary kid living with his adoptive parents in a dreary home. One day, in a fit of anger, his surrogate parent remarks at how his father was a good-for-nothing drunk... something that Bosse vehemently objects to, despite him not really knowing his real dad.

Then, one day, while walking along, Bosse encounters, of all things, a floating, giant bearded and disembodied head (!) which informs him that he is going home to his true home, to his true father, in the Land of Faraway. So, faster than you can say 'Faraway', Bosse hangs onto the long beard and is whisked off to a magical land. There, he soon meets another boy, Jum-Jum, who becomes his best friend, and of course, his father, the King of Faraway. He also finds out that his real name isn't Bosse, but Mio. How's that for a complete change?

Now, you'd think that Bosse/Mio would be totally happy after that... but then, that would make for a pretty boring story. Soon after arriving in Faraway, Mio notices with a bit of alarm the size and massiveness of Faraway's castle gate. As Jum-Jum explains, it's needed so the King can sleep at night. Faraway is, unfortunately, a kingdom under siege, from an EVIL Knight named Kato. This blackguard has kidnapped many of Faraway's children, and is holding them captive in his castle. Eventually, Mio takes it upon himself to gather the courage (and the enchanted items) needed to free the captive children, confront Kato and defeat the stone-hearted knave once and for all.

As fantasy films go, Land of Faraway isn't too high on the whimsy- it's pretty straight and matter-of-factly told, a bit heavy-handedly at that. Since it's based on a novel, there's quite a bit of narration with lines that sound straight from the book. The way Mio and Jum-Jum go about defeating Kato also plays like everything's preordained, with an enchanted item matching every situation down to an invisible cloak for thwarting seven-times-seventy guards, and a magical sword for plunging into Kato's stone heart. The production is no LOTR, either, but at the time, it didn't really matter.

These days, what's really surprising for me aside from my remembering this film, are the names of the actors in the film which I never really remembered. Well, Kato the evil Knight was played by none other than Christopher Lee. Meanwhile, Mio's sidekick Jum-Jum was performed by... The Batman himself, Christian Bale. Wild, man.

The Land of Faraway wasn't really a great fantasy film, but for some reason I remember it to this day. I guess it was clever in some ways, magical in some others, with enchantment and a dreamy feeling making up for less-than-spectacular production/special effects and a European dub. It's one of the films that make up my childhood, so at the very least, it's something that I am glad that I was able to experience. Far better than the original Critters, I'd say. Heh.

The Saga Continues


Spoilers Ahead.

I finally watched the whole first season of Heroes, and what can I say? I love it. Yeah, the show isn't perfect, there are flaws and stuff aplenty that I find hokey or hard to swallow but in the end, it was a show that I could watch episode after episode after episode without batting an eye or slowing a beat. That makes it a winner in my book.

My favorite characters: Hiro Nakamura is one, of course, since he's a little fat guy with glasses who still pretty much is THE Hero in a series about Heroes. Peter Petrelli is bad-ass and he's got a great power (although why he can't control the exploding thing is a big flaw) which makes him the only real match to the series' main baddie, Sylar... who is by the way also another one of my favorite Heroes 'cause he's smart, bad-ass and deliciously evil and genuinely scary since he tends to kill everyone who gets in his way. Then there's Mr. Bennet aka "Horn-rimmed Glasses Man", who probably goes through the best character changes and developments in the series from hated villain to formidable anti-hero/good guy. Noah's little girl, Claire also rubs me the right way not only being cute but having the guts and morals of a true hero.

I'm not too hot with Nathan Petrelli (since you can never really tell if he's good or wishy-washy) and the super-powered family of Nikki and D.L. As for Matt Parkman, seeing him in his 'dark' version turned me off to him, his former run on Alias notwithstanding.

Best Moments: Still, the first time Nathan really cuts out flying. The part where Claire wakes up on the autopsy table. Mohinder getting the drop on Sylar. Future Hiro making his debut.

Disappointing Moments/Iffy Parts: Why can't we see the final battle between Alternate Sylar and Peter??? The solution to the Bomb threat was pretty... just there. Why couldn't Peter fly off on his own? There were like, at least two other people there who could shoot Peter if it was really needed. Or, why can't someone just clock him like Invisible Guy did in an earlier episode? Oh well.

For the most part, Heroes was a engaging, addictive watch. I can't wait to see how they advance the stories of the various heroes (I am glad that they are apparently going to continue the stories of the surviving heroes in the next season) and introduce new characters into the mix. No word yet on when Season 2: Generations starts, or when the one-shot Heroes: Origins will begin, but I'll surely be keeping my eyes (and browsers) peeled. YATA!

There Shall Be Only One

I got my hands on a copy of Highlander: Search for Vengeance, the anime version of the long-running franchise of sword-swinging immortals out to decapitate all other challengers in the bid to win 'the Prize'. This latest movie and first animated incarnation of the adventures of the MacLeods is megged by the acclaimed Yoshiaki Kawajiri, whose previous works include the seminal Ninja Scroll and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, while writing credits go to writer David Abramowitz, who wrote the scripts for a ton of Highlander shows. The feature film is being produced by Studio Madhouse, which pretty much gives Vengeance the same look and visual style of Kawajiri's past works.

The story isn't the most original- the protagonist, Colin MacLeod, is searching for Marcus Octavius, the immortal who slew his beloved centuries ago. Colin's hunt takes him throughout many periods of history, from World War II up to the near-future setting of Vengeance's present, where the world has been ravaged by both environmental and man-made disasters. The final battle will be fought in Marcus Octavius' fortress, once the city of New York. Will Colin lend his aid to the beleaguered freedom fighters battling the immortal dictator's oppressive reign, or will he simply seek to satisfy the hatred burning in his soul? Well... probably both actually. This movie really shouldn't hold too many surprises.

Reviews have already given some ideas of how Vengeance fares- the time-spanning chase has been the Highlander story from day one, so it doesn't really tread into any new territory. Also, it isn't as gory or violent or sexually-explicit as Ninja Scroll was, nor are the character designs as engaging or interesting. At the very least though, the animation looks good and there should be a fair bit of action and sexy sparrings onscreen. I'll try to give this an earnest watch as soon as I can so I can give my own two cents into the mix.

Spice Girl


Satoshi Kon's latest psychothriller anime.

Dreams are amazing, aren't they? One night you're surrounded by familiar faces and presences in your underwear... another night, you're being chased by a monster while running on a treadmill. On one level, they're inexplicable and unfathomable, yet on another it seems that the secrets to living life may actually be hidden in the nuances and images of our subconscious. But who can tell for sure?

Well, in the speculative world of Paprika, anime director Satoshi Kon's latest animated opus, dreams have finally been laid wide open thanks to a device known as the DC Mini. Created by the massively overweight and child-like genius Dr. Kosaku Tokita, the DCM allows one to see, enter and even interact with the dreams of patients, potentially opening the door to finding cures for various mental illnesses. At the forefront of this research is the beautiful yet seemingly cold and driven Dr. Atsuko Chiba (voiced by anime seiyuu icon Megumi Hayashibara), through her secret alter-ego; an adventurous, fun-loving red-headed teenaged dreamwalker named Paprika.

But when several samples of the DCM are stolen, the dark side of dream interaction is revealed as an unknown party begins tampering with dreams, sending people into a spiralling path of madness and even death. To protect their work and the waking world, Atsuko, Paprika and their colleagues fight to discover the villain behind this growing nightmare.
Fans of Satoshi Kon's work will feel right at home with Paprika- it contains much of what has come with his work before... beautiful female protagonists who are both tough yet vulnerable, gritty cops doggedly on the trail of their suspects, psychotic situations and dark humor and of course, wonderful animation and a complex story. Paprika certainly has tons of issues- such as the kinship between the internet and dreams, the morality of science and dream interaction and even the challenge posed on women in the modern/future workplace. Yet even with all that, it's also quite possible to just enjoy Paprika on a base level- it's a gorgeous work of animation with some seriously insane visuals.

The characters are a mix of the usual suspects and surprising cast choices- Atsuko is your beautiful yet cold heroine, counterbalanced by the bubbly and adventurous Paprika. Detective Konakawa, a hardened cop and patient of Paprika, seems to be the same gritty cop character often seen in Kon's other works. Then there's Dr. Shima, the usual wise, wizened old man often seen in anime in general. The most surprising new character is Dr. Kosaku Tokita- you don't usually see weight-challenged people as protagonists in anime aside from just for humor (Simpsons and The Family Guy come to mind when talking cartoon fat guys)- but Kon treats his overweight hero with as much dignity as he does the occasional fat joke. AND he gets the girl in the end.

Paprika isn't perfect- there are quite a few stretches of quiet and jargon that will probably bore those looking for instant gratification. Paprika for all her competence is as much damsel as heroine. But at the very least, with the wild imagery and animations on display, I can at least say that the film is a fair shot into showing the formless, ever-changing landscape of dreams- which is never an easy subject to tackle.
In terms of content, this is certainly not a kid's film- both because of the complexity of the subject and several instances of disturbing imagery and some nudity. Kids may enjoy some of the colorful animations and sequences, but the long talking sequences may get them drifting away into dreamland quite easily. For the anime enthusiast and fans of a great anime director's works, this is yet another dream come true.

Soulful Anticipation



As if my post about Soul Calibur was kind of a prophetic sign, it has been announced by 1Up that their magazine counterpart, Electronic Gaming Monthly, will be revealing news about the latest sequel in the Tales of Souls and Swords in their upcoming July issue.

First news of a new Soul Calibur game was that of a Wii action-adventure spinoff. At the time though, word of a true sequel to Soul Calibur III was already well-known. Here's another slash into the right direction. It's been a while since the last game, and I'm just really giddy with glee at the prospects of PS3 or Xbox360-quality graphics and gameplay with the SC cast. Character Creation, new warriors, weapons and lavish CG cinematics are just a few of the goodies expected in this coming hit. Hopefully we'll all be sticking each other with our beloved blades in the next few months.

Proudly Pinoy



I went over to Comic Quest yesterday to pick up my stuff, like the latest issue of DC's Countdown and Amazons Attack. To my surprise, a little package was waiting for me, addressed to simply 'Marco-san'. Well, I was the only Marco around so the CQ ladies gave the the gift, which was an issue of ABS-CBN's comic adaptation or version of the local superkid teledrama/telefiction series, Super Inggo. I looked at the art and it was kind of familiar. Looking at the credits confirmed it- the comic features the work of fellow komikero and K.I.A. comrade Michael Banting. Thanks for the sample, Mike! And good work! Congrats on landing the gig. Here's to more issues for you and Inggo!

The Soul Still Burns

Even with the PS3 at The Sanctum, I still find myself playing some retro classics from the old PS2 (and even PS1 on occasion). One of my favorite fighters in the Last Gen of fighting games is Soul Calibur III, a complete package of sword-fighting fun, adventure and fantasy from Namco Bandai. Continuing the 'Tale of Souls and Swords', SCIII saw the return of pretty much every character that has appeared in the title, as well as the debut of three new fighters- Setsuka the Geisha Assassin, Zasalamel the scythe-wielding mystery man and Tira, the circular blade-twirling psycho-girl. The battle for the elusive and evil sword Soul Edge and it's good mirror image Soul Calibur continued in earnest.

The graphics, animation and sounds of Soul Calibur III are top-notch, the best of the series. A lavish CG intro gets you into the mood, while a long-winded choose-your-own-adventure Tales of Souls Story Mode details every character's search for the sword, complete with realtime cutscenes that often involve an interactive element. The flaw though was that most characters share the same scenes, and you can't skip these parts... so after a while of playing you'll probably find yourself droning the charaters' lines of dialogue along with them hypnotically.

Then there's Chronicles of the Sword, an enhanced Quest mode with delusions of RTS grandeur. You basically create and take the role of a young cadet-turned commander in the military forces of the Grandall Empire, which is locked in war with several other countries. Divided into about 20 chapters, you have to battle your way through conspiracies, betrayals, plots and counter plots in this high-stakes war of empires. If that sounds epic and awesome, then scale your expectations down. It really just boils down to you sending your 'army' of four or five units all across a map, capturing enemy strongholds by first hacking these buildings to rubble and then fighting any enemy soldiers stationed inside. Even if a station is unmanned, you still have to hack the place down, which makes your characters more demolitionists than actual warriors. Though the story is told through a few pivotal realtime cutscenes and talking heads with text, your success is really based on your fighting skills. Still, even with all the tedious bits, it's an interesting way of unlocking tons of stuff, and does get involving after a while. You just have to be a little bit OC and patient to enjoy it.

If just the main fighting modes aren't enough for you, you can try your hand at various mini-games in the Soul Arena mode. These range from Fighting the End Boss or a Giant Statue to Sudden Death or Survival matches. It's pretty convenient and fun to have these in a single place. Some of the modes are fun, some are good for a try or two- but all are appreciated.

Finally, there's the Character Creation mode, which was much touted by the producers. To be fair, the mode is pretty awesome, and you'd wish that every fighting game from here on in has this feature. You create your new warrior from scratch, selecting sex, occupation and outfitting them with armor from head to toe. Aside from the skill-sets of the main cast, there are about ten or so new occupations like assassins, gladiators and samurai to assign to your new creation. While some are similar to already-existing styles, all are different and new in a way, so it's interesting to see them in action- even though some are quite overpowered and broken, and even bordering on ridiculous (yeah, tambourine-carrying dancers wreaking havoc is a bit wild). My only wish is that the mode had even more stuff to use- more variety of clothing, armor and accessories. You just can't have too much stuff in something like this. Even so, it's a pretty robust offering and the best one of it's kind so far in a major fighting game. I can't wait to see how Character Creation will turn out in the next game.

With all these stuffings, Soul Calibur III is one fighting package loaded to the rafters with modes, secrets, unlockables and stuff to do and find. It's great to be able to play this in an upscaled, smoother look in widescreen via the PS3- and with what may be a long wait till Soul Calibur IV, it looks like I'll be playing this for a while yet.

Divine Divinity


Goddess Llyra takes flight.

I love action figures- particularly action figures of sexy action heroines and anime/videogame babes. I've already got a small army of these protecting The Sanctum and my workstation at The Salt Mines, and that family just got a little bit bigger. My latest acquisition is Goddess Llyra, part of the Spawn Series 31 action figures. This figure is inspired by the character of the same name that appears in the one-shot comic Spawn: Godslayer, a warrior goddess who protects the island of Endra-La from invaders. This brings her into conflict with a mysterious ravager known as Marauder Spawn, who has come to, well, slay gods.

Now, while I am usually impressed by the quality of McFarlane figures, I haven't been particularly pleased by the actual designs of their warrior women series- I dislike the generic look of a lot of them, with their face-paints, bondage-style outfits and big, bulky boots that make them look like elephant half-breeds. Llyra however, is quite different. She doesn't have much in the way of gaudy decor with her pretty minimal metallic costume and ornaments; her face is gorgeous and devoid of face paint or any angsty scars or prosthetic crap, and her pleasantly bare legs and feet are finely sculpted.

She's a pretty glorious and fantastic representation of the female form (albeit a four-armed female form), in a magnificent pose that has her taking off into the air, flaming sword raised for battle. From head to toe, the detail in the figure is amazing. She doesn't have much in the way of articulation aside from her arms and waist, but the pose is pretty much perfect as it is. The flowing cloth around her waist extends downward to form into the figure's base, which is supposed to carry the figure and hold it aloft in 'flight'. She comes with a couple of black metal rods that you attach for support and prevent sagging over time. Not too obtrusive, thankfully. It does take a bit of assembly (getting on the wings is particularly stiff), and her sword tends to come apart easily, but once she's put together, she's a vision.
I'm also happy as well since Llyra's overall look and pose is so similar to an Aspen Studios' Kiani statue that I've been ogling online but will probably never get since it's priced at over three hundred dollars (AAARHHH). In any case, Llyra is simply divine (saw that coming, didn't ya?). I like her so much that I also got the comic in which she appears, and really, the figure is far more beautiful than Jay Anacleto's artworks of the character.

I'm also now actively looking for more femme fatales from McFarlane (the goddess needs some underlings to serve her, after all) despite the fact that I am fast running out of space to put these beauties. I'll just worry about crossing that bridge when I get there. Heh.

I got tagged by Carl and Budjette: “Each player of this game starts with 6 weird things about himself or herself. People who get tagged need to write a blog entry of their own as well as state the rule clearly. In the end, you need to tag 6 people as well and list their names. Don’t forget to let them know they’ve been tagged!”

Six Weird Things About Me

Une
I am incredibly OC concerning two very specific things. One, The Sanctum AKA My Room. I can spend hours just rearranging magazine piles, boxes, books, action figures, DVD libraries and what have you from one corner to another. I get into it so much that afterwards, I just stand back and feel strangely like having a cigarette.
The other thing is my Pocket PC Phone's wallpapers. I can spend whole nights just finding visuals to lay out on the 320 x 240 screen, fixing up multiple layers of images, text and effects until it's just right, factoring down to to the millimeters between text and the main visual, to the colors of the borders. Then I just stash it away in the phone and use something else. Yeah, weird.

Deux
I can eat the same thing over and over and over. One time I spend a couple of weeks eating at McDonald's every night with the same meal- 2 piece McChicken Meal with extra rice and a Burger McDo on the side. Every night for two weeks. Then I shifted over to the next-door KFC and ate there every night for a week. These days, my main meal at home is several deep-fried chicken wings, rice and soup. Again. And Again. And Again. And I love it.

Tres
I enjoy speaking english in a (supposed) Russian accent.

Quatre
I don't see myself ever driving my own car. My primary reason is my perceived propensity for Road Rage- I might lose my temper and smash into the first car that overtakes me or honks his horn at me the wrong way, or run over pedestrians who don't cross at the proper lane. To ensure the safety of countless people, I think I must remain a commuter.

Sinc
Based on an incident that happened a long time ago during a high school excursion, my immediate reaction to anything that genuinely startles me won't be to scream or yell in terror but to do a comical "HIYAAA" complete with a Karate Kid Crane Stance.

Sais
While a lot of people often experience LSS or Last Song Syndrome (where you keep hearing the last song you've heard in your head over and over), I have what may be a more specialized version called LQS or Last Quote Syndrome. One time on the way to work, I suddenly remembered this joke about lawyers and rats told by Robin Williams in the movie Hook, and it kept repeating in my head over and over and over until I finally got to work and was able to focus on something else.

I hereby TAG anyone who reads this blog entry.

In Support of Piracy


Does the Third Pirates movie sink or swim?

For the past several weeks, I've seen a couple of 'third' chapters of blockbuster franchises, only to find myself disappointed. Spider-Man 3 impressed with fight scenes but horrified with bad writing and a bad ending. Shrek the Third was just not funny or as entertaining as previous entries. And now... here's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Does it blow the rest of the pack out of the water, or does it scream "STRIKE THREE" as the third third movie mess?

For starters, I have to remind everyone that At World's End is a continuation of the story started in the previous chapter, Dead Man's Chest. You NEED to have watched and understood Part Two to appreciate the goings-on in Part Three. That said, this kind of thing is common these days in our era of trilogies like The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings. If it's been a while, bring out those DVDs and refresh your pirate lore before heading off to theaters.


ARRR! Beware of SPOILERS, Matey!

With the terrifying Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) and his ship, The Flying Dutchman, under his control, Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) of the East India Trading Company is waging a campaign of genocide versus all of the seas' pirates. The opening minutes of AWE is leagues darker than previous films, with scenes of merciless hangings aplenty showing just how high the stakes have risen since the devil-may-care second chapter.

With their way of life and very survival threatened, the resurrected Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) joins Elizabeth Swan (Keira Knightley, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and the remnants of the Black Pearl's crew to find and rescue Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from his own personal hell in Davy Jones' Locker. This takes up the first part of the film, and is in itself an epic quest reminiscent of old fantasy films like the Sindbad movies or Terry Gilliams' Erik the Viking. It's ridiculous but enthralling, mystical and ludicrous and one heck of a ride. As for The Locker itself, it's a place of unique torment, and a peek into the demented mind of one Captain Jack Sparrow- let me tell you... the man is NUTZ. As in, he's got real peanuts growing out of his 'ead! I kid you not.

Anyways, after Jack is finally rescued and resurrected from the briny afterlife (OOH SHOCKER!), the heroes all promptly start scheming and plotting their way on their own agendas, be it to rescue a loved one (Will), to save the pirate race (Barbossa) or to just be able to sleep at night (Elizabeth). There are double-crosses and triple-crosses and here comes the part where people may get confused and lose sense of what's going on.

Here's a hint. ALL of the leads are good guys, more or less. The bad guys are either smarmy redcoats or half-fish monsters. Or bald scarred Chinese pirate lords. So no matter who betrays who, everyone remains, in their own way, true.

While two thirds of this journey is mainly character interaction, drama, deals and double-deals and injections of humor (that's a mite funnier than in DMC), the final hour is all action... a literal wild ride that does not let up until a rip-roaring slow-mo obliteration of one ship- I mean, Cutler Beckett may not be the most formidable or engaging villain in movies, but certainly his demise is truly exceptional. Bottom-line, If you liked or enjoyed the previous two Pirates films, you'll love this. It brings resolutions to all the characters (though a couple I feel were undeserved) and ends all the storylines so far revealed. At almost three hours, it will indeed satisfy you with good exposure from pretty much every character, from Jack Sparrow to the other Jack (the Undead Monkey).

What's Good and What's Bad? Let me start with the Bad.

The one big bad I have to say is this. The movie trailers and promotion all had me expecting this HUGE free-for-all battle between the world's freedom-loving pirates and the massive EITC Armada ranged to annihalate them. Well... it NEVER happens. The final battle is played out between two ships- the ubiquitous Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman. Granted, this ship-to-ship, crew-on-crew battle is simply awesome... but it would have been great to see the many other pirate lords introduced at least get their hands a bit dirty in the struggle, as it IS their survival at stake. Instead, everyone else just sit at the sidelines and cheer at the end once the fighting is all done... which kinda waters down the hurrah afterwards.

Another bad is a wee detail- mainly the fate of James Norrington (Jack Davenport). While the offscreen passing of Weatherby Swan (Jonathan Pryce) is a bit of a shocker given that he was a comic relief character, he at least gets to say a proper goodbye to Elizabeth- and it does serve the purpose of giving Liz reason to hate Beckett and the EITC more. Norrington's death (at the hands of the most unlikely character, to boot(!) just made me feel bad. The guy just never got a nice break, even though he was at heart an honorable and good man who deserved better. While his death had drama and meaning, it would have been nicer to have cut him some slack at the end. I mean, even those two chatty redcoats made it okay! Sigh.

Then there's the love story of Davy Jones and his former love, Calypso- something that seems so intense and deep, but is eventually lost and feeling unfinished. On the other hand, perhaps they were just there to reflect the present love and conflict between Will and Elizabeth.

Finally, the last significant 'bad' for me is Chow Yun Fat's Sao Feng. While Mr. Fat looks awesome bald and scarred, he just didn't have enough of a role to be really too significant. Even sadder, Keith Richards, who appears in shorter screentime, makes far more of an impression as the uber-cool Captain Teague, Jack Sparrow's daddy and Keeper of Pirate Law.

Well that's that. Other bads are just nitpicks.

For the good, then.

With three hours, you just cannot accuse this movie of cutting the fun short. Every character has stuff to do or say, and their little or big parts in the story. Thankfully, everyone is pretty easy to keep track of even with all the double-crosses and shifts from here to there and back again. The cast is in fine form, and it's great to Jack spar with Barbossa (particularly a scene with ever-growing spyglasses which is obviously loaded), and how Will and Elizabeth finally makes us care about their relationship again.

The World of Pirates has grown even more from Dead Man's Chest, and it's just cool. It's cool to find out that there are Pirate Lords, that a couple of our leads are part of this secretive (but not really that organized) cabal. It's cool to see just how much a fantasy world the Pirates Universe really is. And it all comes to life gloriously thanks to Industrial Light and Magic. Every new monster, fabulous setting, explosion and magical transformation is amazing and convincing- this film truly is a treasure trove of amazing sights, and incredibly enough they all seem seamless. You never for one second look at Davy Jones and say, he's CG. You just think he's a real damn Squid-faced Man of the Sea. When rocks become crabs and sail a ship through a desert, you believe it. If you can, watch this on Imax. DAMN that would be awesome. I am SOOOO getting this series on Blu-Ray.

And finally, the best 'Good' for me is that this movie satisfies. Remember the Matrix Revolutions? Remember how after it ended you came out going, 'that was it?' We all went home sad and disappointed at how Neo and Trin died but at least the human race survived and the Colonel will keep his word. Well, not here. The ending is true to the movies. It doesn't pull a Wachowski and go all existencial on us. Jack Sparrow's true heart shines in a great personal sacrifice. The most exciting wedding ever is held. Lives end and change but love conquers in the end. Some journeys definitely end here, but the world that is Pirates of the Caribbean is, like the sea, left open for future exploration. If Jack Sparrow has more tales to tell, I'll be right here waiting to listen.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is now showing in theaters. Get the small soft drink to keep from missing any of this. It's a long, exciting, absurd, goofy, thrilling and ultimately satisfying voyage.

Oh, and one last thing. There is a final epilogue scene AFTER the credits. When I watched, pretty much the ENTIRE audience had left and MISSED it! It's well worth seeing (unlike the 'dog' ending in DMC), so take my word for it. Wait.

Preparing to Set Sail

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is now showing here in Manila theaters. As much as I want to just go off and watch it the second I quit work, I'm a bit wary of the almost 3-hour running time and the prospect of going home past midnight. In any case, that I'm going to watch this the first chance I get is a given- I've been waiting for this film the first time I saw Jack Sparrow leap into the Kraken's maw. Certainly I've been anticipating AWE more than Shrek 3 and Spider-Man 3, both of which disappointed me. Pirates is, I realize, the Star Wars of our present day. A swashbuckling saga with the rascally pirate in the lead instead of a wussy farm boy. But hopefully, this, the third chapter, won't be another Return of the Jedi.

Despite a lot of negative reviews with guys complaining about how they can't understand what's happening, I am hopeful. It's infuriating when some hack on some site bashes a movie and writes all of one paragraph just saying he couldn't figure out what was going on. IF YOU CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO REVIEW IT. Understand what you're reviewing, 'reviewers'... that's your job. Sheesh. Good thing Harry Knowles at Ain't It Cool gave the movie a good thumbs up and a nice review for a change. So I'm stoked going into this one.

I definitely love the franchise, for the record. I do have my reservations about how the film can meander, but I do appreciate the length of the movies, the extended dialogies and sequences- it just makes it more detailed and, for the lack of a better word, exhaustive. You certainly get enough of each character, from Jack and Will and Elizabeth to Gibbs and Marty and Jack the Undead Monkey. The production and art direction are flawless, and just feels so consistent throughout the first two films. AWE looks to up the ante in a big, big way, with huge setpieces and new locations. The fantasy element is also given a boost, with more creatures from Davy Jones' crew, armies of colorful pirates and intriguing new concepts like the Pirate Lords and the Brethren of the Coast. It all just proves that making an MMORPG based on the Pirates world not a bad idea at all. I love this world, and the third movie looks to show you a lot more of it in this big budget, slam-bang finale.

Expect a review soon as soon as I watch it. I promise, it won't take three hours to read. Mehehe.

The Golden Compass



Here's the first official trailer to The Golden Compass, the first in the series of fantasy novels entitled His Dark Materials by British author Philip Pullman. I haven't read the books, but apparently this is set in a fantastic alternate reality where people have familiars called daemons and magic coexists with technology in a beautiful, Jules Vern-esque world- albeit with dangerous secrets hidden in the trappings. It's all about a girl named Lyra who is entrusted with, well, a Golden Compass which leads her on a dangerous but epic adventure.
There are big names in the cast, including Nicole Kidman as Mrs. Coultier, the movie's glamorous villainess. Also on board are the leads from Casino Royale- Daniel Craig plays Lord Asriel, Lyra's uncle and master adventurer, while Eva Green plays a gorgeous witch queen.

So far the visuals look fantastic and may just be worth the price of admission just for the art direction. Hopefully the story is awesome and the adaptation watchable for the big screen. It's still a ways off- December 2007 is the stated date. Till then, take a gander at the Youtube trailer and let your imagination fly.

Coming in Third



Friday night found me going out with Salt Mine workmate Joey and her hubby Rey to catch the latest Dreamworks CG feature, Shrek the Third at Greenbelt.
Unfortunately, I found this latest Shrek to be the least of the three Big Green Ogre movies released so far. The characters are still loveable, but the gags are just not as funny. At least for me. I don't know... maybe I've just watched too many jokes or seen the trailers too often to get cracked up. On the other hand, the lady next to me was positively bursting at the seams with laughter.

In any case, Shrek the Third isn't horrible, nor is there any cardinal sin committed like Spider-Man 3's Butler Bombshell. It just feels... stale. The new Arthurian add-ons to the cast are okay, but just not as developed as previous additions; they're more plot devices than characters that suddenly come to life like Puss in Boots did in Shrek 2. The movie has a bit too much going on, and the finale... well, the finale just sorta happened and that was that. Nowhere near the manic pace and action-packed hilarity of the Finale in Shrek 2.

If it isn't obvious by now, Shrek the Third comes to me as an inferior film to the previous two Shrek movies, particularly to Shrek 2, in everything but the quality of CG animation. Hopefully Shrek 4 (yes, a fourth film is already underway) will be fresher. Well, as fresh as a stinking Ogre can be.

On to Pirates 3, then.

Starcraft II



It's official. Blizzard debuted a CGI trailer for the long-awaited sequel to it's classic sci-fi RTS in Seoul recently. I'm not the biggest Starcraft fan, but I know a good thing when I see it. So far, here are some facts known about the game...

There will be three factions once more doing battle- Terran, Zerg and Protoss. No new races, unfortunately. The Story Mode will feature appearances by the game's previous important characters, such as Terran hero James Raynor, Protoss commander Zeratul and the Zerg Queen, Kerrigan. The game will be released primarily on PCs and Macs- no console plans yet (Boo). While the game has been in development for quite some time (ever since the completion of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne), there's still no word of a release date.

Well, Starcraft II is coming... perhaps sooner than anyone may realize. Something to look forward to in gaming in the months ahead. Heh.

Heaven or Hell



There's an epic blockbuster coming later this year... it's an action-packed fantasy adventure starring a female heroine. No, it's not Angelina Jolie or Kate Beckinsale... in fact, unless you're a gamer, you probably won't know much about Heavenly Sword, the next big videogame lurking on the horizon for the Playstation 3.

Set in a brutal fantasy world, Heavenly Sword tells the tale of Naruko, a young woman born under dire circumstances. Her birthday is the same as the day that the god of their world was supposed to come to the world, which is an evil omen. True to that sinister precognition, evil would soon sweep the land in the form of King Bothan, a bloodthirsty monarch backed by a vast army bent on genocide. Obsessed with a relic known as The Heavenly Sword, Bothan is ready to kill anyone and everyone in his way to what he sees is his destiny- to wield this weapon and rule the land as a god himself. Naruko's clan is the one entrusted with the keeping of the sword, and so it is them that receives most of Bothan's tender affection. After her home is invaded and her people enslaved or massacred, Naruko takes up the Heavenly Sword herself, even though she knows full well that doing so will inevitably lead to her own death- since no mere mortal should hold the Heavenly Sword and live. And so, with her life ticking away to oblivion, Naruko sets off on a one-woman war against an overwhelming enemy.


Beauty and strength. Naruko embodies both. And she enjoys long walks on the beach, too.

What sets Heavenly Sword from the rest of the pack is the blinding promise that this game has had from day one. Touted as one of the PS3's true next-gen titles, the game has slipped again and again from release dates, delayed for developmental purposes. Still, images and clips of Naruko laying the Smacketh Down on hordes of enemies, in gloriously hi-res graphics and animation, keeps gamers' mouths watering for Heavenly Sword. The Developers, Ninja Theory, also say that the game will not only be your run-of-the-mill hack-and-slash; they're calling it a cinematic fantasy-action drama, an epic movie players take control of. Adding to this claim is the fact that Lord of the Rings' alum and veteran actor Andy Serkis is on board to direct and act through the game's cinematic cut scenes, via motion-captured animation that strives to capture a character's emotions squarely on the digital personages appearing in the game.


He's no Gollum, but with Andy Serkis behind the evil King Bothan's movements, he's sure to be one meaty villain.

High-impact fighting mechanics and bone-crushingly brutal moves, hi-res and hi-def visuals as well as high-powered performances are all behind Heavenly Sword. I've seen only bits, but it all looks cool. I can only hope that the gameplay, story and content of this much-anticipated title is worth the wait. But at least, with Metal Gear Solid 4 nowhere to be seen, this should tide PS3 gamers for the rest of this year as 2007's big gun. Er, sword.

Boxed In

You'd probably think that after my revelation that the original Xbox is dead, that I wouldn't touch one with a ten foot controller. Well, no, actually- the console is still an excellent gaming platform, with tons of software (as long as I get to them before they disappear totally from store shelves). I got a used but still-in-good-condition Xbox1 from eBay (a local seller). The good thing is it came fully modded, with two controllers and quite a few games (though none that I like) at a very nice price- a brand new Gameboy would be pricier. It also comes with built-in any-region DVD playability so now I have a DVD player that can play my region-coded discs again in The Sanctum. So now I can play DVDs and a host of excellent games that deserve my attention and enjoyment. And now that empty slot in the gaming wall is occupied as well. I guess getting a Wii will have to wait. Heh.

Second Third

After the debacle that was Spider-Man 3, another second sequel is upon us- Shrek the Third is the latest chapter in the blockbuster CG-movie series about a grouchy but loveable green ogre and his life and love in a hilarious fairy tale world. This franchise apparently has no plans of stopping anytime soon- at least a couple of more Shrek movies are already being planned, and a spin-off film starring the Spanish cat, Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), has also been mentioned.

The latest film picks up some time after the last movie, and sees Shrek (Michael Myers) having a royal dilemma. The King of Far, Far Away (John Cleese) is dying, and an heir needs to be found. Of course, rather than be saddled with royal duties, Shrek goes on a quest to find another guy to stick in the throne. Meanwhile, Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) makes his move to take the vacant throne, and it's up to Fiona (Cameron Diaz) to rally a gang of fairy-tale princesses (voiced by a gaggle of comediennes from Saturday Night Live) to stage a counter-coup.
With pretty much the whole gang from the previous chapter coming back for the ride as well as some new faces and voices, Shrek the Third looks to continue the winning formula. I'll try to catch this soon, perhaps over the weekend at the latest. I want to be all clear by next week, when the THIRD Third movie hits Manila. Heh.

Ex-Box


X-tinct.

Right now, I'm actually regretting my decision to give away my old Xbox. I mean, when I gave it as a Christmas gift to my nephews, I thought they'd cheer at receiving a whole gaming console. But I remember that they just gave it a cursory 'Thanks' before going back to playing on the PS2. Not that I think they weren't grateful- it's that, I probably would have done better by giving them a new Playstation 2 rather than divest myself of a perfectly good, albeit apparently now DEAD console. Yeah, Microsoft is all focused on their now-gen Xbox360 console, so the older, heavier, blacker and bulkier (but weaker) original Xbox is left out in the cold. How focused? And how DEAD? Well, for starters do you know you cannot buy an Xbox console in any stores now? At least, in Greenhills I could not find a single store that would sell an original Xbox. They're now being phased out, like old model cellphones. Yeah, there are still Xbox games being sold, but the console itself is now extinct, at least here in Metro Manila.

Which is odd, I'd say, considering that there are still Dreamcasts, Super Nes's, Famicoms, Gameboys and PS's being sold. Why is the old Xbox suddenly gone? What happened to all those unsold Xboxes? I can hardly believe that all were sold. Were they sent back to Bill Gates? Or are they lining some warehouse somewhere, along with the Ark of the Covenant? Odd.

Well anyway, I suddenly got an itch at the back of my head, and the itch said, "I want to play Xbox games." These are titles like the Knights of the Old Republic games, Jade Empire and good stuff like the original Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball and the gladiatorial RPG/Strategy game Gladius. And so, I went off to the bin of all bins, eBay, and went hunting for a big black box. I'll be learning whether I win or not in a couple of hours (looks like I'll be winning though). After that, I figure I'll go off and buy every good Xbox disc I can get to build a nice library and have a back-up gaming system to play. When I get that itch. What the heck. I'll be getting the system for cheap. Someday, I'll open a gaming library and museum with all the stuff I have in The Sanctum.

Which just goes to show- never throw anything away (or give away) anything you can possibly miss or use in the future. Regret (and itches) are hard things to live with. Heh.

Getting your Hands Dirty

Today I went off despite my self-proclaimed apathy and jaded views towards our country's politics to cast my vote. Elsewhere in the country, ruthless politicos are having people bribed, terrorized or even killed to get their way. Luckily, here in Metro Manila it's peaceful, and our polling station was just a short walk away from the house. There were police and poll watchers aplenty, and the place was quiet and not at all crowded. In a bit I was done filling up the ballot and afterwards had my finger stained to show that I had done my duty.

Will it make a difference? What the heck. It will or it won't. Like the proverbial motto on Lotto- you can't win if you don't send in a ticket.

Life goes on tomorrow. Let's see what happens next.

The Soul Still Burns



... and this time, it's on the Nintendo Wii. Yep, according to Weekly Famitsu, Soul Calibur will be making an appearance on Mario's turf, though not in the usual way. Instead of a straight-up one-on-one fighter, Soul Calibur Legends, Nintendo's version of Namco's premiere weapons fighter, will be a third-person action adventure, putting players into the armored greaves and boots of Soul Calibur's various heroes, wandering the land presumably in search of the evil sword, Soul Edge. While it has been implied that the game will primarily focus the disgraced knight Siegfried, you will apparently be able to play with other fighters, as wel as several new faces.

It is assumed that Legends will make use of the Wii's unique control system, so players will be waving their Wii remotes and nunchucks around a lot as they hack their way past their opponents. So far there hasn't been much in the ways of screens or vids, but a couple of lovely artworks of Siegfried facing off with a dragon and Ivy battling a horde of mummified undead have been released. Intriguingly cool stuff.

Well, this is a pretty good reason for me to grab a Wii, though what I really want is Soul Calibur IV, whether it be on the PS3 or Xbox360. Hopefully, this little diversion on the Wii soon gives way to the real slashing sequel. More on this as it happens. Woowie!

Avatar Watch

Unfortunately there's still no news about the exact date of the Third Season's debut, but we do have a nice little tidbit. Apparently, a new Avatar game is in the works, this time based on the events of the second season, Book of Earth. In this second videogame, Aang the Avatar and his friends must team up to defend the Greatest City in the Earth Kingdom from a deadly Fire Nation threat. Entitled Avatar: The Burning Earth, this will hopefully improve upon the previous game. All I can say is... Toph had better be present and playable. Heheh.

Anyways, for some nice Avatar tidbits, I highly recommend heading on over to Avatarspirit.net to check out stuff like a three-part interview with Avatar creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino that reveals quite a bit of stuff about the series, characters and behind-the-scenes stuff (but of course, nothing about the Third Season's release date).

And so... back to waiting. Darn it.

Third Time's a Harm


Review time means SPOILERS AHEAD, so beware.

After the Ateneo Comics Workshop, Carl, El, Jonas and I headed off to Eastwood City to watch the third and supposedly last installment of Marvel Comics' most successful comic-to-film series. Spider-man 3 just may be the last time we'll see Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst as the leads, and certainly it'll be the last for at least one other cast member.

Spider-man 3 sees New York finally warming up to their friendly neighborhood wall-crawler; everyone in the Big Apple loves ol' Spidey now, which is about time after two movies of kicking villain butt. Peter Parker (Maguire) is soaking it up like a plant does sunshine, and it's probably a first for the loveable loser. There are now only two people who aren't too happy about Spidey taking the limelight- one, of course, is J. Jonah Jameson (played as always to perfection by J.K. Simmons). The other, oddly enough, is Mary Jane Watson (Dunst), Peter's girlfriend who is experiencing a rough road in her own showbiz career.

The third movie seems to be the endgame for stuff that has been brewing for the past couple of films. Here, Harry Osborn (James Franco) finally begins his campaign on the perceived murderer of his dad, taking on the Goblin's arsenal and super-strength treatments to turn into- The 'New' Goblin. Here, everyone FINALLY realizes that Mary Jane sucks on stage. Here, Peter finally decides he wants to live in sickness or in health with MJ. Here as well we have the climax of the Ben Parker arc, as a newly-escaped con named Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church) is revealed to be the senior Parker's real killer. Complicating things of course is that Marko won't be easy to catch since he's become the all-powerful Imhotep-er, The Sandman- after getting exposed to some radioactive sandblasting.

As if all that wasn't overstuffed enough, we've got an alien symbiote crashing down to earth (and into Peter's life), bonding with him to create a new, power-enhancing black costume at the cost of making him an aggressive arse. Oh, and there's a sleazy sneak bastard named Eddy Brock (Topher Grace) out to snatch Peter's career at the Daily Bugle, and a lovely Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard) around to make MJ all jealous and frumpy.

Whew! For the most part, it all comes together in one, big, entertaining... MESS. The movie, while moving along as fast as it can under all that weight, bogs down a lot due to the dragging Peter-MJ romance. I just found watching them to be irritating- MJ is irrationally jealous of Peter's new confidence, which speaks badly of her character- what a stuck up broad! Anyway, they don't talk in the same way MJ did in the 2nd movie, which could have fixed a lot of the trouble they go through here. And then there's that awful 'coercion' thing with Harry Osborn where MJ breaks up with Peter for fear of his life... What the-? Messy, messy, messy. Oh, and having a knockout Gwen Stacy around just made MJ all the more sucky. The love mechanic between the two leads just clamps down on everything, making it all slow down like this was some dramedy or soap. It's a superhero movie, darn it!

Still, all this pales in comparison to the "Butler Ex Machina" that pretty much had me throwing out my hands in exasperation. It takes some butler mouthing off some nonsense about stuff he couldn't possibly know to turn Harry Osborn back?

"Your father died from the blades of his own glider... I had no doubt they were self-inflicted..." (or something like that).

So what... the butler's a CSI or something? I didn't know the Green Goblin had an Alfred Pennyworth on the payroll. The whole plot hinges on this, and it just plain reeks.

Flaws like these (along with iffy stuff like Stan Lee's most obnoxious appearance yet) mar the rest of the movie, but at least there's lots of stuff to keep us entertained. The rest of the cast is in fine form, like the aforementioned JJJ, May Parker and even people like Peter's landlord and his winsome daughter. Then there's Church's Sandman, whose sheer strength of will and love for his daughter makes him a sympathetic anti-hero instead of a straight villain. The revelation at the end about the true circumstances of Ben Parker's death is a welcome end to that pivotal plotline and a nice tie-up to the movie's general theme of revenge and forgiveness. Oh, and there's Venom, whom comic fans have probably been dying for years to see- but will probably be disappointed at the results. He's neat and all, but comes far too late in the movie so he seems like an afterthought, and doesn't stay too long. Oh well.

One thing that the movie does well- in fact, amazingly well- is the action, and Spider-man 3 has far and away the best fight scenes in the series, and perhaps in any superhero movie so far. Great, dizzying stuff that had me at the edge of my seat. The Sandman CG effects are amazing to see- you'll never find another pile of sand that can bring a tear to your eye. It was just a pity all the bad stuff kept me falling off my seat just as often. The movie ends with a sunrise, however with a major character death and everyone onscreen crying... it felt like The Return of the King. A funeral, and a slowdance gave way to the credits, which is an odd, downbeat way of ending this franchise (or at least the trilogy). Once again, a flaw, since I would have liked Spidey to go off into the sunset swinging, rather than slow-dancing to a fadeout.

Once again, a mess with quite a lot of entertaining parts. I hope they make another Spidey. In fact, I'm sure they will, given how much money there is in this character and series. Bury Maguire and Dunst in cash. Just get it done. And learn from your mistakes, okay? No more butlers. That's Batman's schtick. Or something. Feh.

An Empowered Review



Empowered is your below-average, C-list heroine. Her powers stem from her shiny super-suit, a self-repairing tighter-than-skintight number that leaves NOTHING to the imagination. When she dons it, she can shoot 'zaps' from her hands and gains the strength of ten men (or fifteen wimpy men). Unfortunately, Emp's powers decrease drastically when the suit gets damaged. And that happens a lot. Scratch that- it happens pretty regularly. The thing seems to be as substantial as soap suds, so more often than not, any combat encounter Emp gets into almost always ends up with her getting captured and bound up like a victim in some hentai BDSM video. Her super-team, the Superhomeys, only marginally regard her as a member, and one 'comrade', Sistah Spooky, openly hates her guts for some reason. Shamed and humiliated almost every time, one would ask, why the heck does this girl keep trying?

It's simple. Because she's a hero. A C-list heroine, but darn, she's got A+ Spirit, and that's something that the most unlikely people see- namely the gun-toting hired thug named Thugboy (who is coincidentally an exceptionally smart, dashing, good-looking, honorable, insightful and sweet thug) and a deadly ninja assassin named Ninjette. Oh, and then there's a fiery world-ravaging demonlord that Emp manages to trap inside a hi-tech manacle who thereafter spends his time watching DVDs and Cable TV in Emp's living room, while dispensing advice and morale-boosting sayings as only a fearsome devourer of souls can. With enemies like these, who needs friends?

Empowered is the latest work from Adam Warren, formerly known from all those Dark Horse releases of Dirty Pair manga and cult-favorite specials and limited series of Gen 13. This hugely famous 'Ameri-manga' artist/writer is one of my favorite comics creators, and he is at his finest in this one. The book is a collection of short stories featuring the loveable Emp, her closest pals, her teammates and the rest of their new universe of superheroic comedy.

The stories range from really short quips, almost comic strip-short, to some tales that last for almost ten pages or so. On every page there are panels and panels of Warren's incredible uninked art to enjoy, as well as the manic dialogue that has become his trademark. You'd think that this master of black comedy is a sadist at parts, having his poor damsel Emp getting bound up pretty much in every story, crushing shame heaped on her head time after time. But then he turns around and gives her a thuggy Prince Charming and a ninja best friend, so things get balanced out nicely. Maybe. Kinda.
As funny as it is sad, as sexy as it it cute and heartwarming, Emp is a guilty pleasure to read...US-made manga-superhero ecchi with heart. Despite the outward wackiness, Empowered is played quite seriously; there are no fourth wall breakouts or tongue-in-cheek winks to the reader within the actual stories; this isn't parody- it IS a legitimate superhero tale and universe on offer here, just more intimate with a lot of sex (which pretty much keeps it a no-kids title). The characters are immediately likeable and it all just makes you want to see longer, more meaty stories to see more about them. I want to see more Ninjette. Now.

Warren has already mentioned that he's got a lot of Emp's stories in mind, and hopefully with the great response to this first volume, we'll be seeing more of this and soon. It's quality stuff here, so I enjoin all mature comic fans to grab Empowered on sight. This is mucho good stuff.

Do I have to say it twice? I will. Get Empowered. Now!

MINE

My copy of Adam Warren's Empowered arrived today! I had to order it from the other side of the world from Amazon, but it was worth it. Muhahahaha! So... what can I say about it? It's BIG. Not just in thickness (it's about 225 pages)- it's about a third wider/higher than your usual GN from TokyoPop or Viz. Not exactly a pocketbook or a li'l novel. Still, it's nice and thick and comfy. Oh, and still snug like a bug in a rug in it's plastic cover. No, I haven't opened it yet... I'll save the pleasure of reading it over the weekend or something, perhaps even bring it to the weekend's Comic Workshop to show off. Or maybe not. Muhahaha!

Empowered Corrupts. Muhahaha! Empowered Corrupts Empoweredly. MUHAHAHAHA!!!

Things I've noticed after starting to watch Heroes...

I love the comic book-style Chapter Titles.

Hey! It's the guy from Alias! And he's with the girl from Carnivale!

I've gotten the somewhat odd tendency to say out loud "Heroes. Created by Tim Kring." at the start of every episode.

Is it just me or is Claire's power really Healing or actually CHRONIC ACCIDENT PRONENESS?

"Purple Girl" looks just like Donna Cruz. While Nathan looks like a cartoony George Clooney. Mohinder reminds me of Sayid from Lost. Sylar reminds me of an evil Brandon Routh. Peter looks like Little Nicky.

The scene where Nathan really cuts loose made me laugh in amazement.

If I had to choose, I'd want Hiro's power.

Nikki is hot.

After 16 episodes straight, I'm still raring to watch on and on and on. I think I've found my live-action equivalent to Avatar.

Heroism



The pace of life these days is weird. I spend a lot of my time collecting and acquiring stuff, but afterwards have little time to actually enjoy these things immediately. I'm like a pack rat, grabbing stuff when I see it and lugging it off to The Sanctum to be digested later. A couple of years ago, it was VCDs and DVDs, anime, games and movies. Currently, it's still comics and videos downloaded online. However, while piles of stuff get stockpiled, I usually don't get to look at them until a fine layer of dust has already settled on top. It's strange- often I get more enjoyment from anticipating looking at stuff than actually looking at the stuff. An odd variation of the old saying, "it's not the destination but the journey".

Still, I DO get to pause every now and then and look at the acquisitions. And the good thing is, at least with comics, anime and TV series, when I finally do get around to looking at them, I usually have the WHOLE thing to enjoy without having to wait too long for the next chapter or installment. It did well for me with DC's 52, the Bleach anime and Naruto Shippuuden.

And now, Heroes. While this sensational series has been capturing the hearts and minds of both comic book fans and non-believers alike for months already, I've been elsewhere. And now, when I've finally gotten around to watching it- I've got NINETEEN fricking' episodes at my fingers. WOOHOO!

Anyway, I've gotten past the first two episodes and the prognosis is good. The characters are cool, the pacing quick and tight and the plot so far has me hooked. Oh, and Nikki the Schizo-killer Single Mom is DAMN HOT. Heh. Anyways, it's a toss-up whether to draw KAI pages while I'm watching episodes, but both might suffer, so I'll have to alternate. I've got a day and a half of pause for now, so I'll do my best to use every second. Or just play a shitload of Virtua Fighter. Oh well.

The Soap Opera Continues...

Information about the story of Tekken 6 just popped up online, care of SD Tekken.
Apparently Jin Kazama won the last tournament, and thereafter takes over the powerful Mishima Zaibatsu. It seems that the dark side has taken control of the young anti-hero, and he starts using manipulative tactics to grab power all over the world with the Zaibatsu's forces. A world war begins, which saps the strength of the many nations... the Zaibatsu emerges victorious and announces its independence as a superpower. The only one that can stand up against Jin now is G-Corp, the mysterious conglomerate from Tekken 5. A huge bounty is laid on the head of Jin Kazama as the 6th King of Iron Fist Tournament is announced...

On the sub-stories, it seems that Kazuya Mishima is head of G-Corps (at least, from the shadows), and is behind the bounty on his son's head. He's no hero, of course... he's just pissed that someone else is taking over the world. Meanwhile, old man Heihachi, who got booted off the CEO seat, is spoiling for revenge.

Leo, the new fighter who may or may not be a cross-dressing girl, is the child of a famous investigator (father) and a G-Corp Executive (mother). The father went missing, and now mom got murdered. Some sleuthing into the incidents reveals the name Kazuya Mishima. And so Rock Howard- er, Leo, joins the Tekken tournament for some answers...

Zafina, the limber new hottie, is apparently some kind of holy guardian, whose duty has been to protect an ancient royal tomb. The recent carnage all over the world points to a prophecy that the world may end soon, and so Zafina leaves her post to see if Armageddon is indeed just around the corner...

Finally, Yoshimitsu finds out that his sword, which gains power from defeating villains, has a dark side- it may turn him insane. And so, he switches to a new sword which is meant to seal the dark powers of his former weapon.

Whew! Weird stuff... but that's all in line with Tekken. There are tons of other characters yet to be revealed, but all will surely have love, revenge, greed, curiosity and what have you to satisfy in this latest tournament. Can't wait to see this. Arcades will probably see it before 2007 ends... here's to the PS3 game coming in soon afterwards.

The Next Generation

Last Saturday, I hied off to World Chicken along Katipunan to meet up with fellow grafictionists Elbert Or and Carl Vergara for a little Comics Workshop. The participants/organizers of the somewhat impromptu course in comic-making are all freshmen from Ateneo, about seven or so would-be komikeros and manga-kas maybe. I started off the workshop with some talk about the History of Local Comics- you know, from the debut of the first issue of Flashpoint to the time when comics legend Whilce Portacio came and saw the wellspring of talent brimming in Manila in the mid-90s, asking the many disparate comic crews and gangs to lay down their respective individual banners and go under the single name of Alamat Comics.

Funny thing was, all that history just flew over the young 'uns heads- judging from the Scooby Stares I got in return when asking them if they knew who Whilce Portacio was. It was only when I mentioned that he created Bishop and worked on the X-men that they suddenly went 'Aaaaah!'

Anyways, after my florid speech about challenging them to be creative, different and innovative, I gave over the floor to Carl, who immediately launched into a more sobering series of subjects which included publishing your comic, the prospects of self publishing and how to do comics professionally or semi-professionally even if you have no budget (which is usually likely). Afterwards, we had some questions and answers, and wrapped up the session with some rah-rah talk.

One or two kept notes, all were very attentive and interested, and it was fun to see such energetic youths wanting to tackle graphic storytelling even though they weren't Fine Arts students (I think they were in Business Management courses, for the most part). Certainly, El, Carl and I were one in wanting to impress our own enthusiasm and passion for doing comics to the next generation. While I still think I have quite a few more years of still doing comics, we need to plant the seeds whenever we can.

The sessions will most probably continue for the next several Saturdays, and I will most probably keep contributing as long as I am able. It will certainly help my own need to motivate myself, as I embark on my own comics projects after a long period of inactivity. Thankfully, it seems that I'll be quite busy in comics for the near future. Perhaps the youth and energy of the students is rubbing off on me. Heh.

Anyways, the quest to tell stories goes on. Back to the gutters then, peeps. Back into the gutters.

Boy in the Hood



This is a pic of an Executioner, another one of the opposition in Kai: Unkillable. The Executioner itself is an amorphous, black oily mass- somewhat like an octopus- which attaches itself to humans, covering their heads and in effect suffocating them to death. Thereafter, the black hood animates the body via electrical impulses sent through the corpse's brain and nerve endings. The Executioner's possessed body typically gets extreme strength and resistance to damage and injury... the only way to stop it is total destruction of the body or striking the creature off via decapitation. This gruesome being is typically sent in as an infiltrator or assassin, since it is highly intelligent and cunning.

I've more or less mapped out The Enemy in the upcoming Kai book, and what can I say... I like them. The Resident Evil-ish group that's churning out these monstrosities and undead horrors is calling itself Dark Avalon, and I'll be threshing them out further in the near future. I'll also be working on new personalities in the KALI side, so Kai won't be entirely alone in this bloody conflict. Later then...

I am Legion



Here's a first draft design of a Knight of the Rose, one of the enemies that Agent K will be facing off with in Kai: Unkillable. Part Tyrant from Resident Evil, part Witch King of Angmar, part Minaton from Sinbad and The Eye of the Tiger... and a bit of H.R. Giger's Alien. Those are four of the scariest baddies I've ever seen in movies or games- so I think the pedigree is good. As imposing as he might look though, this sweetie is actually little more than a footsoldier, albeit more independently-minded than the more feral cannon fodder to be encountered in the War against Undead Terrorism. The really powerful and scary baddies Kai and KALI will cross swords with will be more human-like, at least on the outside.

More to come soon as it happens. Heh.

Toothsome Treat



A couple of days ago, I passed by Megamall and bought myself a caramel apple from a little stall called Sofan Treats. I've long seen these gooey sweets on TV and elsewhere, and so when I got an opportunity to try one out, I went for it. Basically, it is what it is... a fresh apple dipped in caramel and then rolled in various sweets like candy sprinkles, marshmallows, Gummi shapes and whatever else there is on offer. It looks quite intimidating, and to be sure, it presents quite a bit of challenge to eat.
First of all, it's an apple, stuck on a stick, weighed down by the added sweets. Biting on it is difficult if you insist on holding it like a lollipop- you may either crack the stick or push the apple off it, sending your ball o' sweets tumbling to the ground. The best way to go is to support the apple from another side while you bite, preferably with a napkin to keep from soiling your hand on wet candy. I'd imagine kids' teeth would love the challenge.
Anyway, how does it taste? Well, it's an apple with caramel and candy. That's it. Yeah, it tastes kinda good, but you get tired of it fast, and I'd probably just eat the apple up to where there's caramel, and then discard the sweet-less core. Afterward eating the apple, I had a really big urge to run to the bathroom and brush my teeth.

It's an experience, I guess. I'm not craving another caramel apple, and I doubt I'll ever purchase one ever again, at least, not for myself. It's something to taste, at least, but not a good thing to make a part of my routine. Not like Krispy Kreme donuts. Nosiree. Heh.

Collection of Carnage


Terry Bogard and the gang's all back for more action.

My import copy of Garou-Densetsu Battle Archives 2 arrived today, to my pleasure. The PS2 disc collects the entire Real Bout series, which includes Real Bout Fatal Fury, Real Bout Fatal Fury Special and Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers. These games, IMO, were the pinnacle of fighting action, art and animation for SNK at one time... the one series I held in as high regard as much as the Street Fighter III games from Capcom.

SNK took their old Fatal Fury games and injected a whole lot of visual flair and personality. It's a great re-telling of the Saga of the Hungry Wolves- street fighter Terry Bogard, his ninja-trained brother Andy Bogard and their best friend, Muay Thai champion Joe Higashi- as they battle up the ladder to reach evil crime boss Geese Howard. Oh, and of course tagging along for the ride is SNK's sex symbol, the bouncy ninja Mai Shiranui and the rest of the colorful Real Bout crew.

The characters and designs are awesome, the gameplay addictive, fast and furious and the overall package just excellent for both action satisfaction and retro-gaming reminiscence. Along with my disc of Streetfighter III Third Strike, this game pretty much completes my Retro-Fighting Library, now all playable on the PS3. The past is now safe in the present and future of gaming. It's just so fun to be a gamer these days. Heh.

Comics Workshop

I've been invited by some students from Ateneo University to conduct a series of Comic Book Creation Seminars/Workshops through the summer. It's been a while since I spoke before people to share my comic experiences, so I readily agreed with the understanding that I could only give time during weekends given that I have a day job. Well, apparently the workshops will be pushing through on Saturdays, and will likely include myself, Elbert Or and Carl Vergara as speakers to hopefully help give prospective comic book creators and manga-kas in Ateneo a start in the fickle world of local comics and publishing.

Exact details are still a bit murky, as well as what exactly we have to work with- like, how many students will be coming, what they already know and what they expect to get out of this thing... all I know is that the venue will probably be at the Katipunan area, which is fine since it's just a stone's throw away from The Sanctum. I'll most probably stay up late cramming to do some visual aids and slides before the week is over.

This should be fun. Heh.

Separated at Birth?


Bloody familiar...

It hasn't escaped my attention that Saya, the jailbait teen vampire heroine of the Blood+ TV series bears a striking resemblance to my own Kai. Both are hot Asian babes, both have black hair cut boyishly short and both have awesome killing skillz. On the other hand, Saya looks a lot younger than Kai, though is actually a lot older. Saya is most often seen in a Japanese schoolgirl outfit and exclusively uses a katana soaked in her blood to kill evil Chiropteran beasts, while Kai has a thing for skimpy battle-bikinis and deals death to enemy agents and rival mercs with just her killer bod (most of the time). Saya is normally a bubbly, pleasant and normal teen, while Kai is more taciturn, mysterious and a loner. Still, the resemblance is quite striking and I found watching Saya in action to be very close to how I'd see Kai animated, if ever that happens someday. Pretty cool. I've already started downloading episodes for my own collection.

Oh, and it's only a coincidence that suddenly Kai is all blood-soaked and gore-covered, just like Saya tends to be after a fight. Really. Honest. Seriously. Heh. Moving on...

Tekken 6 Tidbits


Finally, the secret's out...

An interview with Namco producer Katsuhiro Harada has revealed some juicy facts about Tekken 6.

First off, the controversy about new character Leo's gender is now apparently over- Harada has officially stated that he's a SHE. Now, why Leo (or is it Leona?) would cross-dress or pretend to be a guy remains to be seen.

Next up, is usable customization items... It's already been seen in the trailer where Bryan Fury draws his shotgun and juggles an opponent. Well, all characters will have an 'item move', though not all will be as effective- for example, Anna's item move will be throwing her high heeled shoes at her opponent. Wild!

All characters will have new animations. In terms of gameplay, many will have gameplay tweaks and changes- Lei Wulong's laying-down stances will now play differently, and will play more similarly to characters like Lei Fei and Shun Di from VF5. Marshall Law will move more authentically as a Jeet Kun Do fighter.

The most drastic change will be to Yoshimitsu, whose storyline will involve his sword losing power- he'll have to master a couple of totally new fighting styles, including a Manji-style 'Kenjutsu' style. This will make him even more challenging to use, thus branding him an 'expert' character.

Tekken 6 looks like it's going to be loads of fun. I can't wait to see more of this game when it comes out later this year in arcades and in early 2008 on the PS3.

A Taste of India

It's FRIDAY the 13th, but so far it's been a pretty swell day. The Salt Miners all got together and went out to have lunch at a newly opened restaurant across the street, New Bombay. As you'd expect, it was all hot and spicy Indian food like Chicken Tandoori, Chicken Masala, Naan breads and other exotic dishes heavy with spices and tongue-searing tastes. My own order was Chicken Keema, which was diced boneless chicken in a spicy gracy. I ate it spread-like on hot and chewy-crispy pieces of buttered Naan bread, which was lovely. Afterwards, we all had a taste of Indian ice cream, which came spiced with stuff like saffron- I described it as tasting like an ice cream Lush would come out with. Part dessert, part perfume, but pleasant and odd in a nice way.

Given that we're always looking for good places to have a nice meal, we'll surely be back soon in New Bombay. Once can't live on Chinese, Japanese, Persian, Mexican and Convenience store cuisine all the time. Heh.

Bloodthirsty


Taking out Zombie Terrorists is a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it.

Kai, a.k.a. Agent K, is coming back for more. Kinda-sorta-probably inspired by recent bloody-good, desensitizing fare like 300 and the upcoming Grindhouse is this new story with the sexy high-kicking femme fatale. A lethal cult of crazed killers is terrorizing the world- bloodthirsty murderers who wade through gunfire like it was spring rain, leaving only the grisly remains of their victims in their wake. There's room for only one death-proof assassin in the deadly game of international espionage, which brings Kai and the Amazon Assassins of KALI in direct confrontation with hordes of undead fanatics and their mysterious master. Who'll be left standing? We'll just have to see in Kai: Unkillable later this year.

Hopefully I'll get this book ready by the next Komikon (if there is one). For the most part I've hit the ground running with this one, so it looks and feels good. FINALLY... the MADman is back to comics. And boy, does it feel good. Heh.

Quality Time

I've been waiting for this. It's Holy Week, the second longest holiday break for us workers in the Philippines. This year, it's five days of sweet bliss and restful lolling around. I'll be of course using the time to catch up on sleep and play Virtua Fighter 5 on the PS3, but I hope to get some more substantial things done during the vacation.

Getting to work on KAI Issue One. Yep, you read that right. KAI, not K.I.A. Since Agent K got her name back at the end of the Anthology, a slight change in the title seemed fitting. As before though, Kai is still in the employ of the KALI mercenary organization, acting as their Prime Assassin and taking on various deadly missions. The new comic will be another anthology, looks like, with short and long stories, but I think I'll be doing most of the work this time around (save maybe for guest art pinups).

Trimming the Unread Comics Pile. Yeah, ever since I started collecting DC Comics' 52, I haven't read a SINGLE ISSUE. I can't stop collecting it, since I've already bought too many issues, so I will try to finally find out what this post-Infinite Crisis title is all about. Heheh...

Getting down with DIVX. I've been having a ball lately, downloading stuff with Bittorrent, but I haven't really watched that much. Ghost Hunt and Black Lagoon were only the first- I should get to watching the other anime titles I've acquired, like the fighting game-esque History's Strongest Disciple: Kenichi, Feudal Era-action Bakumatsu Kikanetsu Irohanihoheto (try saying that three times as fast as you can), sci-fi action title Coyote Ragtime Show and more. Then there are movies I've long wanted to see but haven't, like Monster House, Eragon and Nacho Libre.

And of course, I just need the time to just kick back. It's been a particularly stressful and hectic past month, what with TV shoots, the relatives migrating away and other stuff. This outlet to get all that baggage away is long overdue.

Who needs a frickin' beach? I just need The Sanctum. And some snacks. And some pens and paper. And my desk, DSL connection, my gaming consoles, comic books, PDA-Phone, DVD library and I'm all set.

Happy Holidays, everyone. Now kicking back.

Ghost Hunt


There's creepy fun to be had in Ghost Hunt.

I was able to watch several more episodes of the anime Ghost Hunt over the weekend. I've posted about this supernaturally-themed title before, but not yet in-depth. Based on a manga, Ghost Hunt is all about the investigations conducted by the
Shibuya Psychic Research Institute, a small but talented group of paranormal investigators/exorcists/troubleshooters who investigate creepy cases now abundant in modern-day Japan.
The core group is composted of Shibuya Kazuya, a somewhat aloof teenage genius who is both the Institute's boss and head investigator. Bringing up the rear is Mai Taniyama, a first-year high school student and ghost story-lover who is more or less forced to become a part-time worker for Shibuya to pay off for some equipment she damaged. Then there's Lin Koujo (or Rin), Shibuya's mysterious assistant who has his own set of talents and secrets.
While not really a part of the Institute, a group of psychically-talented individuals are regularly called in to help in investigations; Housho Takigawa is a laid-back, fun-loving monk who often acts as a protective big brother figure. Ayako Matsuzaki is a beautiful but often haughty self-proclaimed miko or priestess who has the tendency to blame each and every case on earth spirits. Masako Hara is a 16-year old spirit medium and celebrity, and finally there's 19-year old John Brown, a friendly Australian teenager who is also somehow a Catholic priest and exorcist.

Now, while Ghost Hunt seems to be an animated version of popular paranormal investigation shows, it IS still an anime so there's your touch of romantic tension between the earnest Mai and the distant Shibuya AKA 'Naru' (Mai's pet name for her boss is 'Naru', which is short for Narcissist). While Mai and Shibuya don't seem to get along that well, they clearly have a bond, particularly since Shibuya appears as a kind of guardian angel in Mai's precognitive dreams regularly during cases, and she's plainly attracted to the handsome but cold genius. Further complicating things is Masako, who also seems to be interested in Shibuya.
But for the most part, this is about ghosts and hauntings, and the anime does a good job of establishing a creepy atmosphere thanks to nicely haunting opening music, liberal use of chilly sound effects and multi-layered supernatural mysteries that start off small but escalate in seriousness and magnitude as the investigation stalks its toward the case's resolution.

Ghost Hunt is divided into story arcs, or 'Files' which go for about 3 to 4 episodes each in length- there's been only one single-shot story ('Ghost in the Park'), which is played more for humor and light for the most part. The majority of the series deals with cases that range from a couple of haunted houses to a high school crawling with curses to a secluded villa that bears a striking resemblance to the real-life Winchester Mansion.

This isn't Ghost Hunters, where the usual trace of the supernatural is few and far between- the anime takes license and there is pretty much no doubt that ghosts exist, along with stuff like telekinesis, psychic powers, spirit beings and even demonic beings. To combat any particularly dangerous attacks on the investigators, the exorcist members of the group, Housho, Ayako and John, are usually able to use their faith and skills to ward off spirits, giving Buddhism, Shinto and Christianity equal powers. Shibuya and Lin also seem to have their own talents, which are revealed as the series goes on.
The series is mostly seen from the eyes of Mai Taniyama herself, who starts off with apparently no powers but is eventually revealed to have some sort of exceptional sense for danger (found out when during a test she manages to get all 1000 attempts of an ESP test wrong). But even more than any latent psychic powers, Mai brings to the table her kindness, honesty and uncannily intuitive dreams... special gifts which even the cold Shibuya seems to appreciate every now and then.

Ghost Hunt is a title which enthusiasts of the supernatural should enjoy for the likeable characters, intriguing stories and well-directed, eerie atmosphere. It's not an action-packed title, and the story arcs have a very deliberate pace to them, but anyone liking this subject matter should like tagging along with the Shibuya Psychic Research team on their many cases, particularly the last couple of story arcs- The Blood-stained Labyrinth is so far my favorite and the creepiest so far.

The first and current season of Ghost Hunt ended at episode 25 this year, but the manga is still ongoing. Another season of ghosthunting with the SPR would be pretty cool, I'd say. There are tons of unanswered questions and issues still to be learned and revealed, and of course more mysteries and enigmas to be uncovered.

So for a dash of comedy, drama, mystery and a whole lot of spine-tingling chills, go out and hunt down this title at your favorite anime dealers in the Metro.

Power Hungry

Ever since I posted about Adam Warren's Empowered, I've been looking around for it, and so have some other people. Well, so far it's not yet available at any comic shop like Comic Quest. It has been ordered by Fully Booked, but there's no exact date when they'll have it in stock. I even went as far as looking at Amazon, but they have it ordered and not in stock. Then there's eBay, but I'm not that desperate yet.

Anyway, I hope this means that the book is popular- my cousing Jeremy chimed in that it sold out in three big comic stores in New York. This may bode well for the continuation of the series, and more trials and travails for poor, popular Emp. In any case, I should have the book eventually. Everything comes to he who waits. Heh.

Mad Love

Making headlines right now is the news about a man named Yang Quinji, who recently committed suicide in order to persuade Hong Kong star Andy Lau to spend quality time with his daughter, Yang Lijuan. Prior to this final gesture of fatherly love, the man also sold their family's house as well as ONE OF HIS KIDNEYS to support his daughter's new lifestyle as a fan and follower of the HK superstar.
Though his daughter was able to actually meet Lau, the man was unsatisfied with the shortness of the encounter, and afterwards jumped off a bridge to his death after leaving a long letter asking for Lau to meet with his daughter again.

On one hand, I have to say that the old man's fanatical devotion to his daughter's happiness is utterly incredible and supremely touching. On the other hand, this is perhaps one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. Like, is that the worth of your father's frickin' life? A frickin' MEETING?

I hope the daughter's happy.

Moving on.

Guilty Pleasure


The latest from Adam Warren.

I'm a longtime fan of writer/artist Adam Warren, and so when I heard that he's coming out with a new original trade paperback graphic novel, I was pretty intrigued. Instead of another chapter of his more established Dirty Pair series, this latest opus is a totally new creation- Empowered.

Labelled as a 'sexy superhero comedy', Empowered is all about the trials and travails of a beautiful but seemingly perennially-on-the-losing-end C-list superheroine named, well, Empowered (or Emp for short). She's got the unlucky combination of having low self-esteem and a rather scandalously skin-tight supersuit which leaves NOTHING to the imagination. And while her suit does give her quite a few super powers like limited invulnerability and the ability 'to zap things', it more often than not malfunctions, leaving poor Emp in sticky and often embarrassing situations. Oh, and the suit also has a tendency to get ripped and torn off, leaving the girl all nubile, helpless and exposed. Ooh.

Thankfully, Emp has a few true friends to look out for her- Thugboy is her new boyfriend who ironically started off as one of her enemies 'on the job'. Then there's Ninjette, a hard-drinking videogame-addicted kunoichi. Ironically, Emp's friends are usually 'villains' (or at least, former minions), while the ones who cause her the most distress are usually the members of Emp's own superhero team, the Superhomeys (particularly her spellcasting 'comrade', Sista Spooky).



Instead of one big story, Empowered is apparently divided into a large number of smaller vignettes, anecdotes and tales, almost like strip cartoons. The art, while still at Warren's ridiculous level of detail, is scanned from Warren's original pencils so has a kind of sketchy look that still looks incredible and expressive thanks to the detail and texture of the lines. The sheer volume of pages- about 248 or so- promises a lot of fun reading.
Along with Warren's trademark art is his sharp dialogue and writing, which is brimming with satire, offbeat ideas and innuendo. Needless to say, with some raunchy situations and almost-nudity all about, this isn't a kiddie book by any measure.


There's a ninja girl in the comic? Well, I'm sold.

This apparently got released recently under Dark Horse, so hopefully it'll be available soon. I'll be sure to pick this one up when it arrives at Comic Quest or wherever and whenever I find it. Expect a review or something once I get my grubby paws on this one.

High Stakes Gamble


Daniel Craig steps into 007's well-worn shoes.

I finally got to watch Casino Royale a couple of nights ago at home, on luscious widescreen. I've had harsh words before for this new Bond, but I also mentioned that I would keep my mind open on this latest 007. So, did the studio's gamble pay off in spades, or did we get a Joker?

Set as a sort of 'restart' of the James Bond saga (instead of following the established mythos of the previous films), Casino Royale sees a brash James Bond (Daniel Craig) in action, just recently promoted to the elite Double-O status of 007. This Bond is a stone-faced, ice-cold killer, relentless and physical... in fact, he spends a great deal of the film just running. At least as much time running as he does driving. The start of the film sees a quite remarkable bit of parkour (the amazing 'free-running' sport where athletes do incredible leaps, shimmies and steps to get over ANY obstacle in their way) displayed by one of 007's targets. The long chase is thrilling and cool, though for the most part Casino Royale is more of a quiet Bond film, the majority of the 'action' taking place in a, well, Casino. Hence the title.

The first part of the film basically establishes the new Bond- a newly anointed killer in the service of MI-6. This early he's already gotten the attention of M (Dame Judie Dench, reprising her role from the later films), and not always in a good way. Bond is not above hacking into his own boss' security access to get the info he needs. However, he's a relentless son of a gun, as unyielding as a bloodhound when he's onto his prey. Eventually, he's formally assigned to take on Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), a self-styled 'banker' to the world's terrorists. But this isn't a simple assassination... Bond has to engage the scarred Le Chiffre in a high-stakes game of poker, staking millions of the crown's money to clean out the house and force Le Chiffre to turn state witness against his terrorist clientele. Joining Bond on the mission is the ravishing Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), a smart and sassy Treasury Agent who just may be the one woman to melt the ice-cold OO7's heart.

This is a very unusual Bond film- it has some intense action, but for the most part is leisurely-paced. The villain and plot aren't world-beating, but it's fitting for a first-romp for the new 007, and I didn't find myself bored at any point in the film. Daniel Craig acquits himself very well as 007- as I have always said, he looks more like a villain than a Bond, but I accepted him in the role midway into the movie. He's intense and has perhaps the steeliest eyes of any Bond, and he looks quite imposing. Easily, I like him better than Timothy Dalton, who perhaps shares the same 'grumpy' Bond flavor, at first glance. In the end, I look forward to seeing him again in action.
As for the rest, what can be said? M is M, Judi Dench is as motherly and bossy as always; Eva Green is hypnotically beautiful and quite a character (though her final resolution seems a bit abrupt), while Le Chiffre is menacing for the time that he is onscreen.

There are quite a few standout qualities to this latest Bond- utterly beautiful settings (this is certainly one of the more glamorously-shot Bond films) in almost every frame, pretty intense and well-done action sequences, and a surprisingly effective new Bond. An intriguing new take on the classic spy/action title, and that's all a Bond fan can ask for right now- well, aside from having SPECTER back. But I'll take it and I'll like it. Heh.

Bon Voyage

Today was the day that my sister and her family flew off to find their new life and future abroad in Canada. A few years ago, I thought we'd have the good fortune of growing up near each other, with their house being built right next to the main family's house on the same lot. But thanks to the uneasy economic and political climate of the country, they eventually decided that, for the sake of their children, they needed to leave the Motherland.
Months passed before their papers were finally ready and we counted the days to their departure. As I posted earlier, last weekend was the last time we'd actually see them in person. Last night, the kids called their grandparents and had a short chat. My Dad and Mom were of course giving them advice as grandparents would- To be good in school, to never forget to speak Filipino, to always remember that their Lolo and Lola love them.

We're not a particularly sweet family- we just don't express it that much in words or even actions- but inside, our bond as a family has never been lacking. This was the last trial. My brother and his daughters left last year, and this year it's my sister's turn. Now it's just me and my parents left in the nest.

I'll miss the Saturdays when Lea and the kids come over, to just hang around. I'll miss the kids, incredibly enough- the two energetic boys, David and Michael, and my sister's princess Catherine, who will surely bloom into a heartbreaker soon. I never really had time to do anything more than set up the PS2 or show them new anime every so often. Still, it was fun while it lasted.

The next time I see them, probably it will be us visiting them in Canada, hopefully in the near future. I hope the kids won't be too old when I do, and I hope they still remember their weird uncle who loves videogames and anime.

Wherever you and your family goes, Lea, take care and I hope you find the success and good fortune you deserve. I'll see you again someday. God bless.

Working Weekend

This weekend was a blur of work as shooting went ahead for a new TV commercial. Our new spot required that we shoot in a mall, so we were only able to do so after mall hours... thus Friday found us setting up and rolling into the morning hours of the weekend. Only a few hours break found me having to get ready for the second day of the shoot, late Saturday into the wee hours of Sunday morning.

It was unfortunate though, that this weekend was also the last time we'd be seeing my sister Lea and her family in the near future. They're all migrating to Canada within the week, so that is a big downer. Having the pamangkins around the house on weekends was something everyone looked forward to, even though the kids would usually spend the hours playing PS2 or watching TV. On the good side, I was able to spend lunch with them and, when the service came to whisk me away to the shoot, I was able to give my sis, her hubbie and their kids a quick but heartfelt goodbye.

I would have liked to stay longer, but work called. Perhaps I should have stayed, in hindsight. I should have stayed and spent the last few hours with them, perhaps ate dinner with them and said farewell together with my parents. But what's done is done.

I can only console myself with the thought that e-mail and webcams can at least keep us communicating, but it won't be the same without them here.

But it's all for the best, of course. That's what counts.

Moving on.

Avatar News

Still no word on exactly when the third season of Avatar: The Last Airbender will begin, though a recent interview with the Avatar creators on Scifi.com revealed that Book of Fire is pretty much mapped out to the season's climactic finale, where Aang engages his fated nemesis Fire Lord Ozai in an exciting, fan-pleasing final confrontation. Judging from how Avatar has so far excelled in awesome fight and battle sequences, I just can't wait.

Local Nickelodeon has fortunately begun airing Second Season episodes of Avatar, so hopefully this is another sign that the next leg in the Avatar saga is coming very soon.