Please Let it be so...


Is FFVII indeed coming to PS3?

Now I want this. I really, really want this. According to EGM's (Electronic Gaming Monthly) Rumor Corner, a PS3 version of the classic Final Fantasy VII is being worked on, a conversion that will include graphical enhancements to bring it up to par visually with the upcoming CG movie, Advent Children. Now, would anyone be interested in a PSOne RPG spruced up with some fancy CG and graphics?

HELL YES. I'd buy it in a second. Just streamline the gameplay and transitions, make the in-game character models the equal of the cinema models, have seamless interweaving into the cinematics and insert the FFVII Advent Children as an extra IN the disc (or unlockable for playing after you beat the game, as a sequel to the FFVII ending), and I am sold. I am still a firm believer that FFVII is, bar none, the best FF out there. Arguably FFVI comes close in terms of sheer gameplay fun, great cast of characters and story, but FFVII revs up everything with probably the most involving story, graphics and gameplay of the tiime. Everything else afterwards just doesn't measure up. Not the sugary-sweet Final Fantasy 90210 (FF8) that tries very hard to equal the magic but fails miserably to even tell a cohesive story. Not the totally forgettable Final Fantasy IX. Final Fantasy X has a pulse, a great story and ups the ante with voice acting and great eye candy, but still falls short. FFXII? I'm not even excited over it, really.

FFVII on the PS3. Darn... let it be true. Let it be true.

Busybody

GYAAH!!!

Sorry if I've been remiss in updating the ol' blog lately. Work at The Salt Mines has been particularly hellish in the last couple of weeks. We've had to pull double duty twice as often and I've been hopping here and there like a headless kangaroo. Anyway, suffice to say that if I just get through this week in one piece, I'll be darn happy. Heh.

So I'll just go the E-mail Digest route and sum up odds and ends that have been happening recently...

Andrew Drilon just released two ashcans in Comic Quest recently, The Germinator and Subwhere. Check out the offbeat art and storytelling from this young upstart in the comic bin at Vin's. Still on Buddha Boy and the Big Little Boy- Vin and Andrew are going on the air at Monster Radio RX 93.1 tonight at 9pm to talk about- what else- comics. And other stuff, I imagine...

Got a new anime-themed fighter for the PS2. Inu Yasha Ougi Ranbu is a 3-d fighting game with shades of the classic Power Stone. Choose one or two from the popular cast of anime characters and fight it out in single or two-character team combat in various stages. The graphics and sounds are true to the anime, though the fighting is a bit on the shallow side. Still, Inu Yasha fans should grab this one up for the sheer pleasure of kicking Naraku's poisonous butt.

Livewires 5 just hit shelves at CQ and as I expected, the characters are dropping faster than flies in a gas chamber. I can only hope that a hunch that I have- that one character in particular will survive at story's end- proves to be true. Stilll, the art's still great and the story interesting enough for me to read it to the bitter end.

On another front, Frank Cho's Shanna the She-Devil still delivers in terms of art... DAMN Shanna is one sexy babe... but the story's pretty blah and it's all just one long, slightly boring trek and I find myself not caring whether or not Shanna nad the Doc get back in time to save their faceless friends. All I want is... MORE scenes with Shanna doing stuff. Any stuff. Anyway, with just two issues left, I am not looking for a big plot twists to suddenly pop up. I just wanna see more skin before this is over. Then let's have the regular Shanna series announced, please?

Ben Dunn's back in the saddle of his flagship Ninja High School series, and I just have to get back into it. I can't explain it... the guy's storytelling is often off and he uses religious figures too blatantly and his art isn't that great... but I just have to watch how he does things. Perhaps I see something of myself in him. Perhaps I wish I had as great an audience as him. Or maybe it's just that he's always stuck to his guns, done things his own way, no matter what. Or maybe it's just that I just can't resist a ninja title. Oh well.

Been watching more Basilisk and it's still as brutal as ever, with the body count of super-powered ninja growing with each episode. Will the Kouga or Iga come out on top? This series just may keep us all guessing up to the last episode.

Bah. Back to work. Gotta finish this all so's I can get even a bit of sleep tonight. Whatever.

OH MY GOSH!


The NEW Fallen Angel, art by J.K. Woodward.

Thanks to El, I found out about this SMASHING bit of news. It's already been confirmed that my favorite and recently-cancelled DC Comics title Fallen Angel would be continued under IDW Publishing. Well, more concrete proof of Lee's resurrection has been revealed with the first artwork from the comic coming this December. The new artist for the upcoming Fallen Angel comic is J.K. Woodward, whose work includes Digital Webbings' Crazy Mary. I've never heard of this guy or seen his stuff before... but DAMN, I like it!

Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, the quality of the art above won't be limited to cover images- according to writer/creator Peter David, readers can expect the same quality with interior pages as well. DAMN! My only hope is that Mr. Woodward can keep to the comic's supposed monthly schedule, churning out great art like that (he pencils, inks and colors everything himself, apparently).

WOOHOO!!! This is the best news I've heard so far in comics all month. I can't wait to get my hands on the New Fallen Angel later this year.

Fallen Angel is the story of Lee, a mysterious super-powered vigilante/enforcer/bounty hunter/avenger for hire in the shadowy, crime-infested city of Bete Noir. At times fighting against underworld figures, at times sleeping with them, the only thing sure about the Fallen Angel is that you don't want to be on her bad side. Written and created by Peter David, art by J.K. Woodward, coming this December from IDW Publishing.

Still on the topic of Angels though, there have been some developments in my own personal comic book angel, Angel Ace. My good friend and comics compatriot Dean has already more or less pre-empted a new AA book (heh), and this is true. And then some. But the circumstances, plot and magnitude of the next AA book will be totally unexpected and may bowl some people over. Details in a future post when I gather my thoughts about it.

The Dark Knight Returns



The last time cinema goers saw Batman, it was in the Joel Schumaecher-directed Batman and Robin, a film infamous for cooky sound effects, Ah-nuld's horrid Mr. Freeze, an overabundance of plotlines, garish designs and sets laced with neon, a pudgy and totally unnecessary and obnoxious Batgirl and... rubber nipples. Well, thankfully despite all that, arguably the most cinema-prolific and popular comic book hero gets a new lease on life in Batman Begins. Written by David Goyer and megged by Christopher Nolan, this is a totally different take on the caped crusader that does away the baggage of the previous movies. In many ways, Batman Begins is a pseudo adaptation of the popular Batman: Year One comic book, which showed a fledgeling Batman getting used to his new digs and starting his legend in Gotham City. The movie also takes a great risk by doing something most, if not all, of the previous films did- focus entirely on Batman and NOT on the bat-villains.

Spoilers Ahead
Batman Begins is the story of Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), son of billionaire developer, humanitarian and model father Thomas Wayne (Linus Roache). Unlike previous Batman flicks, we are shown in detail stuff that shaped Bruce's psyche- what kind of man his father was, and a more in-depth role of the young Wayne in the tragic death of his parents. This goes quite a bit into explaining more of why the young heir turns into a caped, black-suited crimefighter. It walks a fine line though... impatient, jaded watchers may find it all boring. Fortunately, I got into the flick and it was fine. There is, however, quite some time before Batman even dons the black suit. Fortunately, the amount and substance of the stuff we see is not terminally depressing and pointless baggage such as was in the crappy Hulk film. In all, it makes Bruce Wayne a fuller, more understandable character, and that's not bad.

While the focus on Batman himself is plain to be seen, the supporting cast is in fine form. Of note are Michael Caine, as the new Alfred. While the previous Alfred of the past Batman films, Michael Gough, certainly looked the part more, Caine does well by not trying to imitate his predecessor. Caine injects more humor and a bit of old English spunk into the faithful butler and Wayne's second father, and it's refreshing to see, along with some welcome points of humor. Another surprising new entry is Gary Oldman as the new Comissioner James Gordon (though he's still a lieutenant at the time of Batman Begins). This is probably one of Oldman's most 'normal' roles, and one of his rare non-villain ones. Once again he proves himself a cinematic chameleon, portraying the slightly bookish but unmistakeably stalwart cop perfectly.

Of the villains, Cillian Murphy makes a good showing as Dr. Jonathan Crane AKA The Scarecrow. He may look a bit young, but those weird eyes and his creepy deliveries make for a very disturbing Master of Fear. The character's design itself, while understated compared to previous bat villains, is memorable and effective. And then there's Liam Neeson's Ducard- I certainly hope that he comes back in some form in the future, but we'll see.

Katie Holmes was fine- a bit young for a district attorney, but she has a strength and some good parts which at least keep her from being just wallpaper or eye candy. Luckily I never watched Dawson's Creek so I don't see her TV character nudging into her movie performance. Finally, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, a sort of 'Q' for Batman, makes the most of the short scenes he appears in with some of the film's funniest lines.

But then of course, the whole film hinges on Christian Bale. How does he do? In my opinion, he's the best Bruce Wayne so far in my opinion- edging slightly over Keaton, far and away better than Kilmer or Clooney. As for Batman, he fills in the suit well, though that raspy delivery just has to be toned down. As a start though, he makes it with flying colors.

Batman Begins look, feel and action are exceptional- I love the new Batmobile, the tank-like "Tumbler" which replaces the sleek design of previous Bat-Cars. The new, modernized look of Gotham City is different- I'm still deciding if I like it over the older, more Gothic look of the previous films. The action and fight scenes, which some reviews found too shaky and unclear- work just fine for me. Batman isn't about graceful martial arts... he's about fear and brutal takedowns. The new emphasis on the dark, scary Batman and how he appears to the superstitious criminal element is perfect, especially in moments such as when Batman takes out the Falcone mob in a darkened warehouse. In these moments, Batman is never seen in full. He attacks in a blur and vanishes. He's scary and it's awesome.

I recognize though that the movie isn't perfect. There are tons of explanations of why Batman is Batman- lots of How's and Why's that fans of the comic may or may not take well. The final, overall scheme and doomsday plot was a bit too complicated for me, and there's a fair bit of expository dialogue that could have been handled better. There are some corny lines of dialogue mixed in with the cool quips. And of course, there's the bit that this film does takes it's time to get Wayne into the costume.

Still, it's a wonderful and refreshing new direction for this popular character. Taken all in all, I pretty much love Batman Begins, and am looking forward to the inevitable sequel (the direction of which is given not so subtly at the end). With the groundwork of a great regular cast and a new world of new possibilties, the future looks bright (heh) for the dark knight.

Ye Olde Spaghetti Place

As you can probably tell if you've read my blog for some time, I love pasta. Especially spaghetti. And so, it was with a bit of excitement that I went with the Salt Mines Staff to have lunch at The Old Spaghetti House yesterday. The place has a nice, cozy feel to it... with wooden panels and accents in addition to brick and mortal walls, old-style decor and some nice furnishing (if a bit crowded). The place seems to do good business during lunch, with a full house at the time we were dining.

Anyway, the menu predictably consisted of lots of pasta meals, mainly spaghetti (though there is a selection of other pasta and favorites like lasagna) and some odds and ends like rice meals. To keep with the program, I ordered the basic Spaghetti with Meatballs, which I really haven't tasted done well in other places. Well, I wasn't disappointed. No, it's not Mom's Spaghetti, but the noodles were al dente, the sauce nice and tasty, and the meatballs really good with a steak-sirloin quality of flavor. Along with my main course, I had a nice bowl of cream of corn and chorizo soup (really nice, albeit slightly salty) and a LOT of ice tea (bottomless) to wash it all down.
The price is the usual for a classy place- Php200 will get you a dish and drinks easy. Having extras (like me) will push your meal to just under Php300. Our gripe? One of our mates had to wait a good long while for her order, while the rest of us had our meals early. Otherwise, it was a good meal overall.

I know that there are more OSH's elswhere, like in Libis. I hope to get the Quest Gang to try a meal or two there, for some really good spaghetti. After all, my birthday only comes once a year. Heh.

Grimm Future

From seemingly out of nowhere comes this cool-looking dark period fantasy/fairy tale/horror action flick The Brothers Grimm. Looking like a big budget mix of Sleepy Hollow, The Brotherhood of the Wolf and Ghostbusters, the movie casts Matt Damon (Bourne Identity) and Heath Ledger (A Knight's Tale) as two con men travelling Napoleonic France, masquerading as supernatural troubleshooters. When the government learns of the two's shenanigans, the brothers are forced to take go on a mission agasint real demons and monsters causing some grisly events along the borders between Germany and France. Either they win and stop a demonic threat or find themselves on the receiving end of a guillotine.
Along for the ride are Jonathan Pryce and Monica Belluci as the beautiful but evil Queen Mirror. This looks pretty slick. Something to watch for later this year.

The Deadliest Date Movie Ever

Mr. and Mrs. Smith is an humor-laden action romp about the lives of two elite assassins married to each other without knowing that deadly fact. But while John (Brad Pitt) and Jane (Angelina Jolie) Smith are total masters at combat and death-dealing, they don't seem to be as good in the domestic setting. Basically, after five (or six) years of marriage, their marriage is on the verge of collapse. Then, something comes to rock the proverbial boat and two people who have made vows to be faithful till death do they part are soon doing their best to terminate their better half.

This is a pretty different action yarn with assassins; there's no big mission to take on, no deadly diseases or bombs ticking away, no evil spy organization to overthrow (but a TON of faceless commandos to take out)... the only real thing at stake here is the Smiths' marriage, and all the gunplay and close combat is really just a metaphor for a couple to work out their differences, be honest to each other and rediscover their true feelings for each other. That is, if they don't get killed in the process.

That said, this is still a pretty slick popcorn flick with some very cool action sequences, funny quips and dialogue and LOTS of sexy eye candy for both guys and gals. Really, I can just stare at Miss Jolie all day, but she's double-triple-quadruple gorgeous here. Seriously. Gorgeous. Babe.

Ahem. Anyway, Mr. and Mrs. Smith is quite an entertaining watch, with good chemistry between both leads and some nice stunts; I just would have wanted the 'shaky cam' look a bit lessened and perhaps a bit more tussling between the two... Heh. Definitely worth my time and I'm gonna get the DVD so I can keep staring at Angelina again. Mmmm.

Batman Begins

... TODAY. Yerk! The latest and supposedly Greatest Batman flick is in theaters in the Metro starting today! I really really want to watch this movie; in fact, I've never been this excited to see a Batman flick as I'm not particularly a big fan of the caped crusader. However, this movie just may push me into a batty state of mind. Well, we'll see about watching this at the latest over the weekend with the crew. I've still got Mr. and Mrs. Smith to catch before I make the move to Gotham.

Dead or Alive: The Movie


The fight started after Christie joked that Hitomi would be played by Jennifer Love Hewitt.

The devil is in the details. Yet onto another game-to-movie thing, though this is less than stellar that Advent Children, it is still pretty close to my heart. Of course, I've been hurt before (Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat 2 movies... aaaah...), but what the hell. I'm a sucker for punishment.

Anyway, the DOA movie's in filming right now. The director is Corey Yuen (The Transporter), which is not a bad thing since he's done lots of Hong Kong action stuff. The script is by J.F. Lawton, whose credits include Pretty Woman (Gyaaaa) and Under Siege (Hmmm). The producer is Paul Anderson who is responsible for the okay Resident Evil movies and the HORRID Alien vs Predator and the Mortal Kombat movies. So... all in all... it could go either way. Yikes.

As for the CAST. Here goes.

Sarah Carter (Final Destination 2) plays Helena.
Kane Kosugi plays Ryu Hayabusa.
Holly Valance (UK Pop Star) plays Christie.
Jaime Pressly (Sin City) plays Tina.
Devon Aoki (Sin City, 2 Fast 2 Furious) plays Kasumi.
Kevin Nash (Pro-wrestler) plays Bass.
Natassia Malthe (Elektra's Typhoid) plays Ayane.
Other characters are played by new actors.
Brian White plays Zack
Now, the girls are sexy and some seem well-cast (though Devon Aoki seems more suited to play Ayane), but it remains to be seen if this works out.

As for The STORY...

Directed by Corey Yuen, "DOA" tells of of an all-female kick-boxing squad trying to guard their employer.

Bounty-hunter Christie has been hired to bring in uber-crook Fame Douglas. Upon his return, she'll be paid a desirable fifty million big ones.
Unfortunately, Fame Douglas has hidden himself at the top of a tower, smack-bang in the middle of a remote island. On each floor, Christie encounters a member of the DOA troupe - and they've been paid to make sure she doesn't advance to the next - excuse the game pun - level.

Christie as the apparent heroine? The DOA girls reduced to being bodyguards for Fame Douglas? This movie seems to take liberties with the game's original storyline and roles for the characters, but what the hey. If there's lots of cheesecake and a DOA volleyball scene and lots of girl-on-girl fights and sexy outfits, I'll be happy. Heh.

Expect DOA the Movie to bounce into theaters in 2006.

Addendum: The competition, Namco, is also coming up with a Tekken flick. So far, the only cast member confirmed is the actor who plays kickboxer Bruce Irvin, Brian White (who also plays DOA's Zack!). The story so far is about a young man who discovers he has a great power within him, and has to fight a group of elite fighters who are after it. Hmmm. Highly simplied plot, I see. Well, it all comes to a head in 2006.

Advent Details


More tidbits on the ultimate game-to-movie translation.

More stuff on the upcoming Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children DVD release in Japan.

The Japanese dvd release of AC will be on September 14. The final cut of the CG, game-inspired sequel movie Advent Children will come in at a full 97 minutes. Aside from the feature, the dvd will include a 30-minute documentary that outlines the storyline of the original PS RPG that AC follows (this should be a boon for anyone going into the flick who didn't play the game). Other features include various FFVII trailers and stuff on the upcoming 'Final Fantasy VII Compilation' project.

The heftier Limited Edition DVD will include a bit more bang for the buck- a nice toy of Cloud Strife astride his Fenrir motorcycle, an all-new original FFVII anime OAV Final Fantasy VII: Last Order and a special edition of the FFVII PS1 game.

Cool stuff, but I don't expect to be able to get a copy of the limited edition given that Japanese (or even local Filipino) fans will eat this up. It's still unclear whether AC will get a theatrical release, or if we'll see the original DVD in stores here. Most probably we'll see this feature first from the local anime shops (and hopefully the Last Order OAV too). Darn, September is so far away... I want this NOW. NOW. NOW. Sigh.

Steamboy Redux

After a discussion last night with Vin, I decided to clear up a bit my thoughts on Steamboy with this follow-up post. Or, to be a bit clearer, why I didn't like it all that much.

Steamboy has it's good points. It's a great premise- that of a young boy given a great power which he must protect from evil forces. But the execution is muddled, drawn out, dragging and unfocused. There are no clear cut villains. No clear cut good guys. No seeming central plot. There are too many things happening and nothing happening paradoxically at the same time. For far too many times and for far too long, action consists of turning valves and steam vents and pipes. This movie is half about action and adventure, half about PLUMBING. Okay, that's exaggerating but I think it's true.

A serious problem is that no one is likeable. No one has depth or is engaging or compelling to watch. Ray has plainly good intentions and a strong will, but is far too blank and confused for far too long. All the other characters are too ambiguous, showing both good and bad that you just don't care for any of them- not for Ray's cyborg father (who is the de facto villain of the piece simply because he looks the most evil with his black suit and prosthetics), not for his wild-eyed grand pa, not for the token love interest/irritating girl Scarlett O'hara, not for the British Government or whoever else is in the mix. No one makes an impact and this just kills the need to watch this long and dragging (if wonderfully animated) spectacle to the very end (and it takes a darn long while to end).

Yes, there's action and fun stuff- you have to with tons of steam-powered munitions exploding and going crazy onscreen. But it would help (a lot) if it all made sense, with a decent sense of timing and pace.

In the end, for me Steamboy is a cumbersome, flawed spectacle. Great animation and incredible detail, awesome designs. A clunker of a story though.

Whatever. Well, I'll of course keep a copy next to Akira in the old anime library for posterity. But I don't expect myself to be taking this out and watching it too often anytime soon. Moving on...

Lukewarm


Ray Steam takes on baddies in Katsuhiro Otomo's Steamboy.

The name Katsuhiro Otomo is no doubt well-known to anime and manga fans, primarily for his post-apocalyptic opus, Akira- easily one of anime's landmark films (if not THE landmark anime film). It is a bit boggling though to realize that Otomo hasn't made another animated project since Akira- at least, not until his latest, Steamboy, But does the great director's latest top his greatest?

Sadly, no. A thousand times no.

Steamboy is an adventure-fantasy yarn set in an alternate reality steam-age England, in the turn of the century. Young Ray Steam is the product of genius- both his father and grandfather were geniuses and colleagues in the research and development of a device called the Steam Ball, an amazing power source that could revolutionize the world... or destroy it in a white puff of smoke. When Ray receives an actual working Steam Ball in the mail, he soon becomes embroiled in a battle between ideologies, steam-powered weapons and armies and unfortunately, my lagging attention span.

Again, this was a feature i almost was positive I'd love. I mean, what's not to love? There's a spunky kid hero, his dad-turned-Darth Vader figure, evil corporations and governments at war, steam-powered arsenals and big battle scenes, lots of carnage, flying and rolling machines, lovely animation and even more lovely animation.

So why, oh why did I find myself bored to tears?

Well, the pacing's off and the story was just uneven. Not even the coolest animations or the retro designs can make long scenes of scientific debate interesting. The characters aren't very compelling, not the least of which is Ray himself, who basically just drifts along without an opinion or even much to like about until the final stretch of the movie. Also, you really can't tell who's really good- I like grey areas and blurring between good and bad as much as the next open-minded watcher, but darn everyone seems bad in this movie at one point or another. Which would be fine if only Ray himself found a stand to believe in... but it all just seems weak with little great scenes to talk about or rave for. Spectacularly dragging and drawn out is what Steamboy turned out to be. Not as whimsical as Spirited Away, not as strong in action or characters as ANY of the other Miyazaki classics... not even as visually striking as, say, Innocence (Ghost in the Shell 2)... this is a big disappointment as a follow up to Akira.

Still, the sheer detail and animation is awesome, and the story would probably be better with better editing and about thirty or so minutes of baggage cut out (and the released theatrical cut is supposedly shorter than what Otomo wanted). The main trouble is that Steamboy just loses... well... steam... way too early and chugs for far too long till the end.

Still, it's something to see, and at least it's not as bad as Metropolis. Worth seeing one time for the animation, but I doubt anyone but a true fan or Otomo freak will last a second or third watch. Oh well. Moving on.

New PC!

Well, not really. I just had my OS reinstalled, since the ol' beige box was positively unusable by now. It's been acting up for months and months, hanging more than half the time whenever Windows Media Player or Internet Explorer is used. Over the weekend, it got worse, with stuff like my Video Editing Suite and even just the ability to TURN THE DAMN THING OFF getting unreasonably impaired. So, I had to nip the problem in the bud and it was done. But it was not without cost- I lost gigs of data, but after all this time it was about time to clear stuff and make use of the 80 gig-hard drive with new stuff.

A new start for me and my PC, which should do well since it's still going to be my Media Center and homebase for my PPC phone. I guess it's pretty fitting that this all happened on my birthday. Heh.

Playstation Pocket PC?

Last night I discovered a program for the Pocket PC that allows emulation of Playstation 1 games. PLAYSTATION 1 GAMES ON MY PPC PHONE??? INCONCIEVABLE! Well, it seems true, and I was ALMOST actually able to have the ultimate Dead or Alive geek sigh- to have Dead or Alive PS1 playable on my mobile phone. Unfortunately, the DOA file, or ISO, seemed to be corrupt and unplayable. I'll see about finding or someday learning to rip my own mobile PS1 games eventually. That would be sweeeet. Heh.

MAD Birthday

Saturday saw most of the Comic Quest gang converging at my place for a spaghetti-and-chicken dinner, courtesy of my Mom. The guys and gals trickled in, first Dino and me, then later Cams and Jason, then the main group with Vin, Dean, Gig and Andrew. As always, the spaghetti sauce and cheese flowed freely, and we enjoyed in lieu of Don Henrico's Buffalo Wings a tray of barbecue sauce-marinated deep-fried chicken legs which were crispy-licious. Dessert was a Red Ribbon chocolate mousse (very nice), and soda aplenty.
Since it was my birthday, the gang set aside their singing session for a bit, and we spent a couple of hours just talking about old TV shows, random old movies and films and that kind of schtick. Darn... we would all probably qualify as Movie Geeks for that Jack TV game show, Beat the Geeks. We've got a LOT of junk in our heads. Heh.
Anyway, my birthday weekend was pretty cool overall, since Friday saw me meeting good friends Arnold and Cynthia in Makati (and with a nice shirt, too!). This was a really nice celebration for the year. Can't wait till next time.

Pause

I turn one year older on Monday, a holiday.

Right now, I'm still at the office, doing overtime. Tomorrow, hopefully if no coups happen, I'll be celebrating with friends at home.

Despite the commotion just a few miles away and the urgent need to finish our stuff into the weekend, AND a damn photoshoot I need to attend tomorrow morning, a teeny bit of my brain is reflecting on my life, what I've done and what I have to be thankful for.

I'm thankful first and foremost for being who I am. Not too great, but not too shabby either. My family is about as perfect as a family a guy could ask for.

A Dad who still cares to give me advice and the occasional lecture and share the daily quip and tidbit and takes the effort to drive me to the bus stop every day because he wants to.

A Mom who has always been there, the bastion of strength and security, with a ready laugh and the ready advice to always pray and be thankful for every thing God has had the great generosity to give me. And who can cook the best damn spaghetti sauce in the world.

A Brother who has always been there. Rival, bulwark, guardian, supporter, friend, kindred techie, sparring partner, confidante and a thousand more things all rolled into one buff package who can beat up any bastard who lays a hand on his little brother.

A Sister who is prim and proper and perfect in everything she does and yet is cool enough to hang with me on occasion and appreciate stuff like Shaider: Ang Pulis Pangkalawakan.

A Home that is truly a Sanctum, a Sanctuary of both peace and noise and laughter and restfulness, fun and familiarity that darn, is a reason why I don't like going too far away or leaving too often.

Friends who are as varied and as special as comics and books themselves. Each with so many wonderful stories, laughter, drama, action and adventure that being with them each is a fountain for creativity and fun every time we meet and meld.

A job that lets me create and think and laugh and complain and fight and feel sadness loss and jubilation and joy, all in the same day yet still give me the leeway to go home and tune off, to enjoy the occasional game, or the chance to think up the next comic book project.

Just the opportunity to be born in the time when LOVELY LOVELY toys like mini-computers, the Internet, CG movies, gaming consoles and pizza delivery exist, in a country though imperfect, lets me indulge in them every now and then.

The talent to think up stories and set them on paper not just in words but in images. The ability to make comics and draw is a skill that is truly an art form. While there were some moments years ago when I wished I could just play the piano instead, being able to put panels on pages is a gift I thank God everyday, even in my own small way.

A body that is healthy, relatively, certainly not comely but at least far from ugly. A brain that is odd and quirky, but ever-looking and ever-hungry for eye candy and brain sugar aplenty. Or anything Blog-worthy.

One year older. A bit wiser. Not any balder. Not really richer. Could be happier, but damn, I'm happy enough.

Thanks

Overtime

I'm still at the office, with several of the crew to finish work for a presentation that's due in the middle of next week. As I wait for the materials to be finished and organized by myself into a Powerpoint presentation (after a whirlwind lesson from the Boss), we all listen to a nearby radio about the hubbub that's happening at this very moment.
Appears that the recent events that are basically screaming "COUP! COUP!" are still racing on. Right now, opposition elements and personalities are converging on a safe house somewhere along EDSA to protect a supposed witness that holds vital testimony against the Arroyo Government (apparently the original tapes of the incriminating tape that implicates the Madam President in election fraud).

Want to finish work so we can go home. But will we have a presentation next week with the possibility that we might now have a government working tomorrow?

What a country we live in. Sigh.

Limited Edition

Square Enix has just announced that there will be a limited edition release of the UMD (PSP format) video of Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. This LE will include 30 minutes of bonus scenes from the original FFVII. WHOA. Will these scenes be original cinematics from the game, or will they actually be recreated scenes using the updated CG loveliness of the AC flick? DARN, it just boggles the mind to think about the possibilities if the latter is true; the Assault on Shinra Headquarters, Aeris and Cloud's First Meeting, the Introduction of Rufus, the Death of Aeris, the Final Battle against Sephiroth... perhaps all these can be seen in full Advent Children quality... a PERFECT prologue to the game sequel movie.

It's pretty much a cinch that Advent Children will make it here via local anime and gaming shops, if not local dvd shops (and pirates). But I am pretty prepared to shell out the moolah for originals. Heck, I'd buy a PSP for this. Seriously.

I want this sooooo much. I want this more than... more than almost anything else cinematic or game-based. This is what I have to look forward to for the end of the year. Yes, even more than Xbox 360 and Dead or Alive 4. Really. I want this. On my Mini. Playable wherever I go. My. Gosh. Yummy.

Ninjas and Scrolls


Deadly ninja action abound in GONZO's Basilisk.

What's this? A dark, bloody and supernatural-themed ninja action series NOT from Studio Madhouse? How can it be? Well, believe it, otakus. Basilisk is one of the three latest releases from the GONZO workshops (the other two being Speedgrapher and Trinity Blood) and so far it is delicious.
Set in feudal age Japan, Basilisk: The Koga Ninja Scrolls chronicles how the Shogun, Ieyasu Tokugawa, schemes to choose his successor by re-starting an age-old blood feud between two clans of deadly, super-powered ninja; the Koga and the Iga. For the past decades these two factions have been held apart by an uneasy peace, but now, that peace is broken. Each of the clans is aligned with a claimant to the throne- ten ninja have been selected from each clan, and these 20 warriors must engage in battles to the death. For the winner, 1000 years of good fortune and support from the ruling shogunate. For the losers... annihalation.

This isn't your usual ninja anime- it's really along more of the lines of the classic Ninja Scroll, with deadly and often grotesque superhuman abilities taking precedence over ordinary swords and shuriken. Here, the character designs rule the day with mostly UGLY men and several very comely women. There is much scheming and conspiracy along with the open ninja combat, so this looks to be very interesting. Adding a bit of spice is the fact that the supposed leaders of both clans- Gennosuke of the Koga and Oboro of the Iga- are very much in love with each other. A sort of twisted Romeo and Juliet tale. But will it end terribly? Or will somehow love triumph?

Well, the only thing for certain is that a lot of ninja blood will be shed before this new title is over. Darn, it's my new guilty pleasure series of the season. Check it out at your local anime dealers.

New Warriors GO


Night Thrasher, Namorita, Nova, Speedball and Microbe make up the new New Warriors team.

I've been a fan of the original series which came out years ago in the mid-90s (so WHY is it still called 'NEW' after all these years still baffles me), with an impressive 60+ issue run. I kinda got turned off when it just felt too contrived during it's half-hearted second series run (along with the fact that they suddenly had Altlantean babe Namorita quit wearing bikinis all the time) and I just turned off.

Well, the Warriors are back for the 2000s, and they're off to a nice start in my opinion. The 6-issue limited series by writer Zeb Wells and artist Skottie Young takes several of the original Warriors (Masked avenger Night Thrasher, happy-go-lucky Speedball, Atlantean Princess Namorita (who's blue and bikini-clad for this one) and super-strong Nova), adds in a big but unexpectedly meek newcomer named Microbe (who is described as a 'germ empath'... go figure) and has the reformed team fighting crime in the context of a 'reality TV show'.
The schtick is, while the Avengers and the Fantastic Four and the X-men face off with big villains in big city America, there's no one to take out super-powered threats in the suburds, in the small town United States and in the salt of the earth confines of middle America. So this is where this group of somewhat second-string heroes come in... to fight supervillains who hide out where the big heroes don't bother to go.

The whole idea is apparently set forward by Thrasher, who felt that the backers behind the reality TV show have the cash to fund their crusade against crime. A cop-out and selling out? Well, that's how Namorita (the title's resident babe and the devil's advocate to the whole affair from the get-go) feels at the start, but after the Warriors take out their first villains and actually see their efforts pay off , it looks like the new TV superteam is on the air for the duration.

Personally, I like it. The first issue's script is nicely done, with the characters each showing off their personalities very well. It didn't come off as cold or as obnoxious as you'd think, and the heroes felt familiar and likeable... just as I hoped it would be, coming back to this title. There is a bit of parody in the side of the reality TV show schtick, but overall it's very sober and a nice read. Skottie Young's art, while cartoony in look, is gorgeous, and shows off action and movement excellently. There are even nice humorous panels that actually do seem to move like a cartoon, which is good.

All in all, I felt like I watched an episode of a New Warriors cartoon- like a Marvel version of Teen Titans GO, and that's really a good thing. With cool art and action, good characterizations and a quirky storyline, the latest incarnation of these second string heroes is pretty first rate. I'm just sad that there will probably be a lot of comic fans, particularly old New Warriors fans, who may reject the new treatment. Which is a pity since I'd rather have this new take than no New Warriors at all. So let's all support this cool new title and hopefully a more regular series will follow after. Hope, hope!