Change

Last night, an epiphany hit me as I sat down in The Sanctum and glanced at the corner of the room where I had my piles of anime VCDs.

It's been ages... perhaps even months... since I have just sat down and watched anime on the TV. My pace of living has changed so much that I don't seem to have the time, or even just the patience to just sit down and watch. These days, I just get my anime or even movies digitally from online, encode them in DIVX or XVID and load them into my mobile phone for viewing when the bug hits me. Seriously.

And so, I got up and started grabbing my VCDs, taking them out of their cases (which I can now reuse or sell at my leisure) and putting the lot into plastic bags for storing or disposing. It's kind of a waste, probably- I easily have dozens an dozens of VCDs (irritatingly enough, I have multiple copies of several titles)- but I guess it's good as well that from now on, I won't be buying anime from local dealers (who basically get them from online as well anyway). It's an end of an era, but something I am glad to be free of. No more dealing with irritating, anime-incompetent counter monkeys, and unresponsive geeky or smarmy anime shop owners. No more trudging all the way to an anime shop just to be told the title you're looking for is OUT OF STOCK.

Thanks be to Bittorrent, I can now get my anime and movies directly to my PC, and I couldn't be any happier.

In any case, I'll still retain my DVD collection and probably will buy the odd DVD, mainly for the rest of the household's viewing. I also will probably buy the occasional DVD from a dealer that sells anime in large quantities as DIVX files (which saves me on download times).

It's a weird feeling. Maybe I felt it before, when I got rid of the trusty Betamax and finally embraced VHS years and years ago. Gosh, who knows where technology will bring our entertainment in another decade or so. Direct-to-brain transfers? Wild, man. Simply Wild.

Perfect Killing Machine



I've decided that the next comic I'll be producing in the very near future will be another K.I.A. issue. Yeah, I know I said that The Last Angel Ace Story would be it, but I am not going to rush that one. I intend to have something ready for this year's KOMIKON, and realistically Angel Ace won't make it, given the time that remains.
In line with how the first K.I.A. book had a bit of a concept (anthology type with various creators/writers/artists), this one will have one as well. I'll be pitching the idea soon to the local comics gang and we'll see where this one goes.

On other things, I look to be quite busy in comics for the next few weeks. Project Kris is half done for me, so I'll hopefully be reaping rewards from that. Project HERO 2 is almost at hand, and this early I've already worked out the general storyline for my piece, which is another Samurai Sis story. The trick will be doing the art for another story that will be written by another creator.
Another comics project, where I will collaborate with Vin Simbulan, looks to start soon as well. The deadline's tight but I'm quite interested in the subject and title, so I'll probably jump into that.

Considering that I haven't really done any comics work for several months, this is probably pretty adventurous of me, but what the heck- in comics, I seem to work best under pressure so why not? Time to get back into the gutter again. Heh.

Return to Midgar


Happy Valentine's Day.

If you're a fan of the Final Fantasy VII game, you'll surely have watched FFVII Advent Children by now (if now, what are you waiting for? The english flub, er dub? It's OUT, by the way). Well, the other titles in the 'Compilation of FFVII' series that Advent Children is a part of are starting to come out. Dirge of Cerberus is the second title (the last one is Before Crisis) and, on a wild, out-of-left field direction, isn't an RPG but a SHOOTER. Well, a shooter with RPG elements, and a whole lot of CG cinematics. In fact, the game (which has been out in Japan for quite a while) has received quite a bit of flack from reviews. The gameplay, it seems, isn't up to par... really, the most this game has to offer are the lavish CG FMV's that Square of Japan has come to be known for. Still, if you're an FFVII fan, you'll probably want to check out the game simply for the story and the cinematics, simply because DOC gives fans once again a look into the lives of their beloved characters in the fantasy world of Midgar.

Dirge of Cerberus takes place a year after the events in FFVII Advent Children (which in turn happens about two years after the end of the FFVII game story). The main focus of the tale this time isn't emo-boy Cloud Strife, but UBER-emo boy Vincent Valentine- former Turk (Shinra special agent) and current shapechanging supermutant. All seems well in the world as the WRO or World Restoration Organization is working to bring the planet back to track without the use of destructive Mako energy that Shinra used in the past. One day though, the peace is broken when a new, mysterious enemy attacks the town of Kalm. These invaders are the Deep Ground Soldiers, a special corps of enhanced warriors created by Shinra during the war but buried underground when the Meteor came to the planet. Now released into a world unprepared for their attack, the DGS seek to reawaken powerful forces in their bid for conquest. And their key to their victory is one Vincent Valentine. Now our red-cloaked hero must take up his trusty three-barrelled pistol and take on the enemy, lay to rest ghosts from his past and save the world from destruction once again.

While Vincent is the main and apparently only playable character, ninja cutie Yuffie Kisaragi plays a vital role in the story, often helping out Vincent and appearing in the many cinematics. Also playing a big role is Reeve/Cait Sith, in one scene apparently being gunned down by enemy soldiers. Ouch! Anyway, all of the FFVII heroes (save perhaps Aerith) eventually show up as the big throwdown for Midgar gets underway towards the game's climax. Thanks the Square's CG mastery, the pre-rendered cinematics are pretty much the same quality as in Advent Children, with the same character models being used. This makes DOC pretty much a sequel to Advent Children and well worth seeing for fans of the world and it's characters. I've seen the cinemas and some of the big battle scenes bring to mind the large-scale battles from the Star Wars Clone Wars movies... that's a good thing, actually.

As for the gameplay... well, awkward gameplay concerns just melt in the face of Yuffie Kisaragi's CG cuteness. Yes. Hehe.

The english version of Dirge of Cerberus is slated for an August 2006 release on the PS2. FFVII fans wanting one more adventure with their beloved FFVII heroes should keep their eyes peeled for this one.

Memory

My sister and her family came to visit over the weekend, and her husband brought along his new phone, my old XDA II Mini. I couldn't resist looking at it again... and found myself amazed at how small it felt in my hand, which was by now used to hefting the larger XDA IIi. I was enamoured in the colors of the screen, which was smaller but a more colorful than larger Pocket PCs. I tested it a few times and smiled at the snappiness of the response.

Darn, I miss it. I turned it over and noted with a wince several new scratches on the silver casing. I owned it for a year and never put a scratch on it. Sigh.

I put it back and said goodbye once more. There will be other mobiles, smaller or bigger, in the years to come. But I'll always remember that one.

The Empire Strikes Back (in the Caribbean)


Jack's back.

I have to admit that while I was initially excited back when I first saw the trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Secret of the Black Pearl. But when I watched the actual movie, I found it a bit unnecessarily long, with quite a lot of iffy parts. But while it was uneven for me, I did find the character of Jack Sparrow... no, CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow, as one of the more interesting screen protagonists to come in a long time. Part scoundrel, part dirty rat, part reluctant hero, the flighty buccaneer is given more life than he originally was envisioned to thanks to offbeat cinema heartthrob Johnny Depp. And so, when the sequel was announced I was willing to give it a try. In any case, the trailer and the subsequent features and videos online and on cable convinced me that Dead Man's Chest just might be something special.

Bringing together almost every cast member and character from the original, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a spectacular, wild ride. Well, at least it is after the first few minutes of setting up and reintroducing the characters. But once the players are assembled, it's a merry free-for-all of swashbucklers, sea monsters, sailing ships and... well, PIRATES. It gets a bit muddled as we go through... not horrible, mind you, but muddled in a Simpsons' episode sort of way. We all know the general direction- Both Jack Sparrow and the sinister East India Trading Company are after the Dead Man's Chest- which contains an object that just might it's possessor absolute power over the seas. Everyone else- from Sparrow's crew to the returning heroes Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) is running in the same general direction, but with varying goals. It's a mess of double-dealings, betrayals, backstabbings and more of Jack Sparrow's prancing. But at least it's a fun mess which looks absolutely spectacular thanks to great casting, incredible settings, art direction and special effects.

A lion's share of the eye candy this time around belongs to the character of Davy Jones- the mythical old man of the sea and sailor's bane, given tentacled life by the effects wizards of ILM and actor Bill Nighy. Nighy's performance- on a par with Depp's Sparrow and Geoffrey Rush's Barbossa from the first movie- pays off with a living, breathing and malevolently fascinating villain. Jones' crew- a gang of barnacle-encrusted marine-monster brutes, are so ugly and creepy they're beautiful... it's hard to see where CG ends and real makeup or costumes begin.

Performances-wise, Dead Man's Chest lets Depp once again run wild as Captain Jack Sparrow, though this time letting more physical comedy and slapstick bag the laugh instead of clever banter (though he does have several fine lines). Sparrow is more scoundrel in this one, but the ending will lay to rest any doubts about his true character.
Bloom and Knightley are given more to do in this one, and thankfully grow more as characters (Knightley's Elizabeth more so than Turner), while returning cast members like a now-bedraggled and bitter former Commodore Norrington (Jack Davenport) get more screen time and importance. New to the franchise is the much-mentioned but now finally realized "Bootstrap" Bill Turner (Stellan Skaarsgard), Will's father and now-captive crewman on the Flying Dutchman.
As mentioned, Bill Nighy steals the show as Davy Jones, while new villain Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) is as smarmy as you can get. Returning cast members like Jonathan Pryce (Elizabeth's father, Weatherby Swann), Kevin McNally (Jack's loyal first mate, Gibb), Lee Arenberg (Pintel) and MacKenzie Crook (Ragetti) give the Caribbean universe continuity. Also of note is Naomie Harris as voodoo priestess Tia Dalma, who is probably gosh-darned beautiful since she's dreadlocked and dirty with black teeth but still looks strangely fetching.

Dead Man's Chest gives both laughs and thrills with some quite outrageous stunts and action sequences, like perhaps the longest and most complex three-man swordfight in movies, and several spectacular appearances by the massive tentacled horror known as The Kraken... a monster that would make the Watcher in the Water from the Lord of the Rings movies shudder. The cast and crew are obviously having fun, and it's pretty infectious.

The worst thing about this movie becomes clear during the last third of the film- when it becomes clear that Dead Man's Chest is simply a buildup for the next movie (called by some Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End). The film ends with HUGE Cliffhanger moments which will have you rabidly foaming at the mouth for the next movie. Unfortunately, we all have to wait a YEAR (POTC3 is slated for next summer) to see the next adventures of Jack, Elizabeth, Will and the rest of the crew.

BUGGER.

Still, POTC:DMC is a rip-roaringly fun ride and watching this is absolutely necessary in any case. The best thing I can say is that at about 2 and a half hours, Dead Man's Chest moves fast and pays off with great action (Unlike a certain recent Superhero film)... easily a better film than the first movie, and well worth your money and time.

Oh, and about that scene after the credits- it's just a very short comedic scene which has NOTHING to do with the main story, so stay at your own peril... it's probably not worth sitting around ten minutes for.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is now showing in Manila Theaters. Watch it, now!

Click

It's kinda funny that once-technophobe Dean is now a bonafide technojunkie. He just bought himself a new O2 XDA II Mini after his old XDA II suddenly conked out on him yesterday. Whether it was just a dead battery or some other more serious fault, I don't know... but it's all moot now since Dean up and got himself a new device to replace the failed unit... of course, without his trusty (and by now invaluable) PDA, he felt naked and insecure.

I have to admit that I myself am incredibly attached and reliant on my Pocket PC Phone. It's my communicator, allowing me to instantly reach my home, family and friends, and keep me attached and updated at work. Text, Voice calls, Internet, e-mail... it keeps me in touch. It's my entertainment center... my portable music jukebox, personal movie theater and video library and on-the-go gaming arcade. It's my life organizer, reminding me of events, appointments, friends' or family members' birthdays and wakes me up every morning for work.

Our cellphones have grown far more than being devices that allow us to communicate. They give us control. It basically is my controller of life- how we can, with simple presses of buttons, affect our lives or change paths with a press of a button. Kinda like that new Adam Sandler movie, Click, on a personal level. It's an illusion of control but it's control nonetheless. That's how important the phone has become.

And so, if indeed my phone conked out one night (God forbid, I just got it), or I lost it (NEVER!!!) or it got stolen (OVER MY DEAD..), I would probably not be at ease until I get my satisfying, not-downgraded replacement. Thus I totally identify with Dean. Anyway, maybe it's poetic that both of us got new mobiles recently, no matter what the reason (whether it be to upgrade or replace). Or maybe it's just the way things work.

Always TWO. A Master. And an Apprentice. Hehehe.

Through Hell and High Water

I woke up today looking at the dimness of the glow coming from the blind-covered windows. It was only when I checked my phone did I realize it was almost 9AM that I shot up in bed and threw open the blinds. Thanks to the storm outside, it looked like it was only about 6AM. Despite all the temptation to just crawl back into bed and just wish it were all a bad dream, I made ready to go to The Salt Mines.
Today's commute was more difficult than most, given that the MRT chose this day to apparently close down for some reason. As I was unwilling to try the obviously traffic-choked route to Cubao, I stood my ground and waited for a cab. Unfortunately, oodles of other commuters were competing for the taxis' attentions. I have to say, sexism be damned- women are EVIL when it comes to commuting. They will run in front of you, wave frantically at every cab, making it pretty clear they will get it before YOU. Finally, when every single female had gotten a cab (how come they all seem to get a ride on their first try??), some bastard guy tries to get in front of me too. BAH. It's enough to make you go homicidal. It's all compounded by the fact that I need to keep my umbrella up because of the pelting rain (too big drops to ignore) but am constantly fighting with strong gusts of wind that threaten to tear the umbrella apart. AARGGGHHH.

Anyway, it took me about four tries.

Me: Makati?
Cabbie: Baha doon! (It's flooded there!)
Me: No, it's not!
Cabbie: BAHA DOON!
VROOooom...

Me: Makati?
Cabbie: I'm only to Marikina.
Me: (Slamming Door) Mag-jeepney ka na lang!!! (Be a Jeepney instead!!!)
VROOOooomm...

Me: Makati?
Old Cabbie: No.
Me: (Slamming Door) TANDAAAA!!! (OLD FART!!!)
VROOOooommm...

When finally a supposedly always-reliable R & E taxi denied me also, I decided enough was enough. But as I was starting to walk home, another taxi came along and I made a try. Lo and behold, the cabbie agreed and we were off. Despite some heavy traffic, the trip was pretty smooth and quick. I was so glad to arrive that I paid the guy a big extra on the fare, and I was set.
Well, work goes on. Got stuff to do, some meetings to attend. Hopefully the trip home will be easier (I'll probably leave a bit late) and less stressful. Ah, the things you do for a living. Sigh.

Avatar Fix

I'm pretty excited for the coming weekend, since it'll be the premiere of the first Avatar: The Last Airbender movie. Entitled The Fury of Aang, this is actually two episodes to be shown back-to-back. As the story goes, Aang the Avatar travels with his party across a supposedly impenetrable desert in the vast Earth Kingdom. Their quarry- a secret library of hidden secrets that just may hold vast knowledge needed to defeat the evil Fire Nation. While trying to survive in the inhospitable wilderness, something happens that causes Aang to become frighteningly enraged, unleashing his awesome powers. Meanwhile, the exiled Prince Zuko and his Uncle Iroh search for the aid of a secret society.

I'm really hoping this new 'movie' is awesome; but considering how Avatar has been pretty awesome in pretty much every episode, this is probably a given. Well, I'm going to have to enjoy this one, since the next Avatar fix will be quite a ways off... in September. Sigh. Oh well.
Of course I am talking about Avatar on the net and in the wide world. Sadly, viewers here in Manila STILL are stuck in the measly weekend showings of replays of episodes from Season 1. CATCH UP, Local Nick! Avatar's the hottest show on your channel and you're flubbing it! I have bittorrent and the web to thank for my Avatar fix, since I have yet to find a local anime shop who stocks the show. Oh well. If you can get your Avatar, do so people. This series is a keeper.

BTW, Avatar has already been picked up for a 3rd Season. The third and supposedly last (as yet) 20-episode arc will be entitled the Book of Fire, and chronicle Aang's final confrontation with his ultimate enemy- the Fire Lord Ozai himself. Can Aang and his friends and allies defeat the powerful, ruthless Fire Nation in time? How will the Legend of Aang end? We'll just have to wait and see in the next couple of years, I guess.

Upgrade Complete


My new constant companion.

In the spirit of the Re-quel (like the recent Superman Returns), I upgraded from my longtime mobile PDA phone, an O2 XDA II Mini to the bigger and quite a bit more powerful O2 XDA IIi. It looks almost exactly like my first PDA Phone, an XDA II (I can tell the difference by looking and finding a little 'i' next to the 'XDA II' name on front). Most of the changes are internal, and not at all superficial.

Anyway, for a while my sister had been asking if I was interested in selling my Mini to them- they wanted to use the multimedia functions of the device as a portable and unobtrusive way of presenting sales pitches/videos for their business... I guess it's hard to lug a laptop everywhere and a bit awkward to just whip out. Towards the end of the week I gave my willingness to sell, gave a price and today I sold it off.

Yeah, it's a bit sad to bid goodbye to the PDA phone that has served me, and served me WELL for almost a year- perhaps the longest I've had a phone. Truth be told, I was quite satisfied with the Mini, from the convenient compactness to the various apps and functions it served me day to day, and the hours of time-killing pleasure it gave me from videos and movies to games and music. The only flaw was, pretty much, a smaller screen (perhaps the limit of good portable video viewing). I still totally stand by the Mini as one of the best devices from O2 and it's prodigious multi-usability... so it's kinda sad knowing it's going to be used for mainly demoing some fruit juice videos. Oh well, in any case I hope it earns it's price for them.

Anyway, with the money for the sale and some extra cash I had lying around The Sanctum, I was free to get a new mobile. I know I mentioned the Samsung i310 smartphone (which came with an 8 Gigabyte Hard Disk), but I eventually realized that all that storage space was useless since the videos would look perhaps half the size of the videos on my former Mini... and that was just too much. I went to Greenhills and looked over the many models and phones available.

Benq P50... interesting form factor, with proportions kinda like one of those old brick games. It has a nice screen (kinda like the Mini) and a full QWERTY keyboard. It used SD/MMC cards and had WiFi. However, the processor was the same as the Mini (416 Mhz) so I got turned off. There are quite a few of these though around, and they look kinda cool. Like grey-black Treos.

Nokia N91... again the Finnish 4-Gig wonder beckons. Again, the tiny screen and the fact that this is a Symbian phone made mainly for music repels me.

Sony Ericsson W900... again, a Symbian OS phone, and the swivel-form factor just screams inconvenient. Plus it looks kinda like a toy. Not the kind I need.

Nokia E61... a Blackberry/Treo-like offering from Nokia, this is strictly a business phone since there isn't even a camera on it. 3G and WiFi are in though, and the screen's pretty big. It would be kind of ironic for me to buy the model that was competing with my Mini for my sister's money. Pass.

Hewlett Packard rw 6828... this is a new PDA phone from HP, which kinda looks like the Mini- same size and form factor. The onboard WiFi and FM radio seemed attractive, but I felt it was underpowered for my needs and it used mini-SD cards.

O2 Atom... I decided that I really didn't like the plasticky, toyish-looking Atom. The 2-megapixel camera with flash and the other perks can't mask the downgrade in power and memory (Mini-SD), and the smaller (slightly) screen.

What beckoned to me then was an XDAIIi being displayed in one stand, which I first saw last week and was still there this week, as if waiting for me. The price was very attractive (big savings from the brand new price of 45K and upwards in most shops) and the device was in pretty pristine condition, and complete box and accessories. After a slight bit of wandering around (who knows, I might have seen something else), I plunked down the cash, set stuff moving and now I had a brand new toy.

Thankfully, after coming home and reinstalling ActiveSync, it only took a few seconds to restore all my Contacts and Notes, Information and Data to my new phone- pretty painless and cool. After installing my Games, Themes and Apps, everything was good to go. So what did I get with my XDAIIi upgrade? Well, the processor is faster- 520 MHz compared to the 416 MHz of the Mini. The onboard RAM and ROM memory is double that of the Mini as well. The IIi's screen is a mammoth 3.5 inches compared to the 2.8 inches of the Mini. While the IIi's camera is also 1.3 Megapixels, it seems to have a better sensor than the Mini, with less if any snow even in low light. That's a good thing. Then there's the nice little new extra that the IIi has WiFi, so now I can actually surf wirelessly in Hotspots without resorting to pricey GPRS. No 3G, but who really needs it? Not me, not now at least.

There are lots of tiny little perks I am discovering... like how the onscreen keypad is better than before (FINALLY a CAPS lock) and there are more detailed stuff to help tweak my mobile. For the most part, it's cool to finally have something new again after all this time.
I guess it's just another way of showing that if you get complacent and content too much, change is needed to freshen things out. Every now and then you should take steps to just make things fun again.

Next project: A PSP loaded with the new Tekken: Dark Resurrection. Hehe.

Neo Comics

There are once again new kids on the local comics block, in this case literally. According to the editor's note for the debut issues of Neo Comics (of which there are two- an Epics issue and a Tales issue), many of the artists and creators working on these manga-style local releases are in their teens (and apparently are named with otaku-style code names like AKIRA and 730N). Well, it shows given the quality of the art, which sadly is not a positive. Most of the art and stories try to emulate popular Japanese stuff, featuring generic characters which look like they were ripped directly from some manga, anime or game. While in full color and on glossy papers, the color quality is also washed out- it seems that some of the art was hand-colored in some medium which doesn't translate well to printing. As for the writing and stories, I haven't read them yet so I'll reserve comments on that later (see the Comments for additional stuff).

Yeah, being a maker of manga-esque comics myself, I am probably the LAST person on earth to say 'don't use Japanese manga style', but please... DON'T grab designs from the latest Japanese manga or anime/games and please DO try to put something new and fresh into your story or concept at least. It's your chance to shine, so shine through your own creativity, not as just another wannabee.

Not sure who is releasing Neo Comics- the group calls itself Juggernaut Studios but they have ads and are in full color, plus distribution, so this isn't just a small studio. Some publisher got together some young artists for cheap and are trying out their stuff, which is good in that these young artists get to see their stuff on shelves. However, the art quality and the Japanese manga cliches repel me. If this is like Psicom's stuff though, this will be lucky to reach issue 2 and beyond. we'll just have to see.

Anyway, Neo Comics Epics and Neo Comics Fables are now out in magazine stands and bookstores for P85. Check out the latest Pinoy manga to come along.

Typo



I spotted this funny mistake in Gateway Mall, and I just had to snap a pic. Remember, boys and girls, spelling is everything. Heh.

Hitback: The Streetfighter II Animated Movie Retro-Ramble Review


Uncut, Uncensored, Unleashed.

Waaaaay back in 1994, the Street Fighter franchise was at an all-time high in terms of popularity. It became so popular that not one but two movies based on the games were released. One was the US-produced live-action movie starring Jean-Claude Van Damme et al; probably one of the most reviled videogame-to-movie translations known in the history of man (though I admit to having cheered the first time I saw it).

Yes, that has the version that marred the late actor Raul Julia's memory, it being his last film before succumbing to an illness. In another reality, instead of the Addams Family excerpt, the last image of Julia to the world is his goggle-eyed General M. Bison shouting "GAME... OVER!" Ew. It was the live-action movie that insisted on rationalizing every single appearing character (all 16+ of them), giving them all last names and ridiculously detailed background stories, even butchering the origins of others (Blanka and eventual SF Alpha character Charlie are merged into one mutated mess), and still others are neutered beyond belief (Dhalsim turns into a wimpy scientist who only gets his trademark looks after getting BURNED). But of course, it also commits the cardinal sin of putting the mantel of main hero on the American fighter Guile (ironically played by someone known as 'The Muscles from Brussels').

But of course, the real Street Fighter movie is the Animated Movie produced in Japan. Known as Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, this is simply the most faithful and accurate depiction of a videogame franchise to a movie. The art was gorgeous and true to the games, and the fight scenes were fluid, incredibly well-animated and intense to the extreme.
And there were a lot of them (contrary to the live-action version) too. Included of course is the infamous Chun Li versus Vega fight- a knockdown, drag-out duel between the masked Spanish Ninja and the spunky Interpol agent who spends the whole fight wearing little more than her bra and panties- yep, before Agent Aika flashed underwear in anime, there was Street Fighter. Fan service aside though, this action sequence, along with the two-on-one final battle between the Shotokan Brothers and the Master of Evil Psycho Power, M. Bison are some of the best fight scenes you'll ever see in anime.


If only Chun Li's undies were a selectable costume in the games...

To be fair, the SF Animated Movie is not perfect- the story, of course, is a videogame story... Evil organization uses the world's best fighters as assassins in their service. The movie is also long... overly long, with lots of lulls and lingering pans of scenery (or Ryu meditating) that you would probably want to skip or fast-forward over to get to the good stuff. Sexy commando pixie Cammy is hyped about to no end in the movie's posters and art, but in truth only appears for a few seconds at the start of the film (although she does make an impression). Lots of characters are just glossed over, and the movie's ending... a weird bit with Ryu, M.Bison and a Mack Truck(!)... just leaves you with a WTF feeling.

Still, the movie is about as close to a true translation of a great videogame into a movie/anime format as you can get... something that other franchises have failed in. Remember the vomit-inducing Tekken anime? Even the relatively well-done Mortal Kombat movie (the first one) had to make quite a few changes and is still less than a perfect translation.

Anyway, if you were too young to see the original SFII Animated Movie, the film has been re-released in the US in an "Uncut, Uncensored and Unleashed" version which gives the whole kit and kaboodle... which means that you can see Chun Li's boobs and butt (which were censored from previous releases) in her infamous shower scene. Plus, some fighting scenes have a bit more blood and violence to kick up the action a notch. You also get a choice of the dramatic, ballad-heavy Japanese soundtrack or the obnoxious and ear-grinding heavy metal cacophony in the US dub. If it isn't obvious, I prefer the Japanese music, which I believe has at least emotion and gravitas, while the crappy US music is just LOUD. As far as voices go, the US dubbing is also pretty iffy, so go with the US subtitled version.

Copies of the SF Anime Movie are available in local anime shops. Or you can go for the recent US release through Amazon or other online shops, or with nice US-based relatives. Or you can download the kit from Bittorrent (hehe). In any case, if you're a videogame fan, you gotta have this in your library (if you're an SF fan, you probably already have it). Chances are, they'll be showing the Live-Action movie on cable, but never the anime. Ick.

Ah, the Street Fighter II Animated Movie. Still pretty awesome after all these years. Seeing Chun Li grind her foot into Vega's face never gets old. Good times. Heh.

Lost in Oblivion

My latest, and apparently greatest, acquisition for my Xbox360 library is the much talked-about first person RPG, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (or just Oblivion for short). Set in the same world as the previous Xbox's Elder Scrolls III, this title thankfully improves on pretty much everything in the previous game. You needn't have played in Morrowind before to appreciate Oblivion- this is a self-contained game, or world, that is all-new and just waiting to be discovered.

Set in a land called Tamriel, Oblivion puts you in the boots of a prisoner- a hapless soul who was put in the imperial prison for no apparent reason. One day, as you are wasting away in the dungeon, a peculiar sight greets your eyes. Several heavily-armed and armored soldiers enter your cell, escorting a regal old man. It turns out that there's a secret passage right in your cell leading to the outside... and the old man is the Emperor. Apparently, the ruler's life is in danger so he's being spirited away by his Blades, or elite knights. Naturally, you follow the Emperor's party and soon orient yourself with stuff like combat, stealth, exploration, magic and item use. By the end of the introductory dungeon, the Emperor is dead and you've been charged with a quest to somehow save the realm by closing the 'Gates of Oblivion'.

What is that quest all about? Why were you chosen? What will it take to save the world?

I have no frickin' idea.

For starters, when I got out of the dungeon and breathed the sweet air of freedom, the first thing I thought was to go exploring the vast, lovely city nearby. Soon, I was collecting items (some by judicious pilfering), talking to people or listening to gossip, and carrying out a quest for some local merchants in what amounts to a lot of stakeouts and shadowing people. My current interest is earning money by engaging in mortal combat in the city arena, slowly building up my skills in gladiatorial combat while I fatten my purse. Oh, and some hooded weirdo likes my penchant for making people dead so I've been invited to some assassin guild. Ooh. Somehow I'll get to the main quest and try to save the world. Someday.

Oblivion is a huge game, open-ended and expansive with tons of stuff to explore and discover. It doesn't hurt that the game looks gorgeous; the graphics are downright mystifying to see... you can just stare at the beautiful countryside for hours... providing there aren't any rabid monsters chasing you down at the moment. You get the create your own character, right down to facial details like nose width and eyebrow angle (so conceivably you can make them look like anyone you want)... the only problem is that it's a bit hard to get them looking good. Hmm. You can also make your character into a large variety of classes and occupations with varied skills in both magic and combat, from fire-hurling battlemages to stealthy nightblades or relentless hunters and intrepid agents. As you use skills, you get stronger and better.

Combat is also cooler this time around, handled in real time and depending on your agility to maneuver around opponents and waiting for the right times to strike or parry. OR, you can try to master deadly spells and fry enemies from afar. It's not perfect, but it's darn more fun than in the previous game. The realistic rag-doll physics engine also makes fights more realistic than ever.

The quest is also more focused. While the earlier game threw you into the world with no clue, here the interface is a lot more user-friendly. If you want to get to the main quest right away, you'll be aided by a helpful mapping and journal feature, plus a handy compass which basically points you where to go next. Also, once you've been to a place, you can basically 'teleport' there using the map, so you don't have to walk or make a long trek everytime. Genius!

As with RPGs of this type, the main fun is in finding your way and discovering stuff on your own. You can be a glorious, honorable hero and citizen of the realm, or a fearsome villain. The gorgeous fantasy world around you is literally alive with sights, sounds and characters who go about their lives. It's up to you to choose how your path affects theirs.
HIGHLY recommended. If you have an Xbox360, this is THE one game that is indeed a must-have.

Some Odd Things About Superman Returns

SPOILERS AHEAD

As always. still nobody notices that Clark Kent looks EXACTLY like Superman with glasses.

A whole building of intrepid reporters can't put two and two together that both Superman and Clark Kent left the same time and were gone for exactly the same time.

WHY, if Superman Returns is following the continuity of the first two films, does Luthor STILL basically repeating his same scheme in the original movie? Need a creative team, Lex?

WHY doesn't Kal Penn ever speak a word?

WHY does trigger-happy dude on the roof even bother to use a dinky little .45 on Supes when frickin' GATLING CANNON shells don't even register on the guy?

Judging from Lois Lane's reaction, Lex Luthor is apparently the ONLY guy in the world to use wigs.

HOW did Superman manage to lift the damn Kryptonite continent into space when just being near the place lost him his powers?

Am I the only one kinda thinking that Lois Lane got bumped around a bit too much in the airplane?

Would ANYONE actually want to LIVE in that crystalline Kryptonian island?

So, did any of the nurses squeal when they took off Superman's hanfords? Did any of the doctors?

Man of Steel


Superman returns. But is this a good thing?

I finally got to watch Superman Returns on Sunday. As you've read in my previous posts, I was not too enthusiastic about the movie, given some lukewarm to downright-pissed reactions from some of my friends to this 'requel' of the classic Superman films from former X-Meg Bryan Singer. Reviews all over the place have praised it to the high heavens or damned it to the depths of the sea. So what does a MADman think about this latest superhero flick?

Superman Returns picks up the slack sometime after the old Superman II flick (you all know... the one with "KNEEL BEFORE ZOD"). Knowing this is important since there is a pivotal event that happened in II that bears fruit (Hehe) in Returns. Anyway, Bryan Singer's film basically retcons the horrid Superman III (with the supercomputer) and the absolutely abysmal Superman IV: The Quest for Peace to the blackness of oblivion. After II, Superman finds out that astronomers have found deep in space what appears to be the remains of Krypton. Struck by the need to see if there's even a tiny shred of his origin left out there, Kal-El squeezes into his star-shaped spaceship/cradle and goes off into space, not to be seen for the next five years. Once he returns, he finds a world more violent, less innocent and more troubled than ever before... a world desperately in need of a god-among-men to help give a hand. But while the world praises Supes for his return, the one person he values the most seems to have gone on without him.

Despite all my misgivings about this film, I actually got through it without much of a strain. In fact, it's quite enjoyable at times, given that modern special effects have finally, FINALLY allowed the grandness that is Superman- flying, invincible Superman, to be realized on the big screen. The special effects, for one, are quite good compared, especially compared to the old movies. Brandon Routh, the relative unknown who has now been catapulted into instant recognition (thanks to countless action figures that bear his mug), acquits himself rather well as both mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent and his super alter-ego. As Clark, he seems to emulate Christopher Reeve, but thankfully with little of the over-the-top dorkiness. As Superman, he's doesn't talk much but lets his actions communicate his benign, 'big brother' like presence (yes, he hears EVERYTHING).
As for the other cast members, Kevin Spacey does, in my opinion, a fairly excellent job in his portrayal of Lex Luthor, Superman's nemesis. There's a hint of Gene Hackman's con artist in there, with a bit of Mr. John Smith from Seven, and a little bit of Keyser Soze's seeming infallibility. This new Luthor has humor and slightly a forgiving side (at least he doesn't kill off moll Kitty Kowalski (Parker Posey) for an act of betrayal, and he does seem to care for his underlings a bit). He's still ruthless and scary when he's serious though... and he's still ridiculously obsessed with REAL ESTATE.
Other characters. Kate Bosworth is gorgeous, but I really see her as too young for the part. Otherwise, I like her. Frank Langella's Perry White, Eva Marie Saint's Martha Kent and Sam Huntingdon's Jimmy Olsen are note-perfect. Jason Marsden is a revelation in this one... X-men's former Cyclops vindicates his defection to DC's flagship as a character that is pivotal to the movie (unlike his underwhelming role in the X-films)- Lois Lane's fiancee' Richard White. Here's a man, an ordinary man, who nevertheless stands equally with the Man of Steel in terms of the love of one woman. Marsden plays it with class and I hope his character pans out more in future installments.

And then there are the iffy's. Parker Posey's Kitty Kowalski is Luthor's moll, his mews. She provides quite a few laughs in the film and serves a good purpose as the inevitable turncoat. A bit grating she may be, but she fares better than Kal "Kumar" Penn, the young comedian who is given a dialogue-less role as one of Luthor's thugs. His bit of casting mystifies me, but what the heck.

Unfortunately, Superman Returns is not flawless. The movie is overlong and could do well with several minutes chopped off. I understand as a starting movie you can't throw in Darkseid or have Zod return from the Phantom Zone just yet, but darn... all Superman does in this film is fix stuff. There are no big fight scenes. No toe-to-toe fights, save for a one-sided beating late into the movie. The most thrilling part is an airliner/space shuttle rescue that happens in the first third of the movie, leaving uneven action sequences for the rest of the movie, along with a non-climax that doesn't really pay off much. Yes, the movie opens for a sequel, but it would not have hurt to have a good finish, a satisfying getback before the final Christopher Reeve-emulated smile in space.

In the end... Superman Returns wasn't as horrible as I feared (Ang Lee's Hulk is still untouchable in that regard). The flashbacks to younger days didn't last too long, and I didn't get the urge to walk out of the theater (except to go piss). Performances were fine, the special effects amazing. Let down a bit by non-action and a questionable, too drama-heavy script, but promising for good things to come.

What I want? For the 'requel' of Superman II to have Ralph Fiennes as General Zod, Angelina Jolie as Ursa and Paul 'Triple H' Levesque as Non. Let the speculations begin. Hoho!

Up in the Air

The new Superman Returns movie is in theaters now. Some people, like Vin, have already gone and watched the flick, but I'll be seeing it over the weekend, probably. I have to say that while I do want to watch it, I'm not a big Superman fan. In fact, I never really liked the old movies. The original Superman movie by Richard Donner with Christopher Reeve was, for me, one of the most boring and slow-paced superhero movies ever. Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) was more con man than genius, there was no big super fight (save for multiple disaster scenarios and saving stunts) and the finale was... turning back time? I'd go as far as saying I put the original Superman along with the Hulk movie in terms of superhero movie popularity in my book.
Now, here comes Superman Returns, which director Bryan Singer has unequivocably stated as following the mythos of the first two Superman flicks. It's a 'requel', ret-conning the ludicrously bad Superman III and IV into non-existence (and good riddance) and re-starting the stage for a new direction. Unfortunately, from all that I've read, Superman Returns also seems to be re-treading the events from the original Superman film- same Luthor plot, same revisiting of the boring times at the Kent farm in Kansas, blah blah blah. So you can understand why I'm not exactly shaking in my boots to see it. In fact, I'm more excited at watching Dead Man's Chest.

Anyway I will be seeing the film in any case over the weekend so I can blog about it. I am looking forward to seeing Kevin Spacey's turn at bringing the bald blackguard to life, though I still feel the animated version in Justice League Unlimited can kick both Hackman's and Spacey's baddies into the vastness of space with ease. Review to come soon after.

Fighting the Good Fight

For the past several weeks, things have been a storm of overtime at The Salt Mines, particularly because of a product pitch. FYI, pitches are held when a client/company needs get a new ad agency to do the advertising for their product. Agencies are selected and butt heads, pitching their stuff to win the account (in much the same way that lawyers battle in court). It usually involves hours and hours of brainstorming, pouring over research and the inevitable overnight stays at the office to produce the winning materials that will impress the clients enough to award the disputed account.

This particular pitch has been incredibly fierce... we were initially in the running with at least five other agencies. After the first round of presentations was over, the field was narrowed down to TWO; Us and one of Manila's leading ad agencies today.

With not much time and quite a bit of pressure, the crew threw stuff into the breach to win round 2. Somehow, someway, we went into the second presentation confident in our position and our materials.

It was a weekend before we would be told the results... There was going to be a ROUND THREE.

That's what's been keeping us all busy this week, as we made one last big push to make our mark. It's also where everything seemed bleakest, when we reached a crossroads where, to quote a line from Harry Potter, we had a choice between doing something that was 'right', or doing something that was easy.

In the end though, we all went with what we felt was right and steeled ourselves. Win or lose, we were going down swinging.

Just some time ago, I was informed that, unfortunately, we didn't get the account.

HOWEVER, apparently the final fight was pretty close to the very end, and we apparently impressed the clients enough that they awarded us a different account.

So, somehow, after all was said and done, we fought and lost but kinda won too. A hard-fought loss that ended with a little victory. But then again, maybe we had already won the night before.

It's these kinds of things that make advertising such a weird and colorful place. And why, in a strange way, that I know I'm in the right field of work.

Time to get some rest now. Life goes on at Salt Mines tomorrow.

Shock Advertising


One of the controversial 'Executed' print ads of the Hitman: Blood Money game.

If you buy imported gaming magazines regularly, you're sure to have come upon at least one of the eye-catching advertisments for Hitman: Blood Money. Playing with various puns or sayings with the word 'Executed', the ads portray victims of assassination... or some would say, just plain murder. In "Beautifully Executed", a lingerie-clad woman is lying provocatively on satin sheets, a small bullet wound on her forehead. In "Coldly Executed", an old man's corpse is hunched inside a walk-in freezer, with a little dog sitting and staring at the body from the outside. "Classically Executed" features a cellist seated on his chair in an opera theater, his neck slit. And of course, the "Shockingly Executed" ad is the one featured above.
Apparently, these ads haven't escaped the attention of various groups and individuals whose comments range from the ads being mysoginistic, inspiring violence towards women or glorifying murder. A big hubbub is going on right now. They're ads for a mature game, with a bald-headed assassin taking out targets in various, often brutal and imaginative, ways. What do you expect? IMO, the ads are clever and quite attention-grabbing, to say the least. They look quite nice too, murder simulated images notwithstanding. I think it's just another scapegoat for US politicians to blame with videogames for all the crime and violence they have. Feh.

I still don't believe that staring at ads featuring beautiful naked women will turn you into a murderer if you aren't one already. I do, however, get the urge to kill whenever I read about politicians in the local newspaper. Oh well.

Batugan (Translation: Lazybones)

At present, I'm a habitual taxi rider. I've always been a commuter (thanks to my feeling that road rage would make me into a mass murderer behind the wheel), but these days I just want to dispense with crowding into sweat-smelling crowded MRTs and buses that make hour-long stops. Taxis get you to where you want to go, fast. It's not cheap, but I can afford it. In the past several months, I've seen good taxi drivers and bad taxi drivers. I curse them, praise them, damn them to hell or lift them up as saviours of the race. Ah, taxi drivers.
Well, early today I got another memorable taxi experience. I was heading to work, standing at Katipunan to hail a cab. The sixth or so taxi that passed finally stopped and when I mentioned my destination, he nodded. I hopped in and we were off. Seconds later, he asked me again where we were headed. Apparently, the guy was only now realizing he was headed for Makati.

Anyway,, some minutes later, as we were on C-5 Highway, in the middle of nowhere, the cab starts to slow. The guy stops at the sidewalk, and then starts trying to 'restart' the engine. "There seems to be something wrong with the starter," he says, trying several times to bring the engine to life. Of course, to no avail. He blames the owner of the cab for replacing the starter with some cheap part. As he apologizes to me for the inconvenience, saying that this is as far as he can go. I respond with "I'm sorry too." At which point, I get out of the cab and start walking away.
The grungy cabbie (he's not even in uniform- just a t-shirt and 'puruntong' shorts, showing he's a colorum driver) calls my attention and asks for payment. I angrily respond with a negative. "YOU LEAVE ME OUT HERE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE AND YOU HAVE THE GALL TO ASK ME FOR PAYMENT??" He says something about the starter, but I don't even bother to listen. I keep walking. You could argue that I could have paid him for the distance I came, but I knew what the real score was. I hated being conned.
Another cab came and I hailed it. It stopped and I jumped in. "Makati," I said, and the old driver nodded. I looked ahead at where the other cabbie, with his supposedly stalled taxi, should have been.

Of course, he had driven off by then. That was fast for a cab that wouldn't start.

StarZ

Today I found out on the local news that the final casting of the movie adaptation of Carl Vergara's Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah has been announced. Regal Films held a press conference with the actors involved, as part of the film's inclusion in the upcoming Metro Manila Film Festival.
Playing the title role of superheroine Zsa Zsa is Zsa Zsa Padilla, whom I believe is a far better choice than the other names touted to be in the running for the part. To play the alter-ego of ZZZ, gay beautician Ada, will be controversial actor Rustom Padilla (another better choice IMO than the former rumoured actor for the part). Playing the villainess Femina will be Pops Fernandez, while comedian Chocoleit of TV's Marina will be playing the loveable sidekick Didi.

How great will the ZZZ Movie be compared to the sublime musical play? We'll just have to see later this year.