Category: My Opinion

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For the Geeks Game Reviews

Sam & Max: Episode 1 – Culture Shock

I chanced upon this really cute and hilarious adventure game and after playing the free demo, I just want to have more. What so special about this game is that it is divided into 6 (affordable) episodes that are released monthly from Dec 2006. You can buy each episode at US$8.65 each or get the whole package at US$34.95. Each episode is estimated to have a 4 hours play time. For short attention span folks like me, Sam & Max is just perfect.

The game is full of hilarious dialogs and puzzle solving. I couldn’t stop laughing when Sam and Max took turn to threaten a rat playing the good and bad guys. For those who are new to adventure games, basically you solve puzzles by interacting with the environment. Very user-friendly and very entertaining. This game has received favourable rating by numerous sources. Do download the demo and see for yourself.

PS. I just did a purchase via the Internet. It was a breeze!

PPS. Just received an email from the developers and it said: We love you. Why? You bought some stuff! Not that we wouldn’t love you just as much if you hadn’t bought 6 whole things from our store. But now you’re our favorite. Don’t tell the others.

Related Links and Blogs: Official Site of Telltale Games, Sam & Max Episode 6 – Bright Side Of The Moon (End Of Season 1), Sam & Max Episode 5 – Reality 2.0, Sam & Max Episode 4 – Abe Lincoln Must Die!, My 3rd Contribution to YouTube for Sam & Max Episode 3 – The Mole, The Mob, And The Meatball, Sam & Max: Episode 2 – Situation Comedy, Sam & Max: Episode 1 – Culture Shock, Sam & Max at Wikipedia

Categories
J Pop Music Reviews

Ayumi Hamasaki’s Secret

Ayumi Hamasaki‘s new album “Secret” is out and need not to say, being a huge fan of hers short of having her name written all over my T-shirts, my forehead, my jeans, and God-knows-where, I bought the album without knowing what was inside. “Secret” comes with a CD of 14 songs that is just under one hour of music (very rare of hers and I read that initially “Secret” was meant to be yet another mini-CD like “Memorial address”) as well as a DVD of 7 video clips and the making clips for all 7 videos. I have given some days for the album to sink in – as I have a tendency to get over excited on stuffs of this scale – and here is my review.

Why “Secret”?

Asking me to rank Ayumi’s studio albums is like asking a woman if she can give you her favourite list out of a box of mixed chocolate. Chances are, she likes them all and so do I. But if you were to tempt me with an all expense paid visit to Ayumi’s upcoming tour in Japan, I would say “Secret” would rank quite high.

“Secret” has Ayumi’s trademark all over it from the music arrangement and melody point of view (can’t comment much on lyrics but I read that she, as the lyricist for her songs, is mature and poetic when it comes writing her own lyrics). It still has some minor surprises here and there but overall, if you like her previous works, you will love this album. Do try out track 3 (“Startin’”) and the last track (“Secret”). These two are my favourite tracks.

The DVD that comes with the album is a real gem. I enjoyed the making clips a lot because it shows how much effort has been poured into making those great videos.

Why “Ayumi”?

Ayumi Hamasaki is a phenomenon in the Japanese music industry. She is a great performer, a singer and songwriter who churns out hits after hits. Take a look at her yearly Arena Tour video recording and I doubt if you have seen anything of that sophistication and commercial scale. Go and read about her at Wikipedia when you have time.

So why wait? Get her new album today!

Categories
Movie Reviews Romance

The Last Kiss – A Portrait of Different Facets of Relationships

If you are a big fan of the OC girl Rachel Bilson and if you are a guy, I have good and bad news for you. Good news is, after the movie you will probably go to bed dreaming about that tastefully filmed sex scene of hers. Bad news is that she doesn’t have a lot of air time in this movie.

Jokes aside, “The Last Kiss” was written by Paul Haggis (“Million Dollar Baby” and “Crash”) that aimed to bring out the different facets of relationships through five couples – one who just couldn’t get over his last relationship, one who felt instantly in love with someone in a wedding party and realized that perhaps great sex by itself did not give him enough incentive to move onto the meet-the-parents phase, one who got stuck with a crying baby and a stressed up wife, and of course not to forget to mention Michael (played by Zach Braff from the TV series “Scrub”) who should be happy with his relationship with his girlfriend Jenna – recently pregnant with his baby – but yet he felt that being close to 30 meant that there would be no more surprises in his well-planned life and call it mistiming, he found this young college student Kim (played by none other than Rachel) simply irresistible. Did I mention five couples? Jenna’s parents – 30 years into a dull but not unblemished marriage – played a major role in the plot development as well.

What I really like about “The Last Kiss” is its seamless transition of what different couples have been going through in their relationships that portraits love, temptation, infidelity, forgiveness, marriage, and friendship. In another word, it is highly likely that you may identify yourself with the movie. If you choose to watch this movie, you will see lots of happy moments, sad moments, and heartwarming moments. “The Last Kiss” is not one of those typical Hollywood feel good movie so I suppose it may not be a movie for everyone. Overall, I enjoyed watching it.

What impacted me the most in the movie? If you are willing to give whatever it takes for the relationship to work, that means you should never give up. Because you can’t fail if you don’t give up.

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Animation Movie Reviews

Happy Feet – An Entertaining Movie Short Of A Great One

Happy Feet has all the right ingredients: lovely dancing penguins, great music scores, beautiful sceneries, and a unique concept that attracting a soul mate in this land of penguins is through a heart song. Mumble, a penguin that cannot sing but loves to tap dance, is the hero of the movie. Being an outcast, it is a story of how Mumble sets out a journey in proving his worth to his society.

Happy Feet has some really great dance sequence and from the animation perspective, it is top notch. Totally realistic. From the script and storyline perspective, there are still rooms for improvement. I draw parallelism with the movie E.T. and I accept the story development as it is. My movie buddies find the ending a bit far fetch and unrealistic. Regardlessly, since I am a penguin lover myself, I find the movie entertaining to watch – especially the dancing baby penguin.

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Action & Thriller Movie Reviews

Casino Royale – My Favourite Bond Movie

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When it was first announced that Daniel Craig would be the new Bond, I was grossly disappointed. Not that I am an enthusiast towards the 007 franchise. To me, a Bond movie is one that is full of explosions, actions with James Bond surrounded by beautiful women driving beautiful cars. Easily forgettable plots with not much to get out from the acting department. What was the last three Bond movies about? I have not got a clue.

Daniel Craig played a different Bond. Probably that has to do with the plot as well because Craig is supposed to play the very first Bond character and that set the difference (coincidentally Batman Begins is also my favorite one amongst all the Batman franchise). Throughout the movie, we see a Bond who was still learning his way, making mistakes, and we get to see a Bond who really sweat it out throughout the movies inflicted with wounds and not to forget to mention, that near death experience. Not only that, we see a vulnerable side of Bond who fell in love, outplayed by opponents, and finally a Bond with character – arrogance and courage. And hat off to Craig, he played a darn good Bond.

Even the Bond girl played by Eva Green was so unlike any other Bond girls I have seen (I adore her the most). Her appeal was the inner beauty and her intelligence and the wittiness that radiated from her dialogs.

Casino Royale is definitely my favorite Bond movies out of all that I have seen.

Categories
Book Reviews Fiction

Winkie – A Book Worth Reading

Winkie is a book about a teddy bear came alive. And I cannot believe that I got hooked with a teddy bear story and I did. Winkie is a modern day portrait of terrorism, propaganda, and religious faith. As a teddy bear of 80 years old, Winkie has seen it all. The story began with Winkie being at the wrong place at the wrong time. He was arrested for a crime that he did not commit and the entire story evolves around how this teddy bear came alive only to get himself a misfortune after another.

Winkie is a dark comedy. This book will make you laugh and it will make you cry as well. What I learned the book is that every little step in life is a miracle and it takes a certain act of faith to realise that.

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Drama Movie Reviews

Step Up – A Must Watch for Dancing Enthusiasts

I stand corrected. Even for those who can’t dance, like me, go and watch “Step Up”. A truly inspiring film especially for Cynthia and myself who enjoyed every single bit of the TV show “So You Think You Can Dance” (which by the way, go and watch it too).

Lately I realized that dancing is an art parallel to music. Dancers are passionate towards their dances – more so than any kind of art form. There is nothing ground breaking in term of “Step Up”‘s storyline. But it is the dance choreography and execution that captivated my heart throughout the show. For the final scene, I couldn’t help but to tap my feet to the rhythm with my heart soared with excitement. It was truly an inspiration even for a non-dancer like me. Don’t miss “Step Up”. The movie does have one take home message though … find out what your dream in life is, want it badly, and go get it. That’s the spirit.

Official website for “Step Up” can be found in Myspace.com or click here.

Categories
Movie Reviews

Asia Movies Rock! (And Some Others Too)

This month has to be a month of Asian movies. Five of the seven movies I have watched are from Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong. So where shall I begin? Ah, the beautiful Korea Actress Son Ye-jin (The Classic) in the romance comedy The Art of Seduction. The movie was immensely entertaining with Son Ye-jin playing the seductress faced off with her seducer. Need not to say, I was very much seduced throughout the show.

What I did not expect was the action packed romance drama show Daisy. I thought I was up for a romance comedy and I was wrong. Jeon Ji-hyn – none other than the famous actress behind My Sassy Girl and Windstruck – played the painter who found herself in love with a government agent and an assassin in a miss-timed fashion. There is a nice twist at the end and you just have to watch and see.

The Sentinel played by Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland, and Kim Basinger has surprisingly exceeded my expectation. Is it a movie that has re-watch value? Probably not. Though the plot is less of an original but it does give you the level of suspense that kept you entertained till the end.

Of all the Korea movie I have watched so far, You Are My Sunshine – a movie that I kept forgetting that it is based on a true story – is one of the best. The actors and actresses may not be the typical Korean eye candies. But their acting is more than adequate to make you realise that Koreans can make serious movies. In fact, out of 7 nominations of the 26th Blue Dragon Awards, the show has won the Best Director, Best Actor and Best Couple award. The movie starts with an unmarried farmer who has fallen in love with a pretty waitress at a local coffee shop who provides more service than just coffee delivery to her customers. It is a romance tragedies and it reveals the essence of love that though many may not be able to relate but definite able to celebrate with.

I have always been intrigued by Japanese Animation. When Final Fantasy VII – Advent Children first hit the store, I grabbed one home. I was delighted and amazed at how fast pace and beautiful crafted the movie is. I wish I have followed the Final Fantasy franchise since the beginning. That way, I could have appreciated the movie much more.

Jasmine Women played by Zhang Ziyi and Joan Chen is about three generations of women living through the Japanese occupation, rise of Chinese communism, and the modern 80s. In this three chapters of stories of three generations, Zhang Ziyi always plays the younger one (daughter or granddaughter) and Joan Chen always plays the older one (mother or grandmother). It is a story starts with a decision of not to carry out an abortion and ends with the same decision that needs to be made. A very emotional movie I must say and Zhang Ziyi’s acting was superb.

Finally, Mission Impossible 3. Or simply M:i:III. Awesome, it is awesome. By far the best Mission Impossible movies I have watched. I seriously do not remember any bits and pieces of the previous installments (except the pigeons flying off when Tom Cruise walked by … that scene, remember?) but the storyline of this latest installment is well-crafted. It was never a dull moment from beginning till the end.

Categories
For the Geeks Game Reviews

Warhammer 40,000 – Dawn Of War

Having equiped my computer with 2 video cards, I have revisited the game Warhammer 40,000 (real time strategy game) and see what my cards are capable of. As I was taking screenshots, I thought why don’t I write a story about one of the missions that I partook?

The mission began with the Librarian and Inquisitor arrived at the base not convinced that there was another alien force in the planet other than the Orks.

As part of the advancement of the combat units, capturing strategic points is part and puzzle of the mission.

And look what I have discovered. The alien units!

My tanks – Whirlwind – have a super long range. See how they destroy the enemy base. Ground was shaking I swear.

What is Warhammer without an intense battle? (In fact, there were many of these battles.)

Alright, we have found an Orks base. Seek and destroy!

My scouts are the great infiltraters. One of the coolest looking units.

I was advised to build a second base so HQ (headquarter) here it came.

As soon as I have started building this second base, our base was under heavy fire.

Indeed, nothing we couldn’t handle. As soon as the area was secured, the Librarian and Inquisitor travelled in style inside the transport units – Rhino. (My own idea … thought it would be cool to have main characters travel in “limo”.)

Soon after the Librarian and Inquisitor have arrived, they have confirmed the existence of this alien race.

And of course, as for me, mission accomplished.

Categories
Book Reviews Fiction

Cathleen Schine’s She Is Me

Impressed by one of her previous novels The Love Letter that was adopted both by a Hollywood movie as well as a Japanese film, I picked up She Is Me from the library. I must have read The Love Letter some ten years ago so I was eager to find out if She Is Me is as good.

When I read a book, I usually try to look out for something fresh. In a way, the narration changes from the grumpy grandma Lotte, to mother Greta who never complained leaving the people around her having to anticipate her needs, and finally to Greta’s daughter Elizabeth who has a son Harry and insisted to stay out of marriage.

Grandma Lotte was dying of skin cancer and Elizabeth has quited her job as a professor and took up screenplay writing in order to stay with her grandmother. To Elizabeth, marriage is the cause of adultery because if there is no marriage, there is no such thing as adultery.

As Lotte’s health was deteriorating and Greta was diagnosed having colon cancer and have to undergo treatment, it is when the whole depression of death sinking into readers’ minds. Greta’s falling in love with another woman and Elizabeth’s affair added drama to the whole novel and I especially like the question raised: where does privacy end and secrecy begins?

I enjoyed the novel. Not a page turner I must say and I suspect even if I have read Flaubert’s “Madame Bovary” – Elizabeth was supposed to write a modern script based on that – I would not have gained much out from it.

Towards the end of the novel, it was mentioned that passion is pointless. Or is it?