[Transformers] ShoWest Clip

With Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen looming on the horizon, the studio folks have been releasing more and more trailers, teasers and clips to whet the appetites of many fanboys and fellow Transformers geeks alike.

This one was especially revealing and I have to admit that I'm REALLY excited for this movie to come out!


#8 - ShoWest Transformers 2 crazyness !!Amazing!! HD

[Movies] The Fall (2006)

Tarsem Singh is the genius behind the visual assault that was The Cell, an interesting exploration of the mind of a serial killer from the inside. His visuals, style and imagery were certainly beyond the conventional and really put him kind of far out there in terms of eccentricity of vision. It's a shame he ended up using Jennifer Lopez for that movie - I feel it took something away from it.

We didn't hear much from him many years after that until this movie came along, one that I didn't even hear about until recently through a friend of mine. From the opening credits I was hooked and I even feel the urge to revisit The Cell just to compare his progress as a filmmaker.

I know I have a rule about not comparing the movie with the original source material, and that still holds true. This time, however, I can't help but feel the need to compare this movie with his last film, if only to emphasize his cinematic vision and style in such matters. I hope you don't mind too much.

The Fall is another seemingly magical journey into the realms of imagination, this time through the eyes of a child. In this film, Roy Walker (Lee Pace before he was The Pie Maker) entertains a young girl (Catinca Untaru), who is also staying at the same hospital he is, by telling her stories of a hero known as the Blue Bandit. As their friendship grows, not everything as it seems and Roy's storytelling serves a different purpose than mere whim or fancy.

The film originally debuted in 2006 but was publicly released in 2008, so it may seem like this is a rather "new" movie, when it's not. I have to admit I as a tad confused about the timing as well and it all started to make sense to me when I started reading through different websites.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

This is a highly character-driven story given it is presented as switching between the mundane world of the 1920s and the highly colorful fantasy world of Roy's stories. Thus the actors play a significant role and I definitely have to give credit to Lee Pace here - he does a pretty well job of bringing Joy to life and not just appearing as Ned from Pushing Daisies in a different outfit. Moreso the bulk of the credit goes to the child actress who portrayed Alexandria, the young Catinca Untaru, since her role wasn't at all simple. She had a lot of dialog to go through and many different sequences that probably demanded a lot out of her.

Give the man behind the movie, this film is really driven by its visuals. It's not because of amazing special effects or anything simple like that, oh no. This is about sheer cinematic genius in terms of vision and shot composition. Whether you're talking about his highly creative transitions between scenes, the startling contrasts in costumes versus the backgrounds or the grand set pieces organized through large numbers of actors all performing specific yet interrelated tasks, Singh really brings it together. In The Cell, one was too distracted by the disturbing nature of the movie and how it was more of a horror / suspense piece. This movie still has its unsettling moments, but not to the same degree and it allows you to follow the story along more comfortably.

Thus it also is key that the story itself was rather tight and neat. It made sense despite all the various plot threads going on and all the little details that may not seem important right away, but you as a viewer realize that they are in face meaningful and thus you need to pay attention. It's not an easy movie to watch and will feel a tad slow at some points, but that'll only happen if you underestimate the film and don't try to appreciate the wonder in the details of the film.

This is a brilliant movie, one that truly makes you use full use of all your senses in the effort of presenting a story that challenges the mind. I'd recommend this to all geeks interested in something beyond the ordinary and not too hung up on big Hollywood names or established franchises.

[Comics] Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art

When Google announced its new web browser, Google Chrome, they did so in a most unusual way - by releasing a 38-page comic that described just what made their new browser so different. It was a most inventive way of launching a new product and it helped more geeks like myself get introduced to Scott McCloud, the man behind the comic.

His unique style of creating comics in order to explain what could have been a technical nightmare was just brilliant and certainly refreshing considering how matter-heavy some product announcements can get. Given my love of ventures like the Common Craft show's "Plain English" instructional videos, I've always felt that it's a good thing to make more technical or even perhaps geekier ideas more understandable to the average user. Heck, it's why the Geeky Guide exists after all.

So I was pretty surprised when a friend of mine lent me one of Scott McCloud's earlier works and probably one of the main reasons Google reached out to him to help them promote Chrome.

Image via Wikipedia

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, can be categorized as both a book and a comic book, depending on your perspective. It serves the purpose of a book in the sense that this is a pretty in-depth look at the world and history of comics and why this particular media form is so popular and powerful today. At the same time, it is presented like a comic book, thus further pushing what's so important about comics and being able to present its various faces in the best way possible.

In some ways, Understanding Comics may read like a text book, since it does try to address that purpose. For far too long has the comics medium been left on the sidelines and not treated seriously and Scott McCloud decided to remedy that with this book. Thus the tone can get pretty serious at some points and Scott does have a tendency to get a little lofty here and there, but that's only because of has passion for the art form, if you can call it that. However since he stuck to a comics format, it makes things a lot easier to understand and to eventually digest since he makes sure to not just discuss the concepts he's trying to explain but he also clearly illustrates how these ideas are put into practice.

Whether you are some casual comic book reader who picks up the occasional Archie on his or her way to the bathroom or the die-hard comics enthusiast who dreams of breaking into the industry one day, this book is going to show you so much more about the world of comics and how it came to be. It'll give you a much clearer appreciation of the medium and the unique way it's able to present ideas, concepts, messages and stories to a diverse audience around the world every single day. This is simply a great read and I can't imagine anyone not gaining something of value from this book.

Now if only I could draw better...

[Common Craft] The World Wide Web in Plain English

Man, I'm such a sucker / fan for the folks at the Common Craft show. They simply do some amazing stuff by breaking down a lot of the geekier concepts of the world in a much simpler, "plain English" format that is bound to be accessible and understandable for a wider audience.

This time around they've decided to tackle the internet, or more specifically the part of the internet that we use the most - the World Wide Wed. Yay!


World Wide Web in Plain English

[Movies] Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

India is a pretty interesting country, and it's not just because of the amount of business process outsourcing work that get's managed there. It's better known for its movies and of course the cultural phenomenon known as Bollywood. Thus we often relegate all films about India into this category of films by mistake and there's always that need to expand one's horizons.

So what do you do when an avant-garde director like Danny Boyle decided to shoot a movie set in India - do you call it another Bollywood film or something else entirely? Whatever you want to call it, you can't really argue with the results. He's certainly come a long way from Trainspotting, which is a darned good film as well, mind you.

Slumdog Millionaire is an interesting film that follows the life of one boy from the slums named Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) who managed to overcome adversity and somehow get to the brink of winning the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. That may seem like an overly simplistic synopsis of things, but of course it's a lot more than that. You don't need a complicated story to deliver a message.

What will strike a lot of people the most is how they opted to position this film - structurally it's series of flashbacks where the movie pretty much starts right before the end of things. It's certainly not a new approach, but one that was used quite effectively here. As viewers, we are slowly introduced to Jamal's life as he explains how he knew the answers to all of the game show questions thus far since they all somehow connect to key events in his life, whether good or bad. It's certainly an interesting or at the very least a rather effective plot device and it helps keep the movie moving forward without getting too bogged down in its own narrative.

And as for that story in itself, it's just brilliant. This was certainly a tale that was adapted to film well and the director certainly had the skill to weave the kind of tale that is hard to forget given how deep it affects us. This movie reminds us about the hardships we all face and the need to be cognizant of them. It's a movie about true love and understanding the call of destiny. It's about the bonds of love between family and how easily they can be broken in strife.

In many ways, the simplicity of the narrative may distract the viewer in thinking the movie is pretty stupid. At times it even feels like a cheesy Filipino movie, where you can tell the entire plot based on the title of the film and the names of the actors who are involved since we give in to typecasting so man times. It's quite a disappointment I have in the local cinema scene - one among far too many, I'm afraid.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The movie is certainly carried by the strength of its actors, and a lot of credit has to go to the kids who really managed the bulk of the film. It's hard for kids to get characters exactly right, especially in a film like this, but somehow they all managed it well. This is not to say the older folks didn't do their part - it was a good experience all around in the acting department.

The real brilliance in this movie really is the craftsmanship of its director. To weave in and out of the past and back into the present, while maintaining a clear sense of continuity and not losing the audience is a significant feat indeed. Throw in his brilliant uses of images, his skilled incorporation of appropriate scores and songs and all this married into a solid, cohesive unit.

It's no wonder it was nominated for so many Academy Awards and it managed to bag a number of the top honors like Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and five others. Oscars aside, this is still a great and heart-warming tale that everyone should take the time to see. Don't expect any true social commentary on the Hollywood situation, this is a movie with that setting and while it may show you some of the hardships, that's not the real point.

At the heart of this tale is a powerful story of people gambling on fate or destiny. The movie likes to make use of the line, "It is written" - in other words, it is predetermined. Call it whatever you want, but that's how life is at times. Sure, they do their best to live our their lives on their own, utilizing free will as much as they can, but in the end they end up precisely where fate wants them to be. They weren't forced they - they chose to go there and ended up where they needed to be. It takes a lot of will to gamble with things like that but it all works out somehow.

I really enjoyed this movie. It's simple, yet powerful. It's eloquent without being verbose. It's meaningful without being pretentious. It's all this and so much more. It's definitely worth the time to see, whether or not you buy into the Academy Awards as a basis for seeing movies.

[Viral Video Chart] Mow the Lawn

I've always considered commercials to be a potential art form in themselves. In the same way that poetry relies on brevity of wit to express a concept in fewer words, commercials have a very limited time to deliver a message. Sure, it tends to be related to a product, but the discipline of distilling the essence of a story into a 30-60 second clip is fantastic.

Then again, a lot of the time you get terribly funny and sexually suggestive ads like this one:


#17 - Mow the Lawn

[Viral Video Chart] More Central Station Fun

Groups like ImprovEverywhere have done a lot for the world, and not just the realms of viral video. They've added that sense of possibility and hoping for something surreal / magical to happen in our every day lives and just reminding us that we don't have to stick to the mundane and expected - there's just so much more to life than that.

This time it's a very large group dancing to the Sound of Music at their own central station. I so love this!


#7 - Centraal Station Antwerpen gaat uit zijn dak!

[Comics] Enigma

Back in 1993, DC Comics decided to push the envelope of the comic book medium by launching it's Vertigo line of comics, focused on more mature audiences. Vertigo was not bound by the traditional rules that governed most mainstream comics at the time and was free to explore new ideas, controversial topics and depicting all this in unique (and often extreme) ways.

It was such a revolutionary notion at the time, especially one for a major comic book producer like DC, and it certainly helped change the development of comic books at the time. It gave writers a completely new playing field with different rules and thus new opportunities. What was commonly taboo could now be explored at length or toyed around with to one degree or another.

Many thought the idea wouldn't get off the ground. Of course given Vertigo's continued popularity over the years, I guess it shows what those naysayers know.

Enigma was one of the first series released by Vertigo in 1993. Spanning 8 issues, it tackled the strange world of Michael Smith as a costumed vigilante known as Engima appears in the world. What makes it strange is that Enigma was a comic book character that Michael loved as a young boy despite the fact the series did not last more than 3 issues. With the Enigma now made real somehow and his arch nemeses terrorizing the city, Michael can't help but feel that he's somehow involved in all this.

Image via Wikipedia

At first glance, the comic is pretty disturbing and strange from the onset. The art lacks the clean, tidy lines that most other comic books maintained at the times and the notions of the "hero" Enigma and his first villain, the Head, seems like something out of MTV's Liquid Television line of cartoons, such as the original Aeon Flux. It's the kind of comic that some acid-tripping writer might come up with given how unusual the plot is.

But that's the beauty of it all - it seems like madness when in fact there's a very complex plan in place, a sense of order that you need to really take many steps back to see, and probably some shades that need to be word and some difficult physical position to get your mind in the right mental state. It's hard to explain, but it really is just one of those kinds of stories, if you somewhat get my drift.

The story itself is just surreal - what would you do if your childhood hero from the comic book world suddenly appeared amongst us "regular" folk. What do you do when that fourth wall gets broken and the realm of fantasy is merged with reality? What is just based on the comic book and what is created from your unique understanding of things? Throw in other ideas and concepts like dealing with homosexuality, cult suicides and whatnot and you have...this. But it's more than that.

I'm thankful a friend of mine was able to share this amazing series with me. Somehow he had managed to find original copies of the individual issues even though the trade paperback is now out of print as well. I feel bad for the many folks out there who missed this amazing series during its run and may never get a chance to read it ever.

[Finances] The Little Things to Save Money

Image via Wikipedia

The current financial climate (or you can be more blunt and call it a recession) has all of us thinking about money, whether how to get more of it or how to make the most of the little that we have. It's a natural reaction to leaner times, financially speaking, and it certainly promotes the exploration of new ideas and possibilities.

Since it's a lot harder to get more money, the natural alternative focus is how to save more money or perhaps spend less of it. It's all a matter of perspective, I suppose. Saving money has always been a great topic to write about and something that certain books, websites and blogs tackle on a regular basis. As of late, there have been some rather unusual yet interesting ideas put out there for consideration.


I think my interest certainly got piqued last week when this article came out stating that carrying bigger bills makes you spend less, which certainly was a novel concept. At first it seemed a bit wrong, but then when I really thought about it, I guess it does make sense.

The study behind the article seems to focus on frequency of spending versus total value spent, really. When you have smaller bills, you have a greater tendency of making that purchase decision more often, but admittedly in smaller amounts. With bigger bills, you are able to resist those impulse purchases more, however when you do spend, you end up spending a higher amount compared to the previous scenario. It's certainly something to think about and it helps you really be careful about what you stick into your wallet.

Another article that I just read today provides a more unusual tip - don't touch things to avoid buying them. This theory is a little stranger, but there's still basis. Apparently touching an item generates stronger feelings of ownership and thus it makes it easier for us to buy it.

Somehow it all taps into our imagining ourselves using the product, and that makes a lot of sense to me. As a sales training professional, we always teach potential sales agents about how one of the key buying signs is when the customer is able to visualize or imagine themselves using the product. Once they express sentiments of that nature, the agent should realize he already has the sale and just needs to close things quickly. It's the same principle here - holding an option makes you start thinking about how your life would be if you had this item and started using it.

How about you? What interesting or useful money-saving tips have you come up with (or come across)?

[Movies] Monsters vs Aliens (2009)

The classic science fiction and horror moves of old centered around alien invaders from space or radioactive giant monsters emerging from the ocean. What could we do - this was the period right after the use of the atomic bomb and when the space race between the US and the then USSR was in full swing. It created for particular thinking and a popularity of such movie concepts.

Things like that have generated unusual debates over the years in geekier circles of how they'd fare in battles against one another. Just take the notion of pirates and ninja, yet another unusual pairing and yet there's that irrational geeky need to discuss who would possibly win in a free-for-all melee between the two.

Yeah, I know that doesn't seem to make much sense to most folks - you just really have to be a geek to get it, I assure you.

This latest Dreamworks production tries to tap into that subsection of our social consciousness while again presenting an animated feature that operates on multiple levels for kids and adults alike, and it managed it decently well.

Monsters vs Aliens revolves around Susan (Reese Witherspoon) who gets hit by a meteor made of "quantonium", which in turn makes her grow into a giant. The military quickly apprehend her and add her to their collection of "monsters" - B.O.B. (Seth Rogen), Dr. Cockroach Ph.D. (Hugh Laurie), The Missing Link (Will Arnett) and Insectosaurus, all under the watchful eye of their "warden", General W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland). Things really become interesting when an alien going by the name of Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson) follows the trail of the quantonium to Earth and seeks to use the substance to take over the galaxy, or whatever else he can manage.

Stephen Colbert (via last.fm)

Like many other Dreamworks animated productions, one of the first things you'll notice is the impressive star power behind the computer-rendered characters. Beyond the names already listed prior, the movie also features such notable actors as Stephen Colbert as the President of the USA and Amy Poehler as the Computer. It certainly give some level of credit to the entire venture and certainly provides a completely different level of entertainment as viewers can try to figure out how these actors and actresses make themselves truly felt through their voices alone.

The film is certainly visually appealing, as are most prior Dreamworks films, although for the full effect one is advised to see it in IMAX format, given the film was specially rendered in a 3-D format as opposed to creating a standard movie and converting it into 3-D post-production. Sadly, I watched the movie in a theater that didn't even offer the basic 3-D glasses option, but that didn't take too much away from the experience.

The movie is riddled with science fiction references and pop culture jabs that is sure to entertain any hardcore geek. The greater challenge lies in getting broader audiences who don't necessarily know the nuances of geek humor to really get into the film. Without that reference point, many of the jokes come off as bland or leaning towards the highly corny side, and this many not necessarily be everyone's cup of tea. Plus, its very straightforward and slightly simplistic plot may bore older audiences while only entertaining the kiddies.

Don't get me wrong - Monsters vs Aliens is still a pretty good comedy and it will still appeal to a broad audience base. At the same time, however, it won't necessarily beat past Dreamworks blockbusters like the Shrek franchise anytime soon.