[Books] StarCraft: Shadow of the Xel'Naga

Books based on game franchises are definitely a mixed bag, but at least they have a higher success rate compared to movies and TV shows based on video games. I suppose it's because the who written medium provides the authors a lot more leeway in making sure they capture the feel of the original game compared to the budget-conscious studios. So in this regard, I suppose I tend to expect more from such books compared to their more visually-inclined cousins in other media. I just hope I don't end up being too harsh.

StarCraft remains a franchise that is near and dear to my heart. After they totally changed the gaming landscape back in 1998, I was hooked not just on the amazing gameplay but on the rich story as well. This has always been one of the reasons that Blizzard is such a succesful computer game studio - they know how to spin a great tale that really gets the players immersed in the games.

Thus the StarCraft novels have been an interesting way for me to further explore the rich universe that was created for this game. Despite my love for the series, I've come to not expect too much from these titles since they're written by many different authors and thus each brings a different perspective to things. And sometimes, they way they handle things just doesn't work for me.

[Movies] Moon (2009)

As much as a lot of science fiction movies seem like they're based on older concepts that have already been done before, it's nice we still get surprised. That's one of the great things about science fiction - it's based on our ability to imagine things greater than what we have now and explore the furthest reaches of creativity and forward thinking.

And we've reached an interesting point in our cultural development when some of our previous science fiction predictions have already started to come to pass. The list of such realized inventions is already pretty significant including mobile phones, touch screen computers and the like. And despite how a lot of these previous ideas are already science fact, storytellers of all sorts are continuing to define new areas for the future to emulate, whether they intend to or not.

This particular movie was definitely a refreshing surprise in a time when the Hollywood Remake has begun to dominate the cineplexes with their substandard programming. So despite the seeming death of creativity and originality elsewhere, you get real gems like this movie. Oh yay.

[Movies] Relax...It's Just Sex (1998)

There's a certain style to LGBT films that I can't quite put my finger on. We seem to embrace comedic elements since we like to be all witty and smart sounding in our dialog. But at the same time such movies tend to have serious issues they want to tackle in earnest, thus forcing a more serious tone to things. Balancing both elements is a challenge for any director even without the whole gay element to things. As much as one might argue that this shouldn't make too much of a differences, we have to admit that the LGBT genre of stories has not quite been as fully explored as others. Whether we like it or not, this remains to be relatively new grounds.

So one has to commend these directors and screenwriters for trying to make headway in this arena. Despite the mixed results in terms of the eventual movies and TV shows, we have to give them credit for trying to make LGBT stories as commonplace as remakes. Now there's a scary thought - are remakes and reimaginations a natural part of the evolution of storytelling in Hollywood? Perish the thought!

This movie was definitely not one of the better ones that I've seen, however I feel that they certainly had big goals in mind. It just sort of whimpered in the end. I think.

[Movies] Madagascar (2005)

It's my birthday tomorrow, and I thought that it might be fun to review a movie that I really liked. To refine that idea further, I figured it would be more interesting to revisit a movie that I didn't expect that I'd enjoy but instead did.

In the end, I noticed this sitting on the shelves given we had only recently purchased a copy of this movie. So that really helped me figure out today's review subject. Plus it has humorous penguins in it. And by humorous, I mean very, very, very funny.

This movie initially repulsed me because of the stars involved, plus I've sort of been a Pixar purist ever since they first started releasing feature-length movies. Sure, Shrek really worked but this was a first venture into a completely new franchise. And you know how hard it is to try something new. But this pleasantly turned out into a rather pleasant experiment and a good follow-up movie for DreamWorks Animation.

[TV] Spartacus Blood And Sand: Season 1

It's interesting to note how more and more "premium" pay-TV channels are doing their best to expand their respective little empires. HBO led the charge when they started to become more than just a 24 hour movie channel. They expanded their line-up to include live performances of comedians and musical artists. They started to produce their own original TV shows. Heck, they even started to sponsor exclusive sporting events that could only be seen on their network. And thus the pattern was set.

Showtime followed suit in time, and they've started to do rather well in the original series arena. Now Starz is the latest to join the trend with shows like Crash and the upcoming Torchwood: The New World. I'm not quite sure what their plan of attack or pattern is - there doesn't seem to be a consistent theme to their stuff. HBO and Showtime have pretty much clearly defined the limits they like to explore and their respective definitions of "edginess" with varying degrees of success.

If there is an initial pattern, then it would appear to be that they like making original TV shows based on popular movies. Crash remains to be quite the gripping Oscar-winning movie. And from a much older period, Spartacus was also quite the success at the Academy Awards then. Sure, this series isn't directly adapted from that 1960 Kubrick film, but it sort of follows this assumed pattern. Of course looking at their upcoming releases, I doubt this is the clue behind their productions just yet.

[Transformers] A Power Core And Stealth Force Rant

Image via WikipediaI'm a die hard Transformers fan, there's no denying it. I still have some of my original G1 toys on display in the modest apartment that I share with my partner. And yes, despite knowing how bad it was going to be, I still went out to watch Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen despite what Michael Bay had done to the first movie.

This isn't about blind love for everything Hasbro releases though - it just means I generally give the toy line a chance in whatever form it takes on. I think I was rewarded when I took that gamble with the Beast Wars line several years back. I felt slightly stung when I ventured into Transformers: Armada. But now, I don't really know how I feel about some of the newer lines. In a post Michael Bay Transformers world, the toys have gone into a scary direction that shows an increasing lack of creativity or at the very least a degradation in their sense of aesthetics. In their their efforts to remain consistent with the look and feel of the movies, they've move further and further away from the original cartoons that helped popularize them in the first place.

Thus in my first of potentially many more toy-related Geeky Guide entries, I've decided to break my silence and weigh in on two of the newest and somewhat strangest lines of Transformers toys yet: the Power Core and the Stealth Force.

[Comics] The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Volume 1

As much as adaptations make me feel a little uneasy about the increasing loss of true creativity in the movie world, they still serve some benefit to geek kind. More often than not, adaptations do allow certain genre or niche comics to gain a wider audience and get new readers to return to the source material. This is probably best seen with all the movies based on comic books and how they help even geeks like me learn about great titles that got lost in the shuffle over the years.

While I don't feel it's a good idea to compare the originals with their later day adaptation versions, it's always a good thing to revisit the original material whenever you encounter an adaptation just to see what it was really about. The movie incarnation will always leave things out or change things around in order to make the story fit the medium better (at least in their opinion). But since you've gotten this far, you might as well go back to the source and see what made it worth the Hollywood budget to turn it into a movie in the first place. The results can be quite surprising despite how they'll probably make you not like the movie as much as you did prior to reading the comic.

And what better place to practice this than with the movies based on the diverse and award-winning works of the highly eccentric Alan Moore. He's become quite infamous for his complaints about the movies adapted from his graphic novels and this was the movie that many attribute to being the reason behind this strong stand against the studios.

[Conventions] Do You Want A New Worlds 6?

It's been almost 3 years since New Worlds 5.

In previous years, the New Worlds conventions were an annual celebration of science fiction and fantasy enthusiasts put together by a bunch of dedicated fans. These various conventions were a great way to bring fans together to celebrate the shows, movies and franchises with people of like-minded interests. It was also a venue for geeks to "come out" of their respective geek closets and be proud of being exactly who they are.

Image via WikipediaFor one reason or another, I missed out on the geek convention scene and only got to participate in 2007 after my father died. We weren't exactly close over the years and thus probably why he never got around to telling me all about the big geek conventions he was attending and even helping organize. So I only caught the last two big New Worlds events both held in 2007 - New Worlds: Transformed and New Worlds 5.

It's been almost 3 years since New Worlds 5. Don't you think it's about time we held another convention? I sure do.

[Technicolor Musings] Male Massage, But Hold The ES Please!

Image via WikipediaMy partner introduced me to the wonderful world of massages and health spas when we first started going out. Admittedly, it's a highly self-indulgent activity that I've really come to enjoy over the course of our one year+ of being together, yet one that I share with him. How I managed to survive on this planet for more than a quarter of a century without going for a full spa venture is beyond me, and I'm supposed to gay after all, right? That is, of course,if you buy into the stereotype that the two are synonymous.

I have to admit that a lot of my initial hestitation about going to spas is the bad reputation a lot of these places get because all those stories about "happy endings" and "extra services". Movies and TV shows love indulging in such fantasies and quite a number of pornographic films have exploited the concept extensively. It's not exactly a huge leap in logic, I have to admit. You have a person mostly naked on a massage bed. Add in a skilled masseur with obviously strong and dexterous hands. And then you add in the gay element and there you go.

As part of my initial foray into massage services and health spas, there has come the inevitable stigma when it comes to looking for male massage therapists. For some reason, this is synonymous to looking for a hook-up of some kind, or at the very least a hand job. What the hell, right? The notion appalled me, especially since I was now part of this sub-section of the population that gets massages. But as I started to explore the world further, I can see it's not just a local misconception (like how we confuse the use of the term "bisexual").

[Movies] The Mist (2007)

I'm not very good with horror movies. I've said this before and as I start this review, I have to bring it up again. And it's not that I don't like horror and thriller movies. It's really more that I know that I don't handle them well despite how much I appreciate the stories themselves. And thus the reason why I still end up watching them despite the fact they send my blood pressure through the roof almost every time.

Plus it doesn't help that my partner is a big horror movie buff. As part of our geeky cultural exchange program of sorts. I introduce him to things I love like Star Trek and Dune. He introduces me to horror movies of interest. Well, that and romantic comedies, as odd as that sounds.

Stephen King is a great writer and one whose stories tend to come out more appealing to a larger audience than most. He's certainly consistent in terms of books become decently performing movies with a few of them truly standing out more than others. As much as people feel that he's a bit campy in that sense or that he's become somewhat repetitious, however you can't fault the results when you get down to it.

[TV] Star Trek Voyager: Season 1

I've recently started to formally introduce my partner to the wonderful world of Star Trek. Given the many incarnations of Trek, I knew that I had to be a bit more careful in terms of which Trek to use as an initial springboard into the universe of the 24th century. This is one of those cases when starting at the very beginning is not necessarily a good idea - the original series is a bit harder to get into compared to other Treks, at least in my opinion.

So instead I went with this route - one of the few shows that I've completely watched more than once. I'm not sure why exactly - one could just blame the Asian franchise of The Hallmark Channel for showing it over and over while I was in high school / college. Or there's Seven of Nine, who remains to be one of the characters that I grew to like a lot more in all of Trekdom. Or maybe it's just one of those shows that ends on a nice and more or less happy note.

So I settled on this particular show and the initial journey has been interesting to say that least. Beyond my own enjoyment of watching the show all over again, my partner seems to be enjoying the adventure as well.

[Geeky Guide] Another Geeky Topic For Wednesdays

Hello Again Fellow Geeks!

It's been a while since I directly discussed the thinking behind this blog. So for those who are interested in this sort of thing, then continue reading! Otherwise, well, expect another review by tomorrow.

Previously, I had decided to better organize my entries into themes or topics for most days of the week. The only day that I don't have entries scheduled for posting remains to be Saturdays since even I need a day to rest, right?

At present, here's the current line-up:

• Mondays - New Movies
  
• Tuesdays - Books and Comic Books
  
• Wednesdays - Computers and Technology
  
• Thursdays - TV shows, theater plays and musicals
  
• Fridays - Older movies
  
• Sundays - Technicolor Musings and LGBT media reviews

The core posts during the week days haven't changed much, but I do have to admit that I've really gotten to enjoy writing my Technicolor Musings entries. It's nice to have more pink content on this blog and it's a great way to celebrate my open geeky gay life.

Ironically enough, I seem to have the most trouble when it comes to Wednesdays. Maybe it's because I seem to limit myself to computer game reviews. Perhaps it's because I like reading about technology more than I want to write about it. Or maybe it's because I can't help but feel that the so many other blogs are already talking about certain topics of interest and adding my blog would be just one more voice in the noise.

So after careful consideration, I've decided to expand my Wednesdays to include another technology other than the cyber world. As much as I want to do more technology blogging, I know that my "day" job is going to get in the way of the research time I'd like to put into each techie blog entry.

So starting next week, Wednesday is also a day to expect discussions and reviews about toys that interest me (and those that bother me something nasty). I'm not sure if I'll be able to start immediately next week, but I'll get started as soon as I can. Just giving myself more options for Wendnesdays. Besides, I can't just keep buying new PS3 games to give me something to blog about - it's getting a tad expensive, plus I need to actually finish all these games.

If you have other ideas or just comments about the blog in general, my contact details are on my profile page. Or of course you can just leave a comment on this post!

[Books] StarCraft: Liberty's Crusade

Novelizations of movies and television shows have become old hat these days. For almost any major entertainment event, you can expect a book to follow shortly thereafter (or sometimes even before). It's just how the world works and sometimes the novelizations are great while other times, well, they sort of pass but just barely.

More recently we've seen other media adapted into full novels, starting with comic books and now even video games. And we're not talking about Choose Your Own Adventure style books like what happened with the Mario titles many years ago. These are original stories set in the game universe that try to further expand on the character's back story or provide new insights into the lore around the game. It's a formula that doesn't always work since it's largely dependent on the quality of the core story that defines the game environment.

And you have to admit, most games tend to avoid major storylines altogether. With the rise of first-person shooter games and subsequently MMORPGs, the gaming world is more and more about randomly generated maps with token quests. This is not to say all games are without stories - just that not all of their stories are quite as good as they could be. However there are still those few games that go all out in the story department and certainly make for some very rich source material.

One such franchise remains to be the still-alive-and-kicking StarCraft series created by Blizzard Entertainment.

[Movies] Nanny McPhee And The Big Bang (2010)

I hate it when children's books talk down to kids and pander to stereotypes around what they can understand. Sure it's fun and all and probably somehow "safer", however doing so doens't really help children plus we totally ignore just how much they really understand.

And thus there's a part of me that has always been drawn to the, well, "stranger" children's stories that may seem somewhat disturbing but tend to be a lot smarter. Statistically speaking, it seems more of these kinds of stories tend to come from Britain (or stories that originate from British territories. Naturally the best example of this would be the highly fantastical Roald Dahl books such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda. He's always had a way with crafting stories that are delightful to children and remain rather humorous for older readers and eventually viewers.

So it's nice to see that people continue to treasure these stories and ensure the next generations are introduced to them. And sadly, movies and TV shows remain the best ways to do this as opposed to sticking to attempting to drum up book sales. Oh kids today.

[Movies] Shelter (2007)

The limited history of gay cinema has resulted in a number of cliches and tropes constantly repeated in many different LGBT films. I suppose it can't be helped - gay culture is uniquely identified with a number of these ideas and concepts and thus it becomes very easy to revisit them time and time again in order for the movie to clearly feel queer in that sense. You know what I'm referring to, right?

There's the presence of AIDS and HIV in the story whether a character contracts it directly or deals with getting tested. There's substance abuse on the club circuit as being another recurring theme. There's coming out, which is always a good story to tell. There's the need for sassy wit and humor in order to remind everyone that gay lingo is real. There are the fag hags and the old wise queens and the slutty boy toys and all those other stock characters that populate such movies. Sometimes they're used effectively but many times they just feel a tad overused or not well thought-out.

This movie surprised me in how it generally avoided a lot of these tropes without resorting to becoming a chick flick with guys in it. There's not question about this movie being about homosexual characters but it didn't allow itself to get bogged down or distracted by the kind of plot devices that Hollywood assumes we gay viewers will expect and require in order for the movie to make sense.

[Movies] The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

I don't always agree with the major award-giving bodies in terms of their nominations. Sometimes I feel that they feel almost obligated certain movies because of the clout the studios throw around or just the sheer amount of resources that went into the development of a certain film. And thus it feels that not all movies are measured solely on the merits of their own worth but more the Hollywood politics behind it. Of course this is all speculation, but I think I'm coming from a sensible place in terms of why I think this way.

And I feel bad when people sort of go with the Hollywood marketing machine and feel movies are pretty amazing when maybe they're not quite as good as they present themselves to be. Then again, who am I to judge the opinions of others - if I have a dissenting voice, then I'm free to express it. But this holds true for as long as people don't feel the need to argue with me in order to convince me of why I'm wrong. Healthy debate is good but don't push your luck by dragging things out too long, hehe.

And so I feel this is one of those reviews that present a somewhat opposing opinion to what is popularly accepted. I'm just glad I never wasted money on buying a copy of this movie.

[Movies] Ben 10: Alien Swarm (2009)

Cartoon to live-action movie adaptations have often resulted in near disasters in entertainment, what more when they're not even meant to be shown on the silver screen. I suppose it's because the big studios assume that kids have much lower entertainment standards and thus they can parade any hastily assembled piece of drivel and call it a movie.

But that really shouldn't be the case - kids are a lot smarter than most people give them credit for. All the more when it comes to shows that they're very much into or passionate about. Kids can become experts on the toys and show that they follow eagerly week after week and discounting that kind of intimate understanding is folly. And thus a franchise can rise or fall based on the respect the network executives keep in mind for their audiences.

But then there are those instances when they get things right for one reason for another. Whether or not this is some calculated move or some moment of random dumb luck, it's hard to say. However it does provide a glimmer of hope for such adaptations. It's not like we don't want to see them in live-action. We just want to make sure they're done well!

[Google] Goodbye Google Wave

Image via Wikipedia

On May 27, 2009, Google made a breakthrough announcement - a revolutionary new product called Google Wave. They described it as a radical new way at looking at communication from a modern perspective. It promised greater capabilities for real-time collaboration as a combination of email, chat, wiki writing and social networking. The service also allowed for developers to create custom extensions to expands its capabilities and make the game a heck of a lot more powerful. The sky was the limit really when it came to the platform.

I fought tooth and nail to get a beta invite so that I could start playing around with the service. Seriously, the lengths I went to in order to find a friend who still had invites for the initial closed beta was, well, crazy. And when I finally got my invite, I totally went nuts with the service and was wildly excited about the potential for the service. I could see how this would totally change project management collaboration online with other unique use cases such as running roleplaying games online.

But on August 4, 2010, Google decided to shut down Google Wave at the end of the year, citing lack of user adoption as the reason for axing the service. Of course this announcement broke my heart and I can't help but feel it's a tad too soon. It's only been less than three months since the service opened to the public and now they're already killing the service.

So of course I wanted to spend a little time to talk about it.

[Books] Star Trek: Have Tech, Will Travel (Starfleet Corps Of Engineers Book 1)

As much as I've always been a huge Star Trek fan for most of my life, I haven't been particularly keen on religiously following the books. I didn't immediately realize why I stopped buying the books but given that I kept on picking up the Star Wars books in contrast, a reason for this quirk began to dawn on me.

I think what has often bothered me about the Star Trek books is that they decided to go for an episodic format instead of longer story arcs. It was their effort to follow the format of the TV series and probably to encourage more writers to offer to write stories for the franchise. This is a good and a bad thing since (1) it means that you can pick up a book without the burdens of overly dealing with continuity apart from that of the show but (2) it leads to a lot of disposable characters and plot lines that will never be explored again in later books. It's the latter item that somewhat frustrates me since it's hard to believe that such amazing and wondrous adventures are easily forgotten and never referenced again in later stories. That's what tends to bother me.

But despite this general bias against the book format, I found myself deciding to pick up this title when I saw it in the sale bin. For the price, it was pretty much a steal and I guess that helped motivate me in that respect. Plus the premise in itself seemed interesting enough and had me wanting to venture into the somewhat geekier side of an already geeky fictional universe.

[Movies] The Brothers Bloom (2009)

I can't remember when I first learned how to appreciate con / caper movies, but I do admit that I do. To be fair, it's not like I absolutely love ALL of them automatically - it's just that I have a good appreciation for them that's a bit higher than for other movie genres. Maybe it started with Sneakers all those years ago or some similar movie. But that's not the point.

The fun thing about caper movies is how they act as the inverse of mysteries and detective stories. Instead of trying to unravel the secret of the crime after the fact, the caper is all about executing a brilliant plan in order to avoid capture. Getting away free with the money or whatever it is their goal is does give the audience a unique kind of thrill, despite the fact that we know what they've managed to accomplish is wrong from a legal perspective. I guess it's the thirll of the all and how we somehow get to vicariously experience committing a crime without the risk of imprisonment.

Plus they're wonderfully intelligent. Crime isn't all about balls or gall, but they're about wits and intelligent. A good con is designed to prey on the weaknesses of the mark and turn those limitations against that person. It doesn't require elaborate trickery but instead just needs a careful nudge here and there until things all just fall into place. And this movie felt like it was more than just a caper movie - and thus that makes it even better.

[Pinks News] Where We Stand In The Proposition 8 Legal Battle

Image by david_shankbone via Flickr

On August 4, 2010, US District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker ruled that California's Proposition 8 ballot measure that had been passed in November was unconstitutional. For the completely ignorant in terms of the gay rights battles around the world, Proposition 8 was a highly controversial ballot proposition and amendment to the state constitution that required that marriage could only be recognized as being between a man and a woman. The ballot measure was put into action to defeat a prior court ruling that had allowed same-sex marriages to happen for a few months back in 2008.

The legal challenges to the measure initially seemed too risky to venture into right away but there were those determined few that felt it had to happen. And thus after quite a lengthy legal struggle, we finally reached this point with the recent court ruling acting as the culmination of a lot of hard work.

But just because gay rights activists have reached this point doesn't mean the battle is over. In fact, the next phase is already beginning with supporters of Proposition 8 already filing their appeals and preparing to take this legal argument all the way to the Supreme Court. Then the finally ruling may come along and we'll see how things truly pan out.

[Movies] Brick (2005)

When I first watched the 1996 Romeo + Juliet movie (yes the one with Leo and Claire), I was pretty surprised by how much I enjoyed. I think what really got to me was how surreal yet enjoyable it was to have all these actors in a modern setting spewing out Shakespeare as if it was as normal as the sun rising in the east. At first it seemed a tad unusual but as the movie progressed, I became more and more in tune with the slight dichotomy of word and action. And I liked it. I've yet to see many movies like that one ever since. Heck, I can't even think of one right now, but maybe I'm just too tired from work or something.

The juxtopositioning of the old and the new is never a radically new concept, but it's always enjoyable to experience provided it's done well. And it doesn't always have to be about stories from the Shakespearian era - history is teeming with so many different writing styles and storytelling methodologies that there's no running out of possible ideas and designs. And I'm not talking about revivals of old stories - this is about new stories using old voices, in a manner of speaking.

But it always comes back to heightening this contrast by also employing younger talent, it seems. New stories with old voices as presented by young actors. And thus you have these old lines strangely coming out of the lips of more youthful stars to great effect, or in some cases horrendous results. It all really depends on the strength of the actors, the vision of the director and the ability of everyone involved to combine all the elements together into something more.

[Theater] Equus (Repertory Philippines)

A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!

Okay, wrong play. But it's the only horse-related line that ever comes to mind when I think about horses and theaters. Perhaps now after watching this play, he jubilant shouting of "HA HA!" will come a close second.

As much as I love movies and more so musicals, I also maintain a healthy respect for traditional theater. There's just something completely different about watching a play from start to finish that no big budget Hollywood movie can ever accurately recapture. Sure, we don't have big special effects and over-the-top costumes when it comes to local theater productions, but they certainly know how to make the most of what they have in order to tell a story. That's where the real creativity comes in - suddenly an empty stage can become any location they require. A block of wood can become a pedestal worthy of a temple in the hands of a good theater actor, and thus the greater respect for this medium.

Despite this general love for theater, I have to admit that I've been generally dismissive of Repertory Philippines in recent years. I can't quite explain it - maybe it's because some of their show choices have felt weird to me or maybe I seek too much comfort in the familiar. Maybe it's because I'm not all that enthused by their current home theater, the OnStage theater at the older Greenbelt 1. Whatever the reason, it's generally kept me away from most Repertory Philippines productions - a bias that I think plays like this one will certainly help me overcome.

[Internet] Living With The Office Firewall

Flickr Blocked in UAE by Indrani Soemardjan

I've been working in the corporate world for a good 7 years now and ever since I managed to get off the phones as an agent, I've started to come to blows with our IT department. It wasn't necessarily intentional - it's just what naturally happens when one explores the network and tests the limits of the system, only to finally encounter the barriers and safeguards put in place. It's never overly fun - it's just a fact of life in the working world.

Company IT Departments are always at war with the general employee population. Perhaps war is a very negative term, but it does describe things well enough. The employees constantly test and probe the defenses and the IT Department erects new safeguards, pin down violators and redefine policies to better protect the company's networks and data. It's a noble enough effort in what is practically counterinsurgency and whether we like it or not, we're the bad guys and they're the good guys.

And yet why do we constantly villainize them and complain when we run into these barriers? I can't help myself either - my first reaction is to be frustrated and angry about it. Then I learn to accept. Then I resume the assault, looking for new cracks in the defenses. The cycle repeats time and time again.

[Books] The Gypsy Morph (Genesis of Shannara Book 3)

The trilogy format makes so much sense in the book world. You get a start, a middle and an end. And you can follow the original Star Wars format of a happy start, a dark middle and then a return to glory in the end. We're all very used to the comfort of this nature of storytelling and I doubt writers will overly rock the boat anytime soon. I've always felt that once you go beyond three books, your chances of remaining successful diminish since the story starts to meander around and wander into rambling and repetition.

This story has remained fairly tight in its construction and thankfully Terry Brooks hasn't fallen into the trap of repeating old story concepts. He had me scared for a bit when the second book was about the Elves but in the end he managed to keep things more or less different enough. The action remains pretty good and the end result, well, I guess this book is what really decides that.

The end of the trilogy is hard to review since it's not just reviewing a single book but how the entire trilogy is resolved. This is the final act - how the story and all the many plot points sort of pan out and ultimately become something more.

[Movies] Salt (2010)

Spy movies have always been a bit hit-or-miss for me. They can be pretty fun and all but sometimes they dip into the shallower side of science fiction (or even fantasy) when they resort to ridiculous technologies that perform more of the work for the characters than they should. As much as I love technology and gadgets in general, I don't appreciate it when the writers decide to jump the shark that way.

So yeah, I'm the kind of person who's seen a number of James Bond movie. but never really got around to putting any serious effort into watching the whole series. I catch spy movies here and there, but more likely because they're set in a dystopian future or involve some science fiction concept somehow. Sorry, it's just a thing with me, I guess.

But every now and then there comes along a movie that reminds me why the genre still has hope. And this is founded on the fact that as much as spy movies can only go so far in terms of the concepts they play around with, sometimes a fairly new combination can come along that just might surprise you.

[Movies] All Over The Guy (2001)

Gay movies tend to predominantly fall in the same general category of chick flicks, with the exception that the protagonists are both guys. I know, it sounds like a horrible generalization, but you have to admit there's a certain degree of truth to this, especially when Hollywood is concerned. They tend to view the gay male population as being more feminine than anything and thus the same general movie formula should work for the gays as well. A harsh statement, but still generally true. After all, Hollywood is a business that relies on is ability to lump people together into categories and release movies targeting these demographics.

It's not a total loss though - we do need movies that we can somewhat relate to and it's always nice to see gay characters written as anything other than comic relief. There are definitely some well thought-out LGBT characters out there within such genre movies and this still helps us in a general sense. More pink movies of decent quality means a better appreciation for what this community is really about.

Plus it becomes a lot more interesting when more familiar actors and actresses decide to star in LGBT movies. Some might argue that this is what has-been actors do in order to revive their careers with a bit of culture. Others might say that this is about them wanting to "come out" in a big way, or at least generate modest controversy by generating gay rumors. Whatever it is, we need more quality talent getting involved in the LGBT movie industry.