[Movies] Skyline (2010)

Movie genres are hard to figure out some times since like other creative works, it's rarely a case of black and white. I'm sure in the beginning we had romances clearly separate from comedies and those apart from dramas. But then we started to develop romantic comedies and black comedies and other variations and combinations of genres. So who's to say one is absolutely this or that, yes?

This was a movie that certainly had a bit of an indentity crisis. When the trailers first came out, there were different glimpses of what it could be. Perhaps it was meant as a Cloverfield style account with horror movie leanings? Or maybe it was just another big budget science fiction action movie like Independence Day. Or maybe it was something completely different, like how District 9 was so different from other alien movies but in this case with a cheesy cast who run about like headless chickens.

Whatever the reason, the trailers did not do the movie justice at all since the final production was far, far worse. And it's only because of morbid curiosity that my partner and I decided to watch a downloaded copy of the movie (given we never would have paid the ticket price for it).

[Movies] Is It Just Me? (2010)

Over the years I've managed to accumulate a ridiculous number of LGBT-themed movies of different varieties. I guess call it impulsive acquisition or something, but it's just something that I do. But it beats how I should figure out which movie to watch first.

With all the other geekier movies out there vying for time, I still end up with the odd afternoon without anything to watch. And so I select a title from the collection, take the chance and hope for the best. And eventually I post a review about it so that the rest of you readers don't have to go through the anguish of dealing with the unknown when starting on a new LGBT movie adventure.

I guess the main challenge for me is that majority of LGBT movies (and books for that matter) tend to be romances, whether they're serious ones or comedies. It's like the whole pink movie making community believes that we're all obsessed with watching stories about other queers in relationships or in a struggle to attain one. And there's the added fun of how many clichés these kinds of movies have and how easy it is to predict the ending.

[Movies] Pleasantville (1998)

The brilliance of movies as a communication medium is how well they can ingrain themselves in our memories and stay with us forever. We watch a lot of movies and TV shows in the course of our lives and yet certain ones tend to stand out compared to all the others. One way or another, movies get their message across and for those select people, those movies tend to resonate on an entirely different level.

It's always tricky for me to come up with a "top ten" list of my favorite movies of all time. The list is constantly changing and evolving based on what new movies come out and more importantly the kind of person that I happen to be right now. Our interests and sensibilities change slowly over time as well and so what we absolutely loved and lived by before may be different later one.

This was certainly one of those movies that has danced in and out of my virtual top ten list ever since I first saw it. It's definitely a good movie and it's a lot more meaningful than just being a movie with a great visual gimmick. And it's time that I made sure that a proper review for this great movie got posted here on the Geeky Guide.

[TV] Modern Family: Season 1

The success of comedy TV shows like The Office has helped support the rise of what we have come to know as the "mockumentary" format. Mockumentaries are those shows that are presented with a pseudo-documentary style but still within the context of the show's fictional universe. Thus the feel like artificial reality shows where the actors talk to the camera in-camera in a format popularized shows like Big Brother or with more dynamic camera-work as if shot by a TV crew live.

Now I was never really a big fan of The Office. I have nothing against the show, mind you. It just didn't quite draw me in enough to become a loyal enough viewer. But I did generally appreciate the treatment approach to the show and we've seen this crop up here and there in the classic manner that Hollywood tends to shamelessly replicate any idea that seems to be popular at the moment. It's a format that's here to stay, even though the results aren't always as successful.

I think these kinds of shows truly become successful when they don't allow the mockumentary format to dominate the show too much. It really should only be a bonus to the whole narrative - the storytelling experience still depends more on the quality of the writing, the skill of the actors and the vision of the director. And this was a show that I'm glad managed to figure out the differences.

[Web] The Online Evolution Of Coupon Culture

Every time I read an article on line about "the future of search", the often repeated buzzwords make me chuckle. I'm sure you've encountered something along these lines at one point in time or another. For a while the big push was how the future was about mobile internet services, thus the advent of apps, the iPhone and now the boom of the Android platform. And there are also a large number of industry experts who constantly write about the future of searching being local, meaning more relevant search results based on local businesses in your town or city.


Google Maps Advertisement by psychopyko via Flickr.

Conquering the last stretch of internet real estate between the big online retailers and the average local business has been a challenge that many different internet-oriented companies have been trying to conquer. There's money to be made there after all - a person is still more likely to buy something from a retail outlet closer to home where they can actually view the merchandise as opposed to switching entirely to buying things online from the likes of Amazon or whatever. Whoever can monetize that last mile to the consumer's local market is bound to make a fair amount of money.

Thus enter the current local offerings market, which is a gladiator arena filled with an odd mix of web search engines, social media marketers, location-based services and the growing subsection of the group deal negotiators. And the madness is just beginning as the bigger players are coming out with their bids towards breaking into the market.

[Comics] JLA: Tower of Babel

Batman is a bad ass superhero. He's not quite an anti-hero - that's something we leave for the likes of Wolverine, The Punisher or whoever. No matter how you look at it, Batman is pretty intimidating as a superhero since he commands such an awesome amount of respect through sheer presence alone. And lest you forget, he's still just an ordinary human being with no super powers. An no, his utility belt and all his gadgets do not define his character nor make him "super". You may have him confused for the Blue Beetle or something.

Just how dark and disturbing Batman is has been a concept that has been more and more explored in recent years. We have the constant evolution of the comic book industry's level of maturity to thank for that. Otherwise, we would have been stuck with a lot of Adam West style tomfoolery. That wasn't too bad, but it wasn't bad ass.

Batman was probably one of those kids that the teacher would have marked as "does not play well with others." And yet time and time again he gets put into a superhero team for comic book sale purposes. So it's interesting to find a JLA story where Batman gets to be, well, himself more than anything else. And thus that makes him terribly dangerous to everyone around him.

[Movies] The Green Hornet (2011)

Amidst the whole remake / reboot culture that is largely a cancer upon Hollywood, you have to admit that there are still franchises that we want to see back on the big screen. Whether it's because of lifelong fandom geekery or idle nostalgia reasons, there are just those stories that we want to have continue and live on somehow.

But even this is a tricky desire to balance against the greed of the studios. I guess the best example of this is how much I've wanted to have a life-action Transformers movie. And then Michael Bay came along and fulfilled the desire to see giant transforming robots at the cost of the integrity of the story, the characters and all sense of reason. Now we're heading for the third movie in the franchise and I'm still wondering if wanting a live-action Transformers movie was ever a good thing.

But sometimes people just surprise you with what they come up with. There are some really good movie adaptations out there (e.g. Kick-Ass and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World).

And while I wasn't exactly clamoring for this particular TV show to be adapted for the big screen, I'm really happy with how things turned out and I'm glad that this movie happened. Geek culture for the win!

[Technicolor Musings] 5 Relationship Tips That I Live By

With the new year comes new beginnings, and by that virtue new relationships. I don't know if it's just me, but I seem to have noticed a number of friends of mine who have declared themselves as "in a relationship" after the fireworks settled down. I suppose that makes sense - it gives people something to look forward to for the year. And on a more cynical note, I assume a lot of people hook up in January in order to make sure that they get to February happily attached. Not judging - just making a calculated assertion there.



Given that, I find myself thinking about my own relationship and how things have gone thus far. We're quickly approaching our second year together and the trip has been pretty grand. Thus I thought it might be helpful for you geeky readers (and this probably regardless of sexual orientation) or for anyone else who has decided to take someone's hand in theirs this January to share a few relationship tips that I think work.

I know, I know, I don't necessarily claim to be an expert - I am a geek after all. But then again, who is? It's not like relationships are an exact science or anything. If they were, well, then things would be a heck of a lot simpler for us intellectuals, now wouldn't it?

[Comics] Who Is Bane? And Which Catwoman?

With the recent announcement of Anne Hathaway and Tom Hardy being cast as Catwoman and Bane in the upcoming Chris Nolan Batman movie, apparently there's a lot of people asking one question. And no, it's not the question of Tom Hardy being gay and/or single.

Instead, I was surprised to find out that a lot of people are asking who Bane is and what the heck this all means. At first the question surprised me - Bane is to Doomsday as Batman is to Superman, generally speaking. But then when you get down to it, people probably only remembered that Batman got his back broken without caring by whom.

Image via WikipediaAnd all we have to remember of Bane is his horrible misrepresentation in the 1997 disaster action comedy known as Batman & Robin. With that in mind, now it makes sense why everyone is scrambling to explain who he is while the rest of the core geek world already knows who he is and his strange evolution from evil bad guy to unusual anti-hero.

Thankfully, there are a lot of geeky resources online to help you with your troubles in order to explain who Bane is while the rest of us geeks contemplate the greater questions in life such as whether or not Anne Hathaway will be more of a Michelle Pfeiffer Catwoman or a Halle Berry Catwoman. *shudders

Your search probably started with the ever boring wiki-styler entries over at Wikipedia or the DC Database, but that's no real fun.

More recently hardcore geek sites have started to write their own guides to this dash wrestler-style character. The Geekosystem feature is a nice simple narrative that should quickly get you up to speed in all things Bane. However the real gem is the much more detailed io9 backgrounder on Bane, his history and what he;s doing now in terms of the comic book universe. Plus the post is generously littered with great images of the character and how he's evolved over the years.

And if that's not enough for you to figure out who Bane is and why he's worthy of being the next Batman villain, then I don't know how else to help you.

In the meantime, what if Anne Hathaway ends up being a Julie Newmar kind of Catwoman...or even an Eartha Kitt one? Now that boggles the mind.

[Movies] Wall Street (1987)

Your "average Joe" has a pretty warped view of the stock market. Most people base their understanding of the market on what little once can glean from the movies and snippets from news segments about stocks rising and falling. To be fair, it's not exactly high school arithmetic when you get down to it. The stock market is a pretty complex arena where risk takers can win big and conservatives can hopefully bide their time and hope that their patience pays off in the end.

Ironically enough, I recently got into the stock market as a long-term investor. So my writing about this particular movie seems timely enough with my growing understanding of the market and the potential it holds for a lot of hopeful investors such as myself. I have a long ways to go, but you can surely expect me to apply all my geeky abilities in my efforts to come out a winner in the end.

Let's face it - the stock market feels like the ultimate form of legalized gambling in the world today. Traders buy and sell stocks from different companies and all compete to somehow outwit the others. It's a pretty cutthroat world with a lot of potential for the bold trader / investor. And so it's no surprise the industry was celebrated by a movie as unique as this one.

[TV] Community: Season 1

Starting with a new TV show is always a bit of a gamble. It's always hard to "figure out the odds" of you really liking the show or not and we tend to grasp for some sort of basis for our decision to watch. It can be the franchise as a whole, hence why I will give any new Star Trek series a chance to prove itself to me. It can be one or more actors whether we appreciate them physically or in terms of their actual acting skills. It might be because of the executive producer, the director, the head writers - whatever it is, you're bound to come up with some sort of a reason.

In this modern world of DVRs and streaming media websites, we now get to rely on the impressions of TV critics and reviewers more and more and thus we double back and acquire the previously broadcast episodes when it seems more sure. That kind of behavior does nothing to support a new show until the viewers start to come on board and really commit to the program.

I have to admit though that I sort of did that when it came to this show. I wasn't immediately sure about it since I only knew one or two of the principal actors (and knowing them doesn't mean loving them). So I waited for some initial reviews and votes of support from social media contacts before I got fully on-board.

And it's definitely a good thing that I did. Better late than never, right?

[Geeky Guide] Monetization in 2011

I've decided to take a different track this year in terms of the advertising here on the Geeky Guide.

For the past few years, I've been a very passive Google AdSense publisher. It really started as an experiment in Google's ad platform and sort of my vote of support in their advertising program, which tends to ultimately support Google.

But of course a little blog like this one can generate only so much traffic in its formative years and without major traffic, AdSense doesn't pay off as quickly as I'd like to. But that's not too bad - it gave me a chance to focus on generating more quality content for you geeky readers and to better establish the identity and tone of the blog as a whole.

So now I'm trying to expand my efforts in two major areas - so yeah, this is a bit of a disclosure post apart from the "Advertising" link above. After all, I don't want to hide anything from you guys - I've been up front since the beginning and I plan on continuing to manage this site in this way.

Affiliate Marketing
The first big shift is a bigger focus on my Affiliate Marketing efforts. Affiliate programs seem more in line with what the Geeky Guide does since (1) I can continue to honestly support products that I like and (2) it's still up to the reader to buy or not. I doubt I'll pull a lot of revenue given how I don't see myself hard selling products just yet, but at least if I do my job and write passionately about the things I like, then maybe you will like it too. It could be win-win in the long run.

My current affiliate programs are through Amazon Associates and the Google Affiliate Network. I'm still trying to get approved for Think Geek's affiliate program, which I feel will be a great fit for the Geeky Guide profile, for obvious reasons. However I think I don't seem to stand a chance given I haven't heard back from them just yet.

Ad Networks
I'm still going to continue my Google AdSense efforts - they're too big to ignore at this point and I've already invested so much into the program. But at the same time I think I've found a good complimentary ad network in the form of adBrite, which focuses on selling ad space in a more traditional manner and not using a contextual system (hence not directly competing with AdSense).

I'm leveraging AdBrite's option to compete directly with other ad networks like AdSense. So if they can't offer me high enough CPM rates, it'll revert to AdSense ads instead. So it seems like a modest gamble at this point with a controllable amount of risk.

Direct Advertising
Ultimately this is all connected to my ultimate goal of directly managing my own advertising and offer ad space directly. I doubt I'll have any takers in the near future, but it's definitely a door that I want to keep open. And the opportunity to do this has become a lot more real with my recent discovery of Google Doubleclick for Publishers, which is an ad management platform. With this I can rotate affiliate offers in a single ad space or have third party ad networks compete directly with Google AdSense for space.

So once I get some direct advertising offers, then I can immediately slot in the ads using DFP and hit the ground running.

So yeah, it looks like it might be an interesting year. And I'll definitely keep you all posted in terms of my progress and what this ultimately means for the future of the Geeky Guide.

Art credit for the graphic above foes to Tobie Abad, my beloved partner. Thanks for making the graphic!

[Comics] The Dark Tower: Treachery

When does a prequel become an integral part to the original story? How can one define the criteria that make a prequel amazing or a horrendous flop? I don't have the answer for these questions on hand, but I do have some opinions.

It's like what I say about art - I may not know what's good, but I do know what I like. It's not a perfect fit of the statement when it comes to prequels, but then who's to say it can't work, yes?

I think a key to the success of this project is the fact that (1) the original author was still generally involved in the project and (2) the writers clearly demonstrated a fair amount of respect and appreciation for the source material. Now these aren't hard and fast criteria that can be set and applied to all adaptations of this nature.

But in this case, it definitely seems to be in effect.

[Movies] Easy A (2010)

Beyond romantic comedies, I guess teen comedies come in a close second in terms of movie genres that I don't typically go out of my way to watch. But when they're made fairly well, they do end up being pretty enjoyable - we can go all the way back to Clueless to prove that kind of a premise.

There's something about teen comedies that are really thinly disguised attempts to make classic stories more popular. Clueless was based on Emma. 10 Things I Hate About You was based around The Taming Of The Shrew. Sydney White was based on Snow White. And yeah, I know that last one seemed like a weird example, but then my partner introduced me to that particular one, which wasn't as bad as I had initially feared.

This movie totally came out of nowhere, at least from my perspective, and I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I guess you can never really tell what work and what doesn't - but major kudos to whoever figured out how to put this particular movie together.

[Movies] Howl (2010)

Poetry has always been one of my bigger frustrations as a writer. It's a very intense and liberating field of creative writing but I suppose I let myself get overly restricted by my own limitations of logic. My cerebral nature tends to define a lot of my writing but I can't quite seem to make that connection in my head to allow me to channel that into poetry.

I can write haikus and limericks pretty easily - the strict format of these two forms of poetry tend to help me process things better. But my love of Walt Whitman pushes me to try free verse a lot more, but the fact that I am without boundaries tends to bother me on some fundamental level. At least that's how I've analyzed my challenges with poetry for now - perhaps I'm subjecting this creative process with my left-brain thinking again in a new way, thus further limiting myself and creating my own barriers against my writing.

And thus when I get to read books about other poets or watch movies that share part of their lives tend to inspire me and frustrate me at the same time. I feel that once I figure out the best way to capture the rhythm of what I want to say, perhaps that'll help my writing along. In the meantime, let's just enjoy a really good movie.

[Movies] Sleepless In Seattle (1993)

While I'm not big on romantic comedies, my partner is. And thus every now and then he takes the time to introduce me to some of the ones he likes and this naturally leads to all those mushy feelings, cuddling on the couch and all that good stuff. But I digress.

There are those movies out there that people sort of assume that you've seen regardless of your interest. This rarely applies to science fiction movies but this does apply to a lot of romantic comedies for some reason. I suppose they're like the Archie Comics of the movie world. Everyone has read Archie at one point in their lives or another and a lot of people like them but not many people proudly proclaim that they do. It's a weird analogy, I know, but it does work in that regard. At least from a geek perspective, I suppose - I'll try to think of a better comparison in the future.

And despite my protests to the contrary, I have to admit that I do come to enjoy a lot of these kinds of movies. And this one was definitely one of the better ones.

[Documentaries] Food, Inc. (2008)

When we think of the industrial age, we tend to think first of automobile assembly lines. Then probably big machines and huge factories with towering smokestacks. Industrialization has always triggered two major thoughts in my head - one being modernizing production and the other being pollution.

But people don't immediately relate how the philosophies behind industrialization have been applied to many different industries beyond the mechanical ones. After all, it's all about establishing processes, making them scalable and increasing productive output while minimizing cost and effort in the long run. We see this in the major supermarket chains that dominate our kitchens and in call centers and other service-oriented job functions. We trap people in processes and we move on from there.

But even the most traditional of industries - farming and food production, have been severely affected by march of industrialization and modernization. And animals don't quite bend as easily as robots and machines do.

[Birthdays] Happy Birthday, Haruki Murakami!

Today's the birthday of one of my favorite authors and also one of the more celebrated ones in the contemporary writing scene.





Happy Birthday to Haruki Murakami!

For those sadly ignorant, he's the same genius behind books like Wild Sheep Chase, Dance Dance Dance and my ever favorite Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. It's hard to pinpoint precisely why I love his books so much. Maybe it's the whole magical realism to his stories. Perhaps it's his unique style in terms of use of metaphorical language. Or it could be how each story is so widely different and unique as compared to the others and yet still somehow related, as if they all live in the same magical universe.

Or maybe it's because Haruki Murakami's writings speak from the mind of a introvert like myself and that resonates for me on so many levels.

[Blogosphere] My Brain's Backyard

It's always fun to feature fellow bloggers here at the Geeky Guide - with so many good sites out there, it's a wonder we don't do this more often. If I were to craft New Year's resolutions specific for the Geeky Guide, then the top of this list would definitely be writing more about other blogs and notable websites out there.





My Brain's Backyard is a new blog created by my good friend, Mahar Mangahas. While this isn't the first time Mahar's ventured into blogging, it is his first professional blog dedicated to his in the local theater industry. Mahar directed the Asian premiere of Pasek and Paul's Edges: A Song Cycle, which was a wonderful production as I mentioned in the linked review. The site is a clean and elegant Wordpress creation that hosts his various scripts, personal thoughts and other wonderful musical theater tidbits that any fan of Broadway or the arts is sure to enjoy.

Being a friend, I was able to pester Mahar for a quick Q&A about his new blogging venture.

[Metro] FAQs About The January 21 / 24 Taxi Fare Increase (Updated)

On January 6, 2011, the LTFRB announced an increase in rates for taxis around the country. As is always the case whenever we go through one of these rate changes, Image via Wikipediathere's a bit of confusion as to how this is being implemented and the unwary commuter may fall prey to opportunistic taxi drivers off to make a quick buck.

So to help all of you geeky readers, I thought I'd put together a quick FAQ about the rate increase in terms of what you need to know. The LTFRB website in itself isn't very helpful so I've culled this list of answers together as based on LTFRB statements released to different newspapers.

When does the rate increase take effect?
January 21. Any new fare rate can only take place 15 days after it is announced to the public, which in our case was on January 6, 2011. A January 20 news report now indicates this has been moved further to Januay 24, 2011.

Which taxis are covered by the rate increase?
For now, the rate increase is applicable to taxi cabs all over the country except in Baguio City. It has been delayed there since the local taxi operators have filed a petition for a different rate increase.

How much is the rate increase?
The flag down rate will become P40 from P30. The rate for every additional 300 meters traveled beyond the first is P3.50 up from the old rate of P2.50.

What are the conditions for the rate increase?
A taxi cab can only charge for the new rates (1) starting January 21, (2) using a newly calibrated taxi meter and (3) that meter must be the type that can issue receipts. If any one of these conditions are not met, then the taxi driver will be guilty of overcharging. As of January 20, a new requirement has been introduced - an A4-sized sticker on the left windshield of the cab.

How will the LTFRB get all cabs re-calibrated in time for January 21?
This week the LTFRB announced that the implementation will be done in a staggered manner moving forward. Cabs with plates ending in 1 and 6 will be calibrated this month, 2 and 7 by February, 3 and 8 by March, 4 and 9 by April and 5 and 0 by May. After January 21, whowever already has the new calibrated meters may charge the new rate.

What is the penalty for overcharging?
A taxi cab driver charging the new rates without meeting the required conditions can be fined P3,000 per overcharging violation.

Where can I report overcharging violators?
You can reach the LTFRB at the following numbers:
Landlines: (02) 426-2515 and (02) 925-7191
Mobile: (0921) 448-7777

References:

• LTFRB Website
  
• GMANews.TV - LTFRB: Taxi drivers who hike rates before Jan 21 face sanctions
  
• Manila Bulletin: LTFRB says, it'll be staggered taxi fare hike
• ABS-CBN News: Hiked flagdown by Jan. 24 only for complying cabs
  

[Comics] Immortal Weapons

Asian mythologies will always hold a special place in my heart, and I don't say this just because I'm Asian as well. There's a certain sense of style and artistry that you tend to associate with this brand of storytelling that can't quite be matched by their Western counterparts.

Pair it with some of the Asian sensibilities in terms of art styles and that makes things even more fun. And the styles changes whether you're talking about art from Japan versus that from China. There's the visual style that we associate with Thai designs and there's the complex art of India. I'd love to try and capture the descriptions of each art style but I fear my meager words won't do them justice. So just run a Google search or something to get a better idea.

Now when these principles get applied in comics, it's a mix of the good and the bad. I've seem some great ventures that try to copy the style as best as they can but in other instances we end up with amazing pieces that capture the spirit of things amazingly well. One doesn't need to copy things exactly - one just needs to understand the aesthetic and run with that.

[Movies] Black Swan (2010)

The world of ballet and professional dancers has always been fascinating. It's one of the older arts that continues to survive today despite all the changes in our cultural landscape and it tends to draw the same kind of people for that moment of perfection. A lot of the performance arts tend to be this way and it either makes us or breaks us when placed in the situation.

I remember my sister's own ventures into the ballet world when we were much younger. It was your classic childhood image of your sister getting into ballet and you getting into karate (or in my case, karate-do to be specific). We attended her recitals and she eventually graduated into her toe shoes. We'd go to practice every weekend and I'd help her break in her new toe shoes every time she had to change. The life of a ballerina is never easy and I know I only got a very quick glimpse of the whole world beyond the curtain.

This movie tried to capture some of what the ballerinas go through with a darker twist to things. It's not even easy to try and figure out the precise genre for this movie since it's not just some dance flick or something shallow like that. And that's just part of the beauty of the whole thing.

[Technicolor Musings] Guilty Pleasures Of A Local Variety

We all have our guilty pleasures, especially among gay men. The whole homosexual attraction bit in itself always starts with at least a modest amount of guilt as we realize that we like other men and we start to identify those guys that we actually like. A lot. And that continues on into the future as we grow up.

Even as adult gay men out in the world (even those not quite out of the closet, mind you), we have our guilty pleasures for different reasons. Maybe we want to be perceived in a particular manner that we deem somehow better or more respectable. Perhaps our peers pressure us to adopt a particular mindset that doesn't look too kindly for what you happen to enjoy. Who knows really - we all have our reasons.




And as much as I'm a geek, I'm still a gay man who likes other men. And that includes local celebrities (although the photo above isn't for me, hehe) that I happen to find attractive. I don't talk about it much, but I then maybe I should - perhaps we all should. What's the harm, right? Just because we like a certain person from a physical sense doesn't change the kind of person you are as a whole. It's just a fun little side note that we can all laugh about some other time.

So here are a few of my guilty pleasures in terms of the local male celebrity scene. Please don't judge me! LOL

[Movies] Rendition (2007)

I don't often watch conventional contemporary dramas. It's not that I have anything against those sorts of movies - I'm just more naturally drawn to science fiction stuff and so when given the choice, that wins over the other.

But there are a lot of good stories to be told as set in the modern world - the ones that I tend to enjoy often have heavy political flavoring to them. Thus I end up with a lot of military stories, political dramas and those sorts of things. I have the occasional romance or maybe a period film juxtaposed against the current setting but that's about it.

I watched this movie since (1) my partner said it was pretty good and (2) it stars Jake Gyllenhaal. And do we really need a reason beyond Jake being in it? LOL

[TV] The New Doctor Who - Season 5

There's an overused saying about how the only thing constant in this world is change. This is most true for the life of the long-running Doctor Who series that uses the change in casting of the lead actor as a plot device quite effectively.

This year was another of those rare times since it marked the transition of one Doctor to another. As much as we all come to know and love the previous incarnation of the Doctor, regenerations are fated to happen and thus we get a new face. And a new Doctor also means a new companion (or several new companions). And so the show continues on.

It takes a while before an actor grows into the role of the Doctor, at least in my opinion. So when you think about it, a lot of praise has to go to the likes of Christopher Eccleston and Paul McGann, who had to learn the ropes given a much more limited time frame.

So how'd our new Doctor handle things?

[Transformers] A Second Look At Power Core Combiners

Back in August, I wrote a rant against the Power Core Transformers. I felt they were an insult to the original gestalt robots of the G1 era (and yes, this includes the Scramble City ones) with their use of "drones" that become the limbs of the larger Power Core units.

Fast forward to December and a new wave of Power Core Transformers were released. Given they were being sold at 50% off because of the holidays, I figured it might be worth a second look. After all, my rant was based around the concept of these Power Core units without actually buying any.





Then I saw two figures of particular interest - Grimstone with his Dinobots and Steamhammer with his version of the Constructicons. Given the extra Christmas money in hand, I picked them up to see what they were all about.

[Books] Prophecy (Magic: the Gathering Masquerade Cycle - Book 3)

I found it surprising that I had forgotten to post my review for this book immediately after I read it. Then again, I suppose it says something about the book and how much I enjoyed it - or didn't in this case. Poor thing.

When you declare books to be part of a single trilogy (or in this case Magic: the Gathering card expansion sets), you kind of expect the stories to be well connected. In terms of the Masquerade cycle, we have three separate stories that I suppose are happening at more or less the same time. The first book involved the crew of the Weatherlight and took place in the realm of Mercadia. The second was a story of Ertai and Crovax in Rath. And this third was a story of the Keldon invasion of Jamuraa back in Dominaria involving Barrin and Ertai.

What ties these three stories together? I have no idea. All we know is that they need to play a role in the next story arc.

[Movies] Dear John (2010)

Nicholas Sparks entered my life after my mom made me read Message In A Bottle. She wanted me to see how men could also be sensitive in a manner of speaking, something that seems to characterize a lot of the fictional men in Sparks' novels. It wasn't that bad an experience although I did find myself involuntarily rolling my eyes a lot.

I've never been a big fan of his books since then and the same applies to movies based on his works. This is not a general statement against all romance movies in general. This is more of a statement against the kind of unrealistic view of men that Sparks tends to popularize with his books, thus setting up a lot of young women for disappointment when they meet actual men. I'm sure there are some sensitive guys out there for sure, although a large number of them will be of the homosexual persuasion.

This movie did have some minor things going for it. One is the fact that Channing Tatum is pretty hot (my partner especially thinks so). Two is that Amanda Seyfried in it, and she was a lot of fun in Mamma Mia! and Mean Girls. Beyond that though, it's hard to say.

[Movies] I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)

In recent years, it seems like the whole LGBT-centric movie genre is getting more and more attention, which is always a good thing. Instead of just depending on small-time actors supporting these movies, more and more you get random movies with bigger names actors playing the roles of LGBT characters. And regardless of the quality of their performances or the overall writing of the movie, this still has to be a good thing.

Of course I can't always agree with some of the casting choices, but we all have moments like that. We can't blame actors for wanting to get into gay movies only to expand their horizons or increase their chances of getting some kind of an award for their risky performances. We have to respect those decisions, but it doesn't mean we have to like the movies that they ended up creating.

I think what's important here is that we make sure we maintain and discerning and critical eye and when we watch any movies regardless of theme or genre. Sometimes we become too forgiving or sometimes we set very low expectations. Case in point, just because it's a gay movie doesn't mean gay men around the world should love it. I mean come on, I actually suffered through Sunkissed and I've sworn never to watch it ever, ever again.