[Movies] The Secret Life of Pets (2016) Review

There are those movies whose trailers feel like they're tailor-made to appeal to a wider audience but also feel "too good" such that you can't help but suspect that the trailer features all the best bits of the movie. This feels especially true when it comes to animated features that primarily target kids but feel obligated to throw in as much fun stuff for adults that it can when it comes to the promotional materials for the movie.

The Secret Life of Pets really feels like one of those movies. It doesn't necessarily mean that it's a bad movie right off the bat, but it isn't quite as amazing as you'd like for it to be. The stuff that made the trailer so funny didn't necessarily define the greater narrative of the movie.

The actual story felt very different from the scenario of the trailer as this was less about what pets do at home while their owners are off at work but instead a whole separate adventure that just happens to take place while the pet owners are away. It sounds very similar but seriously, it's a different story.

[Books] Peggy and Me Audible Review

After the delight of Is It Just Me, I was surprised  to see that the ever-lovable Miranda Hart had written another book, but the subject matter felt a little unusual. She had mentioned her dog Peggy towards the end of that book and I appreciate a good dog story as much as anyone else. But for her to come release a second book quite focused  on her canine companion did surprise me a bit.

Peggy & Me is very much that from start to finish - a book about her life  pre-Peggy, with Peggy and potentially post-Peggy when that day might eventually come around. There is nothing overly technical about this book nor is this a sort of how-to guide about having a dog. This is still more biographical in tone and is more a book about her life as a pet owner.

And I found myself relating a lot to your her journey and her feelings for her dog an that make the book all the more enjoyable.

[TV] Robert Irwin on the Tonight Show

Steve Irwin, better known as The Crocodile Hunter, was a rather passionate animal expert who died tragically during a shoot back in 2006. At times he seemed a little too crazy to be real, but he was totally the real thing. His genuine passion for wildlife and his willingness to literally go to the ends of the earth to learn more about them and share that information with people around the world.

So I was a little surprised to see his son Robert Irwin pop up on TV recently, but in a very good way. I had no doubt that the Irwin family would carry on their father's legacy and so i was really nice to see precisely that happening on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

Enjoy.


Robert Irwin and Jimmy Cuddle a Sloth

[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.

[Personal] Max (1998-2010)

Max with Elliot (2006)

I just found out from my sister that one of our family dogs, Max, died this morning. Ultimately the cause of death was an infection coupled with the fact that he was a fairly old dog. Still, it hurts of course since he was a dearly loved dog and a pretty awesome golden retriever.

Normally I post computer or web-related stuff on Wednesdays, but then I heard about this and really couldn't write about anything else. So although you never got to play with this bundle of furry energy yourself (and that was certainly an experience), I hope you take some time to wish him well on his way to the doggie afterlife.

After all, even geeks have pets and we love them with the same ferocity that we love our fandoms.

Bye Max. We'll miss you.

[Movies] Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010)

As much as there are many comic book storylines that I love enough to want to see as movie or animated feature, I also acknowledge that translations across the media formats don't always go well. I'm not trying to sound all Alan Moore here, mind you, but he does have a point despite all the eccentricity. Comic books are a special medium in themselves and it's not always automatic that what works on paper will work on the silver (or small) screen.

Then of course you have the meddling of Hollywood to contend with given they always try to "improve" upon the original story in order to give it a wider appeal or to ensure it's success, as measured in dollars spent on the feature and not so much based on the fan reactions. This has resulted in both good and bad movies, animated TV shows and live action specials. Okay, so maybe more bad ones than good ones, but we comic book geeks still give them a shot and try to watch them.

As much as I like the comic book that this movie was partly based on, the end result wasn't quite something I'd go out of my way to see again.

[Star Wars] Singing Cockatiels

The internet is always filled with strange, unusual yet interesting things for us to read, play around with or simply watch / listen to. It gets even worse when you involve geeky fan groups who will provide specialized content related to their particular fandoms.

So no, I have no real explanation or excuse for why these birds are doing this or what relevance this may have. For the record though, this is actually The Imperial March from the Star Wars series and not necessarily the "theme" for The Empire Strikes Back.

Crap, my geek is showing again, isn't it? =P


Star Wars: Cockatiels sing "Empire Strikes Back" theme

[Viral Video Chart] Cats on a Treadmill

Pretty much anything can become a wildly successful viral video. It could be about video gaming culture. It could be a political ad. It could be a random event.

Or it could be two cats running a treadmill.


#5 - Treadmill Kittens

[Pets] An Engineer's Guide to Cats

We're used to seeing the "plain English" tutorial videos around the web and they've been very helpful in explain various concepts like what RSS is or how wikis work, to name a few. In a similar vein, here's an "engineer's guide" to something not at all scientific but more of something that the general public might enjoy - cats.

Oh yes, this is just too geeky for me to even contemplate not posting.


#17 - An Engineer's Guide to Cats

[Viral Video Chart] March 16 - 22, 2008

This week has been a bit odd in terms of viral video. Of course we never run out of our fair share of politically-inclined videos, but there are more interesting ones that may not seem interesting based on their titles until you actually click on them.

Here are a few that caught my eye that tend to involve, well, "animals" in one form or another.


#2 - Boston Dynamics Big Dog (new video March 2008)


#3 - Test Your Awareness: Do The Test


#5 - Jerry needs no help playing with his ball.

[Digg] Monkeys Kill Deputy Mayor

Photo from dæxus' photostream.

I've never really liked monkeys. While I know they're theoretically our closes relatives from an evolutionary perspective, but the sight of them just unnerves me. I guess it's because of how close they are to seeming human given their ability to stand upright and their significant intelligence as compared to the rest of the animal kingdom.

So when this story from Delhi hit Digg, it really made me pause. I quote the header thus:

The deputy mayor of the Indian capital Delhi has died a day after being attacked by a horde of wild monkeys.

What a way to go. And I thought the Temple of Rats was disturbing. What complicates matters even further is that their religious beliefs prevent them from taking stronger action against the animals since they potentially represent relatives and ancestors in terms of the reincarnation principles of Hindu.

In the meantime, remember not to feed the monkeys.