Wanted

It's been a while since I saw a good action movie. I mean, most action movies released recently have some ordinary stories. But this one is refreshing.

Wanted involves a group of assassins whose mission is to kill other "bad" guys. Every main character here is an assassin. And don't worry about the character development, 'cos you'll get to know what you need to know about them at one point in the movie. Watching a loser guy turned into a one-man wrecking crew is just pure awesome.

The action's too good too. Every action scene really got me amazed. The choreography is great, and the execution is superb. Combine it with slow-motion effects and you get totally kick-ass gun fights. Speaking of guns, it's got some weird but cool guns. And also some wicked bullets that can kill 8 people in a single shot.

Overall, you have to watch this. It really is a refreshing but great action movie, with some comedic attempts at the right times.

Rating: 9.6 out of 10

Superman/Batman by Jim Lee Mini-Statues

I'm currently addicted to collecting statues, so I'm close to getting broke. Just to clear it up, statues are not toys. They are hand-painted and hand-sculpted porcelain figures that are for collecting and displaying. What? Porcelain? Yes, so they are fragile, just like the life-size statues you see outside in parks etc. Most statue designs are superheroes and cost more than ordinary figures. By figures I mean anime figures.

If you remember, I bought the Superman Jim Lee mini-statue on Toycon 2008. And finally I got to buy the Jim Lee Batman mini-statue. These mini-statues stand about 6 and a half inches tall.

And here's the Superman mini-statue if you forgot what it looks like.

And here they are side-by-side.

Just so you know I have a good view of city buildings from my house. However, I don't have a good platform to put the statues in the foreground. And I certainly won't risk placing them near the edge of our balcony. So that will do. :D

Man, I'm gonna be broke.

Seeing Patterns

I was recently looking into release dates of movies and games, when I noticed there was a pattern. Well it's not really that deep but still it's a nice observation from me. I know anyone could have seen this too.

Anyway, I noticed that most of the blockbuster movies released in 2007 were the third installment of that movie franchise, or just contain the number "3". These movies are Spider-Man 3, Pirates of the Carribbean: At World's End, Shrek the Third, 300 and The Number 23. I think there's still some that I missed. But those will do.

So moving on to the year 2008, it's the year for games as the pattern theme for this year is video games. I guess this is the year where the video game heavy hitters release their big guns. Games like Devil May Cry 4, Grand Theft Auto 4, and Metal Gear Solid 4 are now earning millions of dollars.

I don't have MGS4 though. But I am going to get it. I have to, I need to. :P

Basically that's it. Apparently this is a result of my laziness and boredom from doing my homeworks.

Kung Fu Panda

This is a very refreshing CG movie from Dreamworks. It has different theme (Kung Fu) which separates it apart from other Dreamworks movie. Of course the comedy is still there. Jack Black, duh.

The plot is, Po, the panda, dreams of becoming a Kung Fu master. However, he's stuck with his father making noodles. Then he accidentally stumbles upon the academy of the greatest Kung Fu artists, the ones you see on the trailer. They are Tigress (whom I thought was a guy), Mantis, Monkey, Viper, and Crane. Then the story goes on from there.

I gotta tell you, Jack Black is really a funny guy. Combined with the look of a cute panda, Po is one cool character. Who would ever thought of a panda doing Kung Fu (don't say Tekken) ? Besides, no other movie I know has a panda kicking butt and being funny at the same time. Moreover, the action is good. The added Matrix-style scenes (the fast-slow transitions) just makes the action even better.

There is little character development for the five greatest warriors whatever you call them, except for Tigress. The others ones looked like extras.

Just like any other kiddie CGI movie, it has a moral lesson to be learned in the end. Overall, it's a refreshing kickass CGI movie.

Rating: 8.4 out of 10

Grand Theft Auto IV

Last Saturday, I finally got a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV. I didn't plan on buying it but since I saw it on Data Blitz just lying around I decided to buy it right then and there. Good thing I was carrying some extra stash in my pocket.

You play as Niko Bellic, an Italian dude formerly in the army who came to Liberty City to live the American Dream. But this is GTA, dreams don't come true. Well some, after you've killed all your bosses and take over their businesses.

I wonder when will Rockstar make an Asian main character. More often than not, the protagonists were from Europe. I wanna hear a Chinese dude code switching and cursing in Chinese. Niko Bellic is already doing that in Italian in this game (Wow I can learn a new language). And of course, I want the Chinese accent for the character.

It's so real that it's like a life simulator. You can do everything here just like in real life. From going to strip clubs to surfing real websites (yep it has the internets!), you can almost live in here, but you can't of course. Also, Niko now has a cellphone. You can now call other characters in the game, or emergency numbers (like 911). It also has text messaging. So far I haven't killed any hookers for their money, because I can't find one. Where are they? O_O

Anyway, I've gotta say this is the best PS3 game I've played so far. Good graphics, fast loading times considering it's a huge city with splendid 3D graphics rendering, this is the power of the PlayStation 3.

Stay away, kids. :D