Category: My Opinion

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Foreign Horror Movie Reviews

[●REC]² The Spanish Horror Continues, Not As Shocking As The First One

One of the many good reasons to keep a diary is that you can relive a fragment of your past emotion on any given day.  Like today.  Reading what I wrote after watching [●REC] gives me chill.  I did not remember that the first episode was that scary.  Comparatively speaking, the sequel is less scary, the camera still shakes but not that much, and for sure, my face did not turn pale and my hands did not turn cold after watching [●REC]², alone.

When I watched [●REC] one and a half years ago, I have just started learning Spanish.  Just completed the first 10 lessons as my online diary says (another good reason to keep a diary – for future reference).  Back then, I could only recognize a very few basic Spanish words spoken on screen.  Now that I am three months short of reaching a two years of Spanish learning journey, I could recognize a few more words when watching [●REC]².  The feeling is exhilarating as I have a low expectation on what I can gain from this linguistic journey.  Language, is not my strength.  A few more words and phrases I can make out?  I am happy.  Happy to see progress.

Perhaps this time I am smarter.  I chosen a seat not too close to the screen.  The camera still shakes, but it was not as bad.  Perhaps the camera did not shake as bad to start with.  This sequel starts from where the previous episode has left off.  Instead of a team of firemen and a TV presenter, we have the SWAT team and a health officer entering the same building to investigate the situation.  First episode is rich in suspense while in this episode, more focus is on the story development.  After all, the audience more or less knows what is going to happen, when and where the abomination is going to jump at the team.

While I would not necessarily classified this as a true horror – no one jumped or screamed inside the theater, fans of [●REC] should not give this a miss.  The way the story is told is different.  Timeline is shifted back and fro and the focus of the group gets alternated as well.  More than one camera is used to tell the story.  And there are some nice twists to the overarching story too.

For sure, there will be a third episode.  And I am waiting with anticipation.

Categories
Book Reviews Fiction

Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami – That Sense of Loneliness, That Unattainable Love

I have come to the realisation that perhaps there is no such thing as which is my favorite Haruki Murakami novel (my 6th so far).  Even though my familiarity to his style has led me to half-expecting what “Sputnik Sweetheart” would become, there is still this element of freshness that kept me from putting the book down.  And I finished reading it in one day, wanting more.  The opening paragraph would be the best way to introduce the story.

In the spring of her twenty-second year, Sumire fell in love for the first time in her life.  An intense love, a veritable tornado sweeping across the plains – flattening everything in its path, tossing things up in the air, ripping them to shreds, crushing them to bits … In short, a love of truly monumental proportions.  The person she fell in love with happened to be 17 years older than Sumire.  And was married.  And, I should add, was a woman.  This is where it all began, and where it all ended.  Almost.

The theme of “Sputnik Sweetheart”, from what I observe, is loneliness, riding onto the framework of unattainable love.  That strong sense of loneliness!  The narrator – a man – falls in love with a lesbian who falls in love with a married woman.  True to Murakami’s style, this book is full of metaphors (“did you see anyone shot by a gun without bleeding?“), dualism that leads to surrealism, and characters that come alive in their very own unique style.

What stands out in “Sputnik Sweetheart” is the way the story is narrated and told.  Timeline is shifted to and fro to suit the narration.  Focus is shifted from one character to another and back to the narrator without the readers noticing the change, encouraging us to want to learn more about the characters’ way of thinking and their way of life.  And then, something strange happens to these characters.  The author spends the second part of the book pasting bits and pieces of information together – some from interview, some from his observation, and some from the journals left behind.  Distinguishing what is real from what is not is often not easy, as it is with all of Marakami’s works.  Even as I devoured the very last paragraph of the book, these thoughts lingered: Could this be real?  What happened next?  And in my dreamy state, inside an English cottage at Fraser’s Hill, the follow paragraph from the book has made the most impact to me.

Lying there, I close my eyes for a while, then open them.  I silently breathe in, then out.  A thought begins to form in my mind, but in the end I think of nothing.  Not that there was much difference between the two, thinking and not thinking.  I find I can no longer distinguish between one thing and another, between things that existed and things that did not.  I look out of the window.  Until the sky turns white, clouds float by, birds chirp, and a new day lumbers up, gathering together the sleepy minds of the people who inhabit this planet.

The rate this is going, Haruki Murakami could well be one of my most read author, after Milan Kundera and Italo Calvino.

Categories
Book Reviews Non-Fiction

Numbers Rule Your World By Kaiser Fung – With Depth, And Figures To Support

It is hard not to make the comparison between “Numbers Rule Your World” and “Freakonomics”.  Even the book has made a reference once.  Ten real life case studies are used, paired up in five chapters, to illustrate how different aspects of statistics affect our lives.  Blogger statistician Kaiser Fung has made the topic surprisingly accessible, narrated in an engaging manner.  Each chapter, the author picks two contrasting statistically related topics, juxtaposes them by taking turn to have the story told, and arrives at a conclusion.  The narration is honest, impartially inquired from different angles.  One of the author’s objectives – besides convincing us that like it or not, numbers play a major role in our world today – I believe, is to expand our mind and horizon when interpreting certain situations as numbers are presented.  And to appreciate what goes on behind the scene in your everyday life.

To impart the various aspects of statistical thinking upon his readers, the author uses the case studies of highway engineers versus Disney ‘Imagineers’, epidemiologists versus credit modelers, insurers versus test developer (education), anti-doping agencies (sport) versus polygraph (lie detector), and the chances of jet crashes versus jackpots.  Each case study – unlike Freakonomics – is backed up sufficiently by figures and facts.  At times, I have to slow down my reading and think through the numbers, which I do greatly appreciate.

In practical term, how would reading “Numbers Rule Your World” help your work and life?  For one, when you take in the news around you, you may wish to see things in a different perspective.  Should you take in the reported figures on the papers as they are?  Why are things or processes made that way?  Some see an imminent risk, others do not.  Should you follow the crowd?  At the end of the book, the author has made a bold statement that if you know how to use numbers in making everyday decisions, you rule the world.  While I am unsure if most of us has the ability and even access to a reliable data-set in using numbers in making decisions, this book does change the way how I see this world operates when it comes down to numbers.

External Links: Purchase This Book from Amazon.com, the Author Kaiser Fung’s Website.

Categories
Animation Movie Reviews

How To Train Your Dragon (3D) – So Darn Cute!

And so my obsession with the dragons continues.

Knowing that we are having a road trip heading north the next day and when we are back, we will probably pick that Titan show to watch, we have got to catch this animation ths week.  So we did.  Again, in 3D.  Seems like a trend these days.  Honestly speaking, I have no clue which version is better: 3D or non-3D.  But I enjoy “How To Train Your Dragon” in 3D a lot.  Perhaps because it is a full animation, unlike Avatar and Alice In Wonderland.  Very likely I would invest the Blu-Ray format of this movie for the keeping.

Just about 100 minutes, “Dragon” grips me from the beginning till the end.  Gosh, I want more!  Cynthia and I are both big fans of “Lilo & Stitch”.  That dragon in the poster reminds us of Stitch.  Little did we know that Dreamwork has hired the directors of “Lilo & Stitch” for this children book adaption.  No wonder, eh?

I once met someone in the military service who likes to derive “morale of the story” for all the well-known animations.  I wonder what he would say about “Dragon”.  If I may, I would say that endless violence can be evaded by seeing the same you in another person’s eyes.  And together, we may eliminate the root of violence that is not us or them but something else.  Something we have not thought of.

Categories
For the Geeks Game Reviews

Dragon Age: Origin – What A Journey!

90 hours, I have poured into this game.  This has to go into my personal record of one of the longest enduring gaming journey in the category of anything-but-world-of-warcraft.  I seldom complete games these days.  50 odd hours into Mass Effect 2, I thought I was obsessive.  90 hours into Dragon Age: Origin, I reckon I could have read Iliad or Odyssey perhaps once.

You know how I am like when I get excited about something.  Of many whom I have talked to – strangers and friends alike – some are into role-playing games (better still, Baldur’s Gate), just like Dragon Age: Origin, waiting for that one final push to jump down the cliff.  Yes buddy, think no more.  I’ve jumped.  Now it’s your turn.  Some have no clue what this game is about.  Like my mother.  One evening she tapped onto my shoulder and asked, “Is this a game?  It looks like a movie.”  I took off my headset and replied, “Yes mom.  Computer gaming has certainly progressed since the day you and dad got me that Apple machine when I was a teen.”  Some come from the world of Mass Effect and ponder if they would too love this franchise.  And some have completed the game, like I do, and are eying on the expansion Dragon Age: Awakening, like I do.

In Short …

… Dragon Age: Origin sets in the fantasy backdrop of human and elves, dwarves and golems, dragons and dark magic.  The beauty of gaming versus reading or watching a fantasy story is that you get to shape the story the way you want it to be, within the framework provided.  You decide the beginning: a noble or a commoner.  You decide the role you want to play: front-liner or supporter.  You decide how the world should be explored, how to influence the people around you.  There are sub-plots that keep on distracting you, that you may choose to ignore.  And finally, a multitude of endings that you have to decide based on the little things you have done along your journey.  Some gamers may prefer a clinical approach in researching online prior to what is to come in order to shape an outcome that they want.  As for me, I prefer to shape my story according to my own decisions, even if there are sacrifices to be made along the way.  Bearing and living with the consequences is part of the game.

Game Play

Coming from the action role-playing game background (like Mass Effect franchise), I was apprehensive if I would find the frequent game pausing to issue commands to four party members a turn off.  Neverwinter Night turned me off.  Curiously, this game does not.  Though, when I showed it to Cynthia, she went “eeeewwww” because she swears by the real time game play of World of Warcraft.  I guess the reason is that not every encounter requires us to pause and strategize.  And if we do pause, it has to be something extraordinary that can turn the game to our advantage.

Another thing that took me a short while to get used to is that the conversation options chosen by the main character (a.k.a. you) are not read-out-loud.  Like Mass Effect.  Some say Mass Effect is an exception.  I could also loop in The Witcher (by the way, the sequel is in the making) to argue my case.  In any case, the conversation in Dragon Age: Origin has much depth and in a way, I am glad to click my options through.

The Things I Love Most

Character development is one.  It is memorable and you get to hate and love certain characters, love and even more in love with others.  Both the indoor and outdoor scenes are beautiful to look at.  The control is smooth (not sure how the console players can live with only two sticks and that many buttons on the controller though) mapped nicely to recent popular games of similar genre.  The learning curve is steep but one can persevere by trying out different strategies.  The game mechanic appears simple with three distinct classes – warrior, rogue, and mage.  But with different deployment of skill set and specialization, a rogue can play like a hunter and a mage can play like a priest or a warlock.  Lots of reading within the game of course, in the form of codex.

What’s Next?

From my research, Dragon Age: Awakening is the largest DLC (downloadable content) to date.  Despite the price tag that is comparable to the original game, it will likely to take nowhere near to 90 hours to complete.  Much faster.  But if you are already a fan, shouldn’t you dive into Awakening right now?  It turns out that for the PC gamers, you may be better off to wait for a bit due to reported game crashes caused by the latest patch 1.03 that you must apply in order to play the expansion.  Some gamers suffer more than their fellow PC gamers.  And for the console gamers, there are still in-game issues that may worth the wait to see if the developer BioWare is going to do something about them.  When in doubt, check the BioWare forums.

Personally, I wish the experience was as epic as the one with Mass Effect 2.  Unfortunately the experience was somewhat ruined due to the bad patch I have applied towards the end of the journey (if you are still playing the original game and if you could, stop at patch 1.02a).  Game modding is a powerful tool, given to the community.  But to rely on the community to fix some of the game issues using mods is just too strange for me to accept.

So what’s next?  When all fails – and if BioWare doesn’t get the game fixed – we can always look forward to Diablo 3, can’t we?

Categories
Action & Thriller

Green Zone – Far Fetched Or Being Honest?

It is Matt Damon, again in uniform, not as a super soldier but as a Chief Warrant Officer looking for Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq.  If the Americans and their allies could not find WMD after the Iraq War, could Matt Damon do the impossible?  No!  That is the bit on being honest.

When the Iraq War started, I suppose there were two groups of people.  One who supported the war and another one did not.  In fact, make it three: those who disliked the notion of war but eager to see a swift closure to the situation.  Imagine a war spinning out of control that may have a widespread implication – socially and economically in a global scale.  The question remains: If the reason of going into war was to dismantle WMD in Iraq and if none can be found after the invasion, what have the Americans and their allies achieved?  How would those who supported the war feel?  Perhaps that is why “Green Zone” is seen as anti-American or anti-war by some, an honest production by others.

Personally, my deeper query is as such: Did America go to war because of bad intelligence that WMD may exist or they went to war knowing that WMD does not exist?  “Green Zone” has made some strong claims.  And I am not certain to what extend does being faithful to historical facts lie.

Nor would I know if a Chief Warrant Officer on the ground be given such a great autonomy to pursue his personal objectives without having to notify the command center and his superior, able to reassign his people out of his team on the fly, able to initiate a personal transfer of unit also on the fly, and to embark on a solo life-threatening mission with zero intelligence and little military backup.  I am not even talking about how a local Iraqi can walk in and out of a military prison by simply following an American in uniform.

But if one can overlook these incredible scripts and claims, the filming of “Green Zone” looks authentic.  The Iraqi backdrop and the intense battle scenes, the partnership of Matt Damon and the director Paul Greengrass (Bourne series) – I would say “Green Zone” is an entertaining film.  That is if you do not think about the scripts too much.

Categories
Drama Movie Reviews

Up In The Air – What’s The Point?

Being someone who had spent quite a good number of years traveling overseas for work, I can relate to the feeling of frequently going through the airport security, the ‘good’ life of living on travel expenses clocking in mileages and points, living on a suitcase for most part of the year, not having a home called home, the at times loneliness, and etc.  I too have a similar observation using suitcase as a metaphor, similar to George Clooney’s main character’s thought on a backpack.  Except, mine is realer than his.  Back then, my belongings at ‘home’ were constantly on a move, from one friend’s storeroom to another.  It was a hassle, painfully tedious to relocate my belongings.  At some point, I had to hire a mid size lorry to move my stuffs.  At that time, I had this concept of how good it would be to have only one suitcase to house all that I need.  In a way, I did.  Inside my suitcase, there was a pair of mini-speakers, my CD player, and a few of my favorite CDs (now I would just need a phone that comes with thousands of tracks!), a few good books to read again and again (“If On a Winter’s Night a Traveler” and “Romeo and Juliet” anyone?), my swimming gears, basic clothing and necessities, a camera, a diary, and that was all I need.

I often think that it is hard to make a film out of corporate life.  Because it is not as entertaining compares to the career of a cop or a doctor or a lawyer.  In that sense, I think “Up In the Air” has done a pretty good job on portraying a glimpse of what corporate life is like (“I type with a purpose” is perhaps one of the best lines).  The few frames of image on the process flowchart was enough to give some of us a really good laugh.  Some of the technicalities of downsizing companies, in my opinion, add more depth to the drama.  I wish there are more gems like these moments.  But like I said, corporate life is really not that entertaining to watch.  Neither is loneliness.

Running in parallel of the main storyline is the story of romance and family.  The film could have been more intense in terms of the exploration of how living alone affects family and love life.  Then again, “Up In The Air” is light enough to entertain, yet giving some pointers for self-reflection.  I enjoy watching the acting of the three main characters.  And George Clooney?  Well, I have always been a fan.

To borrow a line from the movie to close this entry: What’s the point?  Looking back, what’s the point with the frequent traveling, living up in the air?

Categories
Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

Alice In Wonderland

3D or not 3D?  I say 3D, and go for the experience.  Pleasantly surprised I was, the overall 3D effect seems to have better clarity than Avatar.  I wonder why.

It must have been a long time since I last read the book “Alice In Wonderland”.  All I remember were the rabbit hole, the potions, the card soldiers, and the little girl called Alice.  I wonder what makes this story lasts through the century.  There have been films made in the name of Alice, believe it or not, since a century ago.

Pleasantly surprised I was, with the film’s adaptation as the story is more like an extension to the original series.  Tim Burton’s Alice is now a teenager revisiting the “Underland”.  While the storyline can be predictably simplistic, the graphical effect is very pretty to look at, magical in some scenes.  Figures are artistically distorted – be it as the overall size, or the enlarged head or eyes.  The line of realism and illusion has blurred so much these days on the big screen.  How technology has progressed.

Cynthia seems to love the film.  My mother too, even though there is no subtitle for her.  I am thrilled by the 3D experience, more than anything else.

Now, why is a raven like a writing desk?  It is a riddle in the original story.  And I still don’t quite get it in this movie.  Looks like I have to watch it again!

Categories
For the Geeks Game Reviews

Of The Three Add-Ons Of Dragon Age: Origins

While I am still far from completing the game Dragon Age: Origins (20% progress on 35 played hours), last evening, I have completed the three add-ons of this epic dark fantasy – a spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate.  If you are interested to find out if any of these add-ons worth your money, when the ideal time to begin these quests is and in which order, you have come to the right place.

Depending on the edition of your copy, the game may come with one or even all of these premium contents.  For me, one is free and I have to purchase the other two.  At present, I do not know if there are means to reinstall these paid contents in the future (like Mass Effect 2).  I surely hope so.  Some gamers comment that the add-ons are too short taking only a couple of hours to complete.  Considering how lengthy the original game is and how much these add-ons cost, I can understand the general sentiment.  However, since the price of each add-on is similar to a movie ticket or two, I have no qualm.

“The Stone Prisoner” (USD 15), that comes with the newer game edition, should be the first one to tackle as soon as you are comfortable with some basic combat techniques and crowd control mechanism.  You should complete this add-on at the early stage of the game so as to gain access to a new companion.  Shale is a golem and he (or it?) hits hard, works well as a tank too.  “The Stone Prisoner” probably ranks high on puzzle solving but not too much on story and combat.  The area is rather small and it does not take long to finish.  The most tangible reward from this add-on?  Shale of course.  His dialogs can be hilarious at times too.

“Warden’s Keep” (USD 7) is perhaps the best Dragon Age add-on I have seen.  It is rich in story and combat.  And you get to unlock a new class specialization as well as abilities.  On top of that, you have access to a party stash if you wish to extend your inventory space.  That stash is the only place in the game – officially of course – you can stash your items (for a free stash made by one BioWare developer, click here for my forum post).  Some complain that you have to travel to the castle to interact with your stash.  But it is merely a click on the world map and so far, I have not been held back from any random encounter while travelling to the castle.  The stash is right outside the castle some more.  What’s there to complain really?  As in when it is a good time to visit the castle, I would suggest visiting it when your warrior (or if you are not, one of your companions) has a buffed strength of 30.  You will then be able to use the set item (massive gear).  One word of advice: pay attention to all the details, including the Codex.  If not, you may miss some great loot!

I have a mixed feeling towards “Return to Ostagar” (USD 5).  The area is large, as it is a revisit to the original starting area that is locked after you have completed the prelude.  The combat is not particularly hard (maybe by then I have one of the best tanking gears in Dragon Age?).  Not too much on the story or puzzle solving.  The cut scenes are not as fascinating as “Warden’s Keep”.  But, you get to recover the King’s armours and weapons and more, recruit the dog if you have missed that out during the prelude, and perhaps seek some closure of where the prelude has ended.  You will need a buffed strength of 36 in order to wear the King’s set (another massive gear).  And if I have that buffed strength, wouldn’t I wish to equip the Juggernaut set (require 38 strength to equip) found in the Brecilian Forest instead?  Personally, I wish there is a set item for the rogue or mage class instead, from any of these add-ons.

Looking back, because I have started to collect the Juggernaut set as early as when my warrior reached level 9, the armour reward of the add-ons does not seem to be that attractive.  If I am going to reroll another character, I would dive into these add-ons as soon as I can.

Categories
Drama Movie Reviews

Bright Star – For The Love Of Poems …

If you love art-house type of movies, especially on the topic of poetry, you may find the highly acclaimed “Bright Star” a movie worth checking out.  A story based on the life of the poet John Keats and his romantic relationship with Fanny Brawne, set in the year 1818.  The drama can be intense, and the words from Keats’s poems and letters are interjected naturally into the some parts of the scripts.  It may take some time to understand how the roles relate to one another (you know how it is like to start reading a novel only found yourself hopelessly lost on the first chapter?), but patience pays off for this 2 hours long movie.  It shows that the historical background is well researched.  And the scripts are intelligently written with subtle cues that may please those who pay attention to the words.  I have to admit that it is hard to digest, or even to appreciate the words of the poems at first listen.  Those who come from English Literature background may be in a better position than me.  Occasionally, I read Shakespeare’s works.  But still, poems require time to appreciate.  Certainly not in a duration of merely 2 hours.

And because “Bright Star” is based on a true story, there is always one camp of audience who wishes the story to be resolved a different way and another camp who critics on the accuracy of the research effort.  Also, the pace of “Bright Star” can be slow and the overall mood can be depressing, at times painful even to watch.  To that extend, it may not be a film for everybody.  As for me, after watching “Bright Star”, I did some research on the life and work of John Keats.  His poems seem beautiful.  You too should check them out.

Below is “Bright Star”, the poem, as found in Wikipedia.

Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art —
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like Nature’s patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth’s human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors —
No — yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,
Pillow’d upon my fair love’s ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever — or else swoon to death.