Oscar nominees for Best Picture reviewed (except Milk)

The Oscar nominees for Best Picture are: Frost/Nixon, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire, Milk and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and I am ready to review most of them as I have yet to see Milk anywhere.

I've already reviewed the Benjamin, so I'll provide a link instead. (Curious Case review)

Frost/Nixon

Starring: Michael Sheen, Frank Langella

Directed by Ron Howard

Universal Pictures

Richard Nixon is the only president in the United States to ever resign from office, and despite the resignation he still didn't confess about Watergate. A year after the resignation, David Frost- a successful talk show host in Australia and London- decides to try to take America by storm by interviewing the man. People say that Frost isn't the right man for the job, and the production is already financed by debt, so everyone is already fretting for its success. Still, a war ensues...

First and foremost, the most noteworthy thing is most likely the cast. Of course. The cast gives extremely strong performances, and if Frank doesn't get an Oscar, I'll throw a rampage. Seriously, the performances are worth the ticket alone. The two make the movie very gripping, intense and sweaty, despite the fact that one would already know the outcome.

Like many others, I will certainly compare this to a boxing match- only with words, brains and charisma- the two have their respective 'coaches', there is a big audience watching in suspense, and everyone is waiting if the challenger can beat the veteran. It's that intense.

There are some parts one may find boring (although it may become impossible since the meaty stuff are constantly shown in alternation with some documentary-esque segments), and the contents aren't always understandable since it is after all American history, but this history lesson is very much welcome for anyone who wants to find out the happenings beyond Nixon's resignation and Watergate.

If anything, all this success should not only be credited to the actors involved, but also to the well-written script. If you want to see a monumental argument, this is one for the ages.

Rating: 9.3/10

The Reader

It's a Holocaust story that's not that amazing.

*WARNING: SPOILERS*

You can say that it's simply mediocre at best, but the thing is, Kate Winslet also manages to elevate the movie a slight bit- which is perhaps the factor that influenced Oscar voters to nominate this. I mean, Ralph is also a great actor, and the two of them don't really deserve this movie. I think that this movie needs to simply be forgotten, and yet because of Winslet, it just barely passes the mark.

Anyway, it's about a German teen named Michael who gets sick. Kate Winslet's character Hanna takes the stranger in. Suddenly, in a very random fashion, they engage in sexual activities! WHY? Well, I don't know, but Hanna becomes sex guru to Michael and they meet everyday. Suddenly, Hanna factors in a book reading session... JUST BEFORE they engage in their daily activity, thus the title.

Unfortunately, this part of Michael's life is too mundane and takes too long to progress. The

meaty part is that trial that occurs as this is where Winslet radiates. I mean, yes she already saves the production from going down under in the first part, but this part is where she really gets to let everything out. What is she doing? She's defending her dignity as she is ashamed to admit her illiteracy and because of this, she gets convicted for something she didn't even do, well, technically. That's because she was part of the troops of Hitler and she with a several few more women soldiers were accused of letting Jews die, but she wasn't the one who decided upon that.

Yes, her illiteracy could've changed everything.

Expectedly so, Michael gets to know about this fact, but he decides not to turn the case around just so she can have her self-esteem... for herself.

Another really unnecessarily long sequence follows, revealing Michael- now very old- recording tapes of books and sending them to Hanna. Hanna learns to read during her sentence, and they meet.

The ending? Oh God, it somehow makes the whole movie extremely pointless. I don't know why, but I get the feeling that it does that. I mean, she has more reason to be prouder of herself by that time, and she could restore her life, at least for just a bit. Hmm, at least the ending was shocking!

*SPOILERS OVER*

It feels overly long thus making it boring, and boy does it need a better story. Not really amazing, at first captivating, and it tries to emit this facade of being a very deep story. Unfortunately, it emits more snores than captivation. Yup, I don't see the point of this being nominated at all aside from Kate Winslet.

Rating: 4.5/10

Slumdog Millionaire

Probably my favorite of the lot, Slumdog Millionaire is that kind of movie that comes once in a blue moon. It's unique in its execution, its hybrid of film genres works, the aural and visual elements jive together extremely well like a newlywed couple, and the performances are just top-notch.

While I predict that the girl who plays Latika won't win the top plum, I'm betting my balls that the whole damn movie wins Best Picture. I seriously love how charming it is and how it reaches into your emotions without being overly sappy.

But before I get ahead of myself, let me give a synopsis. So we have our protagonist Jamal being tortured by some guys. We find out that one of them's actually the host of the Indian version of the game show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" and then you get pulled into the movie. Why is a host of a rather rusty game show torturing the young man? How did the 'slumdog' become a 'millionaire' when he hasn't even received much formal education? Why did he join in the first place?

Well, the refreshing way of how it introduces you to a series of flashbacks enable you to become even more curious of Jamal's life as a child in the slums and the reason as to his situation in the introduction. After going in, you'll never ever get out. This is one movie you'll never want to skip a frame of, because not only is it stylish, the visual flair also blends with a harmony for the ears- a great soundtrack. There are only a few vocalized songs, yes, but both elements blend to give a real feast for the senses- somehow reminiscent personally of movies like The Dark Knight or Benjamin Button.

The performances are very good as well. I mean, the kids- they're awesome performers. Extremely convincing and natural, the kids. The grown-ups are also very strong performers, and since the lead is unknown, the man is a pretty fresh face to see in a movie.

You will root for Jamal, your stomach will churn as the climax arrives, and you will receive a mixture of emotions in the ending. I mean, the ending... that's the only con I have with the movie. I'm fine with the outcome itself, but the way it's presented? It's a mix of emotions over there. I mean, you see a certain event, and then you see another event that is its entire opposite, so you'll be like "No, wait! I'm not finished feeling this emotion yet! What the hell is happening? No! Stop! Pause... OK, now play.". Maybe I'm exaggerating, but for me, it's just one of those moments.

That dance number, you'd probably already heard of it if you're craving for it to reach theaters or reading the reviews, and that adds to the mix of emotions. It's like implying that ignorance is bliss or something.

Still, the movie as a whole is extremely entertaining, and hard not to love. Despite the seemingly basic romance story, it still feels extremely fresh and unique. It truly is worth a watch and you won't forget it any time soon.

Rating: 9.6/10

iPhone nano? (plus, App Store reviews)

I am a regular visitor to MacRumors.com and it just seems as if the rumors just won't die down. Several iPhone case-makers have endlessly given hints to an iPhone nano form factor, and some of them are even semi-credible.

XSKN is responsible for the pic above, and they got the iPhone 3G and iPod nano designs right before they were even released, so the rumor gets a bit of credibility.

I, however, just can't seem to sway myself to believe that it is true.

Apple has been known to focus on a product's usability as well as innovation, and I just can't seem to see how an iPhone nano would be usable, innovative or much less practical. You see, if you make the screen smaller, chances are the user-friendliness of the device goes with it unless you're Thumbellina. I mean, it makes no sense.

Additionally, Apple still has some persisting issues with bugs and missing basic features that they'll have to fix, so releasing yet another iPhone wouldn't address the problem at all. It would worsen it. Why? Apps. Developers will have to theoretically remake their existing apps just so the screen size can fit what is purportedly the iPhone nano. Oh, and video would suck too.

So perhaps you can argue that the iPod nano is the best-selling iPod and they want to replicate the feat. You know what? That won't happen. Screen size is not exactly an issue on the iPod nano because it's primarily for MUSIC, and that it is operated by the click wheel, not a touch screen.

Seriously, the iPhone is already small enough. Pray that the rumors aren't true. (I may get hypocritical if the product really gets announced, but then again, Phil Shiller's gonna be the one talking and not Steve Jobs.)

Since we're talking about iPhone anyway, I might as well sneak in some app reviews.

Tap Tap Revenge

Developer: Tapulous

FREE

After you buy that heck of an expensive iPod touch or iPhone, you'd probably consider making an iTunes account on your computer to get some free (or paid) games onto the machine. If you do, you should consider getting the free game Tap Tap Revenge, that is if you're drawn into rhythm games.

There's free downloadable content every week!

The interface is clean, the graphics are nice, and the gameplay is utterly simple: press the bottom of the screen when an orb gets to it. Obviously since this is a rhythm game, those orbs correspond to the rhythm of the song, but the thing about it is that you don't really get which part of the song the orbs are corresponding to. Sometimes, the orbs follow the beat of the bass, sometimes it's the vocals, and sometimes it's something else. That makes for variety, but that also doesn't make up for focus.

Plus, the tapping area is sometimes unresponsive, and sometimes, it's not clear whether you've actually tapped the orb, so you have to check the score whether it has decreased or increased, but that would have to distract you from the real game, so you'll have to ignore and hope you hit the tapping area right.

Still, it's free, and unbelievably so, because of three extra features: Downloadable content, local multiplayer and online play.

From obscure electronic songs to the likes of Katy Perry, there's something different to download every week. You cannot download from the computer, but the feature increases replay value immensely. For free.

Speaking of replay value, you can also compete for the top spot in the online score leaderboards.

To play online, you have to download the specific song that's about to play next.

Additionally, you can play online against other Tap Tap Revenge players the world over (and there's constantly a person online) but the problem is, I can't play online because, probably, of my slow Internet connection. You see, the game has to download the song that's gonna be played next, but my Internet connection is not fast enough to download the whole song before the existing people finish the song they're currently playing. What's annoying is that the game also has to download existing songs in your library, though.

So since I can't access the online play, I can only access the 2 player mode for my competitive fix. It works well, with the occasional lag, and how it does it is quite innovative to be honest. Since the iPhone/iPod touch responds to several fingers, it is possible for 2 people to simultaneously tap the screen and see who gets more points.

Overall, Tap Tap Revenge is of good quality. It could sometimes get annoying since the responsiveness is far from perfect (not to mention occasionally laggy) but with free downloadable content and online play and local multiplayer? It's shocking how this thing is free!

Rating: 8.5/10

Tap Tap Dance

Developer: Tapulous

$4.99

You can't wait for Tap Tap Revenge to be updated with the spankin' new engine? Well, you can pay for a "preview" of it with this game.

But perhaps it's not fair for Tapulous to charge for a stripped version of the free Tap Tap Revenge, I mean, it has no downloadable content and online. You can't blame them, however, because there's something called "licensing", and it's not for free. If they don't go through that process, the game would have to be stripped off the App Store due to copyright infringement. Now, they want to get a profit so they can license more songs so we can download them for free.

With that out of the way, let's focus on what sets Tap Tap Dance apart from Tap Tap Revenge.

Just one of the boss battles in Tap tap Dance.

Aside from revamped graphics (and shiny effects that respond to every correct tap), there are new gameplay twists that make Tap Tap Revenge look boring in comparison. One is that it's now obvious as to whether you pressed the tapping area properly or not, while another is that you have to unlock songs one by one and reach the "boss battle". Additionally, a new level of challenge has been added to the point where "Hard" in Tap Tap Revenge is literally "Easy" in Tap Tap Dance. That's not saying much about Tap Tap Revenge's difficulty, because that game is really easy on "Hard", but it says a lot about the increased difficulty of Tap Tap Dance, especially with the addition of simultaneous orb pressing (ie, two or three orbs you have to press at once) and orb holding (ie, if a note is held long in a song, you have to hold the corresponding orb long too).

That's not to say that everything else is perfect. I have to mention again, the absence of downloadable content and online play, and then the freaking lag! This is especially apparent in boss battles, making them harder to press and easier to lose. I don't mind the disco theme because the songs are pretty enjoyable. Do I hear Daft Punk's "Technologic"?

I don't know if you find Tap Tap Dance to be worthy of your hard-earned cash especially since the gameplay mechanics will be ported over to the free and better Tap Tap Revenge, but hey, it's still nice to play.

Rating: 7.5/10

Guitar Rock Tour

Developer: Gameloft

$9.99

See a screenshot for this and you'll instantly say "Guitar Hero rip-off", and it might as well be. However, seeing as there's quite a bit of a lack of rhythm games that center on the Rock genre on the App Store (which is kind of surprising seeing the saturated home console rhythm games market), this is, for now, the nearest you can get to a similar experience on iPhone/iPod touch.

Unlike Tap Tap Revenge, this game actually features real humans, although they're one-dimensional and have no personality whatsoever. Still, this is a rhythm game so the story isn't exactly a first priority.

This game follows the usual garage band turned successful rock act premise, so I wouldn't really bother reading the text that follows prior to, and after finishing the fixed number of songs you have to complete to progress to the next locale. If you still want a sampling of that "well-written" dialogue, then be my guest.

With this dialogue, I'd choke on my egg sandwich too.

Gameplay-wise, the game is responsive and easy to play. You just press the 4 fret buttons (or if you're playing drums, 2 fret buttons and cymbals) and be done with it. Of course, like Guitar Hero or Rock Band, there's a score multiplier, note streak and bla bla bla, and then there's the game's own version of Star Power of which you activate through a "lever" on the right side. While in Guitar Hero, your score will be doubled, you can use "Pyro Power" to eliminate the existing notes on the screen AND double the score in Guitar Rock Tour. And like in Guitar Hero, you have to press a series of notes that are of the same color to fill a bar that allows you to activate said feature.

The score gets doubled to 8 times the default score (usually) when you activated Star Power.

But in a rhythm game, the songs always matter, and it has a pretty conventional setlist, nothing really special (with a few bad eggs here and there). I'll give you a bad egg: "Girlfriend", the Avril Lavigne one.

Most of the songs notably come from Guitar Hero II. And like that game, the songs are cover versions.

So if you want your Guitar Hero fix on-the-go, this is the game to buy. It's a shame that it's without downloadable content, online play or local multiplayer, but at least it's more stable than Tap Tap Revenge.

Rating: 8.5/10

Dr. Awesome: Microsurgeon

Developer: ngmoco:)

$0.99

The title suggests a mediocre game, but it's actually pretty good.

It features a cast of anime characters who represent several doctors. And while their over the top poses remind me of the Phoenix Wright series, there's not as much personality.

The gameplay is simple: tilt the iPhone to cut the cell wall. When it's small enough, the viruses that lie inside will give up and die. You are pretty much a ball, and if a virus touches you or the trail you make, you're dead.

Let's cure the people we know!

The gimmick here is that the game uses your Address Book and makes them your patients' names. There is some amusing dialogue that springs from this fact (eg, "Doctor, isn't [name from Address Book] your acquaintance?"), but the same line repeats often as the patients pile up so I don't think this gimmick wasn't exploited enough for you to actually care.

You have to cut that border as much as you can to win.

Surprisingly, the game is actually kind of addicting, and it gives you a reason to go back because the game goes by in real time. What I mean by this is that the patients have a time limit of 24 hours. If you ignore the game for 24 hours, they die, or as the game puts it, "expires". Additionally, there are achievements that you can unlock, for all the achievement-junkies out there.

I don't really see any cons to this game, but there's actually nothing else special about this game. It's good, and it's pretty cheap, so I guess you can give it a whirl.

Rating: 8/10

REVIEWS: Woo-Hoo! Emo punk and obese dad!

The Simpsons Game (DS)
In a nutshell: The Simpsons Game offers a huge chunk of genuinely funny jokes which makes you overlook the fact that it doesn't have the most amazing gameplay.

Different Storylines
Every family member has a different motive, but they get to achieve them when Bart reads a game manual that falls from the sky. You get to control the whole Simpsons family sans Maggie and Abe and do all sorts of things. From the absurdity of shooting targets to save Lenny to the reality of Marge getting a violent carjacking game off Springfield, there's always something happening in Springfield!

Different Abilities
The members of the family have various, cool abilities: Homer can bloat into a morbidly obese ball of fat and dash into his enemies, Marge, well, she can form a riot and make other people do her bidding and destroy stuff, Bart can become Bartman and use his cape to glide through far distances and use his slingshot to shoot from a distance, and Lisa can use telekineses (and the power of the Buddha) to move different stuff in different checkpoints.You can use the "Buddha Hand" to pick up impeding objects.




Gameplay
The gameplay is very simple and borders on, or puts more emphasis on, jumping platforms and pushing levers. Of course, there are a few of those enemies that you can beat up, but it's mainly composed of aforementioned actions.

Levels usually alternate between two family members, and one action can help the other. It's a pretty good implementation of the concept personally, but not enough to be revolutionary (I mean, come on, how many games have already done that before?!).

The lives system is... wait, it's non-existent! So basically, no game over screens, and you have unlimited lives.

Irony
The irony around the very, very, very by-the-book platformer involves the Comic Book Guy's unlockable Gaming Cliches which means that the game itself already knows that its gameplay is pretty much one big cliche. Like when you fall from a chasm, he says, "Expect a lawsuit from Wile E. Coyote.". Yes, all of them are very funny, but the bad thing about this is that it makes it seem that the developers were focusing more on the humor than the gameplay- which is very, very important.

Humor
What would a Simpsons game be without the humor?

What makes the game very lovable is its humor. If you want an example...

These spoofs are scattered all over the whole game. So you'll be able to see Will Wright with his money and his army of Sims or some weird elves with a resemblance to Mario. It's all just a great experience when you play just because of its first-class humor, and also because of this, you will forget the shortcomings it regarding gameplay.

It's so funny, you'll want more. Unfortunately, it's just...

Short
If you don't count the collectible secret stuff, you can probably finish all 20 or so levels in a maximum of 4 hours. And because it's very short, that feeling of satisfaction just doesn't get to you because you'll want a lot more of the humor and you won't get enough of it. Basically, it's like LSD, but the experience gets cut short by the reality of it finishing so quick.

Graphical Presentation
I love the whole feel of the game because it's very colorful.

It replicates the feel of the series and during the lengthy full-motion videos that occur before or after every level, the feel is still there, only better because they're so high-quality yet many.

Voice Actors
The original voice actors give the game almost 100% of its comic flair because, obviously, they provide voices for the game. You'll be surprised at how much excellent voice and sound effects the game has, because the amount of vocal content surpasses even Nintendo games!

My favorite part
One of my favorite parts of the game is Pet Homer which is accessible in the Simpsons House in the Springfield map. Actually, it's a bit of an indirect (?) spoof to Nintendogs. You touch Homer's torso, he giggles and a plus sign appears overhead. You let him eat chocolate, pizza, etc. etc. etc. and he could choke or have a heart attack. The heart attack is particularly funny because you can use a defibrillator for that. You know what, it's boring in text, but very fun in the game.

A theory
Maybe it's because of the wealth of content (videos, voice and sound FX) that deprived the developers of making more game levels. The aforementioned content, however, is still very much appreciated, and at least the levels themselves don't suffer in terms of quality, but still...

Overall
The Simpsons Game is very much playable, but not extraordinarily so, and the humor makes up for the lackluster gameplay. If you are a Simpsons fan, then this game is perfect for you because of its high quality video and audio content and Simpsons quality humor, which is obviously top-notch. You'll be left wanting more, though.

Rating: 8.0/10

The World Ends With You (DS)
In a nutshell: Presenting a unique and compelling story, innovative combat mechanics and great presentation, Tetsuya Nomura's new RPG sets the bar high for future DS RPGs and totally excellent from start to finish.

More than routine
When you open the game and make a new save file, you'll see that there are people walking around the street ignoring the game's obviously moody protagonist. This anime-styled, spiky haired moody protagonist thing is very much routine for a Square Enix RPG (or maybe any RPG nowadays) and if you jam in fighting, a fantasy story, the optional Disney cameo, customization and a weird fairyland, there you have it: a Square Enix RPG!

But the game is a lot more than that. To make things different, it gets set in Shibuya- Japan's shopping capital- where people use cellphones, eat fastfood and gossip about a certain "Prince"'s blog, and it utilizes both screens of the DS to fight and you use the stylus and the D-pad to control both characters. A lot more aspects are more than routine in this game, and I'll discuss it and break them down later. But for now, we cover...

Graphics
The 2D presentation is wonderful. OK, maybe if while you're walking, the character sprites get blurry when they're near you but that's the presence of the feel of proximity. Other than that, the drawn characters are expressive and more importantly- goodly drawn. There are also a lot of great looking attack effects and video sequences presented throughout the game.

Sound
The game is scattered with many, many voice samples. For example, when you give a character food to eat, they could say, "It's edible.", and if you let them eat something else, they'll say something else.

And another thing is the soundtrack which I have mixed emotions for. Based from the location set, it's obvious that it's full of J-Pop. One thing's for certain, though, they'll get stuck in your head whether you like it or not! You can purchase these tracks for listening in your Phone Menu- yes, your phone serves as the menu for everything like Save, Items, etc..

Gameplay
Most of the actions in the game is touch-screen based like Zelda. However, one twist to this is in the fighting. When you make a combo with Neku (the spiky protagonist), a green light goes up to your partner because when you fight, you need a partner to survive, and when the green light goes to your partner, stylus input is obviously impossible, therefore you use the D-Pad, or if the player is left-handed, the A-B-X-Y buttons. And when you complete a combination with your partner, the attack is doubled and the green light will be passed back to the bottom screen. Initially, the system is daunting, but once you get used to it, the alternating combat system between two screens ain't so bad after all. And if it gets too out of hand, you can tell the game through its Phone Menu to get A.I. to control your partner. However, for me, the A.I. just doesn't cut it because it usually depletes most of the HP which both share.

Customization
Customization has become routine to RPG's. But here, it has a twist. OK, so you look at the effects of an accessory or stats increase at first, but when you go back to the Phone Menu, you will see a top three chart that says what brand is hot in a certain area and what's not. If you equip an accessory or clothing that has a brand that is on the top of the charts, you'll be able to have an additional 120% increase in Attack, otherwise when you equip the brand of fashion that's lowest in rank, your attack decreases by 120% and so on...

The teenage lifestyle
It definitely emulates the stereotypical superficial teenage lifestyle you'll typically find almost note by note, and people can probably relate to some happenings in the game. Plus, this story is not only a unique story of a certain "game" that puts out daily missions to its "Players" who are in turn inspected by the "Reapers", it's also a story of change and maturity and loss among other themes, and most of its moments are actually, genuinely, if not surprisingly, affecting!

Overall
Despite the Final Fantasy's and the Kingdom Hearts blockbuster franchises, Square Enix isn't afraid to bring something new in their established history of RPG franchises. If The World Ends With You doesn't get a magnificent sequel, well I'll be darned!

REVIEWS: Stories of hope lost, love forced, and premarital love...

I Am Legend
Starring: Will Smith
Director: Francis Lawrence
Summarizing Quote: "If I were to divide the film into, I don't know, 4 parts, I'd say that
3 parts of the pie was pretty damn satisfying, the denouement... not so
much."

Man, I got three introductions for this review in mind. One is the fact that the movie is a sort of reiteration of 3 (or was it 4?) past movies of different names, two is the fact that a movie with Will Smith on the cover is equal to money, and three, I actually liked Francis Lawrence, the director's, other work Constantine. And apparently, I've already combined them (3 intros) into one... But anywho,...

Will Smith's latest box-office blockbuster is about a scientist named Robert Neville who is trying to discover a cure for a cancer cure gone wrong in 2012. Well, it seems that the so-called cancer cure made people mutate into these nocturnal vampiric creatures who lust for healthy human blood and now, it seems that Neville is quite immune to it despite the virus being airborne and all.

In actuality, the movie is actually a sort of chronicling of a few days in the "last man alive"'s life, but that's the aspect that makes it so interesting. However, if I were to divide the film into, I don't know, 4 parts, I'd say that 3 parts of the pie was pretty damn satisfying, the denouement... not so much. Thrills were abundant, scares are pretty well placed, and there are also a lot of explosives.

Plus, Will Smith manages to carry the whole one-man show all to the end and projects his role pitch-perfect, and suddenly, the appearance of the girl and her son Ethan would be too good to be true and too... coincidental.

This is why I don't really like the denouement, because one would probably want to see how the scientist will end up by himself. But then again, the agenda would end too soon now, wouldn't it?

Besides that gripe, I see nothing wrong in the movie and is easy to recommend as well. Overall, I like it, and it is undeniably well made. And as a bonus, it offers thought-provoking insight as to how the humans will destroy themselves, possibly in the near future, and if it may indeed happen.

Rating: 8.5/10

Knocked Up
Starring: Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl
Director: Judd Apatow
Summarizing Quote: "It's full of the f- word, but once you learn how to appreciate and dig deeper inside that raunchy facade, you'll see a core story that's surprisingly warm and sensible."

Judd Apatow's follow-up to the critical success The 40-Year Old Virgin is quite full of it. I mean, the f- word. But once you learn how to appreciate and dig deeper inside that rauchy facade, you'll see a core story that's surprisingly warm and sensible.

It starts out with the separate lives of two different people. Allison, an up and coming reporter for E! News (yes, complete with a great performance by Ryan Seacrest and the E! Crew) and Ben, a drug-sniffing, carefree slacker. Their lives get tied by that fateful drunken evening and the one night's stand, then things start going haywire afterwards.

It's quite hard to appreciate especially if the dialogue's full of swear words, and sex talk, but the thing I see that makes it worth tolerating is the fact that its social commentary is quite effective in its execution, but the promised belly-laughs weren't present. It talks about love, life, giving up and taking responsibility for one's actions, or in this case, one's baby. But you know what, maybe I'll be watching this again so I can understand it further, because it's quite awkward watching this kind of comedy with my sister. Haha. Expect an update on this.

However, Heigl's performance was quite great and shows that she can take on roles other than an intern, or a bridesmaid. Rogen's also convincing as a slacker too because you can already see that quality in one glance.

Rating: not definite yet

December Boys
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe
Director: Rod Hardy
Summarizing Quote: "The several happenings that occur don't really confuse, which is a feat in itself. In fact, it's quite a bit charming, and the cinematography further increases its charm. The sappy story may bore some though, but it's still quite an interesting movie all the same.

"Oh look, it's Harry Potter!"

Oh sorry, I don't think Mr. Radcliffe doesn't want us to identify him as that forever.

You can't blame him for trying to deviate from the role that he has been known for. And that is why he has December Boys under his belt. It actually shows that he can be a competent actor in the future, but the movie... is just a tad bit too sappy.

Actually, it's supposed to be about four orphans (WHAT THE HELL DOES RADCLIFFE HAVE FOR ORPHANS?!) who were all born at the month of December (thus the name December Boys). They do live under a Catholic orphanage, but that doesn't mean they don't have vices, and they show that in the beginning, even if one of them aspires to be a priest. However, the sisters in the convent have granted them permission to go first for a little "vacation" in a place where the filmmakers can show their ultra-beautiful cinematography skills in Australia and meet two people who will be taking care of them- the cancer-stricken Skipper, and her husband Bandy. They also meet other entities in the beach: a daredevil cyclist and his unfertile (?) wife, a girl who is visiting for the summer, and a few old men.

There, the friendship of the four orphans get put to the test, especially when one of them overhears a conversation about adopting one of them. Making Maps' (Radcliffe) life further complicated and romantic was the blonde girl visiting for the summer named Lucy whom he meets secretly, and experiences with her a lot of "firsts".

More happenings then lead to many others, but the movie doesn't make them confusing to follow. in fact, it's quite a bit charming as well, and the cinematography further increases its charm. The sappy story may bore some though, but it's still quite an interesting movie all the same. One other bother is the fact that Radcliffe's star power can push the other protagonists away, so the balance, I feel, is a bit unequal, especially since Radcliffe isn't the real star here. Heck, an older version of another orphan is the one narrating instead!

It's good but not great. If you want better concocted coming of age stories, maybe you can try... Persepolis perhaps?

Rating: 7.5/10

Another Tech-centric Post

Save your files!
As I flipped upon the pages of November's PC World magazine, there was this little tip about USB flash drives and recovery that I think would be ultimately convenient for all of us. (That means you, Cath!)

Virus-Infected
Well anyway, let's say that your USB drive has been downed by a virus, your whole life is on the line and you are without a backup copy for salvation (That is sooo not recommended, people.), what would you do? Well, firstly, as I have discovered, viruses tend to work only in the Operating Systems they are designed to attack. So let's say that the attack happened on your flashy new Windows Vista PC and you only have one anti-virus that curiously missed scanning your flash drive after getting the virus out of your own PC. Well, if you insert the virus-infected drive into another Windows PC, chances are that it'll get infected, too. But if you insert the drive in a Mac or Linux computer, you can get the drive's contents without frills and risk.

How exactly?
OK, maybe a Mac's expensive, but a Linux distro (short for distribution) is free, and there are lots like Ubuntu or Damn Small Linux. You have to install them in another computer (your old one will probably do) as is the case for Ubuntu, which requires 4GB of free storage, or ironically, in another USB drive (64MB will do) which is the case for Damn Small Linux.

But then again, you'll still probably need a brand new thumb drive anyway, since a virus-infected flash drive is something you should throw away! (though booting from a USB drive is harder than you think).

If you don't ever want to buy a USB drive again and you'll probably still want to take those files off, burn the image file (.iso) in a blank CD. Depending on your connection, the 50MB file will probably take 10-20 minutes to download on DSL, so you better get a download manager ready for those disconnection incidents.
Once downloaded, double-click the file to let your burner burn it to a CD. After that, restart your computer and you'll be led to an installation screen. Just click Live CD lest you want to obliterate Windows, and wait. Insert infected drive, and copy them off to a floppy disk or something!

Oh and before I forget, here's the download link for Damn Small Linux, I won't be providing Ubuntu's because it's gonna take veeeeery long to download.

That's too much of a hassle!
OK, there are alternatives. If you want to stay in your Windows computer, fine. But you gotta download those free anti-virus and firewall applications, then update them along with Windows itself. But wait! Don't put that drive just yet! There is something you gotta do before that...

For Windows XP users
You should download TweakUI, a Microsoft thingamajig, and open it after installation. Then, navigate to the program's left pane to My Computer, then Autoplay, then Types. There will be a checkbox that says Enable Autoplay for removable drives, uncheck that then click OK or Apply.

For Windows Vista users
Click the Start button and type autoplay on the search field and press Enter on your keyboard (maybe after a few seconds).

Once you see this window, you should go to the "Software and Games" drop down box and select Take no Action. Click Save.

After that, you can now disable all Internet and local connections to prevent the virus form communicating and plug the drive in with all those blocking virus disablers turned on. The files may be infected, so drag-and-drop with caution to yet another removable media, most preferably another USB drive. Scan the files put in the other drive with all the security programs you have and shut down the computer and throw the infected drive away!

How about my corrupted USB drive?
Now here's a cool utility that can get all those files for you, PC Inspector File Recovery. It can see all the stuff you have deleted on your computer, on your SD card, or of course, your flash drive. It's notorious for being prone to crashes, though. But that's the price you gotta pay for something that actually works (as stated in the User Reviews).

There's always a lesson to be learned from these types of incidents: NEVER GO COPYING FILES WITHOUT MAKING A BACK-UP COPY!

(Thanks to PC World Magazine)

Tech Reviews
Yahoo! Messenger for Vista (Preview)
One of the most highly awaited software for Vista owners is the sleek, new Yahoo! Messenger for Vista. It's only exclusive for that platform only, hence the name, and it offers a few features that have become a bit overdue for some time. But the question is, should you download it now?

Being an apparently rushed, unstable version, it will definitely have a lot of quirks. The interface definitely looks both like a downgrade and an upgrade to the current interface used by Yahoo! Messenger 9 Beta, because for one thing, it is sluggish (though my computer is partly to blame) and it is not what you see in the screenshots, but it also looks kinda good, though you won't get used to it initially. Plus, when you start it up (and hopefully only in the first time), you will be seeing... staring at its new splash screen. Hmm.., it's kind of a wonderful way to waste time, at least.

One big pro is the fact that tabbed browsing is present for organized chatter. But features are still missing though, and the Buzz! button is not visible unless you right-click. You won't get Webcam, Audibles, Photos, IMVironments, Conferencing and a lot more!

So, should you make the move now? No. But if you want to really test it, you can because the older version you'll have on your computer won't be erased anyway.

Rating: 3/10 (Bad)

Flock
I have told you about this already. It might be a Firefox-based browser, but it's better than Firefox.

Everything is conveniently laid out in its interface, which has a slight learning curve what with all the new buttons and stuff. But once you get immersed in the Flock experience, it's hard to go to another browser.

You can view friend lists, video/photo streams and set a blog account as well as subscribe and read RSS far easier than Firefox. Too bad it doesn't support common social networking sites like Friendster and Multiply, but hey, that doesn't mean you can't try new stuff, right?

Another thing I like is the ability to make blog posts offline as it saves the time for you to go through the web interface, only finding out that you have lost your motivation. Plus, the photo uploader is fast and easy (that is when you log into one, of course) and built-in the browser as well.

The browsing experience is still the same as Firefox (as well as the timing of new security patches released), but hopefully Flock will grow even further as it is a most promising browser that you won't leave in the dust just like that.


Rating: 8/10 (Excellent)



Long Term Review of Apple MacBook (10 months)
This is the type of review where you can see how long a product can last, and how much lasting satisfaction and usability it can give to a person. This time, we determine if a MacBook can last without the urge of upgrading...
Wow, I can't believe how long my family and I have been together with a blessed Macintosh! We may have occupied more than half of its 80GB capacity, but it's still the lean, mean fun machine we all know and love since day one!

OK, maybe there has been a bit of chipping on the latch (because it is magnetic) because of forceful closing, but aesthetically, it's still eye-catching though it is prone to dirt and... ANTS?!

Moving on from the aesthetic aspects, the hardware has only failed me once when the battery went haywire and the only way you can use the laptop is by plugging it in (it's not so mobile that way now, is it?) but it was quickly resolved (warranty :-D).

As for the performance, it has un-noticeably slowed down a bit, and is a great battery saver at the same time as it can still last for 3 (or more) hours in casual use, and that's under Wi-Fi. It rarely hangs (the first and only time as of now happened just last week) and all the utilities are useful. Plus, in the future, I can still use the same MacBook in a new OS release*.

Still, I just wish I could play games in that thing, but I can't because of Intel's Integrated Graphics Card, which in layman's terms is, stupid piece of crap! I always urge my dad to buy a desktop (the iMac) as it is less expensive and more powerful than a MacBook Pro, but all in all, I still love the MacBook. If you're looking for fast, reliable, secure, mobile and upgradeable, look no further than a MacBook. It even helped me ace a few projects to boot!

New things to see in the future...

1. I'm gonna start ravaging YouTube and start embedding my fave YouTube vids every week. It will be the My YouTube Vid of the Week.
2. Expect more pics to see in my blog...
3. Game, TV show, movie reviews...
4. New skin... it'll take long though...

That's all I can think of for now...

Long-Term Review of the Sony Ericsson W800i, and Nintendo DS (originally posted March 16, 2007)

Before I start this review, let me say that you shouldn't be reading my blog anymore. 'Coz it's just gonna start getting boring and boring-er. In time, it will get corrupted by technology related posts and you'll get I dunno... nauseous? This warning doesn't sound threatening but I'm sure as hell that you're gonna close the tab anyway (or press back). But for those wanting to see how a person lives with a cellphone like the W800i or a handheld like the DS, you can read on I guess...

the sony ericsson w800i long term review
1 year after purchase

When I purchased it, it was one of my most dear possessions. After a year, it has experienced 1 memory card replacement (it was probably my fault), 9 accidental (but minor) falls, a few scratches and a wiped out joystick (which i guess, what all W800i units succumb to... it's still manageable though). But I still have lots of fun with this phone especially because of it's (still) long battery life (but it has slightly reduced from charging), great file support (I use the m4a format or AAC as iTunes calls it), clear LCD, good Internet (due to my downloading of Opera Mini) and well, my 2GB memory stick upgrade (the phone supports up to 4GB memory sticks). No, it doesn't have 3G but it (still) works. Due to my excessive strap playing, it (the strap) snapped and I have yet to try putting a Bluetooth headset on it (though many say it doesn't work on the BlueTooth enabled phone).
I still plan to use it for years... or maybe until the joystick gets totally broken. (I will never buy a phone with a joystick again)
If you just bought a W800i, be warned not just about the joystick, but also the music transfer software. It doesn't work at all. Buy a USB Bluetooth instead because the USB manual file transfer isn't effective either.

Nintendo DS long term review

1 year 3 months after purchase

It all actually depends upon the game whether the life span of your DS will be long or short but this isn't really the case here. It is advisable to buy a DS lite instead of a first generation DS since, for starters, the DS lite is lite-r than the original DS. Anyway, my first-generation DS is still working and its battery life's shortening wasn't really noticeable even with many charges, it has endured several falls, mostly minor, one time it almost got run over by a Honda Civic near Starbucks. Anecdotes aside, the first-generation DS is actually quite more durable than the lite version, so if you opt for a brighter screen and a better grip on your stylus (among other DS design improvements on the lite version), go with DS lite. If you want durability, you'll have to pay the price of having a handheld that doesn't really fit in your pocket because the first-generational DS is quite bulky, but still there are those benefits in the long run...

(NOTE: This post has been proofread from the original post found in my Friendster blog.)