Spider-Man 3

It may be a well kept secret that I did not particularly enjoy Spider-Man 3 the first time around. A well kept secret because when I mentioned it to Cale, I was met with nothing but hostility. I can't really blame him though; I loved the first two Spider-Man movies, even wanting to give the first one 11 out of 10, if it were numerically possible. Indeed, the excitement leading up to the first film has never been matched, and the continued excitement throughout the film cemented the fact that this was a phenomenal ride. Of course, it helps that I've always been a big Spidey fan, collecting hundreds of comic books throughout the years. Of course, everybody is excited over these movies, as evidenced by the huge box-office they generate.

So what happened to number 3 that I didn't enjoy? Generally, I feel as though they tried to cram too much into the film, and because of that, it lost focus. The first one was an origin story and was very tight; the second one was about Peter Parker and of course Doc Ock, and was very focused: it knew where it was going. The third on had multiple enemies, personal problems galore and quite simply, too many big name characters being reduced to bit parts.

The Sandman was phenomenal. The way he looked, the way he acted, his motivations: everything was great. Venom was a bit of a mixed bag. While we all would have enjoyed seeing more of him throughout the film, I can understand why he was reduced to being only in the last act. And of course the "new" Green Goblin was handled...alright, I guess. James Franco did a great job screwing with Peter and that was just brilliant, but his quick decision to help him out at the end all thanks to his butler giving out an incredibly valuable piece of information at the last second...well that was just terrible. Why would this guy hold onto this information for two years? He knows exactly what's going on, lets Harry go crazy then decides to just tell him randomly. It was disgusting, but not everything can fit together so nicely, I guess.

Watching the film a second time around has given me some more appreciation for the film and many of the annoying parts were more enjoyable. Overall I would say it was a solid film, with some great action sequences and lots of heroics, with the only issue being a convoluted plot that started bursting at the seams near the end. It's not a clean film like the others.

Are we getting a Spider-Man 4? If we do I certainly hope that it's a different team: Raimi has done everything he needs to do, and I would like to see the franchise being tackled by other creative minds. I don't want to see another three-part story: movies that can stand on their own and have slight continuity would be fine (perhaps MJ should die and Gwen Stacy can take over, they certainly had much better on-screen chemistry). Let's keep the enemies going strong: Sandman was portrayed so wonderfully, you can believe the guy is human and just so happens to be made of sand. Spider-Man stories have always been character-driven and only suffer when things are rushed.

The Bourne Ultimatum

Great movie. Just get that out of the way first.

I downloaded a hi-def encode of this movie last week in anticipation of getting the HD-DVD soon, which isn't something I normally do for movies I know I'm going to purchase, but I couldn't wait to watch it again since seeing it in the theatre.

Anyway, I loaded it up to watch with my sister last night, and I just love how it picks up practically exactly where the second left off. There are some great action sequences, and the Waterloo scene is brilliant: Bourne guiding this poor guy who has no clue what's going on past some tough, super-secret agents. He's taking guys out left right and centre without the other knowing what's going on at all. He doesn't let them know he's there until the time is right, just in time to make them crap themselves. The whole scene plays out almost comically, as you know, at this point in the trilogy that Bourne cannot be stopped, and there is nothing he cannot do. Does that take away from the movie?

I don't believe they focus on his abilities so much time around: everybody has accepted them and they don't treat it like a big deal as they have before. He does some real fancy stuff just to re-affirm to us how awesome he is, but that initial sense of wonder is gone. The movie is made well enough that you don't need it though.

This entry in the series is just Bourne finding out who he is, and because of that, it feels much simpler and shorter. You kind of get the sense that he could have easily done this at any time, but just didn't have the motivation to do so until recently. The first movie, he was going crazy trying to find out, then the second he's come to acceptance that he doesn't really need to know (and was very much revenge driven) and now he's just curious.

And the whole movie seems to rely on other people's reaction to Bourne: "holy crap he's in my office! holy crap, he's looking at me from a distance!" (which is just classic), and "holy crap, we can't catch this guy!"

And what's the deal with Bourne having a previous relationship with Julia Stiles (I don't recall her name in the movie)? It could make sense but I just feel as though it was tacked in to make a couple of more scenes in an attempt to make the movie a complete two hours. And (spoilers) when she finds out at the very, very end that his body was never found, the look on her face punctuated with Moby's Extreme Ways...well, that was just too funny.

So I guess what I'm saying is this movie does not stand up to the others in terms of plot, or character development, or non-cheesiness. But it was still completely awesome, with great action, great chases, great music and of course Matt Damon acting invincible.

The Mist

What a fantastic movie. Usually before going to see a movie in the theatre I have some idea of what I'm getting into: movie trailers, reviews, all that stuff. I usually know when the movie originally came out too, but not this time. I may recall one or two commercials for The Mist on television at one point but I really couldn't tell you when. The memory is so fuzzy it could have been fifteen years ago.

So Dave and I were looking at movies that were actually playing, and one of the only ones of interest was The Mist. We watched the trailer and I felt like I saw some potential in it, although I wasn't completely sold. I don't care to go see I Am Legend, so we went to see The Mist. I'm not even sure how long it's been out in theatres. Judging by what screen it was playing on (one of the smallest) I would say the movie has either been out for a few weeks already or just isn't doing well at the box-office. Both could be true; both could be false.

So going in with somewhat low expectations usually results in a surprisngly enjoyable movie; many shows end up being half-decent because they just look so terrible going in. But this movie was great. I'm not even sure I was expecting to be frigthened during the movie: indeed, I had no expectations for this flick. And it was great.

First, the main character paints movie posters, and I want one of them, badly. Up on the wall was one for The Thing, and another unrecognizable Clint Eastwood movie. They even poke fun at movie posters that have poor Photoshopped artwork (just two heads put together). Good job Stephen King.

And things get rolling pretty quickly; nice, efficient introductions to characters let you know what type of people they are without much effort. Introduction of the mist itself within what - 15 minutes of the opening? was great. It is quickly established that the mist is bad, there are bad things in it and you had better start freaking out.

And this is great: the whole movie takes place inside the grocery store; you become intimate with the characters and can follow their somewhat rapid decline into insanity on levels you can relate to. The "religious-nut" in the trailer plays a more prominent role than I thought, and now the movie is a commentary on how civilization relies too much on technology and is still full of primal instincts, most notably getting caught up in "the mob" without even realizing it. The most normal people around can go crazy very, very quickly.

So there was that, and there are also the creatures in the mist. Just to confirm, you do get to see what's in the mist, basically. There are creature: you know from the trailer there are bugs, and they were small. But there are bugs, and they become huge. And they are all computer animated. They don't look bad per se, but this isn't top notch CGI work. Will it affect the movie down the road? I hope not. Dave mentioned that if this movie was made twenty years ago it would be a cult classic and I think that sums it up perfectly. This is especially true for the effects: throw in some really awesome, classic creature effects and you're golden.

The pacing of the movie, the slow fades to black throughout, and the characters are all great. Most importantly you can believe these characters for who they are, and why do they what they do. I can't spoil the ending for you but let me say it is disturbing, and perfect. This movie is not pulling punches and we thank everyone involved for not doing so. Now it's time to go read the novel.

Unfortunately I didn't watch any movies this past week. Nor did I really play many video games! So what did I do? Television...gym...and lots of Christmas shopping. I went out a couple of nights and have almost completed my shopping. It's at the point now where all I can do is wonder around and find random things for people, which is nice.

However, I guess there was some Guitar Hero played. I was late in the release schedule picking up Guitar Hero II, as just a few weeks later Guitar Hero III came and (and purchased, of course). Subsequently, number II got pushed aside and we only really played the new one for hours on end. Well, after essentially conquering the game on Medium (and I just cannot play Hard for the life of me) I went back to number II.

It doesn't feel like it, but you can see a lot of improvement in your own skill when you look at your old scores. There were songs in there that I only managed to get about 40,000 points on. I probably never played that song again as it was just a roadblock in getting to more songs. Plus, it was probably quite difficult. However, now I go back and just devastate the song, getting about 150,000 points on it! And I wonder why there was so much difficulty the first time around, but that's the way things are.

Which is why I really appreciate these games: your skills do improve, and it's clearly evident in the finely tuned point system, which is seemingly basic on the surface but is an actuality...more complex? No, it really is quite basic. It's the star bonus points that really get things going and will make a big difference. And it's critically important as to when you activate it. That is, if you're going for points now.

And that's exactly what I do now: try to get 100% notes hit and massive scores. Because I'm stuck on medium. Like I mentioned earlier, I just can't do hard mode. It's the movement of the hand: I forget where my fingers are. I truly appreciate all guitar players for their skill. So I'm stuck on medium but that's alright: you have to come to terms with your maximum skill level, right? I'm just a "medium" guy; not hard, and definitely not expert. What's upsetting is that I can activate hyperspeed mode on medium and still do well, so I know it's not the speed of the fret board, it's that dirty orange note.

I could go into the differences between II and III to a great level of detail but what remains is the same: the core of the game is simple and to the point. Hit the notes, get points, activate star power. I've read some reading that has mentioned that III is a bit easier than II. Is this true? On the surface, it looks to be true, but I have one feeling: Guitar Hero II has placed harder songs in the sets. We're talking all those punk and real-heavy metal songs that are just not getting the same representation in Guitar Hero III. So kudos to all your metal guitarists: your songs are tough. And they kind of suck, sorry.

I just may have to take the plunge and purchase some of the song packs to get more tunes going on, as the wait for number four sets in...or at least, the wait to get Rock Band!

At World's End

Remember really enjoying the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie? And remember being disappointed at the second one, because of the cliff-hanger and the stupid hijinks? Now remember as you're bored watching the third one. That's the way I feel about it, at least.

I loved the first one, if not for anything else than to see skeletons doing stuff. And of course in retrospect, I really appreciate its simplicity. The third Pirates movie is really long. I felt like the movie had barely started an hour and fifteen minutes in, and to realize there is almost double that left, the prospect of turning it off to finish watching another day was strong. But, I kept watching, as the movie did pick up thankfully.

Perhaps it was just the state of mind I was in, but I really couldn't comprehend what was going on for the first while. People are dead, they are coming back to life, let's travel to hell, essentially? I don't know. There are pirate lords now? And then a pirate king? Everybody is being turned into a captain and nobody is bad-ass anymore. Jack Sparrow is kept in neutral as he is lost within the convoluted storyline and Kiera is just weird and Orlando Bloom is barely there: mentally at least. I'm not even sure what he was doing in this movie, to be honest: you could tell he doesn't want to be there anymore, and they wrote his character into a mis-guided idiot.

Anyway, you can see that I didn't really enjoy the movie. But I did enjoy the special effects, of course, and the final action sequence (for the most part). I also appreciated that there were no scenes where people were trapped inside balls rolling down hills for twenty minutes.

Gojira

My dad had a passion for movies that he passed down to me by getting me excited to watch certain film series such as The Omen, Die Hard and Godzilla. There was definitely not shortage of Godzilla movies to be rented from the local video stores, and we certainly took advantage of that.

I couldn't tell you what the first Godzilla movie I saw was, but my favourite was probably Godzilla 1985. We most likely watched them on Beta, a format of which I still have a love for. Mothra, Rodan and even the son of Godzilla all held special places in my heart as I grew up to watch them over and over.


Unfortunately over the years my love for the movies have fallen a bit to the wayside and I come to appreciate other fare. And after getting quite excited for the American version in 1998, my disappointment would be felt for years as I would quickly forget about the big green guy. A few new Godzilla movies have come out in the past few years and they have been good, but it was a very surprising Christmas gift I received last year that gave me the nostalgic feeling for Godzilla again.

It is the Japanese version of the first Godzilla movie: Gojira. The movie was heavily re-edited, even adding in new scenes, new story and eliminating many things for the American market back in '56. Of course I had watched it as a child, and had no idea there was an original version out there. This new DVD set had both cuts on it, but it was the original, Japanese version that got me excited.

Unfortunately my arrogance of DVD prevented me from watching it until a few nights ago. I couldn't be happier with the fact that I like DVDs again, because this is a real gem. If you enjoy movies, and Godzilla, you must watch this film!

It feels weird to say this, but the special effects stand up to today's standards. Sure, the film is in tough shape and I'm sure that hides things, but Godzilla looked great. It's all in simplicity: they don't have him running around, doing fancy moves, he is what he is: a slow movie gigantic monster that shuffles his feet through buildings, and setting fire to his surroundings. They don't go overboard, and it helps that they don't use stop-motion photography.

And the story is character-driven: not so much about people just reacting to Godzilla, but reacting to a series of horrible, catastrophic events and how that affects their lives. A young couple planning on marriage spar with the bride-to-be's father over moral issues (i.e. is it right to just destroy Godzilla, or more important to find out why Godzilla is?). The same girl is faced with priority issues: betray a friendship to help civilization?

This movie is not subtle about it's messages, either. Clearly it warns of the dangers of using nuclear weapons, something of which was wiped almost clear from the American version. It warns that if these nuclear weapons could awaken something as fierce as Godzilla, what else could it awaken? And I don't think they were referencing giant monsters, but instead the monster within ourselves.

These messages would have been even more relevant to Japan when the movie was just released, not even ten years after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (characters in the film even mention surviving the event, only to be met by this new monstrosity).

Of course the movie, being so old and of "that" quality, it can be a bit slow and tedious to sit through. But every minute is worth it for the final attack: which apparently runs 13 minutes long and is just destruction. It's not spectacular like current blockbuster effects-driven scenes, but it is moving. Then comes the time for sacrifice and even more sadness as they are left with only one option of getting rid of Godzilla. Indeed, this Godzilla movie was more serious, sad and just plain real than any other that would come after.

Playstation 3: The Movie Machine

The other day somebody asked me how I'm enjoying the Playstation 3. I purchased it about three weeks ago, and have probably turned it on about once every two or three days since. Good sign, right? Well, that depends on how you look at it.

Immediately answering the question, I said "it's great at playing movies." And to that, there is no doubt. Previously I mentioned how impressed I was with its upscaling abilities with DVD, and of course, it's great at playing Blu-Rays, which look fine. And really, that's about all I've done with the system. It came with Motor Storm, which I popped in and played once. Not overly impressed with it. Sure, the graphics are fine and the sound is standard; the racing is neat but I just couldn't care about it at all. Perhaps it's just too run of the mill.

Are there any other games available? Anything good? There may be a couple but I really don't feel like playing them. Without a doubt I went into the PS3 with Blu-Ray in mind, and that's how I've been treating it. I downloaded some demos but have yet to play them. In fact, I now use it as my primary CD player too! Every day I look online to see what other media functionality can be done with the system or will be coming up.

So as a media player, it's pretty good. It's silent, it can be turned on with a remote (a real annoyance when using an HTPC) and it's smooth. As for it's game playing abilities: couldn't tell you.

And a good point was raised: if you are in the next-gen, you probably have a 360. If all your friends are on the 360, you will get one too, as the structure to play online, compare games and whatnot is so slick on Microsoft's system, it's difficult to get along without it. I want practically the exact same system on the PS3. But nobody I know has one to even test out the service. Ah well.

I'm sure in about a year there will be some great games that show off the true potential of the PS3, but until then, we're much better off playing games on the 360. This is especially true for cross-platform games: if you're going to get the same experience, why not go with the 360 and get some achievement points and compare with friends? Until then, I will continue to be extremely happy with the PS3 as it spins high definition movies and treats me to a wonderful visualization as I play my apparently obsolete CDs.

Alien: The Film

Obviously I forgot to mention that actual movie itself; instead, I focued lightly on its technical merits and comparisons to high definition. Alien is a fantastic film. It's one of those movies that makes you appreciate cinema, and for those lucky few, you have heard me mention that before. Sometimes you can just walk away from a movie and you have gained reassurance that not everything that comes out is crap anymore.

For these older movies, it's a slightly different feeling. It reminds you of how good cinema was, and lets you hope that more good movies can come out. Alien is full of great scenes and great acting. A great story to tie it all together with some timeless special effects and you have yourself a masterpiece.

Do you need to be reminded of the scenes? The Alien-busts-out-of-the-guys-stomach scene? Brilliant. Just how horrifying would it be to witness such a thing in real life? And to top it all off, and the height of your disbelief, the alien scurries off with such speed that you just can't help but be in awe of, and then immediately terrified as you now know this thing may be difficult to catch. Unfortunately the scene almost finishes out comically, as I had a smile on my face as the alien raced off. I'm willing to chalk it up to greatness though: the scene was so perfect I couldnt' help but smile.

Other great scenes of course include the cyborg freaking out, and the fact that it is a young Ian Holm doing the freaking. The discovery of the eggs: brilliant. The Alien sleeping: beautiful. Making flame-throwers in minutes: great. And of course being trapped in the air ducts with the unholy beast is just classic.

The special effects are notable too, as they don't seem to have aged poorly at all. Thanks to the use of animatronics, miniatures and beautiful sets, the effects are seamless and we don't suffer from any real terrible green/blue screen effects. Non of this CG crap that can be horribly distracting just a few years after release; this movie has pure class.

When it all comes together it's easy to see why this would spawn so many sequels, paradies and homages throughout pop culture. The second movies, Aliens, stands on its own and creates a genre on its own, and makes it easy to forget the original and how different it was. More horror, shock, and awe. In a time where monster movies will throw in as many nasty creatures as possible, you have to remember that it's not necessary: Alien is not plural for a reason.

Alien

If the last thing I wrote about was Tiger Woods '08 golf, then we have a lot to catch up on in the video game world. Since then I've purchased and been thoroughly playing PGR4, Guitar Hero II and Guitar Hero III, not to mention a PS3 thrown into the mix. But you can hear about that later. Last night, I watched Alien, and it was great experience.

The first time I saw Alien was most likely the only time. It had to be at least ten years ago. When the special collector's editions of the movies arrived on DVD I quickly nabbed Alien and Aliens, recognizing that they are great films. Of course, Aliens received a lot more spins, and honestly, I don't think I ever put the DVD of Alien in once. Last night was the first.

I was nervous because it is a standard-def DVD and I have since moved on to high definition. I have a modest collection of HD movies now and have been letting the DVDs collect dust, or have been selling them off. But the good films, and nice special editions I have kept. With nothing in the HD world of interest, it was time to check out the PS3's ability to upconvert and play a DVD on my hi-def TV.

And I was impressed. I haven't really watched a movie upconverted (aside from those odd HD movie channel showings) so I wasn't expecting much. But I was really impressed with the film-like nature of the presentation; while the level of detail was somewhat lacking, there was no artifacting or other visual distractions that often plague DVDs when blown up to fifty inches.

The biggest thing I notice while watching high definition movies is the "film-like" smoothness of the image; I don't get the same feeling when watching a DVD on a standard def television, so it was suprising that I was getting the feeling while watching Alien that I do other HD movies.

In any event, I really believe that the quality of the film was also due in majority to the transfer and the effort that went into the DVD. These movies have always looked good on DVD, so it shouldn't be a big surprise that they would continue to look good. I guess my expections for DVD have just been lowered too much, and my eyes spoiled by HD. I look forward to spinning a few more movies on DVD, and who knows, maybe I'll just start renting DVDs again for the movies that are not available in HD yet.

So the EA servers came back up sporadically and I was able - after about an hour - to upload a couple of head shots to download and render in Tiger Woods '08. Results were slightly less than stellar but I'm fairly impressed. Hair was not transferred over at all, which is disappointing because there is a lack of hair options in-game.

My facial hair was not brought over completely, but that's OK, because I swear they saw my beard before and built it directly into the game. The most important thing is that my digital self doesn't look like he's 40 years old anymore. The eyes and brow were the most difficult to nail down doing things manually; this has now been resolved.

I'm far too lazy to take some photos right now but they will come eventually. Progress in the game is coming along well; it's important to do a few Tiger Challenges first and then tackle the tournaments. Because the tournaments are so tough when you are first starting out, it's difficult to build up enough cash to buy some good equipment, which is where the Challenges come into play. These are do-able and net some good rewards. Buy better equipment then try to place in the top ten of a weekend tournament.

I don't suspect that it's possible for me to obtain all the achievements during the first PGA season, so I'm looking forward to a bit of an extended play in attempts to obtain those precious, useless points. That is, if I don't bore of the game first.

It's all started again: Tiger Woods PGA Tour '08. Mike bought an iteration of this game a few years ago and we were completely hooked, and it's now time to take up the controller again for the latest version.

I've played in my first tournament and came in eigth place, which is not overly impressive. Is the game harder? It must be the level where my character is at: in the previous version (2005, I think) my fond memories come from a much later point in the game where my character could crush any ball and was scoring a birdie practically every hole. I really look forward to hitting that point in this game.

What really impressed me about the older version was the character creation and how much detail you could get in on your model. Mike and I made characters that looked exactly like us, which really helped our immersion and experience. Unfortunately I cannot get my new character to look exactly like me: as if there are fewer options for tweaking appearance in this game. While it's quite impressive, my Mii looks more like me than this character, and I've probably spent a couple of hours on him already.

And perhaps it's all because of a new feature they've put into place, which is the photo game face. This allows you to download two high resolution photos of yourself, mark it up and let the game model your face into 3D. Unfortunately the servers on EA have been down since the game came out so I haven't had an opportunity to test it out, but apparently it's quite slick. I'll post comparison images whenever EA gets their act together.

In my travels and experiences I must sleep, and during those hours of precious slumber, things still happen. While most of these things are not worthy of writing about, some of these activities have no more importance than to be discussed. I am, of course, talking about dreams.

Are you the type to remember dreams? I am. I love it. While most dreams are of average quality, there are quite a few that are of a much higher caliber. Last night, for example, I dreamed about riding a motorcycle. This may not seem like much, but it really was; at the time, at least.

In some grand adventure I can't even describe or even remember fully, I was in a small town where ghosts may congregate and the living are sparse. As it turns out, I am escaping from this place of evil and what do I do? Ride out on the open rode on a nice big Harley. There may have been explosions chasing me in the distance, but I couldn't stop looking at the smooth pavement as it sped by below me at an exaggerated speed.

It was tranquil. It was free. The feeling of the wind blowing by my face and through my fingers was exhilerating. Not often is this a feeling in my dreams, which is probably why it's so special right now. There was peace on the motorcycle, and in the dream, I seemed to realize and respect why bikers do what they do: for the love of the open road.

At this point I awoke from the dream and a smile crept across my face as I snuggled the blankets closer with fond memories of the open road. I attempted to fall back into the dream but unfortunately it just wasn't the same. Instead of the open road, I was crashing: falling sideways at an unbearable speed that would surely be my demise. As it may have been, the perspective shifted and I was no longer on the bike but instead watching is slide under a transport, only to be crushed along with my yearning for the open road.

As it turns out I am completely fine and standing on the side of the road, but depression hits. Was it the bike? The loss of the open road? The change in course of the dream? In any event, I had had enough and I awoke from my slumber in anticipation of the looming alarm.

My Cell Phone is a Beast

It was about one week ago today that I came home, tossed my coat on the stairs as I usually do, and I heard something most distressing: an object sliding out of my coat pocket, falling to the bookshelf underneat the stairs then promptly falling behind the bookcase.

At that point it was obvious this was my cell phone, and I was horrified. Electronic devices aren't meant to sustain a fall of this magnitude: I estimate that it's about a seven foot drop to the ground.

I run downstairs to check if I can see it behind the bookcase, and I was reminded that I never actually heard the phone hit the ground. Surely it would be audible. I glance up and there is my cell phone: wedged in behind the bulge of the bookcase, hanging precariously six feet above the ground.

Well, what does one do now? If I shift the bookcase out, it will fall. I must find something to grab it: I just wish I had one of those long robot arms, but the only thing handy was a broom. Of course, the brook stick is too long and un-wieldly to handle such a delicate operation. So, I got some salad tongs. Makes sense, right? Just reach behind, grab the phone and be on my way.

Unfortunately it never came to fruition: my attempts to grab the phone were halted when I accidentally jarred the phone loose, and it took that six-foot plunge towards the hard floor below.

It would be another half hour before I saw the phone again, simply because I had to move so much stuff off the bookshelf (it's weighed down in what must be hundreds of pounds of magazines and cut-up ads).

The bookshelf eventually moved, and I was able to slide the phone out from underneath it. As it scraped along the floor, I assume it was getting all scratched up, but the way the bookshelf lies I couldn't just move the whole thing aside. I had to slide the phone.

Picking up the phone, I was astonished that there was no markings on it. Just a little scratch that had been there for over a year, but nothing new. No dents from the fall. The only thing that gave away it had been somewhere it shouldn't was the dust. The phone is fully operational, and has no sign of the fall. I was impressed, but also slightly disappointed at the same time: it would have been kind of nice to upgrade to a newer phone, and a breaking would be a perfect excuse. After all, I'm not going to replace a perfectly good phone for no real good reason.

Alas, I may have purchased a phone that is too good. Many of you may recall my beast of a phone. It has tons of features (that were cutting edge two years ago) that are all standard - and smaller - in phones today.

Perhaps my phone will break some other time, then I can move on. But for now I'm stuck with the big guy - not that I'm complaining, but you know how nice it is to get new tech.

Sold on the iPod

Last year, I bought an iPod from a friend who was embracing the iPod Video. It's an iPod mini, and it has 6GB of storage. I paid about $50, which was good, but I must admint that I was not buying it to use; it was more of a collectable to me. So it sat there for a while, and it was great. It was great because it had it's nice packaging, the earbuds, and all the cables. And I had to hand it to Apple: they got the packaging right.

So the iPod died a slow death, because the battery is constantly being drained. At some point, months after the purchase, I plugged it into the computer and put two albums on it, just for the sake of doing it. I had to see what the big fuss was. I listened to those two albums. I wasn't overly impressed.

The problem is, I have no real need for portable music. I never really have, either. I turned my phone into a 1GB music player and listened to it on the bus to North Bay a couple of times, but after I got my car, there was no need for that.

So then something happened: I got a job, and saw that people were listening to music, with headphones on, at work. This was something that I could do, I had a portable music player! So I brought the iPod to work, and it was glorious. The little thing really came to life, and I couldn't be happier with it!

I always recommended people not get the iPod, as I really thought you were paying for the name. You could just get the same functionality elsewhere, right? Well, that may still be true, but the next portable music device I buy will most definitely be an iPod. I'm sold!

"I'm just glad it's getting some use."

Double Agent

Part of the fun of playing video games is being able to collect them, although the two don't have to co-exist. I enjoy doing both, and the collector in me forces my hand to enjoy acquiring games more than playing them. Recently, I found Splinter Cell: Double Agent at a local EB.

Chaos Theory was one of the best games I've played. It was polished; it was perfect. It was fun to play. Double Agent has something else going for it, but I was overwhelmed with excitement when I found it. The game is still $60 plus everywhere, except for one day at EB. They were practically giving it away for $34.99, and I still don't understand how it's possible. Of course I bought it, and a few days later, it goes back up in price. That's the thrill of the hunt right there: you know it was a good deal and you just secured it. And you know I'm a collector when I didn't play it for a week until after I brought it home.

There are a few issues with Double Agent, and you know there are going to be some from the get-go at the main menu, where a stiff female voice reads the menu options to you as you pass over them. I've never heard anything quite like it, and it really has to make you think: What has happened to the developers? Who is responsible for something as stupid as that? And if they are going to do that, why not implement it properly? Suffice to say, I wasn't expecting much after that. First impressions are everything.

I get through training but it wasn't fun: instead of shadows, they put you in an environment that is blisteringly bright. It's like that scene in the Matrix where he's in the white room that becomes filled with weapons, but not nearly as cool. After scoring the achievement points, I begin a new game on normal difficulty. This seems like the appropriate choice: "For people who have played Splinter Cell before." That's me, I conquered Chaos Theory.

The game was abnormally difficult. I love sneaking up on guys and grabbing them. It's fun. In Double Agent it is much harder than before, which I find quite frustrating. I was caught every single time, and reloaded at least two dozen times. Pretty bad, eh? After an hour of this, I restarted and played on Easy, which really was much easier, and I blasted through the first level.

At this point I can't help but think my Sam Fisher skills have gone. I stumble through the prison level and get into the main game, but that's where I pause. Should I bother to continue playing? There are "guidelines" on being a double agent, and many of them seem to rely on doing things in a timely fashion. I hate timers in games, especially in Splinter Cell. I want to take my time! Don't rush the best spy in the world with some artificial time limit. In Chaos Theory you could take your time, plan your attack and dispose of bodies at your leisure.

Majora's Mask was all about the timer, but they perfected the gameplay just so, that it worked very well. I'm not so sure it's going to be a good implementation in Double Agent. I'm wary of this game, and I don't want to be disappointed. I'll continue playing, but don't be surprised if I don't finish the game.

It seems that the Splinter Cell series is just like the original Star Trek movies except in reverse: all even-numbered games are inferior and you surely won't miss playing them. The odd ones here are the ones worth playing.

North Bay Galaxy

What is wrong with you, stupid theatre? The Galaxy moved into town a few years ago and just blew everyone away. This was a city that still had flat seating, small screens and monorail sound in their theatres. Along comes this place with just the opposite, and cheap prices too. And for a time, it was good.

I'm not sure when things started going awry, but I really took notice this past December. The issue: the theatre has stopped bringing in GOOD movies! It seems all we really get now are your basic movies for the masses (e.g. Night at the Museum, The Hitcher, Epic Movie). Casino Royale was playing here for entirely way too long. Stop playing these movies, free up some space and bring in the good stuff!

Surely there must be room: we have seven screens, which isn't terrible. Is it the demographics? When the theatre first opened it boomed: everybody was going to the theatre. I knew people who weren't going to the show for years, and now that this modern complex had opened, they could finally go and enjoy a movie now. When you take a look at the movies that play here, you would think the theatre is just catering towards children (i.e. with family movies) and teenagers, with these weird comedies and dumb action vehicles.

There are a number of movies that will never see the projector in North Bay, it seems. Children of Men. Pan's Labyrinth. Babel. Apocalypto. Definitely more adult-oriented, and definitely not in North Bay. Some of them make it in Sudbury, in which case I have to make a road trip and go see it, which is a bit of a hassle. Yes, I enjoyed doing that in the past, when the Silver City was a novelty, but I shouldn't have to travel to see the latest movie when there's a perfectly good theatre here.

Cyborg Batman's Melting Face

Why is it that cyborgs, when they lose their fleshy exteriors (even just partly) begin to move like robots? You've seen it before, in the Terminator movies, of course. Arnold moves like a human, right up until there's no Arnold left, and he's just the cold exoskeleton with those beady red eyes. But honestly, that's a bad example, because the cyborg can't move like a human due to limitations in technology (at least with the original).

I was watching a thrilling episode of Batman: The Animated series the other day where Batman's "soul" was essentially placed into a cyborg body that looked and acted the exact same as Batman himself. You couldn't tell the difference between the two, and indeed, when they fought each other there was little to give one away as the imposter. But all this stopped when the cyborg Batman had the honour of half his faced melting off due to some kind of acid being thrown on him. Half his face was of Batman, the other half: steel. And of course that little red eye.

As soon as this happened, his movements became much more robot like: stiff, methodical, "in-organic," if you will. And to add insult to injury, I believe you could even hear his gears going, as if all the sound-dampening was coming from his face. Perhaps there was no need to hide his true robotic nature: the gig was up.