The Dark Knight smolders

I watched Batman: The Dark Knight, the much-awaited sequel to 2005's Batman Begins. I was a fan of the reboot of the Batman franchise after the disaster that was the Batman and Robin movie made in 1997. Batman Begins was an origin story and injected a lot of modern realism as to how Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) created Batman. At the end of Batman Begins, it was hinted there was a new criminal in town and left a card with a jester on it, implying to movie goers that the next Batman villain would be the "Clown Prince of Crime," the Joker.

The Dark Knight is more cerebral, darker and I daresay more philosophical. There's a frenetic pace to the whole of the movie and delves deeper into the moral issues that lie between preserving the good and battling evil.

The movie is two and half hours long and there's a lot of plot twists intervowen. I wouldn't call it a masterpiece but it's the closest thing they've done in bringing comic book hero theatrics into a movie. It's all done beautifully. The real draw to the Dark Knight is the Joker (played to a tee by the late Heath Ledger). Joker is a criminal bent on destroying the very fabric of a just and orderly society.

Casual movie goers not familiar with the Batman comics might find it too dark but for Batman fans, the movie is an absolute treat. I don't want to put in any spoilers or give out a full review because there's so many layers to the movie. This is by far the best comic book hero adaption that has been made, better than even the Spider-Man movies. Watch it!

Diablo is back! (Sort of)

I just read from several gaming web sites that Diablo III is now in development and they showed off a number of screens and even a game trailer! How sweet is that? To gamers worldwide, Diablo was the one of the best action CRPGS (computer role playing games) to come out and spelled endless hours of fun, whacking away at monsters, solving quests and getting fantastic loot and items. Sure the gameplay was repetitive but the thrill of getting magical and unique items was the fun part. After close to 7 years, Diablo returns and this time ( from the initial splash page at Blizzard.com), it looks like the Lord of Terror is bringing the pain to the Gates of Heaven itself and as usual, you stand in his way.

The first screens and game trailer I saw was the barbarian whacking away at some baddies. The isometric view was intact but I think everything else got upgraded. Graphics was swell and animations were crisp.

Check out this artwork from Blizzard.

Check out the trailer at http://www.gamespot.com/. It looks awesome.
When is it coming out? Well, Blizzard didn't say anything about it but I think a lot of Diablo II fans will wait with bated breath for this game to come out.

The Incredible Hulk smashes!

When I watched the first Hulk film in 2003, I was awed as to how they breathed life into the Hulk. The Incredible Hulk is one of my favorite superhero comic book characters (next to Spider-Man and Batman). While most people panned the overly introspective 2003 Hulk movie, I loved it because it provided a different spin to an otherwise great fictional character.

Five years later, a major reboot of the movie franchise was done and out came The Incredible Hulk. I was thrilled again yet slightly dissapointed that they didn't do a sequel. But this version is a lot more fun to watch. So here's my take on the movie. There will be some major spoilers in this review so bare with me if you haven't watched it yet. You have been warned. :)

First off, if you're a fan of the comic book, and the TV series that was spawned in the early 80s, you'll definitely love this movie. It's a reboot, not a sequel to the much-maligned Ang Lee version released in June 2003. The Incredible Hulk is more like a souped-up version of The Incredible Hulk TV series starring the late Bill Bixby. The TV series had this cool setup wherein Bruce Banner exposed himself to Gamma Rays in this movable steel chair. And before he got to change to his Big green persona, the first thing you'd notice was the change in his eyes. The Incredible Hulk movie is a clear homage to the TV series. The first few minutes roughly explains how the transformation occured and why General Thunderbolt Ross became obsessed with capturing the Hulk. I said roughly because if one is not familiar with the Hulk origins, he/she won't get it the first time.

Anyway, Edward Norton fits the bill in portraying the tormented Bruce Banner. He's got that scruffy, nerdy, vulnerable side of the character pat down. The rest of the characters, however, weren't that fleshed out. Liv Tyler's Betty Ross is okay being a good foil to Banner and the Hulk but in the comics, she was supposed to be this scientific babe as well. William Hurt's Thunderbolt Ross was just angry and secretive all the time, and Emil Blonsky, played by brilliant actor Tim Roth, was just too two dimensional.

As for the story, it's pretty decent. It's not as brooding as the Ang Lee version but I kind of liked the earlier version because it tried to explain why Bruce Banner became the Hulk and why he got so angry.

But the Incredible Hulk movie had more references to the Hulk Comics, contained humor ( I liked the stretchy purple pants Betty tried to offer Bruce in the middle part of the movie) and it's easier to understand.

So how was this Hulk different from the 2003 movie? This Hulk seems a tad weaker than the 2003 Hulk. This Hulk felt the sting of bullets and is relatively smaller. This Hulk wasn't vibrant green but rather a dull slightly grayish green. They made this Hulk far more human which to me is okay. The Hulk is still CG which was a sigh of relief because the producers would be hard pressed to pass off a Lou Ferrigno-sized Hulk and sell it to moviegoers. It would never work.

What the movie did right in spades was to have Hulk smash more stuff. And I loved every minute of it, although I was left wanting more.

The first fight between the Brazilian thugs and the military was good and the fight at the University was even better. The fight with Emil Blonsky who became the Abomination, was the piece de' resistance. If you played The Incredible Hulk Ultimate Destruction video game, you'll see the game's signature moves like Steel Fist and Sonic Clap in the movie. That was really awesome. It was really the main event. They traded punches, smashed things up and caused untold mayhem on the streets of New York. I was hooting everytime something was smashed up.

I would say that the Incredibe Hulk managed to improve on the earlier version on a lot of things but it still needs some work, especially in giving the characters more depth and a meatier plot. Still, the Incredible Hulk is darn good popcorn-leave-your-brain-at-the-door movie. I loved the fact that Samuel Sterns (who became the gamma-irradiated Super Genius The Leader in the Comics) was introduced, possibly as the next antagonist of the sequel. I also loved the fact that in the end of the movie, Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man showed up for a cameo. It gives movie goers, a sneak peak of what's in store for Marvel Comic's most loved superheroes.

I'll definitely add The Incredible Hulk to my DVD list once it gets released. But until then, if you're a fan of the comic boook character, you owe it yourself to watch this movie.

Panda knows Kung Fu

I got to watch Kung Fu Panda with my kids yesterday. I tagged along because no one else was available to take my kids to watch it. I thought it was going to be a kiddie movie like Madagascar, which to me was okay, but the humor for grown ups was a bit lacking. I was proved wrong.

The start of the story was pretty cool, all 2d animation anime-esque style but later on it proved to be a dream sequence of Po, the titular Panda. It was fascinating because it gives the impression that 3D CG characters have 2d dreams. Anyway, it's the usual from zero to hero story, but writers of Kung Fu Panda made it more interesting by incorporating Chinese Zen philosophies, and some really wicked dialogue. Jack Black, who voiced Po the Panda, got it all right and I'm thoroughly convinced that since he's a fat guy and the character's the same, he was able to associate himself with it and provided some of the best sensibilities a voice actor can do.

Dustin Hoffman, did particuarly well as Master Shifu (I hope I got it right) and the rest of the voice cast was pretty decent as well.

While the movie lacked references to pop culture, it wasn't that big a loss since the story itself is quite engaging.

As for the animation, Kung Fu Panda provides one of the coolest CG animations around. The fight scenes were downright wicked, especially when Po and Master Shifu were training. The fight between Tai Lung was even more impressive. You can probably say that it got some pointers from another CG animation Final Fantasy: Advent Children.

To me, Kung Fu Panda got all the right elements for a decidely fun and interesting CF movie. It's got tons of eye candy, great story, wicked dialogue and humor to satisfy even jaded adults (like me).

Go see the movie. I'm pretty sure, you won't be disappointed.

Now, this isn't entirely about Tech, Gear and Games but I just like to write something about it. Maybe I'll change the name of the blog to something different in the very near future.

Age of Conan is finally here!

I have been a fan of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian since I was in high school. Before I got to read Lord of the Rings, I read Conan when I chanced upon Conan the Valorous by John Maddox Roberts (allegedly Robert Jordan before he wrote his famous Wheel of Time series) in a local book shop. I read close to a dozen of Conan books in my younger years before I moved onto other fiction works. But it is still pretty dear to me.

And now, The Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures one of the most-awaited MMORPGs on the planet is now out.

I loved the mythology that Howard created for Conan. From Aquilonia's borders to dark Stygia, the Aesirs of the North to the warriors of Hyrkania. All of its incredible races, kingdoms, wars, conflicts, riches and characters are now fully fleshed out, all in magnificient computer 3D graphics. And from what I've read, there's a possibility that players might be able to meet the Cimmerian himself. Now that is absolutely wicked. This is one of the few online games that I'll be sinking my teeth into. I just hope that my experience with it doesn't turn out like Lord of the Rings Online.

Reading Comics again

For the last several months., I've bought a number of comic books because I'm trying to rediscover my long lost passion for this form of literature and entertainment. Just check out Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. In 2005, this graphic novel was one of Time Magazine's 100 Best Novels.

I've never really heard about Watchmen until a friend of mine lent me his book in 2000. I read through it but unfortunately I had to give it back because he had to give it to one of his friends.

It took me 8 years before before I actually bought my own copy of it and to me it is simply one of the best comic books that I've read in my close to 30 years of reading comic books. It isn't a comic book. It is a graphic novel.

While I'm more of a mainstream kind of comic book reader and collector, (collecting Marvel, DC, and Image comics) , Watchmen has in some way opened my eyes and mind to read more of this kind of graphic novels and other alternative comic books. I checked out Lucifer from Vertigo and I'm utterly intrigued with it. I also got a number of John Constantine Hell Blazer TPBs (collected issues) and I'm hooked.

I've got the Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. I have the four issue 1985 First print issues and got the collected edition as well. Bought it from a guy at eBay and it was worth it.

So hopefully I'll be to sink my teeth again in reading and collecting comic books. If you've got any suggested comic book reads, I'll be more than welcome to try them out.

Old Games versus New Games

It's been a while since I played any PC game. For the longest time, I've been playing console games from PS2, Xbox and even the Gamecube. Started playing them religiously in 2004. The reason I didn't play any PC game because of the amount of work I had to put in to make it work on my PC. With video games, you pop in the DVD, voila! Instant gratification! Sadly I missed on a number of great games on the PC. Yeah, the video console had a lot of really cool games, but when it came to in-depth RPGs (role playing games), RTS (real time strategy), the consoles can't hold a candle to the PCs. The only time I spent time playing on the PC is when I tried out casual games and MMORPGs(massively multiplayer online role playing games). I played WOW, Everquest and some local games here in the Philippines. But standalone PC games? Never touched them. Until now.

I just got a brand spanking PC and I'm trying out Bioshock. My initial impression is this game utterly rocks. I know it isn't recent but I'm trying to rediscover the joys of PC gaming. That's it for now.

And I will post the images of the Patlabor toy that I got. Including the MG Gundam Unicorn that I got as well.

That's it for now.