DC Universe Online: Legends #2- As an example of how DC Universe Online: Legends is not going to be just another cash-cow, writer Tony Bedard extend the cast of the series in this issue. Fringe characters like August General in Iron and Solomon Grundy were given scenes to shine while Lex Luthor put his plans into motion. The one thing I don’t enjoy is the flashback on how Brainiac and Luthor managed to conquer Earth. Kidnapping the Daily Planet for “sample testing”? Come on!
Green Lantern #62- Krona, the rogue Guardian, made his epic return to DC. With his leashed entities, he took on the Atrocitus, Larfleeze, Hal Jordon, Sinestro and members of the Indigo tribe. Took them on and defeated them soundly! This was a set-up for the coming arc but I feel that writer Geoff Johns tried to do too much. Doug Mahnke did his best but his art clearly suffered from a lack of panels and space. There were just too many characters in the fight against Krona. Usually it’s not a problem but Johns was clearly trying to give everyone a line or two and this clog up the space. However the last scene saved the show. Hal made the hard (but correct) choice to leave the JLA and throw his lot with the different corps. It was the correct decision but the decision was clearly difficult and the scene was perfect!
S.H.I.E.L.D #6- This mini-series ends with the reveal of Michelangelo as the Forever Man and the promise of a Volume 2. Volume 2? There’s a Volume 2? It is as I had feared. Writer Jonathan Hickman was too ambitious with this project. Between the fight of Sir Isaac Newton and Leonardo Da Vinci, Leniod, the time jumping of Agents Richards and Starks, Nikolas Tesla, and Michelangelo, Hickman had bitten off more than he can chew. We are now at the end of the series and I still have no idea what this series is about. Is this S.H.I.E.L.D even supposed to be defending Earth, because they seem more interested in fighting each other! I will have to put this mini as a missed opportunity.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Common Sense
When Tour de France champion Alberto Contador received a one-year ban, I said that the ban was unjust as it seem more like a mistake than cheating. Contador tested positive for the banned drug clenbuterol at an amount that is 400 times below what is needed for him to get an advantage from it.
Most experts agree that he would not have gained any advantage but even then, he was ban from cycling for 1 year. Now the Spanish cycling federation has reverse the ban. Some would call this national pride as Contador is a Spaniard, but that doesn’t change the fact it was the right decision.
Now I can’t say for sure Contador didn’t take drugs (this is cycling after all) but if you are going to ban someone, you should have strong evidence that the man was cheating. This was not the case with Contador. So in the end, common sense prevailed.
Most experts agree that he would not have gained any advantage but even then, he was ban from cycling for 1 year. Now the Spanish cycling federation has reverse the ban. Some would call this national pride as Contador is a Spaniard, but that doesn’t change the fact it was the right decision.
Now I can’t say for sure Contador didn’t take drugs (this is cycling after all) but if you are going to ban someone, you should have strong evidence that the man was cheating. This was not the case with Contador. So in the end, common sense prevailed.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Janabi Against Assange
On 5th February 2003, former US secretary of state Colin Powell told the United Nations that Saddam Hussein has biological weapons. During the speech, Powell said that their information came from Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, who was an Iraqi chemical engineer.
The faulty information was used to justify the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. Now the man in the centre, Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, has admitted that he lied to help get rid of Saddam Hussein. And he’s not sorry about it.
In an interview with the Guardian newspaper, Janabi all but admitted that he lied. He said that he was given a chance to fabricate something to topple Saddam Hussein and was proud he gave Iraq a margin of democracy.
No surprise as it has been clear for some time that there were no biological weapons in Iraq. Now I question what’s going to happen to this man. So far, it looks like nothing and I have to wonder why!
I mean compare Janabi to WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange. Since WikiLeaks released the US cables, the US has been trying ways to get Assange including a crazy rape charge. However Assange never lied to the American government, never got America to commit to a war that cost American billions of dollars and thousands of dead soldiers. Compare the two men and I know who I rather go after if I’m an American.
The faulty information was used to justify the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. Now the man in the centre, Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, has admitted that he lied to help get rid of Saddam Hussein. And he’s not sorry about it.
In an interview with the Guardian newspaper, Janabi all but admitted that he lied. He said that he was given a chance to fabricate something to topple Saddam Hussein and was proud he gave Iraq a margin of democracy.
No surprise as it has been clear for some time that there were no biological weapons in Iraq. Now I question what’s going to happen to this man. So far, it looks like nothing and I have to wonder why!
I mean compare Janabi to WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange. Since WikiLeaks released the US cables, the US has been trying ways to get Assange including a crazy rape charge. However Assange never lied to the American government, never got America to commit to a war that cost American billions of dollars and thousands of dead soldiers. Compare the two men and I know who I rather go after if I’m an American.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Protesting Against...?
Last week, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak called it quits after 2 weeks of protest from his people. After his downfall, people from Iran to Bahrain to Yemen are protesting against their government.
Yet there is little news coverage for these protests. Now some will argue that this is fatigue; after Egypt all these protests looks small in comparison. True in a sense because of how important Egypt is, but I think the reason is even simpler than that.
No one know what the protesters are protesting against! I mean Bahrain? Anyone knows what they are protesting against there? I doubt even the protesters know because I read that Bahrain's protesters don't want to overthrow the ruling family. They want more powers for the parliament and to break the monarchy's grip on senior government posts.
Maybe there's something wrong with the news reports because I always thought that's what a monarchy is. Monarchy means the ruling family have a grip on all the important posts in government! That's a monarchy!
In Egypt things were simple. They wanted President Hosni Mubarak out. All these other Middle East protests, what the protesters want is still up in the air.
Yet there is little news coverage for these protests. Now some will argue that this is fatigue; after Egypt all these protests looks small in comparison. True in a sense because of how important Egypt is, but I think the reason is even simpler than that.
No one know what the protesters are protesting against! I mean Bahrain? Anyone knows what they are protesting against there? I doubt even the protesters know because I read that Bahrain's protesters don't want to overthrow the ruling family. They want more powers for the parliament and to break the monarchy's grip on senior government posts.
Maybe there's something wrong with the news reports because I always thought that's what a monarchy is. Monarchy means the ruling family have a grip on all the important posts in government! That's a monarchy!
In Egypt things were simple. They wanted President Hosni Mubarak out. All these other Middle East protests, what the protesters want is still up in the air.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Review of The Fighter
It’s Oscar season again and a stew of movies have come out of Hollywood for a chance at the big prize. The Fighter is one of these movies and is based on boxer Micky Ward who came out of nowhere to capture a world title.
Despite the premise (and marketing) of the movie, the film is actually a family drama. Directed by David O. Russell, the film has Mark Wahlberg as Micky Ward with Christian Bale starring as Micky’s crack-addicted older half-brother Dicky Eklund. The film is more about the relationship between the two than about boxing.
And the movie is better for it!
Anchored by strong performances from the two lead, The Fighter tracked the rise of Micky after Dicky hit rock-bottom due to his addiction to crack cocaine. They were helped by strong performances from the supporting cast. Amy Adams gave a strong performance as Charlene Fleming, the girlfriend of Micky who gave him the needed push to rise to the top, and (in my view) Melissa Leo gave the best performance in the movie. As Alice Ward, the mother of the two men, she was the perfect combination of steel, love and blissful ignorance. Loving her children too much to notice their flaws, watch for the scene where she saw Dicky jumping out of a crackhouse just to escape her.
However it’s not all roses and no thorns. As a family drama, this is great film but anyone looking for a boxing movie need to go elsewhere. Despite this being a movie about a boxer, there is surprising very little boxing in it. I understand why this was marketed as a boxing movie but it really isn’t one. I wouldn’t even call it a sport movie; it's a family drama.
I also felt that the movie ended a little early. The real “Irish” Micky Ward was best known for his epic trilogy of fights against Arturo Gatti. The film never show any of the 3 fights. In short, the movie ended before Micky Ward reached the height of his career. It was a funny choice to make as most autobiographical films track their protagonist till the time they reach the top but The Fighter ends while Mucky was still rising.
However if this sound like I am nitpicking; you are right. I am! The Fighter is a good movie with solid acting from a stellar cast. It’s small wonder that the movie was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Bale) and Best Supporting Actress (Adams and Leo). Wahlberg should have been nominated as well. Frankly, there wasn't a poor performance from anyone.
Basically if you are looking for a good drama with great acting, this is the movie for you.
Despite the premise (and marketing) of the movie, the film is actually a family drama. Directed by David O. Russell, the film has Mark Wahlberg as Micky Ward with Christian Bale starring as Micky’s crack-addicted older half-brother Dicky Eklund. The film is more about the relationship between the two than about boxing.
And the movie is better for it!
Anchored by strong performances from the two lead, The Fighter tracked the rise of Micky after Dicky hit rock-bottom due to his addiction to crack cocaine. They were helped by strong performances from the supporting cast. Amy Adams gave a strong performance as Charlene Fleming, the girlfriend of Micky who gave him the needed push to rise to the top, and (in my view) Melissa Leo gave the best performance in the movie. As Alice Ward, the mother of the two men, she was the perfect combination of steel, love and blissful ignorance. Loving her children too much to notice their flaws, watch for the scene where she saw Dicky jumping out of a crackhouse just to escape her.
However it’s not all roses and no thorns. As a family drama, this is great film but anyone looking for a boxing movie need to go elsewhere. Despite this being a movie about a boxer, there is surprising very little boxing in it. I understand why this was marketed as a boxing movie but it really isn’t one. I wouldn’t even call it a sport movie; it's a family drama.
I also felt that the movie ended a little early. The real “Irish” Micky Ward was best known for his epic trilogy of fights against Arturo Gatti. The film never show any of the 3 fights. In short, the movie ended before Micky Ward reached the height of his career. It was a funny choice to make as most autobiographical films track their protagonist till the time they reach the top but The Fighter ends while Mucky was still rising.
However if this sound like I am nitpicking; you are right. I am! The Fighter is a good movie with solid acting from a stellar cast. It’s small wonder that the movie was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Bale) and Best Supporting Actress (Adams and Leo). Wahlberg should have been nominated as well. Frankly, there wasn't a poor performance from anyone.
Basically if you are looking for a good drama with great acting, this is the movie for you.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
I Was Wrong
After over 2 weeks of protests, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak finally decided to resign from his post. Even though Mubarak's downfall came at the hands of one of the biggest popular uprising in modern history, I admit; I did not think they could do it.
There were several reasons for my thinking. Mubarak has been in power for 30 years, he was entrenched as almost all of the elite in Egypt depends on him, the military and the police was with him, and he was supported by the United States, the West, even Israel!
Against that was a motley crew of protesters that don’t even have a leader. That was organized via the internet and Facebook. That didn’t have anything going for them except numbers. No guns, no bullets, no army, nothing but anger at the way their country was being run.
And the protesters won! Amazing, history-making, and incredible! I was wrong, I guess you can never discount the strength of feelings!
There were several reasons for my thinking. Mubarak has been in power for 30 years, he was entrenched as almost all of the elite in Egypt depends on him, the military and the police was with him, and he was supported by the United States, the West, even Israel!
Against that was a motley crew of protesters that don’t even have a leader. That was organized via the internet and Facebook. That didn’t have anything going for them except numbers. No guns, no bullets, no army, nothing but anger at the way their country was being run.
And the protesters won! Amazing, history-making, and incredible! I was wrong, I guess you can never discount the strength of feelings!
Friday, February 11, 2011
The Death of “Guitar Hero"
The curtain has finally fallen on “Guitar Hero." The video game that let people pretend to be rock stars, it created a whole new subgenre for music video games. However due to declining sales, Activision Blizzard Inc will halt all development on the franchise.
Yes, sales have decline for “Guitar Hero" but Activision Blizzard Inc has no one to blame but themselves for it. My reasoning is simple. When “Guitar Hero" became a global hit in 2005, Activision decided to make money from it by crunching out different “versions” of the game. So instead of games which provide something new, gamers got versions like "Guitar Hero: Metallica," who provide nothing but new songs for specific bands.
Since 2005, other franchises like “Rock Band” also hit the market. However they are also facing the same problems “Guitar Hero” is facing. I think between “Guitar Hero" and “Rock Band”, there must be over 20 versions of the games. That’s just too many versions of a genre that is only 5 years old!
Frankly, in the chase for consumer dollars, Activision killed their own franchise by flooding the market.
Yes, sales have decline for “Guitar Hero" but Activision Blizzard Inc has no one to blame but themselves for it. My reasoning is simple. When “Guitar Hero" became a global hit in 2005, Activision decided to make money from it by crunching out different “versions” of the game. So instead of games which provide something new, gamers got versions like "Guitar Hero: Metallica," who provide nothing but new songs for specific bands.
Since 2005, other franchises like “Rock Band” also hit the market. However they are also facing the same problems “Guitar Hero” is facing. I think between “Guitar Hero" and “Rock Band”, there must be over 20 versions of the games. That’s just too many versions of a genre that is only 5 years old!
Frankly, in the chase for consumer dollars, Activision killed their own franchise by flooding the market.
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