no life
Just a summary of a bunch of stuff I've been watching, reading and playing below. Will have to get to working (still searching), arting and producing stuff next. Maybe. :P
Melbourne International Comedy Festival:
Dylan Moran - this was actually the second time we went to see Dylan Moran at the comedy festival. We were a bit afraid that he'd use old material from last year (as he had used some bits of it at another standup gig we saw on TV a few months back) but fortunately he got us laughing with a whole slew of new stuff. I think he basically poked fun at almost everyone ranging from women, men, the Irish, Germans, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, New Zealand, mothers, fathers, husbands, babies, etc. While I'm a fan of Black Books, I was quite surprised at how fully packed the theatre was, he must have quite the following.
Comics:
Empowered - Adam Warren's new OGN from Dark Horse about a klutzy inexperienced super-heroine named Empowered. I like Adam Warren's artwork and this is a fun book with a lot of short little stories centered on the title character. The plain pencilled art was a bit jarring at first but I got used to it.
The Dreaming vol. 2 - finally got around to finding a copy and the time to read Queenie Chan's OGN manga from TokyoPop. I really enjoyed the first book and the second book is just as good if not better. It's got some really creepy and scary moments and the pacing moves more like a mystery thriller in this book, which I like. Artwork including the backgrounds are just as detailed as always. There's a bit of predictability with how some of the characters act in certain scenes that made me frustrated like I was watching B-grade horror movies where you just know the character is just walking into their death scene! But it's all good.
Also been reading The New Avengers and The Mighty Avengers, which is something different for me, since I haven't picked up an Avengers comic since Art Adams did an arc or the Heroes Reborn thingie. Next, I'll have to find time to read my copy of Jae Lee's Hellshock and Godland vol. 2.
Movies:
300 - saw the movie on Saturday night, which I thought was awesome. The action, acting and stylized visuals are borderline over-the-time but all very enjoyable. I liked Zack Snyder's remake of Dawn of the Dead and after seeing this movie, I have a little bit more confidence with him doing the Watchmen movie next. It was kind of good that it's been a while since I read the Frank Miller's graphic novel / comic books, that I forgotten most of it but not enough that when I saw each scene, it reminded me exactly how it read at the time. Quite a manly and gory movie actually and it's probably a bit hyped up for what's it worth. We also got to do a movie survey that night as well, which was an interesting first time experience.
The Passion of Christ - I hadn't seen this movie until they aired it on Easter Friday on TV at midnight without any commercials. I was a bit taken back by the entire movie being subtitled but got used to it. I was also a little disappointed that it only kind of depicted the part where Jesus carried the cross and got crucified. It was definitely very gory and bloody, certain parts just made me ill and disgusted. I also think I would have preferred to have seen what happened after Jesus was resurrected.
Battle of Wits - a Hong Kong and Chinese war epic drama production starring Andy Lau as a member of the Mozi, kind of like a cross between a peacemaker and a battle strategist. This movie was kind of an opposite to movies like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Hero, where it was more about realism rather than fancy costumes and flying martial arts theatrics. This realism and grittiness to this dusty and dirty China war period movie made it more enjoyable and believable I thought. I've also since discovered that it's actually based on the Japanese manga, Bokko by Hideki Mori, which I've read like parts of the first book.
Death Note: The Last Name - part 2 and finale of the live-action movie adaption of the Death Note manga. The events and scenes in this movie follows a bit more closely to the manga but still not as accurately as the TV anime. They've summarised or rather condensed a few characters into one character in this movie, whose like the fall-guy or antagonist here. The ending, well, let's just say it gave me the same feeling after reading the ending of the manga, that's all I'll say. This movie is probably for Death Note and Iron Chef fans only.
Saw III - the third and final of the Saw movies, where the Jigsaw serial killer kidnaps a doctor to keep him alive long enough so he can watch his apprentice at work. I really liked the original Saw movie, I thought while it was gruesome and twisted, it was still smart and had decent twists and storyline. The second movie was a bit of a disappointment in comparison but it was still ok in my book. But this third installment was just mostly disgusting and tormenting to sit and watch through. I don't recommend this at all. Avoid this movie.
Le Conseguenze dell'amore (The Consequence of Love) - watched this Italian movie on SBS tv one Friday night. Very intriguing opening to the movie and for about most of it, it's a great movie. I'm not going to tell you what it's about because it'll ruin the first half of the movie, but it's well worth watching this movie even though I thought the ending was a bit unsatisfying.
Video Games:
Shadow of Colossus (PS2) - finally got a chance to play this game after I had got it early last year. It took me a while to get used to the controls and mechanics of the game but it's very engaging. I don't know if it's just me, but I feel really bad every time I have to stab those Colossi in their weak spot(s), like what have they ever done to me. Which if you really think about it, none of the other games bosses have ever done anything to me either, but in this game I feel really bad for "killing" them for some reason. Awesome game though.
Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS) - man, this game is getting long, I'm up to Chapter 9 I think and I can't wait for it to be over. Really like the style and artwork but the story itself I feel has too much filler (characters) and doesn't progress fast enough.
Melbourne International Comedy Festival:
Dylan Moran - this was actually the second time we went to see Dylan Moran at the comedy festival. We were a bit afraid that he'd use old material from last year (as he had used some bits of it at another standup gig we saw on TV a few months back) but fortunately he got us laughing with a whole slew of new stuff. I think he basically poked fun at almost everyone ranging from women, men, the Irish, Germans, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, New Zealand, mothers, fathers, husbands, babies, etc. While I'm a fan of Black Books, I was quite surprised at how fully packed the theatre was, he must have quite the following.
Comics:
Empowered - Adam Warren's new OGN from Dark Horse about a klutzy inexperienced super-heroine named Empowered. I like Adam Warren's artwork and this is a fun book with a lot of short little stories centered on the title character. The plain pencilled art was a bit jarring at first but I got used to it.
The Dreaming vol. 2 - finally got around to finding a copy and the time to read Queenie Chan's OGN manga from TokyoPop. I really enjoyed the first book and the second book is just as good if not better. It's got some really creepy and scary moments and the pacing moves more like a mystery thriller in this book, which I like. Artwork including the backgrounds are just as detailed as always. There's a bit of predictability with how some of the characters act in certain scenes that made me frustrated like I was watching B-grade horror movies where you just know the character is just walking into their death scene! But it's all good.
Also been reading The New Avengers and The Mighty Avengers, which is something different for me, since I haven't picked up an Avengers comic since Art Adams did an arc or the Heroes Reborn thingie. Next, I'll have to find time to read my copy of Jae Lee's Hellshock and Godland vol. 2.
Movies:
300 - saw the movie on Saturday night, which I thought was awesome. The action, acting and stylized visuals are borderline over-the-time but all very enjoyable. I liked Zack Snyder's remake of Dawn of the Dead and after seeing this movie, I have a little bit more confidence with him doing the Watchmen movie next. It was kind of good that it's been a while since I read the Frank Miller's graphic novel / comic books, that I forgotten most of it but not enough that when I saw each scene, it reminded me exactly how it read at the time. Quite a manly and gory movie actually and it's probably a bit hyped up for what's it worth. We also got to do a movie survey that night as well, which was an interesting first time experience.
The Passion of Christ - I hadn't seen this movie until they aired it on Easter Friday on TV at midnight without any commercials. I was a bit taken back by the entire movie being subtitled but got used to it. I was also a little disappointed that it only kind of depicted the part where Jesus carried the cross and got crucified. It was definitely very gory and bloody, certain parts just made me ill and disgusted. I also think I would have preferred to have seen what happened after Jesus was resurrected.
Battle of Wits - a Hong Kong and Chinese war epic drama production starring Andy Lau as a member of the Mozi, kind of like a cross between a peacemaker and a battle strategist. This movie was kind of an opposite to movies like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Hero, where it was more about realism rather than fancy costumes and flying martial arts theatrics. This realism and grittiness to this dusty and dirty China war period movie made it more enjoyable and believable I thought. I've also since discovered that it's actually based on the Japanese manga, Bokko by Hideki Mori, which I've read like parts of the first book.
Death Note: The Last Name - part 2 and finale of the live-action movie adaption of the Death Note manga. The events and scenes in this movie follows a bit more closely to the manga but still not as accurately as the TV anime. They've summarised or rather condensed a few characters into one character in this movie, whose like the fall-guy or antagonist here. The ending, well, let's just say it gave me the same feeling after reading the ending of the manga, that's all I'll say. This movie is probably for Death Note and Iron Chef fans only.
Saw III - the third and final of the Saw movies, where the Jigsaw serial killer kidnaps a doctor to keep him alive long enough so he can watch his apprentice at work. I really liked the original Saw movie, I thought while it was gruesome and twisted, it was still smart and had decent twists and storyline. The second movie was a bit of a disappointment in comparison but it was still ok in my book. But this third installment was just mostly disgusting and tormenting to sit and watch through. I don't recommend this at all. Avoid this movie.
Le Conseguenze dell'amore (The Consequence of Love) - watched this Italian movie on SBS tv one Friday night. Very intriguing opening to the movie and for about most of it, it's a great movie. I'm not going to tell you what it's about because it'll ruin the first half of the movie, but it's well worth watching this movie even though I thought the ending was a bit unsatisfying.
Video Games:
Shadow of Colossus (PS2) - finally got a chance to play this game after I had got it early last year. It took me a while to get used to the controls and mechanics of the game but it's very engaging. I don't know if it's just me, but I feel really bad every time I have to stab those Colossi in their weak spot(s), like what have they ever done to me. Which if you really think about it, none of the other games bosses have ever done anything to me either, but in this game I feel really bad for "killing" them for some reason. Awesome game though.
Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS) - man, this game is getting long, I'm up to Chapter 9 I think and I can't wait for it to be over. Really like the style and artwork but the story itself I feel has too much filler (characters) and doesn't progress fast enough.