Transformers

I think the question that might be in your mind is this: Is this a good movie?

Well, yeah, an obvious question. But more to the point: Is this a good movie considering that Michael Bay is directing it? Let's clear some things here- I have nothing against Bay. That said, I'm no big fan of him either.

I thought Armageddon was nice (and in this movie, he has the privilege of referencing it too. Wow.). And Pearl Harbor too. They were entertaining. But they could hardly be called "solid" movies. Style, yes. Substance? Er...definitely not.

Transformers is a Michael Bay movie through and through. Style (and more style) meets, uh, little substance. But it's probably his best one, ever. Really.

This is no character driven movie with a deep, complex, meaningful plot. It's a movie that is defined by its action scenes. And that's the only reason you should go for this movie. The action. The fights. The excitement.

Yes, it's entertaining. Unless you're put off by this sort of thing (I know quite a few people who would fall asleep watching this show). It's a fanboy's dream. It's cool, yeah.

I must hand it to Orci & Kurtzman here: They worked up a screenplay that's ended up like more of a very long fight sequence than a proper story. This is its weakness, and its greatest strength. Let's just say, the, explosions make up for almost all of its inadequacies.

No question here, this is a show that the boys (young, old) will enjoy. But I'm puzzled and concerned: Transformers happen to be action figures that are targeted toward children (of course, this is not to say that all who play and enjoy them are young children).

They must have made this movie for those who actually grew up with Transformers instead: I'm talking about those who hark back from the 80's. Because this movie is very, very intense in some parts. Too much so for the young ones, I would think.

Yes, even the action sequences become unintelligible at times. But that's the way it should be sometimes: chaotic.
As for me, I'm not complaining. =)


The Relaxed Moviegoer: A

The Thoughtful Critic: B-

Minutes To Midnight. Slightly Ironic.

Linkin Park's album title Minutes To Midnight was intended as a "tongue in cheek" reference to the music industry. Inadvertently (maybe not?), it's also a rather ironic reference to that of Linkin Park.



Let me explain. They claim that their nu-metal sounds are completely gone from this album. That's quite true. Someo their songs are quite different (other, only slightly) from those found in their previous album. Chester's screaming is not so dominant now. But I find it ironic that their most successful single so far (What I've Done) is probably the only one that sounds like that of their previous songs.



You can find a guitar solo of sorts in the first track ,Wake and also a rap track in Hands Held High. Both, I think, are slightly out of place (and the latter belongs more in The Rising Tied than Minutes to Midnight, really). What I've Done and, perhaps, Bleed It Out are the two tracks I liked. The rest were too broody, slow, melancholic (to the point of annoying) and lacked energy. It got tiring and repetitive.



And they've also dumped their no-profanity policy (which means we now have f**k mentioned in their songs periodically). They are, after all, trying to be different. But I think (and many others, in fact) they fail. Again, irony prevails again here: Perhaps they should have just stuck to formula.

Why They Love To Make Love, Even Where There Is No Love

Forgive the title; my attempt at being poetic inevitably has fallen short. But I think it brings to light some problems inherent in pre-marital sex.



But then, I'm not going to actually discuss its problems, but why people want to do it. And why they- no- we want to do so. And what we're doing to discourage it. Because there is no way on earth we will ever prohibit it.



It's fun, isn't it? It's exciting. Or so I hear and am told. The most frustrating, yet paradoxically logically meaningless argument offered is that everyone does it: and why shouldn't you? This was basically Giselle Bundchen's argument, and while I must slap myself for actually referring to her, she still speaks for many- and many listen.



You can't argue against peer pressure, as much as you would like. You might have debates and maybe "win" them, but at the end of the day if the majority still don't agree, you've gone nowhere.



But while pre-marital sex might be widely accepted in other countries, it's still mainly frowned upon here, obviously. This might be a good thing and a bad thing, depending on how obedient you are to cultural or religious principles. Rebels to such generally will, uh, love to have sex.



This brings me to some thoughts I have on how we, the Christians, ought to make some difference. Beyond those limited abstinence campaigns (and they are mainly held by Christians, at churches, for Christians) and talks every week on the evils of premarital sex, I think it's time we started bringing our concerns out into the open.



Here is the problem. Our rejection (accurately, most conservative churches) of premarital sex stems from the fact that we see it add odds to Biblical command. That is the root fact, despite there being others (such as psychological and bodily damage).



So do we just go out to schools, colleges and universities handing out leaflets quoting scripture prohibiting such? As far as I know, no church does that.



Yet sometime such truths as why fornication is wrong require something else to comprehend them. I.e., the mind of Christ. Perhaps 1 Corinthians 2:14 applies:



The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.



So maybe we should be too surprised as to why so many don't get our idea. Hey, it's fun, that's why. Why stop? Or perhaps they are in a relatively secure relationship, and trust one another. Either way, while there may be actually no physical or emotional consequences, there might be spiritual ones (that is, sin against God).



How are we going to bring that fact across? Well, besides prayer (we should pray more about this fact, seriously), we have forgotten the most important thing precursor to all social and spiritual change. The Gospel of Jesus Christ. Obviously. And it seems in most cases, the presentation runs backward. First biblical truths that some may never comprehend. Then only the Gospel.



This is not to say that all social reform acts done are pointless if they are independent of the Gospel. But if they are to be done independently, we need a smarter plan, and we need to team up with the rest (as some have done in their efforts already).



Are we forgetting that we live in Malaysia, a supposedly Islamic country? We all know how conservative Islam (and Muslims) are right? So, I think, we can cooperate with them (be they Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Taoists etc.) to bring forth the view that premarital sex is unnecessary. And not just unnecessary, but risky and dangerous.



And also, we as Christians know this as well: It's a sin. Simple as that.

A Slew of (Anime) Reviews

I've noticed the unsettling fact that I happen to be blogging alot about anime. This either shows that I have an unhealthy obsession with it or that I have nothing else to write about.



Both ways are rather unflattering to me, and as such this will probably be (emphasis: probably) the last you will see of anything anime here, at least for a while. Well, here we go:



Ghost in the Shell & Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence



To put it simply, Ghost in the Shell (both movies) is what the Matrix trilogy should have been. It's way more intelligent- and in comparison to say, Matrix Revolutions, far clearer.



This is not to say that the plot is easily discernible. It's not, and don't expect to get everything the first time. But then, it's not about the story alone. There's the action scenes, which are rather well done (don't compare them to the Matrix, though...heh).



The first movie, which the first Matrix draws a lot from (although some might say, more harshly, ripped off), starts off with our protoganist trying to find out the truth in a mysterious series of events. I'm not to go into plot details here (you have Wikipedia for that), but suffice to say, it's interesting.



It's made awhile back (1995), but the animation only is slightly dated. The violence can get pretty gory (the illustrators bothered to draw bones and exposed metallic limbs, so you get the idea). Non-sexualized nudity is featured as well, though it's more like not- too obvious fanservice (ala the manga).



The second movie doesn't add much to the first (and its level of "maturity" stays somewhat the same). Animation for Innocence is brilliant, to say the least (thanks to its relatively enormous budget); although I might add that the added CG tends to be rather superfluous.



Overall: Interesting, and intelligent. Some of its themes explored might go beyond some, but if you love (or at least, understand) pop existential philosophy, these are the movies for you.



And I also like this particular quote from the opening of Innocence, by (the long winded) Auguste Villiers de l'lsle-Adam:



"If our Gods and our hopes are nothing but scientific phenomena, then

let us admit it must be said that our love is scientific as well."



Death Note



No, I don't generally review anything unless I'm completely done with it, but for this case I'll make an exception, because this ranks as one of the best anime I've ever watched.



If you've seen the first live-action movie (at least), then you would know the storyline of the first portion of this anime. But the anime splits away from the second movie towards the latter middle half (basically, it stays faithful to the manga storyline).



Well, simply put, it's brilliant. If you like thrillers involving mind games by people trying to outwit each other, plot twists here and there as well as the satisfaction of watching someone slay the bad guys at will, then this is the show for you.



I must say, this is probably the second anime I've watched so far to have such intensity in every episode. And considering that its 37 episodes long (I've already watched 36), it's certainly a feat.



Vandread



From the intense to the not so intense, Vandread starts off on a promising premise: Man vs. Woman. Yup, the two sexes are at war with each other, living on separate planets. Our (ordinary) hero gets caught in some (extraordinary) events, throw in some mecha battles, and there we have our story.



But from there it's mostly downhill. While this is no serious anime- (and when it becomes serious, it becomes corny) and with a fair amount of ecchi (mostly having to do with breasts) in it, it can certainly get annoying after awhile. Still, I went through all of it.



And while there are some interesting/enjoyable episodes throughout the two 13 episode seasons, it's certainly an anime that you shouldn't be desperate to watch.



Unless you er, like this sort of stuff.







Well that's it for now. Until then...



Bye!

I've Come Quite Far.

I just took a peek at a fantasy story I wrote when I was 12. I remember quite clearly how I was driven to write it after reading The Silmarillion (and almost driven to death via boredom). My attempt at writing something more interesting was, rather, interesting.

Besides the marked lack of originality (I shuddered as I saw how you could just change the names of some of my characters and they would be equivalent to...oh well, never mind).

Jump to one year back. I took a look at my one of my stories recently, written at that time. And I said...wow. This is not to flatter myself. I do that quite often already.



Well, anyway, I was rather...surprised. And I said, wow, I've come quite far. I've...grown up.



Which is quite scary. I rarely peek into my archives at my other blog because it frightens me...how I could write such things.



Oh well, I was young then. =)

Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer

As my friend noted, there are some movies you would like to see, even if you know it sucks. I suppose it happened to me in this case.



The trailer looked good. Or was it because this Fantastic Four sequel (to a not that great beginning movie) contained the Silver Surfer, my favourite Marvel character?



I suppose a little bit of both, and I went in hoping- just hoping- that this movie would not be bad. I was wrong. It's terrible. But compared to the first, it's still an improvement. But yeah, it sucks.



Then again, if you somehow liked the first Fantastic 4, then you'd love this one. As for me, I was only mildly entertained, but primarily disappointed at the lackluster characters, storyline, action...everything.



Don't expect any depth here. Let's just say...it's more for the young ones.



But I wouldn't mind a Silver Surfer spin off. At least that guy was way more interesting than the four of them combined.



If you're still not sure, than go ahead and watch it. You'll know it's doomed when you watch Mr. Fantastic do those stretchy dance moves.



Now I'm just waiting for Transformers...hehe.





The Relaxed Moviegoer: B



The Thoughtful Critic: C-

This Ain't No Hilton

My standards must be lowering. I'm talking about celebrities now. Not even celebrities, mind you, but pseudo-celebrities. Not even pse--



Okay, nevermind.

Whoever said humans were innately sympathetic were wrong. Paris Hilton's incarceration demonstrates that. If you bother to read the entertainment section in any newspaper, you'd know how she was dragged back from her home to serve the remainder of her jail sentence.



Ah lovely, says almost everyone. An example would be this rather gleeful piece on her.



I myself join in the chorus of praise. No leniency for this girl. Go Judge and prosecutors! She's done wrong, and gotta pay for it. You reap what you sow. Etcetera.



What can I say about this interesting phenomenon? The Germans have a word for it. Yes, schadenfreude.



Ah yes, I'm feeling it all over. Makes me warm inside.

There Is...

A cat that comes by my apartment. My apartment has two entrances, one opening out into the corridor and one into the swimming pool area (we live, technically, on the ground floor).



I can tell when it comes by when I hear the sound of a bell ringing. It's our neighbors cat. They put a small, jingly bell on it. It's fur consists of "dirty" black and brown hues. Wonder why it comes by? Possibly because our pet budgie. We all know that cats + birds= bad.

We chase it away, but don't employ extreme methods. Firstly, because it's our neighbors and secondly, because that would be cruel.



It's a cute kitten.



So we constantly have to keep a look out, just in case it sneaks into our house (other cats as well). So far, so good. No problems.



What can we learn from this? Are there any practical (philosophical, theological) applications to be found here?



Nope. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Apart from the fact that there is a cat that likes to come by and hang around in my apartment's porch.



This was merely an anecdote to ensure that the time gap between my blog posts was not too big.



Sorry. I blame it on randomness. The universe is random. So says quantum physics.



And I hear the ring of the bell again. Who knows, it might just be Schrödinger's Cat.



My apologies, once again.

I'll Be Away...

For a few days. Church camp. A time for spiritual rejuvenation.



It'll be a few days.



It wouldn't be dull though. I brought my PS2.



=)