Wordtrotters Review – part 1 -

Welcome to my first game review for the year. And for my first game review, I decided to review a game developed here in the Philippines. So let’s see just how they fared.

The premise of the game is that you’re one of the 3 caterpillars/bugs that’s cursed by the evil witch Grimmar (yeah a play on the word “grammar), which split their bodies. So your objective is to find your body parts (which comprises letters to form a word) to win the game.

The developers mentioned that the game itself is similar to “Pacman”, but instead of eating pellets aimlessly, you have to carefully look and collect for letters in the correct order to spell a given word. Sounds easy enough right?

The developers of the game dubs it as “The World’s Coolest Word Game”, (as seen on the logo above) let’s see just how “cool” it really is.

I HAZ GAMER KITTY!!

Yep, that’s my cat “Tigger” there. And yes he’s playing with both my Nintendo Wii & my PS3… Yep, my cat is now a hardcore gamer confirmed…

I HAZ PS3!! ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED!! XD

Get a PS3.

(Achievement unlocked: January 20, 2010) Yep, I finally own one!! So I’m a PSWii owner now.

I finally own a PS3. Yep, its legit this time. Last time, I just borrowed a PS3 from a good friend of mine. This time, its the real thing. It’s second hand (but still squeaky clean and looks really new), and I got it for a “steal” so to speak. /gg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looks really classy and good, although I wish it was black though… I like the shiny black PS3. Oh well, atleast it will look good together with my Wii since they’re both light colored.

That’s one goal achieved this year. Onto the next one. XD

Sherlock Holmes Review – part 3 -

As for the film itself, it does a good job in pacing itself nicely without losing too much of the momentum or feeling disjointed. The plot twists are kept minimal at best, and the story itself is pretty much straight-forward, but a very engaging watch nonetheless.

I actually loved the parts where Sherlock engages himself in a fight. Before he actually perform each attack, the film shows just how and where he will actually strike his opponent. It would almost seem as if even in when fighting, Sherlock uses his deductive skills and logic in order to quickly and efficiently subdue his enemies. After the film has shown step by step how he will attack, the scene immediately goes back to the beginning where Holmes will actually perform the moves in a brisk pace that by the time he does it, you can see just how those moves will hurt.

Lastly, I’m also disappointed with the way the series upcoming “greatest villain” was revealed in the film. Let’s just say that Batman Begins did a better job than this film.

CONCLUSION

All in all, Sherlock Holmes starts the year right with a very engaging and entertaining film. Both Holmes & Watson were played wonderfully by Downey & Law. Mark Strong also does Lord Blackwood justice as the film’s main villain, while Rachel McAdams portrayal of Irene Adler is serviceable at best. Injecting just the right balance of action & mystery, Sherlock Holmes is a must-see movie specially for those new to the series.

Sherlock Holmes Review – part 2 -

The movie’s plot has a certain feel that’s similar to “Batman Begins”, where the story sets up the setting, the characters and uses an introduction villain (Ra's al Ghul) that serves to introduce what would be the series’ greatest villain (the Joker). However, this film’s introduction villain, is definitely no cheap push-over. Enter Lord Blackwood.

This English badass is Sherlock Holmes’ main enemy in the film. He leads a group of cultists who aims to create a new world order, using the dark arts and sorcery. This premise sets up an interesting setting of Science VS Magic. Where Sherlock uses the power of Logic, Science and Deductive Reasoning; his enemy uses the power of magic, the dark arts, and sorcery to do his bidding.

Played by Mark Strong, he simply owns the character. His portrayal of the character is smooth, dark and mysterious, that you can’t help but be seduced with his “black aura”. He’s the kind of villain that simply puts him in the same league as our hero, and not under him.

Sadly the same cannot be said of “The Woman” herself; Irene Adler. Portrayed by Rachel McAdams, she’s supposed to be “the woman” who captured the Sherlock’s interest and managed to outsmart him twice in the past. Take note of the word “SUPPOSED TO”… because in this film, she doesn’t even appear to be in the same league as Holmes. Far from it. She’s more or less a cut-out character made to be more of a prop in the background than a character. In fact, this picture nicely sums up what I feel about Rachel McAdams’ portrayal of Irene:

The whole film was simply dominated by Holmes and Watson’s greatness that Adler simply sits behind the back, instead of right beside them. She’s simply outclassed in almost every scene she’s in when Holmes & Watson are around. What’s also a missed opportunity, was developing Holmes & Adler’s relationship. There’s a part in the film where the director was gunning for the feeling of a bittersweet relationship of a love that’s not meant to be, but falls flat on execution. In fact, Eva Green (Vesper Lynd from Casino Royale) would have made a better Irene Adler than Rachel McAdams if only for her charisma and screen presence.

Sherlock Holmes Review – part 1 -

I’ll start off 2010, with my first movie review of the year. And I’m definitely glad of the movie I picked; Sherlock Holmes.

Directed by Guy Ritchie, the same guy who directed the awfully awkward and butchered remake of “Swept Away” starring his then-wife Madonna, you’d think that this film would be half as bad as that one. However, miraculously (or maybe because Madonna’s now out of the picture) Guy Ritchie actually makes this film work!

Starring Robert Downey Jr.(as the titluar protagonist, Sherlock Holmes) is very capable for the role. Now I’m no Sherlock Holmes expert, and I have very little knowledge of the character, but I must say his version of Holmes is very engaging and interesting, and wonderfully played as well. My only quirk is that his still carries some of his “aura” as Tony Stark (Iron Man), and I simply can’t seem to separate him from the character. I only hope that on the sequel, Tony, i mean Robert Downey Jr. should be able to craft a distinct “aura” for Holmes that will separate him from Tony Stark whenever he’s on the screen.

The most drastic and best part of this film, was Dr. Watson’s transformation from a bumbling idiot, into a capable ally worthy to be by Sherlock’s side.

Played by Jude Law, his version of Dr. Watson makes him at even odds with Sherlock Holmes, as his partner. It’s like he’s the brawns of the duo, saving Sherlock Holmes’ ass on more than one occasion. This move not only makes Dr. Watson more badass, but also serves as one of the more better moments in the movie, where he and Sherlock constantly engage in alot of bickering, ranting and just slapping each other silly at times. He and Robert certainly has a great deal of chemistry when they’re together and I love the dynamic between their friendship/partnership.

My “Bucket List” updates & my “04 – 09 Art Journal” – part 2 -

Also, to start the year right, I’ve decided to look as to how much progress I’ve made as an artist. I’ve come across the idea from a friend of mine at work. So from there, I decided to make an “Art Journal” just for me to simply see just how much I’ve improved over the years. And here’s My Art Journal.

I could say I was impressed with what I was able to pull off. In fact what impressed me the most was what other people noticed in my artwork over the years that I personally wasn’t even aware of. It was those little details that are worth it that made me proud of where I am now. And I plan to improve even more, specially now that I have a decent and stable job.

Finally, I’d like to introduce to you Col. SS Hans Landa from the movie “Inglorious Basterds” by Quentin Tarantino. According to Wikipedia, Col. Hans Landa is:

“…is a cruel, ruthless and diabolically intelligent Austro-German SD officer who is nicknamed "the Jew Hunter" in reference to his keen ability to locate Jews hiding throughout France… Landa has a somewhat sophisticated and narcissistic personality. He is a polyglot; very well versed in 4 languages and able to speak fluent English,French and Italian in addition to his native Austro-German…Landa can also be a charming yet salacious (passionate) detective. He displays a witty yet frequently sadistic sense of humour…”

This guys is part of the reason why I loved, Inglorious Basterds. And I definitely would want to be just like him (mostly on his good parts, and a little bit of the bad stuff as well, LOL!) that’s why I wanted to learn Spanish, French, Japanese coz of this guy! He simply is awesome to watch and I would want to one day be just like him.

Hopefully this year would be a great year for me in reaching my dreams…