Kimputer's Weblog

I always liked Kevin Smith, and this movie would prove his worthiness indefinitely (again writing and directing it all by himself, while helping with producing and editing), as this is the first movie to break away from his usual strange comedy style. Not surprising that he takes a veteran to star (Ben Affleck starred in many Kevin Smith movies) in this break-away stunt. Ben is, of course, besides a capable actor, a natural charmer, making him a perfect fit for this movie. Starring as his kid, is big eyed adorable Raquel Castro, another perfect fit for the role. Add to that Liv Tyler, with her disarming smile and attitude, as a potential love interest, and it’s almost complete (other minor characters are quite acceptable too). To complete it, there are quite few funny cameos thrown in.
They all play out a simple story, which would’ve been bad, if Kevin didn’t flesh it out with meaty dialogue. He doesn’t even shy away from a few cliches here and there, which would have been bad, if he didn’t throw in a few thought provoking subjects in the mix. He even proves he has good tear jerking qualities. In the end, all is well, and change isn’t a bad thing after all. I’d say, serve up The Green Hornet and Fletch Won whenever you’re ready.7½.

Oprah Winfrey is gonna make some big bucks. And I don’t mean her extending her contract till 2011 (after renegotiating her 2006 deal), no, I mean the $17.20 she’s gonna make per day.
Chosen as a jury member (out of 300 potential jurors), she will have to sit through 3 days of trials. Besides granted the use of the side entrance, no other special treatment will be allowed. No mic, no camera in the juryroom. Too bad. I bet though, she’ll be chosen to act as the madame foreperson.

Bad reviews from everywhere, even some streaming in from outerspace through the SETI satellites, didn’t stop Alien vs. Predator from making bigger bugs, I mean bucks, than their previous solo movies. Alien 3 topped at $19.5 million, while Predator did it with $12 million. Teamed up together though, they’re good for $38.3 million.
Second place is for Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement. It’s every young girls’ dream, so it earns a hefty $23.0 million. Collateral drops to number 3, though only a 35% drop, with $16.0 million. For young boys, there was Yu-Gi-Oh!, another Japanese trading card thingy, i.e. another major headache for parents. A $9.4 million headache, to be exact. Good enough for a number 4 spot.

Rate 1 (FR#^&% MESS !) to 5 (how very tidy !). Only rate the latest picture, otherwise I can’t keep track of the average.

Total: 1173 out of 353 votes > Average is: 3.323

I live here in my own cozy home for two and a half years now, and I never noticed it. Until yesterday, when I accidentally looked at it from a certain angle under a certain lighting condition. Apparently, I also have to vacuum the wall every year or so !

Sometimes, my sister comes by my house, and then leaves something in the freezer (left over from lunch, for instance). And then I come home, and I find out what it is. And most of the time, it’s, of all freezable substances in the world, FISH. Who set the current level parameter of this world to “CRUEL” ? What grave injustice have I done in my previous life to have deserved this ?

Oh, the Olympics are about to start. Not only did they practically have to rebuild Athens, but the IT department, 3.400 people strong, had to work their asses off for 3.5 years. To accomodate some 4 billion TV viewers, a few million of those hitting the net, and a 21.500 manned press pack, they have deployed 10.500 computers, and 900 servers. Too bad I won’t see any of the 200.000 athletes and co., because I think this is as enjoyable as watching paint dry on a door, then wait for it to crack and peel off itself. And from reliable sources I’ve heard if the paint is from Histor, it might take a few decades before that happens.

The outline, King Arthur in a more realistic setting and way of storytelling, seems like a smart move. It has not been done before, and a darker tone could be a benefit to attract more adult customers. The high expectations though, are not met. If at all, it’s just mildly entertaining. How the story is set up, there’s no room for drama nor exploration of the many characters (only Arthur’s character has a less simple outline, but it’s still not much). The story seems to move too fast, yet it doesn’t progress at all. Most battles don’t have any tension leading up, and the outcome is no surprise either. They’re also not extraordinarily shot nor is it any more bloody than beyond the acceptable. Hans Zimmer’s score is dramatic now and then, but it’s not overly exciting, nor is there a theme to identify this film by. With everything so middle of the road, most viewers (the males of course) have the mesmerising beauty of Keira Knightley to lead them to the exit, but the other half will go home pretty disappointed. It’s not fair to put the blame on Antoine Fuqua though, an otherwise standard actioner (though with an extremely well-done Training Day under his belt), so the usually insightful Jerry Bruckheimer has to deservedly take the full heat.7-.

By now, you must’ve heard of her. Ashlee Simpson. You know, the sister of. No, no Bart, you dumbass, Jessica. Anyways, with a sister like that, it’s not that hard to work your way through the music industry, and now, she ends up with nr. 1 album, filled with gritty pop-rock. So, I was just about to review it, when I caught a few seconds of last week’s Teen Choice Awards, where she collected quite a few awards. Then I saw her live performance. And I lost my appetite.
As you may or may not know, I almost value live performances more than the recorded music, and most of the music I listen to, have been tested for that. I even hear a bad live performer from quite a distance (due to the level of vocal processing when recording songs). A list of what I predicted (and later proved correctly) ranges from Madonna (not really good) to Jessica Folcker (pretty bad) to any random Spice Girl (terrible) to Enrique Iglesias (unbearable). But Ashlee, if needed a grade, would end up sub-zero. My jaw dropped to the ground, as I saw the audience enjoying it. Where those kids deaf ? Was the show sponsored by a big hearing aid company ?
But why am I blaming the children, what about me ? If I couldn’t have predicted this, what have become of my highly valued ultra-sensitive ears ? I’d better start performing a frequency range testing procedure on myself.

I’ll start simple:
the end of my belt broke off, but it was still usable, so I kept on using it.

I have one more, but even the most experienced dream analysers wouldn’t be able to crack this. I think it wasn’t a fully qualified dream even, it must’ve been more of a half-dream state that I was in. Depending on me turning to my left or right side, I kept rebooting my brain in either Linux or Windows.

Oh, and any analysis lingering to the negative side will be dismissed, I just don’t buy that.

Rate 1 (sucks) to 5 (cool). Only rate the latest pictures, otherwise I can’t keep track of the average.

Total: 613 out of 187 votes > Average is: 3.278

Okay, the sun is gone, a good thing. But why did it have to rain now ?

While a Michael Mann/Tom Cruise partnership sounds exciting to me, the US Box Office shows otherwise. Cruise/Foxx starrer Collateral steals some $24.4 million of bloodmoney in this hitman movie.
Second this week, is The Village, dropping an heartache inducing 67% (for Disney, that is), only $16.6 million.
Third is Bourne Supremacy with $14.1 million, followed by The Manchurian Candidate with $10.8 million.
At number 5, Brittany Murphy proves she can’t carry a movie all by herself yet, opening Little Black Book with just $7.0 million.

What’s the loot so far ?
Well, 2 VOY Season DVD boxes, some Spidey soap, and 2 vouchers to buy CD’s or DVD’s, legally. Not bad, for being born 28 years ago.

Fearing for another Isaac Asimov copy, as seen in many sci-fi episodes, I was luckily surprised. The story is a bit bigger, and a little more intricate. Almost a one man show (for Will Smith, that is), this movie mixes story, mystery, suspense, nicely blendgin special effects, action, and a bit of humor. It’s not all perfect though, the acting is a bit stiff, and here and there you have a feeling the story has skipped a few scenes. Nonetheless, it’s very entertaining.8.

So, I walk down the hall, and I see a big moth-like butterfly lying on the floor. Kinda dead. So, I’m thinking, I’ve walked down here a few more times today, how does a butterfly just drop dead all of the sudden ? So I let my Sherlock instinct do the work, following the clues:
– Most likely to have happened when I got home. It wasn’t there before that.
– Death took place close to my shoes.
– Window open, but unlikely, as my house is no hazardous environment that a butterfly can be killed within minutes.

So, next thing is to check my socks. And yes… there it was… a big brown splatter. Butterfly blood !
Deduction ? Mr. B.Fly thought my left shoe was a good place to stay overnight. Not knowing this was the day I didn’t go to bed at 3 AM, he must’ve overslept. I put on my shoe at around 11.30, and *splash*. When I got home, I took off my shoe, throwing the victim closeby. And when I came back, the now-not-so-mysterious-happenstance was revealed.

Howzdat ? This ever happened to you ?

Yup, the big 28. Throwing a bit of math over it, you get 2+8=10=1+0=1. An essential number. Even Nostradamus foretold this day, and that’s how I knew I shouldn’t throw a barbeque party in the backyard (besides the point that I only have a 1.25 by 2.5 (3 I you throw away the mess) balcony, it IS raining cats and dogs). So if all of you didn’t get an invitation to my birthday party, don’t worry, it’s intended this way.
Back to the essentials though, I’m still healthy, and my wisdom, though immeasurable, has still grown throughout the year. And to prove it, here’s the motto of today:

“Don’t congratulate me, send me cash to my p.o. box instead.” Wow, that even almost rhymes.