Kimputer's Weblog

Another new entry on the Fox line-up, from E.R.’s John Wells, and the evenly seasoned Mimi Leder. This usually means gripping drama with excellent acting, but with Mimi Leder out of control behind the camera (trying out fast paced action), and actors just out of their diapers, it’s chaotic at best. Very unlikely for me to quit after one episode (I usually give them at least 3 chances), but this series shows no promise. No acting, no drama, flimsy action. Story line shows nothing great to be expected. It seems the creators are too eager to sell this to Fox, totally disregarding the high quality shown in their previous shows.

NBC’s first 2005 entry, is, no pun intended, very medium. Starring Patricia Arquette as a psychic who still doesn’t understand her powers, she helps the D.A.’s office solve crimes. To complement that part, episodes also focus on her family life, supposedly adding depth and realism. How far from the opposite can you get. Dialogue and acting is somehow (still can’t figure out if it’s the writers, producers, actors or director’s fault) flat and has a VERY fake feeling to it. Stories so far are a rehash of believer/non-believer stories, very reminiscent to Fox and Scully. On top of that, the opening theme is a complete rip-off of that same show. C’mon, change a few notes, we’re not deaf, y’know.
Anyway, it’s clear this show can be a small hit if it depends on the usually non-demanding NBC viewers. But it definitely holds nothing special for me to keep on watching.

The lazy dude with the strange nickname thinks I’ve got nothing better to do while I’m working. How ver introvert-ish !
Ah well, it’ s something about a chain mail thingy with weblogs. I don’t do nonsense like that (same for real snail mail and e-mail), but then again, I do try to keep this junkyard updated daily.

So here goes:

Total bits’n’bytes of music accumulated on your pc ?

Well, PC is at home, so I’ll take the slightly un-updated mirror here at work: 7.708.535.664 in 1369 files. Luckily the question was not about the music stored on the backup cd’s and dvd’s (as those are spread out, and contain songs I don’t listen to).

Last bought CD ?

Mad Season by Matchbox Twenty in May 2000. I even asked the MediaMarkt to reserve one for me. (Impatient as I was, on the release date, I went to the other MediaMarkt in town, and when I was about to pay, I received a call the CD was in. They didn’t mind I was buying from their colleagues)

Last song heard before reading the “questionnaire” ?

I’m at work, so that would mean I would have to remember the song I was playing when I hibernated my PC at home last night. And that, I’m not gonna do. So lemme un-hibernate my notebook here and wait… U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday

4 Songs you listen a lot to or mean a lot to you ?

Well, that’s just plain mean. So I’ll just pick one, and explain it, and be done with this question.

Goo Goo Dolls – Name

When listening to this song, you will realise it’s actually about how the x-generation fits in, and being the first generation (born here, or second, living here) Chinese mob, I can very well identify with the lyrics. Every single line is powerful and meaningful, for instance “We don’t belong to no one, and that’s a shame” and “Scars are souvenirs you never lose”. That woven into a multi-layered acoustic set, that kicks into a pretty wild riff at time-index 3:16, means it’s not only a story, it’s a story well-told.

Hah, and you really think I’d do this for FOUR SONGS, WHILE AT WORK ??

Which 5 persons do you force to continue this ridicule and why ?

Why is simple, I don’t even know that many. So I’m throwing a few that will end up on my own server again, so
Tienz, catch ! And Ez, catch too !
Throwing one to another lazy ass, Mr T. (who supposedly got Apache MySQL and PHP running a while ago, MWHHAAHA. He’ll probably start a weblog in, like… 2010).
And a few random ones, to Araphor. And … uhmm, can’t think of something else. Ah well, doesn’t matter, even if it’s 2 or 3, it’s still exponential growth, and saturation will happen anytime soon now.

Samuel L. Jackson’s headlined basketball drama Coach Carter throws a 3 pointer, scoring the first place with a $23.6 million opener. The Fockers, however, is still a family to be reckoned with, $19.0 million for a number 2 spot.
Kid movie Racing Stripes opens at nr. 3 with $14 million. A close finish, as In Good Company, a drama comedy starring Dennis Quaid and Scarlett Johansson, ends up one place lower with $13.9 million.
Not so electrifying is Elektra, rounding off the top 5 with just $12.5 million (while the previous heroine, Catwoman, showing more skin, did slightly better, with $16.7 million).

…that’s always the question. Every night. So when there’s a new brand of ice cream out there, I’m the first to try.
The new entry this time, is from Mona, branded as scoop-ready right out of the freezer. The 650 ml (almost 3 euros for this tiny bucket) has a few flavors, and mine was peach. Just like justice, this review can be swift and hence, short. The scoop-ready part is true. The taste however, is like the most cheap brands. Somewhat synthetic. There is some milky-ness and creamy-ness, but it’s definitely not ice cream. And the texture is a bit slimey and thick-ish. The only thing positive I can think about, is that it may be suitable for people on a diet, as only a small cup will already be heavy on the stomach. Then again, people on a diet shouldn’t eat ice cream.
So, if you love your taste buds dearly, steer clear of this one. Better put in a bit of energy into the scooping, and have the real deal.4-.

First timer (director and writer) Zach Braff (topliner of NBC’s Scrubs) makes a critical acclaimed debut, though it’s not the life altering experience that happens in the movie. It’s kind of clear Zach drives on his own youth and experiences, as the dialogues are well thought out. Laced with a deeper emotional layer, it’s acted out by a steller cast. Kudos for Natalie Portman, and supporting castmembers like Ian Holm and Peter Saarsgard. With not everything out in the open, and a few questions left unanswered, it’s not a heavy drama. The light comedy balanced it out to be just a sweet little movie. All in all, a worthy competitor in the independent movie market, but it missed the edge to make it really special.7+.

A typical low-budget scare fest, where everything happens just like you’d expect it to. Or at least, most of it.
And what better way to start a movie with a mysterious death ? And what better way to continue a movie with more and more of those ? Being a copy of a 2000 Japanese video release, Sam Raimi must’ve thought it was extremely good, or just extremely well-suited for the Americans, with a few minor changes (bringing in youngsters like Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jason Behr for teen appeal). Keeping the director in place gives the movie a nice signature, though in this genre, it’s not that unique. Just quickly flash a shadow in the background, a few fades in the window or mirror, mix in a few screechy screams, and you’re pretty much there. The story has a backstory to tell, but that’s more or less for the usual half explanatory reasons than real depth.
If you’re into this genre, it’s definitely a go. If not, you might wanna hold on till its rental run.6.

You know the saying, a day not counter-striked, is a day not lived. And I had a light migraine yesterday. Go figure.

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

Total: 1232 out of 393 votes > Average is: 3.135

I suggest y’all take a trip to this test page, from Secunia (a well respected security firm), to test you Internet Explorer’s vulnarability (which has not been patched yet by Microsoft). Lucky users using Computer Assiociates virus products will be denied access, unlucky users will know for sure they’re pretty much surfing naked.
And the smart users, wouldn’t have bothered checking, because they surf with Opera or FireFox anyways. Which are you ?

Quite an attraction, that Focker family. No less than $28.5 million made this number one movie (again) race past the $200 million mark. Meet the Parents, was obviously working on half its strength, bringing in $166 million five years ago.
At number 2, White Noise kind off marks a come-back for Micheal Keaton, bringing in $24 million. At number 3, The Aviator still flies with a cargo hold worth $7.6 million. Kids still have power at the box office, making Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events good for a number 4 space, with $7.4 million. Fat Albert, still losing weight, was still good for a number 5 spot though, with $6 million.

While super-charmer Jude Law has to carry the movie, the soundtrack is totally in the hands of Mick Jagger and Dave Stewart. While the movie would suggest sweeping love ballads, this duo are known for other audible sounds. And so the album fires off with the single Old Habits Die Hard. An easy rocker with an up-tempo short hook in high repeat. But a catchy one at that. Listening to this first song, you’ll have time to watch the playlist, and then it hits you the 15 tracks aren’t that much after all. Old Habits Die Hard has no less than three renditions. The second song, The Blind Leading the Blind (an easy going rock rhythmer), has two rendition. Alfie also has two. And Lonely Without You (This Christmas) will only be played a few days in December. That brings the count down to only 10. Then you finish listening a few more songs you find out a few are instrumental only (probably to add to the atmosphere of the movie. Or not. I don’t intend to find out). That said, it’s still pretty nicely and slickly produced. Vocals of Mick Jagger are solid as always, and guest spots (Sheryl Crow, Gary Cooper, Joss Stone) are, of course, more than vocally adapt. If they cut the album in half (along with the price, of course), it would have been a solid contender. The way it is now, it’s worth only an average mark.6.

Disney and Bruckheimer pair up nicely again, making up for last year’s not so royal King Arthur (certainly according to the domestic box office). It’s not all sunshine and roses though, as this movie races past you with high speed the whole two hours.
Any (typical) Bruckheimer movie can’t escape the comparison process with previous hits, so to start off, within 20 minutes you will realise the fast cut scene changes will not endow this movie with any depth (which was done much better in, say, The Rock). The story twists high paced storytelling with evenly high paced dialogue and chase scenes (same as any other Bruckheimer movie). The structure doesn’t leave much room for the characters to develop either (again, done better in, say, The Rock, or Bad Boys), leaving the chemistry to react only at the most basic levels. The Nicolas Cage/Diane Kruger (love), Cage/Jon Voight (son/father), Cage/Sean Bean (former friend turned enemy) and Cage/Bartha (friend) relationships are all standardised and have nothing more special than the actors can churn out the all too familiar dialogue (which any avid movie watcher can finish after hearing only the first half of the lines) (again, done better in, say, The Rock). Just as unimpressive is the music, under Trevor Rabin’s care, who tries to pull a Hans Zimmer, but fails pretty hard, as after the first 10 minutes the theme already grows old (again, done better in, say, The Rock or Crimson Tide).
Then again, it ain’t all that bad either. See it as a contemporary Indiana Jones, but with the detoriation that always comes with carbon copies.7.

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

Total: 667 out of 207 votes > Average is: 3.222

Lotsa people still wanted to meet the Fockers in this new year, with $42.8 million it even set a few records (best New Year’s Even and best New Year’s Day). Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events still did business, though bringing in an unfortunately low $14.7 million, good for the number 2 spot. At number 3, The Aviator flies in some $11.2 million. Fat Albert, naturally, drops down in rank, at 4 with $10.7 million. A moderate heist for Ocean’s Twelve (earning less than Ocean’s Eleven in the same period of time, totalling at $106.9 million, exactly $30 million less than the predecessor), rounding off the top 5 with $9.2 million.