Kimputer's Weblog

…who’s the geekiest of us all ?
I already won in the category “Total Memory You Have On You At All Times” (40 GB iRiver, 512 MB CF for Canon A80, 2 GB CF for iPAQ hx2190, 512 MB SD for iPAQ hx2190, 512 MB MS Duo Pro for Sony Ericsson W810i, 2 GB MS Duo Pro for Sony Ericsson W810i, not counting the many more internal built-in memory in those devices). I just figured, I’d also win in the “Total Display Pixel Count” category (67.000 for the Canon A80, 37.840 for the W810i, 76.800 for the iPAQ). Come to think of it, I’d certainly also win in the “Total Battery Power” category (1300 mAH iRiver, 920mAH for the iPAQ, 900 mAH for the W810i, 930 mAH for Bluetooth GPS receiver and 10.800 (4 x 2700mAH) mAH for the Canon A80 (plus several spare sets)). Can you think of a category I _wouldn’t_ win in ?

Rate 1 (FR#^&% MESS !) to 5 (how very tidy !).

You’ve known how neat my car is for quite a while now. But how about my fellow (lazy) blogger Bern ? Needless to say, his Peugeot 206 (right form, wrong color) looks quite uninvitingly with all the poison sticks and the resulting poison-ish air hanging around. The chain smoker that he is, he’s probably driving with one hand, so he’s not only killing himself, he’s probably killing some other people with both the second hand smoke and his reckless driving. Since I can’t put him in jail (yet), maybe you people can vote a grade accordingly !

Total: 8 out of 3 votes > Average is: 2.667

Richard Donner must be really getting old. After the excellent Lethal Weapon series I thought he suicided with Timeline (I would’ve, if that piece of $h1at was mine), but he’s going old school with this one again. Entertaining as the oldies were, there weren’t many brain twisters amongst those. And that’s where 16 Blocks will fit in. It’s like sliced and diced cheese blocks ready for consumption.
So, to average things out, the acting performances are pretty standard (Bruce Willis’ performances after the M. Night Shyamalan projects never really impressed me), with only Mos Def having a slightly different role than we’re used to. Story is predictable, and jokes only intermittent. Also, Donner’s direction is mostly uneventful. Nothing special, slightly entertaining, and most important, it’s not boring. If you already know what you’re getting yourself into, it’s not bad at all.7+.

ABC is definitely the network that gives the most bang for its bucks. Not only by quality (and variety), but also in quantity. Most series will have 22 episodes locked per season, but at this network, most have seen 24 pass by, with 28 eps of Grey’s Anatomy, and 27 for Boston Legal to top things off.
This being David E. Kelley’s only current running TV show, the basis was already strong, but the addition of Candice Bergen to the cast was a smart move. With its own unique whackiness building steady, the keen sense of drama isn’t left behind either, a marriage between the two that only David E. Kelley can accomplish. ABC luckily knows this, and renewed it for a third season, even though this isn’t the ratings buster they hoped it would be.

I’m not a big fan of costume dramas (understatement), but 3 years after Sofia Coppola’s break-out indie hit Lost in Translation, I had to try this one. As I’m not a sucker for history lessons, I don’t mind the creative license usually taken, as long as it’s entertaining. So, what’s the result ?
Well, I can be pretty positive about the first half. Everything you don’t expect in a costume drama is here. No irritating Ya Olde Language babbling. Laced between the scenes are several electric pop-rock songs/score. Contemporary dialogue about old customs, etiquette and tradition. The hardships of arranged marriage and the pressure thereafter. And all that’s holding it up are the sparks created by Kirsten Dunst.
The second half loses focus though, and drags on quite a bit, with the story not working towards an end. The sparks have died out by then, and it’s on the edge of being bored.
All in all, can’t say I’ve lost all faith in Sofia (definitely worth a second chance), but I can’t recommend this to the average movie-goer either.6-.

Being the first country for a movie release (besides a small film festival in the States) is either a major scoop, or something smells fishy. In this case, it must be a bit of both. This movie is not god awfully bad that it will be released directly to DVD and skipping theatrical release. It will probably do a bit of business in the indy circuit. But truth be told, the quality isn’t that high either.
This movie is an introspective Ben Affleck vehicle, but somehow you’re still left feeling empty afterwards. Most things don’t make that much sense (inconsistent character building), and trying to marry three story lines might not be such a hard job for others, but in this case, it’s pretty chaotic.
Mike Binder’s previous outing as writer/director (The Upside of Anger) wasn’t something to write home about, but still slightly entertaining. This one is a few grades short of that recommendation.5+.

Cars, the latest Disney/Pixar collaboration, turbo charged passed the competition, and landed a number one spot for this weekend. With $62.8 million, this makes it the third biggest opening of the Disney/Pixar team (behind The Incredibles and Finding Nemo).
The Break-Up drops one spot, with $20.5 million, while X-Men: The Last stand does the same, with $15.6 million (now past the $200 million mark).
Rounding out the top 5 is The Omen 666 with $15.5 (while having a record Tuesday opening, it means cume is already at $35.7 million), and Over the Hedge with $10.3 million.

During my last CSI review I had high hopes for this being the best season yet. Sadfully, the winning streak ended with the strong (and only) two parter (6.07/608 – A Bullet Runs Through It). After that, it goes down to the “normal” quality again, which by any standard is still high, of course. Running through its course at the same pace, it’s also safe to say, they didn’t put as much effort in this season finale as last year’s Grave Danger two parter.
Ah well, this is what you get if you get spoiled too much. At least the expectations for next season aren’t so high anymore.

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

Total: 1328 out of 436 votes > Average is: 3.046

Just like you can save time by not reading books, and wait for the movie, you can also save time not watching classics (pre-eighties) and wait for the remake. Maybe that’s not a good tip after all. The original Wes Craven flick, is usually named in the same sentence with The Excorsist and Rosemary’s Baby. This remake, should not.
While having seen only bits of the original (and it was a bit creepy), this is not that creepy at all. It’s mostly the simple scares (great movie to watch with your girlfriend), but this screenplay isn’t exciting at all. Another vital part is the child, of course. And that’s where this one fails big time. Flashbacks of Star Wars:Episode 1, anyone ? This one is bad in a whole other way, but still, the supposedly freaky stares of this kid, are nothing but unintentional comical, and will have the whole crowd laughing their asses off. Strangely however, the kid also induces some kind of devilish wish in me, to smack him up and strangle him. So, in all its satanic irony, I guess this movie gets the worst out of us. But that’s about all it accomplished.4.

Ever since sitcoms like Friends and Mad About You left the airwaves, TV wasn’t really something to laugh at (luckily, the Brits gave us The Office and Extras). Mostly crappy copies, or unoriginal cheap laughter. But finally NBC, even though it dropped as the number one network to the last place (18-49 demo, fourth place for total viewers), it has by far the best and most imaginative singe-camera comedy this year. The story outline is one to last for a long long time, but even without that, the scripts are unbounded by any limits, making every week another surprising discovery.
All the characters have been treated well, and recurring roles are a blast. Comedy wise, this is truly the gem of this year.

ABC’s Sunday hit drama series has continued to grow during this season, and now it’s even mature enough to compete in the coveted Thursday line-up next season. It’s still the continuing developing characters combined with exceptional writing that makes this series seem like a normal drama at first sight, but you’ll soon see it’s much more than that. And with that, just a look from a character can make it a smashing season cliffhanger. You really have to build someting strong to get this done properly, and so they have. If I were NBC, I’d move E.R. out of the way from its Thursday primetime spot to avoid a heavy bleeder.

The Break-Up, starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn, not only beat a certain group of mutants, but also successfully fended off the critics pointing mostly thumbs down. With $38.1 million it not only doubled the industry’s expactation, it now also ranks 3rd in rom-com openers (behind Hitch and 50 First Dates).
X-Men: The Last Stand took a sizable mutation, no less than a 67% drop, now at number 2 with $34.3 million. Meanwhile, Over the Hedge holds on to number 3 with $20.6 million, just a 24% drop. At number 4, The Da Vinci Code still means business with $19.3 million. At a far distance, rounding out the top 5, is the fading Mission Impossible III, now with just $4.6 million.

Five Fingers: Very low budget psychological thriller type of movie, that develops a bit too slowly, and hence falls in the category repetitive and uneventful.5+.
Running Scared: Didn’t even get passed ten minutes before I stopped it and pressed SHIFT+DEL.1.
Underworld 2: Evolution: Reasonable actioner.6½.
Eight Below: Standard Disney feel good movie.6½.
Cheaper by the Dozen 2: Unfunny sequel to an unfunny original.3.

Wolfgang Petersen has proven himself a high quality box office director over the years, with movies ranging from Troy to In the Line of Fire and Outbreak. Names that make you say, yeah, that was a damn good movie. Usually, character are involved too, and therefore he hires the best actors he can get.
Unfortunately, all that isn’t really apparent in this movie. Don’t even start comparing this to Titanic, which was basically an elaborate love story. No, this movie is pure and simple a mediocre disaster movie. The one you’ve seen many times before, this decade already.
He probably did it for the money, or he just loves playing with water (Das Boot, Das Boot tv-series, The Perfect Storm). So, if brainless action movies with a unavoidable death threat following around isn’t your thing, better get that life support vest and jump for escape, i.e. skip this one. Because elaborate old school action and stunt scenes and supporting cgi effect can’t save this superficial script (with Emmy Rossum’s appearance as a small consolation prize).5-.