Kimputer's Weblog

Arrived safely after my first airplane flight in centuries, so I can report live what’s been happening.

Choosing the cheapest ticket from China Airline, I was suprised by the service provided, and hence to the personal entertainment systems for the Economy class, I can even review 2 movies now.

The Cleaner:
Star studded (Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris, Eva Mendez, directed by Renny Harlin), yet a direct-to-DVD title. Outline seems original enough, and story moves at a considerable pace. Acting is up to par, and the thriller-y story is quite okay . For an airline movie, it’s good enough, but even for a theatrical release it wouldn’t be bad.7.

CJ7:
Unlike a few previous internationally distributed movies, this one stays mostly domestic, and hence I missed it. A whole string of perfect comedy action flicks made me an avid Stephen Chow fan, and here’s another full production from his hands (director, writer, producer).
The non-descriptive title doesn’t reveal much, but blind faith alone is enough to get into this movie without a hitch. It’s the same off-beat drama-ish movies you’ve come to like, and this one seems lower-scale, yet evenly enjoyable. For a fan and non-fans alike, as always, it’s a must see.8.

But actually, I was here talking about Taiwan, while expecting tech heaven (as most products are developed and released here), normal living areas downtown seem a bit old. A lot of road work is done outside, but looks like it’s done small pieces by small pieces, by individuals, a stark contrast to what most western people would expect (long stretches of government maintained infrastructure).
Furthermore, it’s heavily packed, (and dogs and cats do not fit well as pets), and parking problems do not only occur for cars, but also for the scooters.
Unknown if it’s the fines, strict control, or just plain overall respect, it’s all clear outside, no stray garbage to be found on the streets both downtown and urban areas.
Besides scooters, air-co’s are a must-have too, most homes having a unit in every room. Needless to say, it’s overly hot and humid here.

Anyway, for a picture report head over here.

…yeah, that’s what I thought. Coinciding with my trip to the far east, are a bunch of new album releases, so I thought I’d try them all during my long trip (18h) on the airplane.
Oh what a disappoint this weekend was (I decided not to try them out later, but do a quick pre-scan of the songs).

Most horrible:

Usher – Here I Stand: Of the 17 songs, the 2 worthy ones I already had before the album release ! It’s much of the same R&B you’d expect.

Alanis Morissette – Flavors Of Entanglement: Previously doing a promo tour, visiting talk shows, she would do a nice acoustic version of Underneath. Imagine my surprise with this techno-beat heavy album. It’s worse than combining all the worst songs from Under Rug Swept and So-Called Chaos. Even the bonus CD doesn’t add anything to it.

Amee Mann – @#%&*! Smilers: Booooooring.

Jakob Dylan – Seeing Things: OMGMBS (Oh my god, more boring stuff).

Weezer – Weezer (Red Album): Still with the high school prank lyrics, but now without the ability to churn out a solid song (like previously A Perfect Situation), you don’t even care if the lyrics are funny or not.

Mediocre:

Jewel – Perfectly Clear: Going hardcore country again, previous albums mixed a poppy style to it. This one is hence less easy listening but some songs seem to be up to standard.

Ultra-listenable:

Leona Lewis – Spirit: An older album, but seems to be the summer hit album. Totally okay-ish pop. Save for a few slower boring ones, this looks like it’s going to be the album of the year.

Bla bla bla, predicatable kill kill kill. And I expected more from this, not just from the dark oversaturated trialer, but a movie being distributed by the Weinstein Company used to mean something (actually, just bought it in 2006, subsequently sold another company).
This one is just the same as all the other slasher movies, albeit lower budget, and less blood is involved. The same non-story is there, and there’s no further motive explained for the killer or any depth added to the characters. Pacing is also a problem, with only a handful of victims, it gets boring inbetween.
I should’ve trusted my instincts (a finished movie that’s been lying on the shelf for 2 years can’t be that good).3.

Now that I’m a semi-Hamburgian citizen (I mean, what else you would call me for my bi-weekly visits up north Germany ?

• Take extra cash with ya ! Even though my trusty Aygo can go 700+ km on it’s small 35 liter tank, it’s still over a 1000km roundtrip. You have to get fuel somewhere, and it’s usually across the border. Not all PIN devices will take my cheaply Maestro only Postbankcard. Upgrading my card with an EC logo adds more compatibility (I think), but for now, I’ll just have to remember packing more money. That’s because I just got burned yesterday (already filled up my tank, then find out my card wasn’t accepted), and luckily, after aimlessly walking around a small town called Reine, I stumbled upon an ATM that did accept my card.
• German women are beasts. Look at this mess at a Zara store downtown, close to closing time (22.00 at Saturday. Yes you’ve read it correctly, you can ship till TEN PM)
  
• Nice radio stations. Still a bit geared towards modern pop (I prefer alt/contemp rock), and I couldn’t care less about the DJ’s, but the music choice seems better suited to me than it is on Dutch radio station. Hence my FM3 preset has already been filled, with the strongest signals (covering almost my whole German side trip are NDR2, FFH and Antenne. A nice feature is mixing in live performances in their playlist, making it pretty special, be it Lionel Richie, Pink or the Dire Straits, you will keep hearing something surprising.
  Heck, if it weren’t for the Germans, I probably never found out Rob Thomas wrote a song for the Meet the Robinsons soundtrack last year (The “Little Wonders” single was never released here of course, and I didn’t see the movie or catch the sound track).
• (Almost) No traffic jams !!!!!

…just two weeks, I guess.

Well, earth shattering news. What the gossip papers have written is totally true.

I booked a vacation trip to Taiwan !!!

Last time I stepped on an airplane was in the time when it had propellers and the most advanced type was categorised as Bi-Plane.
And actually, since my working life started over a decade ago, I never took vacations (ah well, just one week off for some local relaxing, but that’s really it). So, let’s just skip the new pc (or two) for this year (never needed one anyway, since mine was running Counterstrike:Source just fine on 1600×1200), and hop on an Airbus (I hope).

And now for the tought part, since I’m going to tech-heaven (mostly price-wise that is), Asus EEE901 or MSI Wind ? Oh oh oh, what to buy ?

Ai ai ai. Where sequels dwindle down in quality after the second or third sequel (see Spider-Man 3 and X-Men 3), Indy had been doing quite well, every chapter as memorable as can be. Maybe it has something to do with the nostalgic eighties, but this last chapter, doesn’t quite seem to get the same feeling out of it. As a result, it feels like a big disappointment.
Where the previous ones were a continuous laughing riot, or had some memorable relationships (be it the girl, the shorty or the father), this one serious lacks in that apartment. While I’m no fan of punch lines heavy scripts, it’s exactly this that made all the Indy flicks work so well. Anyone remember the “No ticket” scene ? Hilarious, and that’s with only two words.
This movie also doesn’t have the same energy or speed or broad script and feels a little bit wooden (and that’s not only because of age). The excitement just isn’t there anymore (it was all the way up to the first minute of the movie though).
Maybe not noticable to all, but from a technical standpoint, I’d say it’s quite embarrassing that this product is from the hands of Lucas/Spielberg. Unlike the superbly well done effects from The Minority Report or War of the Worlds, the effects here are extremely noticable. Not only seems integrating effects into the scene a rushed job, extensive use the virtual sets bothers me too (too obvious lighting artifacts makes it obvious they’re inside a filming studio). This I would expect from mid-range budgeted movies, but at $185 million, it’s pretty high priced.
Then last but not least, the sci-fi ending doesn’t fit well at all. Maybe I wouldn’t have mentioned it if the other defect weren’t there, but this just tops the disappointment.
Of course, that’s not to say it’s utterly boring, because it’s still a mildly entertaining action/adventure. It just doesn’t compete with the best out there, that’s all.7-.

Your usual no-brainer, sit back and try to laugh kinda movie. But unfortunately, it’s still not that easy. Even with brain power set at a minimum, it’s hard to laugh. Save for an always funny Rob Corddry, the rest is as cliche as it can be, and tries to mix in a bit of seriousness towards the end (and doesn’t really succeed). With a luckily low running time, it’s hard to remember anything really funny. The only thing easy to remember is Ashton Kutcher’s same comedy acting style, for which he is probably type casted for (though his serious roles like The Butterfly Effect and The Guardian are actually pretty good).4.

Nice tagline for the now dead VHS rental industry, but for the movie, it has to be changed Be Smart Avoid !
I went to see this mostly because of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind director Michel Gondry, but found nothing really appealing in this one. I guess it’s because that movie was written with a more experienced writer (Charley Kaufman), and this one he does it on his own.
Sure, he shows he can be inventive with the camera with low budget, but this time around, it’s just plain cheesy. The lack of cohesion and solid story makes it almost unbearable.
Sure, another nice twist is the actual deeper message, but it’s just not enough. So again, Be Smart Avoid.4+.

Nice low budget action-thriller headlined by Liam Neeson doing an almost solo performance throughout the movie. It’s not one of the best script out there, and things are as expected, including plot outline and how the character reacts and responds. Still it’s nice to see him as a “normal” older guy kicking major raw ass (he did so in Star Wars and Batman Begins, but with added “special” powers). As that’s the main driving force, the choppy dialogue and contrived plot points are affecting only on a lesser degree. It’s at least one thumb up.7-.

In the Marvel universe, disappointment still varies (the likes of Daredevil and Electra were particularly a dark spot, while latter sequels weren’t up to par either (X-Men 3 and Spidey 3)), and I was a bit wary when Jon Favreau was attached to direct. Previously filming childish movies like Elf and Zathura doesn’t bode well.
That makes Iron Man the biggest summer suprise for me (for now, since summer didn’t technically start yet). That’s because another point got me scared, the casting of Robert Downey Jr.. Surprise surprise, the director and every single cast member deliver and deliver again. The depiction of the rich playboy genius is spot-on, and it’s nice to see a transformation to a hero without fate actually forcing them (unlike Spidey, Hulk, FF4 or the X-Men, getting their powers from accidents or birth).
The story itself isn’t that broad, nor are characters that deep (basically a one man show), but hell, the adrenaline level never drops from the get-go and the coolness factor of seeing a brushed stainless steel looking design evolve into a kickass body fitting suit is utterly satisfying.
While this may not be suitable for the female half of the audience (just like seeing expensive sports cars racing around isn’t either) it ranks as one of the higher entertaining flick coming from the Marvel can. Just start the pre-production of The Avengers or Iron Man II, I tell ya (also stay till the very end of the movie for one of the most bad ass cameo in the history of film).8.

I know I know, I’ve burnt myself too many times with the horror genre. And again I did it. This time I was a bit curious what comic Ben Stiller had to bring to this genre, and the answer is simple. Nothing. Nothing at all.
The story plays around only 5 persons. The location is fixed too. There are no extreme thrills or scares, so the only thing noticable is seeing the budget constraints at work.
The same titled book of novelist turned screen writer Scott B. Smith earned him a rave review from fellow scarer Stephen King, but it feels like we’re talking about two totally different things. Maybe that’s exactly the joke that Ben Stiller was trying to play on us. Cruel if I really had to pay for the ticket (which I luckily did not).4+.

Steve Carell in a movie where he plays a normal character again. Without him playing an extreme type, his performance almost seems human (which made Little Miss Sunshine so refreshing). Sadly, in this overly simple plot outline, it’s just too boring. The story and dialogue are just plain trivial. Add a little bit of predictability and you may think Evan Almighty was kick ass (which was not). A hotter female love interest would’ve been nicer too (Juliette Binoche).5½.

Geek-wise, it’s a kick ass week.

What others have accomplished:

Windows XP Service Pack 3 has released to Technet subscribers, and shortly after that is has been released to the public (through legally uncertain channels).
Since the release of SP2 more than 3 years ago, I had to manually down 148 patches and use a batch file to update (still faster than Windows Auto Update and doesn’t waste useless bandwidth). Of course, it just means the counter can be reset to 0, since I probably have to continue to do this for quite some more time (probably a year or so untill Bill personally stuffs a Vista retail package down your throat)

What I (kinda) have accomplished:

A fully fledged KUbuntu server ready to do a full UNATTENDED KUbuntu client install (client must be PXE enabled of course). Well, not totally true though, it’s set to default to jump to memtest after 10 seconds, I don’t wanna ruin anyone’s hard drive who comes into the office and connects his computer or notebook.
Hmm, I wonder why I couldn’t accomplish this earlier with my favorite distro, Mandriva.

A well-shot cop drama actioner composed of ambiguous loyalty, fast paced action with raw violence and drowned in some dry humor. Keanu Reeves, Chris Evans and Forest Whitaker have solid roles, with the usual dark twists that is involved with the thin line between corruptness and blind loyalty. Utterly enjoyable, though not that profound or deep.8-.

Title and a flashy trailer says it all, a story bringing together 8 points of view. The end product playing out in front of you is a little bit more simplified though, less points of views, and an ending that leaves both the narrative style and believability.
Almost 75% of the movie is quite engaging, with single point of views revealing bits of the story, but somehow this style can’t be carried on too long, and the ending is like any other generic action flick (including fast forwarded car racing scenes filmed in narrow streets).
Don’t expect to see any character’s inside (no reason is given for the antagonists motives), and only go if you want to see a “normal” action thriller, because if you expect somethign unique, you will be let down.7+.