Kimputer's Weblog

How about another photo K-uiz eh ?

Question is simple, what is this exactly ? (And believe it or not, there have been NO post-processing done on the picture, this is as pure as it gets)

Huff kinda grows on you (probably the reason it got renewed for a second season, even before the first episode aired). Things just seem to work pretty after while, even the extremes of comedy and drama this show mixes together. Then the characters do the same thing. How I loathed the obnoxious character played by Oliver Platt, but how you feel he’s definitely part of the show. The whole ensemble cast gets a piece of the action, while guest stars have their moments too. Sharon Stone has a stellar run that made me forgive her for Basic Instinct 2, and I can tell you, that really means something.
Even though the (abominable) Nielsen ratings will make any Showtime executive shudder in fear, hats off for leaving this quality show on their schedule.

It just turned spring, but for ice cream companies, it must be a sign to start marketing their new line-up. So first up is Nestle, with another batch of mini’s, for €3,49 you get 12 tiny scones (20ml each). Unlike the Gold version I reviewed last year, these are based on standard biscuit scones, and the flavor is divided in 6 x Creme Brulee and 6 x Chocolate. The last one leaves nothing to the imagination, it’s pretty straight forward. Chocolate ice cream with a chocolaty and nutty topping. It actually takes only 16.3 seconds to gobble these tiny ones away. Next up is the Creme Brulee, which by any restaurant standard, should be something exquisite. Well, in this case, it’s not. It’s normal vanille ice cream with some creamy sugary sprinklings. That’s it ? Yeah, that’s it. And again, timing the disappearance act from sealed package to digestive form in the stomach, 15.2 seconds. Nice treat for the kids, but adults actually need 2 full boxes.7-.

Edit:
Well, here it is, the requested 1.9 MB XViD video of how fast two cones (€0.58) can disappear. Actually most of the time is the unpacking. I can’t believe you actually wanted proof. Is my word alone not enough ?

Bee Season: Seemingly ordinary drama strangely morphs into a psychological and spiritual frenzy, making it an uncomfortable head-scratcher.6-.
Transporter 2: Mindless actioner, with typical direct-to-DVD behaviour.5+.
March of the Penguins: Quite an intriguing documentary, though it relies a bit too much on visuals over long periods than on really new amazing facts.7+.
18 Fingers of Death: It’s so bad, I don’t even want to spend half a sentence on it (oops I guess I already did).1-.

No surprise to see Scary Movie 4 rake up $41.0 million this Easter weekend, making it the topper of the box office. Meanwhile Ice Age: The Meltdown stays strong at number 2 with no less than $20 million, making up for a strong $147 million cume. The Benchwarmers drops one spot, now at number 3 with $10 million.
At 4, The Wild opens with a mediocre $9.6 million, which might point out the obvious reason, as being to similar to last year’s rival Madagascar. Rounding out the top 5 is Antonia Banderas dancing his movie, Take the Lead, two spots down, with $6.7 million.

I’ve seen the franchise from the beginning, and while mostly aiming for cheap laughs, it was never horribly bad. Mostly reaching the slight entertainment value, this one is about the same. The story, while nothing really extraordinary, does manage to knit a few movies together, this time making room besides the scary movie types, so more general box office names can be spoofed. Inbetween, we have loads of the usual tripping, punches and object throwing.
Definitely worth going if you’re in a giddy mood. Otherwise, I suggest you wait till you feel giddy, as the impact might be too blunt.6½.

Fox has always been a home for the higher quality comedies and they usually don’t churn out standard unfunny sitcoms like the other networks do (but decisions as of lately really makes you wonder. See Kitchen Confidential’s lightning fast cancelation). The Loop is one of those fresh, fast paced yet focused story, single camera comedy, with a hot chick co-starring to boot. With only a total of 7 episodes scheduled, and ratings somewhat mediocre, it’s a big question if this one will survive Fox’ quick judgement (but why, for Pete’s sake, is The War at Home still on your schedule ?).

The timing of the release of these two new series does raise a few question marks to say the least. It’s either pure coincident, or someone stole the idea from the other. And how fitting both series are about thieves.
Heist found its home at NBC, which is strange, as NBC isn’t known for airing serialised series (rather opting for the cheaper episodic type, making it easier to sell on syndication). As this show works its way to one big heist, there’s only time for general superficial drama. But there seems to be time to develop something good out of this. For now, just because of the bad guy perspective alone, it’s a keeper, but only by a slight margin.
On FX we have the plainly named Thief, which is also a serialised drama, but a little bit darker than NBC’s lil’ brother. Having a slightly sharper edge, just because it’s on cable, still seems to be the rule to live by. Then again, both shows aren’t the glued pants approach that the likes of Prison Break and 24 are taking, offering a more relaxed and leveled adrenaline release.
With 2 episodes, it’s still hard to tell if it’s worth hanging on to, but for now, it fits the schedule.

Last week generated enough heat to continue (Ice Age 2:) The Meltdown, finishing again at the top spot with $34.5 (leaving the original behind, and making it the first this year to cross the $100 million mark). That leaves The Benchwarmers, a comedy with Rob Schneider, David Spade and Jon Heder as a baseball team, the runner up spot with $20 million. Third is another new release, Take the Lead, starring Antonia Banderas as a dance teacher, earns $12.7 million.
Meanwhile Inside Man drops 2 places, with $9.2 million. Rounding out the top 5 is Lucky Number Slevin, but the $7.1 million it brought in, indicates that luck wasn’t very much involved.

With a highly irregular airing schedule on the USA network, the fourth season luckily ends so I can focus on the new bunch of TV series. On the downside, Monk has been consistently funny and original, and combined with the short season run, it’s really too bad, as I see no real winners in the new batch yet.

I’ve only touched the surface off the truck load of new series this month, but I can smell abundance weeks ahead of time. This new series, for instance, will not do ABC any good. While procedural and forensic crime shows have already flooding CBS year ago, ABC had none, till now. And it’s a bad copy at it too. Besides that, it feels woody, and overall unoriginal. I’d say, stuff this series in an airtight zip locked evidence bag, and throw it away, as far as you can.

Movies directed by Rob Marshall usually make me shudder (Chicago, and for TV, Annie, Cinderella, etc). Luckily while elements are there, this is a plain drama and a love story. While never reaching the epic proportions the trailer makes it out to be, it’s as elegant and poetic as can be expected. Also, seeing Ziyi Zhang for more than two hours is fresh breeze on the eyes. Most actresses learned their lines by pronounciation, not by meaning, but the emotions are still acted well.7+.

With James Wong and Glen Morgan retaking the reigns (skipping the second part), their original idea still works well, although it somehow creates some kind of predictability. With a whole new seperate chapter starting, the pace is good, but the story twists make a little bit less sense than before. The scares and gruesome deaths are also still there, and so is the continuous feeling of Death in stalker-mode. Definitely a safe bet for all the horror lovers out there.7.

I’ve never seen the first one, because I could see from the trailer it was a kid’s movie. Now with my unlimited card and free parking, I thought I might try the box office smashing sequel. Big mistake. It’s still targeting the kids with cheap laughter. The basic storyline is also shallow, leaving any adult sighing for the end. Even at a lowly 90 minutes, it still feels too long. The only way to enjoy this movie is get yer kids on a sugar rush, while you get yourself drunk.5.

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

No, I’m not going to add a new category for just this. It’s obvious nothing’s gonna change from here on. I mean, it’s not really the place to put stuff on, blocking the view and such.

Total: 16 out of 5 votes > Average is: 3.2