Kimputer's Weblog

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.

For me it wasn’t really a sequel, as I actually can’t remember that much of Ocean’s Eleven, besides it being moderately entertaining. This ensemble cast pulls it together again, the fun is clearly tangible, and that makes up for a lot. The heist thing moves along a nice pace, and the story twists and turns are around every corner. A few jokes are a bit cheesy and corny and it doesn’t have the big budget move feeling, but the whole ride is, again, moderately entertaining.7+.

This year ended on a bitter note, again. I’m not sure if I should mention it, because it’s probably too hard to imagine, but I still urge you to try hard. My lottery ticket didn’t win the 20 million jackpot. AGAIN !!!
It probably means this new year can’t get any worse. But I’m not totally sure. So with that, I still wish you all a Happy New Year, even if I don’t really mean it. Off to kill some 20 million terrorists in Counter-Strike: Source then, to make up for the emotional loss.

While technically a series (as you can clearly distinguish three episodes tied together to make one movie), it’s a slow series. The unfortunate part in the title though, describes how unfortunate it is again, that this is another movie totally geared towards children and not the total family. This means, no fun at all. Simplistic storytelling and no depth. Also the multiple roles of Jim Carrey aren’t that much fun to see, being too obvious and all. Being totally for children also means story ends do not need any tying up (hence, the “big” mystery to be solved turns out to be something sprung up the writer just so he can close the story with an easy way out, with no explanation of what happened previously). But even then, the pace is too slow, and I seriously doubt if children can muster the patience to sit through this movie. If you ever thought of going to see this movie (and you’re older than 6), think… How the Grinch Stole Christmas, or the evenly bad Cat in the Hat.4.

Well what do you know, a white fourth Christmas day, finally, albeit only for a short time. So, what have I been doing with those free days till know ? Not really much. Mostly play Counterstrike: Source online, ridding the world of terrorist, and hence keeping the peacedom alive. Yeah, why keep the spirit alive only on those first two days. 4 down, 361 to go. (Though, for variety, I do plant a bomb now and then)

Not the typical Christmas movie, but still a family thing dominated the box office, as Meet the Fockers took in $44.7 million in the weekend.
Cosby’s Fat Albert has to do with the number 2 spot (formerly an animated TV series in the 70’s), starring Kenan Thompson, with $12.7 million. Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events drops to the 3rd place with $12.5 million.
Playing in half the number of theatres is The Aviator, but still flying in enough dough ($9.4 million) to end up number 4. Ocean’s Twelve also still doing well with $8.6 million, rounding off the top 5.

You have those “BIG” movies once in awhile, and after watching it, you wonder what the fuss was all about. This is one of those again. Some two big battlescenes can be seen, but filling the rest of the 3 hours are some less memorable moments. Narrative looks strong in the beginning, as an old Anthony Hopkins fires off short history lesson. We then dive into the youth of young Alexander. The relationships between him and his parents are shallow, but well worded in semi-cliche babbling. Development from boy to Great Alexander is evenly lacking in depth, and friends and followers are explored along the same line. The conquest of many countries covers the rest, with unrest with the army leaders ending this so called myth. Reliving too many of the same dialogues, combined with the non-excitement waiting around the corner (unlike Troy’s lingering threat) makes this myth most people will not find interesting. Maybe recutting it to fit it in 90 minutes (that’s 50% of the movie) isn’t a bad idea. It’s actually a very good idea. Trust me.6-.

Did you know I run my own mail server ? Actually, only 2 domains are configured right now. Point is, I’m ready to be spammed. And I’d rather have 10 million messages than 1 million.
Just so you know. I could use the cash y’know. Explanation here.

Like pulling a 7 o’clocker isn’t bad enough, on the late ride home I encountered:

– A tough guy, smoking and all, pulling out an ALL PINK MOBILE PHONE !!

– A lady, either on purpose or not (possibly, her pants were one size off), showing the crack of her ass for all people behind her to see. Big turn off.

So trying to find some lighter side to this, I only found one joke, and a lame one at that:

A man turns up at his doctor’s office, with a black eye and a fat lip.

“What happened to you?” asked the doctor.

“Well, I was at church on Sunday and sitting in front of me was this great big lady. When we stood up to sing the hymn, I noticed that her dress was caught in the crack of her behind, so I figured this must be uncomfortable, and I….”

“Oh, you didn’t!” exclaimed the doctor.

“Yes, I removed her dress from the crack of her behind and she turned around and belted me!”

“What an incredibly stupid thing to do!” said the doctor, as he patched him up and sent him away. “I hope you’ve learnt your lesson…”

But the next week, who should turn up again at the doctor’s office, with a second black eye and fat lip, but the very same guy.

“What happened to you this time?” asked the doctor.

“Well, I was at church and the same big lady was sitting in front of me. When we stood up to sing the hymn, AGAIN I noticed that her dress was caught in the crack of her behind. Well! After what happened last time, I knew she wouldn’t want me to fix it, so, ever so gently, I poked her dress even further into the crack of her ***. After all, I’m not stupid – I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice!!”

Yeah, this is no laughing matter.