Kimputer's Weblog

I think I’ll be off to the British mainland. The MI5 Intelligence Service is recruiting some 1000 new agents. With a starting salary of 20.100 pounds a year, it’s hard to say no. The press release also stated that currently, there are only 4% blacks and asians in service. This, of course, is a direct call to me. The 60 days evaluation and training will be no garantuee for a job though. If only I could hide my trails back to the Chinese mob, I’d be more sure those 60 days won’t be wasted on silly technicalities.

As I walked by, I knew something was off. I had to walk by a few times again before I knew what it was. Charlie Chui’s is no more. As the only Chinese fast food toko downtown (Lijnbaan, Rotterdam), it served food so bad, nobody has gone there twice. Ever. So this was to be expected, but for the Chinese mob, it was a good money laundring facility.

EMI Records couldn’t be happier, with this new album soaring to the top of the album charts. Too bad I can’t share that happiness. What happened 2 years ago, happened again. I knew it would be jazzy. I knew it would be kinda of slow. I didn’t know the side effect. More effective than a dozen tranquilizer darts that animal hunters use, it put me to sleep in less than 6 minutes. As I braced myself for this album, it happened again… 5 minutes. The reviewing routines (listening at least a few time before judging) cannot be finished, Lord knows how hard I’ve tried. Honestly though, I couldn’t seperate this album from her debut album, and I challenge anyone who can.

If your brother has free, almost expiring, tickets for this MTV production, there’s no polite way to say no. Knowing from previous MTV productions, you shouldn’t expect anything too much from this. With that mindset, the experience is not that bad. If you leave out the silly story, ignore the dialogue, and only watch the beautiful Beyonce act quite mediocre, all that’s left is a long video clip with mostly gospellish music mixed with some R&B and rap. The music is in the experienced hands of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and as a result, it’s not half that bad. I guess gospel really makes people happy then, because though the movie kinda fails, the music will keep the grade high.6½.

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

Still the same:
Total: 486 out of 148 votes > Average is: 3.284

Anyone who guesses what text the screensaver is showing, wins a *hug*.

Another typical Jackie Chan movie. Low on story and characters, a bit of action, a bit of humor, a bit of stunts. Actually, for the past few years, the rule, seen one, seen them all, applies. In this case, if you’ve seen The Tuxedo, you probably have no need to see this one. That rule alone, will make the upcoming Around the World in 80 Days a movie to look forward to.6+.

It is as I feared. The first single, Slow, featured a heavy dance beat, with not much of lyrics or melody to it. It was even irritating. Then comes the second single, Red Blooded Woman. A nice swing-beat, that is worthy of a Hype Williams directed video clip. She even lets me remember that she can carry a tune. Now the curiosity is on. But how disappointed am I after listening to the other twelve tracks (or ten, if you don’t have the bonus tracks). Every single one features the feared heavy dance beat, combined with some kind of creepy variation of her voice. No melody, no soul, and definitely no highlight.2.

Like Face/Off, a bit of the future mixed with very current old-style action sequences. Obviously shot in less time and with a lower budget, it’s still a typical John Woo movie that scores above average. It’s mainly the story-driven style that keeps it all going. With the clues all laid out and waiting to be solved, all the way to the end. The beginning has some rushed scenes, as is the end. There are also scenes that drag on just a bit too long. The score from John Powell is also uneven throughout the movie, almost seemingly jumping from track to track. And of course, in any movie involving time, be it forward or backwards, there are holes to be found. But as a brainless just sit back movie, it’s entertaining.7+.

Here, at work, everything seems slow. Not much to do. Over there, on IRC it seems slow. Not much to do.
So, what about a challenge to kill some time, and to let the brainjuices flow. First one to answer this correctly deserves a hummmmm *hug* !

Why are dead people buried at six feet exactly ? (Hence the term Six Feet Under)

For most non-US viewers, it’s hard enough trying to live into the moment, not knowing the full weight and impact of the Civil War raging for 4 years in 1861. It’s even harder when not only the title is cold, but also the relationship between the two main characters (Jude Law and Nicole Kidman). The story plays out more like a fairy tale than a civil war drama, but there are subtleties to be appreciated. As a drama it does not succeed fully, but save a few characters, there are performances to be remembered (mostly that of Renee Zellweger). Another minus is for the type casting. Short roles for Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Giovanni Ribisi and Donald Sutherland, all playing the roles we’ve known them to perform best. All in all, not Oscar material, just average.7-.

After another few “loose” episodes, the latest two are slightly improving again in writing. Especially the last episode had good dialogue and character interaction, though still very cliche. But better cliche than the crap from the already forgotten season two eh ?

A record setting comedy is 50 First Dates (opens here 24 Jun) coinciding with the Valentine’s Day weekend, starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. Earning $41 million, good enough for the first place. Previous best comedy opener was Runaway Bride ($35.1 million).
Second place was for Barbershop 2 with $15.6 million. Third is for Miracle, with $14 million.

My ranting on the British a few days ago, still stands. The BAFTA (British Academy of Film) awards totals were:

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King – 5 (YAY! Film, Adapted Screenplay, Visual Effects, Cinematography and People’s Choice)
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World – 4 (Director, the insanity !!)
Lost in Translation – 3 (YAY! Bill, Scarlett and Editing)
Cold Mountain – 2

As you can see, Master and Commander ranks second !!

There was a time when Joss Whedon was busy with screenplays for movies, and directing and producing and writing for two TV shows. Those days are over.
Firefly well deservedly got cancelled after a only few episodes. Buffy had to move from the WB to UPN in its last season. His Giles back home in the UK spinoff series never got off the ground. And on top of this, Thursday he got the message from the WB big heads. No more Angel after this current fifth season. That leaves him with enough time to make a nice concluding story line.
But yikes, he wants to turn Firefly into a feature length movie. Bad idea.

Ah, it’s that time again. Heavily commercial, but undeniably sweet. Can’t help but love it, Valentine’s Day. But.. there’s one problem. I’m single.
So this is an open letter for all human beings carrying the XY chromosome, being single, aged somewhere between 21 and 26, not taller than me, but not too small either, with sizes somewhere around 34-26-36 (I actually don’t have a clue what that means, but I’m putting it there just to be sure), and in possession a certificate of being catagorized as a “chick” by a certified professional modeling bureau. For those who meet the description, for Pete’s sake, MAIL ME !!