Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - A Review

I forgave the minor plot and character redundancies in the first Transformers. Its pace and unparalleled eye-watering CG entertainment won me over. As did Shia LaBeouf's performance. His story arc was actually engaging . . . .

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, I deplore to report, is the typical sucky sequel. Having already been introduced in movie number one, the transformers have lost their shiny allure. As for the humans, the lead and supporting characters have nothing to offer but off-to-college, romance, and military movie cliches. LaBeouf isn't good enough to zest this banal screenplay. The comic relief is always overtly immature (racist even). Did they seriously render a mini-robot humping Megan Fox's leg?

Looks like Revenge of the Fallen's only hope rests with the big robot fights. Do the special-effects make up for the aforementioned? No way. Unlike the first Transformers, the build-up to the action is non-existent. The movie throws you into the mechanical mayhem with no sense of structure. Transforming aliens duking it out becomes repetitive and just as uninteresting as the film's human relationships.

Revenge of the Fallen slips into the same trap Spider-man 3 and At Word's End fell into summers before. It adds unnecessary characters and loses itself in wasted narrative. All for the purpose of more RPM (robots per minute).

In an ironic moment, Agent Simmons scoldingly explains coherent plot structure to an old robot who begins to ramble.

Like Michael Bay (director) cares much. This movie is a guaranteed money machine. TRotF is exactly what you expect from a summer flick marketed to teen boys and made by lazy greedy Hollywood.

The first was a fun time at the multiplex. The sequel is mush barely disguised as entertainment. The overall experience is as genuine as Megan Fox's collagen lips.



Now in wide release
also in IMAX
release dates...

Official site
at Rotten Tomatoes
at Metacritic

Lovely Is The Feelin' Now

Here's a little something you don't know about me: I'm a decent dancer. Not to boast or anything, but those who've seen me groove say I have good rhythm.

The late Michael Jackson was certainly an influence. I remember an embarrassing moment in my tween years. I was dancing in my boxers to the songs of MJ when a friend of my sister's walked in. Silly anecdote, I know.

Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough

Sorta back

I'm mostly settled in my new residence. Expect sporadic updates, more than usual, for some time.


While I was away...

Iranians crowded the streets in protest of a rigged election. It's the largest human rights event in recent history, made even more historically significant by the way the rest of the world received the news. Not through CNN or newspapers (mainstream media is banned) but from Twitter and YouTube via citizen journalism.

Iran Election Crisis: 10 Incredible YouTube Videos

Away from here

Hey. I'm moving back to the mainland, USA. I left during the Bush years, and now that Obama is the head I think it's a good time to return. The financial crisis is nearly over right? Actually, it's more complex than that, but I'll leave the details of my personal life for a Facebook note.

With a move comes a lapse in Internet access, so I won't be blogging for a while. That and I want to get to know my new surroundings, visit old friends, make new ones, and do other life-related things. Check back in a few weeks or less—not sure how long this particular hiatus will last. Subscribe via email or RSS and you'll be notified when I post again.

Spain is Almost Perfect

If you ask me to list the best cities on Earth, Barcelona would be in the top three. I've championed the city for its liberal attitude towards sex and nudity. Spain, Barcelona's country, is pretty awesome itself. It was one of the first nations to legalize gay marriage. Funny how a country progressive in so many ways is behind most in animal rights. I'm talking about the tradition of bullfighting, of course. It's a gladiatorial sport where a series of men bemuse a bull until it's too exhausted to trot, then el matador (literally killer) fatally pierces the weakened animal with metal rods.

I had the displeasure of watching a bull fight recently, and it nearly brought me to tears.
Fuck. I'm considering vegetarianism.


In recent news:
Israel Lancho, Spanish Bullfighter Gored

E3 '09 Highlights

E3, the year's most hyped gaming event, returned this year with the lights and sounds of yore (previous two years were dumb downed and booth babe-less).

Even if you're not a gamer, this year's reveals will still pique you interest (see directly below). Time for a rundown.


The Response to the Wii

Both Microsoft and Sony introduced new controllers to contend with the extremely popular Nintendo Wii.


Microsoft's Project Natal (for Xbox 360) is probably the future of input. It's a camera with voice recognition. Nothing (no controller) but yourself is needed to interact with it.

The PlayStation Motion Controller (for PS3) mixes Natal with the Wiimote. You hold a motion-sensing controller and the Playstation Eye (camera) tracks it. It's the least attractive of the new controllers but it may be the most precise.




The Surprises

• Metal Gear Solid: Rising, starring Raiden, is coming to the Xbox 360 (also PS3, PC).
• Golden Sun 3 for the DS.
  
• Team Ninja (Ninja Gaiden) + Nintendo = Metroid: Other M, a 3rd and 1st person 3D Metroid game for the Wii.
• Nintendo Wii Vitality Sensor: Clip on finger; it senses your pulse while playing.
  
• Final Fantasy XIV was announced for 2010 and FFXIII isn't even released yet. It's a new MMORPG, a successor to FFXI.

Games of the Show

I love cinematic games, and there's no game more movie-like than Uncharted II.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves at IGN.com

As for art direction, Team Ico's The Last Guardian is the most beautiful game in existence.

More The Last Guardian Info

And the future is now. See Milo.




Other

• Steve Wiebe from the amazing King of Kong documentary attempted a Donkey Kong world record and did not succeed.
• Watch the intro to Beatles: Rockband.
  

For in-depth coverage see:
Gamespot
Kotaku
Joystiq

Catherine Breillat's 'Une vraie jeune fille'

French novelist and filmmaker Catherine Breillat is a regular when it comes to depicting sexuality in her work. Her movie 36 Fillete was advertised as "the French 'Lolita'!" She's cast porn star Rocco Siffredi twice, and made a film about the trouble of filming sex scenes, Sex Is Comedy. Yet, nothing has given Breillat more strife than her debut, Une vraie jeune fille (A Real Young Girl). Made in 1976, it was banned in theaters until 2000.


Charlotte Alexandra plays 14-year-old Alice, a boarding school student returning home for the summer. She's experiencing a sexual awakening and is quite a filthy girl. By filthy, I mean she doesn't attend to the mess after vomiting on herself and uses her finger as a cotton-tipped swab. "Disgust makes me lucid," Alice narrates. Also, there's a sequence involving a mutilated worm and her vagina. Some scenes are surreal imaginings. All are about self-discovery and her sexual qualms.

Breillat never denies the viewer an explicit look at Alice's curiosities or desires. At the same time, not once do you feel like a voyeur. It may be risky for film show the vulva of a young teen character*; that's what provoked controversy. But we often forget or ignore that sexual development starts before adulthood. Although challenging, such a subject should not be neglected.

Catherine Breillat tackles the theme with full force. There's not a bolder representation of (female) adolescence than Une vraie jeune fille.



Options:
Buy/Rent (it's on Netflix, thanks Muna)
Torrent
Stream it on Google Video without English subtitles (low quality)

*actress was over 18 at the time

Google Sees Future, Announces Google Wave

As Twitter and Facebook gorged on all the media attention, Google was secretly working on the next step in online communication.

The future of web chit-chat was revealed yesterday at the Goolge I/O conference; it's called Google Wave. Wave is what comes out when you combine and digest instant messaging, email, and wikis. It's, essentially, a real-time collaborative messaging and document web app. To fully grasp this ambitious feat, you'll want to watch it in action. But if you don't have an hour and twenty minutes to spare on the Goolge I/O demo (embedded below), here's a brief rundown on what you can do with Wave.

• See messages and edits as they are being typed
• Reply within a message
  
• Cooperatively edit media rich documents or messages in real-time
  
• Playback Wave thread
• Embed Wave threads onto your site of blog, which updates in real-time
• Integration with other online services like Twitter via extensions
  

In the words of a Google Wave developer, Wave "is what email would look like if it were invented today."

A public release date hasn't been announced yet, but you can sign up to notified at wave.google.com.


Google Wave Drips With Ambition. A New Communication Platform For A New Web. (TechCrunch)
Google Wave Developer Preview at Google I/O '09 (1:20:11)

U.S. Manga Collector Convicted For Lolicon

Cross-post from High On Sex

Christopher Handley, an ardent manga collector, faces up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to the possession of "illustrations of child sex abuse and bestiality." He is the first to be convicted for such an act in the U.S.

Congress passed the Protect Act after the Supreme Court struck down a broader law prohibiting any visual depictions of minors engaged in sexual activity, including computer-generated imagery and other fakes. The high court ruled that the ban was overbroad, and could cover legitimate speech, including Hollywood productions.

In response, the Protect Act narrows the prohibition to cover only depictions that the defendant’s community would consider “obscene.”

“It’s probably the only law I’m aware of, if a client shows me a book or magazine or movie, and asks me if this image is illegal, I can’t tell them,” says Eric Chase, Handley’s attorney.

Chase says he recommended the plea agreement (.pdf) to his client because he didn’t think he could convince a jury to acquit him once they’d seen the images in question.

Again, the term 'obscenity' engulfs free expression.


U.S. Manga Obscenity Conviction Roils Comics World [Wired]

My thoughts: The nonexistent abuse of the nonexistent

"Off with your head," sings Karen O

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Heads Will Roll"

directed by Richard Ayoade

I contend that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' It's Blitz! is the best album of the year.
So far.


previously
"Zero"

Prop 8 Upheld by California Court

photo by Eric Wolfe from Prop 8 Decision Set

It was half-expected. Nevertheless, it's a letdown to hear that today (Tuesday) the California Supreme Court decided to uphold the voter approved Prop 8, which bans same-sex marriage. Couples who married during the legal window prior to the election, will keep their status.

Maintaining existing gay marriages while denying future marriages is a contradiction of absurd proportions. This cockamamie juncture is a reminder of the inevitable.

An initiative to repeal Prop 8 will appear on the 2010 California Ballot. Trends suggest the majority of the public will finally be on the side of marriage-equality by then.


California Supreme Court upholds same-sex marriage ban; lets stand existing gay unions [Mercury News]

How Frank Black Makes Music

Frank Black Dutch TV Interview

Pixies front man Frank Black explains how he creates music in a 1989 Dutch TV interview.

Black is the personification of what it means to be an artist.


Just because: No. 13 Baby

Dubbed vs Subbed

The unwritten cinephile handbook specifically states that one should avoid dubbed versions of films at all costs. Replacing the original language is not representative of and can damage the original work, as the dubbed voice overs are usually abysmal and distracting.

Animation, however, gets some leeway. The same guidelines should apply, but even cinephiles are forgiving when it comes to dubbed animated films and shows. Because live humans aren't involved, alternate voice overs match up fairly well to the already unrealistic animation.

For the most part though, I'm uncompromising. I can't stand to watch dubbed anime for the same reason I won't watch dubbed live-action films. BUT. I concede that there are occasions that aren't suited for subtitles. Every so often, a scene is too chaotic for the average human eye to simultaneously take in the visuals and read the subtitles.

Example: The following scene from FLCL.

Subtitled

FLCL Manga Scene (eng sub)


Dubbed
FLCL Manga Scene (eng dub)


Subtitles have their disadvantages. Fortunately, technological advancements give us the ability to re-watch a scene with the pause button at the ready.

Watch FLCL (6 amazing episodes!): eng sub OR eng dub

Bad translations: another issue for another time.
See Funny Anime Subtitles.