000111 - first post for 07!
I can't believe it's already March 2007! This is actually my first entry for 2007, everything has been going so fast and thick, it's like I can hardly catch my breath. Let's see if I can account for what I've been up to since I last posted:
Work:
By far what's been taking up most of my life is my new job that I started just before Christmas last year. Working full-time at an ad agency is like going at 120 km/hr compared to doing freelance which was pretty much cruisey at like 60 km/hr. To describe that I've been crazy hell busy is an understatement! And I've already had to work one weekend just right before Chinese New Years. The traveling to and from work on the train for about an hour each way has been made bearable by the companion that is my DS lite. I come home, I pretty much crash and just tune out.
Comics:
Which brings me to the status of my time for drawing and the production of Knight-Edge, or rather, lack thereof. Before I started my new job, I had about half of issue #4 pencilled, 4 pages inked and the cover coloured. I'm hoping things will settle down at work soon, so I can get into a routine and get some drawing and comicking, even for about an hour or so, after work and dinner.
Video Games:
Thank God for the DS Lite, a copy of Phoenix Wright: Justice For All and Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. I think I look forward to playing these games on my train rides to and from work more than going to work most times! If only I could get a job just for getting paid to play games I like! But alas, no. Not much time in my life left for any other gaming for the Wii or PS2. I haven't been able to play more Twilight Princess since New Years mostly because the controls to pick up a detonating flower seed is too clumsy (for me in my opinion anyway). I've been playing more Street Fighter II and Streets of Rage on the Virtual Console more than anything.
Movies:
Have seen quite a few movies since I last posted an entry, here are some quite comments on them below.
Last Life in the Universe (SBS tv) - This was a Thai movie starring a Japanese guy about a Japanese guy living and working in Thailand. It turned out to be quite an enjoyable movie actually with some clever editing with the chronology of story.
Dog Bite Dog - A Hong Kong movie about a mad crazy Cambodian assassin (Edison Chen) who comes to HK for a contract and ends up being hunted by a stubborn and just as crazy cop (Sam Lee). I really enjoyed this movie, too. Very vicious and visceral at times but also intense.
Neighbor No. 13 - Japanese psychological thriller about a guy who was bullied in High School that develops a separate personality, who gets revenge on his tormentor that lives in the apartment above him. This was pretty good, I thought the ending was a bit too fairy tale or happy / convenient but it does leave the audience to decide for themselves.
Hidden - A French movie about a couple that finds out they're being video taped by a mysterious stalker. There a lot that's left up for the audience to figure out or decide by the end of this movie that made me somewhat indifferent about my overall enjoyment of it. I need some sort of closure damn it!
Virgin Suicides (SBS tv) - This was quite a sad movie about a religious family about 5 sisters that all commit suicides mysteriously. The virgin in the title actually doesn't related to anything sexual, even though the movie itself does deal with some sexual topics.
The Prestige - Probably the best movie I saw for 2006 in my opinion. Two rivaling magicians try to out do each other coming up with the ultimate magic trick. While I predicted the ending just before halfway through the movie, it's one of those that I could watch again and see something new the second time around. Highly recommended viewing.
Happy Feet - Premiere 3D animated movie from Australian-based FX studio, Animal Logic, about a penguin that's a little bit different from the rest of his breed. I really loved it even though the ending was a bit too fast and happy lovey dovey. I guess it's a family movie after all.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby - This was funnier than I expected it to be about a Nascar race car driver (Will Ferrell) that gets a big head deflated and picks himself up again by being his true self. Yes, predictable as hell, but you don't watch these kind of movies for the story itself but for all those crazy and funny moments.
Nacho Libre - Directed by the same director of Napoleon Dynamite (Jared Hess), about a Mexican friar (Jack Black) who dreams of being a Luchador (wrestler). Beautifully filmed and Jack Black is fantastic in this movie. Love all those crazy Luchadors and their costumes and everything. While it's no Napoleon Dynamite, which itself is one of those movies you either get or don't, Nacho Libre has it's own unique lovability and I found it quite hilarious and charming.
Little Miss Sunshine - This was quite a weird movie. The comedy in this film is a very dark and dry kind of humor. Kind of a kooky family road trip movie. It was quite funny, and you have to see the ending to get the most laugh.
Ghost Rider - Didn't go in expecting much from this movie since I remember I was a bit disappointed by Daredevil, which was directed by the same director. I thought it was better than Daredevil and it's just one of those movies you just check your brain at the door. Love seeing all those Melbourne scenery in the background even though it's meant to be in Texas.
Casino Royale - Had heard some really good reviews about the new Bond movie, so thought I'd give it a chance. The structure is pretty much like all the other 007 movies except this new Bond is more brawn than brains or gadgets. In fact, while I love the fact that Bond is more of an agent of assassination in this movie, I really miss those gadgets which is not present at all in this new prequel version.
Death Note - My gf and I have been watching the anime version of Death Note quite religiously which follows quite closely to the original manga. However, the movie version makes quite a number of major changes that works in some place and doesn't in a lot of others. The major difference is that Light has a girlfriend and it kind of makes sense when you watch until the end of this movie why they did what they did. My thought is that the Light character in this film version isn't portrayed as "heroic" or positively as he is in both the manga and anime. I also noticed there's not much background music during this movie, which made it seem like a tele-movie rather than a theatrical release. There's meant to be a part two, which I'm looking forward to seeing how much more they change.
One last thing that's occupying what little time I have left in my life right now is looking for an apartment to live in with my gf. The idea of a mortgage and spending such a large amount of money makes me kinda nervous but I guess many others have gone or will go through the same thing. So between working during the weekday and going to house inspections on the weekends, I'm currently officially pooped.
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Work:
By far what's been taking up most of my life is my new job that I started just before Christmas last year. Working full-time at an ad agency is like going at 120 km/hr compared to doing freelance which was pretty much cruisey at like 60 km/hr. To describe that I've been crazy hell busy is an understatement! And I've already had to work one weekend just right before Chinese New Years. The traveling to and from work on the train for about an hour each way has been made bearable by the companion that is my DS lite. I come home, I pretty much crash and just tune out.
Comics:
Which brings me to the status of my time for drawing and the production of Knight-Edge, or rather, lack thereof. Before I started my new job, I had about half of issue #4 pencilled, 4 pages inked and the cover coloured. I'm hoping things will settle down at work soon, so I can get into a routine and get some drawing and comicking, even for about an hour or so, after work and dinner.
Video Games:
Thank God for the DS Lite, a copy of Phoenix Wright: Justice For All and Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. I think I look forward to playing these games on my train rides to and from work more than going to work most times! If only I could get a job just for getting paid to play games I like! But alas, no. Not much time in my life left for any other gaming for the Wii or PS2. I haven't been able to play more Twilight Princess since New Years mostly because the controls to pick up a detonating flower seed is too clumsy (for me in my opinion anyway). I've been playing more Street Fighter II and Streets of Rage on the Virtual Console more than anything.
Movies:
Have seen quite a few movies since I last posted an entry, here are some quite comments on them below.
Last Life in the Universe (SBS tv) - This was a Thai movie starring a Japanese guy about a Japanese guy living and working in Thailand. It turned out to be quite an enjoyable movie actually with some clever editing with the chronology of story.
Dog Bite Dog - A Hong Kong movie about a mad crazy Cambodian assassin (Edison Chen) who comes to HK for a contract and ends up being hunted by a stubborn and just as crazy cop (Sam Lee). I really enjoyed this movie, too. Very vicious and visceral at times but also intense.
Neighbor No. 13 - Japanese psychological thriller about a guy who was bullied in High School that develops a separate personality, who gets revenge on his tormentor that lives in the apartment above him. This was pretty good, I thought the ending was a bit too fairy tale or happy / convenient but it does leave the audience to decide for themselves.
Hidden - A French movie about a couple that finds out they're being video taped by a mysterious stalker. There a lot that's left up for the audience to figure out or decide by the end of this movie that made me somewhat indifferent about my overall enjoyment of it. I need some sort of closure damn it!
Virgin Suicides (SBS tv) - This was quite a sad movie about a religious family about 5 sisters that all commit suicides mysteriously. The virgin in the title actually doesn't related to anything sexual, even though the movie itself does deal with some sexual topics.
The Prestige - Probably the best movie I saw for 2006 in my opinion. Two rivaling magicians try to out do each other coming up with the ultimate magic trick. While I predicted the ending just before halfway through the movie, it's one of those that I could watch again and see something new the second time around. Highly recommended viewing.
Happy Feet - Premiere 3D animated movie from Australian-based FX studio, Animal Logic, about a penguin that's a little bit different from the rest of his breed. I really loved it even though the ending was a bit too fast and happy lovey dovey. I guess it's a family movie after all.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby - This was funnier than I expected it to be about a Nascar race car driver (Will Ferrell) that gets a big head deflated and picks himself up again by being his true self. Yes, predictable as hell, but you don't watch these kind of movies for the story itself but for all those crazy and funny moments.
Nacho Libre - Directed by the same director of Napoleon Dynamite (Jared Hess), about a Mexican friar (Jack Black) who dreams of being a Luchador (wrestler). Beautifully filmed and Jack Black is fantastic in this movie. Love all those crazy Luchadors and their costumes and everything. While it's no Napoleon Dynamite, which itself is one of those movies you either get or don't, Nacho Libre has it's own unique lovability and I found it quite hilarious and charming.
Little Miss Sunshine - This was quite a weird movie. The comedy in this film is a very dark and dry kind of humor. Kind of a kooky family road trip movie. It was quite funny, and you have to see the ending to get the most laugh.
Ghost Rider - Didn't go in expecting much from this movie since I remember I was a bit disappointed by Daredevil, which was directed by the same director. I thought it was better than Daredevil and it's just one of those movies you just check your brain at the door. Love seeing all those Melbourne scenery in the background even though it's meant to be in Texas.
Casino Royale - Had heard some really good reviews about the new Bond movie, so thought I'd give it a chance. The structure is pretty much like all the other 007 movies except this new Bond is more brawn than brains or gadgets. In fact, while I love the fact that Bond is more of an agent of assassination in this movie, I really miss those gadgets which is not present at all in this new prequel version.
Death Note - My gf and I have been watching the anime version of Death Note quite religiously which follows quite closely to the original manga. However, the movie version makes quite a number of major changes that works in some place and doesn't in a lot of others. The major difference is that Light has a girlfriend and it kind of makes sense when you watch until the end of this movie why they did what they did. My thought is that the Light character in this film version isn't portrayed as "heroic" or positively as he is in both the manga and anime. I also noticed there's not much background music during this movie, which made it seem like a tele-movie rather than a theatrical release. There's meant to be a part two, which I'm looking forward to seeing how much more they change.
One last thing that's occupying what little time I have left in my life right now is looking for an apartment to live in with my gf. The idea of a mortgage and spending such a large amount of money makes me kinda nervous but I guess many others have gone or will go through the same thing. So between working during the weekday and going to house inspections on the weekends, I'm currently officially pooped.
Labels: comics, games, knight-edge, movies, working life
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