Sunday, September 30, 2007

My Favorite Movies Before 2008

For your information, apart from Gundam, I also watch quite a bit of movies XD These two months have been quite boring in terms of Gunpla, as well as lack of good movies in the cinema (in my opinion).

Luckily there are plenty of good stuff coming out before the end of the year. In terms of Gunpla, I'm anxiously waiting for the review on MG Destiny Gundam, as well as more information on MG Unicorn coming in December.

So before I go back to the usual postings on Gundam and more Gundams :-D I decided to share with you some of my favorite movies that I'm not going to miss before the new year. Arranged in chronological order, the release dates of the movies mentioned below are based on US release, and some are opening weeks instead, which are subjected to change.

1. D-War (14 September) - this movie got some poor review on IMDB, probably because of its storyline. The CG does seem quite cool to me, and I'm always wondering how Americans will do for a more Asian-style storyline. This movie is up for some time in Malaysia, anyone watched it already? Is it worth the time and money in the cinema?


Movie poster from Sci-fi Japan


Trailer from Youtube. If you can't see anything, follow this link to Youtube.

2. Resident Evil: Extinction (21 September) - The final chapter to the Resident Evil trilogy. This movie opened last week in the US, and is currently top of the box office. Can't wait to see a short-haired Milla Jovovich wielding knifes against zombies ^^ It should be available in Malaysia very soon now.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Screen shot from The Cinema Source


Trailer from Youtube. If you can't see anything, follow this link to Youtube.

3. Lust, Caution (28 September) - most certainly on a completely different genre than D-War and Resident Evil, Lust, Caution is Oscar winner Ang Lee latest work, one which I have been waiting for quite a long time. Apart from the Ang Lee "brand", Tony Leung Chiu Wai is a versatile and talented actor that makes this movie full of expectation for me. I enjoyed his acting very much in Chungking Express and 2046. However, a NC-17 rating for a lot of sexuality in the movie might prevents it from landing in Malaysia, or worst, gets chopped up badly from the censorship board. I wonder whether we can really see the best of Ang Lee's work here.


Movie poster from Collider


Trailer from Youtube. If you can't see anything, follow this link to Youtube.

4. Elizabeth: The Golden Age (12 October) - If you don't know this already, this is actually a sequel to Shekhar Kapur's Elizabeth in 1998. I watched the first movie just recently, and I must say Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth must be one of the best performance I have ever watched. Hollywood really loves making sequel, don't they? So another movie of Elizabeth is coming out this year, made almost 10 years after the original movie, with almost the same cast as the original. If you're not into history and politic, maybe you should go and watch the costume. I'm sure you'll be completely blown again :-D


Movie poster from IOnCinema


Trailer from Youtube. If you can't see anything, follow this link to Youtube.

5. 30 Days of Night (19 October) - This might be another one of those pure slash, blood and gore type movies teenagers love to watch on a boring Friday night. Sorry for being stereotypical about this kind of movies ^^; Anyway I'm looking forward to the daytime-darkness setting of the movie, and it's being a while since I watch some vampire action after Blade and Underworld. Maybe I'll watch this when I run out of Gunpla to build on a boring Friday night as well :-D


Movie poster from The Movie Blog


Trailer from Youtube. If you can't see anything, follow this link to Youtube.

6. Beowulf (16 November) - Beowulf is an old English literature work, one the oldest with unknown author. It tells the story of Beowulf as the hero who helped a king to defend his kingdom from Grendel, possibly a monster or a beast of some sort. Anyway, the story of Beowulf inspired many other movies, most notably Antonio Banderas's The 13th Warrior and Lord of the Rings for the setting of Rohan. It will be interesting to see how this old English literature be made into a movie, and how well (or bad) is the adaptation.

By the way, Angelina Jolie is in this movie as well ^^


Movie poster from MovieWeb


Trailer from Youtube. If you can't see anything, follow this link to Youtube.

7. I Am Legend (14 December) - Normally I'm not too keen on mindless zombie movies, But I Am Legend is played by Will Smith, one of my favorite actors whom I believe, need no introduction at all. I watched him fought giant mechanical spider, aliens and robots in the past. So, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing him fighting zombies this time.


Movie poster from FirstShowing.net


Trailer from Youtube. If you can't see anything, follow this link to Youtube.

8. National Treasure: Book of Secrets (21 December) - If you watched the first movie in 2004, you'll definitely like to watch the second one. This time the goal is a book, which will unveil a secret the whole world is unready to accept. What exactly is that secret? Well, I'll not going to miss this movie to find out the answer. Also, Oscar winner Helen Mirren and Jon Voight (Defense Secretary John Keller in Transformers 2007) will also join in the treasure hunt.


Movie poster from Collider


Trailer from Youtube. If you can't see anything, follow this link to Youtube.

9. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (21 December) - Based on a musical called Sweeney Todd, this movie tells the story of a barber who conspires with a meat pie maker who opens her shop above his, to seek revenge on those who wronged him in the past. Directed by Tim Burton who always seems to be making some weird movies like Sleepy Hollow and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and played by Johnny Depp who is in my opinion, an actor who performed well for some weird characters as well. Apart from his roles in both Tim Burton's movies mentioned above, I also enjoyed his acting in Pirates of the Caribbean and Once Upon a Time in Mexico very much. It's definitely great to see the "strange" duo working together in a movie again. Hopefully I'll able to see this movie in Malaysia as well.


Movie poster from IOnCinema
On the other hand, I can't seem to be able to find the trailer for this movie. Very mysterious, and it adds up to the suspense of the movie.

10. Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (25 December) - I talked about this movie a while ago, and like I said once, good or bad, I'll check out this movie for the love of both species which I watched and supported all this while. Let's just hope it's worth the wait.


Screen shot from Fangoria

Friday, September 28, 2007

Gunpla Wars 3: The Return of ...


Original image from War Cry!

GP02A: Welcome folks! I'm GP02A, and joining me today are Gundam NT-1 and Zeong. We're glad that you can join us tonight for this amazing match between Gundam and Zaku II.
Gundam NT-1: Indeed. A long term rivalry is coming to a conclusion tonight. It's not about any title, it's not about any championship; it's just plain honor and dignity.
Zeong: That's right, and to make the match even more interesting, it'll be of no holds bar, no disqualification, and everything goes. How will our two contestants fair in such harsh condition I wonder?
GP02A: Well then, let's not waste anymore time to find out. Let the match begins!


Zeong: Gundam started off with some powerful punches, which seem to have weaken Zaku.
Gundam NT-1: That's no surprise at all, Zaku's armor have proven from time to time weaker than Gundam's. A few blows are enough for him to win this match.
GP02A: I'm not too sure about that...


GP02A: Whoosh! A kick to the mid-section by Zaku!
Zeong: Nice! I didn't know Zaku has such agility.
Gundam NT-1: Zaku must thank the designer at Bandai for designing such a well-articulated frame for all his moves today.


GP02A: More blows from Gundam
Zeong: Yes. This time on the back of Zaku. Do you think he's desperate after that kick just now?
Gundam NT-1: It certainly looks that way. Gundam is trying to use his superior brute force to win this one.
GP02A: That's right! And I'm surprise Gundam is not using his beam saber this time.
Zeong: No way, Zaku won't fall for his beam saber tricks anymore, not after yesterday.


Gundam NT-1: What's this?!
Zeong: Shoulder spike attack!! Well done Zaku!
GP02A: No doubt! One of Zaku's most effective melee attack device is the old fashion shoulder spike. Most deadly in such close distance. Can Gundam come back from this?
Gundam NT-1: So this is the turn of the tide then.
Zeong: No doubt! Let's see whether Zaku can capitalize on this now.


Zeong: Unbelievable! Gundam came back from that shoulder spike attack and executed a perfect Tombstone Pile-driver onto Zaku.
Gundam NT-1: That has got to be it. Zaku has no chance of coming back anymore.
GP02A: I'm afraid I must agree on that. Imagine the weight of your own body slammed onto your own skull. If he's not out, he must be stunned for a long time.


GP02A: A low blow from Zaku!! Muahahahahaha~
Gundam NT-1: That's cheating!
Zeong: Technically it's legal in this match. There's no disqualification whatsoever.
GP02A: That's right! This is most certainly Zaku's last move to save himself from losing the match after that powerful Tombstone just now.
Zeong: And now both contestants are almost out of stamina!
Gundam NT-1: Just who will recover in time and pin his opponent for the win?
Zeong: It's really hard to see that now. Both of them...
...
GP02A: Hey, what's this...
...
Gundam NT-1: Looks like there's another contestant on the stage!
...
Zeong: Just look at the crowd! They are electrified!
...
Gundam NT-1: Who is that?
...
GP02A: I can't believe it! Look! It's...
...
..
.


GP02A: PRIME!!!


Zeong: Kick to the face!
GP02A: That's like a boot double the size of Gundam's on his face!
Gundam NT-1: And now Gundam's out!


GP02A: A huge leg drop onto Zaku!
Zeong: Wow! That gotta hurt!
GP02A: Indeed! Way worse than that Tombstone just now!


GP02A: The return of Prime!
Zeong: Yes! And he proved himself more superior than both Gundam and Zaku!
GP02A: That's right! Prime rules supreme.
Gundam NT-1: That was a great match just now.
GP02A: Yes folks, and we do hope that you will join us next time for another huge match-up.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Gunpla Wars 2: Gundam Strikes Back











To be continued

Well, not to deceive you, the image of Gundam pointing his beam rifle is actually a mirror of the actual photo. I noticed that they were standing in the opposite positions as compared to the previous rock, paper and scissors photo, and I was just too lazy to take another photo *o*; So, the easiest way to solve the problem is just to flip the photo horizontally, and apply the talk-bubble editing.

Oh yes, the title of the posting is a parody to Star Wars.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Gunpla Wars 1: A New Gundam

Like what I did to MG Zaku II Ver. 2.0, the newly completed Gundam Ver. OYW can't escape some crude jokes as well XD.














To be continued

*The beam saber trick is actually from Gunplablog :-D

Monday, September 24, 2007

PLAMO Review 24: MG Gundam Ver. OYW Part 2

Finally, it's done!

Part 2 of the review on MG Gundam Ver. OYW is about the final assembly and of course, action and fun. If you'd like to see the panel-lining and paint work for this kit, please read Part 1.

Plenty of photos for this review, just as how I did it for Zaku II Ver. 2.0.



With some much panel lines all over the body, I didn't bother to apply any decal or sticker to the finished model.


The inner frame for the arms. From what I learned from MG Zaku II Ver. 2.0, even though the hand of the model can be split so that each finger can move individually, I only did so for the left hand. Since the fingers move on ball-type joints, cutting them up eventually make them hard to control, especially when grasping the weapon. And after a while, the joints are spent and become loose.



The body unit of Gundam Ver. OYW. Although the Core Fighter system had been omitted for this model, this allows for better waist and torso articulation.




The leg units. As compared to the previous Gundam Ver. 1.5, the feet are designed with extra joints so that the shoes will move when the legs are bend forward or backward. The inner frame of the legs however, are identical to its predecessor.


Gundam with a complete inner frame, very much PG-style.


Although the beam javelin is missing, the beam saber of Gundam Ver. OYW is the long curved version, definitely better the short blunt ones in Ver. 1.5.



The beam rifle and bazooka are bigger as well. The bazooka however, is kind-of disappointing. The handle is non-movable, and as a result, posing Gundam holding it is quite hard.




While the surface of the shield is very similar to the old one, the back of the shield is a completely different story. At the same time, the shield can mount bothe the beam sabers, the bazooka and the beam rifle.


The Gundam Hammer. Painting the chain silver definitely makes it stand out a lot from the old one.







Action, action!!


Despite all the nice photos you see above, the model is not without any weakness. Apart from the bazooka, the armor of the forearm can slide off easily, and then the hand will fall out, along with its base. Quite annoying.


Family photo ^_^

View more photos in MG Gundam Ver. OYW's gallery.