Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Last Blog Entry
Today will be my last blog entry. Don't worry; this will not be the last time I'll be reviewing. The report card will be back in a few days with a new e-mail address. See ya!
Friday, December 12, 2008
TV Series Review: Heroes Season 3
Today I'm going to review the latest season of Heroes. As I'm writing this now, the latest season of Heroes is about to air its finale next week. Initially I thought of waiting until I've seen the final episode to give my review. However after watching the entire series up to this point, I've come to the conclusion that whatever happens in the finale won't change the overall outcome of my review.
Before I begin though, let me warn you: This review comes with spoilers; if you haven't watched the latest season of Heroes and don't want to find out what happens, then just go somewhere else and wait for my next review. Ok let's get to it: For those not in the know, Heroes is a television series about a group of individuals who discover they have superpowers. The series focuses on what they do with these powers and how other people are affected by their using them. For this third season in the series they entitled it "Volume III: Villains" and basically tells about bad guys running loose, wreaking havoc. One particular bad guy, presumed dead in the beginning of Heroes season 1, appears in Season 3 and hatches a "sinister plot" that involves giving normal people superpowers. As to how evil is that (Is it really evil having superpowers?), let's just say it changes the future and the heroes here are trying to prevent that future from happening.
Okay I'll go straight to the point: this season is totally messed up. Let me tell you why: First, the story. Everything I've come to know, understand and love about Heroes since season 1 was completely mangled and distorted by season 3. I'll give one example: Sylar. Sylar was the badass bad guy in Heroes: he's twisted, he's merciless, he has no compunction on killing anyone just so he could steal their powers. He was so bad you ask anyone on the street who their top 10 villains are and chances are, his name is on that list. Sure he lost his powers in season 2 but when he got his powers back at the end of that season, there was a tinge of excitement in the air as to what he's gonna do next. Then in season 3, everything changes: from badass villain, Sylar becomes a good guy, even helping out the same company who tried to destroy him in previous seasons. Then in the future he becomes a doting, caring father, and there's one time he even sleeps with the former company boss' daughter. It was so confusing even Sylar was confused. And that's just Sylar; I won't have to go into details with Peter, Claire, Hiro and the others. I just want to mention that they too were not spared this utter madness.
The second thing I didn't like about this season is there's no new powers! When season 1 of Heroes started it was original in that everyone had a different power. One person could fly, 1 can paint the future, 1 can heal. By season 2, we find out there's more than 1 person who could fly and who could heal himself. But they still had the girl with copycat ability and that was cool. By season 3, there's nothing unique anymore. Sure we got a speedster, a flame thrower, a leech and a beast like superpower but they look dull and uninspiring. The only new character that I felt was interesting was this fat villain with the power to control people like puppets in a string and he was there for like 2 or 3 episodes only.
Speaking of original, my third gripe about the series was that they haven't done anything original this third season. Whether it be traveling to the past or to the future, seeing the Apocalypse, warping one's mind, teleporting or whatever - anything they did in season 3 they've done it already in seasons 1 and 2. And it's not just the plot or the powers - even the visuals and the music isn't original anymore and could not hold our attention span long enough.
In the end I'm sorry to say but with the way things are going for this series I don't expect it to last any longer. Which is sadly ironic: the one thing that will do this series in are not the villains or the end of the world but the series' writers and their poor plots and the studio execs who see what was a great series gone to waste!
Grading (I've made some changes with the grading; this may stick for all my reviews):
Heroes season 3
Classification: Action/Adventure series
Rating: PG-13 (due to some scenes involving women in provocative lingerie and scenes which show decapitated heads)
Story: D
Characterization: D
Visuals: D
Soundtrack: D
Final Grade: D
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Anime Review: Akira Kurosawa's Samurai 7
1954. A young Akira Kurosawa, after basking in the worldwide success of his movie Rashomon, co-wrote, edited and directed the movie many around the world consider his greatest work: Seven Samurai. The movie is about 7 Ronin (Wandering Samurai) who are hired by peasant villagers to protect their village from being plundered by a group of bandits. The movie was hailed worldwide as one of the best movies of all times and has been the inspiration of many other movies including The Magnificent Seven, The Guns of Navarone, Ocean's 11, Star Wars and Disney's A Bug's Life.
2004. 50 years after Seven Samurai's release, Japanese anime company Gonzo, with the blessing of the Kurosawa estate, creates an anime which is both a retelling and a makeover of the 1954 classic. Samurai 7 follows the plot of the original movie with several differences, chief among them the change in setting from historical Japan in the movie to a "steampunk" world in the anime replete with machine guns, giant robots and flying fortresses. The anime also introduces several new characters while expanding the roles of the original characters in the movie.
The result was one fantastic, action packed anime. While introduced in a new setting and additional plotlines were interweaved, the anime's main story of seven samurai becoming guardians of peasant villagers, remains intact and faithful to the Kurosawa movie. Characterization is the anime's best strength: Everyone from the seven samurai to the main villain are developed well; even the minor characters are memorable with their display of emotion and witty dialogue. The animation was incredibly good: I like the way they were able to seamlessly integrate hand-drawn art with CGI. The soundtrack was also pleasing to the aural senses, combining classic Japanese music with modern J-pop tunes.
However great is, the anime still had its flaws albeit minor. I, for one, cannot comprehend why a samurai would exchange his mortal shell to become a giant mecha that is easily turned to chopsucky by the seven samurai's blades. In terms of character development, Katsushiro was a wimp and I liked it better if Kikuchiyo was more human than replaceable mechanized parts.
2004. 50 years after Seven Samurai's release, Japanese anime company Gonzo, with the blessing of the Kurosawa estate, creates an anime which is both a retelling and a makeover of the 1954 classic. Samurai 7 follows the plot of the original movie with several differences, chief among them the change in setting from historical Japan in the movie to a "steampunk" world in the anime replete with machine guns, giant robots and flying fortresses. The anime also introduces several new characters while expanding the roles of the original characters in the movie.
The result was one fantastic, action packed anime. While introduced in a new setting and additional plotlines were interweaved, the anime's main story of seven samurai becoming guardians of peasant villagers, remains intact and faithful to the Kurosawa movie. Characterization is the anime's best strength: Everyone from the seven samurai to the main villain are developed well; even the minor characters are memorable with their display of emotion and witty dialogue. The animation was incredibly good: I like the way they were able to seamlessly integrate hand-drawn art with CGI. The soundtrack was also pleasing to the aural senses, combining classic Japanese music with modern J-pop tunes.
However great is, the anime still had its flaws albeit minor. I, for one, cannot comprehend why a samurai would exchange his mortal shell to become a giant mecha that is easily turned to chopsucky by the seven samurai's blades. In terms of character development, Katsushiro was a wimp and I liked it better if Kikuchiyo was more human than replaceable mechanized parts.
Overall, Samurai 7 is an anime that can stand alone on its own and is worthy of the Kurosawa name. Whether or not the anime, like its predecessor, will stand the test of time, only time will tell...
Classification: Action / Adventure Anime
Classification: Action / Adventure Anime
Rating: PG-13
Story: A-
Characterization: A+
Art and Animation: A
Soundtrack: A
Final Grade: A
In Depth: The Manny Pacquiao vs. Oscar De La Hoya Boxing Match
December 6, 2008. It was tagged as the "Dream Match". On one corner, Oscar Dela Hoya. Golden Boy. Boxing Legend. An ageing fighter looking for a comeback. On the other corner, Manny Pacquiao. Pacman. Pride of the Philippines. A man of humble beginnings rising from obscurity to become one of boxing's best.
It was like Rocky Balboa vs. the Cinderella man. Dream Match however it wasn't. From the sound of the bell for round one, it was all Manny Pacquiao, hammering, jabbing, pounding, connecting. De La Hoya however could not connect; he was faltering, he was dazed, he was vulnerable. By the 5th round, the golden boy's knees were buckling, his face hardly recognizable from so many blows, his legs nearly giving way,a knockout becoming more and more imminent. De La Hoya must have realized it too and decided that enough is enough; by the 9th round it was over.
Looking at the match it was pretty much a lopsided event in favor of the Pacman. The match was so one-sided I initially thought the match was rigged so as to make Pacquiao more menacing to future fighters and Dela Hoya go down in a blaze of glory. Rethinking it over, however, I though it could not be the case. For how can someone rig a fight and turn one's opponent into a busted pinata? This was not a Hollywood movie; Dela Hoya's scars were real. As real as the damage inflicted by Pacquiao's fists.
So what happened? For Dela Hoya I see this as a case of age and the rigors of battle catching up on the grisled veteran. It's like the age old adage: You can't teach an old dog new tricks. As for Pacquiao, he had a few tricks up his sleeve: he did his homework on Dela Hoya, listened to his mentors, one them being at one time a former trainer for the Golden Boy. And from the start, took advantage and did not give Dela Hoya even the slightest breathing space.
So in the end, one fighter slumps down in defeat, his career biting the dust. The other fighter rises to victory, gains another foothold in boxing history and basks in the glory, albeit temporarily until the next fighter comes...
It was like Rocky Balboa vs. the Cinderella man. Dream Match however it wasn't. From the sound of the bell for round one, it was all Manny Pacquiao, hammering, jabbing, pounding, connecting. De La Hoya however could not connect; he was faltering, he was dazed, he was vulnerable. By the 5th round, the golden boy's knees were buckling, his face hardly recognizable from so many blows, his legs nearly giving way,a knockout becoming more and more imminent. De La Hoya must have realized it too and decided that enough is enough; by the 9th round it was over.
Looking at the match it was pretty much a lopsided event in favor of the Pacman. The match was so one-sided I initially thought the match was rigged so as to make Pacquiao more menacing to future fighters and Dela Hoya go down in a blaze of glory. Rethinking it over, however, I though it could not be the case. For how can someone rig a fight and turn one's opponent into a busted pinata? This was not a Hollywood movie; Dela Hoya's scars were real. As real as the damage inflicted by Pacquiao's fists.
So what happened? For Dela Hoya I see this as a case of age and the rigors of battle catching up on the grisled veteran. It's like the age old adage: You can't teach an old dog new tricks. As for Pacquiao, he had a few tricks up his sleeve: he did his homework on Dela Hoya, listened to his mentors, one them being at one time a former trainer for the Golden Boy. And from the start, took advantage and did not give Dela Hoya even the slightest breathing space.
So in the end, one fighter slumps down in defeat, his career biting the dust. The other fighter rises to victory, gains another foothold in boxing history and basks in the glory, albeit temporarily until the next fighter comes...
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