Naruto vs The Pretender

Anybody heard The Pretender, the new single from Foo Fighters? Catchy, isn't it? Except I can't shake the feeling that the chorus sounds a bit like Heroes Come Back by nobodyknows+, which is the opening theme from Naruto: Shippuden. Same driving beat.

Not that I'm saying Foo lifted anything; the two songs are different, but one definitely reminds me of the other. I'm a big fan of Foo; they're always kick-ass, and Dave Grohl is a very funny guy (remember the video to Learn to Fly?). They've got a great catalog, and this song is a great addition.

Hear for yourself:

The Pretender (around 1:25 into the song):

Heroes Come Back (short version)

Maybe it's just me, though. Anyway, the real video of Heroes Come Back is kinda funny.

(does this mean I'm into J-Pop now? Does this even count as J-Pop?)

bookoftheweek: InterWorld

I was fortunate enough to be the first person to read my public library's edition of InterWorld, Gaiman's latest work, collaborating with Michael Reaves. If Reaves' name seems familiar, it's because he's produced, written and edited several well-known cartoons, such as Dungeons and Dragons, The Real Ghostbusters, Disney's Gargoyles, and Batman: The Animated Series. He's also written several Star Wars novels as well as several comic books.

With such a pedigree, how could a collaboration between the two of them go wrong? Well, InterWorld was originally written way back in 1995, with the idea that it could eventually become a television series. Sadly, it didn't quite succeed...until they decided to dust it off and release it to the world in 2007.

It's a short novel (more like a novella), and has been tabbed as a "Young Adult" book. Indeed, it reads like a comic book, with the main character, Joey Harker, discovering that he has superhuman powers. The cover reflects this, as it's done in a comic book style, showing Joey "powering up", if you will. As with all great stories, it transcends ages, and is quite enjoyable even for adults. It's not quite as good as Coraline, but it's probably his best work since, maybe, Marvel: 1602. It's certainly better than Anansi Boys and Fragile Things.

One can easily see this becoming an on-going comic book or cartoon serial, much like Starship Troopers was. In fact, it was finally optioned as a movie by Dreamworks. Hopefully it'll be a lot better than Stardust was.

Watchlist 2007

Fracture. Anthony Hopkins plays...Hannibal, without the cannibalism. Ryan Gosling is perfect as the smug DA who's taken down a peg or two. Pretty tight legal thriller that somewhat loses its way towards the end. Also, I can't help but be distracted by the fact that Gosling's boss is the baddie in Bourne Ultimatum.

Crank. How come Jason Statham films always seem to suck, but have an eerily watchable quality to them? This one's no different, as he tries to pump up his adrenaline to "stay alive". Amy Smart is somewhat wasted in this movie...although she did have a memorable scene. Wonder if that was a body double.

Batman: Superhero?

Over at The Herd at ESPNRadio Colin Cowherd was defending his choice of Batman as his favorite superhero. Apparently, thousands of his listeners had e-mailed him saying that Batman was no superhero, since he didn't have any superpowers. Colin then mocked several so-called superheroes:

On Aquaman: "The only way Aquaman is a superhero is if Spongebob became a drug dealer" (yeah, pushing seaweed--har-de-har-har)
On Flash: "All he does is run fast and wear a mask. OJ does that"
On Wonder Woman: "She wears a corset and ties up people to make them tell the truth. Hmm, are we talking about Wonder Woman or Jenna Jameson"?

Of course, Colin's right. Batman's a superhero, with or without superpowers. Batman can beat anyone--if he's prepared. Heck, he nearly took out Superman, and had a plan to defeat each member of the Justice League.

How Appropriate

Heard on the news today that a skateshop has been broken into three times in the past six days. The name of the shop?

Two Felons Skate Co.

Maybe they should change the name...

RIP Robert Jordan

Sad day for epic fantasy fans. Robert Jordan passed away today, leaving his great work, The Wheel of Time, unfinished. I know the series lost its way around Book 7, but for 6 books it was the best fantasy epic around, IMHO.

George R.R. Martin, the other author with an on-going epic fantasy series, wrote a nice eulogy on his website.

On a selfish note, hopefully Martin finishes A Song of Ice and Fire before he passes on as well.

The wheel of time turns, and ages come and go...

Code Words

Kevin and Bean over at KROQ had an interesting topic the other day. It seems like they were having some issues over a certain word that describes a gay person (hint: rhymes with the last name of the current Cowboys QB). So, they asked people to call in with some politically correct "code words" for minorities.

For example, "welders" were Asian drivers, because some Asian women have those hats which have huge visors practically covering their face; "border brothers" were Latinos. My favorite, though, was one Australian's code word for gay people: "sneaky butchers".

Why "sneaky butchers"? Because they sneak meat in the back door!

That was just so....wrong. Of course, I nearly swerved off the road laughing.

Conversely, one girl called in with "cookie monsters" for lesbians (kinda obvious), but it was just lame after "sneaky butchers".

Of course, there's always speecy-spicy sausage [gotta warn ya--it's audio].

Yet Another Transformers Cartoon

This whole re-imagining crap has to end...seriously, the "new" Transformers cartoon looks all sorts of awful. And yet, I'll still watch it...

But the toys! I began to drool a bit there. I've started collecting some TF toys (that's a post for another day), but some of the designs here are great. Specifically Grimlock, Lugnut, and the coolest TF around, Soundwave.

How come Decepticons always seem to have cooler (at least in the cartoon) modes?



(Toysrevil, via Gizmodo)

Watchlist 2007

Apocalypto. I didn't know what to expect from this film. Was it some sort of supernatural flick, detailing how the Mayans vanished from the face of the earth? Maybe a sci-fi film showing how aliens helped them create their civilization, only to take it away? As it turns out it was a pretty good movie, despite some historical inaccuracies. It helps that I'm fascinated by Mayan culture.

Stardust. I really wanted to like this movie, I really did. Unfortunately, it left a lot to be desired. Maybe it's because the book was the first Gaiman novel I ever read (well, unless you count Good Omens, which I consider more Pratchett-like), and thus opened a gateway to his fantastic imagination. Expectations were high; too high, as it turned out.

Whatever the case, I was pretty disappointed with the movie. Especially with Robert de Niro's character. Ugh. Why did they have to "flesh out" his character? What did it buy them? A couple of cheap laughs? Claire Danes didn't do much for me either--maybe she and Sienna Miller should've switched roles instead. And the ending--the book had a perfect, bittersweet ending. The movie? Um, Hollywood.

There were some good things about it, though. Michelle Pfeiffer has aged very well, and is still quite the beautiful actress; I kept remembering Ladyhawke while watching her. Mark Strong was an effective Septimus, and the scenes with the seven brothers were quite entertaining.

I've always been critical of purists who nitpick every single detail (such as the LOTR fans who complained about the movie trilogy). Unfortunately, in this case...

The book was better.

Watchlist 2007

The Bourne Ultimatum. I've always liked Matt Damon--sure, he's not exactly leading man material, but he acts rings around his best bud Ben Affleck. His defining role for me up to this point was in The Talented Mr. Ripley, where he disappeared into his character (Cate Blanchett may have helped in me liking this film).

Then the Bourne films came along, and he became Jason Bourne. Instead of "your real name is David Webb" I was half-expecting Landry to say that "your real name is Matt Damon".

There wasn't a single wasted moment in this film. The action was great, and any CGI effects were so subtle that they just blended into the background. Ultimatum also didn't have much to offend the intelligence of the viewer. They even detected someone using the network--unlike, say, Casino Royale, where Bond easily broke into that surveillance room without so much as a peep from anyone.

(Which brings up an interesting point--who would win, Bourne or Bond? I'd pick Bourne against the Connery/Moore/Brosnan Bond, since Bourne doesn't use gadgets and isn't distracted by tail. Against the more authentic Craig Bond? Hmm, not quite sure. I think I'd still go with Bourne).

The ending does cry out for a sequel, don't you think? Although Damon has said this was his last...but there is at least one glaring loose end, though. You know what I'm talking about.

Best movie I've seen this year, knocking Transformers off its pedestal.

War. Now, if Bourne is the intelligent action flick, War is its dumb third cousin twice removed. Jet Li and Jason Statham are wasted in this flick. There are some okay action sequences, and some lively eye-candy, but the story is just silly, and the plot twist is just plain dumb. Enjoyable in a need-to-waste-time way. Thankfully, I got my money back, since there was something blocking part of the film. Complain if you have to, folks, and you may get rewarded (just make sure you have a valid complaint!)

Nerd Test 2.0

From Digg:



"Uber Cool Nerd King?!?" Yikes. At least my Dumb/Dork/Awkward average is low. =)

Blackberry Curve

PJ got a Blackberry Curve today. Yeah, the US is pretty primitive as compared to the rest of the world in terms of cell phones, but the Curve is pretty sweet looking. I gave her a choice between the iPhone (hey, the 4GB is now only $299!), but she felt that that phone was too big.

I asked the AT&T rep about the iPhone, and he said that there were a lot of customers that were angry about that steep price drop that Apple did. He also recommended not to buy the iPhone right now, as a newer model would come out this Christmas (probably the 16GB). Huh.

Why'd we get a Curve? Well, we felt it was necessary for our coffee shop, and having a PDA and a cellphone was just too cumbersome for her. Otherwise, I probably would've said no. Myself, I upgraded...to a free phone. Yeah, I'm cheap that way.

Top 5 Opening Theme Songs (Kids Edition)

Since I now have two toddlers running around the house I've been watching a lot of kids' programming. I've noticed (especially on the Disney Channel) that a lot of the theme songs are sung by established rock bands--for example, the new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme is sung by They Might Be Giants, and the Jojo's Circus theme is sung by Becky, one of Keanu Reeves' bands (he plays bass). Then of course, there's the Wiggles, with their annoyingly catchy songs (try digging up "Caveland" or "Wiggle Groove" or "Four Flowers").

Of course, my generation also had some good songs. There were also some I'd rather forget (like the Macross theme...ugh). Here's my personal Top 5 list:

5. Silverhawks/Thundercats
Thundercats, HOOOOOOO!!!!! Yeah, it's practically the same theme, so I lumped them together. Silverhawks was better animated, but Thundercats was more memorable.




4. The Great Space Coaster
Gary Gnu was the man! Baxter, the driver, was a clown on the run. He wore a rainbow shirt. Make of that what you will.



3. Fraggle Rock
Who could forget those cute construction-worker type Doozers? And Sprocket! And the All-Knowing Trash Heap? And of course, the kick-ass opening song.



2. Little Einsteins
From the moment the bass kicks in you're hooked. I sing along with the kids when this comes on. "We need more POWER!"



1. Gummi Bears
Unfortunately this series didn't last too long in Manila, although apparently there were 95 episodes in all. What a song, though--I haven't seen an episode in more than 20 years, but I still remember the song and catch myself singing it every once in a while.