So, 10 days between updates. Nearly two weeks and what have I got up to? Not a lot to be honest. I've had a bit of a cinema week this week! As Wednesday is just ending and I've been to the cinema twice, that's two of three days! But I'll get to the films I watched later.
The iMac was repaired and seems to be working ok, at least there aren't any complaints as of yet! One of the connectors (the SATA one specifically) had come away from the logic board, so that was soldered back on and the wireless card was removed and the thing booted straight up. Dad gave all the various chips (the CPU/GPU) a good going over with the reflow machine he has just in case and it all seems good to go.
Due to all the nerd-hype surrounding Scott Pilgrim (well "positive reviews" rather than hype) I decided to check out the comics. I got a brief idea of what the story was about, but it's not something you can really put into words unless you read it for yourself. To put Scott Pilgrim into context, it's a manga (yes, it is, same format, style, etc) written by a Canadian about life in Canada. It's almost a parody of itself.
To me it feels as though it's written from the main characters perspective to make his life seem more interesting, but you're never told if this is the case or not. I think it's to keep up the mystery of everything, rather than having everything on a plate for the reader, so they can make up their own minds about it. There's a lot of homosexuality in the comic too, which is interesting and refreshing at the same time, especially as it's not rammed down your throat! The comic has made me think too, about my own life and how I treat other people, as well as my perspective of treating others - I don't know of that sort of thing was intended, but it really got me thinking about everything.
The film (which comes out here on the 25th) has really made me interested in the series (ok, borderline obsessed), so I picked up the game from PSN and played it obsessively, mainly because of the soundtrack. So from a film, I've come across a new comic series, a new game (which is fantastic) and a new band too. I can't wait for the game soundtrack to come out on the 24th, I just wish I could preorder it now. The band is called Anamanaguchi and they make music using a hacked NES as well as real instruments. I'm not sure what to call their style as it's not really chiptune (as it has instruments), it's more like a mix of chiptune and rock.
That's pretty much what I've been doing since the end of last week and over the weekend. Not a lot of anything to be completely honest. I had an issue with my iPad case getting really awkward and warped, but the company managed to fedex me another one really quickly with no hassle at all. What a fantastic company, I'll certainly use them again. Good customer service goes an awful long way with me, I tend to stick with what companies have treated me well and avoid those that haven't. I'm also a whore for merchandise, especially t-shirts!
I did download a couple of new apps for my iPad; Ganstar HD and ChaosRings HD. Gangstar cost me 59p (in a sale, thankfully) and it is abysmal, I really can't put it any other way than that. I wrote a slating 1-star review of it on iTunes, but it won't do much good. Crap like that will still be made and people will still buy it. ChaosRings though, feels like Final Fantasy 8 somehow, the graphical style and the battle layout just feel familiar. It feels polished and cared about as though they wanted to put out a good product and not some half-assed thing to make a quick buck.
On to the movies! This week, I saw Sorcerer's Apprentice and Expendables, both in pre-screenings! I didn't see Karate-Kid in the end, as the person I was due to see it with cancelled on me. Luckily I wasn't too interested in watching that film anyway. I'm certainly glad that I got an unlimited card in the end as it opens up so many possibilities and gives me incentives to get up and get out of the house (even when I have no money!) I'll give a couple of small reviews for the films I saw, as well as anymore I see in the coming weeks!
First up, Sorcerer's Apprentice. This film is a Nicolas Cage/Jerry Bruckheimer action/adventure/comedy romp and it's not bad. It's a film you can throw on and watch over and over and over if you wanted, similar vein to National Treasure and Pirates of the Caribbean. I enjoyed it, but at times it felt as though it was a special effects showcase, to show off what high-definition could be used for. But that's the cynic in me talking, criticising it; some of the dialogue was dreadful, but what do you expect really? I love films like that, mindless 'fun' films, nothing too serious, doesn't take itself seriously and Alfred Molina makes a good villain. I'd give the film 7/10, but with a "buy it on Blu-ray" recommendation as it'll be fantastic to watch. No doubt Disney will franchise the shit out of it, as Alfred Molina was glossed over at the end (did he live? Did he die? No-one knows!), so it opens up a sequel, or an animated series at least. I can certainly see Alfred Molina's animated counterpart shouting "Ahaha, I escape again Balthazar!" or "You'll never catch me!" at the end of an episode!
Expendables, which I saw today at an unlisted showing. It was a prescreening before its official debut tonight, to see what sort of crowds it would draw I guess. To sum it up, it was disappointing. The best part was the cameos from Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, that was it. I cannot believe that that film pulled a bigger crowd than Scott Pilgrim vs the World in the US, it shocks me. It was basically an average action movie with an all-star cast. Jason Statham had a huge role as did Dolph Lundgren which was really surprising. But it was missing something, there was no character backstory or anything. Just a group of guys who bummed about doing jobs the A-Team didn't want to do, that was it. There was nothing to care about (except to see Steve Austin killed in a brutal way...) 6/10, rent if you really, really love action films.
So, I've been driven to and sitting in the cinema for about 2 hours then driven home twice this week and I am completely exhausted. However, as you can see from the times on my blog posts, I don't sleep very well and I'm most productive at night. It's almost like I gain a second wind at the dead of night, before I struggle with my mattress and my body to position itself appropriately (reading that, you can see my eyes rolling, I bet) I seem to sleep better when the mattress I'm sleeping on doesn't decided to push a spring between my ribs "just because it can" it annoys me and gives me quite a lot of pain.
Nighttime gives me space to reflect on things too, I get the time to be alone and face myself. I've always found the things inside my head to be the scariest things of all, and I tend to hide them as much as I can. Night is the only chance I get to confront them and assess my mental state. My doctor thinks that I might be cyclothymic/bipolar and has forwarded me to a psychiatrist for confirmation, it scares me knowing that my moods are volatile, but to be honest, I know that already...
One downside about the night, is when I update my blog at 00:00 onward, most of my friends miss the tweeted updates. I want them to read it and comment, which is why it's here, but I won't force anyone to read it. Well, that's me done for another [insert timespan]!
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