Due to my new love for Batman after The Dark Knight adventure, I decided I had some catching up to do, so I bought Batman Begins. I bought the Batman Begins giftset on DVD, which I thought was a really good deal. It contained the 2-Disc Special Edition DVD of Batman Begins, 128MB flash drive with preloaded pictures from The Dark Knight, Batman Begins lenticular art, 5 collectible postcards and $10 movie cash to see The Dark Knight in theatres. The blu-ray version doesn't have the same contents, I'm not too sure what it has.
I thought Batman Begins was a good movie, but it definitely wasn't as good as The Dark Knight, in my opinion anyways. One of the major differences is that in The Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne was already Batman, so all the action started the second the movie started. However, in Batman Begins, we, as the audience have to wait for Bruce Wayne to become Batman, hence I guess that's where the title of the movie Batman Begins comes from.
For those who are not Batman fans, like myself, watching Batman Begins will answer a lot of dying questions, such as "why made Bruce Wayne want to become Batman?", "how did James Gordon get to know Batman?" and "why bats?". It was neat to be able to make the connections between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, and to be able to understand a little more about Batman. In Batman Begins, we see a lot of Christian Bale's character Bruce Wayne psychological development and his road to becoming Batman. A source of confusion may be from the fact that Rachel Dawes is played by Katie Holmes in Batman Begins, but the casting was changed to Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Dark Knight, however, most people should be able to tell within the first couple of times they see Rachel Dawes, as they mention her name a couple of times. Personally, I prefer Maggie Gyllenhaal's performance of Rachel Dawes more.
I have to admit that there were parts of the Batman Begins where I started to lose interest. It was a movie that was two hours and twenty minutes long, which is a long time, and I felt it didn't have enough action sequences to keep me interested. Though we must keep in mind that I am subconciously comparing this movie to The Dark Knight. Good movie though.
RainbowSnow's rating: 3/5
Links: Warner Brothers Batman Begins Site
RainbowSnow's Review of The Dark Knight
Buy this movie at yesasia.com
Monday, August 11, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Book: Supernatural Nevermore
Supernatural Nevermore (by Keith R.A. DeCandido) is very much like a suspense mystery novel. It is set between the Supernatural episodes of "Crossroad Blues" and "Croatoan" from season two, so there are some of the supporting characters from the series are mentioned. I thought that this novel kept me interested, as the Winchester brothers were not just solving one case, but two. I really liked the references to Edgar Allen Poe's stories. I have to admit, I am not very familiar with Edgar Allen Poe or his stories, so learning a thing or two about him from this story was very cool for me. A neat thing about this novel is that at the beginning of each chapter, they tell you in italics the location and time in which the chapter is set in.
I think DeCandido did a good job of writing the characters Sam and Dean to be very similar to how the characters are portrayed on TV. I guess one of my biggest issue with TV Tie-ins like this one is the fact that they go inside the head of the characters. When watching the TV show, sometimes you think to yourself "what in the world was he thinking when he did that?", however in the book, they tell you what he's thinking. I guess it's a different way of understanding a character, one that I don't prefer. In conclusion, this book was pretty good, something Supernatural fans should enjoy.
RainbowSnow's rating: 3/5
I think DeCandido did a good job of writing the characters Sam and Dean to be very similar to how the characters are portrayed on TV. I guess one of my biggest issue with TV Tie-ins like this one is the fact that they go inside the head of the characters. When watching the TV show, sometimes you think to yourself "what in the world was he thinking when he did that?", however in the book, they tell you what he's thinking. I guess it's a different way of understanding a character, one that I don't prefer. In conclusion, this book was pretty good, something Supernatural fans should enjoy.
RainbowSnow's rating: 3/5
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Movie: The Dark Knight
With the hype over The Dark Knight (directed by Christopher Nolan) this summer, it's almost impossible not to know of this movie. I'm personally not a Batman fan, however, I got tickets to see it, so I did. WOW! The Dark Knight was one of the best movies I have ever seen! The movie was two and a half hours long, but honestly, I was so engaged that I didn't feel the time go by. One of the reasons I was captivated by this movie is the fact that they go back and forth between story sequences, essentially, they show different scenes of all the things that are "happening at the same time". This keeps the audience wondering, oh no, what's going to happen now? The action sequences and stunts in this movie were impressive. People have said that this movie is very dark, and I would agree. I think that it's dark because if you think deep enough, it's true. The twists and turns of the characters were interesting and unexpected, thought I think part of that would be that I did not know any of the Batman stories to begin with. Heath Ledger's Joker performance was so frightening and real that I almost forgot I was watching a movie and he's only fictional. After watching it the first time, I heard some people say that this movie is great in IMAX, so I definitely had to go see it for a second time. The Dark Knight was amazing in IMAX! The sound and picture was so much better. Great movie and I would recommend it to anyone who has not seen it yet, even if you're not a Batman fan!
RainbowSnow's rating: 5/5
Links: Warner Brothers The Dark Knight Site
RainbowSnow's rating: 5/5
Links: Warner Brothers The Dark Knight Site
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
TV Series: Supernatural Season 1
Honestly, anyone who has not seen this show yet, you've got to see it! Supernatural (created by Eric Kripe in 2005) is a combination of scary, humor, suspense and action, seriously one of the best shows I've ever seen since The X Files. I've watched Season 1 of Supernatural twice already and I can't wait to watch it again!
The story centers around two brothers Sam Winchester (played by Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (played by Jensen Ackles) who have grown up learning how to hunt evil. Sam has already left this to his past and entering law school. However, Dean comes to Sam one night with news that their father John Winchester (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is missing, causing Sam and Dean to go on a cross-country road trip in Dean's 1967 Chevrolet Impala to hunt spirits, monsters and demons.
The two characters Sam and Dean in Supernatural are beautifully written, each with their own unique personalities. Sam is more emotional, he relies on his emotions to make decisions. Dean on the other hand has a cocky arrogance, he's someone who thinks he can do whatever he wants whenever he wants. Dean believes it's his responsibility to follow his father's footsteps, while Sam does not. The two brothers are so different, yet hunting is the one thing that will bring them together. The one thing I like about this show is the combination of Dean's smart-ass comments and Sam's sarcastic statements. Dean and Sam together make scary more enjoyable.
Supernatural consists on real urban legends and American folklore, some of which feel so close to home that it brings chills down my spine. An example would be episode 5 "Bloody Mary". We're all heard the folklore, where when her name is said three times in the mirror, she will appear. I don't know about you guys, but I've never dared to try it. This Supernatural episode gives a vivid picture of what will happen if you do try it and after watching this episode, I guarantee that you wouldn't dare try it.
Each episode of Supernatural is like a mini-movie, probably one of the bests in horror TV series, something you definitely wouldn't want to miss!
Favourite episode: Phantom Traveler
RainbowSnow's rating: 5/5
Links: CW Supernatural Site
Warner Brothers Supernatural Site
Buy this TV Series at yesasia.com
The story centers around two brothers Sam Winchester (played by Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (played by Jensen Ackles) who have grown up learning how to hunt evil. Sam has already left this to his past and entering law school. However, Dean comes to Sam one night with news that their father John Winchester (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is missing, causing Sam and Dean to go on a cross-country road trip in Dean's 1967 Chevrolet Impala to hunt spirits, monsters and demons.
The two characters Sam and Dean in Supernatural are beautifully written, each with their own unique personalities. Sam is more emotional, he relies on his emotions to make decisions. Dean on the other hand has a cocky arrogance, he's someone who thinks he can do whatever he wants whenever he wants. Dean believes it's his responsibility to follow his father's footsteps, while Sam does not. The two brothers are so different, yet hunting is the one thing that will bring them together. The one thing I like about this show is the combination of Dean's smart-ass comments and Sam's sarcastic statements. Dean and Sam together make scary more enjoyable.
Supernatural consists on real urban legends and American folklore, some of which feel so close to home that it brings chills down my spine. An example would be episode 5 "Bloody Mary". We're all heard the folklore, where when her name is said three times in the mirror, she will appear. I don't know about you guys, but I've never dared to try it. This Supernatural episode gives a vivid picture of what will happen if you do try it and after watching this episode, I guarantee that you wouldn't dare try it.
Each episode of Supernatural is like a mini-movie, probably one of the bests in horror TV series, something you definitely wouldn't want to miss!
Favourite episode: Phantom Traveler
RainbowSnow's rating: 5/5
Links: CW Supernatural Site
Warner Brothers Supernatural Site
Buy this TV Series at yesasia.com
Monday, August 4, 2008
Movie: The X Files: I Want to Believe
I've waited what seemed like forever (6 years) for the release of The X Files movie. Therefore, when I first heard that it was coming out, I was really really excited. I couldn't wait to see Mulder (played by David Duchovny) and Scully (played by Gillian Anderson) together again. The fact that they kept everything so secretive prior to the release of the movie was interesting, it felt good to walk into a theatre to watch a movie without already knowing what the whole plot is. After watching the movie, I can't say that I was disappointed, but it definitely wasn't what I had expected. The X Files: I Want to Believe seemed to focus more on character development more than the actual X File, if it was an X File to begin with. There wasn't really any X Files mythology involved, so it really was a movie that anyone can go and watch, even if you're not an X Files fan.
What can be enjoyed by X Files fans is the return of the chemistry between Mulder and Scully. Although there are many changes, such as Mulder may not be as physically attractive as he one was and Mulder and Scully are no longer FBI agents, it was evident that they tried to bring back the "believer" Mulder and the "skeptical" Scully. I think this was cleverly accomplished by having Scully attempting to avoid the past and Mulder "wanting to believe". A source of disappointment for me was the fact that John Doggett wasn't included in the movie. Although many X Files fan do not consider him to be a favourite, he was one of my favourite characters.
In conclusion, I thought that The X Files: I Want to Believe wasn't great, but it was decent, it contained a little bit of everything, it was spooky, suspenseful and even inspirational.
RainbowSnow's Rating: 3/5
Links: The X Files: I Want to Believe Official Site
What can be enjoyed by X Files fans is the return of the chemistry between Mulder and Scully. Although there are many changes, such as Mulder may not be as physically attractive as he one was and Mulder and Scully are no longer FBI agents, it was evident that they tried to bring back the "believer" Mulder and the "skeptical" Scully. I think this was cleverly accomplished by having Scully attempting to avoid the past and Mulder "wanting to believe". A source of disappointment for me was the fact that John Doggett wasn't included in the movie. Although many X Files fan do not consider him to be a favourite, he was one of my favourite characters.
In conclusion, I thought that The X Files: I Want to Believe wasn't great, but it was decent, it contained a little bit of everything, it was spooky, suspenseful and even inspirational.
RainbowSnow's Rating: 3/5
Links: The X Files: I Want to Believe Official Site
Sunday, August 3, 2008
CD: Departure - Jesse McCartney
North American Version
Four years ago, Jesse McCartney came out with his debut album Beautiful Soul. It's now four years later with the release of Departure, not only has Jesse McCartney grown physically and mentally, he has grown musically as well. One of the major changes in musical style is that it's no longer just pop, there's also R&B, such as in "It's Over". The songs in Departure are catchy, definitely a CD that I would leave in the CD player to listen to over and over again. Some favourite songs in the Departure include "Leavin'" and "How Do You Sleep?", both very catchy pop songs, perfect for listening in the car or dancing to. Another favourite song would be "Not Your Enemy", a very soothing ballad.
This version of Departure features CDVU+, consisting access of videos, photos, links, wallpaper and a downloadable intro track when placed in the computer. The packaging for this CD was made from 100% recycled material, so it did not contain a lyric book, however, the lyrics can be accessed and printed via CDVU+.
Japanese Version
The Japanese version of Departure contains 4 bonus tracks: "Oxygen", "Bleeding Love", "Leavin' (The Bimbo Radio Edit)" and "Leavin' (JFK MSTRKRFT Remix)". This version does not contain CDVU+, but it does have a CD-EXTRA portion with the music video of Leavin' when placed in the computer. The Japanese version of Departure does have a lyric book included.
I think that the Japanese version and the North American version of Jesse McCartney's Departure each have their strengths and weaknesses, as it seems like you can't get the best of both worlds unless you buy both. The Japanese version is slightly pricier than the North American Version. What I do like about the Japanese version is that it contains "Bleeding Love", which is one of my favourite songs. In addition, I just simply like having the bonus tracks. A drawback to the Japanese version of Departure is the two Leavin' remix tracks, as it gets redundent over time. What I like about the North American version is that it contains the CDVU+, which gives you a lot of cool bonuses!
Favourite song: Leavin'
RainbowSnow's Rating: 4/5
Links: Jesse McCartney's Offical Website
Jesse McCartney's MySpace
Jesse McCartney's YouTube Channel
Buy this CD at yesasia.com
Four years ago, Jesse McCartney came out with his debut album Beautiful Soul. It's now four years later with the release of Departure, not only has Jesse McCartney grown physically and mentally, he has grown musically as well. One of the major changes in musical style is that it's no longer just pop, there's also R&B, such as in "It's Over". The songs in Departure are catchy, definitely a CD that I would leave in the CD player to listen to over and over again. Some favourite songs in the Departure include "Leavin'" and "How Do You Sleep?", both very catchy pop songs, perfect for listening in the car or dancing to. Another favourite song would be "Not Your Enemy", a very soothing ballad.
This version of Departure features CDVU+, consisting access of videos, photos, links, wallpaper and a downloadable intro track when placed in the computer. The packaging for this CD was made from 100% recycled material, so it did not contain a lyric book, however, the lyrics can be accessed and printed via CDVU+.
Japanese Version
The Japanese version of Departure contains 4 bonus tracks: "Oxygen", "Bleeding Love", "Leavin' (The Bimbo Radio Edit)" and "Leavin' (JFK MSTRKRFT Remix)". This version does not contain CDVU+, but it does have a CD-EXTRA portion with the music video of Leavin' when placed in the computer. The Japanese version of Departure does have a lyric book included.
I think that the Japanese version and the North American version of Jesse McCartney's Departure each have their strengths and weaknesses, as it seems like you can't get the best of both worlds unless you buy both. The Japanese version is slightly pricier than the North American Version. What I do like about the Japanese version is that it contains "Bleeding Love", which is one of my favourite songs. In addition, I just simply like having the bonus tracks. A drawback to the Japanese version of Departure is the two Leavin' remix tracks, as it gets redundent over time. What I like about the North American version is that it contains the CDVU+, which gives you a lot of cool bonuses!
Favourite song: Leavin'
RainbowSnow's Rating: 4/5
Links: Jesse McCartney's Offical Website
Jesse McCartney's MySpace
Jesse McCartney's YouTube Channel
Buy this CD at yesasia.com
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