Epic Retrospective

A spectacular look back at the now completed trilogy of Dark Knight movies.

When is October 19th?

Ugh, one my favorite TV shows gets the short end of the stick yet again. Why does everything I enjoy watching end up delayed or cancelled?

food for thought

oh hell yes

2012 is one epic movie year for sure!

and just because I’m a Resident Evil nut…

Killzone Extraction

I’m on a whole firearms kick right now after going to the range the other day for the first time. So naturally, I’ve been spending the entire day looking at gun videos on YouTube, hahaha. One of the related videos was this short action film based off the game Killzone. I’ve gotta say…there are some crazy good filmmakers out there. I’d like to see these guys do a collab with FreddieW. That shit would be EPIC! Be sure to check out the other videos like Cardboard Warfare.

I need this! NOW!

quick movie review: A Dirty Carnival

The Korean entertainment industry has produced some of the best movies I’ve ever seen and this movie is just another testament to that. A Dirty Carnival is a South Korean gangster movie that tells the story of Byung-doo, a low-tier mob boss, and his struggles between his loyalty to his friends, family, and the other gangsters. A good gangster movie should portray a realistic depiction of organized crime, and personally, I think this movie sits right up next to The Godfather and Scarface. A bold claim, I know, but I feel it’s justified. The movie feels so real, at times, it seems like a documentary. Supposedly, the lead actor was constantly contacted by Korean gangsters thanking him for portraying the reality behind their organizations, and after watching, I have no doubts about that.

A Dirty Carnival is a gritty movie that will hold your attention from start to finish. When I watch movies or TV shows online, it usually only becomes a matter of time until I pause it and start doing other things and keep coming back to it at different times. I didn’t find myself doing that watching this. Byung-doo’s character doesn’t stand out as being the stereotypical tough-looking gangster, but looks are certainly deceiving. During the fight scenes, he becomes a ruthless animal; convincing and scary. The fight sequences are all very realistic and full of adrenaline as people get hit by bats and stabbed with knives. As the movie progresses, we see multiple sides of Byung-doo’s life and by the end, the movie has completely coaxed you into sympathizing with him despite all the cruel and brutal actions he commits. But despite his dark gangster exterior, Byung-doo isn’t really a bad guy. He just wants what’s best for his family and the mob life is the only way he knows that allows him to provide for them.

With almost a 2.5 hour running time, the movie has its moments where it feels like it’s dragging on, but it’s never too long where it reaches the point where you lose interest. The ending is also pretty predictable, especially after you get a glimpse of how the mob organization operates, but it doesn’t ruin the ending or make it any less enjoyable to watch. The cinematography and soundtrack are excellent and work very well together. Overall, I think it’s a great film and if gangster movies are up your alley, it’s definitely worth watching.

Part 1

Part 2

Be sure to click the CC button for English subs!

oufffff! right in the childhood

Yesterday felt weird. The whole day felt off, but I couldn’t really figure out what it was. There were also more coincidences than usual. But late last night at home, after meeting up with a friend for drinks, I did my usual Internet routine of Facebook, Tumblr, WordPress, and Flickr. Going through my dash on Tumblr, I came across a Gundam photo, which someone had reblogged. I don’t know what compelled me to search because I very rarely search tags on Tumblr, but last night, I searched the Gundam Wing tag.

What I found nearly blew my mind.

I saw almost 50 posts right off the bat from people saying that Toonami was back on Cartoon Network and Gundam Wing would be on TV. Apparently, Cartoon Network brought back Toonami for one night in celebration of April Fools. Gundam Wing is one of my all-time favorite TV shows and it’s been 12 very long years since I had last seen it on TV. I have the whole collection on DVD, but that doesn’t compare in the least bit to watching it live.

So, at 1:00am on April 1st, 2012, I went downstairs, turned the volume down real low, sat three feet in front of the TV, and became a kid again for 30 minutes. It was eerily similar to my youth when I would sneak downstairs to watch the uncut episodes of Gundam Wing on Toonami’s Midnight Run while my parents slept. It was a completely surreal experience which brought back so many memories. My parents didn’t allow me to watch a whole lot of TV when I was younger, but when I could, I remember spending a lot of time watching Toonami. I literally grew up with Tom and I remember almost all the phases of that block of cartoons. It was definitely a huge part of my childhood. I remember being in a big rush to get home after school so I wouldn’t miss my shows and constantly acting out episodes and making my own with the Gundam model kits and action figures. I would also build LEGO cities in my room and have the Gundams save or destroy everything, haha. It was also the subject of frequent discussion with my friends at school.

Toonami was also one of my first experiences I had with the Japanese culture. The whole car deal would come later as I wanted to learn more about Japan. But, as I got older and the shows got dumber and dumber, I stopped watching Toonami. Despite all that, I remember finding out about the final broadcast on YouTube a few years ago and feeling like a little bit of my childhood had died inside of me. But last night, it lived again for a few more hours and it was the greatest feeling in the world. And to think I would’ve missed it all if I didn’t have that unexplainable feeling to search the Gundam tag.

Oh, the nostalgia…

the open road

I’ve always been able to appreciate a nice looking motorcycle, but for a long time, street bikes and crotch rockets always stood out to me due to their radical looks over, say, a Harley. However, over the last couple of months, I’ve been increasingly drawn to vintage bikes and cafe racers. In fact, I’ve been really interested in anything retro recently. I feel with every new advancement in transportation technology, vehicles have become more cold and mechanized, which disconnects the driver from the actual experience of driving. Until I can get my hands on a classic car, I think that riding a bike could fulfill that desire to experience a different kind of freedom on the road. Plus, with gas prices expected to hit $5 a gallon or higher, a bike is looking really nice right about now, haha. What I find really neat about the older bikes is that I could pick one up for just a couple thousand dollars and be able to enjoy the aspect of being able to personalize these old bikes just like I could do with a car. Unfortunately, I’ll have to wait until I’m living on my own. *sigh*

All images courtesy of BikeExif.

Resident Evil 6

I used to be a big video game nerd before I got into cars. It started with computer gaming and as I got older, eventually turned into console gaming. Nowadays, I don’t have much time or interest in it. It’s also pretty expensive to be dropping $60 for every new game, so I try to buy used when I can. However, there are times when I hear about an upcoming game that gets me totally psyched about video games again. A couple of years ago, I picked up Resident Evil 4 for the Wii and I loved the game. When RE5 came out, I picked that up for the 360 and once again, I loved it. RE6 was just announced the other day and the trailer has reverted me back to Resident Evil fanboy mode again. LOL! Can’t wait for this!