I mentioned in my review of Crank: High Voltage that the movie was a product of our video game saturated generation. It was just as spastic, flashy and loud as any of the latest games. Neveldine/Taylor (who directed the Crank movies) take it to the next step in Gamer, a movie about playing video games.

The only other movie I can think of that involves video games without actually being about a particular game is 1989's The Wizard (awesome side note: the main girl in that movie was Jenny Lewis, as in the indie musician Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley, friggin' awesome), although I guess it was more of a promotional tool to promote Nintendo and Super Mario Bros. 3.

Anyhow, this is one of those movies that's more style over substance; dialogues are excuses to get to action scenes. The movie takes place in a distant future where in the most popular video games you get to control real life human beings... like Avatar! The most popular game is one called Slayers, where convicts are pitted against each other in a 3rd person shooter game. It's a bloody affair, but if you survive a certain number of rounds, you can earn your release. Kable (Gerard Butler) who happens to be the world's best avatar/convict/killer escapes the game and is on a mission to save his wife and take down Ken Castle, the mastermind behind Slayers. That's most of the story that I could remember and to be honest, I don't even know why they were doing half the shit they were doing as I was watching the movie... I was waiting for the next big explosion and I think that's the type of people these movies are geared towards... us knuckle-dragging mouth-breathers.

The style they take in this movie is almost exactly the same as Crank: High Voltage. It's hyper stylized, brightly coloured, with top to bottom explosions all filmed with the ever polarizing shaky cam. It's really love hate with this kind of style and I can certainly understand the hate. Basically, it's too hard to follow what's going on when action is filmed this way. But for me, I can forgive it as I like this visceral style of action; it makes me feel like I'm right there behind the action. But at the same time, the action is very generic. There's nothing memorable about any of the fight scenes (unlike the days of old when you could remember every scene in T2: Judgement Day). But the way they film the scenes in Slayers is interesting in that it captures the feel of a 3rd person shooter game like Gears of War or the upcoming Spec Ops.

The cast that they assembled for this movie is pretty amazing. You have Gerard Butler as the main lead, Michael C. Hall as the main baddie, and rounding out the cast are LUDACRIS (move bitch!), Alison Lohman (who ruled in my fav' movie of 2009), Kyra Sedgwick (who's married to the Woodsman), Keith Jardine, Milo Ventimiglia, John Leguizamo and the man with the best voice in the universe... Keith David (playing Agent KEITH)! I nearly pissed my pants when he walked onscreen, but it was too bad that he was only in one or two scenes.

I more or less enjoyed this as much as Crank 2. It's certainly dumb and certainly senseless, but on some afternoons, I just need something like this to turn my brain off to. It's out on DVD now and if you want plain old silly action, then a rent wouldn't hurt. Til next time, later geeks!



Categories: action , gamer , movies

"The Marine 2... PREMIERING on DVD and Blu-Ray..."

PREMIERING?!?!?!

You know, as a wrestling fan, it behooves me to watch shit like this. And by "shit like this" I mean movies produced by WWE Films. Yes, movies by a wrestling company! And last week it was announced in Variety that they were leaving their partners Lionsgate and Fox Home Video in favour of Samuel Goldwyn Films, who specialize in distributing lower budget movies. So everyone get ready for more rinky-dink WWE movies!

Now, if the decision to make a sequel to The Marine wasn't baffling enough, they decided to make a sequel to The Marine starring Ted Dibiase! Ahhh! Brain explosion! Just to bring you up to speed, the only wrestlers that the WWE put into movies are those who are already big stars in the company or those who they want to cultivate into big stars. It's usually done to groom someone who they could market around in the future as a potential champion. So why Ted Dibiase? I know many fans and industry types alike say that he's the next big thing, but I don't see it. He wrestles alright, but whenever he's on the mic, he always delivers emotionless and monotone diatribes. He's a bad actor in wrestling so what made them think he'd be a good actor in movies?

As far as the story goes, the movie is essentially an alternate take on Die Hard 1; a couple is off at a company party (although at an asian tropical resort), foreign terrorists invade the party while the husband is absent, the husband (a marine and not a cop, like John McClane) takes down the terrorists one by one to save his wife.


So yah, the movie was bad, but I think if they could of replaced Ted with a different actor, it would have been easier to stomach. Every time Dibiase delivered his deadpan lines, I wanted to remove my eyeballs from my eye sockets and stuff them into my ears.

The one mild positive in the movie though is having Jango Fett as the main villain. The whole time I was watching I was thinking, "man, this guy looks familiar". Then I check his IMDB and am reminded that he played Jango Fett! But who am I kidding; Jango Fett without the suit just ain't Jango Fett.

On the BOARD~! at F4Wonline there was a discussion going on about the movie, specifically about the part where it says the movie is based on true events. Really? True events? Like a true event as in how there are marines in real life? Or the true event as in how people fire guns? Such a ridiculous claim for a WWE DTV movie.

The movie is out on DVD if you want to check it out. But seriously... why? Paying money to watch crap like this will just encourage them to make more. Go out and dance, those are 1.5 hours better spent than watching this! Later geeks!





Categories: action , dtv madness , the marine 2 , wwe

And so 50 hours later, I have finished my first playthrough of Dragon Age: Origins. What a game.

It seems the number of traditional role playing games are decreasing these days. All the biggest and hottest games of the current generation are first person shooters. And so the RPG genre has adapted accordingly; rather than the tried and true style of RPGs from yesteryear, nowadays, more hybrid RPGs are being released. These games are primarily action shooters, but also combine elements found in RPGs (eg. Borderlands, Mass Effect, Fallout, etc.).

I think that's why I was so excited for Dragon Age: Origins to come out. Though I love all sorts of games, RPGs are still where my heart's at. I miss this genre. I miss the dungeons, the dragons, the elves and the dwarves. Couple that with Bioware production, for me, solidifying it as a surefire hit. And you know what? They delivered. Sure there were some technical hiccups, but it never was to the point that it hurt my in game experience.

The game takes place in a kingdom called Fereldon; a land filled with humans, mages, dwarves and elves. An evil force called the Darkspawn threatens to take over the kingdom, and it's up to the forces of good to stop them. At the same time, there is dissension and threats of civil war amongst the kingdom's own people, where you, as the hero, are charged with uniting all the factions for a common good against the Darkspawn.

What truly makes this game so engaging is the control you have over the story. At the core is an unchangeable storyline, but there are many ancillary stories that you have control over. The game is loaded with game changing and crucial decisions that you'll have to make. Many times you'll find that there are no right or wrong choices; you have to weigh out your options to find out which choice is the lesser evil.

I also like how they changed the morality system as compared to Mass Effect. In Mass Effect, there was a Paragon-Renegade (good-bad) scale within your character. Make a good decision and you'll earn Paragon points; make a bad decision and your Renegade meter goes up. The good and bad decisions were generally obvious when the options were listed for you. In Dragon Age, it's different. Gone is the good-bad system of morality. Instead, there is a fondness system installed into your companions. The choices you're given in any decision are not clearly defined as good or bad, so the outcome relies more on how you want to drive the story. However, there are decisions you'll have to make that are approved by some companions and disapproved by others. While you may fight together, some of your partners may despise you based on your previous decisions to the point that they may decide to leave your party altogether.

For some, this game can be dangerous. If you're a level 10 uber-nerd, the game can become quite immersive, with so much background stories, mythology and lore. There is so much optional text and literature that you can read through for those who want that full-on experience. And even if you're not that kind of a person (and I'm not, I think I'm level 5 nerd), you still need to browse through some of the literature for clues on how to go about some of your quests.

The hero you create can be of any 3 races: human, elf or dwarf. Furthermore, you get to select a class, where your options depend on the race you chose: warrior, rogue and mage. Depending on what combination you choose, your origin story will vary. Through your adventures, you'll encounter many new companions who will aid you on your journeys, of which you can pick 3 to join you at a time. In combat, you're free to use any character in your party you choose, while the AI will control the others. For the most part, the AI is able to hold his own, although sometimes you'll find that one of your partners will go running off to battle the furthest enemy possible... a nuisance sometimes.

Probably one of the most amazing things about the game is all the voice work. The dialogue in the game is superb; everyone's voice matches their character. And the vast amount of dialogue available is astounding as well. I think the most unfortunate aspect about this though is the lack of voice for your main hero. He's mute throughout the game, although you do get to select the dialogue that he would say. I think what really made Mass Effect work is that they did give Commander Shepherd a voice. It really helps the player connect with the character.

I could go on and on, but I think I hit all the main points that I wanted to tackle. I really enjoyed this game. In my playthrough I used a mage, so I want to play through it at least two more times soon as the other 2 classes just to get a full feel for the game. But I've got a few things on my plate before I do that. That's about all for now, seeya later uber-geeks.





Categories: dragon age , gaming , role playing games , xbox 360

World War Boo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Released in the summer of 2007, World War Hulk is the big follow-up to 2006's Civil War by Marvel Comics. I should start off by saying that I thought Civil War was awesome. It took existing Marvel characters and did something new with them. I know the fanboy community didn't take to the story too well ("it was too emo" was a common argument), but I just liked that it was trying something new. It just so happened that when the series started that summer, I was living at residence at my school. A number of us started reading the series and it was great for conversation; it really made us think about what we would do in that situation. But I digress.

So even before talking about the story of World War Hulk, it's important to give some details in how we got there.
Years ago, the Hulk was involved in a rampage in Las Vegas that left 28 innocent people dead. An elite assemblage of heroes called The Illuminati (comprised of higher intellectual heroes ie. Professor X, Dr. Strange, Mr. Fantastic, etc.) decided that the world would be safer were the Hulk not in it. The Hulk was employed by S.H.I.E.L.D. to take down a destructive weapon orbitting in space called The Godseye. The Illuminati seized this opportunity to jettison him off to a distant planet thereby protecting the people of Earth.

World War Hulk tells the story of Hulk's return to earth. But he didn't come alone. You see, for years he was living on a barbaric alien planet called Sakaar, where he became a ruler they dubbed "The Worldbreaker". The Hulk with his newly found Sakaarian friends return to Earth to exact revenge on The Illuminati, not only for sending him off to space, but for sending a rocket that exploded and destroyed Sakaar. At least that's what he believed.

I guess my main gripe with the story is that it took five issues to move so little plot. And when the series finally ended, the resolution didn't seem worthy of the five issue read. I suppose it has to do a lot with my preference though. The Hulk comics are generally known as fight books in that they're more action based rather than story based. So what we get in WWH is a lot of fight sequences. If that's what you're looking for, I guess it's fine, but I just wanted something more meatier to chew on, something to make me think just like what Civil War did. There is a cool scene though where the Hulk and Co. turn Madison Square Garden into a battle arena, where he watched heroes duke it out for his entertainment.

I only read the series so I could be up to date in reading the proceeding crossover series, Secret Invasion, so I can't say I was really anticipating this one in the first place (probably why I read it 2 years later). The series is underwhelming and pretty much skippable. Til next time, later geeks!





Categories: comics , incredible hulk , marvel , superheroes , world war hulk

Oh Peter Jackson. Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Score. King Kong remake. Score. The Lovely Bones. BORE! What a shame. I guess I can be naive sometimes. I was pretty much under the assumption that Peter Jackson could do no wrong. When you look at his repertoire of works, it basically speaks for itself (and that includes his old school horror classics like Braindead and Bad Taste).

The Lovely Bones is an adaptation of the book by the same name from author Alice Sebold. I've never read the book myself, but I have several friends who have and they all pretty much love it. Well, I hope they didn't watch this movie.

The story tells of a teenaged girl named Susie Salmon who is one day murdered by a child predator in her neighbourhood. She becomes stuck in a place between earth and Heaven, where she has limited communication with the real world and tries her best to help her family track down her murderer. From there, we follow her as she watches her family cope with her being gone and as she comes to grips with being dead.

I think the main downfall with this movie was the pacing. It took a lot of time to make nothing happen. The movie clocked in at around 2 hours and 15 minutes, but when it was all said and done, it felt just as long as Lord of the Rings: Return of the King The Extended Cut. I think the movie could have benefited with being 90 minutes or so. And even during these 2 hours, I wasn't emotionally invested in the characters. Perhaps it was because I couldn't care for them that made the movie drag.

The one redeeming quality of the movie was all the special effects. Weta Digital did a great job of painting the spirit world creating a euphoric atmosphere. But they always do a great job so it was nothing not anticipated.

This is a short review, but I don't have much more to add. I left this one disappointed.





Categories: drama , fantasy , movies , peter jackson , the lovely bones

When the teaser trailer first came out last year, I was quite excited: a world populated by vampires and where humans are an endangered species. The concept intrigued me. There just seemed to be so many cool possibilities. Well, in the end, it was a bit ho-hum.

In Daybreakers, we follow a vampire named Edward (and not of the Cullen's) as he seeks out a cure for the vampirism that has consumed the world. He works for an evil big wig vampire named Bromley who I guess is the CEO of the world's largest human blood manufacturer. But conflicts arise because of their different philosophies for the world; one is seeking a cure for the world while the other is seeking for a way to prolong their longevity. Throw in some humans, some action and some blood and guts. Voila.

The movie falls into the action/horror genre and when it sticks to the action, it's pretty damn good. With a few exceptions of this random bat that (annoyingly) flies at the screen, there are no scares; it's all based on the gore. The gore is definitely one of the strong suits of this movie. There's a scene near the beginning when the vampire scientists are testing this strain of blood on a volunteer and the results are both hilarious and disgusting.

The movie was scribed and helmed by the Spierig Brothers who did the Australian cult favourite zombie movie, Undead, quite a few years back. Of the two, I'd say Undead was better. I guess sometimes working on a limited budget can work in your favour.



Categories: daybreakers , horror , movies

For the past year or so, my Bible reading regimen was to read from the start of the New Testament and move forward from there. I know it's a tactic that some follow while others jump around doing their readings all around the book. I guess it's just a way that works for me as I just need that sense of order in my head. I freely admit that I am behind in my readings, but I continually try to stay on top of things. What is interesting is how on some days I'll do my readings and later on during the week, something I read about will come up again.

Earlier last week I was reading Acts 6-8, but in particular, Acts 6:2 stood out and I read it over and over again because it made me laugh. From the NIV it says: "So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, 'It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables...' ". In my head I was picturing these ancient wise and learned men taking orders at a table and I guess it was funny.

As soon as I read it though, it reminded me of this church that I went to when I was living in Ottawa. A few years ago, I was living with my former pastor (you can see his website [here]) and his lovely wife as I worked this co-op job at the government. We went to a few different churches around the city but we were finding that we were just not filled or moved by any of them. We finally found this one church that was just starting up and it had two good things going for it: 1) it was a two minute drive from our home and 2) service started at 5:30, affording us that morning sleep in that we all appreciated. So even if the service was shitty, we were at least sold on those 2 points. I'm not gonna mention the church or anyone's names... okay, you've got me, I will. The guy's name was Dave, you know him right? Their first ever service had a good 20 or so people, with about 6 or 7 of them under the age of 12 while the others comprised mostly of Dave's family. We met with Dave and his lovely wife a week or two later and decided to take a chance and support him in this new ministry. There were a few things we were unsure about but he told us some good things and we gave him the benefit of the doubt anyways. What we would soon learn was that this was Dave's Church. We weren't sure if it was really Jesus' church, but we were convinced that it was Dave's Church. Everything from top to bottom was the Dave show. At this point in time, I was one of the worship leaders back at my home church in Toronto, so my services were offered and accepted at Dave's Church in week 3 or so (before we realized it was Dave's Church). I was under the impression that I was leading it like I had in the past; choosing the songs, setting the arrangement of each song, serving as the main vocals, etc. Folly on me, I would soon learn that I was incorrect. Dave opened the service, Dave led the worship, Dave gave the message, Dave ended the service. What a show! All it was missing was some Vegas showgirls and some popcorn and it would have been the talk of the town! After I left Ottawa, my Pastor and his wife continued to attend Dave's Church and often I would receive emails from him telling me how things were going. Well, over the course of the year afterward, nothing had really changed. They increased their attendance a bit, but it was still operating as the Dave Church. My Pastor offered help in various ways and I'm not sure whether it was accepted... the tithing certainly was though. Well, eventually this church exploded and it no longer exists. Dave was too busy waiting on tables.

In the middle of last week, I met up with Pastor iLL seeR to talk about church, Toronto and life stuff in general. Specifically, he wanted to talk about serving at the church. In the middle of the conversation he quoted Acts 6:2. It blew my mind. Just the night before, I had read that very verse (of all the verses I could have read). In about half a second, the story of Dave's Church zipped through my mind. I was thinking to myself, wow, this is the complete opposite of Dave's Church. The iLL seeR gets it. FreeChurch gets it. The pastors are trying to deliver the Word of God, they ain't got time to wait on tables!

Well that's about it for now. There's not really a take home point to this posting either, I'm just sharing a few stories that happened during this past while. I hope you enjoyed the read. Take care! Later geeks!

Categories: christianity , life stuff , religion

It's that time again!

It was a strange year for movies. I saw a lot of good movies, but I saw very few great movies. Making the list this year was sort of tricky because I saw lots of movies in that level of 'good', so a bunch of movies got shafted which maybe shouldn't of in the end (titles in that category include Star Trek, The Watchmen, Paranormal Activity... well those 3 come to mind first). But after shuffling the bottom 4 or 5 and swapping some in and out, I think I'm content with this list. Horror made an impact on my list this year as you can see. So it wasn't great for movies, but hot damn, it was great for horror. Here is the list in reverse order:

10. Dead Snow (review) - The only foreign movie to make it on the list. What a fun movie this was. Nazi zombies fighting in snowy mountains... awesome.

9. Anvil! The Story of Anvil (review) - The only documentary to make it on the list. This movie was the real version of The Wrestler. It's an inspiring movie and reminds us to never give up on our dreams.

8. District 9 (review)

7. Up (review in haiku form) - You know, I'm a sucker for Pixar movies. My only regret is that I missed this in the theaters. The ads and trailers just didn't appeal to me. I thought it would have been pretty awesome to see in 3D. I asked a friend who saw it in that format and she said that it was okay only.

6. Zombieland (review) - The second movie I watched this year featuring Jesse Eisenberg which also contained the word 'land' in its title. The celebrity cameo scene will forever be etched into my brain.

5. Up in the Air (review)

4. The Hurt Locker (review)

3. Avatar (review) - Yup.

2. Adventureland (review) - The first movie I watched this year featuring Jesse Eisenberg which also contained the word 'land' in its title. At first when I watched this movie, I enjoyed it, but only gave it a moderate thumbs up. At the time, I was expecting a laugh out loud comedy as that was the way it was being marketed, but it was more of a dramatic coming of age story, which I deeply appreciated. I watched this movie again recently and for whatever reason, I ended up loving it upon its second viewing.

1. Drag Me To Hell (review) - What can I say? This movie felt like it was made for me. Good old horror from good old Sam Raimi, the way I first saw him. A good balance of intrigue, horror, gross-outs and comedy.

For a list of all the movies I've watched this year, you can check (here).

You can also view my favourite lists for the years (2008), (2007), and (2006). I'm interested in hearing about your favourites too! Or maybe suggest something I missed. Later geeks!

Categories: movies , top list

Side story.

Back in the Fall of 2004, I was in my second year of university living at a college residence. I remember one night during dinner, me and a group of friends were talking about Disney cartoons that we used to watch. I brought up that I used to love Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers. I also brought up that I used to have a crush on Gadget, the female mouse. Keep in mind that I was 6 years old at the time. My friends had a good laugh at my expense. And I'm not going to lie, I did have a crush on her. I thought she was cute. Not only that, she had brains and wits, not to mention she was an engineer. What's not to love? So she was a rodent... BIG DEAL!

Anyhow.

I freaking loved this game when I was a kid and having played through it again recently, I think I still do. I never owned it though; I would borrow it from my childhood friend's that did own it.

Based on the Disney cartoon from the early 90's, you play as Chip and/or Dale as they thwart another one of the evil Fat Cat's diabolical plans. Along the way, you're aided by your trusty pals, Gadget, the female rodent, Monty, a fat cheese loving mouse, and the awesome Zipper, the super power fly.

It's another classic side-scrolling action game developed by Capcom. It's fun because you can play with 2 player at the same time, an option that was limited back then. Hijinks ensues when you toss berries or boxes at your friend, stunning them, making them viable targets for the enemies. Oh the fun! Along your adventure, you'll encounter all sorts of enemies including miniature robots, critters and a slew of the staple villains from the cartoon. Actually the one that boggled me was the lizard dude who was one of Fat Cat's henchmen. Instead of being a boss, he was just a normal enemy, like a Goomba or something. So you'll see many of the lizard guy throughout the game. Anyhow, I thought it was odd.

On top of that, it has a catchy soundtrack throughout that still resonates with me today (I think I remember more music from the 8-bit days than newer games these days).

The game was not without it's flaws though. The stupidest thing about the game is the level selection map. Examine below.

If you see the blimp on the top right of the map, that's where you start. You want to get to G. The first choke point you need to get to is Point D. So to get to D, you could take route B-D or route A-C-D. Now, why would you go through route A-C-D if B-D is the quicker way? That's one more level to tack down that you don't need to. Also, look at the placement of Point E. It's redundant! Ahh, the old days of "non-linear" games. I forgive thee.

Anyhow, this is a fun game and it'll forever live in the fond memories of my childhood. Peace out geeks!

Categories: chip and dale rescue rangers , gaming , nes , retro rebound

So this is the last in the three movies that I was looking forward to at the end of 2009 (the other two being Bad Lieutenant and Avatar). It's hard to say which movies I enjoyed more because they're all so different, but I can confidently say that I enjoyed all three. Also of the three, this movie is the most realistic when it's all said and done.

Up In The Air tells a story about Ryan Bingham, who flies all over America firing people. Laying people off is such a tough thing to do that companies that need to do so hire people like Ryan. It becomes reflective as Ryan sees his own life of isolation at odds compared to the lives of those around him.

It's apt that he has such a hollow and thankless job which parallels his own life. Because he's on the road for 250+ days of the year, his own life is quite hollow; with no stable relationships, weakened family ties and no friendships in sight. In fact the first time we see his apartment, I was kind of shocked. Up until that moment, we see Ryan flying around all over the states, well dressed, well groomed and sharp with his tongue, and I guess I assumed he would have a luxurious home to back that up. But when we finally get to see his home, it hits us; he has a place to stay, but he doesn't really have a home.

I really loved this movie. It was not only contemplative for the character Ryan, but the whole time I was comparing the different philosophies and situations to my own life. It really made me think about my own career search and relationships with people. It wasn't that I could 100% relate to the characters, but they pose questions that are still relevant in my own life. Besides horror, these are the movies I like best; one's that will make me think.

This was another terrific performance by George Clooney. In some ways, his role as Ryan is similar to his own life, being a jet setting, bachelor playboy. Sometimes it's crazy to think that this was once the man from Return of the Killer Tomatoes, but it just attributes to his awesomeness (I can pretend Batman & Robin didn't exist... wait, who am I kidding, that movie sucked ass and he was part of the problem). *ahem* Up in the Air!

And though he was only in it for a small part (mostly in cardboard cut out form at that), it a pleasure to see Danny McBride, my cinematic hero, in a not so over the top role.

This is the third major feature film by Jason Reitman (the first two being Thank You For Smoking and Juno) and I'd say of the three, this was certainly the best. Not to say that the other two weren't great, but this one just seemed more solid because the characters were more grounded. In Juno, the characters were in some sort of pseudo-reality with everyone talking like they were straight out of a comic strip or something, while in Smoking, Aaron Eckhart's character was nothing short of a superhero for the tobacco industry. Up in the Air was filled with more grounded characters with real emotions which made it easier to relate to. The script was also full of sharp dialogue and smart humour, although I'd say of the three, this one keeps the funny moments less blatant.

Lastly, some sad news to report. My close friends are probably more familiar with my baggy friend pictured above. Yes, this very bag went through 6 refills unscathed by the employees at Cineplex. However, the 7th refill attempt would spell doom for my friend... doom in the mark of an X. Yes, my bag finally got the dreaded "mark of death" sealing its last refill. *sigh*. Perhaps it was all for the better. I mean, it was getting pretty dilapidated and gross inside. Well, we had a good run buddy. You saved me more than $40. And you were with me for Up in the Air and really, that's all I could of asked for.

Such a somber note to end on. Later geeks.





Categories: comedy , danny mcbride , drama , jason reitman , movies , up in the air

I don't know about you, but for me, 2009 felt very blah (See last posting). And not only because of my state of unemployment but it stretched to other facets in life; for example, there was not much much to look forward to in movies (save for Avatar). If I could create a device to fold time so that the end of 2008 would mean the beginning of 2010, I would press the button to do it. In fact, I drew a diagram below of said time folding.


With that said, there looks to be tons of stuff to look forward to in 2010 and I am excited in many ways. Here are some of those things.

THINGS I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO...

...IN MOVIES

If you've been reading my blog this past year then you would've known that I wasn't enamored with movies this year. There were a few good ones, but on the whole, I felt completely underwhelmed. I was just looking at my short list for my favourite 10 movies of the year and though I greatly enjoyed all of them, none of them have that oomph that made me feel like, "whoa... I can't believe I just watched that!".

There are some heavy hitters coming out this year that I'm jazzed for: Kick-Ass, Clash of the Titans, Iron Man 2, Prince of Persia, Predators, The Expendables, Inception, Robin Hood and A Nightmare on Elm Street. I'm going to venture to say that 2009 was a better year for horror movies but 2010 looks much better for big budget Hollywood blockbusters.

...IN PROWRESTLING

So 2009 was a pretty shitty year for wrestling. If you weren't already a fan, both WWE and TNA gave you no reason to become one. WWE basically converted its Monday Night Raw program into a shitty version of Saturday Night Live, with D-level celebrity guest hosts and bad comedy to match that. TNA was just shitty in general, the norm for the company.

That said, I am looking forward to 2010. I don't have faith that either will produce a good product, but there are little things that I'm looking forward to. And I think most of them happen on the first week of January anyways, so it's not looking the greatest for the other 51 weeks of the year. January 4th, 2010 (ie. tonight!) is a big day for the industry. It will be the first time two wrestling companies went head to head on Monday night since the demise of WCW in 2001. TNA Impact! in its new partnership with Hulk Hogan will compete with WWE's Monday Night Raw. WWE itself is prepared for battle with the return that night of Canada's one and only Bret "The Hitman" Hart who recently signed a short term contract. It's nearly 13 years since he has stepped into a WWE/F ring (since the infamous Montreal screw job) so it will be something surreal to see.

...IN GAMING

This winter alone has tons of stuff that I'm balls out excited for. A trifecta of awesomeness including Mass Effect 2, Bioshock 2 and Aliens VS Predator. Then in March... BLAM! We're hit with a huge one: Final Fantasy XIII. Lord have mercy! As a bonus, sometime before summer, hopefully Alan Wake will be released. It's good to be geek.

...IN TV

I'm not a big TV watcher so there are only a few things I'm looking forward to: last season of LOST, Survivor: Heroes VS Villains, V, hopefully season 2 of Eastbound & Down.

Oh and my guilty pleasure, American Idol.

...IN LIFE

There's tons of stuff in life to look forward to. Even if you're not me. Here are some likely highlights:

-the marriage of two of my closest friends, Keith & Beka and all of its related events (hint: bachelor party cuz it's gonna happen, haha :). They're going to have an awesome marriage and I already know that this will be one of the top highlights of my life this year.
-the official start of our small group at FreeChurch. Near the end of 2009, we finished the membership series, officially becoming a small group, but because of the holiday season, we postponed meeting for our first time officially by ourselves until the new year. I'm excited to dig deep in the word of God and just grow with each other.
-my eventual full time employment. I toiled for 6 years to get this degree, it's time to put it to work. I decided with God this past week. It's happening this year.

That's pretty much it for me, at least for now. What are stuff that you're looking forward to? I'd love to hear it. Later geeks!

Categories: gaming , life stuff , movies , tv , wrestling

See the guy on the left? I feel exactly the same way!

First of all... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Welcome to 2010! I want to wish you guys all the best for the new year!

So yes, 2009 has come and gone. It seems like yesterday that the year just started. How time flies. It was a strange year this past year for me. Life just felt like it was in stasis. I've been doing a lot of reflecting these past 2 weeks and during this time, a lot of things have been revealed to me, be they realizations of new ideas or reminders of old.

Two weeks ago, I was at FreeChurch on a Monday night to help a group called Light Patrol (who work with street youths) who organized a free meal for the community. I along with a few friends were there to lend a hand with anything they needed done. Thankfully, there were tons of volunteers on hand from their side, so it gave us a lot of downtime before the closing/cleanup which we would help with. During this time, me and my friends Justin and Jon talked about a bunch of life stuff. I was telling them that life just felt like in stasis. But it's not an overwhelming feeling; I'm not to the point of feeling sad, depressed, emo or anything of that sort. Rather, I know I'm stuck, but at the same time I can see that glimmer of light and hope at the end of the tunnel. I can see myself full of joy on the other side of this hump. I see the hurdle that's stopping me and I'm just trying to figure out how to jump over it.

Like any good conversation with trusted brothers, we also talked about relationships, girlfriends, and that sort of stuff. As it stands now, I'm content with where I am (refer to this post) at least for now. I'm in that phase in life when you're not looking for anyone but at the same time you're looking at someone. Does that make sense? It's like you're not ready to start something new yet but you can't help but notice that there's a cute girl in the corner of your eye. It's funny, in talking with a few different groups of friends these past 2 months, it seems like everyone else is really aching to find someone. And these are all young men who have their whole lives in front of them, with nothing to rush at all. For me right now, I just don't feel the urgency to start anything. Perhaps it's my sense of patience taking over. I know I've got to get my shit in check first. And by getting my shit in check, I'm referring to that hurdle again.

Which brings me to the idea of patience. For years I've known that patience was my strongest suit. It's not only something I've realized myself, but it's something that's been pointed out to me by my friends as well. I've been thinking about what God's been trying to teach me during this past year and I think He's trying to tell me this: "So you think patience is your strongest quality? We'll see about that." And so this past year has been a lesson on patience. When I compare myself of this year to year's past, patience has notably weakened. For example, with my gaming habits. In the past, never have I been so angry or frustrated with a video game that it makes me raise my voice, yell, swear and/or curse at something that's nothing more than a piece of inanimate software. Not until this year at least. Sometimes it even scares my mom when she sees me gaming, as she knows a barrage of swear words is coming. Lately though, it's been improving. I'm really forcing and reminding myself that it's just a game. Sometimes I'll forcibly have to pause (or completely end) the game to breathe in and collect my composure. I think patience is such an important quality where in our "on-the-go" world, it's been made more rare and invaluable. I'm doing what I can to strengthen this quality because I know it'll pay off in the end. And I know it'll help me get across this hurdle.

I've been alluding to this hurdle the whole time without mentioning what it is. Well, it's no secret or anything; my hurdle right now is unemployment. Like 10% of America, I've been job searching the past year. But I think I entered 2009 with the wrong frame of mind. I was job searching, but I wasn't really putting full effort into it. I was applying to jobs blindly without a care as to what I was doing. But fortunately I gave myself a swift kick in the butt mid-Summer and have been more focused since then. And on top of that, I forgot one of my dreams/goals that I had 3 years ago until two weeks ago. I was applying to a Water/Wastewater Treatment Engineer job in Toronto and I was reminded of this dream. Three years ago after reading Shane Claiborne's Irresistible Revolution, I felt inspired to use my school smarts for some good purpose. My idea was to work somewhere in the clean water industry for a little a while, learn as much as I can and basically strengthen myself in this field. I'd then take my new found knowledge and skills and apply them to maybe an organization like Engineering Without Borders or at least an organization that seeks to provide clean water to those countries that lack this resource. That was the dream. Somehow during these past few years, I lost track of that goal and it may have played a part in my lack of motivation. Now, having once again realized this dream, I feel much more confident going into the new year when applying to jobs (water related or not).

So that's pretty much what I've been reflecting on this past month or so. I feel like I'm forgetting a few things, if so, I'll just have to make them a separate post. Moving forward in 2010, I feel much more happier, focused and determined. There's a whole lot that I'm looking forward to and I know I'll have tons to learn from all those people around me. As my friend Beka said to me yesterday, "2010's the year Jeff, for a girlfriend and a job". To which I said yes, but preferably in reverse order :)

Tune in on Monday for a post on things that I'm looking forward to this coming year.

Thanks to all you loyal and casual readers alike. Whether I know you or not, I consider you all my friends and only want to wish you the best, especially after wasting time on this geek's blog. Have a great new year!

Categories: life stuff