Cranky::Trekker::Kotei '09

So I was sick for most of the week, but that didn't stop me from watching a couple of movies. I saw Crank 2 at the height of my fever, and I laughed so hard that the snot I've been trying to supressed released itself sprayed the front row (which, thankfully, there was no one sitting there). The sheer absurdity, the balls out approach and treating the movie like some very long music video made Crank 2 one of my most enjoyable movies to date.

I won't argue that its nonsense; in fact I wholeheartedly agree. After seeing Versus by Beat Takeshi, Shoot 'Em Up starred by Clive Owen and original Crank 2, I ashamedly truly love the brilliantness of this movie. This is the movie that begs to be annoyed and hated at, but if you get past the initial extreme dislike, there is something bracingly fresh and original about it.

And it gets better. The second part of the movie throws all caution to the winds, and even part of plot goes with it, and ends up with everybody gunning everybody down while Jason Statham tries to climb a high voltage pole to recharge his heart. And this I can say his performance here is way much enjoyable then that crap movie called Transporter 3. Crank 2 has everything: guns, goons, hookers, porn stars, latinos, chinese triads, the whole lot. It even has David Carradine play a chinese mob boss, and with cameos like Ron Jeremy and Peter North, this movie is full of surprises.

Watch it and enjoy. Leave your sense out of the window and laugh out loud.

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I'm not a Trekkie. I'm more of a Star Wars fan, with its deep history, huge battles and a very large number of characters. And lightsabers man, plus Jedi and of course, Boba Fett. But after seeing Star Trek I wonder if I missed something.

But as much as I know little of Trek lore (just basics, more than enough from "Live long and prosper", Chekov is the youngest guy onboard Enterprise and that red shirts always die horribly but not enough to know what's Captain Kirks favortie food and what Spock dreams about), I throughly enjoyed the movie. I believe they have seamlessly crafted the old series to the new one and (this one is a Trek original) began a timeline in an alternate reality. So hardcore fans might be angered that all the Enterprise went through during the 80's, 90's, the new millenium, went zilch in that one moment.

That being said, the cast fit the characters like a glove, each contributed to a believable relationship between each other. I have reservations on the young Captain Kirk, but seeing him play the legend he does well surprisingly enough through ego and devil may care attitude. This is going to be one of the best movies this year, much better than Wolverine and way way better than the debacle that is Street Fighter: Legend of Chun Li and Dragonball: Evolution.

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Legend of the Five Rings Kotei is just around the corner, and everybody is geared up to play in this annual event. Me and my gaming group are travelling to Bacolod to face off the best of the Philippines, namely from Manila, Baguio, Cebu and of course, hometown peeps who will be judging the event. The prize: to get your name on a card and probably benefitting your clan.

I've been playing L5R for the better part of the year, so more or less I think I have a shot of the top 16. I play Mantis Clan, and looking at the other Kotei results over the world, no Mantis has ever yet won a Kotei (there are 10 other clans vying) so that's a big obstacle to conquer.

Not that I have illusions on my skill, top 4 or 8 would be enough to feed my ego. And with a little more than 30 players, its a reasonable target to conquer. So we'll see this weekend how it goes.

State of Mind: Racking Cough and Snotty Sick
Song of the Day: The Awakening by Switchfoot
Book of the Week: The Diving Bell and Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
Want or Need: Grim Angus, Hordes Trollkin Warlock