I'm really not goo with horror movies. It's not that I don't like them entirely or anything like that - I can definitely see the entertainment value in this particular movie genre. It's just that I know very well that I'm a fairly excitable person, one who's very prone to stress and I just don't handle getting scared very well. I mean seriously, I was really scared when I first played Phantasmagoria and Alone in the Dark back in the day, despite the cheesy graphics! I know, I need help. Bu... Read Full Story

It's interesting to note that one of the most successful franchises of recent history came out of Disney. What more, it wasn't even an animated feature or anything remotely targeted at children. With the success of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, you know that Disney is determined to find the next "big thing" (or think of ways to abuse the Pirates franchise even further) and it seems they're not investing their money on starting a Prince of Persia franchise (and yes, Jerry Bruckheim... Read Full Story

A good game becomes such because it has a great hook - something that draws in players, and ultimately a good game engine upon which the entire gaming experience is built. An ever better game gets players to learn something new or use parts of their brains that they don't normally get to exercise without taking away from the whole "fun" aspect of the game. Many puzzle games try to aim for this balance of fun and merit. A game can be intellectually rewarding but is ultimately not fun to play... Read Full Story

I've always been a bit of a sucker for independent films - you know, the kind that try to compete in international film festivals. I'm not talking about the local indies that have a 85% chance about practically being homosexual exploitation films but more those movies not from around here that try to address subjects in interesting ways. I'm not saying I'll automatically like any movie that is featured in a film festival either, although there's a decent chance I'll at least give it a shot. ... Read Full Story

I've always had a passion for writing, and this everyone can probably determine based on the volume of entries that I post here and on my personal blog, Beyond Dinobot Island. However a lot of my writing has become very work-focused or has been largely limited to blogging. There's nothing wrong with blogging, mind you, I guess I just miss my fiction writing. So this year my partner encouraged me to attempt NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month - as an effort to get some fiction writing do... Read Full Story

There are those movies that you promise yourself to one day see but for some reason you never quite get around to it. Even if it starts showing on cable TV or you happen to have a copy of the DVD, it just seems to linger there and you still don't quite get around to seeing it. I hate it when that happens - seriously. Worse, it seems to happen most for movies that I'm bound to like but remain sort of uncertain and so I keep delaying the decision to go see it. In the meantime I pass the time w... Read Full Story

Ron Moore's reimagination of Battlestar Galactica was a landmark creation that helped bring science fiction to a broader audience and give hope to other science fiction fans that there was hope yet for the genre. In a time when major science fiction serials like Star Trek weren't at their best, to have a show like this come along and bring new life to science fiction entertainment was quite the relief. Of course when the show ended with four power-packed seasons, a lot of us BSG fans were l... Read Full Story

The casual gaming market is pretty much dominated by arcade-style games that rely on a player's skill in an environment not entirely dependent on story. Hence the reason it's casual - it's something that doesn't require long term commitment that becomes easy to leave at any time in order to return to your primary task (i.e. the work you've been putting off by playing a game) and pick up again quickly when you have time again.The casual gaming market has grown significantly because of the easy... Read Full Story

I was never really big Superman fan. I’m sorry, but I’m just not. The guy is practically omnipotent in superhero terms apart from the weaknesses to Kryptonite and magic. He can fly, he can shoot heat vision beams out of his eyes and he can freeze things with his breath. He has super strength and is invulnerable to harm. Heck, he even generates some sort of a protection field around him, thus the reason his clothes hardly every get damaged in fights. The guy is just too perfect to be really f... Read Full Story

Over the years, I've grown to be quite the sucker for the art film and those films which try to emulate the style of an art film. You know what I mean - the movies that seem pretty common in terms of appeal but tweak their stories so they can get into film festivals around the world, thus somehow earning that artsy kind of label. I know, it's not a precise way of classifying these movies, but given the modern context, that's generally how these movies have turned out to be. You can name majo... Read Full Story