Ikuta Toma's two new Dramas - Maou and Voice

I'm absolutely thrilled! Not only did Ikuta Toma recently star in this suspense drama flick called Maou, in which he plays a detective out to fight against Maou (devil), the antagonist of the film, he is also slated to be one of the medical students in the upcoming medical mystery series called Voice.

The subtitles for Maou are here:
http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/viewtopic_63167.htm

Unfortunately, the series is licensed so we can't watch it on crunchyroll.

Here's just an itty bitty taste of who will play in the Voice TV series with Ikuta Toma (plays a doctor named Ishizue Ryosuke). The fact that they are using Coldplay's Viva La Vida is enough to keep me real curious. The flick is going to start on Jan 12, 2009.



Hooray for Ikuta Toma! :)

Finally Watched the Twilight Movie

And it was pretty good, all things considering. I was quite terrified that the movie was going to disappoint me tremendously, with stale or overly cheesy acting, or scenes that didn't depict the book enough. I was surprised to find out that the movie actually did a good job. The baseball scene was as fun as I pictured it, and Edward Cullen was as charming as I wanted him to be. This is considering I wasn't a Robert Pattinson fan in the beginning.

A lot of people argue that Robert Pattinson wasn't perfect enough, but I have to disagree profusely. First and foremost, note that he was perfect in Bella's eyes, not perfect in everybody's eyes. So personally, he was perfect in his flaws! The scene where Robert attempted to make conversation with Bella was pretty cute, or the way he was having a hard time reading Bella's mind. His pained expression was very endearing, and his short temper was also quite intense. The way he smiles is also <3 I must say that I am now a Robert convert :)

Bella did a good job of acting as well. I imagined her to be like that: Stubborn, rebellious, but inherently clumsy and weak. And like her father, she has a hard time showing her emotions, so Kristen Stewart depicted it correctly in my eyes.

And Jacob Black? While I still cross my fingers that Steven Strait is going to replace him in Movie #2, Taylor Lautner was not half bad :P The only problem with Taylor playing Jacob, really, is that he is way too young, and since I always had a crush on Jacob in the book, I find it hard to translate it in the movie.

The way the vampires regarded Bella was pretty amusing. Alice's weakness towards Bella's blood during the battle was particularly humorous. The actress behind Alice really did a good job of making Alice as likeable as she was in the book. The human cast was also a very good bunch. They were very lively and fun. I surmise Eric's actor is going to be in Harold and Kumar 3, should there be one ;)

If I were to be nitpicky however, I'd point out several flaws and irks in the film:

1. The meadow scene was a bit too awkward for me.
The diamonds shining on Edward Cullen's chiseled, pale, vampire face were a bit too odd, those few seconds where they just looked at each other kinda seemed too forced and out of place.

2. The development of feelings between Bella and Edward was kinda hurried.
Somehow, Bella fell in love with Edward too quickly, but I guess this was because the movie could only be so long.

3. The action scene was as disappointing as the one in the book.
I hoped... no, expected actually, that the action scenes in the movie were going to be far more gripping and terrifying than how they were written in the book, but instead, I get this really short fight between Edward and James, which just showed the two snarling at each other. The blood and the whole crunch sounds Bella experienced were good, Alice breaking James' neck was pretty cool, but that's pretty much it.

4. Spider Monkey?
Nope. Didn't like that line at all. Haha.

5. Rosalie isn't pretty enough.

6. Jasper Hale = Edward Scissorhands?
Seriously, that look Jasper had during the majority of the film was a bit too quirky, if you ask me.




All in all, I'd give the movie a 7/10 :)

Twilight Book 5! Midnight Sun

Okay, I have to apologize. When I posted the previous article, I had absolutely no idea that a book 5 was actually already in the works. It turns out that Stephenie was indeed writing book 5, which she entitled Midnight Sun. The book focuses on Twilight as told by Edward. Notice that I write this in past tense. This is because she has decided to postpone writing this book indefinitely. Why? Someone leaked out part of it to the Internet, leaving a distraught Stephenie Meyer to lose interest in continuing.

If you want to read the draft of book 5, she has graciously uploaded it on to her website. Click here for Twilight Book 5 - Midnight Sun. It's too bad really, since I think the book would have been a hit. It has a lot of potential, and since it's from Edward's POV, I bet it is going to be a more profound read compared to Bella's POV.

I'm off to reading the draft and will come back for my thoughts :)

Twilight Book 5?

I saw this Google ad recently that really caught my eye. It was a link to a petition for a fifth installment to Twilight. This got me thinking - Would I personally be happy if another vampire book was added or not? I came up with this list as a result:

************** (SPOILER ALERT ON BOOK 4) **************


Why I don't want a Twilight Book 5:

1. I don't want to read any more horrific details about Jacob's affection towards Bella's daughter. *shudders*

2. I don't see how the relationship between Bella and Edward is going to progress further, without it sounding very forced. A look into how Bella and Edward will react towards Jacob's interest in their child *shudders again* will probably not make for a novel... at least a novel that won't be reminiscent of a soap opera.

3. Any new battles arising bet. werewolves and vampires will seem too unrealistic considering Jacob will not approve of such a war. Vampire vs. vampire battles are way too overused already. Plus a book that will center on pure action will not be such an easy feat for Stephenie Meyer since her expertise lies on the drama and romance aspect.


Why I would want a Twilight Book 5:

I had to think long and hard about this, and I think that I will only like a Book 5 if it was an alternate to Book 4. Something that does not involve Jacob falling in love with Bella's daughter. I think there are so many other options the author can explore with the novel. Something that allows the other characters in the book to be more immersed in the plot. Something that goes into the dynamics of the Cullens family further. A book where Bella doesn't turn into a vampire.

Thoughts?

Of Wii's, Plastic Guitars, World Tour, and Rock Band

Finally! The age has come when I can actually fulfill my frustrations as a band member! When the Guitar Hero first came out, my hands were already itching to hold the plastic guitar and rock it out but I'm totally glad that I patiently waited for the guitar + drum + mic set.

For all you Wii fans who are dying to buy one but cannot decide between World Tour and Rock Band, here are some pointer:

Guitar Showdown: Tie
The rock band and the Guitar hero World tour guitars have their own pros and cons, but overall they're both really good.

Drum Showdown: GHWT
The Rock band drum set has no cymbals. GHWT has. It's an easy contest.

Mic Showdown: Tie
It's a mic. What more could you possibly do with it?

UI: Rock Band (by a teeny bit)
A little easier to navigate, but hey, you can get used to GHWT's UI for sure

Extras - Song Creator: GHWT
The Rock Band doesnt have a song creator. Although the song creator isn't as advanced as we'd hope it to be, it's good enough to help you create your own song. I don't think you can include vocals in it though.

Gameplay: Depends
If you want the challenge of unlocking your own songs, pick GHWT. Otherwise, pick RB.

Reliability: GHWT (by a little)
I've scoured through several articles and it seems most of them think GHWT's hardware is more reliable. It makes sense since they started this plastic instrument biz.

Song List: Tie
Depends really on what you like but personally, both of them offer good songs with mediocre songs, so you can choose either.

Ultimately, I think your decision should come down to hardware reliability. You can buy new songs anyway, learn to get used to the UI, etc. In that light, I decided to buy the Guitar Hero World Tour set. And so far, I'm having loads of fun with it!

Compatibility?

In terms of compatibility, there is a big chance that GHWT Wii guitars will be compatible with Rock Band 2 Wii, so let's all cross our fingers. Unfortunately, the drum sets won't be such an easy deal.

If you really want the compatibility, you should choose GHWT Xbox or PS3 instead. Here's the most updated compatibility chart:

Guitar Hero and Rock Band Compatibility Chart

Enjoy everyone!

The Amazing Race Asia Season 3 Concludes

Another season of TARA ends and (spoilers ahead, please stop reading if you don't know the winners yet)... team Hongkong wins! 2nd place again goes to Team Philippines. Third place goes to the team I was rooting for - Ida and Tania. I must say that I never expected Sam and Vince to go that far, their performance at the first leg, during the bus wash was disappointing, and I felt that they lacked both physical and mental strength. I guess I was wrong hehe ;)

I expected both Geoff/Tisha and Ida/Tania to make it to top 3 though so I'm 2/3 correct! :) I'm really proud of Ida and Tania because they were two girls who lead sheltered lives and are used to luxury, and yet they were able to really rise up to every challenge. They even picked several physically-intensive challenges that the others did not! (example: carrying that water all the way to the top, or hauling that cart full of breakable jars) I also admire their teamwork, they hardly fought.

I don't know why there is so much animosity towards Geoff, he's a nice guy, he was a good sport (esp. seen during the first leg). And in this competitive game, of course there will be things that he will do to get ahead of the race. Besides, at least he is more interesting than his overly serious girlfriend, Tisha.

Congratulations to Team Hongkong and hope next year will be a fun TARA season again!

The iDiamond - the most expensive IPod ever

If you're still richer than **** amidst the credit crunch and the financial market meltdown, here's something to spend it on - the one of a kind, diamond-studded 14K white/pink gold iPod!



This crusted gadget costs US$41,000 and has a whopping 430 diamonds on it! Talk about major bling! Just think, one diamond off that can actually help one family in financial distress.