A quick trip around the internet led me to run into one of my favorite games of all time: the Homeworld series.  It was one of the first games I ever played, and it is a favorite partially because of that.  But other than that, it remains one of the best Real Time Strategy (RTS) games I’ve ever played.  It was also the first fully-3d games made; the player is able to pan, tilt, and zoom the camera anywhere and cause his/her starships to navigate in a full 3d environment.  It was a tough game to learn, but, once learned, was incredibly addictive.

Add to that a Battlestar Galactica-esque story (the new series wasn’t around yet), and it was compelling, thrilling, and visually stunning, even with the limitations of tech for the time.  It was also those rare games that actually invested me emotionally, particularly the first game Homeworld, which featured an excellent voice cast and music soundtrack.  I was, and am, a staunch fan of this series.  These games were all Game of the Year awardees, and still have a huge and increasingly desperate fan base.  That said, the modding community has been very active in using the code, which was made available by Relic, in creating their own versions of the game.  There have been games that are now three years in the making, patiently being cultivated by people with a serious passion for the game.

A fan-made ship from the Homeworld: @ mod.

Another ship from the same mod

Homeworld was also a victim of the rapid rises and collapses of companies in the gaming industry; it was a Sierra/Relic game and became a big question mark when Relic was purchased by THQ from ailing Sierra/Vivendi games.  Homeworld, while developed by Relic, remained a Sierra property, which meant that the possibility of another Homeworld game by Relic was unlikely.  It became even less likely when Sierra eventually closed down.  Thankfully, THQ was able to acquire the franchise.  However, there seems to have been no further activity since then.

Fans have been clamoring for years for another game, mainly because there has been no real successor to these games and, sadly, they are getting left behind.  There is now, however, an ongoing petition by some fans, including a facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/wewanthomeworld3) that is trying its darndest to get Relic to pay attention.  I personally do feel that it would be a great loss to future gamers if Homeworld disappears, simply because it got old.  I think a recoding, to bring the graphics up to date, would already bring in a host of new players.

In any case, for those who can still find the game somewhere, try it and be patient with the learning curve.  Believe me, it’s worth it.  For those who are part of that frustrated group of supporters, keep going, maybe someday they’ll finally revisit the franchise and realize that they still have a gem here.  Oh, and sign the petition!

image from iwatchstuff.com

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows has made it clear that the intentions of Mr. Ritchie and company isn’t to portray a Holmes that follows traditional expectations of him.  Instead, we are treated to a big screen Holmes, one who isn’t so much a consulting detective as he is some sort of superhero.  There are no crimes being solved in this one, instead, it is a confrontation between Holmes and his rival, Professor Moriarty as he tries to protect Dr. Watson and his bride.  It is a fun ride, with plenty of the action and humor that made the first one an enjoyable movie.  My beef with it, however, remains the same.  This isn’t the Holmes of the books.  This is Holmes the slightly odd superspy and his buddy, or something like that.

Don’t get me wrong.  I like this film, even more than I liked the first film, which I also wrote about.  This one is actually more tightly written, but maybe that’s because they didn’t have to saddle it with a mystery for Holmes to solve.  Here, Holmes applies his intellect in more creative ways, with interesting results.  It is full of action, and visuals that are spectacular, to say the least.  Downey and Law remain impressive in their portrayals, and Jared Harris is an excellent Moriarty.  Oh, and Stephen Fry as Mycroft was a fresh take on Sherlock’s brother, though I’m not sure what he was actually there for, other than a tip of the hat for Holmes fans. It’s just that, even with all this excellence, this isn’t a Sherlock Holmes story, it’s an action film with some Sherlock Holmes thrown in for good measure.  It’s not bad, it just isn’t Sherlock.

image from filmgecko.net

It’s funny, but these big budget films are getting trounced, at least in their portrayal of Holmes, by a small (and rather budget-compromised) television show.   Sherlock is the BBC television series starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as Holmes and Watson, respectively.  The twist here is that the setting is not Victorian England, but rather 21st Century England.  However, their treatment of Holmes and Watson are much closer to the original spirit of the characters, and make for some riveting television.  The series can only muster up three feature-length episodes a season, and they need a bit of time to raise funds again before the next one but, every episode I’ve seen from this series is worth it.

For some reason, it is the smallness of the show that makes it seem more intimate.  Sherlock and Watson are seen as more human here and less like characters.  Downey does have the charm, but it’s Cumberbatch’s vulnerability that makes his Holmes all the more fascinating to watch.  It is written by current Dr. Who writers Stephen Mofatt and Mark Gatiss, who have won raves for their work on that series.  It is also a more true Holmes series in that here; he solves crimes by using his intellect, not his Kung Fu.  Moriarty here is also much more menacing than the one in the film, and you’ll have to see actor Andrew Scott’s portrayal to understand what I mean.  I do love the show and, I daresay, I’d recommend this over the big budget films any day.

I guess it all boils down to what one wants to see.  If one is after the big explosions, the effects, the big-name actors, then the Guy Ritchie films are very good, very entertaining fare.  But if one wants to see a Sherlock Holmes show, then one goes to BBC.  As a longtime fan of Holmes, I’m with the BBC on this one.

There seems to be a tendency in the Philippines to think that if someone has been brought to trial, then the trial itself will be  a piece of cake.  This is fairly common, particularly when the cases involve corruption of one form or another.  There have been many cases which have been dismissed because of sloppy work by the prosecution, and often, these are prosecutors employed by the government.

This seems to be the case also in the current impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.  Yesterday, the prosecution fell on their collective faces as they basically did not have any evidence ready, nor were they prepared to present their cases for the articles of impeachment.  That is unacceptable.

Regardless of how I personally feel about the matter, this particular exercise of impeachment has been lauded by some bodies abroad, since it shows that the country is trying to exercise its democratic processes.  This would be best served if both sides did their very best to accomplish their goals.  Having to ask for a postponement because the evidence that was supposed to be presented has not been authenticated is sloppy work and the prosecution cannot hope to win their case if they proceed in this way.  It is also a disservice to the very exercise, as it makes the prosecution appear as if they weren’t serious about the whole exercise to begin with.

The defense team of Justice Corona are high-caliber (and very highly paid) lawyers and, as can be expected, they brought their “A” game with them to the trial, particularly since this is history being made.  The government side cannot do any less, regardless of payscale or perceived talent.  It would be such a waste to see this historic exercise end up with a verdict that was not due to a proper trying of the case and instead end up a game of technicality.  I think that the  Filipino people deserve to see their democracy, the same one that they’ve fought for several times already, finally work properly, regardless of the verdict.  If, in the end, Justice Coronal is indicted based on a proper application of due process, so be it.  The same should follow if he is acquitted.

The biggest injustice in my mind is if the verdict is reached not because of a real trial but because of sloppy work.  I’m pretty sure the defense is prepared.  Yesterday’s events showed that the prosecution is not.  That cannot be acceptable, not due to any bias either for or against Justice Corona but rather because the exercise itself should be respected.

I’ve run into a rut, and it has nothing to do with a lack of desire to write.  Instead, I’m running into a problem I never thought I’d run into, being a resident of the Philippines: I’m getting bored.  This country, which has been through a nearly constant string of turbulence, has suddenly gotten stable, despite what media and people love to say.

My personal gauge for how “exciting” things are have been the broadsheets, and I often grab my commentary from whatever is happening in the country.  However, of late, there really hasn’t been anything worthy of commentary.  Even the issues with President Arroyo and Chief Justice Corona aren’t really big things, or at least, they aren’t new.  Gloria running from prosecution?  That’s been going on for years.  Corona?  He’s an ancillary of the Gloria thing.  The UST dissertation thing?  It’s really UST’s prerogative how they give their degrees; heck, it’s their rules!  So, where does that leave me?

It leaves me sitting in front of the newspapers, strangely, and rather perversely, looking for something to get upset about.  Quite frankly, there isn’t much out there, which means that I need to start looking for other things to write about.

It’s a good sign, the fact that scandals and huge issues are gradually lessening in this country.  It looks like the country is finally rolling up its sleeves and getting down to tackling what has been set aside for so long: how to make life better for everyone.  I’m not just talking about the government, though I am impressed with their conduct so far.  I’m talking about people in general.  The PNP reported a nearly 50% decrease in the crimes reported to them since 2009.  I’m inclined to think that this speaks of a general trend of improvement, given that, even if the percentage of crimes reported to the PNP may not be indicative of actual crime, I also think that there would not be a sudden distrust of the PNP causing people to stop reporting crimes to them.

There are also the positive stories that come in from communities, the small things, the tiny improvements that happen quietly, every day.  What do these things mean to me?  They mean that this nation may be moving away from turbulence, at least for the time being, and might just enjoy some serious progress.  That’s a great thing, except for those who capitalize of the negatives in this country.  The recent campaign of the Department of Tourism, It’s More Fun in the Philippines, resonates with me, partially because I know that it’s true.  The mundane can become exciting here, partially because of our own outlook on things.  The rest of the world seems to be catching on.  Tourism figures are rising, and even Hollywood is getting in on the action, with the latest Bourne film currently being shot in Manila.  (I shudder to think of the traffic.)  Maybe it’s time for our writers and commentators, whether in media or in the arts, to start shifting focus, and start seeing what these people are seeing.

So, what is there worth writing about?  I’m not sure.  But I’m going to be looking.

There is absolutely no doubt that Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is the loudest, most action-packed film I have seen this year.  It is overflowing with over the top stunts, fight scenes, gadgets, and, well, Tom Cruise.  I am actually a fan of the franchise from it’s very intriguing first film, which introduced us to agent Ethan Hunt.  M.I. 4  is also noteworthy as the first live action film of another person who I am a fan of: director Brad Bird (of The Incredibles and Ratatouille, both done by Bird with Pixar).

Tom Cruise’s newest installment of the franchise is definitely the biggest of the films so far, with the action ramping up from the very start of the film.  The scenes are set-piece after set-piece, with very little breaks in between.  Which is my problem with it.  It brings the viewer to a high from the get-go and never lets go, which is exciting… for a while, then it becomes tiring.  Literally.  There were moments where I felt the need to get up and just get air, just to take a break from the sensory bombardment.  The other problem that this approach has is that the story basically becomes a rack from which to hang all these set-piece action sequences from, which is fun if you’re looking for a ride, not as much if you’re in it for a movie.

Which is actually too bad, because there are the bones of an interesting story there (well, except for the villain, who’s just plain silly).  I would have loved to see more development of Ethan’s team, composed of Simon Pegg (as the stereotypical, but effective, funny techie), Paula Patton (as the femme fatale, but this time with her own demons to deal with,), and Jeremy Renner (as the analyst with his own secrets).  Each character was potentially very interesting, but they remained mostly potential and the film really could have taken more time just to build the relationships and rapport between the team, which felt very stilted.  Even the conflicts between them felt forced.

I don’t blame Bird for this, however, I blame a weak script.  The dialogue was, and I hate using this word, corny.  The attempts at Bond-ish spyspeak was annoying and some one-liners fell really flat.  M.I. never really needed those and I didn’t see why this time they had to resort to it this time.  Also, why resurrect the whole Russia/US nuclear war scenario?  The conflict, while supposedly suspenseful, also felt old, which was in odd contradiction to the cutting edge image being pushed by the film.  What I did like, however, was the fact that here, the tech consistently failed the agents, forcing them to improvise and use their skills, rather than rely on gadgetry.  It was also at these moments where the interaction between the characters felt smoother, such as the argument between Ethan and his team about climbing the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai.

There was also a clearer attempt at humor in this film, which was absent in the previous one.  It was a welcome adjustment and was nice, when it worked.  I just wish they were able to use the characters better than they did.

One thing I did like was the inclusion of Jeremy Renner to the cast.  He brings and edginess that, sadly, Tom Cruise just has problems mustering, no matter what his hair style is. Renner can bring  a darker personality to the franchise, which has made numerous attempts at being dark in the past, with results being, well, mixed at best.  Also, he’s a good replacement for Cruise, if Cruise ever decides to take a break from the series, since he’s able to be physical while also being a really good actor.

One thing that let me down in the film was the ending, which tied up a loose end, but in a way that left me really unhappy about it.  It reminded me of what annoyed me about the third film, and, while it’s an attempt to give Ethan Hunt some pathos, for me all it did was water down an edge that seemed to be there at the start of the film. (I’m sorry that’s so cryptic, but I’m trying to avoid spoiling things.)

What I did find, when I left the theater, was I felt jacked, like my adrenaline was up, but I also didn’t feel excited, which was very strange.  It reflects my experience of the movie: really thrilling, but not as satisfying.  Is it a watch?  Sure it is.  Is it a great movie?  Well, let me put it this way: between M.I.4  and The Incredibles?  The Incredibles wins.

You can view their other films at Vimeo.com, look for Side Films.

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I just watched Happy Feet 2 and was preparing to write my review when I googled it and found a column by NY Post columnist Kyle Smith accusing the film of being part of a leftist agenda.  It’s hilarious.  Too bad he wasn’t kidding.  You can read it here.  In it, he accuses the film of espousing, among other things: vegetarianism, same-sex marriage, collectivism, international bailouts, and Occupy Wall Street.  Wow.

I thought it was a film about singing and dancing penguins.

To be fair, though, the film does have an environmental issue at its heart, as did the first one.  If anything, the environmental problem the penguins face is even more central to the plot of the movie than the first one, and the mythology of the singing, dancing, penguins take a back seat to this.  The film is less comprehensively written than its predecessor, with a plot that is both simpler and thinner than the first.  It feels like a smaller film, and for me, it’s better for it.  There were times in the first movie where the movie had an epic scope, which was fine, but it was also tiring.  This one is, arguably, much lighter fare.

Visually, the penguins remain as cute as ever, though I found it disturbing that Mumble, the hero of the first movie, still had his “baby” fur.  Though this kept him cute, and probably easier to animate with expressions, it was disturbing to have the hero of the film physically immature even after having his own child.  It was also telling that even if the elder penguin remains, Mumble’s parents aren’t around anymore.  The animation does not really make any huge progress here, given how groundbreakingly beautiful the first film was.  And even then, the film seemed smaller, with angles and vistas curiously unimpressive.  Of course, this may be the fault of being bombarded with so many epic visuals of late that the film simply becomes one of many, and thus, is unimpressive.

The music, which was so much a part of the first film, also becomes a smaller affair here, with fewer songs, and fewer numbers.  Interestingly, the most surprising number here belongs to the smallest member of the cast, and it is an aria, no less.  It is as funny as it is fascinating to listen to, but it feels like novelty.  Pink deserves special credit for her taking over the role of Gloria, that the late Brittany Murphy played in the original.  Her voice is perfect for the character, and given her natural talent, it works really well in the film.  Elijah Wood and Robin Williams do their fair share of the work too, carrying plenty of the emotional weight on the film with their performances.

The really new thing in the film was the addition of Will and Bill Krill, who pretty much steal the show simply by providing a twisted existential debate throughout the movie.  It helps that Matt Damon and Brad Pitt play the two characters, and its immediately obvious that they really enjoyed their roles.  They pushed the movie to an odd, and oddly poignant direction, and their relevance to the main plot reveals itself at the film’s end.

However, back to the question of it being leftist propaganda:  if working together despite your differences is leftist, then I really do worry for those who consider themselves part of the right.  Oh, and Mr. Smith, the Krill are red because they’re harder to see underwater that way, it isn’t a political stand, just so you know.

So, is it worth a watch?  Yes, especially if you’re fond of watching singing and dancing penguins, which I am.  Though personally, I’d watch it just to see Brad Pitt and Matt Damon take two of the most insignificant characters in the food chain, and then turn them into scene-stealers.

The Walking Dead is the kind of show that people watch for the wrong reasons.  After all, it’s a zombie show, so it should be all about the shambling, moaning monsters that try to eat brains.  It’s a zombie show, so the zombies should be front and center, right?

Well, no.  Actually, zombies are interesting in that, despite the fact that there is just so much going on with them currently in our popular culture (there are books, movies, video games, comic books, and even stuffed toys of them), they are never in the spotlight.  Instead, it’s how the human beings react to them that generates the horror in the stories.  One excellent example of this is Max Brooks’ novel World War Z, which is, a little spoiler alert for those who didn’t read it, actually set after the “zombie apocalypse” took place.  The zombies are almost an afterthought in most of the stories, or are merely a specter, a memory, or a rumor.  The most horrifying sections of the novel dealt with what people would resort to during desperate times.

Another excellent example of this is the comic book and TV show The Walking Dead.  It is, undoubtedly, a very tense, often nail-biting show where one often finds oneself riveted and unable to predict what would happen next.  The first season was  intense and shocking, and more often than not, it was due to the choices that the group of survivors have to make.  The second season, which is currently ongoing, is on a slow boil, something that I can’t expect to end well for the group.  There’s a lot going on, and the show takes pains to introduce the lives of these characters.  It’s a trap, of course.  Eventually, these characters will die, one way or the other, and to have the audience emotionally invested with the characters will make each death just that much more painful.

These are real products. Makes you wonder why else you'd need all of these in one "kit".

What I find interesting with the fascination with zombies is how it seems to be something that people imagine to be plausible.  How else to explain the marketing of “apocalypse kits” by some manufacturers of knives and tools?  There seems to be something that people find believable with the whole zombie apocalypse idea, never mind that the zombie was actually based on Haitian Voodoo, and that this “Hollywood” version was invented by B-movie director George Romero in the 1960′s.   It also highlights a fear that we seem to all have: that somehow, we will be betrayed by our own selves.  After all, the reason these shambling corpses become so ghoulish isn’t their differences with us, it’s their similarities that make them terrifying.

Is the show worth a watch?  Definitely, actually, it’s a good time to jump on, with the survivors currently in a holding pattern of a sort.  It gives everyone  a chance to see a little more of the characters before the story begins to ramp up again.

On another note, I’d sure like one of those Walking Dead bolos.  You never know…

Courtesy of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

It is a genuine achievement to have the Philippine Supreme Court rule on the redistribution of land of Hacienda Luisita to its farmers.  It is seen, and rightfully so, as a landmark decision, especially since the owners of the plantation happens to be related to the president.  It is a step, not a big one, but definitely a step towards possibly correcting a land system that has been skewed since the time of the Spaniards.  But while the farmers celebrate and everyone pats themselves on the back at how this is a victory for the farmers and that it can set a precedent that will allow more farmers to actually own the land that they till, we should realize that giving the land over to the farmers, and the farmers actually succeeding in their ownership of the land are two vastly different things.

The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) has been in existence since the time of President Aquino’s mother, who spearheaded the measure.  She also, quite famously, allowed Hacienda Luisita to use a shareholding option, where the farmers were given shares of stock in the plantation rather than actual land.  This arrangement failed, and led to the unrest that led to several unfortunate deaths, as rallies for land became more and more adversarial through the years.  During the early years of CARP implementation, thousands of farmers received land under the program.  Sadly, most of these farmers are now laborers under landowners once more.  The problem with CARP was that the support system to guide the new landowners to success was not as comprehensively established as the mechanism to give away the land was.  Thus, new farmers, who were also new landowners, were not equipped to handle concerns that before were actually handled by the former landowners.  Most crucially, most farmers were not educated in managing their funds, which led to the failure of a lot of these newly minted landowners.

These new farmers should be seen as new entrepreneurs, and should thus be given everything that any entrepreneur needs to succeed: business skills, access to funding, and an ability to market their goods to their trade.  Unfortunately, CARP had very little on the way of assisting these farmers with these.  Thus, while farmers did have their own land, they often had nothing else, which led not only to a difficulty for the farmers to actually make a profit, it also led to lower productivity for the land itself.  There were some programs provided by DAR and Landbank, but these were not utilized by the farmers themselves.  One possible reason was that the farmers were perhaps unaware of the importance of being able to use these support programs, were not interested and thus, did not avail of them.  The result was that those who did receive land would eventually end up selling it, and instead become laborer-farmers once more.  These can be looked up, if one is inclined to do a little research.

Courtesy of the Agrarian Reform for Food Sovereignty Campaign

Thus, these farmers, if they are to truly become successful, independent landowners, must transition from laborer to entrepreneur and recognize that, like any businessman, there is much much more involved than just tilling their own land.  For them to truly become productive, they need to know how to become successful.  Sadly, leftist groups tend to simplify the issue by concentrating on just the aspect of ownership.  But, for the farmers to truly be successful, the aspect of their being businessmen must be addressed in terms of training and support, whether from government or from interested groups.

So yes, applaud the farmers for their new gains.  But, more importantly, support them so that they become successful landowners.

It’s pretty obvious from the reactions from the much-touted fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez that it didn’t end anything.  Instead, it looks like the beginning of another rematch between the two.  Pacquiao won by a majority decision, which was just a hair better than a split decision.  In either case, the claims of a knock-out of Marquez never happened and, instead, people were treated to an exhibition of just how good a counter-puncher Marquez was.

Was Marquez  robbed?  I actually, and this is said without bias, don’t think so.  While Marquez did the smart thing and played defense, that won’t win a title.  He needed to push a little more on the aggression to be able to score points.  Also, he was losing steam fast in the final rounds, which Pacquiao capitalized on by upping his own pace.  That was enough to, I think, give Pacquiao enough points to scratch out a victory from this match.  That said, and even if a win is a win, I don’t think Pacquiao was happy with that performance.  He certainly didn’t look happy when the bell rang in the 12th.  It was Marquez who was celebrating, Pacquiao looked almost as if he were brooding, which wasn’t typical of the boxer.

Was it a good fight?  Maybe for people who love to watch technical, tactical fights.  It was full of punch and counter-punch, of careful positioning and single shots.  The flurries, when they came, mostly missed, and was thus disappointing. Pacquiao’s speed didn’t seem to be much of a factor in this fight, I guess because Marquez would be someone who could keep up.  What was surprising was the lack of confidence Pacquiao had in some rounds.  It seemed like he couldn’t figure Marquez out and couldn’t find the range to connect with Marquez.  It certainly was not like the pummel-fests of the past; I still can’t forget the sheer beating Pacquiao gave Antonio Margarito.  I mean, the dude’s face was broken.

In a recent development, the recent release of a video showing that Marquez stepped on Pacquiao’s feet at least six times (some have counted up to 17) during the fight points to what could be dirty boxing on the part of Marquez.  Boxing analysts have said that this isn’t unusual, given that it’s a left-hander boxing a right-hander, but the sheer frequency of the occurrences make for some suspicious behavior on Marquez’ part.  Were the steps intentional?  Some accounts say yes, others say no.  It isn’t a very important point; after all, Pacquiao won, and even he didn’t complain about the foot stepping.

A rematch between the two will almost certainly happen.  After all, this was the closest any fighter has gotten to actually beating Pacquiao and, given the frustration already built up among Marquez and his Mexican fans, it would be silly not to get the two together again to see if, at last, there would be a definitive victory between them.

An interesting side note here would be Floyd Mayweather.  Much like Marquez, Mayweather is a tactical boxer who specializes in counter-punching.  Did the fight expose a possible weakness in Pacquiao that Mayweather could exploit, should they finally fight?  More importantly, could it inspire enough confidence in Mayweather to finally agree to a fight with Pacquiao?  What was clear was that Pacquiao was not, and is not, invincible.

I can, I think, safely predict a Pacquiao-Marquez 4.  Now, will there finally be a Pacquiao-Mayweather and will Pacquiao actually survive this?

I don’t know, and I’m glad for it.