the.blog @scwleung

I’m really not sure where the past week has gone. All I really remember was finishing Mass Effect [XBox 360] and watching Juno, Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Charlie Wilson’s War. Not sure if I’ll bother giving any of those a full review, but here are some bullet points.

• Mass Effect – Longer than I expected. Lots of dialogue. Decent overall and worth replaying.
• Juno – Watch it. It’s witty and smart, unlike a lot of stuff nowadays. Has some pretty good acting in it to boot.
• Elizabeth: The Golden Age – Hmmm…ambivalence! Oh, and naval battles. Always love them naval battles.
• Charlie Wilson’s War – Nice and light. Worthy to be watched with friends or alone. Unsure if the point of the movie was to honour or demean the man for his actions. I’ll have to think about this.

That’s all from me this week. I may have an Insert Thought Here before the week is out, but I make no promises.

In some recent conversations, it was discovered that the new Ontario holiday in February [called Family Day] is a poor name choice. It was further discovered that there really couldn’t have been any other name for it. Still, I was wondering if my dear readers can pitch in and add some thoughts of their own. What would you call this holiday? Would you have it in February? Would you rather have it on a Friday? Would we rather officially celebrate Chinese New Year? What do you think?

Please. Insert Thought Here. [i.e. comment]

My new driver’s license arrived in the mail today. I didn’t know that the province decided to revamp their card to be more ’secure’ and everything. To me, it looks kinda ugly. I actually liked the colourful ones that most of my friends carry.

Photograph by : Peter J. Thompson/National Post

Over the weekend, a very very very close friend and I were discussing reality TV and how some [for example, The Mole], in her opinion, were better than other reality TV shows. As the discussion continued, it seemed that our very definition of reality TV differed quite a bit. This got me thinking…do we have a standard definition of what reality TV is or should be? How do you define reality TV and does that turn you [on/off] to the genre?

Insert Thought Here.

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Airs Tuesdays at 9pm on CBC

jPod, based on the Douglas Coupland novel by the same name, is one of the more highly anticipated TV programs for the CBC winter season in the young adult demographic. Following the fictional lives of the misfit inhabitants of the jPod [an accident of the Y2K bug], the show is wacky and spunky, the hallmark of Coupland’s works. This, however, works against the show in a number of ways. The pilot starts [rather abruptly] into the midst of action with an all-too-brief introduction to the characters. The result: flat characters that seem just a little too fake. This leaves the viewer with an emotional disconnect with the characters and the show, and a general sense of confusion as to the direction of the show. The set pieces used just weren’t convincing [i.e. did not exude geek!] and who can actually believe that there’d be that much snow in Vancouver [I, for one, don't]. Most audiences may find these to be rather big turn-offs for a first impression. Still, the show is redeemed by a strong cast and some very witty, Couplandesque dialog. The plot, while non-existent at the moment, will inevitably emerge and reward the faithful who continue to watch it weekly.

The pilot may not have been the best first impression for the series, but it has potential. The writing and acting are strong, all it needs is a bit of time. I don’t know about you, but I’ll be tuning in next week even if you’re not.

Genre: Drama

Airs on the CBC at 9pm across Canada.

The Border marks the beginning of the CBC’s winter TV schedule and portrays the work of Immigration and Customs Security [ICS] agents in preventing terrorist attacks in the post 9/11 world. While it may sound like a homebrew version of 24 or other terrorist dramas on TV , the focus is less on action and more on political foreplay and the human element dealing with the stresses and responsibility of protecting the country. It offers a wonderful afterthought to last year’s movie hit Rendition. Furthermore, as a show with a purely Canadian perspective, expect much friction to come about between Canadian and American Intelligence Services and our ICS protagonists. That, and copious number of double-doubles consumed in Tim Hortons paper cups. The show has potential, and if 700,000 Canadian viewers who tuned in Monday night are to be believed, it may be this season’s Monday night hit.

Despite my eagerness to try out the latest rhythm/music game available to date [i.e. Rock Band], I actually found myself stopping short of picking up the special edition (with the drums, guitar, microphone, etc.) when I walked into EB Games today. I think I may be growing up…

I’ll be honest. I am in no position to discuss television, the WGA strike, nor how I am personally impacted by what’s currently on TV. Afterall, even though I own a TV set, I’m too cheap to hook up cable, not to mention that the TV is safely packed away in a box in the living room. Hell, I’ll openly admit that I download certain TV shows from the intertubes, and I’m not ashamed of it. If the traditional media industry didn’t smarten up to new media or even the prospects of delivering programming in other ways, then I think they deserve to get burned, much like they are now. Read the rest of this entry »

Publisher: Ubisoft

Genre: Educational/Casual

Platform: Nintendo DS

What they say:

Easy to Learn, Fun to Play:

Entertaini9ng games help you learn French words, grammar, and sentence structure, while keeping track of your progresss.

Evertyhing you need to speak like a native:

1,000 enjoyable, interactive lessons. Learn close to 10,000 words and 700 phrases. Test your pronunciation by recording your voice via the built-in DS microphone.

Travel with confidence:

Hit the road with My French Coach by your side. Know a word or phrase in English, but want to say it in French? Just use the easy Reference Feature.

Read the rest of this entry »