Author: golliz

The Greg Land Debate

How does one distinguish between art and simply copying other images and recreating them into their own work?  There was this booth at the recent STGCC which really caught my interest.

It wasn’t because I was particularly impressed by the artwork, but because Captain America’s drawing looked really familiar, and then it hit me… it was Alex Ross drawing of Superman!  Although Alex Ross is often guilty of doing something similar, at least it does not look as blatant as this.

‘Originality’ or plain laziness… you decide.

Gramps Steve Rogers
Superman by Alex Ross

Here’s another example, although to be honest, the inspirational pregnant pose is quite limited but check out the two model’s face though.

Preggers Mystique
Preggers Miranda Kerr

In case  you still didn’t know why this entry was named Greg Land. Click here.

Oh. How can I blog this post without adding this little gem :

Chasing Amy - Tracer

Singapore Toy Game & Comic Convention 2011

I made a trip down to the 2011 Singapore Toy Game & Comic Convention (STGCC) which is an annual event for all geeks to gather under one roof to do all things geeky. Oddly, for an event which is probably inspired by the famous San Diego Comic Con, the localised version seems more like an anime cosplay event instead.

The whole event hall was hardly packed on a Sunday afternoon and there is definitely a need to gather more shops and organisations to be more involved in future conventions.

Let me break down the catergories for you :

Toys – There are quite a few booths for this but nothing more than stuff that you can see on a Sunday afternoon at the Chinasquare flea market…and in fact there are MORE stalls selling toys there.

That being said, it is really great to see Hong Kong’s Hot Toys setting up a booth and displaying their awesome collection which some are available for pre-order.  The sight of Bespin Luke Skywalker really made me wanna whip out my credit card and buy  it…although it’s really cool for me to see the Christopher Reeves Superman which is coming out at the end of the year…which I’ve pre-ordered.  heh heh heh…

Games – The big boy of this category would definitely go to Nintendo’s 3DS booth which offered attendees some hands-on with the new console.  Unfortunately though, that is pretty much it.  The other stuff that can be grouped under this category are some anime card game and some Tamiya toy car thingy.  I know. WTF right?

Comics – WHERE THE FUCK ARE THE GODAMM COMICS?!?

This is the most disappointing aspect of it.  The only comics I do see are from Planerds (which is from Harris) and Kinokouniya did something, although I can’t remember what now.  And this dude who sells vintage comics really gets my thumbs up.  This is what comics cons should have. Comic fucking books!

Best of the Rest –

Singpost somehow managed to tie-in with something relevant.  Marvel comic stamps! OMG, I liked the idea, but too bad, I don’t really keep stamps. Cool idea though.

Popcornpop  – this is one of my fav shops in Singapore. They sell lots of posters and Japanese small sheet posters which usually have some alternative but cooler designs.  Located at the Esplanade. Go check them out.

Overall, it could really do much much better, but lets be honest…10 years ago, we do not even have anything close to this, so I guess 1/10 of a comic con is better than no con at all.  I just wish though, they could combine all these different ones (like the anime convention and..dunno what ) as ONE.  Its pretty boring to see the same booths two different conventions and all that cosplayers really need to brush up and do something out of the box.

Took some pics though.  Enjoy! 🙂

Scott Pilgrim Vs the World Video Mashup

I really really really loved the soundtrack.  The movie, I think is pretty good.

But the track from t his mashup which samples both is mind-blasting-ly awesome! (yes, I made up a word)

SCOTT PILGRIM - Fight! (1-Year Anniversary Video Remix)

As good as the video editing was, it was the track that really stood out for me.  The sampling of Eye of the Tiger, You gotta fight for your right (to party), Cheryl Cole(!!!) Fight for this love into Metric’s  “Black Sheep” is pretty much genius and totally sold it for me.

Ironically, I wish the track were a little shorter and tighter by dropping some of the repeated dialogue, which would make this even more awesome, but kudos to Osymyso, who’s remix is very much like a 85 hit combo move in my opinion.

Original Source : http://vimeo.com/27292220

Ghost Rider – Spirit of Vengeance Trailer

Best Sequel Ever? Not a tough act to follow

There are movies that are so bad, it’s actually fun to watch.

And then, there’s Ghost Rider.

The 2007 film was so (pardon the pun) Goddamm terrible, I would not even recommend it to my worst enemies…made me furious just to discuss it and made me want to punch Nic Cage in the face.

Amazingly, 5 years on, Marvel will be releasing a sequel to this piece of shit…but what is more scary, it actually looks pretty good.

However, why the …er.. Hell they still stuck with Nic Cage is beyond me.

What is also interesting, is the Marvel Knights branding which I think may be a step into the right direction by the studio to bring a darker (and hopefully less lame) turn.

If I ran Marvel studios, I’d just attempt to make a universe where Ghost Rider & Dr Strange and Punisher & Daredevil exists in their own Marvel Universe where lots of crazy shit can happen that doesn’t need to involve Iron man and his amazing friends. But lets save that conversation for another day.

Right now, let’s enjoy the trailer which looks slightly promising.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance- Official Trailer

flickchart

After watching the gang at the ‘The Totally Rad Show‘ (for those who don’t know, they are a trio of of video podcasters who IMHO created one of the best video podcast out there) play the game ‘Flickchart‘, I couldn’t resist signing up my own account to see how accurate Flickchart would be.

The premise of flickchart is pretty simple.  Two movies will be randomly presented to you (which you can customise, but what’s the fun in that) and all you need to do is just choose Left vs Right.  If either or both movies had not been seen by you, you can regenerate a new movie.  Flickchart will then stack and rank your choices.

Decisions…decisions!

Now I must confess, this is THE perfect game for me, and I am highly addicted to this game right now.  I pride myself to be a pretty huge movie buff and is taking the task of ranking the movies very seriously.  So in many cases, it’s like choosing which finger to chop off… or better yet, when TWO bad movies are pitted against one another, and you have to choose one it’s even tougher than choosing one good movie over the other.

That being said, the game is definitely flawed.  For one thing, sometimes a bad movie keeps getting repeated and to make things worse, pitted against a movie I despise even more, and this results in bad movie going up the charts. WTF!

Case in point : Mission Impossible II is now #11 on my chart out of 300 movies. Don’t see how ridiculous this is? Well, it’s ranked 9 spots above The Godfather.  Also, No country for old men, one of the best movies I’ve seen…is on my worst list, ranked at #12.

Clearly the algorithm needs further tweaking.  But hell, this is still one of the most fun I’ve spent my time on. Although half-way through the game, I wondered how come nobody has ever thought of stacking a babe vs another babe…and then I remembered, Mark Zuckerberg has already done this in Facemash, as shown in my favourite movie of 2010, The Social Network, which sadly is nowhere to be found amongst my 300 movies.

Thundercats 2011 Review (Ep01 – 03)

When news first came out that the 80’s cartoon “Thundercats” will be rebooted, I really wondered if USA is already scraping the bottom of the barrel when even cartoons are being remade.  On top of that, the felines aren’t even getting the ‘upgrade’ to be converted into a movie like their peers, Transformers and … Smurfs.

It took me about 5 minutes of the pilot to make me realise this reboot might have been the best cartoon for kids (and kids at heart) since the Justice League Unlimited series!

The pilot and 2nd episode, respectively named “Sword of Omens” and “Ancient Spirits of Evil” were bundled together which is all about setting up the new lore. The 2011 Lion-O seems much younger than the 80’s counterpart, while the rest of the pack, Tygra, Cheetara and the two kiddos pretty much remain similar to the original. (note: Cheetara is one hot kitty! MEOW!)

Brief Episodes review : *SPOILERS AHEAD*

What’s great about the series is the elements of classic tales incorporated into the episodes.  The first two shows referenced the Trojan Horse which led to the downfall of Thundera, after the King was betrayed by his own trusted aide.  There are some seriously good shit happening in this pilot which was dark in theme yet ok for kids to enjoy. The pilot deserves an A+ in my humble opinion.

So, the big challenge would be how are they going to follow that awesome opening?  Well, episode 3, “Ramlak Rising” falters a bit. Carrying on where they left off, the cat pack trio now led by a Lion-O consumed by vengeance embarks to avenge the late King by killing MummRa. While the rest thought the right thing was to seek out some ancient book.  The new King quickly veto that and they basically ended up in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie (…or so I thought!)

Fortunately, the story took a turn for the better towards the end as the theme of obsession for revenge shone through which is of course, a direct homage to “Moby Dick”, which I thought really saved the entire episode.  (Grade : C+, but that’s cos the first ep was so good)

Interesting notes on ep 3 though :

1. Wileykit and kat’s attempt to get Lion-O to change his mind was basically to act cute and purr to him, a moment they made me laugh out. Especially because I had just fed a cat and it was what the cat did.

2. speaking of hungry cats, boy the two Wiley can eat!

3. still on the topic of food, why would fishes whom already have decent food want to cook cats as dinner? First time I have ever seen fishes eating cats. Reverse cannibalism?

4. Yes, cannibalism was being referenced with humor in this cartoon.

5. Last but not least, as I was trying to find pictures for post, I only just learnt of the following news… that this may be one of the rare moments where the voice actress is as chio (if not more) as the character she plays! I had no idea that Emmanuelle Chriqui voiced Cheetara!! (Entourage’s Sloane, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan)

Hubba Hubba!!!

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Categorized as TV

R.I.P. Amy Winehouse

I told you that I was trouble, you know that I’m no good

It is truly a sad day to learn another singer has joined the infamous “stupid club”, a name coined by the late Kurt Cobain’s mother during her eulogy during her rock star son who died at the tender age of 27 just like his famed peers, namely Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and of course, Jimi Hendrix.

Unlike them though, Winehouse only managed to ever release two studio albums. Her last effort, the multiple Grammy winner, ‘Back to Black’ still remains a favourite in my iPod despite of a period now when I hardly listen to albums anymore.

The beautiful blend of jazz, soul and R&B sprinkled with painful lyrics and a dash of irony, resulting in a collection of songs reflecting on romance (or the death of it) and it’s soul mate, bitterness, sung brilliantly by her.

The saddest thing for me is knowing now that my fantasy of her being picked to sing a Bond theme song will never materialise. It is something that seems to me like a perfect fit as I liken her to a modern-day Shirley Bassey.

In an ‘era’ where Lady Gaga and Justin Bielber yet to exist, Amy Winehouse both presented the world a gift of rare talent and the curiosity like that of a car wreck, all in one package. It is the likes of which the audience has not witness since the days of Kurt Cobain.

Similarly, like her fellow ‘club member’ before her, Winehouse downward spiral in her personal life and her appetite for drugs and alcohol has always seem to make her entry into this club look pre-destined.