“Transformers”

i recently went in to see “transformers” with a group of friends. now, i’m not a big fan of michael bay. the guy makes films that can be categorized as the “watch once and forget you ever saw them” type. who can forget “pearl harbour” or his shocking 1998 release, “armageddon”? so it’s fair to say i wasn’t expecting much when i went in to see this, his latest offering…

i wasn’t totally disapointed…

the plotline is roughly as follows…two competeting species of aliens, one good and the other (obviously) evil battle each other in their efforts to find the “allspark”, an artefact which has been sent to earth & which turns out to be the only thing with powers strong enough to bring their dead home planet back to life. the aliens, some who resemble shiny new toy robots & many who resemble various automobile models, arrive here on earth to begin their search for the “allspark” with military precision & high enthusiasm… (especially the “bad” guys who makes mincemeat of the various u.s. military forces!) fortunately for us earthlings, (or unfortunately…it depends on which side you’re supporting ) the “good” aliens have a trump card up their collective sleeves. a kid, sam witwicky (how the hell do they come up with such stupid names?) who has in his possession, spectacles with the location of the “allspark” imprinted onto them…

the rest of the movie follows the usual set pattern. the “good” guys trying to outsmart or defeat the “bad” guys, the geek (in this case sam witwicky) who somehow manages to save the day & become a hero to both humans & the “good” alien species while also landing “mikaela” (another stupid name), the prettiest girl in school.

the story is absurd to begin with, the script is corny & clichèd, the acting, in no danger of winning an academy award. however, special mention must be made regarding the visual effect for this film. simply outstanding in my humble opinion….

but overall, “transformers” for me is an “ok” film. sure, there are plenty of swashbuckling action… sure, the special effects & sound editing are of the highest quality…sure, the inclusion of the beautiful megan fox (even though she can’t act for shit) as sam’s object of desire “mikaela” does raise the interest surrounding this film but truthfully, “transformers” will go down in history as another one of those michael bay cinematic blunders…

but at least it wasn’t as bad as “armageddon”. now if i could only get my hands on a rental copy of “transformers”. i want to see mikaela doing running repairs on that car again!

“Glacier” Mp4 Player

i never thought i would be one of those people with wires sticking out of their ears. in fact i never cared much for gizmos like walkmans or mp3 players. that is until i found myself listening to crappy pop or hip hop/rap songs favoured by the majority of my co workers on the company’s communal music console/boom box.

now those who know me will remember how much i dislike listening to those musical genres. i’m a self described “metal head” and i actively despise so called “artists” like akon, 50 cent, shaggy, jessica simpson, pussycat dolls & britney. having to endure some of their offerings for 8 hours or more per day for me is just sheer torture. i tried listening to the built-in radio on my mobile phone but (not suprisingly) majority of the times, pop & hip hop music rule the airwaves and i find myself switching it off after a few minutes…

so i decided to invest in a music player preferably one which also plays video files. given a choice i would prefer to go for an apple i-pod but since i’m not made out of money i decided to go for a version which will have a far more lighter effect on my wallet. after searching the websites for features & reviews of various mp4 players, finally decided on a chinese made mp3/mp4 player named “glacier”. sold by the hong kong based online retailer “uxcell”, the player i settled upon had touted among its numerous features,

• large 2″ LCD TFT display with 65,000 colours
• voice recording & built in FM radio
• built in speaker & microphone
• ability to store & display text & image files
• detachable rechargeable li-ion battery compatible to the nokia BL-4c/BL-5c battery models
• comes with the commonly used 3.5mm stereo headphone jack insted of the smaller type favoured by other manufacturers
• affordable price with a 2GB model going for under $60

the shippment took about a week to arrive via hong kong post, a generic mp4 player box packed into a brown paper envelope. they marked it as “gift” to avoid customs charging but somewhat stupidly, they labeled it clearly as a “mp3 player, china”. one would think they would be a little more discrete about such information or at least use another less obvious term to describe the contents given the numerous instances of packages being “lost” during transit & delivery…

anyway, coming back to my purchased “glacier” mp4 player, i’m absoulutely thrilled with my newfound “toy”! the screen (as advertised) was large and bright, the buttons – well designed & very responsive, the menu structure was nice & clear. the sound quality – superb, when high quality earphones are used. having said that there ARE some issues…

• horrible user manual – can’t make any sense out of it as it has been written in chinglish! (chinese english!)
• USB cable is too short for my liking
• duration of a battery charge (when the player is continuously being used) averages to only around 4-5 hours
• supplied earphones, while stylish looking, does not exactly have the best sound quality

however all these are only minor irritations once you look at it objectively. whoever the manufacturer is they definitely rock with this product. well worth the 60 bucks spent with the pros (without question) cancelling out the cons. i highly recommend it for anyone looking to purchase a mp3/mp4 player without the desire to burn a huge hole in their pockets/wallets…

finally, life has been made bearable once again

click here to purchase “glacier” mp4 player/products…

Nightwish – Amaranth

below is the new single from nightwish’s upcoming new album, dark passion play. enjoy!…