When the PS3 gets Hacked: Kyo's View

Word buzzing around the Internet is that some fellows from OzModChips were successful on hacking the PS3. What does this actually mean?

Well, for starter games can now be backed up. That's the polite term. The harsher terms, games can also be downloaded and pirated. Good for those who want to back up their games (although to be frank, I haven't seen my BDs spoilt so far and still see no reason why I should back it up since I believe in it), but maybe bad for developers who built games just to get ripped off by gamers who are cheap. And we know how the whole world is cheap.

Good also that it'll lead to homebrew developments. Or even cheats. I'm not sure how, but it sounds and looks like it should work. To a good advantage. Maybe Sony should have done something like Apple and Google by providing a market for micro apps. Who knows eh?

What do I think from all this? Personally, after telling myself to quit piracy for so long, I couldn't be bothered. I don't have a problem on where I can get my original games and I don't mind shelling the extra cash to get it. I live in a 2 room house with my parents and sister, so I'm nowhere near rich. And I drive a bike to work, that tells you how cheap I am.

But I stand by being responsible. This is my effort on being a civilized man who doesn't need to resort to crime like what I have done before. Its a shameful thing, but i'll leave that as memories.

So, regardless of what happens, this is nowhere going to affect me. Besides, my Yakuza 4 is coming anyways. Nowhere near fazed. :P

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Life: Graphic Novel Review

For a very long time I have not graced comics or even graphic novels (Graphic novels being never, until Joker and The Killing Joke). But that did change this year, when I started with Joker and The Killing Joke (thanks syefah for the present) and now, its Scott Pilgrim. And I must say, where have I been the past few years to not even notice this?

Scott Pilgrim is a Canadian slacker. Plays in a band, has just started dating a highschool girl (Scott is 23 btw), and is enjoying his life. Until, a particular lady has been using his dreams to travel and make deliveries for Amazon Canada. Immediately, he became obsessed, and even worst, the girl is real, and her name is Ramona Flowers. Insisting to go on a date, he orders something and baits her on a date, which she accepts and he had a blast. Well, until, Matthew Patel, the first of Ramona's League of Evil Exes shows up. Now, in order to date Ramona, Scott must defeat Ramona's 7 evil exes. The thing is, did he manage with the first one?

The comic got a Harvey award (one of the best acclaimed for comics and graphic novels) and is almost ready to be screened in movie theaters this week. Malaysians definitely have to wait a little longer to get it (November, Dammit). I took notice of this movie and went gaga, because this is not your typical story, this is an action-comedy-romance-musical (As Edgar Wright puts it) stuffed all in one, and it really works.

Scott is in someways, very annoying and cocky. However, the first volume of 6 gives you a slight hint of how he is and what he's gone through. The first few pages would make you feel you loathe him, but you want to stick around to find out what really happened to his life, and even Ramona's (which Scott conveniently discloses in the book that it'll be explained in the proceeding volumes, way to go on breaking the fourth wall).

The other characters also work to help Scott tell his story. You've got his gay roommate Wallace (which he conveniently sleeps on the same bed with him), and then Ramona (who I actually imagined did sound a little stale like her movie counterpart) with her rollerblades going across Toronto (which the roads are heavily snowed, you figure it out), his part of the band (Kim Pine being a double standard character) and even his girlfriend Knives Chau (who's Chinese mother speaks like a real Chinese. And that's a riot). They all work very well in his life.

When it comes to plot, this book has just the right pacing and timing for it. I didn't feel like putting the book down even though I just came through the closing chapter. And the humor bits, are very fun and more conveniently suited to the gaming generation (which happens to be a little weakspot which i'll get later). Heck, Bryan even gave its readers a chance to play a song from Sex Bob-Omb, Stephen Stills' band (which Scott is the bassist). heck, the lyrics are even funny as hell.

The art style feels like a crossover of Japanese manga and American drawings. And you get... Somewhere in the middle. Its nothing to shout about, but the style does feel quirky, which probably sets the right tone for me.

The weaker part, audiences may not really know the jokes and references the book is trying to make. Well, maybe not all of it since it does include some clever jokes that hit on lots of wonderfully scripted parts. The version I had was probably a bad print (the pages were a little disoriented), so you may wanna be careful.

At Rm 40.90 (Borders and Kinokuniya, MPH is RM 45.90), the length of the book is really nice. Its probably just the right amount of time, and you may want to pick up a 2nd reading once you're done running through the whole book. Available in 6 volumes, this is the start of something lovely and I don't think you'd regret getting it. Regardless if you're videogame proficient or not, don't miss out and do check out the movie trailers of Scott Pilgrim vs The World. Its a total blast.

Kyo's score: 9/10. Comics/Graphic Novels are always fun in my books. hehe.

Batman: City of Scars: Fanmade Film Review

Dear All,

GO WATCH BATMAN: CITY OF SCARS. Its worth it. :P

To begin, go over to Dailymotion.com. Over there, go ahead and find Batman: City of Scars and you will find a 35 minute video showing the fanmade film. And seriously, it is such a treat.

The story goes with Joker escaping from Arkham once more. This time, he successfully killed the parents of another child, leaving him orphaned. Bruce feeling that similar pain confronts and tracks him once more, and to question himself what was he become.

Its amazing to know that this is from a fanmade film. It trumps the sequels that was during the Clooney era, stands on par with Kilmer and Keaton, and is so close to Nolan's effort. Its truly outstanding. heck, even the gadgets make the detective look damn rich. And that was actually fun (I want the Batpod!)

The script feels fresh and we're mostly treated to a monologue of Batman questioning himself (Not gonna spoil anything). The score is lovely and quite haunting at times. While the shots may be its weakest point sadly. It does feel messy a little but perhaps it works to show the grit of Gotham.

The cast did a lovely job. Batman fits (even better than Bale's) and the Joker is nice (Sorry, Heath is still the best in my book when it comes to mischief and haunting). The rest of the case is also good where you have Harley Quinn, The Ventriloquist joining the lovely ensemble.

heck, I was even blown away by the stunt and fight scenes. It was really fun to watch.

But alas, the real point to bring out is how the story really does, and it fits well. It makes us question yet the answer lies with Batman himself.

Overall, i'd recommend 35 minutes of your time for this film. It is truly spectacular and I give kudos to the guys who did this. Congratz, you have made Bob Kane, and his legion of fans proud. :D

Kyo's score: 8/10. Truly a wonderful effort. If you're interested with other fan made stuff, go to youtube and find the Joker interrogation scene. The one with 13 million views. You'll know why. :P

Salt: Movie Review

When it comes to food, I like them less salty than the normal. Most of the time I would be eating saltless food or just a little bit. But this movie, has proven to me that it is a little too salty to my liking (That means, its a bad thing to me).

Evelyn Salt (Jolie) is a CIA agent. When a Russian Spy defects and unveils that Salt apparently is a secret agent working for Russia, she is being hunted down. Knowing that she is innocent, she goes out on a run to clear her name. But something else is brewing, something much bigger than Salt's worth as an agent.

I hate movies that gives me the ending after 20 minutes of watching it. This is that movie. Because of that, I tried to sit down and see if there's anything else worth watching. Sadly, there's not much.

So obviously the plot was poorly conveyed and the editing was poorly done (you can throw away some scenes but NO... you had to put them in). The shots, worst. I DON'T NEED CLOSEUPS. Seriously shots were horrendous.

Script gets cheesy and dull. But scores were good though. But not enough.

And about Jolie, yeah, she's great in this one. Hands down for that. But I think i blame the script and the director for making me guess what the hell is Salt trying to do actually. We don't even know what emotion she's feeling (COME ON!).

To my book, its a weak movie and its probably one of the weaker offerings this year. Now to see how Last Airbender bombs the cinemas.

Kyo's score: 3/10. Only for the good score and Jolie. Sorry miss. This movie is just too bad to taste.