It's so Payne-ful

Max Payne



Synopsis
Rockstar Games' antihero Max Payne gets his own movie with this video game adaptation. Mark Wahlberg plays the titular cop who is still trying to get over the death of his family while investigating several murders, while Mila Kunis costars as an assassin desperate for her own revenge. -- www.rottentomatoes.com



Starring
Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Beau Bridges, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges
Directed by John Moore


My verdict
I had no idea who Max Payne is -- never played the game. I thought he would be somebody like "The Punisher." Guess I was dead wrong, but that's ok.

After seeing the blockbuster-friendly Eagle Eye (which, apart from the ending, is quite thrilling btw), I think that this adaptation of the game is horrid. I feel sorry for the game fans.

It played out like a cliche Pinoy action film --

Guy is a cop. Guy's wife and kid are murdered. Guy becomes emo. Guy hunts down the murderer still at large after 3 years. Murderer gets his ass kicked. The end. (Sequel is possible.)

It's like a bloomin' Ronnie Ricketts movie with Mariz haunting him in between scenes! All the action sequences were standard, too. It was so predictable.

To be fair, there are some good shots in Max Payne, but that's about it really. (The bf was disappointed that there weren't many "bullet time" sequences, as that was what set the game apart from the others apparently.)

Single? SPAM your way to love!

This is quite strange.

I received an email on my inbox recently and it reads like so:

From:MARIAMNE Romo

Subject: Hi! I wanna chat with you

Hello! sorry, you don't know me but maybe I want to know you ...I am with not bad body pretty girl...I very want to meet man of my dream, i dont know how should he to look...but maybe it's you? I have a lot of time for meetings and if you have any ideas how to spend it with me... just email me back at MARIAMNE@___.com i will reply back with some really cool photos with me ...and maybe you will want to meet me next day))) see you . kiss

Best regards

MARIAMNE@___.com

WTF?!? I'm getting picked up by email! And ewww, the message has "kiss" at the end of it. So tacky! Can women really be that desperate? This could also be a scam, I'm sure of it.

I didn't do anything, of course. I'm not a lesbian after all.

Nine days later, I received this:

From: MARIAM Christie

Subject: Hi! I wanna chat with you!

Hi! I am lonely girl, who is looking for chat with you I am talkative and funny I need you... maybe you my future?? email me back at MARIAM@____.com and i will reply back with some really nice pictures...and you will see that maybe I am... your destiny...

MARIAM@___.com

WTF?!? (part 2) Is this even the same woman?

She NEEDS me, goddamnit! She might be... my destiny... not.

Hmmm... wonder if I should reply to say that I'm not a man?

Di kami talo noh. Pfttt.

A quickie taste

If there's any doubt at all with the Kodak V1003's performance, I hope this article will shed some light on it. As I've mentioned before, it's a good daytime photography camera, but indoors or at night -- pfttt!

And don't even get me started about using it for action shots, it has the SLOWEST shutter speed ever in the history of technology (ok i'm exagerrating, but it sure feels like forever to me).


Back in da day

This is my first shot. The colours are good, but it's rather dark, donchatink?

Ah, the beach. That's my younger sister btw. Again, I just love the colours.

This is a lovely stained glass window. Took the photo during my trip to Warwick Castle in England last year.

I'm warning you now, I'm addicted to macro photography. Hence the following:

Ehem.
My favourite Starbucks Tomato, Mozzarella & Basil Bagel. I think just looking at this photo makes me hungry.


Can SOMEBODY please tell me what the hell this is???

Boholeño starfish in the hizzy!

Just in case you thought I didn't use the camera for taking photos of people -- here it is.




Ok. What you will see below is the transformation that takes place in that little gadget after sunset....

This is the best its Night Mode feature can do. I can't even recognise anybody!

Benganio -- THE BODY.

Hehehe!

Seriously, the flash was used there. You wouldn't know the difference.

Oh sorry, guess you would.

Oh, for cryin' out loud!!!

I don't even know if the person in the photo is male or female!

(Just kidding, that's Jaja. But we sure had a hard time finding out it was her the first time we saw this photo wtf.)

Think, think, think.

I'm in a pickle, peeps.

My old Kodak V1003 takes great pictures when there's a lot of natural light around, but when the sun goes down, it's like dead weight to me. The pictures are so dark and very much unlike the view I get from the LCD screen that I might as well carry a brick around with me.

Therefore, I'm shopping around for a much better model. I've shortlisted the candidates down to 3 cameras:

1. Canon IXUS 960IS



According to CNET ---

Good

Sleek design with titanium casing
Great image quality
Optical image stabilisation
Face detection

Optical viewfinder

Bad

No manual exposure controls
Slightly sluggish performance

Bottomline
Canon's Digital IXUS 960 IS looks great and can take very nice images, but the digital camera's whopping 12 megapixels will leave you waiting between shots.


2. Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5




According to dpreview.com --

Good
Very versatile 28-280mm equiv. zoom range
Excellent lens, good edge-to-edge sharpness and little distortion
High quality build, full metal body
Little (if any) color fringing
Good flash performance
White balance fine tune option
Feels fast and responsive in most situations
Quick and reliable focus
Excellent, bright, high-resolution 3.0-inch screen
Superb High Definition movie mode with 1280 x 720 pixel 30fps wide screen option
Optical zoom usable in movie mode
Effective image stabilization system
Ergonomic layout of external controls and buttons
Excellent on-screen menus and control system
Good resolution, generally clean output
Easy - and fun - to use

Bad
Heavy noise reduction at all ISO settings (although less than predecessor)
Smearing of fine detail (caused by NR) even at base ISO
Macro mode less effective than competitors'
Unreliable Auto WB performance under artificial light
Inconvenient location of the flash right next to hand grip
Occasional highlight clipping in high contrast scenes
Continuous shooting slower than predecessor
Focus slow down and occasional hunting in low light
Battery life not brilliant
Sound quality in movie mode not great

Bottomline
In conclusion the TZ5 is a versatile, user friendly photographic tool that can produce good results outdoors in decent light but struggles when it comes to taking pictures indoors and in low light (the flash performs quite well though). If you are looking for a travel or walkaround camera that is quick enough for the occasional spontaneous street shot and can also produce great quality HD video you should definitely have a closer look at the TZ5. If low light photography or indoor social snapping is more your thing or if you're into 'pixel-peeping' you might want to look out for alternatives.



3. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T70




According to CNET:

Good
Classy styling; giant touchscreen interface; non-existent shutter lag; decent battery life

Bad
Pointless 'smile shutter' feature; clunky zoom control
You might also need a cloth to clean off fingerprints



Bottomline
If touchscreen compacts are for you, then the classy Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T70 is for you. One of the comeliest compacts we've seen for a while, and respectably-featured with it. Pictures are decent, the shutter is fast enough to take your hand off and did we mention how pretty it is?

~oOo~oOo~oOo~oOo~oOo~oOo~

I'm personally leaning towards the Sony one as it's sooooo pretty.

*drool*

Besides, somebody has told me it's good for night shots (and I use my camera quite a lot during nights out so this is important to me).

HOWEVER, I am open to suggestions. So would y'all kindly help me out here?

Someone had stolen it's thunder -- or maybe it didn't have it in the first place.

Tropic Thunder


Synopsis
Through a series of freak occurrences, a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying.


My verdict
When you know that Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr are starring in a comedy film, you expect to roll around the mucky cinema floor laughing.

This one? Bleh. Ftoooey!

Don't waste your time. If you're really curious, just wait for the DVD.