TV | Wipeout

Wipeout has been one of my guilty pleasures on TV for the past couple of years. This game show is basically one huge obstacle course, with contestants scrambling to make it all the way to the end on the fastest time to win $50,000. Along the way, they're pummeled, hammered, battered, and occasionally dumped into mud or water, and hilarity ensues.

Similar in format to some Japanese game shows, Wipeout starts out with 24 contestants, who are then pared down to 12, then to 6, and finally to four (three in the newest season). Most of the contestants act stupid and flamboyant when they're introduced in order to get noticed, then proceed to eat crow as they're wildly tossed and turned around.

Among my favorite obstacles include the Sucker Punch, an entire wall with moving boxing gloves; the Yule Log Jam, where you have to cross two moving platforms; and the Big Balls, which are 4 huge inflated balls that you must bounce across to get to the other side. In recent seasons they added a "Motivator," which is a huge pendulum that kicks you over the Big Balls if you hesitate too long to cross, LOL.


The 2 hosts who are both named John, John Anderson and John Henson, strike the perfect balance--Anderson is the more serious commentator type, while Henson is just loony, and his running comments that mock and insult the contestants are truly hilarious. Field commentator Jill Wagner also provides funny interviews with the contestants before the round begins, and I'm a bit sad that this season is her last, as she's leaving the show--aww, you'll be missed, Jill!

Wipeout never fails to make me laugh, and sometimes I'd laugh so hard in the middle of the night when I'm watching that my neighbors must think that they're living next door to a crazy person, hehe. Highly recommended.

Pokemon Fail

It's official: I don't like Pokemon Black & White. I don't like most of the 5th Generation Pokemon introduced here, and the fact that you're forced to only use them for the entire main game makes these new versions a complete fail for me.

Sure, Pokemon Black & White breaks new ground when it comes to game features, like a slick new interface that's a step forward compared to other games, and it saves much faster than the previous Pokemon games for the DS. Too bad it's all wasted on the crappy Pokemon found in Pokemon Black & White.


Most of the new Pokemon in Pokemon Black & White represent the worst creature designs ever to see light in a Pokemon game. There have been ugly Pokemon designs in every Gen, but this latest batch got the most number of lameass designs. We've got Pokemon that are garbage bags, snowflakes, ice cream, candles, chandeliers, rotating gears, floating coffins, transvestites, and more--it's like the designers at Game Freak, Inc. were all smoking crack when they designed these new Pokemon. Or maybe in their desire to attract more girls to play the games, they ended up designing so many gay-looking Pokemon. I wonder if flying panties and rolling toilet bowls are slated for the next Gen, LOL.

To make it worse, they literally shoved these uglies up each gamer's asses when they made the main storyline of Pokemon Black & White only exclusive to 5th Gen Pokemon. Which means you don't get to see or use any 1st-4th Gen Pokemon until the game is done, and by the time you get access to the old Pokemon, what's the point?

I find it hilarious when most of the crapsacks on the Internet sneer at those who dislike the new Pokemon because according to them, we're just "nostalgic." LOL, I bet those ADHD-addled retards don't even know what nostalgia is until they vomit it out their throats. It has nothing to do with nostalgia at all, but everything to do with design. These new Pokemon--they might have the Pokemon brand on them, but they sorely lack the charm and appeal of the previous Pokemon.

I bought Pokemon Black more than a month ago to try it out--I tried to like it, but couldn't. I've played all the Pokemon games since Pokemon Red and have played them to the very end, as well as played even further along for the extra features. But not this one; after finishing the main game, I ditched it, not even bothering to try out the Dream World option. It's now gathering dust, which is a first for me. I guess I'm all Pokemon'd out, heh.

Film | Source Code

Inception meets Quantum Leap and Groundhog Day. I was intrigued by these descriptions of Source Code right from the start that I knew I had to watch it. Basically a suspense-thriller with a dose of science-fiction and a few twists, the main plot of Source Code involves the lead character waking up in someone else's body and wondering what the hell is going on.

The movie gets increasingly complex from there, as it turns out that Captain Colter Stevens, the main character, is part of a secret military experiment that makes him some kind of guinea pig, and he can be transported into the identity of one Sean Feantress, a teacher who's aboard a doomed train that's been rigged to explode. Stevens has to identify the bomber, but has only 8 minutes to do so at each opportunity.

As the scenario gets repeated over and over, Stevens gets more adept in Fentress' body, familiarizing himself with common elements until he gets it right. He also manages to fall in love with a girl who happens to have a thing for him, which is somewhat forced and incredulous. Jake Gyllenhaal, who plays Stevens, might be considered by some as a good actor, but he always comes off to me as someone who always looks bored in his movies.

Everything is revealed gradually, leading to the big pay-off, but it doesn't quite stop there. There's a strange epilogue towards the end, leaving me slightly bewildered and scratching my head. The concepts of time travel, parallel realities, and multiverses are things that make my head hurt when I try to analyze them, and while Source Code partially succeeds in unraveling these to the viewer, the final scenes were something of a bummer, and I felt that they were unnecessary--they should've ended the movie when everything faded to white.

Still, Source Code gets high marks for its unique concept, and as one of the few really entertaining movies I've seen so far this year. It's a film that bears repeated viewing, if only to catch some things that weren't apparent when seen for the first time around.

Music | Swing Out Sister - Breakout

During the 1980's, the British gained a firm hold on the pop charts with a variety of musical acts that forever defined that decade. Halfway through the 80's though, I was sick of all those pretty boy bands with their tiresome synth sound--Duran Duran, Culture Club, Spandau Ballet, etc. I was never a fan of those groups and hearing them constantly on the radio was getting to be annoying.


So it was a very good thing that Swing Out Sister released their single Breakout in late 1986. It was like a breath of fresh air, and shattered the monotony of those other British pop acts on the airwaves. Swing Out Sister further established the emerging sophisti-pop genre already popularized by acts like Sade and The Style Council, in which jazz and soul were blended with dance rhythms.

Very few acts can captivate me with their first release, but I became an instant fan of Swing Out Sister upon hearing Breakout, and that was even before seeing the awesome video for that song, which featured a very bubbly Corinne Drewery with her now trademark bob. A former fashion designer and model, Corinne virtually set the distinctive look and style for Swing Out Sister that's become strongly identified with the group.

The best thing about Swing Out Sister is that they're still around and still making good music. They've experimented with different sounds through the years, but their music remains tinged with that unique jazzy style they've established more than 25 years ago. Here's to more excellent music, SOS!

Film | Sucker Punch

I was intrigued the first time I read about the concept for Sucker Punch, and when the first images and trailers hit the Web along with its awesome retro logo, it had become a must-see movie for me. If you probably ask anyone who's ever made movies, anime, or comics, chicks with guns are always a nerd/geek magnet, and Sucker Punch has lots of them, as well as generating enough buzz to draw in the nerd population and make this movie a huge hit.

Unfortunately, that actually didn't come true, and Sucker Punch has since become known as one of this year's biggest movie flops. I did enjoy the movie for what it was though--a stylish romp through the mind of a young girl unjustly committed to a mental asylum.

When Baby Doll, the lead character, is sent to the looney bin by her evil stepfather and is scheduled to be lobotomized, she reaches into her mind and creates several layers of reality, recruiting other girls to help her out with the ultimate goal of escaping.

Since this is a film by Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) those imagined scenes are gorgeously shot with spectacular CGI and mostly in slow-motion, as Baby Doll and friends wield swords, pistols, gatling guns, and other assorted weaponry while they battle monstrous samurai, dragons, nazis, and lots more.

The combat scenes are outstanding enough, but the plot ultimately leaves a lot to be desired, with the end result unsatisfying. Too bad though, as it could've been much better (actually, it would've made an awesome video game, LOL). Sucker Punch remains a unique visual treat, with a distinctive look that's all its own. A good enough diversion for about 2 hours--nothing more, nothing less.