Bring Back Snake

Remember those simpler days, before Twitter and full keyboard and even color. These were the days when you couldn't cure boredom by updating your Facebook status. You usually only had two options; actually give someone a call and beg them to entertain you or try to beat the high score on Snake. This was the golden age of Snake, a short-lived but memorable era. Much as Pong was for home consoles, Nokia's simple and addictive game was just the beginning for cellphone entertainment.
Nowadays, I'm lucky to play through my entire demo before my game of Diner Dash gets interrupted by a Buy Now button. I may be able to get Resident Evil 4 on my Iphone, but these things come at a price. So my suggestion to Nokia is; instead of trying to compete with the application kings out there, bring back Snake and maybe cheapskates, like myself, may hold that as the deciding factor when choosing a solid basic featured phone (oh and you might want to work on the design of some of those too).

Coraline 3D review

Beautiful and creepy. This handmade movie is filled with stunning details that leave with a how-did-they-do-that feeling that can't always be explained with CG means. Everything on the set from the popcorn garden trees to the painstakingly micro-knitted gloves was made with human hands. The creativity that went into this film appears to have carried every scene through a world of storybook fantasy.

The story is a fresh take on a familiar little girl journey, but instead of Alice or Wendy Darling, or even Dorothy, you get Coraline, bitter, unpleasant, and full of spunk. Coraline moves with her parents, gardening workaholics, to an apartment building in rainy dreary Oregon. Coraline, board out of her mind and ignored by her parents, then finds a mysterious little door which she has to open (of course). But on the other side is a Wonderland set in Plaesantville. Button-eyed (creepy) copies of the apartment's inhabitants greet Coraline with a pleasant and here-to-serve attitude (creepier). And (of course) everything is not what it seems.

The plot is a bit borrowed from other works (though what story isn't!), but the characters hide this fact with their original design (Wybie and Other Mother, to name a few). Overall the film was not what I expected from the trailers, but I should have know better when they said it was from the makers of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (which If you loved and don't care that there are no songs then you'll love Coraline). Once again it's a kid's movie that's not really a kid's movie. Some parts were a bit disturbing (in a good way) and a few moments were a little...well... just watch the scenes with the two crazy sisters from downstairs and you'll see what I mean.

As a whole, Coraline is a truly inspiring movie. I can't wait to see some fan art on this one and to get the DVD. I also hope that they release the songs They Might Be Giants created when the project was a musical. I fully recommend watching it in 3D if you haven't already; once you see the setting, you'll want to walk around in this strange colorful world.

Top 4 Standalone Episodes

A standalone episode refers to a single episode (or two parter) that deviates from the normal format of a series and, sometimes, puts a hold on the progression of the plot altogether for one specialized episode. Characteristics of these episodes may be a lack or absence of the main character and instead focusing in extremely minor characters or new characters introduced within the episode. I like to offer up these episodes as mini movies or as a hook to get one of my friends to start watching a show. You don't need to know anything about what's happened in the series so far since the episode can 'stand alone'. So my friends who don't want to bother to finish an entire series can just sit back and enjoy the characters and worlds I have come to know and love with me.

(note: the list is not in any particular order)

1. "Double Lips" - ep. 3 from Paranoia Agent

This was actually the first full episode I saw from the series. I caught bits and pieces scanning past adult swim and never gave it a closer look. It seemed too weird. But after I finally sat down and watched this entire episode, I was hooked. The weirdness finally made sense and this episode is great example of the series' psychological exploration. The episode focuses on Chouno Harumi struggle to maintain the life she's created, but with the angle of a psychological thriller.

2. "Blink" - ep. 10 s. 03 from Doctor Who
The interesting thing about this episode is that I think it might be more mysterious if you haven't seen any other Doctor Who episodes. Though he's barely in it, the Doctor pops up as this mysterious figure who the main characters of the episode know nothing about. The plot is full of twists and unexpected turns and borders on horror toward the end. The suspense of the final scene had me literally leaping out of my chair and pacing the room yelling "What the hell's gonna happen!".

3. "Expose" - ep. 14 s. 03 from Lost
This episode takes a break from main plot to explore the backgrounds of two minor characters; Nikki and Paulo. In keeping with Lost's non linear storytelling, Nikki and Paulo's story starts at the end. Then it weaves the events before the opening scene with even deeper flashbacks telling how they got on the island in the first place. It tells you how their story ends at the beginning of the episode, but all is not what it seems.

4. "Serenity" - ep. 01 from Firefly
This one might be cheating a bit since it's the first episode and therefore an introductory episode, but I truly believe that it can stand alone. The two part episode (considered a single episode as a whole) almost seems more like a micro-mini-series or tv movie. It has a beginning, middle, and end and, though it ends with out fully explaining every mystery, it still leaves you with the sense of a conclusion. It is especially fun not knowing who the villain of the story is in the beginning since the plot focuses on Mal's (the 'hero' of the series) trust or lack of trust for the people on bored his ship.