Insane Bump Machine

Appleseed 2004 - **** incredible CG animation, awesome action scenes, a cool soundtrack and a deep plot by Masamune Shirow that sometimes slows the film down a bit. Great film, hopefully it'll make it to cinemas over here someday. I really wanna see it on the big screen now.

dr. tom > all of us

Devils On The Doorstep - **** My subtitles were completely fucked up, but still a great movie. Very dramatic in some scenes and silly comedy in others, but it worked. Awesome ending!

Nothing - ***1/2 Absurd but fun little movie by Vincenzo Natali, the director of Cube. Two losers one day find themselves in the situation that everything but their own house and themselves has disappeared because they can hate away things. Hilarity and strange situations ensue. Some great quotes in this also ('We can't be dead, we have cable!').

R-Point - **1/2 R-Point, a south-korean horror movie from 2004, has an original setting for a horror film: The Vietnam war. Sadly the originality stops there as the characters and 'scary' moments are just too cliché. The ending is underwhelming as well. Plus points were the good performance by the lead Kam Woo-Sung and some really good scenes in-between.

Hear, hear. Everybody should see this movie, even if you hate anime. House of Flying Daggers - ****1/2 Visually stunning fairy tale with incredible choreography and good acting by all involved. Zhang Ziyi is the most beautiful actress alive. What I loved the most was that all the earlier battles are more style than substance, but in the final fight they just let loose in a bloody and brutal, but simple, swordfight. You can feel their hatred, no time for posing there.

'Just a fun match to watch' is correct, but it's been praised way beyond that during the past weeks. Not only at this board but by numerous critics like Meltzer, Keller and Scott Keith. Nobody denies that they worked hard. But a great cage match needs guts AND brains, and this match lacked the later. Tim said that there was no build in the match, and he's right. They didn't build to anyting with maybe the exception of the contrieved handcuffs bit. He didn't even comment on the buildup for the match and their feud because he only critizised the match itself. I guess you misread that.

UYI: When Gandalf and Pippin ride to rescue Faramir from Denethor's burning attempt, the Witch King flies onto the scene and blocks their way. He then taunts Gandalf and breaks his staff. Pippin for a moment tries to join the battle, but is too terrified to actually do anything. The Witch King taunts a bit more, but just as he's about to go for the kill the horns signal the arrival of the Rohirrim and he flies away to kill Theoden a few minutes later. It's pretty much the same as in the book.

I agree with you. Skipper's spot and maybe the big elbow by Daniels are the only thing I'll remember about the match because the rest was just not that good. Their first cage match, though also a bit of a clusterfuck, was much better.

Action: 20) Metal Gear Solid 3 – PS2 Adventure: 01) Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - Multisystem Driving: 01) Burnout 3: Takedown - Multisystem (where is NFS:U 2???) Role-playing: 07) Fable – Xbox Sports: 03) Pro Evolution Soccer 4 – PS2 Fighting: 03) Def Jam: Fight for NY – Multisystem Platformer: 01) Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal – PS2 Shooter: 05) Half-Life 2 - PC Pure Sports: 03) Pro Evolution Soccer 2005 – PS2 (2005?) Wrestling: 02) Smackdown vs. Raw - PS2 Massive Hype: 04) Fable - Xbox Worst Game: 01) McFarlene's Prophecy - PS2 Best Software Company: 06) Konami Best Sound: 05) Halo 2 - Xbox Best Graphics: no vote, where is Chronicles of Riddick??? Best Gameplay: no Pro Evo 4, no vote Best Plot: 03) Metal Gear Solid 3 - PS2 Best Villian: 05) Liquid Snake of Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes - GC Best Hero: 02) Samus Aran of Metroid Prime - GC Best PS2 Game 2004: 06) Pro Evolution Soccer 4 Best GC Game 2004: 06) Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Best Xbox Game 2004: no Fable?

The collection box is currently only out without english subtitles, but the individual flicks are available in plenty of different versions at DVDAsian.com I'm waiting for the box set with english subs.

The Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition - ***** The Two Towers Extended Edition - *****

emule doesn't depend on servers anymore either. IMO it's the best client to use if you want to have access to all kinds of movies/shows/games/porn etc. for a long time. Most Torrent trackers only serve their files for a few days and then they're gone. BT is great to get new files really fast, but if you're often searching for stuff that's a bit older or not exactly mainstream eMule is still the better alternative. The best way is to use both, of course.

Hey now, I do that too. *gets banned*

That shouldn't be a problem. The last great series they took over was Burnout, and Burnout 3 is fucking awesome and still developed by the same people. And if you look at screens and movies of Timesplitters 3 you'll see that there's nothing to worry about at this point. Now, if they'd only let Free Radical take over the Bond series....

And some upcoming stuff drom DVDAsian that would kill my bank account for good: Infernal Affairs Trilogy (Region-3 / 8 DVD Box Set) Price tag: $119 Dec. 09, 2004 Content: Disc 1: Infernal Affairs - The Movie Disc 2: Infernal Affairs Trilogy Special Features I: Additional Speical Features: - Unseen Footage (10mins) - Interview (15mins) - Original vs Storyboard - Retouched vs Original - Advertizing Magazine - Other Territories - Poster Gallery II: Avicinar AKA - The Story - Confidental File - MV - Making Of - Trailers - Cast & Credits - Photo Gallery Disc 3: Infernal Affairs II - The Movie Disc 4: Infernal Affairs II - Special Features - The Story - Confidental File - MV - Making Of - Trailers - Cast & Credits - Photo Gallery Disc 5: Infernal Affairs III - The Movie (Director's Cut) Disc 6: Infernal Affairs III - Speical Features - The Story - Making Of - Trailers - MV - Cast & Credits - Photo Gallery Disc 7 & Disc 8: Infernal Affairs Trilogy (Around 300mins 5hrs Version) Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (aka: Taegukgi): Limited Collector's Premium Edition (Region-2 / 5 Disc Set) price tag: $129 December 22, 2004 Special Features: - This Premium BOX edition offers 3 bonus discs with top secret material, an exclusive 2005 desktop calendar, a special photo book plus 2 life-size tapestries made of fabric showing Jang Dong Gun and Won Bin - Making of FIlm - Special Effects - Artisans In The Movie - Behind The Scenes - Casts and Staff Interviews: WIth Director Kang Je Gyu, Jang Dong Gun and Won Bin - TV Spot - Trailer Collection and three upcoming must-buys: Oldboy: Remastered Final Edition $24.95 Dec. 13, 2004 Special Features: Disc 1 1) Commentary by Park Chan-Wook and Jeong Jeong-Hun 2) Commentary by Park Chan-Wook, Choi Min-Sik, Yu Ji-Tae and Kang Hye-Jeong Disc 2 1. Making of Documentary part 2 ① Flashback ② Production 2. All that Background ① Production Design ② Computer Graphics ③ Original Sound Track 3. I want to tell you my story ① Director Park Chan-Wook ② Original Comic Book Garung Tsuchiya ③ Choi Min-Sik ④ Yu Ji-Tae ⑤ Kang Hye-Jeong ⑥ Yun Jin-Seo ⑦ Other Characters 4. Le Grand Prix de Cannes 5. Deleted & Alternate Scenes Haute Tension (aka: Switchblade Romance / X-Tension): Special Edition (2 Disc Set) Dec. 13, 2004 Special Features: - Behind the scenes - Interview - Meeting with Glannet to De Rossi - Make up - Special effects - Photo gallery - Biography Twilight Samurai, The (aka Tasogare Seibei) $21.95 Dec. 28, 2004

Newly available this week: Wild At Heart: Special Edition Features: Making-of Documentary Director David Lynch on the DVD process Original Making-of Featurette "Dell's Lunch Counter" Extended Interviews Image Gallery David Lynch Profile 4 TV Spots Original Theatrical Trailer Fanny And Alexander: Special Edition (5 Disc Box Set) 1: The Television Version 2: The Theatrical Version 3: The Making of Film Special Features: - Ingmar Bergman's feature-length documentary The Making of Fanny and Alexander - Ingmar Bergman Bids farewell to Film, a one-hour conversation between Bergman and Nils Petter Sundgren made for Swedish television in 1984 - Audio commentary on the theatrical version by film scholar Peter Cowie - A Bergman Tapestry, a new documentary featuring exclusive interviews with cast and crew - Rare introductions by Bergman to eleven of his films - A selection of Bergman theatrical trailers costume sketches and video footage of the models for the film's sets - Stills gallery - Plus: a 36-page booklet featuring new essays by documentarian and film historian Stig Bjorkman, novelist Rick Moody, and film scholar Paul Arthur Hellboy: Limited Gift Box + Action Figure (3 Disc Box Set) Special Features: Limited Edition Hellboy Statue, Created Exclusively For This Release By Sideshow Collectibles * Disc One - All-New Commentary by Guillermo del Toro, exclusive to the Director's Cut - Video Introduction by Guillermo del Toro - Composer Commentary with Isolated Score - Branching DVD Comics drawn by Mike Mignola, with all new expanded text from Guillermo del Toro - "Right Hand of Doom" Set Visits and Factoids - Storyboards Track - Now with hundreds of new images! - DVD-ROM Printable Original Screenplay, Script Supervisor's Book, Director's Notebook * Disc Two - Video Introduction by Selma Blair - Hellboy: The Seeds Of Creation (2 1/2 Hours) An in-depth look at the making of the film. Includes the Origin of the Comic, Prosthetic Effects, Visual Effects, Set Designs, Stunts and more! - Deleted Scenes with optional commentary by Guillermo del Toro - Character Bios written by the Director - Motion Board A-Matics - Animatics - Multi-Angle Storyboard Comparisons - Marquette Rotations Gallery - Trailers and TV Spots - Filmographies - Poster Explorations - Weblink to HELLBOY Merchandise * Disc Three - Video Introduction by Ron Perlman - Cast Video Commentary with Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor and Rupert Evans - Production Workshops - Makeup and Lighting Tests - Q&A Archive: Comic-Con 2002 - A Quick Guide to Understanding Comics with Scott McCloud - Director's Notebook - Photo Gallery - Mike Mignola Pre-Production Art - Conceptual Art Galleries - Comic Book Artists Pin-Ups Includes Exclusive Collectible: Excerpt From The Diary of Grigori Rasputin, created by Mike Mignola. And some Asian awesomeness: God Of Gamblers: Collection Set (Region-3 / 4 Disc Box) House of Flying Daggers (aka: Ambush From Ten Directions / Lovers / Shi Mian Mai Fu): (Region-3) Ju-On I: The Curse (Original Ju-On: Made For Video) Appleseed: Limited Collector's Edition (Region-2 / 3 Disc Box Set) New Police Story (aka: Police Story 5): Limited Special Edition (5000 Set): (2 Disc Box Set) Limited Edtion includes: - 50mm Gun - 2005 Mini Calendar - Useful Clip - Memo Pad Special Features: - The Story Behind - Profile - Making of Film - Trailer - Music Video - Cast & Credits - Photo Gallery - Teaser - Weapons Guide Once Upon A Time In China 1, 2, 3: Trilogy: Remastered Edition (3 DVD Box Set / Region-3) Project A Series I & II: Digitally Remastered Edition (2 Disc Box Set)

1. Move of the year- The sweet chin music on Benoit while he had HHH in the sharpshooter (at Wrestlemania, I think). Came out of nowhere and looked fucking nasty. 2. Best Dressed- Batista of course. 3. WWE Homoeroticism Award- Heienreich and Snitsky 4. Promo of the Year- Benoit's 'passion' promo with Maven three weeks ago is the first thing that comes to mind 5. Bump o' the Year- The missed RKO on the thumbtacks probably. Not much to choose from if you don't count botched moves. 6. Best athletic feat of the year: Snitsky's baby punt 7. Best fan participation: Either the infamous wave during JBL/UT or the reaction to Goldberg and Lesnar at WMXX. The 'baby killer' chant was nice as well.

Alright, tell me what you thought of it afterwards. A movie that wasn't totally ignored but didn't fare well at the box office and didn't have the love of the critics was The Chronicles of Riddick. I don't get that, because I think it's great. Loved the character, the universe and the FX. Had quite a Conan vibe going and I loved it.

That one would at least be in the run for best fight scenes of the year, but as a movie it was nothing special. And Downhome, you HAVE to check out Fighter In The Wind. It's available via file sharing. Oh, and prepare for a strange experience with Zebraman

Spartan was a great thriller with good acting, a great script with plenty of believable twists and brilliant dialogue. Notable Asian movies from 2004 that I've seen: Zebraman, Fighter In The Wind and INNOCENCE

***** - Best movie of the year that I've seen. I had very high expectations and they were met. The atmosphere, the soundtrack, the action, the dialogue, the acting...everything was just right. Jamie Foxx was particularly excellent, as usual.

Don't get GE, it's awful. And now for some actually helpful links: Call of Duty at GameRankings Killzone at GameRankings Personally I have only played the Demo Disc of Killzone, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. If you like dark future type scenarios or, even better, like animes such as Akira or Jin-Roh you'll probably love the visual design of the game and can overlook some of its flaws. PS: If you don't own it yet you should also consider Timesplitters 2. It's in my (and the media's) opinion the best FPS for the PS2 by a wide margin.

There's nothing added to the box set, it's just the three EE's in one box. But maybe the three color cases are still there, just hidden inside?

New Police Story - **** Jackie Chan is finally back with a good action movie. The video game stuff was stupid and some set pieces were rehashed from his earlier movies (the bus stunts especially) but the rest was gold. Boiler Room - **** Giovanni Ribisi continues to be brilliant in everything I see him do, and it has Vin Diesel in a suit! Good look behind the doors of (crooked) stock brokers, the scene where they all watch 'Wall Street' together was genius. The Manchurian Candidate (2004) - ***1/2 Not nearly as good as the original, but I didn't expect that. The story was modernized nicely and the acting was fine, but I missed the ironic tone and the surreal stuff from the 1962 version.