Video games, accessories, gaming systems, DVDs, books, and waterless carwash products.
 
 

Archive for December, 2008

12/30/2008  2:58:45 PM

“Traitor” - DVD Movie of the Week

TraitorDon Cheadle and Guy Pearce star in Traitor, an international thriller movie set against a puzzle of covert counter-espionage operations.  When straight-arrow FBI agent Roy Clayton (Pearce) investigates a dangerous international conspiracy responsible for a prison break in Yemen, a bombing in Nice and a raid in London, all clues seem to lead back to former U.S. Special Operations officer, Samir Horn (Cheadle). 

But as more contradictory evidence emerges, it forces Clayton to question whether his suspect is a disaffected former military operative—or something far more complicated.  Obsessed with discovering the truth, Clayton tracks Horn across the globe as the elusive ex-soldier gets involved more deeper and deeper with the terrorists.

This is a must-see rated R DVD movie.  It is very intriguing and suspenseful and very realistic as to the depth of how far terrorists would go to carry out a mission.  It also shows the realization of how some government agencies do not work together for a common cause.  I would give it four stars.    

12/28/2008  3:55:10 PM

Suze Orman: Women and Money

Women & MoneySuze Orman was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1951.  She is a financial advisor, writer, and television personality.  She graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work.  

Orman worked at Merrill Lynch and then left to take a position as vice president of investments at Prudential Bache Securities.  In 1987, Orman resigned and opened her own financial planning firm, the Suze Orman Financial Group in Emeryville, CA.  She acted as director of the firm until 1997, when she stepped down as her writing career took off with the publication of her second book

Orman hosts a weekend financial planning show on CNBC called The Suze Orman Show.  She hosts another TV program on QVC called Suze Orman’s Financial Freedom.  Orman recently celebrated her 5th year on The Suze Orman Show and her 11th anniversary on QVC.  She ends each episode of The Suze Orman Show with the phrase “People first, then money, then things”.

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12/22/2008  8:43:52 PM

You Don’t Mess With the Zohan

You Don’t Mess With the ZohanYou Don’t Mess With the Zohan stars Adam Sandler as The Zohan, the finest counter terrorist agent the Israeli army had.  He wants to give up his life as a Specical Agent to become a hair stylist.  While in the process of apprehending a Palenstinian activist known as “Phantom”, he fakes his death.  He hides in a dog-kennel on a plane bound for New York and tries to become a hair stylist in Manhattan. 

Not being able to find work, he offers to work for free for Dahlia as a cleaner at a hair salon.  When one of her employee leaves, Dahlia lets Zohan replace her.  Zohan wins over elderly female clientèle, and falls in love with Dahlia herself.  All was going fine until his cover is blown when he is recognized by a Palestinian cab driver (Rob Schneider) whom Zohan had taken his goat years ago and now Rob seeks revenge. 

In the meantime, Dahlia’s landlord, Walbridge, who has been raising rents regularly, hires skinhead goons to terrorize the neighborhood, create misunderstandings between Jews, Muslim, Arabs, and Palestinians, and drive them out, so as to enable him to construct a new building which is topped by a roller coaster. 

This DVD movie was indeed extremely funny and needed to be rated PG-13.  Other actors include Robert Smigel, Judd Apatow and Dennis Dugan.  It started with a good plot.  The movie could have done well without all of the sexual content in the movie – he not only cut hair but had sex with his customers for extra money.  I think it would have been just as funny without all of the sexual innuendos. 

12/18/2008  3:58:21 PM

Xbox 360 top games

Xbox 360 top games

My best friend Jude has such a racket. He brought his Xbox 360 to the dorm and lets other students play on it – for a fee. Sometimes it can be a free dinner or a movie, but he usually charges by the hour. 

Now he has a new “friend” every week. He gets free lunches and movies. He is even popular with the girls. His weekends are booked with dates. He gets invitations to almost every fraternity and sorority party on campus. He is so popular now that he has really turned from a geek to hot dude. His only investment: the latest Xbox 360 top games. Now that’s one way of developing the entrepreneurial spirit, don’t you think?

12/18/2008  3:54:09 PM

PC games

PC games

I used to yell at my son because of all the time that he spends playing PC games online. He doesn’t neglect his homework or his chores, but every spare minute is devoted to his gaming habit. 

Then I saw this documentary on TV where they hold competitions for PC gamers. This is somewhere in Asia, and I saw that the champions have the status of semi gods or rock stars in their region. I casually mentioned this to my son one day, and he was impressed that I had even heard of the guys. He let me play one round on his PC and I was hooked! Now we play against each other in strategic battles using our PC and laptops.   

12/17/2008  6:32:54 PM

“Outliers: The Story of Success”

Outliers: The Story of SuccessMalcolm Gladwell is a British-born Canadian author born September 3, 1963.  He grew up in Elmira, Ontario.   When Gladwell was in high school, he wanted to join the swimming team but his father refused to drive him to school each morning which was 20 miles away so he ran.  Gladwell became an outstanding middle distance runner and won the 1500m Midget Boys title at the 1978 Ontario.  In 1984, he graduated with a degree in history from the University of Toronto’s Trinity College.  

He began his career at The American Spectator, then worked for The Washington Post, and now works as a staff writer for The New Yorker.

Gladwell has written the book The Tipping Point which showed how ideas and products catch fire.  He also wrote Blink which explained why gut decisions are often better than well thought-out responses. 

In Outliers, Gladwell probes what separates the highly successful from everyone else.  According to Gladwell, he states that his book is “about people whose achievement exceeds every expectations.”  Also, ”talent, timing and opportunity, and good old-fashioned hard work and disciplined is what matters.”  Gladwell does not believe in overnight success. 

His five steps to success are 1. Find meaning and inspiration in your work.  2.  Work hard.  3.  Discover the relationship between effort and reward.  4.  Seek out complex work to avoid boredom and repetition.  5.  Be autonomous and control your own destiny as much as possible.

12/15/2008  2:44:34 PM

House of the Dead: Overkill

House of the Dead: OverkillThe video game House of the Dead: Overkill for Wii produced by Sega is said to be released on February 17, 2009.  It is said to be adrenaline-fueled, fast, gory action.  According to the producer at developer Headstrong Games, “The game is heavily inspired by the B movies of American cinema.  This styling is conveyed in everything from our art style, presentation, gore, and violence.  The prevailing style of Overkill is based upon the ‘grindhouse’ movies of the 60’s and 70’s.” 

The game has remained distinctly the same as House of the Dead 2 and 3.  According to the producer, you will have different weapons with different reload times.  Before, you press the B Button to fire, and waggle the remote to reload.  Now, you will be able to push the reticle to the edge of the screen and move the camera around.  Also, now you can go into a level with four weapons and dual-wield them.  If a living dead grabs you, you can pistol whip the zombie and see their head explode.

Part of the plot of the story is with Agent G on his first assignment after leaving his AMS training.  He teams up with Detective Washington.  Washington is a maverick cop whose ability and competence are offset by his refusal to play by the rules.  They take on Papa Caesar who has acquired a mysterious chemical compound that makes individuals both significantly stronger and particularly open to suggestion.  Unfortunately, beyond a certain dose irreversible mutation occurs.  Caesar and his biochemist Jasper intends to refine the chemical and master its properties.  Game is said to be full of action!

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12/10/2008  6:59:45 PM

Tropic Thunder - DVD Movie of the Week

Tropic ThunderMy passion is to watch DVD movies and rate them accordingly.  So each week I will watch a movie and give my opinion on the movie.  Yesterday I watched Tropic Thunder

It had great actors: Ben Stiller as Tugg Speedman; Brandon T. Jackson as Alpa Chino; Jack Black as Jeff “Fatty” Portnoy; Robert Downey Jr., as Kirk Lazarus; Tobey Maguire as himself; Nicke Nolte as John “Four Leaf” Tayback; Matthew McConaughey as Rick “Pecker” Peck; and Tom Cruise as Les Grossman, studio head. 

The movie is supposed to be a comedy.  It is about Nicke Nolte who writes a book titled “Tropic Thunder” about his life experiences in Vietnam.  So they are making a movie based on the book.  Stiller, Jackson, Black, and Downey, are the actors in the movie.  Stiller plays Nolte’s character.  Downey, whose character is a black man, refuses to go out of character when he is not in character.  Portnoy is hooked on drugs.  Chino inadvertently admits he’s gay.   The movie is costing them too much money and they are behind schedule.  Cruise is ripping into the director.  So the director decides to drop them in the middle of the jungle, not realizing that they are in the middle of the Golden Triangle -  real enemy fire. 

While the movie may be funny, someone who actually fought in Vietnam may find it offensive.  In the movie, Nolte who  actually gets captured by the bad guys admits to his colleague that he never fought in Vietnam and that his artificial limbs were just a disguised as he had his two hands.  They showed men with limbs torn and their guts hanging out, yet still alive.  Other men were shot at least 10 times before they dropped.  So although it may have been a funny movie, I do not think it is a dvd movie for all to see.