NEW BLOG!

So apparently it's been a while since i last blogged, whoops.

To fill you in, i lost 20Kg's since that last post, and then put 6 back on cause i stopped exercising. I entered a film into Tropfest this year and didn't even make it to the shortlist. I started my own website where i review movies and games ( www.sid-hit.com ) and today i'll be recording my very first Podcast (called Thinkcast) for that very website.

So a fair amount has happened in that time, yet nothing has happened, that's the way the world works i suppose.

Dieting and Diet related....stuff

I'm currently on a diet. I started 2 months ago and have lost 13 Kilos so far, yay me! I'll tell you what though, it is getting harder and harder each day, which makes sense i suppose, but UGH! WHY!?

For the first month i was really into it, i was running 20-30 minutes on the treadmill every night after work, once i ran for 45 minutes (i don't know why, someone may have put drugs in my food, this has yet to be confirmed). I was eating just fish or chicken with vegetables for dinner, for lunches i was eating Weight Watchers or Healthy choice meals at work. That first month i lost 8 kilos.

For the second month, i still did most of that, but usually with the fish now i have chips, but baked instead of deep fried, so it is still a healthier choice. I still have those lunches, but every now and then i'll sneak a chocolate or something afterwards cause i'm still FUCKING HUNGRY!. I also havent run on the treadmill for about 3 weeks, but because i'm still eating less than i was, and working all day, my total weight loss for this month is 5 kilos.

We'll see how i go next month, i'll try getting back to the treadmill, i'm aiming for a total weight loss of 28 kilos, so it'll probably be another 2-3 months before i get there.

PRAY FOR ME MY FRIENDS!

Been a while

Yes, it has been a while indeed, but i don't really have much to say.

I've been on holidays for the past month, so i have been lazing around watching movies on my new projector. I played some Wolverine on PS3, great graphics but so "mhe" in the actual playing department. I got Call of Duty World at War as well and finished that, which unlocked the zombies but i dont think it'll make me come back. Guitar Hero Metallica is out tomorrow!, OOOOOH YEEEAH!!!!, so that'll be nice.

Wow, can you hear the boredom in my typing? Seriously, why the HELL did i take 4 WEEKS OFF WORK!?, WHAT DID I HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH IN THAT TIME!?

What does it mean when a person becomes so dependent on work to keep them occupied that when you take a break you actually MISS the work!? WTF!? Never in a billion years did i think i would miss work, thats just such a stupid thing. What does this say about our society as a whole? I don't know, but i don't like it.
I'd understand if it was a job i really loved, but i don't, i just do it cause it's what i'm paid to do, it's a strange and scary feeling.

I actually did accomplish something during my holidays though. I've always wanted to make films, but ive never been able to write anything substantial. So i decided, as a test, to write a short half hour TV Pilot. So i did!, and i did it in 3 days, which is amazing for me. It's not great, it's not high art or anything, but i think for a first attempt, it's pretty decent.

Until next time my peepee's

New post!

You know that funny feeling you get in your stomach when you know that everything is right within your own little world?

Me neither, i wonder what that feels like..

So i have been playing Killzone 2, LOVE it.

I watched The Watchmen, LOVED it.

I watched the Terminator: Salvation Trailer, LOVED it....i wish i didnt though. Seriously, who the FUCK gave "McG" (shittiest stage name ever), the permission to make this movie?, that guy must be retarded. I really hope this lives up to it's trailers, but i know it won't.

I got the second Disney classic on Blu-Ray, Pinocchio, LOVE it. I hadn't seen it in so long. I can remember back when i was young, watching the film on VHS (It was an Old School VHS too, with a huge plastic Clamshell case) watching it with my grandmother and we both loved it, and i used to watch it ALOT, i dont know why i was so fascinated by it, but i was.
Watching it the other day in High-Definition, all those nostalgic feelings came flooding back and i was a kid again for the hour and a half it lasted..although..i AM actually older now and i did think, when Pinocchio arrived at Pleasure Island, "WOW!, THIS is a KIDS movie?".
SERIOUSLY, If this movie had been made today...well..it wouldn't be. Pinocchio smokes AND drinks in this movie, the boy is only days old and they have him smoking and drinking!, IN A KIDS MOVIE!. It IS to show that Pinocchio has a young unshaped mind and there ARE consequences for what he does, but this would not happen in a kids movie these days.

Which leads me to my next point, what the hell is wrong with kids movies these days?. Back in my day (i sound old, i know), we had movies like The Neverending Story, Return to Oz, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, these are all films aimed at kids but at times they can be quite dark and, in the case of Roger Rabbit, very adult. These days what do kids have for movies,that even comes close to those?

Let's see....umm...ahh....Harry Potter, they can be quite dark at times so thats nice.....aahhh.......yep...not much.

Academy Awards 08

IN SHORT

- Wall-E Best Animated Feature win - Excellent!, take that Annie awards!

- Wall-E not winning anything in sound categories - WTF!? Does the Academy not know who Ben Burtt is? This guy worked on Star Wars for fucks sake, and his work in this film was just as great, yet you give Sound Mixing to Slumdog millionaire?, WHAT!?

- Heath Ledger - Another well deserved award, i hate people saying that he only won because he's dead, if you're saying that you're an idiot. If he was still alive he still would have been given the award, every scene with him in that movie was amazing and hypnotising, i completely forgot who was playing him, there was no doubt in my mind HE WAS THE JOKER, amazing.

- Dark Knight wins sound award - I'm glad they won at least one other award for that film, it deserved a best picture nom though.

- Christopher Nolan Best Director? - Why was he not nominated for The Dark Knight? This guy has made so many great films and has not slipped once, and this was the greatest combination of all he's learnt in his career so far and you dont even ACKNOWLEDGE the guy? WHY!?

- Mickey Rourke - Robbed...what else can i say?. Who cares about Sean Penn?, i dont care that he kissed dudes for a movie role, why should i?, i wouldnt give him award for it. Mickey deserved that damn award and i hope he gets one next year for whatever he has up his sleeve at the moment.

That about sums up my feelings aboutthe awards part of the show this year. Hugh was a great host very funny and witty, i loved his opening song and the Baz Lurhmann directed musical number halfway through, it's the kind of stuff they don't do when there is just a comedian hosting.

I liked the smaller format too, the theatre was much smaller and the "stars" were all very clost to the stage and it had a very intimate feeling, like you were a part of the show this year, i liked it a lot.

[Blu-Ray Review]

BURN AFTER READING



Wow. What did i just watch?.

Burn after Reading is the latest offering from the Coen Brothers, who's No Country for Old Men was one of the best films of 2007.

The plot (if you can call it that) centers around two employees of a gym (Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand) who find a CD with the most irrelevant CIA documents and try to blackmail John Malkovich into giving them money to get it back. This is where the plot ends, because this isnt really a film with a relevant plot, its just a maguffin for all these amazing actors to play off each other and to present one of the biggest groups of morons that cinema has ever seen.

Its hard to put this movie into a genre, up until the 2/3 mark of the film i was sure this was a comedy, and i did laugh out loud at many parts of this film (The scene with Brad Pitt and John Malkovich is inspired). The last third of the film however takes a bit of a sharp turn towards a drama/thriller, but your still laughing at some of the situations these people get themselves into. I have to say that after the film was over i kinda hated myself for laughing at some of the stuff in that last half hour, not because it wasn't funny (it was), but because i didn't know if it was supposed to be funny, i was quite torn.

I then remembered that there were moments in No Country for Old Men that made me feel the same, and it also happened with The Big Lebowski. It suddenly hit me that this is what the Coens do, to fuck around with their audience. After realising this, i didnt hate myself as much.

This is a great film, not one of the Coens best, but much better than most of the shit that passes as film these days. Just dont go into the film expecting a plot or a purpose.

***1/2

Street Fighter IV Review

IT'S FINALLY HERE!

I'll start this review by saying that i have not played a Street Fighter game since SFII on Mega Drive. This was back in the days when Street Fighter was still fairly new, and everyone was still learning all the moves and combos. My friends and i would play against each other, and "Just stand still, i wanna try something" was a fairly new phrase.
I must admit that i was also not very good at it.
Now, Street Fighter 4 is here and it is still damn hard, but still DAMN AWESOME!

This game is just as challenging and unforgiving as ever. I started playing it on Easy (as i said, i sucked back in the day), and i STILL got my ass handed to me multiple times against the AI. Easy isn't the easiest difficulty though, there are still two difficulties below easy, so i was still quite pleased that i at least made it to the final battle, after many loses and character changes of course.

It does at least try to help newbs by having a challenge mode, where you can do the trial challenges. These essentially allow you to go in against a dummy opponent and gives you the task of pulling off the different combos and moves for each character. As you go higher in the challenges you get harder combos to pull off. They can get quite ridiculously challenging, but they at least show you all the possible moves for each character.

Then you have the main Arcade mode...it's Street Fighter....do i really need to explain what you do here. You fight and lose a lot, 'nuff said.

I will talk about the Graphics though. HOOOOOLY SHIIIT!, this game looks like a god damn painting. This is definitely Street Fighter in Art Direction, but it's also a Next-Gen game. More than the Art Style though, the animation is very "Street Fighter". The expressions on the Characters faces are amazing. If you back your character up to block moves, you'll see them with a frightened look on their face. If your kickin ass, you'll see they're quite pleased to do so. If you're getting YOU'RE ass kicked, the characters eyes will bulge from their heads in pain. It's truly amazing that they got the exact expressions from the old hand-drawn games into these new Polygonal versions, it's quite an achievement.

If you have no friends to play against this time around, you can now head online and play aainst a real person over the interwebs. I haven't been able to try online yet unfortunately, but i'll let you know how it is, when i do.


This game is Street Fighter, from the look, to the speed of movement, to the combos and special moves, it's all here, only updated to be the most amazing fighting game i've ever had the pleasure of playing. Fighting games aren't as popular a genre as they used to be, but hopefully this re-birth of Street Fighter will inspire other companies to update their franchises (Get rid of the DCU and give us a brand new violent gory Mortal Kombat please Midway). I love the thought that there is gonna be some kids playing this game, just like me and my friends did with SFII, and "Just stand still, i wanna try something" will be re-born.

5 Stars *****

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Here's something to make you feel agony

First post of 2009. Not much to say, i think this new VIDEO BLOG says it all. Have a good one my peeps. (You can blame my friend Dave for the monstrosities contained within this video, the rest is all me)

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Unbanned Update: FEAR 2

Earlier this year Fear 2 was banned in Australia, it has now been unbanned without any changes.....wait?....WITHOUT changes?..hmmm, strange.

In other news, GTAIV PC version is out here now as well. It made it in unscathed even though they left in the content that was cut from the console versions.....wait......It's completely uncut?....WHAT THE FUDGE!!??

So, obviously im confused.

I am so sick and tired of this country's double standard rating system. Why is it that one game can come into the country and recieve an MA rating because it has limb removal and head decapitation and never have any trouble getting said rating (Dead Space), yet another game with the exact same depictions of violence has to struggle just to get that same rating? (FEAR 2). Someone in the ratings board needs to take a cold hard look at this system in the mirror (apparently this helps somehow), and give it an update, cause its just ridiculous.

STILL BANNED-UPDATE: Silent Hill Homecoming

SHOULD BE BANNED BUT GETS THROUGH THE RATINGS SYSTEM WITH NO PROBLEMS-UPDATE: Anything Barbie related

COD4 Part Deux

So its been announced that Call of Duty 6 will actually be called Call of Duty 4 Part 2: Modern Warfare 2. I'm all for a return to Modern Day for these games, WW2 Shooters pretty much ended with the first Call of Duty. This name is pretty rediculous though, whats wrong with COD6? Would people not understand that title?.

How Embarrassing

Yes its here people, the moment you've all been dreading with anticipation. My very first video blog. (note: this is 2 weeks old)

Ok...

I was going to update my blog this week with my first video blog, it's been made and edited and it's all ready to go...but...My up and download speeds have been capped for the month again, so i will have to wait till the beginning of next month to get it up here, so until then......um......cya....

Where are my manners?

No seriously, cause i forgot to do my weekly blog yesterday. Probably cause i dont have much to say besides "LITTLE BIG PLANET IS FUCKIN AWESOME!". If you don't have a PS3, shame on you, if you do then you owe it to yourself to own this game. I've always thought it would be great to have a game where you could make your own levels, and here it is, even better than i could have imagined. From the art style to the physics to the collecting, its just amazingly in depth and not at all shallow, it will last you a long time because there is no ending, it's simply astonishing the amount of freedom it gives your creative mind.
I've had the game for 5 days now and i'm STILL working on my first level, i don't know if its because i'm really specific about everything or if its just too much fun playing around with all the tools and ideas, it can't be anything else because its all very easy to use and manoeuvre....have i said this game is AMAZING!?
So it's a 6 out of 5 from me, there are some issues with actually controlling the cute little main character (known as Sackboy for his resemblance to a hackey sack) in the levels because of the depth of view and the 3 different planes you control him on, but this is in no way a deal breaker.
If you have a PS3 and are a creative person you should really give this game a go, dont be put off by the pink girly cover (thats just to entice the pink loving girls, and thats not meant as a double entendre). BUY IT NOW!

Next Week: Guitar Hero World Tour, will i have the ability to pry myself away for another blog?

Censorship

Ok, so i made this blog because im interested in all kinds of entertainment like Film and Videogames and Porn (Porn is something i'll generally not talk about on this blog, i just thought i'd fill you in, since we're sharing).
A lot of my free time is taken up by playing games, i love games, i love the fact that you can do anything you want: Steal cars, be a Guitar Hero, and shoot dudes. The shooting dudes part is great fun, you can escape to another place and blow shit up and shoot dudes in the face and no one gets hurt. Which leads me to my point (yes i do have one).
I live in Australia, which apparently is a "free" country, yet the Government is stopping us from getting games the way they are sold in other countries. We do not have an R rating for games like we do for films, which means that any game deemed too strong for the next rating down, an MA 15+, is immediately banned and therefore the publisher is required to tone down the game for our poor little country or never have it released here.
Now the government wants to start censoring the internet (good luck with that one fellas), and universities are wanting to censor laptops. This is the most insane, stupid, ridiculous, irritating, annoying, fucked up thing that has happened to this country.
Of all the countries to be most prudish who would have thought it would be the one that was started by thieves and rapists, does this make sense to anyone?.
The people of the world have the right to free speech and free choice, we are all human beings who should all live as equals, who is the government to tell people what they can and can't, say, watch or play when they themselves are able to do whatever the hell THEY want?.
This isn't right and we as people need to make this issue known and we need to be heard, we are all free people and we should be able to make our own choices. You and I need to do this and soon before its too late and they censor everything on the planet. I don't know about you but i don't wanna wake up one morning and find that Spongebob Squarepants has to now be coloured white so that the asians don't get offended: A white sponge? IT'S MADNESS!.

The Original, The Best (possibly)

"Why am i here?", thats what your asking yourself. I know this because i like to tell people what to think, it's a curse really, but with great idiots (you) come even greater assholes (me).
I'm not sure if any of that intro made sense at all, but if it did then WOOH! for me, i CAN write! (except for the overuse of commas and exclamation points and the apparent misspelling of the term "Whoo!").
"Where are you going with this?" im telling you to ask me now, well the answer is....no-where really. I just thought i'd give my first blog a whirl and see if anyone even bothers to look.
"So the point now?" i KNOW your asking this one, i dont even have to tell you to say that, our relationship is so strong now that we understand how we work together so well. THE POINT! my new found friend, is coming....