02/6/08

NDS: Advance Wars: Days of Ruin Game Review

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin Box Cover I got my hands on Advance Wars: Days of Ruin a week ago and the game has taken up most of my free time. Days of Ruin is the fourth installment in the Advance Wars series, the second on the Nintendo DS. I played the first one, Advance Wars: Dual Strike, and didn’t find the gameplay interesting. I had trouble keeping up with the strengths and weaknesses of the units. The storyline for Dual Strike also had that rah-rah feel, making the game sugary sweet. Days of Ruin has more of a serious theme to its plot which I find more to my liking.
Continue reading

02/5/08

Movie Review: American Gangster

american_gangster_movie_cover.jpgAmerican Gangster is a great movie. The story is excellent and very well paced. I usually complain about long movies, but not this one. Coming in at a whooping 157 minutes, its over two and a half hours long, but the movie puts every bit of that to good use.

American Gangster is a movie based on the life of Frank Lucas, a drug lord in Harlem, New York during the 1960s and 1970s. Frank, played by Denzel Washington, worked as a driver for Bumpy Johnson, a drug dealer in New York. After Bumpy dies, Frank takes over. Slowly but surely, Frank Lucas owns Harlem. Continue reading

02/4/08

Election Ruminations and Predictions

We are on the eve of Election Day. After much deliberation and consultation with the Oracle (a magic 8-ball), I am set on how I will vote tomorrow in the polls. The only decision left is on when I will vote–early in the morning or immediately after work.

Primary Election

Democratic Party
Obama’s message of change really resonates with what I am currently looking for in a candidate at this time. Edwards resigned and Clinton seems to flip-flop on a lot on issues.
Vote: Obama
Prediction: Clinton

Republican Party
McCain is running away with this one.
Vote: Republican Party does not let unaffiliated voters vote
Prediction: McCain
Continue reading

02/2/08

Choosing a Political Party

There use to be two political parties to choose from, the Democrats or the Republicans. Everyone knew where the two stood on issues and those who followed each party fell into two distinct categories. Democrats were the working class, the poor and the minorites. Republicans were the business owners, the rich, and the retirees. Now, the Democrats and Republicans have flip-flopped on issues so much, their differences have been blurred. With the Bush vs Gore elections and Gore’s subsequent loss due to the Independant Nader, other parties besides the big two have become relevant in the political scene.
Continue reading

02/2/08

Movie Review: The Golden Compass

golden_compass_movie.jpgThe Coca Cola bear has a movie! The Golden Compass is the first of a trilogy based on the books by Philip Pullman. Boring. This movie is too long at almost two hours. The story is slow to develop and slow to action. I take that back; there is no action. The battle near the end of the movie is uninspiring. Part of that is undoubtedly the trilogy factor coming into play. They have to stretch the story enough to fill up three films. So far, the first film is boring. If the second film doesn’t pick it up, no one will care about the third. Continue reading