Wall•E

Pixar's latest accomplishment (I believe that's what they call them now, rather than 'films') stars a robot who at least 96% of women instantly want to cuddle. Children love him. Hell, even I wanna cuddle him. It's something in those mechanical, lifeless eyes...just takes me away...

Life must be pretty great for that lovable little robot who organizes the trash we dropped on our way out, right? Nah. Lonely fella. Course, he's got his little cockroach buddy to keep him company, but Wall•E is a film buff. Cockroaches aren't into that stuff.

So one day, an enormous space ship lands on top of Wall•E, and out pops EVE. Then, a lot of stuff happens. (Nobody likes spoilers.)

Pixar has once again nailed it, providing top-notch animation, fantastically lovable characters, a fascinating story, a great message, and a quirkiness that only they can do right.

One of the most interesting things about Wall•E is the way Pixar made it look filmed. Employing unique 'camera' angles and zooms makes the movie feel less animated, giving it more depth. Often times the way it is 'filmed' greatly adds to the humor or the emotion of the shot.

The attention to detail Pixar displays never ceases to amaze me, and never more so than in Wall•E. The way that they can make things look more realistic than in real life is enough of a reason to see this movie. Half of the movie is completely brown and barren, while the other half of the movie is bright and colorful, and Pixar manages to make them both look beautiful. This movie also marks the first time Pixar has used footage of real people.

The technology in Wall•E is a breath of fresh air, and fun to watch too. Developed by the same man who designed the iPod, EVE is an example of where tech should be headed. Most of the robots display an Apple-esque simplicity, and Wall•E himself comes factory-equipped with a few Mac sound-bytes that put a smile on my face. I also loved Buy N Large's SEGA Genesis-inspired jingle. 

Although the movie was inspiring, funny, beautiful, and intelligent, I have to admit that I felt a little bit less for this movie than I have for previous Pixar accomplishments. And I can't quite put my finger on the reason for this. Although Wall•E is certainly their most expansive story yet, somehow it just didn't seem as full as "Toy Story," or "Finding Nemo."

While the movie may seem dark, Wall•E is a story of hope above all else. Hope that maybe we won't turn out like that. Hope that we can still redeem ourselves if we do. Wall•E tells us that ultimately, history does indeed repeat itself. But it also suggests that maybe that's not such a bad thing.

6/7

LG enV 2 for Verizon

The LG enV for Verizon was pretty large. Thankfully, LG slimmed it up and released it as the enV 2. Much more aesthetically pleasing than its older brother, the enV 2 basically took everything the original had, and packed it into a smaller, slimmer case.

When closed, the phone displays the normal numeric buttons, OK, up and down, send, end, and clear, as well as a music button. The outer screen is not the best quality, but it works. The enV 2 allows one to read texts, as well as reply, all without even opening the phone. This is a feature that I find very useful. Holding the phone, I can't bring myself to say that it feels good in my hand. It's a bit blocky, but it is thin.

A sideways clamshell phone, the enV 2 opens on the right side to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard, two speakers, and a larger screen. For reasons unknown, I find myself wishing that the phone would open on the left side, even though, or perhaps because, I'm right handed. The buttons on the QWERTY keypad are somewhat small, but I've yet to find a phone with large QWERTY buttons anyway. The 320x240 pixel QVGA screen is a decent size and looks moderately sharp. 

The speakers are loud. That's not to say that they're good, however. At any volume, the speakers produce too much treble. At the loudest volume, music becomes a crackly, tinny mess, unless the song is particularly empty. But if you're listening to a song where something is actually going on, the speakers are not up to par. The only thing these speakers actually excel at is speakerphone, which is abnormally and awesomely loud.

The camera is a standard 2.0 megapixel camera, taking decent quality pictures and video. There's a useful option in the video menu to record 30 second videos to send to people, instead of trial and error testing how long a video can be to be able to be sent. Nothing particularly new here.

As far as features go, this phone comes with VZ Navigator. However, it has to be purchased. They were still nice enough to give you the icon in your menu, though. The enV 2 also comes with Mobile IM, which also costs money. Another nifty menu icon, though! I've heard that call quality on this phone is especially good, but seriously, the phone doesn't sound any different than any other phone I've used. Yeah, it's louder than most, but that doesn't make it more decipherable. The built-in display themes are essentially all the same, with minor texture/color changes for each one.

If it came down to it, I think I could live with this phone. That's not exactly a compliment, but I've gotta admit, there is a certain sexiness in a closed black enV 2 with the backlight keyboard. The QWERTY keypad does nothing for me. The speakers are lacking not in volume, but quality. Overall, I don't think this phone offers anything unique to the market except its form-factor.

4/7

Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace by The Offspring

Screeeeeeeeech...I turn my head in a futile attempt to see past the walls of my room, thinking I had just heard someone lock up their brakes. After a few moments I calm down, realizing that I had just put on the new Offspring album, Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace. So Dexter's voice sounds a bit like a car crash. That doesn't necessarily make the music bad. And it's never been more true than on their latest album, because it seems The Offspring took their time and made something varied, exciting, and catchy, instead of putting out a few good songs with filler all around 'em for once. 

It's clear after listening to this record that The Offspring has grown up a bit. Better late than never, right? The Offspring has always been one of those bands that make fun, catchy songs that are mostly devoid of meaning or depth. That's why it was surprising and refreshing to hear some of the songs on this new album. They actually feel new; they feel like they've had time put into them; they sound different! Channeling greats like Bad Religion, The Living End, Green Day, and Suicidal Tendencies, this album runs amok with your ears. The Offspring's signature sound is present throughout the album with bigger, crashing drums (perhaps thanks to Atom Willard splitting for Angels and Airwaves...good riddance.), slower songs (even a bit 'o piano), and vocal melodies that have actually had time spent on them. Apparently "Hammerhead" is the first single, though the song I heard on the radio a few days ago was "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid," which is as good an Offspring song as any. All in all, this album feels abnormally inspired for a band that seems to usually record and release an album in a few weeks. It almost surprises me to say that the majority of the songs on this album sound noticeably different, and are each catchy and good in their own right. The songs seem to have more meaning than previous efforts, and it's reflected in their quality. There are, at most, 2 or 3 throwaway songs. Enjoyable album.

5/7

Get Smart

A (slightly) smarter-man's Austin Powers, Get Smart finds Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, and Dywane Johnson (who has, by this point, successfully shed the moniker "The Rock" (though what good that will do only time will tell)), all agents of an assumedly-defunct government spy agency, CONTROL, thwarting the plans of an evil terrorist organization called KAOS, who are hellbent on having some nuclear fun-time.

Carell portrays a smarter, more competent version of Smart than Don Adams. Carell may have molded the character a little bit more to his tastes, but he's still noticeably cut from the same thread as the old Maxwell Smart. The humor in this movie often relies on Carell-isms, his yell, funny noises, and goofy awkwardness on full display. And about half the time, it almost works. Even so, toward the last half-hour of the movie, the charm begins to fade, and it starts to feel a bit too long.

Anne Hathaway surprised me by being much better in her role as Agent 99 than I expected. She did a respectable job acting older than she seemed to be, and she showed a good amount of restraint in her character, not over-acting, but excelling in her minor emotions and expressions, acting...I don't know, realistically?

The plot isn't excessively original or engaging, culminating in the attempted assassination of the president (who is coincidentally dim and easily-amused), which has been used many times before, and will be again. This movie also uses many of the same gags that previous spy movies have employed, like pee jokes (almost identical to the one in Austin Powers) and shoe phones.

This movie has some funny parts, some good jokes, some decent action sequences. Overall, it's one more brick in the wall of Spy-Comedy movies, and I can't really say that it sticks out further than the others. I can say that I cracked a few smiles, maybe chuckled, and at some points I was amused. Fans of spy movies will most likely be entertained. I think in this case, that might be good enough.

4/7

"Odd Hours" by Dean Koontz

The Odd Thomas series is one that holds much value to me for reasons I won't bore anybody with. Needless to say, I was quite surprised to see the newest addition, Odd Hours, sitting idly on a lonely shelf in Wal-Mart. After his religious outing, Odd Thomas set off to let the world carry him somewhere new, and it's in this book that he finds out where, and more importantly, why he was going.

After all these years, it's still evident that Mr. Koontz loves to write, he still has fun with it, which is refreshing. A true master of words, he describes things so well sometimes that it's hard to picture the scenario without the accompaniment of his words. This book contains some material that is under par for Koontz, there are a few cheesy parts, but it seems he did that on purpose, and it can be attributed to the fact that the book is "written" from Odd's point of view.

Though the book is approximately the same length as the others in the series, Odd Hours felt like it read much more quickly than the others. Maybe it's the fact that the action in this book starts and doesn't let up much until the end. Or, perhaps this is because the book is ostensibly more of a segue for the next adventure of Odd, rather than a full Odd Thomas experience. It's not quite a let down, but I feel like Koontz couldn't make up his mind between cataclysm or pit-stop. 

Odd Hours was very dreamscape-esque to me, probably because most of the novel takes place at night, and there is a considerable amount of effort put into describing the fog, and how it interacts with things, in different ways. Koontz did a much better job connecting Odd and his life to our daily world in this book than in the past efforts, which seemed to take place in a different life. By including allusions to a few contemporary people and events and working them into the story successfully, Koontz makes the events in Odd Hours seem even more dire and directly threatening.

If you want to read this book because you've read the others in the series, by all means do. If you want to read this book because it sounds interesting, start back at the beginning with Odd Thomas. I'm not saying this can't be read as a stand-alone book, but it certainly won't be appreciated for what it's worth. On second thought, just go read Odd Thomas. You'll end up at this book anyway. I can only hope that the next book in the series delivers the pent-up apocalypse that this book entices us with.

4/7

Cold-Eeze

The common cold is a lovely thing, isn't it? Feeling groggy, congested, sore throat maybe. Fantastic! I woke up with a piercing sore throat today, as I have many times in the past. Could've been that I slept with my mouth open, perhaps, except that I felt the beginnings of it last night. Could've been that I haven't been taking care of myself, except that I've been taking one-a-day vitamins and running a mile a day, which is no marathon, but it's more than I've been known to do. So basically I'm stuck with a reddened, raw throat.

My Mom introduced me to Cold-Eeze some years ago, being sort of a health freak herself. She guaranteed me that I'd feel better after one of two of 'em. If you've never had a Cold-Eeze, let me try to explain them. They're lozenges, they're supposed to melt in your mouth. Under your tongue, or pressed against your cheek, like a squirrel's nuts. The active ingredient in Cold-Eeze is Zinc gluconate. Once upon a time before they made lozenges, Cold-Eeze made a nasal spray that apparently lessened the sense of smell in some of the people that used it, caused by Zinc gluconate, spawning a class-action lawsuit. However, I don't think the same applies to the lozenges, or at least I've never noticed the difference. Cold-Eeze has a few flavors: tropical fruit, strawberries and cream, and oranges and cream. I've only had tropical fruit, but let me tell you, it's not something enjoyable to hold in your mouth. As bad as it tastes, though, I actually find that they do work, at least to an extent. As I typed this, I had a Cold-Eeze in my pie-hole, and I can safely say that my throat hurts significantly less. Whether that's permanent or temporary, time will tell. All I know is that they've got a great track record in my past. I do believe that Cold-Eeze will shorten the time that you're sick, while tasting terrible in the process.

5/7

Nintendo Wii

The Nintendo Wii, being the smallest, cheapest, sleekest console, seems like the perfect choice when considering one's options. Some people think that the Wii is only for casual game(r)s, but trust me friends, it is not. With intense titles like Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime: Corruption, and The Godfather: Blackhand Edition, the Wii doles out challenges left and right. It's also versatile and innovative, offering titles like Wii Fit, Mario Kart Wii, and Wii Sports, breaking the mold of the usual first-person shooter, RPG, or Adventure game. 

Speaking of Wii Sports, you'll find it can be successfully implemented in a variety of situations! (Ed. note: should be read in Bob Odenkirk's voice)

- Cheer up a depressed friend!

- Get your (grand)parents in on the fun!

- It'll be a hit at a party with lots of people!

- Any type of intoxication makes Wii Sports even more fun!

Aside from hard-copy releases, the Wii offers gamers both a "Virtual Console," as well as the brand-new "Wii-Ware" catalogue. The Virtual Console contains old releases from basically all of the old consoles, ranging from the original NES, to Sega Genesis, Neo Geo, and Nintendo 64, all at very reasonable prices, usually ranging from $5-10. Wii-Ware is a sort of X-Box Live Arcade type excursion, more focused on creating full, new games.

The Nintendo Wii's interface is simplistic and easy on the eyes. One chooses their destination by choosing one of the many "Channels" available on the Wii, such as the Mii channel, the Photo Channel, the Forecast channel, or the News channel.

A Mii is a character that you create to represent yourself (or others) in multiple Nintendo games. There's a variety of options to choose from, allowing one to fully customize the face, as well as shirt color. The customizable face options are specific yet varied enough to create almost anyone, as evidenced in the many online collections of famous people Miis. The Wii's Mii system perfectly suits the vibe of the console, and performs more than adequately, and often, hilariously, in third person scenarios throughout various games. Sometimes more fun than an actual game, messing around with Miis provides hours of entertainment, no matter your age.

As Microsoft and Sony scramble to pick up the pieces and develop Wiimote-like accessories as well as knockoff Mii creators, Nintendo is one step ahead of them, already producing previously unseen game accessories such as the Wii Fit balance board, which is compatible with a number of games that will soon be released. This product that is able to satisfy (if given the chance) all demographics of gamer, pushes the boundaries of video gaming with the motion-control system and accelerometers contained in the Wiimote, and is cheaper than both other next-gen consoles deserves nothing less than a 7 out of 7 in my opinion.