Where's my Patlabor?

I was debating whether to call this entry "it won't sell," because that's the sad truth of limited editions like this.

Today marks the release date of the sequel on DVD simply titled "Patlabor 2." Which for the hardcore among you will recall that this was actually a retooling of a story presented back in the day when Patlabor existed only as a 7-part OVA series. But it doesn't change the fact that it's a highly cerebral film - I love it.

Unfortunately if what happened to the first film is any indication, I don't know if I'll be able to find this movie anywhere short of mail-ordering it on-line. See, the first one is still listed at Best Buy at its regular price of some $80 or so. But if you walk into their brick'n'mortar counterpart, you just might be lucky enough to find it marked down to just under $50 (yes yes, I'm peeved).

It's a funny thing, this industry. Fans like myself have been clamoring for the special treatment for import movies for an eternity. And a few indy companies have done just that - but you have to ask at what price? Bandai did right by me when they released the "Ghost in the Shell Official Log" (of which I'm still waiting to see if the second volume actually comes out or not). And considering the relative cult-status of movies like Patlabor, one must wonder if there's any profit to be made on these suckers (especially when some mainstream retailer is selling them off now in stores for nearly half what the MSRP was).

Reaction: Superman Returns

So I finally went to see the newest Superman film last night (went with babou - plans with Starfish had fallen through). Instead of reviewing the actual film and discussing the multitude of trivia (yes, yes, Brando is apparently back from the dead, Jimmy is now a bartender, and the original Lois signs over her worldly possessions to a bad man, etc)... you can read all that over at Wikipedia. No, I'd rather talk about how I felt: and it was a great feeling.

I think it's because Singer couldn't seem to decide if he wanted this to be a sequel or a remake - the plot is surprisingly familiar. But oh how visceral it becomes! In fact, it's been a while since I've watched a fantasy-based film and not had to say, "err, that CG was horribly out of place." Yes, I did like the "bullet-time" FX seen in the promo trailer. In fact, the only time I found anything a little "off-centre" was during a hand-to-hand when some wire-fu was involved (some people - I won't say who - get thrown awfully far).

Anyway, I never realized how emotionally attached I am to the Man of Steel. The main title nearly brought a tear to my eye. And I think of all the thumbs pointing up and down on this film, this is all that really matters: context. It's a fun movie.

And speaking of fun...

Comics: Supergirl #7

Why do I keep self-inflicting this crap onto myself? I guess in the end, I sort of like the idea of a Supergirl - a wannabe version of Superman but just can't be. But the latest Supergirl issue is enough to drive me bananas...

First of all, despite complaints against Ian Churchill's grasp of the female body, I don't mind so much - this is the comics world after all and there's always room for stylizing the human shape a little. But never mind the weak confusing script that's been dragged on over two issues so far (I won't go into detail, but suffice it to say, of all the "One Year Later" leaps, this title does it the worst with absolutely no connection between anything that happened in issue 5 before the "Crisis" story-lines kicked in)... Seems Supergirl and Powergirl are both trapped in the Kandor "bottled city" and are moonlighting as new versions of Kandor's heroes "Nightwing" and "Flamebird.").

On the bright side, as a setting for the requisite moral-dilemma scene, the script has called for a shower-scene...

..I have no problems with Supergirl and Powergirl taking a shower. However, I do have a problem with Churchill's idea of what constitutes good sequential art several pages later...

After triggering an ambush, against the Superman imposter (who's identity is STILL not revealed many months into publication of this arc) ...just look in the last two panels and tell me something is not weird - I dare you. That looks like Flamebird all beat up ...and in the very panel right next to that? Yes, that's Flamebird and Nightwing zooming into action... I had to read this 3 or 4 times before I figured out what was going on!! Seems that's one of the resistance fighters wearing Flame-bird styled armour, and "Kal" goes and removes her helmet in the bottom right panel (distracted from the real heroines behind him).
However NOWHERE prior to this did we ever see anybody else dressed as such - it's absolutely jarring (not to mention confusing) that there's more than person dressed as Flamebird on the page without any explanation. ARGH!

eBay: lost another one

Just thought I'd follow-up from my previous post - but the AthlonXP CPU I was bidding on went for sale nearly 30 Brit pounds more than my final bid (which was an additional 10GBP to what I original set 2 days ago).

I regret not pushing my bid a little more since this was a new boxed part - unlike most of these suckers that turn up on auction sites. Quite frankly, AMD doesn't make these any more so they're all vintage.

On the other hand, the final bid was about 80GPB - which works out to just over $160CAD... that is, it wasn't such a great deal (I've seen plenty of other chips go for as much).

My want-list is making fun of me

Those of you who've read my blog long enough know I keep a running tally of things on my want-list - you know, for hobbies and stuff to buy "just because."

Well, there's about 2 days left on an auction for an Athlon XP processor that I want and I'm winning with my max bid... and if you know anything, in 2 days the winning bid will probably sky-rocket meaning there's plenty of time for me to lose it.

On the other hand, Toy-wave reports that for some strange reason, they have an MP-1 Convoy available for a ridiculous $80USD... this is such a tease. Then again, I'll gladly wait for the repackaged MP-4 version with the trailer. Either way, for once I'm thinking I should not be prioritize this sort of thing on my want list at all.

So the processor it is... maybe I'll boost my bid considering it doesn't appear to be used goods. I will seriously consider upping it for a fresh CPU that's no longer in production.