areaseven

Actually, I found out that Europa Films - the company that released Ong-Bak in France - is run by Luc Besson. A company called Magnolia Pictures is supposedly releasing the French edited version in English this November. Meanwhile, the cast of Ong-Bak just finished promoting the film in Japan, where it's titled Mach!!!!!!!! (Yeah, that title doesn't make sense at all.). Here's a link where you can download a video featuring Tony Jaa demonstrating his agility: http://www.cinematopics.com/cinema/c_repor....php?number=933 And it looks like a sequel to Ong-Bak is in the works: http://www.themovieblog.com/archives/2004/...this_month.html

Never trust Ebert & Roeper, as they've given two thumbs up to certain films that don't deserve it: - The Alamo - Collateral Damage - Daredevil - Hollywood Homicide - Maid in Manhattan - Signs - Speed 2 (co-rated by the late Gene Siskel) - S.W.A.T. Not to mention that Ebert gave Gojira (1954) a Thumbs Down.

Your turn, maxjenius81.

With the exception of the 5950, GeForce FX cards are overrated. If you look at Tom's Hardware, the 5700 series and below are no better than the GeForce 4 Ti4600. I'll stick with my GeForce4 Ti4200 64 for now until I raise enough $$$ to build an Athlon 64 rig.

At least Transformers still makes a better live-action flick than Robotech ever will.

Showdown: Legends of Wrestling Acclaim, 2004 For Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft XBOX Rated T (Teen) for violence. Three years ago, Acclaim attempted to compete with THQ's WWE games by introducing Legends of Wrestling, a wrestling game that lets you play as Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant and other legends from the old days of the squared circle. Unfortunately, the game bombed due to a weak graphics engine and sloppy gameplay. The second game was no better, despite having more wrestlers on its roster. Well, third time's a charm and it looks like Acclaim has finally gotten it right. Showdown: Legends of Wrestling boasts an all-new gaming engine with improved controls and more options. But can it still go head-to-head with THQ's WWE SmackDown!: Here Comes the Pain (PS2) and WWE RAW 2 (XBOX)? Gameplay: B No wrestling game comes ready with as many wrestlers as Showdown has - over 73 with room for more to create. Choose from old-school greats like Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Diamond Dallas Page and Bret "Hitman" Hart. You can even play current favorites like Eddie Guerrero or managers like Mr. Fuji and The Grand Wizard. Hell, you can play as the late Andy Kaufman as well - if you want to simulate a rematch against Jerry "The King" Lawler. The control system has been simplified to make it as easy to use as the SmackDown! games. Unfortunately, the Hardcore mode lacks depth and the Steel Cage mode suffers from having to tap buttons to get out through the door. Otherwise, Showdown has some remarkable gameplay. Graphics: B+ While not the greatest in terms of character design, Showdown has better rendering than its predecessors. One cool feature is the ability to change the physical appearance of any wrestler - not just by outfit, but by everything else (hair, headgear, etc.). Here are some examples: Sting 1. The Crow (apparently stuck with this gimmick forever) 2. nWo WolfPac 3. Blond hair, green tights 4. Blond hair, pink tights "Macho Man" Randy Savage 1. Orange trunks ('80s WWF) 2. White/blue cowboy outfit ('90s WWF) 3. nWo Black & White Scott Steiner 1. "Big Poppa Pump" - black tights 2. "Big Poppa Pump" - silver tights 3. Brown hair, blue tights (pre-nWo) 4. Brown hair, green tights (pre-nWo) Hulk Hogan 1. Yellow trunks 2. Yellow/red tights 3. nWo Black & White 4. Black trunks, white boots ('80s AWA/New Japan) Sound: B- Aside from the cheesy MIDI renditions of each wrestler's entrance theme, Showdown features ring announcer Gary Michael Capetta (formerly from WCW Saturday Night) and commentary by former WCW Nitro hosts Tony Schiavone, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan (post-lymphoma, unfortunately) and Larry Zbyszko. Sure beats the lame commentary by Michael Cole and Tazz on SmackDown!: Just Bring It. The Bottom Line Despite not being anywhere as good as THQ's SmackDown! games, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling is actually a fun wrestling game on its own. It's also better than RAW when it comes to replay value. Rent it and see for yourself. Links Official Showdown: Legends of Wrestling Homepage

I think the movie explains that after Batman's death, Grayson decides to return to his roots and become Robin again.

Yet another week of lameness continues to plague the WWE. Last Thursday on SmackDown!: - The hell I know! UPN13 pre-empted SmackDown! to air baseball. All I know is that Eddie Guerrero is out again with an injury and JBL is still champion. And it looks like we'll be seeing JBL vs. the Undertaker later this year. Last night on RAW: - Last week, Evolution bloodied up Eugene. As a reward, HHH was given a rematch against Benoit in a 1-hour Iron Man match for next week's RAW. - I still don't see William Regal as a babyface. But it was fun seeing him legitimately punk out HHH. Watch the replays and you'll notice that Regal's punches actually connect. - This Diva Search is a complete waste of time. And the whole angle where Y2J got them to ransack Bischoff's office was beyond lame. - Seriously, what does WWE see in Batista? First, he gave Benoit a severe concussion with a boot to the face and a powerbomb. Then he interfered in the Y2J/Kane match by pummelling Jericho against a wall. - Edge retained his I-C title by using the ropes while pinning Orton. Looks like the WWE is following the rumors of Edge turning heel and Orton turning face.

Only on Confidential when they featured DDP. WWE had no interest in using her at all because supposedly, she had a big ego backstage during her days in WCW, and WWE didn't want her having a heated argument with any of the Divas.

Holy Nitro Girl, Batman! DDP's ex-wife Kimberly is in it!

So, did anyone here watch King Arthur? How bad was it?

That's nothing compared to Leonard Nimoy's "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins."

Downloading it right now. Review coming up tonight.

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=1974

F91 is my least favorite of all the UC Gundam titles due to its flat storyline and uninteresting cast of characters. Not to mention the soundtrack ripping off John Williams' "The Imperial March."

Well, I guess that was a tough one. Tomokazu Seki's first lead role was Domon Kasshu in Mobile Fighter G-Gundam. As for the bonus, Akira Kamiya inspired Seki to become a seiyuu. Next question: Which anime is about a top-secret submarine with a Japanese crew that declares the vessel an independent nation?

What was Tomokazu Seki's first lead role in an anime? A. Van Fanel (Escaflowne) B. Domon Kasshu (Mobile Fighter G-Gundam) C. Masataka Takayanagi (Tenjou Tenge) D. Chichiri (Fushigi Yuugi) BONUS: Name the veteran seiyuu who inspired him to take up voice acting.

Mugen asks for 50 dumplings. Fuu offers him 100 dumplings to stop the thugs from cutting her up.

BTW, the director had a way to get the attention of foreign film directors: 1. In one scene where Ting is running away from a bunch of thugs, there's some graffiti that reads, "Spielberg, we should get together." 2. In the scene where a tuk tuk flies off a bridge and hits an apartment building before crashing down, there's graffiti on the left side of the screen that reads, "Luc Besson, we are waiting for you." Shortly after Ong-Bak hit theatres, Luc Besson supposedly called up the director and bought the film rights.

Well, he hasn't done anything else yet. BTW, did you know that he was Robin Shou's stunt double in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation?

Ong-Bak ( องค์บาก ) Baa-Ram-Ewe/Sahamongkolfilm Co. Ltd., 2003 EuropaCorp/Magnolia Pictures, 2005 Directed by Prachya Pinkaew Rated R for graphic martial arts violence, slight nudity, suggestive sexual situations, drug use and profanity. Cast - Phanom "Tony Jaa" Yeerum as Ting - Petchtai Wongkamlao as George/Hum-Lae - Pumwaree Yodkamol as Muay-Lek - Suchoa Pongvilai as Komtuan - Chatthapong Pantanaunkul as Saming Synopsis Somewhere in the Nong Pradu village in Thailand, there is a sacred Buddha statue called "Ong-Bak." It is said that Ong-Bak possesses mystical powers that keep the village safe. But one night, a former villager named Don steals the head of Ong-Bak to win the respect of the ruthless crime lord Komtuan. To save his village, a young disciple named Ting offers to travel to Bangkok. He will do anything - even break his sacred morals and participate in illegal fights - to recover the head of Ong-Bak. Lowdown For decades, the general public has only seen Asian martial arts flicks come out of Hong Kong and Japan. Then, a couple of years ago, the South Korean film industry made people aware that they can also make such films like Volcano High. The latest country in Asia to enter the bandwagon is Thailand. Muay Thai movies aren't new; they were made popular by Jean-Claude Van Damme in the 1980s with Bloodsport and Kickboxer. Ong-Bak, on the other hand, takes Muay Thai flicks to a new level. Never mind that the movie has little or no plot. It's all about Phanom Yeerum (known in Asia as Tony Jaa) showing his moves as Ting. His unbelievable agility is reminiscent of a young Jackie Chan. As a matter of fact, he'd legitimately flatten Van Damme with one knee or elbow if they ever meet. And what's a martial arts flick these days without comic relief? You have Hum-Lae, the idiotic swindler who once lived in Ting's village. He and his partner Muay-Lek do nothing but give our hero trouble with either thugs or the police. You have a crime lord that needs a voice box to talk (Wow...how original. I wonder if they got that from WWE...). Hell, you even have a high-speed Tuk Tuk (tricycle taxi) chase scene that's more exciting than 2 Fast 2 Furious. And the fight scenes? They're so well-choreographed that they look real enough to make you say, "Ouch!" for every knee lift or elbow smash that Ting does on anyone. If it weren't for the drug scenes or implied sex, Ong-Bak could've been a PG-13 type flick. Nevertheless, it's 108 minutes of jaw-breaking, skull-crunching Muay Thai action. No strings attached. Rating: B+ Links Official Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior Homepage (France) Official Mach!!!!!!!! Homepage (Japan) Weekly Magazine Mach (Japanese) Reference The Internet Movie Database

I used to have three Yamato 1/72 YF-19 units at one point. Because I was strapped for cash, I sold two of them. From that point, I thought it was pointless to buy doubles until I get a better job.

I highly recommend Takatoys' 1/48 sticker sheet. They look better and last longer than the stock Yamato sheet. You can get it at VALKYRIE-EXCHANGE.COM.

I watched this movie for free last Saturday and I have to say that it's much better than the first. I always thought of Doc Ock as a bigger arch-nemesis than the Green Goblin. Marvel and Columbia did a great job producing the film and bringing the franchise to greater heights. I also went back to my old Marvel archives and I'll have to say that Harry will be Green Goblin II, not Hobgoblin. In order to have Hobgoblin in the movies, the writers will have to introduce Ned Leeds (the first Hobgoblin) and Jason Macendale, a.k.a. Jack-O-Lantern (who becomes Hobgoblin after Leeds is murdered). As for Venom, he should be in movie 9 or 10 (if that ever happens), as there are more villains before him. Bring in Lizard, Electro, Scorpion, Kraven, Vulture, Chameleon and Mysterio first.

Hopefully, it doesn't end up like the B-movie version that got scrapped nearly a decade ago.