I just finished watching the 2008 remake of Michael Crichton’s The Andromeda Strain. Compared to the 1971 movie, this version is a more updated and accurate film interpretation of the book. Starring Benjamin Bratt as Dr.Jeremy Stone, Christa Miller as Dr.Angela Noyce, Daniel Dae Kim as Dr.Tsi Chou, Ricky Schroeder as Major Bill Keane,M.D., Viola Davis as Dr. Charlene Barton, Andre Braugher as General George Mancheck and Eric McCormack as NNT Reporter Jack Nash.

The story begins when a satellite crashes in Piedmont, a small town in Utah. A teenage couple throws the satellite at the back of their pick up and brings it to town. Hours later, an Army retrieval unit arrives at the crash site and tracks the satellite back to Piedmont. The unit discovers the entire town population dead, expect for a man who was asking them for help. Within minutes of entering the town, the unit themselves succumbs and dies. Back at Fort Dietrich, General George Mancheck, head of Project Scoop was informed of the Piedmont situation and dispatches a Predator UAV to scan the town, at the same time Mancheck mobilizes Wildfire, a team of medical specialists created for the sole purpose of combating the threat of bioterrorism. The Wildfire team consisting of Drs. Jeremy Stone- CDC Bacteriologist, Angela Noyce-Pathologist, Tsi Chou-Microbiologist, Charlene Barton-Neurologist and Major Bill Keane, the team’s biowarfare expert were whisked off the secure Wildfire facility, a multilevel underground state of the art laboratory in the middle of the desert.

Stone, Noyce and Keane goes to Piedmont to investigate the outbreak and to search for the survivor that showed up on the UAV’s infrared scans.The team finds not one but two survivors, the town alcoholic and an infant. Dr.Stone then brings the survivors to the Wildfire facility.They also find video evidence of infected individuals going violent and irrational upon exposure the strain,now code named Andromeda.

After a series of tests in an attempt to kill the virus, Wildfire soon discovers that Andromeda is a resilient and intelligent microbe of extra-terrestial origins,capable of mutating and adapting to survive anything that threatens its existence. Meanwhile,an increasing number of violent incidents are occurring in places beyond the Piedmont containment area. The Wildfire team is now racing against time and a government conspiracy as containment is breached and the Andromeda Strain is now heading towards the U.S.West Coast.

The difference between the 1971 movie and this mini-series is aside from the fact its 4 hours long, it allowed the writer to interpret Crichton’s novel into a more accurate storytelling. This includes more riveting version of scenes like the breach in the Wildfire facility that causes its nuclear self destruct weapon to arm itself or the re-invention of the Odd Man Hypothesis, this time adding the factor of a gay character into play plus with directors Tony and Ridley Scott on board as producers, government conspiracies and the X-Files meets CSI- like atmosphere of the film will keep the viewers at the edge of theirs seat as plots and subplots carefully blend into one heartstopping ending.

Sengoku Jieitai 1549 is based on a science fiction manga by Ryo Hanmura and a re-invention of the 1979 film Sengoku Jieitai (Time Slip) by Mitsumasa Saito starring cult legend Sonny Chiba.

The story begins at East Mount Fuji in 2003 when a Japanese Ground Self Defense Force experiment involving electromagnetic shielding accidentally sent one of its combat units, Experimental Unit 3, back into Japan’s feudal Age of Warring States in 1547.Seventy four hours later, the area affected by the time slip reverts to its original timeline with no sign of the EU3 except for a lone wounded samurai, Shichibei Iinuma.

Two years later, former JGSDF Lieutenant Yusuke Kashima, now a tired restaurant owner, gets a late night visit from JGSDF Major Mori and Lieutenant Rei Kanzaki,the officer responsible for the shielding experiment. They show Kashima the video of the experiment and a black hole forming on the base itself, consuming the present.Mori and Kanzaki believe that the EU3’s commander, Colonel Tsuyoshi Matoba, is altering the timeline, causing the black holes. Kashima is Matoba’s protégé, the only officer who could ever beat Matoba’s war games scenarios. Initially refusing to participate in the rescue mission,Kashima reluctantly joins when the samurai Shichibei visits hims and talks to him about honor and a world worth fighting for.

Romeo Force travels back to 1549 to rescue EU3 but as soon as they arrived, they were ambushed and captured by samurais utilizing modern weaponry and battle tactics with the help of Shichibei whose lord,Saito Dosan, has allied with the ambushing force. The force were taken to the castle of Oda Nobunaga-complete with an oil refinery and foundry. Kashima,Mori and Kanzaki discover that Nobunaga is actually Colonel Matoba. Matoba assumed Nobunaga’s identity when the daimyo was killed in the early skirmishes with EU3 and became a powerful warlord. Matoba has a jury rigged nuclear device in his possession and plans to wipe out the whole Kansai region and establish himself as Japan’s new ruler.

With the help of Tosuke, a local youth they saved upon arrival and Shichibei, who realized that to help his benefactors from the future was the honourable thing to do.Kashima and the majority of Romeo Force escape with most of their weapons and vehicles except for Major Mori who was killed and Lt. Kanzaki who was recaptured. Shichibei manages to convince Lord Dosan to switch alliances using the message given to Shichibei by Nohime, Dosan’s daughter betrothed to Matoba.

Romeo Force and Doson’s army attacks Nobunaga Castle, turning the tables on Matoba by using his own tactics and overthrows him, but not before starting a volcanic eruption by lauching missiles aimed at the Mount Anmo’s core. Kashima, Kanzaki and the rest of the surviving Romeo soldiers escapes aboard the helicopter and makes their way to the time point with only minutes before the area reverts back to their timeline. Kashima brings the active nuclear device where the electromagnetic pulse that occurs during the time slip to disables the timer.They returned safely to their own time and the black holes has then disappeared.

I have seen both the 1979 and 2005 versions of the film. In the original, the soldiers were just looking for a way to get back to their own time and their overconfidence in their modern weaponry was their undoing when the samurai army took out their supply truck and their helicopter. Left with nothing else to fight for, they were killed by the Shogun’s army that took them in as allies by using the same modern weapons they gave the shogun as goodwill gifts. In the re-invention however, the story was about a modern combat unit who was trapped in the early days of Japan’s civil war and was forced to engage when their fellow soldiers began dying. The writers has laid out the story in details like how a Cobra helicopter gunship and several armored fighting vehicles managed to stay in fighting condition in feudal Japan-hence the refinery, compared to the 1979 original where the vehicles were never seen refueling. Also the writers took time to research and incorporate Japan’s feudal history into the story.Another nice twist was unlike some films where heroes rely on modern or advanced technology to get the upper hand, here they actually adapt to battle tactics of the time-most of their modern weapons were only used to take out Matoba’s armor and air support.

All in all, Sengoku Militia 1549 was a truly refreshing film version of the manga comic without the story getting too preposterously sci-fi . A two part mini series was also shown on Japanese television in 2003. Sengoku Jieitai: Sekigahara No Tatakai (Warring States:JGSDF Battle of Sekigahara) which is closer to the original 1979 version.

When George Lucas and Steven Spielberg announced that a fourth Indy film will be made, I was ecstatic. I always have been a fan of the cliffhanger serials, which Spielberg based Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indiana Jones is one of those movies that made you feel like a non stop roller coaster ride-there is always that surprise twist or drop you couldn’t anticipate. So when Indiana Jones and The Crystal Skull was finally shown-and after seeing it twice in two days – I was right.

The movie starts in 1957 with Indy and his friend Mac Mchale were abducted from their dig at New Mexico by Soviet KGB and GRU operatives led by Colonel Irina Spalko and taken to Area 51 in the Nevada desert. The Soviets were searching for the mummified remains of a certain artifact that was inspected by Indy and a team of specialists under government secrecy ten years earlier. Indy locates the artifact by using gunpowder, grenade shrapnel and buckshot, relying on the highly magnetic characteristics of the artifact to lead him to its storage area. After discovering that his friend Mac is on the Russians’ payroll, Indy manages to escape the Soviets and a nuclear blast in his usual unique way.

After being recovered by the US Air Force and the FBI, revealed that Indy served with the US Army’s Office of Special Services (OSS) while Mac was with MI:6 during the war and did some cloak and dagger operations against the Soviets Now his integrity is now being questioned by the US Government due to his association with McHale, Given the charged atmosphere of the McCarthy era and the beginning of the Cold War,the FBI witch hunt has affected his teaching career, forcing Indy to take a leave of absence from his tenure at Marshall College. Indy decided to leave for London when he was stopped at the railroad station by Mutt Williams, a motorcycle greaser. Mutt informs Indy that his old colleague and Mutt’s surrogate father, Harold Oxley, has disappeared after discovering a crystal skull in Peru.

Mutt gives Indy clues in a letter sent by his mother that was written by Oxley,which were directions to the grave of Francisco de Orellana, a Conquistador who went missing in the 1500s while seeking Akator or El Dorado,The Mayan’s fabled Lost City of Gold. At the Nazca Lines, Jones finds the crystal skull that Oxley hid in Orellana's grave. The skull is elongated in the shape that indigenous peoples formed their own skulls into; the Soviets believe the skull is from an extraterrestrial life-form, holding great psychic power. The Soviets capture Indy and Mutt and take them to the camp where they are holding Oxley and Mutt's mother, Marion Ravenwood, who reveals that Mutt is Jones's son.

After surviving a car chase in the Amazon rainforest, an attack by a huge colony of giant fire ants which cost the lives of several Soviet soldiers, three drops from three giant waterfalls, Indy and company finally arrive at the Temple of Akator. The group enters the temple and Jones uses the skull to open the door to a chamber tomb and the answers were finally revealed.

After 22 years since The Last Crusade, Spielberg does an amazing job in helming the fourth installment of Indiana Jones. Forget the X-Files like ending. Forget the gray hair. Forget all the wheezing and panting. This is NOT a prequel.This is NOT a re-invention. This is definitely NOT a relaunch. This is Indiana Jones. This is catching up with Dr. Henry Jones,Jr. No flashbacks, no sob stories, no angst or emo moments. We find out that Indy became a highly decorated WWII veteran in the US Army, retired with the rank of Colonel. He is still a tenured professor of archaeology at Marshall College, later becoming Associate Dean. It’s been two years since the death of his friend Marcus Brody and his father, Professor Henry Jones, Sr. He also was engaged to Marion Ravenwood but got cold feet a week before the wedding. He still is terrified of snakes, occasionally goes out on archaeological digs for artifacts and thinks on his feet to get out of a jam.You want a fantasy movie with issues,details and serious answers ? Watch An Inconvenient Truth.This is an adventure,it's Indy-it's supposed to be fun and not taken seriously!

For someone at 64, Harrison Ford still got what it takes to don the fedora and cracking the whip while doing his stunts in the action sequences ,making it so natural. Rumors of Indy passing the torch to Henry III or Mutt ? Let see, he still has to finish school and hopes he learns the ropes from Dad.Will there be an Indy 5? I sure hope so.

After all, who is listed at number 4 next to James Bond in the top ten action heroes of all time? Of course, Indiana Jones.

The Forbidden Kingdom is another take on the timeless Chinese epic Journey to the West.As a kid I have seen countless versions of this story, my favorite among them was the anime Alakazaam-The Monkey God. The Shaw Brothers did a great period film in their production of Journey To The West and so did the more recent version of this tale in NBC / SciFi’s 2003 miniseries,The Monkey King starring Russell Wong, Thomas Gibson and Bai Ling.

The Forbidden King is a martial arts feast itself, featuring together for the first time and in a Western production of a Chinese adventure tale, two of the Hong Kong cinema’s action legends, Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

The film begins with the story of bullied teenager Jason Tripitikas and how he came across the Ruyi Jingu Bang, Monkey King’s Golden Staff in a pawnshop in Boston’s Chinatown while looking for Kung Fu DVDs.After a series of events throws Jason back to the time of the Monkey King, he meets Lu Yan, one of the Eight Immortals. Lu tells Jason the tale of how the Monkey King caused havoc at the banquet celebrating the Jade Emperor's forthcoming 500 year period of meditation and drank of the elixir of immortality. The Emperor took a liking to the Monkey King and decided to award him a heavenly title, much to the chagrin of the Jade Warlord, a heavenly general. The Emperor then left the Jade Warlord in charge of heaven before retreating to his period of seclusion. The Jade Warlord later challenged the Monkey King to a duel, and turned him into stone by tricking the Monkey King to set aside his magic staff. But before he was fully immobilized, the Monkey King cast his staff into the mundane world. Lu ends the tale by stating a person known as the "Seeker" will be the person to find the staff and free the Monkey King. Jason is the Seeker. After surviving an attack by the Jade Warriors with the help of the Orphaned Warrior, Golden Sparrow, the three travelers escape into the woods. Golden Sparrow's family was killed by the Jade Warlord, and she has vowed vengeance against him. Here they meet the Silent Monk who was searching for the Seeker. Lu and The Monk decide to teach Jason Kung Fu and the final battle to free the Monkey King was set into play.

The movie is a great adventure tale even to those who were unfamiliar with the tale of Journey to the West. Although the film was very loosely based on the epic,mainly by association of characters, the writer was able the blend in the characters from several Chinese tales and interwove them into to storyline without overwhelming the audience. Legendary Chinese characters like the Drunken Immortal and Scholar, Lu Yan- creator of the Drunken style fighting played by Chan. The Monkey King /Silent Monk is portrayed by Li, the Silent Monk character a twist to the Mad Monk. The portrayal of Lian Ni Chang –The Bride with White Hair, Li Bing Bing did an excellent job on playing the tragic White Haired Assassin. Likewise ,Michael Angarano was a perfect choice for the role of Jason Tripitikas or Xuanzang the Traveler .Collin Chou’s performance as the Jade Warlord was simply amazing.

The fight scenes were well choreographed, actors Chan and Li were obviously enjoying themselves despite working with each other for the first time. The movie was sort of a trip down memory lane for me when period kung fu epics where only shown at the old King’s Theater in Chinatown. I sincerely hope they keep making films like this more.

Trivia:

- In the opening credits, a collage of martial arts movies were shown.Among the ones I recognize were Shaolin Temple,The One Arm Swordsman, Way of the Dragon, Ten Tigers of Kwantung, Shaolin 36 Chambers, Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow, The Big Boss.
- The secret title of the film was The J&J Project.
- It was Jet Li who first got hold of the story from scriptwriter John Fusco, his sparring partner for several years.

Being bed ridden with the flu for a few days has its perks.One of them is watching some old flicks from my DVD library. I always liked to watch adventure/fantasy/thrillers or cliffhangers in the afternoons ,similar to the old movies shown on TV in the old days.Even if I have seen it over and over, I knew I’m in for a good time. My choice for that particular afternoon was the Mummy series. The 1999 remake loosely based on the original 1932 version with Boris Karloff was intended to be a low budget horror film turned into a blockbuster adventure movie with the atmosphere and vibe of a comic book

The Mummy is the story of forbidden love,mythology and dark magic.This film is such a roller coaster ride that will always have you screaming for more.The comic relief moments are also well timed and involved all the characters including the Mummy itself.

The Mummy begins three thousand years ago during the reign of the Pharoah Seti the First,when the High Priest Imhotep betrays the Pharaoh by falling in love and having an affair with Anck-Su-Namun,the Pharoah’s mistress.After murdering Seti the First,Anck-Su-Namun commits suicide rather than to face the wrath of the Med’Jai,the Pharoah’s bodyguards.She helps Imhotep escape for only the High Priest has the power to resurrect the dead. After stealing Anck-Su-Namun’s corpse and vital organs,Imhotep and his priest ride to Hamanuptra, The City of the Dead and burial ground of Egypt’s previous monarchs.Using knowledge from the Book of the Dead, the High Priest begin a ritual to resuscitate Anck-Su-Namun.But before the ritual was completed,the Med’Jai catches up with Imhotep, interrupting the ritual.

As punishment all of Imhotep’s priests were mummified alive but for the High Priest himself,he was made to suffer the Hom-Dai,a curse so severe that it was only first performed on him.His tongue is cut out, buried alive, wrapped like a mummy, along with a swarm of flesh-eating scarabs. The horror of the ritual is that it also grants eternal life, forcing him to endure the agony of his wounds for all time. He is buried under high security, sealed away in a sarcophagus below a statue of the Egyptian god Anubis, Lord of The Underworld and guarded by the Med’Jai, now descendants of the Pharoah’s royal bodyguards.Should Imhotep were ever to be released, the powers that made him immortal would allow him to unleash a wave of destruction and death upon the Earth.

Three thousand years later, a garrison of French legionnaires marched to Hamunaptra without orders in search of the Pharoah’s treasures.Among them was an American officer,Richard’Rick’ O’Connell,who was left in charge when their commander deserted them.Attacked and over ran by a Bedoiun army,Rick barely managed to escape with his life unknown to him,the battle was being observed by the Med’Jai.

Three years later, Cairo librarian and aspiring Egyptologist, Evelyn "Evie" Carnahan is presented with an intricate box and map by her bumbling brother Jonathan, who says he found in Thebes. After observing the map leads to Hamunaptra, Jonathan reveals he actually stole it from Rick, who is currently in prison. After they contact him, Rick makes a deal with Evelyn to reveal the location of Hamunaptra, in exchange for Evelyn striking a deal with the warden to keep Rick from being hanged.

Rick upholds his bargain and leads an expedition to Hamunaptra, where Rick's group encounters a band of treasure hunters led by the famed Egyptologist Dr. Allen Chamberlain and guided by Beni Gabor, a cowardly former Legion soldier who served with Rick and also knows the location of the lost city, whom Rick harbours an intense hatred for, since Beni left him to die during the fight earlier in the film.

Shortly after reaching Hamunaptra, both groups are attacked by the Med’Jai, led by Ardeth Bey, who warns them of the evil buried in the city. Rather than heed Bey's warning, the two expeditions continue to excavate in separate portions of the city. Evelyn is looking for the Book of Amon-Ra, a golden book capable of taking life away, but unexpectedly comes across the remains of Imhotep instead; much to her shock, Imhotep's corpse is actually a still-decomposing skeleton instead of a preserved mummy. The Chamberlain’s team , meanwhile, discover a box containing theBook of the Dead, accompanied by canopic jars carrying Anck-su-namun's preserved organs; each of the Americans takes a jar as loot.
At night, Evelyn takes the Book of the Dead from the Americans' tent and reads a page aloud,awakening Imhotep. When one of the Americans has his eyes and tongue stolen by Imhotep, both groups decide to return to Cairo, but the mummy continues to hunt down the rest of the Americans who opened the box, slowly regenerating with each person he kills while bringing down the Ten Plagues on Cairo. Beni pledges allegiance to the mummy save his hide and for the treasure Imhotep is offering, helping him track down the Americans and the canopic jars in Cairo. Evelyn hypothesises that if the Book of the Dead brought Imhotep back to life, the Book of Amon-Ra can kill the high priest. Evelyn is captured by Imhotep, who intends to sacrifice her to resurrect Anck-su-namun, and so they return to Hamunaptra. Rick, Jonathan and Ardeth rescue Evelyn after an intense battle with Imhotep's mummies. Evelyn reads from the Book of Amon-Ra, which takes away Imhotep's immortality, and Rick mortally wounds him. Quickly decaying, Imhotep leaves the world of the living, but not before vowing revenge.

Beni meanwhile while greedily hauling away treasure form the treasure room, accidentally sets off an ancient booby trap and is trapped by a swarm of flesh-eating scarabs as Hamunaptra collapses, which devour him in the darkness. The four adventurers managed to escape the death trap and ride off on Beni’s treasure laden camels.
The movie was such a hit that it has led to two sequels, The Mummy Returns (2001) and The Mummy:Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) ,two spinoffs ,The Scorpion King (2002) and its prequel,The Scorpion King: Rise of the Akkadian (2008) and an animated series The Mummy:Quest for the Lost Scrolls for Season One and The Mummy:Secrets of the Med’Jai, for Season Two. The series ran from September 2001-July 2003.
Universal announced that it will make three more Mummy films for the film franchise including a direct to DVD animated film with the original cast providing the voices.Titled The Mummy:The Well of Souls with a release date slated after the movie.

Iron Man – A Review from a Big Fan of Shellhead.

When news of casting for the Iron Man movie was announced in December 2006,
I said to myself, finally after 22 years of rumors back and forth about an Iron Man film it is really happening. After seeing the movie it was indeed worth the wait.

First and foremost, hats off the director Jon Favreau who not only kept to the path of the comic book but was also able to blend the different storylines from the comics and integrated it in a very realistic tale. Being no stranger to the Marvel Universe, Favreau has portrayed two Marvel characters-as Franklin ’Foggy’ Nelson in Daredevil and as ‘Harold ‘Happy’ Hogan in Iron Man.

The origin sequence on how Stark built the armor was well written.Updated from 1964 Vietnam to present day Afghanistan, the scene still breathes much life from the legendary story that was printed in Marvel’s Strange Tales title. After Tony Stark witnessed his weapons being used by terrorists and decides to destroy the weapon technology that built his company with the Iron Man armor –that came from the focal point of the Armor Wars storyline. Obadiah Stane’s manipulation of Stark and of Stark Industries-straight from The Power of Iron Man storyline. Favreau did an excellent spin of integrating these points into the film.

The cast: Robert Downey, Jr. fit the role of Tony Stark to a T. After all Stark is like Leonardo Da Vinci, Bill Gates and Axl Rose all rolled into one. Jeff Bridges was an excellent choice for Obadiah Stane. I can’t wait for Terrence Howard’s character James ‘Rhodey’Rhodes to don the War Machine armor,I especially loved the scene when he was staring at the gunmetal gray and silver armor with weapon rails and saying ‘Next time,baby!’. Gwyneth Paltrow had her moments as Pepper Potts, although somebody better cast Happy Hogan other than director Favreau very quickly.

Fans of Iron Man old and new will definitely enjoy the film. A sci fi techno thriller/ adventure that actually leapt out of a science fiction novel. The movie retained the feel of classic comic book that is updated to the current storyline and set in the Ultimate Marvel Universe. Plus a surprise after the end credits: The appearance of General Nick Fury of SHIELD played no less by Samuel L. Jackson and mentioning to Stark about the Avengers Initiative.

Now we see the future of Iron Man…

In Vertigo's Bite Club, vampires are strong, nigh-invulnerable and unashamed hedonists. A vampire's gifts make them naturals for the mafia and as such, Miami is run by a single powerful vampire family, the Del Toros. Like what the writers suggest,think of it as The Godfather ,Scarface,CSI:Miami,Miami Vice and The Sopranos with a lot more sex, a dash or two of incest and lots of fangs.

Though the Miami underworld is under the thumb of the Del Toros, the status quo appeals to just about everyone. That is until Eduardo Del Toro, the patriarch of the family, is gunned down with wooden bullets. That leaves a power struggle within the Del Toro organization and an opportunity for an ambitious detective working the vampire organized crime unit. Eduardo's untimely demise brings the entire family together for the first time in two years, including Leto, Eduardo's son who chose to serve the cleric over the family business.Risa the succubus,hot,bisexual,totally insatiable,totally ruthless.Eddie,the coke snorting hotheaded enforcer.Danny,Eduardo's grandson by Eddie,a troubled kid. With his father dead, Leto is slowly pulled into the corruption he desperately sought to avoid. Yeah,it's a plot right out of the Corleone saga but being the Undead has its merits.

The third-person narrative separates the Hollywood mythology of vampires from the real deal. Rather than turning the vamps into soulless, ghouls interested in only blood, Bite Club makes them overly human, more susceptible to every vice. The lack of morality as they drink from victims and kill indiscriminately is shown as product of both nature and nurture.

All in all,its flaws overlooked.It's a fun read.The sequel Bite Club:Vampire Crime Unit is another one.

Regardless of what people say,especially those who never grew up watching Michael Knight and the Pontiac Trans-Am Knight Industries Two Thousand (K.I.T.T.)-I'm glad Knight Rider is back. It may be a bit campy and cheesy in the 80's but it also showed a glimpse of technology in the future.Fast forward 25 years,sci-fi fantasy just became science fact and reality.KITT's real time street maps and tracking is today's Global Positioning System, the 2nd generation alternative fuel and power engine was just tested by Chrysler last year.KITT's indestructible Molecular Bonded Shell was the inspiration for the ablative armor tile technology now being used in most of the VIP transport vehicles,replacing Kelvar weaving.And of course,KITT's A.I.- some of the 21st century vehicles have CPUs and OS installed that even talk to the driver-sans KITT's wit and humor.

The new Knight Rider is partly a reinvention and continuation of the Knight Rider Legacy.Mike Traceur (Justin Bruening), a 23-year-old ex-Army Ranger is the estranged son of Michael Knight,the original Knight Rider.In debt and in trouble,he was located at a Las Vegas Casino by his ex-girlfriend,Sarah Graiman(Deanno Russo).Her father,Dr.Charles Graiman(Bruce Davison), was one of the original engineers who worked on the Knight Industries Two Thousand -a car that has its own AI sentience and more.After an intrusion by terrorists at his home,Dr.Graiman sent the Knight Industries Three Thousand or K.I.T.T.,now Ford Shelby GT500KR Mustang(voiced by Val Kilmer),with specific instructions to locate Sarah and Mike and bring them to F.B.I. Special Agent Carrie Rivai(Sydney Tamiia Poitier),to keep Dr.Graiman's secrets from falling into the wrong hands.

I like the premise of the new series,whether it is going to be a series or for the upcoming movie,I'd say it's about fucking time.The updates like using nanotechnology to repair the car's skin or disguise it into another make,color or model is a nice touch.This has potential to get better.Forget VIPER or Team KNIGHT RIDER.It's all about the car and the one man who can make the difference.

One last note- David Hasselhoff will reprise his role as Michael Knight in a cameo,sort of passing the torch.Its again,a bit cheesy but hey, it ain't Knight Rider without Michael Knight.

For years, Old Gregory has been the Spook for the county, ridding the local villages of evil. Now his time is coming to an end. But who will take over for him?

Twenty-nine apprentices have tried–some floundered, some fled, some failed to stay alive.

Only Thomas Ward is left. He's the last hope; the last apprentice.

Can Thomas succeed? Will he learn the difference between a benign witch and a malevolent one? Does the Spook's warning against girls with pointy shoes include Alice? And what will happen if Thomas accidentally frees Mother Malkin, the most evil witch in the county ... ?

Set in old England, it is filled with small villages with interesting names and deep, rich histories. The tale is told by 12 year old Tom Ward as he embarks on his journey to be an apprentice to Old Gregory, the Spook – a hunter of the Supernatural.

A Spook is responsible for chasing off ghosts and boggarts, and for binding witches. No one truly counts him as a friend, and most avoid him when they see him coming. Unless they’re beset by ghosts, boggarts, or witches.

And being the Seventh son of a Seventh son, Tom something of the extraordinary. Early indications that he has powers beyond most men, and perhaps even beyond that of the Spook. Tom has the natural talents of being a good Spook-if he survives his training and apprenticeship.

Tom goes on a journey with Old Gregory, going through a test, then ending up at the Spook’s house where many surprises await him. One of those surprises is the living witch buried in a pit covered by iron bars in the Spook’s garden. Tom also learns that many of the Spook’s apprentices ran away over the years, but that the last one was killed by the witch.

And Tom will have to face Bony Lizzie,Tusk and Mother Malkin herself-alone with what little he has learned from Old Gregory the past few months as his only means of defense.

The Last Apprentice:Revenge of the Witch is an interesting read. It’s a fantasy epic mixed with a lot touches of suspense and horror. I wouldn’t be surprise it turns out to be a J.K. Rowling/Stephen King collaboration.

The Series is also known in the United Kingdom as The Wardstone Chronicles.

The Spook's Apprentice - The Revenge of the Witch
The Spook's Curse - Curse of the Bane
The Spook's Secret - Night of the Soul Stealer
The Spook's Battle - Attack of the Fiend

Harry Dresden's faced some pretty terrifying foes during his career. Giant scorpions. Oversexed vampires. Psychotic werewolves. It comes with the territory when you're the only professional wizard in the Chicago area phone book.
But in all Harry's years of supernatural sleuthing, he's never faced anything like this: the spirit world's gone postal. All over Chicago, ghosts are causing trouble — and not just of the door-slamming, boo-shouting variety. These ghosts are tormented, violent, and deadly. Someone — or something — is purposely stirring them up to wreak unearthly havoc.
But why? And why do so many of the victims have ties to Harry? If Harry doesn't figure it out soon, he could wind up a ghost himself....

Grave Peril begins as a busy week for Chicago’s resident private eye and wizard extraordinaire. Helping his friend Michael Carpenter,a Knight of The Cross,stop a ghost of a dead woman haunting a hospital nursery and chasing her all the way into the Nevernever -the Faerie World where Harry pisses off his godmother,the High Sidhe Noble faerie Leanansidhe, in no time flat. One of Karrin Murphy’s men is possessed and tormented by what seemed to be a dark magic torture spell and eventually Murphy herself. Finally much to his disgust,gets invited to attend a reception of the Red Court Vampire Mistress,Bianca St.Claire's elevation to the rank of Margravine.And being the local representative of the White Council of Wizards plus due to the Unseelie Accords,he has no choice in the matter.All of this happening at the same time while trying to maintain a healthy normal relationship with his girlfriend, Arcane reporter Susan Ramirez and trying to stay alive.

Grave Peril is also the turning point of the series storyline. We learned about the tensions between The White Council and The Vampire Court. This is also where the Unseelie Accords were first mentioned-the supernatural world’s version of the Geneva Convention, their protocols and rules of conduct. And aside from Harry’s usual crew, we meet more of his friends and foes. Michael Carpenter- a Knight of the Cross also called the Fist of God, wielder of the holy sword Amoracchius. Thomas Raith-an Incubus of The White Court for some reason becomes Harry’s ally. Father Anthony Forthill- Priest of the Saint Mary of the Angels Church and unofficial mission controller for the Knights of the Cross. Paolo Ortega-Duke Marshall of the Red Court Vampires. Mavra-One of the few remaining Black Court Vampires.

The book describes the supernatural world -the strange unexplainable darkness in that reality and yet it still parallels the mortal world - good versus evil,war and peace.The power struggles,the deceptions and the politics are still a part of their existence as well as ours. Grave Peril also establishes the storyline's theme and continuity for the duration of the series.

Business has been slow. Okay, business has been dead. And not even of the undead variety. You would think Chicago would have a little more action for the only professional wizard in the phone book. But lately, Harry Dresden hasn't been able to dredge up any kind of work — magical or mundane.

But just when it looks like he can't afford his next meal, a murder comes along that requires his particular brand of supernatural expertise.A brutally mutilated corpse. Strange-looking paw prints. A full moon. Take three guesses — and the first two don't count...

Fool Moon is the second installment of the Dresden Files series.Our hero,Harry Dresden is back,flat broke with the rent overdue.It's been too quiet lately and so was his consultancy work with Chicago PD.But wait,there's murder afoot,the savage mutilating kind.From the strange animal paw prints Harry knew it was the work of a werewolf,but what he didn't expect was there were three kinds of werewolves in town.Add the FBI hot on his trail believing Harry is the murderer,a roving pack of werewolves with a different agenda and a biker gang of lycanthropes is going to take more than the usual wards and spells for our wizard to live through all of this mayhem.

Fool Moon is more than a retelling of your classic werewolf tale.It explains the origins of the creature's magical counterpart- the Hexenwolf,the human wolf wraiths-the Lycanthropes and the Loup Garou,what Bob the air spirit refer to as a kind super-werewolf,savagery in pure monster form. Harry meets Tera West,guardian and pack mother of the Alphas-a group of college students who possess werewolf powers in order to protect their neighborhood from other supernatural predators.Billy and Georgia,college students/Alpha werewolves who became Dresden's loyal allies.FBI agents Denton and Benn who seem to have an agenda against Dresden.Plus the books regular characters,Chicago PD's Lt.Karrin Murphy,The Archane reporter Susan Ramirez,Bob the Air Spirit,Mister-Harry's pet tomcat,Mac-owner of the wizard tavern Mcnally's,and Gentleman Johnny Marcone.

Fool Moon reinvents the myth of the werewolf.Add Dresden's vivid narration of to coin a phrase"The Beast Wars",madke one feel exactly what the hero felt during the heat of battle.Cold fear,apprehension,courage,despair and determination to go up against the one of most terrifying supernatural creatures of legend.

Harry Dresden--Wizard
Lost items found. Paranormal investigations.
Consulting. Advice. Reasonable rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, Parties, or Other Entertainment.

Harry Dresden is the best at what he does. Well, technically, he's the only at what he does. So when the Chicago P.D. has a case that transcends mortal creativity or capability, they come to him for answers. For the "everyday" world is actually full of strange and magical things--and most of them don't play too well with humans. That's where Harry comes in. Takes a wizard to catch a--well, whatever.

There's just one problem. Business, to put it mildly, stinks. So when the police bring him in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with black magic, Harry's seeing dollar signs. But where there's magic, there's a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry's name. And that's when things start to get... interesting.Magic. It can get a guy killed.

Storm Front is the first book of The Dresden Files series.Here we meet our hero Harry Dresden, wizard and private investigator.Harry is the only professionally practicing wizard in Chicago,in fact you'd find him in the phone book under Wizards, which is not making the White Council,the ruling body of wizards and their enforcement arm,the Wardens,happy with Dresden.

In the book we find out Harry's background and follow him on a case on which a series of grisly murders was committed by the use of black magic.Here we also learn about the existence of other beings like faeries, vampires, demons,ghouls and the Nevernever, the faerie world.Helping Dresden in his investigation is Lt.Karrin Murphy, head of Chicago PD's Special Investigations Unit,which handles "unexplainable" cases.Susan Ramirez,beautiful and spunky reporter for a local tabloid,The Arcane and Harry's love interest.Bob, an air spirit of a sorcerer who is an endless source of information on anything magical and supernatural and also a hopeless voyeur who lives in a skull.And Harry's necessary evil,Chicago mob boss "Gentleman" John Marcone.

From start to finish there was never a dull moment.The book also portrays the main character as someone who while gifted with the magical powers of a wizard still experience the same problems like any other human.Debt,making the rent,car trouble,women problems.And the author describes the magical battles in such a way that you feel like having an IMAX screen in your mind.

Next...Fool Moon:Book Two of The Dresden Files

My wife gave this to me as an early birthday gift.Admittedly,I'm not a big fan of tablets due to old adage "the more parts that move about, the easier for it to break."But after trying it out,I'm hooked.

Processor:AMD Turion 64 X2 (dual core)
HDD: 120GB
Video: NVIDIA 64 bit 128MB
Audio: Altec Lansing 2.1 Speakers
Monitor: 12"
Weight: 2.2 kgs
Battery Life : Standard Battery on Power Saver mode-120 minutes
Extended battery on Power Saver mode- 180 minutes
Drives: Dual Layer DVD Burner with Lightscribe Labeling (Roxio Basic).
Nero 7 Premium works better.
Connections: Wireless and Bluetooth ready.
Extras: Built in media card reader, 56K Modem, LAN 100 poet,Video Out and
Expansion Port 3, 3 USB 2.0 ports.

So I got a PC,a portable media player that I can watch videos without booting the PC,and a huge PDA all rolled into one.The only drawback is the OS:Windows Vista which I'm not too crazy about.And I will have to pay an extra 6K if I want to downgrade back to Windows XP SP3.

I guess I have to play the cards I'm dealt with.

Price : at 0% PHP 7,480.00 for 12 months.

Anyone who wants to order the Rainbow Portable DVD player I brought last Holy Trek Day.Its DVix capable with the latest Codec.I already have orders for 3 units so if anyone wants to get one just post a reply.Its P2,800.00(V.A. special price) and will be delivered next week,COD.

What's new in Quiapo-

The Following Series:

Stargate SG-1-Seasons 1-9
Carnivale-Seasons 1-2
Utlimate Force-Season 1
Spooks-Season 1-2
Stargate Atlantis-Season 1-2
Seaquest DSV- Season 1-2
Star Trek TOS- Season 2
Star Trek :TNG-Season 1-7
Star Trek:DS9- Season 1-7
Star Trek:Voyager-Season 1-7
Star Trek:Enterprise-Season 1-4
The Flash-Complete Season
House-Season 1-2
CSI-LV-Season 1-6
CSI:Miami-Season 1-4
CSI:NY-Season 1-2
Alias-Season 1-4
Deadwood-Season 1-2
Charmed-Season 1-7
The Benny Hill Show
The Man Show
Nip/Tuck-Season 1-2
Babylon 5
Battlestar Galactica-Season 1-2
There are other series available.The cost is 40 per disc/a season is usually 8 discs minimum or P 320.00 per season.I'm usually in Quiapo every other week.