There have been many times in the past few months where I found my mind wandering to thoughts on J.J. Abram’s new take on Star Trek. Like Batman Begins, Casino Royale or even new series such as Iron Man, Abram’s Star Trek is an origin story detailing how the characters we have come to cherish and love basically came together. For the past decade or so, Hollywood has found much to smile about with these films and although there have been a few missteps along the way audiences seem to have a real affinity in discovering how their heroes came to be.

I remember first hearing about Abram’s idea to go back to Star Trek’s roots and finding myself excited to see what he could come up with while keeping his feet grounded by the existing history. I’ve done this many times with other movies as well but never to the degree as the new Trek installment.

Which brings us to Disney’s Tinker Bell. Now, I’ve seen Peter Pan on numerous occasions and though it was charming it was never my favorite Disney animated movie. That’s reserved for The Little Mermaid. I’ve never even seen the play or had any inkling to watch the Return to Neverland animated sequel. In short, I’ve never been much of a fan.

Anyhow, when I first got wind that Disney was embarking on a origin series for Tinkerbell I must admit it was met with as much interest as having to watch paint dry. Although she’s a prominent, albeit silent, figure in Peter Pan I remember her as nothing more than, “that fairy who flew around during the Disney castle logo at the start of the film.” This new Disney project smacked me as being nothing more than another ill-advised cash grab to make money with less than stellar straight to video releases. People love and remember The Lion King but who can say the same for the umpteen sequels that have done nothing but degrade the original experience. Don’t even get me started on The Little Mermaid 2.

It is with that in mind that this new Disney Tinker Bell endeavor seemed doomed to failure. However, there were two things that did stick in my mind that gave me a glimmer of hope. First, although this was meant to go straight to video it was being made in full 3D animation. Second, John Lasseter was brought onboard as executive producer. Part of the problem with the straight to video animated sequels was the lack of animated acumen on display. With a much lower budget these films seemed to have animation only a step or two above what you’d find everyday on kids TV like Spongebob or Pokemon. This made characters move with less fluidity, backgrounds not having exquisite detail, and even the musical score and songs became generic tunes. Moving the project to 3D also seemed to have huge hurdles to leap as there was no way that a straight to video project could compete with Pixar fare but that leads us straight to John Lasseter’s involvement.

When Disney purchased Pixar in 2006 they made John Lasseter, one of Pixar’s co-founders, Chief Creative officer of both companies. If you don’t know who John Lasseter is perhaps you would be more familiar with his films, namely, Toy Story 1&2, A Bug’s Life and Cars. He also executive produced nearly all of Pixar’s hits such as Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille and the recent Wall-E. It is with this pedigree that he took over the reigns at Disney after the Pixar purchase. At that time the Tinker Bell project was already in production but it was mired in a string of setbacks and bad decisions that included having had a carousel of about a dozen different writers on the screenplay. Numerous reports had the project running 30-50 million over budget and what work had been completed was far from film worthy.

Now, we’ll never know exactly how much Lasseter contributed to the project but suffice to say the ship seemed to have stabilized after his arrival culminating in Tinker Bell’s release this year. We can only assume that he managed to get the project back on track and iron out the script issues.

The movie expands upon what we have previously known about the title character adding much narrative heft to the fairy world with a detailed back-story on how fairies are born the moment a human baby first smiles to the social hierarchy of the fairy kingdom. The movie opens with a newly “born” Tinker Bell arriving in the fairy kingdom and immediately has her future profession thrust upon her – shades of a dystopian science fiction society aside she is slotted to become a tinker, those fairies who are gifted with the ability to make complex equipment in order to aid others in their work.

It turns out that fairies are responsible for what goes on in the human world. Seasons change due to their meticulous work while lost toys are returned to their rightful owners. We soon discover other castes such as the water fairies who delicately place water droplets onto spider webs or light fairies that capture the sun’s rays and distribute them to fireflies.

It is into the world that Tinker Bell has arrived and soon she is marveling in wonder at how everyone around her seems to revel in their work. However, therein lies the moral crux of the film – she’s not content to be a tinker who lives and toils in the dank recesses of the ground instead dreaming on how her life would be so much better in another profession. This fundamental juxtaposition is something not only Disney movies have always touched upon as people have often felt that the grass is always greener on the other side. Of course, this would not be a children’s movie if all Tinker Bell did was mope and brood under the shadows. With tenacity and more than a touch of stubbornness Tinker Bell gets her fairy friends to try and teach her other skills in order to convince everyone that it was some sort of mistake that she was assigned to being an engineer.

The movie does a good job of setting up Tinker Bell and her circle of friends although we are not given much information on them and as a result her friends come off as colourful albeit a bit too easy to pigeonhole. That’s not out of the ordinary as this is a product for children and it makes them easily recognizable. I have no doubt young girls will easily attach themselves to anyone of these fairies. Tinker Bell herself is the highlight though and the movie does not disappoint in that regard. The focus stays on her throughout the movie and we’re drawn into her ongoing struggle to prove her worth to the other fairies.

Thankfully, the filmmakers have not gone the route of other all-girl casts ala Bratz, Winx Club or Totally Spies by imbuing their leads with too much sassiness and Charlie’s Angels faux “grrrrl power” clichés. These fairies just seem to want to help each other out of genuine friendship without overtly feminist overtones. That is not to say that you can’t make a case for over sexualization of these fairies either. Although this is a Disney product and it keeps these elements completely out of the story as evinced with Tinker Bell’s more or less easy rapport with Terrence, one of the only male supporting characters who just so happens to be the most handsome, the overall look of the film decidedly focuses on those of beauty.

I remember watching this film with my wife who remarked during one scene where Tinker Bell was moping slouched over a table that, “Wow, Tinker Bell has a big chest.” Yes she indeed does and so does every other female fairy as well. It is also a bit of a tease that the first thing Tinker Bell does when she receives an over-sized green dress is to tailor it into her trademark extremely revealing outfit. Still, this styling aside, there’s nothing even remotely romantic going on, merely the animators’ desire to make every female member of Tinker Bell’s clique look like they have fashion model figures.

What is pleasantly surprising about the whole movie is that it looks incredibly detailed with lush bright colours and gorgeous vistas. Characters move with decent fluidity of motion and facial expressions are spot on. This is still not close to a Pixar animated feature film but it’s light years ahead of what I expected for a straight to video product. If John Lasseter and those at Disney have this level of finesse in mind with regards to future products then we’re all going to be thankful for their vision.

Buttressing the colourful visuals is a light-hearted musical score with a Celtic flair and though I don’t mind listening to them in other movies it works in this movie’s favor that there are no overblown musical numbers. This is one area where I hope the new folks at Disney reign in as there’s nothing worse than a musical and dance sequence that sounds as if it were written by a tone-deaf composer coupled with overwrought dance choreography. There are two songs but they are unobtrusive, one of them playing during the end credits.

All the voice talent assembled here acquits themselves well with Mae Whitman as Tinker Bell obviously shouldering the workload whereas others such as Anjelica Huston and Lucy Liu do their best to make their characters come to life even though they have minimal screen time.

With a short 78 minute running time the movie works at a fast pace and does an admirable job of setting up the characters and the world in which they live. It’s apparent from all the minute details that the Disney team has strived to create a believable fairy world that can serve as a launching point for further adventures. Kids, especially the young girl target audience, should love what is presented here although there’s not much that might engage older adults. Still, at least it is not insulting to their intelligence.

That being said, there are a few places where the film sags. The bulk of the entire second act where Tinker Bell attempts to learn other professions overcomes its welcome with too many pratfalls and events. The addition of a semi-villain reeks of frustration as well and doesn’t fit the overall feeling of camaraderie that is so prevalent in the fairy kingdom. It makes you wonder just how this particular fairy got such a bad attitude when no one else seems to care or notice. Finally, as much as Tinker Bell owes her existence to Peter Pan it’s not really a good move to keep making reference to the source material. The filmmakers have created a wonderfully realized world of pixie hollow that has enough weight to stand on its own. I can understand this being the first Tinker Bell movie to show some hooks that link it to Peter Pan but I hope further adventures will keep the fairies firmly as the focus.

Still, Tinker Bell is a good solid first effort from the new generation of Disney filmmakers who have taken the criticisms of the past to heart. Hopefully, the days of ghastly straight to video features is long gone with a new commitment to higher production values and effective storytelling.

*** out of ****

2008 USA, 78 Minutes, Disney, G
Directed by Bradley Raymond
Character by J.M. Barrie
Written by Jeffrey M. Howard
Original Music by Joel McNeely
Art Direction by Ryan L. Carlson

Tinker Bell (voice): Mae Whitman
Rosetta (voice): Kristin Chenoweth
Iridessa (voice):Raven-Symoné
Silvermist (voice): Lucy Liu
Fawn (voice): America Ferrera
Fairy Mary (voice): Jane Horrocks
Terence (voice): Jesse McCartney
Queen Clarion (voice): Anjelica Huston

Oh how the mighty have fallen. All my friends know I am a Trekkie and have always liked it more than Star Wars. I remember being in high school and being completely mollified and ridiculed that I liked Trek since Star Wars was just so inherently cool. Now, I’m not someone who will gloat. What people never seemed to understand was that I just liked Trek better. That does not mean I hated Star Wars. In fact, the original trilogy is not only some of the greatest science fiction movies ever committed to film but rather some of the best films period. Okay, I lied, Episode 6 (aka Return of the Jedi) was not very good but the first two were breathtaking forms of entertainment that to this day still resonate. Why? Precisely because we actually gave a damn what happened to these colourful bunch of characters. Sure, some of their names were a bit odd, but Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back presented wholly sympathetic heroes who all had internal issues to overcome. And overcome them they did while a galactic uprising was occurring with stupendous action sequences and effects never before seen on the silver screen.

So, believe me when I say I don’t take any pleasure in proclaiming that Star Wars as a franchise has hit a previously unfathomable new low which is saying a lot since the new trilogy prequels were less than desirable.

At first glance there is nothing wrong in theory of basing a movie and a subsequent TV series on the Clone Wars. In fact, every Star Wars fan has at sometime wondered just what exactly occurred during this time period. This shows exactly the innate power of the Star Wars franchise that made what basically was an obscure line from Episode 4 A New Hope said by Obi-Wan into this mythical part of lore. Fans will undoubtedly know what I am referring to during the scene where young Luke is talking to “General” Kenobi and Obi-wan flippantly announces that he had fought during the clone wars. This single line has sparked incredible debate amongst Star Wars aficionados.

A war, by any definition, is a ripe narrative hunting ground in which to mine many possible stories which makes the Clone Wars seem like a good era to base a new movie around. That is, until you realize what the inherent problem is in terms of the franchise – you know who can or can’t die. Yes, it might seem like no big deal but in fact, it really acts like a lead weight holding the film down as no matter the stakes involved you already know the ending. This places incredible focus on the new characters introduced as, by default, they are the only ones the screenwriters would be capable of killing.

The Clone Wars takes place firmly in the period between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Count Dooku’s separatists and the Republic forces are right smack in the middle of the war as things open and events continue to escalate. Dooku conceives of a plan to kidnap Jabba the Hutt’s baby son and then place the blame squarely on the Jedi Knights in order to sway Jabba into joining the Separatists.

Let’s pony up right away here. This is a film made for an intended audience of kids. This also obviously applies to the TV show. If you are an adult who grew up with the original trilogy and have harped incessantly about George Lucas messing things up royally with the prequel trilogy you should stop reading this right away and go watch Star Trek. There’s nothing here that is going to convince you that George has suddenly had a change of heart and decided to appeal to you. Lucas has stated that he’s going for a younger audience and that mentality hasn’t changed since the prequels except, in this case, it really is geared for and even younger audience.

Take all the childish moments that you felt ruined the prequels and times them by ten and you get the level of humour and dramatic tension in this film. Now, kids might eat this up, but having trade federation droids appear like morons and become the butt of all jokes runs contrary to their military design. Just who designs robots to forget simple numbers? Even though a full blown war is going on everyone on both sides has a strategic plan penned by Ed Wood. Armies clash head on making things feel like a mad dash to get to the other side of an imaginary board while our heroes think they are brilliant because they are the only ones capable of flanking their enemies. Even those plucky Spartans in the 300 knew enough to create a bottleneck. Generals of these huge armies have no plan but frontal assaults and are even tricked into drinking a cup of tea during a heated battle. I guess all the famed strategists were on holiday or not offered enough credits to show up.

Add in a buddy movie feel except between two juveniles who constantly bicker and you get a movie that feels like it belongs on Saturday afternoon right after Spongebob Squarepants. Most of this annoying bickering stems from Ahsoka Tano, the perky Togruta padawan who is newly assigned to Anakin Skywalker. Anakin himself was never a paragon of logic, letting his emotions rule the day right to the bitter end of his fall to the dark side. By introducing another character who is similar to him you can see the wheels turning in the screenwriter’s mind. This is not so bad if you intend to believe that teaching a young padawan will inevitably change Anakin into a more responsible adult. However, remember what I said earlier, you already know how it all ends so this relationship is mooted already as by definition we know it won’t work. This is a shame since it is not a bad idea trying to tame Anakin’s demons by forcing him to look after a jedi in training but what is the point in showing Anakin learning from his mistakes if we already know he discards it all in the end?

Ahsoka starts out as a whiny grating girl and basically ends the movie as she began but I didn’t mind too much as it is actually refreshing to see a female character given this much screen time. Not only that but she’s already quite competent with her force powers making her whining just a bit easier to take. What is odd is that she is more often than not right while pointing out Anakin’s mistakes of judgement. There’s no problem with apprentices sometimes being correct but it just reinforces what we already know happens to Anakin and his faulty reasoning. Just what exactly did Qui-Gon see in this kid? On a side note Ahsoka calls Anakin, “Sky Guy,” and he reciprocates by naming her “Snips.” She also has nicknames for Jabba’s son, (Stinky) and R2D2 (Artooie). Somewhere, a Ewok is crying.

Although this is geared towards children it also makes you wonder just what exactly is going to happen to Ahsoka as well since we don’t see her in Revenge of the Sith. It might make children unhappy but I can easily see how the council’s plan to make Anakin more responsible with Ahsoka can backfire if something happens to her. Then again, would the film makers of a kid’s show go that far? We’ll have to see the series for that answer.

That brings us to a prescient revelation regarding this whole endeavour that the concept is not so bad when taken in 22 minute chunks of television but as a feature film it just plain fails to engage. Pacing is wholly thrown out of whack as it feels like three or four TV episodes shoehorned together to form a tenuous plot. You can almost break down each individual episode as they go by making the whole endeavour extremely disjointed. The movie also makes the mistake of upping the action to stratospheric lengths giving us too many similar sequences. Watching a lightsaber duel in the original Star Wars between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan, or in Empire Strikes Back between father and son became a thrilling experience because the film built up tension till that occurred. These were fights between titans. Now, in the Clone Wars we get duels every ten minutes and the film betrays its childish bent by none of them resulting in emotional loss. Villains keep losing and manage to scurry away making you wonder why the good guys just don’t finish them off. This is a war after all.

Exposition is kept to the bare minimum to move the plot to yet another exotic location and when someone like Ahsoka attempts to try her hand at psychoanalysis she’s quickly blown off by a steely glance from Anakin that shuts her up. Seriously, this is a strong-willed girl who keeps telling her master off at every turn only to back off when he basically tells her to mind her own business? If she’s so concerned about the state of her master’s psyche I hope she has the smarts to ask someone during the TV show.

Most of the major prequel characters show up at sometime during the film but it mainly focuses on Anakin, Ahsoka and Obi-wan. Padme, Yoda, Mace Windu and the rest barely even register instead replaced by some truly off-kilter new characters such as Jabba’s uncle, Ziro the Hutt, who, for some inexplicable reason can speak accented English like a cross between Liberace and Michael Jackson. It’s completely jarring to say the least watching a giant slug animated with incredibly effeminate motion. One of the film’s unexpected advantages is that it tries to humanize the clone troopers which actually is a great addition as it makes you realize that beneath their same appearances lie unique individuals. This is a heartening surprise as these clones were nothing more than tools in the prequel films.

None of the major characters are voiced by their famous actors and actresses except for Mace Windu although poor Samuel L. Jackson has about five lines. Those waiting for him to say expletives are going to be waiting till the end of time. Although the replacements all attempt to mimic the original cast it also straitjackets them in their delivery as they struggle to “stay in character”. The new individuals such as Ahsoka fare much better as they have the ability to truly create their characters from scratch.

Finally there’s the actual look and feel of the animation itself. The Clone Wars is a sequel to Genndy Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars cartoon shorts released between the prequel movies and as such keeps the chiselled art style intact. What works for traditional 2D animation does not translate too well into the 3rd dimension. In still shots they look like mere 3D extensions of the 2D art but when they move it’s like watching robots stiffly yank and jerk spastically over the screen. Each model seems to be made up of the most basic number of joints which is probably why the action runs at such a fast pace in order to cover up the wooden movements. Wooden is actually the perfect adjective here as facial features are sculpted into static blocks, the only thing moving being the eyes as even the mouths appear like Pinocchio puppet jaws. It makes for an incredibly spiritless, sterile feel that further distances the audience from having any emotional attachment to these characters.

Instead of going all out with state of the art 3D techniques ala something from Pixar, this approach is incredibly low key as befits its intended TV medium. This makes one wonder just how far along in the series’ production schedule did the decision come down to change the first few episodes into a feature film. Regardless, The Clone Wars does not function as a full fledged cinematic experience. It would have gotten a far better reaction in its home TV medium. Even then, adult fanboys who loved the original prequel are going to be further removed from this new material as it doesn’t expand much beyond pretty lightsaber fights and action set pieces. Even the central questions regarding Anakin are barely touched upon, not surprising since we got the Cliff’s notes version in Revenge of the Sith anyhow.

I have indeed seen most of the first ten episodes of the TV show and while there were some competent and engaging yarns they nearly all focused on the new or previously ignored characters. Maybe this is a good sign for Lucas and company to spend more time expanding the Star Wars universe instead of treading water on characters we know too well. Unfortunately, none of that helps this clone wars movie which is both pedestrian in size and scope. If you really must see more Star Wars then I suggest you instead play, Star Wars The Force Unleashed video game that attempts and achieves a much better transition narrative between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. After this movie the Star Wars movie franchise is on life support hacking and wheezing like General Grievious in the last prequel.

*1/2 out of ****

2008, USA, 98 Minutes, PG, Warner Brothers/Lucasfilm Animation
Directed by Dave Filoni
Screenplay Henry Gilroy, Steven Melching, Scott Murphy
Produced by George Lucas, Catherine Winder
Original Music by Kevin Kiner
Film Editing by Jason Tucker

Anakin Skywalker (voice): Matt Lanter
Ahsoka Tano (voice): Ashley Eckstein
Obi-Wan Kenobi / 4-A7 / Medical Droid (voice): James Arnold Taylor
Clone Troopers / Captain Rex / Cody (voice): Dee Bradley Baker
Yoda / Narrator / Admiral Yularen (voice): Tom Kane
Asajj Ventress / Tee-C-Seventy (voice): Nika Futterman
Chancellor Palpatine / Darth Sidious (voice): Ian Abercrombie
General Loathsom / Ziro the Hutt / Kronos-327 (voice): Corey Burton
Padmé Amidala (voice): Catherine Taber
Battle Droids (voice): Matthew Wood
Jabba the Hutt (voice): Kevin Michael Richardson
Rotta the Huttlet (voice): David Acord
Mace Windu (voice): Samuel L. Jackson

Space the Final Frontier,
These are the voyages of the starship Shenzhou 15,

As I sit here at my computer reminiscing about my most memorable events of the past twelve months my thoughts, as they so often want, turn to Star Trek but this time not so much centered on Kirk and co warping to distant stars to seek out new civilizations but instead much closer to home, namely the Earth and its moon.

During the first week of August 2008 the world was glued to their TV sets not because of the economic turmoil that was about to descend like some petulant alien invasion but rather all eyes were on Beijing for the start of the summer Olympics. This was a grand spectacle like no other, probably never to be rivaled at least in the short term. Just how many countries could mount such a lavish production and spend upwards for $40 billion dollars on staging the games and the related infrastructure needed to accommodate them. To put that into perspective that’s the entire yearly nominal GDP of the Dominican Republic or Oman or Syria. That’s about 1/3 the nominal GDP of Egypt and a staggering amount of investment by any measuring yardstick.


















This was a ceremony on such a scale that it demands to be seen more than once in order to process everything involved. From the opening Fou drummers to the movable type blocks controlled completely through manpower to a gigantic globe rising from a hidden compartment in the stadium floor, the show was simply breathtaking. Featuring over 15,000 performers, the number actually exceeded the total number of athletes competing. I hate to quote TV commentators, as most usually talk excessively during these broadcasts but for once NBC's Bob Costas said it right when he chimed in, “In terms of opening ceremonies, retire the trophy.”

Veteran director Zhang Yimou, armed with a virtually unlimited budget and given the manpower of a small army, let loose all his creative artistry in a cornucopia of dazzling colours and intricately tailored costumes all enacted with military precision, a fact not lost to many in the Western media who kept harping about goose stepping soldiers. I’m not going to bother talking about the political impact of the Olympics other than to say this was China’s coming out party and it went off without a hitch. Even quasi scandals like a lip syncing girl and computer aided special effects that were splashed all over the Western media did little to tarnish the accomplishment especially since it was later revealed that other Olympics one-upped China in that department – one girl lip syncing is rather tame when compared to the entire Sydney Symphony “pretending” to play during Sydney’s Olympics in 2000.

Soon after the Olympic glow faded and the world crassly turned its attention elsewhere, the Paralympics started in Beijing with a ceremony of unprecedented emotion. The Olympic opening was definitely grand, showcasing China’s five thousand year history but the Paralympic one had something that was palpably missing from its more famous sibling, namely heart. This was a show that truly touched those involved and while Li Ning running along the rim of the Bird’s Nest during the Olympic opening ceremony was certainly the highlight who could have expected the feat to be equaled a mere few weeks later as Hou Bin , a wheelchair athlete, used his brute strength to literally pull himself off the floor and directly up a pulley leading to the flame -- incredibly heart warming and something that I recommend everyone to see if they can manage to find a copy of it. Those living in Toronto can easily pick up a copy of both the Olympic and Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies from Chinese megamalls in Pacific Mall (Steeles and Kennedy) and First Markham Place (Highway 7 between Warden and Woodbine Avenue). Just be warned that they are broadcast in Chinese and those looking for an English version would probably be better off ordering them from NBC.com or getting someone from the USA to ship them to you.

However, though Beijing soon said goodbye to the world’s athletes the government had other plans to celebrate which leads us to the Shenzhou 7 mission which took China back to the stars, this time to accomplish what only the USA and Russia had previously – a manned spacewalk. The Chinese leadership had this all planned and yes, it is propaganda on a grand scale but what the heck, it worked. While no one can say the world was glued during the spacewalk the political implications are obvious and reinforced the message brought forth during the Olympics – China is back and they are gunning to recapture their former eminence.

Throughout the ebbs and flows of human history, civilizations have come and gone but they have all left an indelible mark on us. From the earliest human settlements based along river valleys like the Nile, the Tigris-Euphrates or the Yellow river, empires have risen, fallen, risen again or just plain disappeared into the sands of time.

It was watching Col. Zhai Zhigang, the Chinese taikonaut (the Chinese term for astronaut), bounce around in space while waving the flag of the PRC that I decided to learn a bit more about the Chinese space program just to see how it was faring and came across this rather odd logo of the Chinese National Space Agency (CNSA). Imagine my surprise, shock, and just plain laughter when it immediately dawned on me why this logo was so strangely familiar although I had never seen it before.

Trekkers around the world will no doubt join me in a gentle chuckle as they realize that the CNSA logo is an odd combination of the United Federation of Planet’s flag and the Starfleet command delta and I remember my first reaction was to pen a blog entry along the lines of, “The Federation has been born today -- not in San Francisco but in Beijing!” However, my initial amusement didn’t last long as I began to seriously ponder what I had just postulated. Can it really be possible that the future of space exploration to other planets be headquartered anywhere else other than the USA? What seemed preposterous even a decade ago was by far a murkier question in the present especially once the economic downturn hit with full force.

The world most definitely is stuck in a deep recessionary cycle right now. Some might even deem it a depression but about the only thing people can agree on is that it is a global phenomenon. This is not a local instance such as Japan in the early 90s that sank into recession while the rest of the world steamed ahead. With talk of the president-elect Obama postulating budgetary deficits in excess of 1 Trillion per year the American economy is reeling and that is not even counting the many industries on the brink of bankruptcy including Detroit’s big three automakers.

China itself has also seen a sharp decline in forecasts as it is so greatly linked by exports to the falling American economy. Still, industry analysts are predicting somewhere between 6-8% growth in the PRC while it is flat, or at worst, contracting in other parts of the world. In short, China might be limping with a hobbled foot but there are many countries that are taking multiple blows straight to the head during this unprecedented crisis.

Amidst all this doom and gloom president-elect Obama has hinted at a plan not well covered by many in the media of forcing NASA and the Pentagon to jointly work together in order to cut costs and better compete in the coming space race. Surely, economically this makes some sense as it has the potential to remove competing programs and wasted fat in both agencies but the political inference here is obvious – the coming space race between the USA and who? Well, it’s not the Russians although they still possess formidable resources and have the most efficient launch vehicle in the Soyuz program. No, Obama is focusing on the land of 1.3 billion people and its current headlong drive to modernize itself.

China has already stated the moon is its ultimate goal while President Bush has countered that America will also return to Earth’s satellite. The problem with the American program is that the Ares 1 rocket designed to carry the new Orion crew capsule is running behind schedule leaving NASA with the unenviable task of either delaying the retirement of the space shuttle or booking sorties exclusively with the Russian Soyuz as being the only launch vehicle available a plan that will undoubtedly cause much loss of face and political capital – how does it look if the world’s only remaining superpower can’t get back into space by itself and has to basically rent time on Russian space vehicles?

With the combination of both NASA and the pentagon the hope rises that the military’s proficiency in missile technology can be augmented to fit NASA’s needs as a vehicle to launch the Orion into orbit. Of course, everything is theoretical as Ares 1 and Orion are only scheduled to be completed around 2015 putting it dangerously close to the earliest estimates of a Chinese moon launch window. Any delay would push the American space program further back to 2020 giving China an opportunity to beat them back first.

I remember going to the online forums to see what people around the world were saying about this purported space race and as usual my fellow citizens didn’t disappoint me in the amount of vitriol spouted from all sides. If one could distill those comments to something more palatable it would inevitably be something close to, “Why go back to the moon since we’ve already beaten them there? There’s no reason to get there second – they’ve already lost before they’ve begun.” To others running along the lines of, “We deserve to go there and no one can stop us!”

This one incident really made me ponder the issue at hand which, on the surface reads as nothing more than a political power play between competing nations and indeed online citizens from around the world have read it as precisely that. On one hand they are absolutely correct but there’s a deeper underlying issue here that cuts right across country lines and its one that people should focus more on but don’t due to everyone’s inherent prejudices.

Even though earning a bronze in spacewalking is no small feat although it comes decades after the Russians and Americans accomplished the same goal and gunning for the silver with a moon landing is admirable these events just emphasize an inherent human flaw. Although this was a time for China to shine and for patriotism to run rampant throughout the Chinese mainland and for Americans to shrug their shoulders in an apparently transparent attempt to hide their concerns, I couldn’t help but think about how ridiculous humanity as a whole truly is to be put in this situation.

To bring back Star Trek, this is a Kobayashi Maru no-win scenario that mankind keeps repeating no matter the costs. Countries might rise and fall but mankind never seems to learn its lesson for as great a moment as it was for the Chinese people, in terms of mankind it was basically treading water. Imagine a more utopian world where everyone worked as one to accomplish feats of wonder and you begin to realize how ridiculous it is to keep harping about individual countries. Imagine a future like in Trek where humanity is united as one entity whose only goal is to better oneself and to explore space.

In a world like that, whoever got to the moon in the first place would reveal all the secrets to the world so that everyone would benefit and be on the same page. Wishing thinking? Of course it is. Will it ever happen? Probably not in our lifetime or, if history is the judge, possibly never unless some external threat like some alien race appears and threatens the world. Only then would the world unite against a common foe or so you hope.

So, this is ultimately depressing looking at the superpowers duke it out for bragging rights as to who is going to go back to the moon and beyond. It is simple human nature to protect what you have at the expense of others, a trait that unfortunately is all too common. I have no doubt some of us are more altruistic but I reckon those numbers are few. I am not purporting to claim that we humans are inherently bad, merely that our concern with human created institutions like countries, religion, and race often times colours our judgment as to the greater picture.

In the entire universe we live on a tiny speck of dust. I previously challenged people with a simple question asking about our place in the universe. Who knows but one thing is for sure, we’re all alone here amongst the starry night and though it is sometimes impossible to fathom, until we meet someone else, we better figure out how to make the best of things. Maybe there’s a race of sentient pillows watching us right now shaking their “heads” thinking we’re a bunch of uncivilized barbarians. Imagine a world where everyone works together to tackle salient issues of the day – cures for diseases like Cancer and AIDs; renewable energy sources and recyclable materials; basic food, clothing and lodging from everyone; it’s all in the realm of possibility if only we stopped playing petty politics.

Yeah, it sounds like one big dream and it is. I’m not saying anything other smarter people haven’t already thought about. It’s just ridiculous if you sit back and watch the glacial pace of human progress.

There is a concept in Star Trek that diehard fans will no doubt know as being the Vulcan philosophy of IDIC which stands for, “Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.” The story goes that the Vulcan people were originally an extremely warlike race with violent tendencies. The wise Vulcan philosopher Surak realized that if they continued down this path it would lead to their ultimate destruction so in response he advocated logical thought and reasoning as a way to lead his people away from confrontation. Of course, this being science fiction, it led to the Vulcan people to look deep within themselves and discover ways to control their emotions and over the centuries they developed into the Vulcans we know and love who are walking examples of pure logic, emotion being buried deep within and shunted into some dark recess of the mind.

IDIC though has further meaning, not just in repressing emotion but it advocates that people should celebrate and gain spiritual enjoyment through the acknowledgment that everyone is different and that human created institutions and concepts like race, colour, creed and religion should never take precedence over the spirit of cooperation and empathy for your fellow man.

Now, I’m a big Trek fan but I don’t pray to the church of Roddenberry but what he created in the Vulcan IDIC is essentially one of the main reasons people have gravitated to the show’s incredibly optimistic view of humanity’s future that precisely postulates that indeed we have learned our lessons, fixed up our planet and now cruise through the stars with altruistic motives. Other science fiction movies and TV shows are so often wrought with angst and posit less than utopian views on humanity that in many cases has brought itself closer to extinction. In this light, Trek is one of the only franchises to actually show that humanity can actually accomplish much if only we collectively worked together.

So, as we watch human politics play out over the course of our lives we really should be mindful of the greater goal. It doesn’t matter except to those short-minded individuals that an American, Neil Armstrong, was the first man to step onto the moon. It shouldn’t matter if the next person in 2015 who gets back is Chinese either. Maybe the first person to set foot on Mars will be an Indian or a Russian. Let’s stop worrying about which country gets there first and take Armstrong’s words at face value, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” If we are united there’s nothing we can’t handle. Let’s just revel and applaud the fact that we as a race can accomplish feats of absolute wonder.

As I look at the CNSA symbol, it doesn’t matter one bit if Starfleet begins in some remote corner of China or if the first starship has giant Chinese characters splattered over the saucer section (Trek!). Does it really matter if the language they speak onboard is English, Chinese, German, Russian or Japanese? If your answer is “yes” then perhaps it’s a good time to look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself why?

If Zhang Yimou puts on a grand Olympic opening ceremony or Steven Spielberg wins an Oscar for Schindler’s List, let’s take it upon ourselves to be benevolent enough to acknowledge the contributions to their art and enjoy the beauty of their creation. We’ve spent enough wasted time jostling amongst ourselves and reinventing the wheel a million times over. Let’s instead go back to the moon and then, “To infinity...and beyond!” Only then can we meet those sentient pillows.



*Olympic Photo credit Jeff Gross / Getty Images*

With their new movie, Speed Racer, the Wachowski Brother’s have succeeded in taking their technical wizardry to a new level by making one of the most intricately beautiful movies ever committed to film with dazzling colours and futuristic locales. Just about every film cell would make a wonderful wallpaper on your PC with its stunning blend of live actors and state of the art computer graphics. Unfortunately, while Speed Racer definitely looks immaculate in still shots, it fails miserably in providing even the most basic element of fun with its ham-fisted attempt at a plot that is inundated with a bizarre blend of childish platitudes and garish machine-gun style editing that does nothing but draw attention to itself at the expense of creating a unified world. This is MTV editing taken to the nth degree as no one at Warner Brothers has seemed to be able to reel the directing brothers back. With no constraints imposed on them they’ve taken their daring camera work learned on the Matrix Trilogy and let their imaginations run wild to disastrous results.

Based on the classic Speed Racer cartoon from the 60s, this new version more or less follows the original with a few extras thrown in. The film follows the exploits of Speed Racer (Emile Hirsh), a young teenager who has had a penchant for racing since he was a boy. Now of age he enters the lucrative racing circuit in an attempt to become the champion. Complicating matters is the fact that all of the other competitors are backed by mega corporations with wads of cash at their disposal while Speed races for a literal “mom and pop outfit” headed by his father (John Goodman) who so happens to be a brilliant auto engineer. As Speed’s reputation rises he is immediately courted by an obviously slimy billionaire, E.P. Royalton (Roger Allam) who, wants Speed to join his corporate team. Speed’s refusal sends Royalton into a rather hackneyed rage and he vows that Speed’s career is effectively over.

With a relatively simple setup it is a wonder how the overall movie feels disjointed and remarkably unfocused. Simply put, the Wachowski Brothers’ reliance on visual gimmickry and stylistic flair completely overwhelms the actors and the narrative heft they are attempting to portray. Somber scenes drag and are surprisingly devoid of emotion while even the action sequences largely fail to generate needed excitement nor tension.

If you have an actor or an action sequence planned it is always necessary to convince the audience of its plausibility. It doesn’t matter if you fantastical elements like laser beams or rocket launchers stuck to the side of the car as long as the audience buys in to the world that is presented to them. Take a humanistic example such as martial artist cum actor Jet Li. Unlike other “pretend” martial artists you know he knows his stuff and as a director this should influence you on how you create and block an action sequence using him. With an actor who is basically faking a preset amount of moves, chances are you are going to use many quick cuts, close ups, slow motion, or other visual tricks to basically hide the fact that your actor is a novice. Now, if you were filming Jet Li you’re going to hopefully do the opposite and draw your focus back to see his entire body. You’re going to let the camera run with longer takes and basically watch him do his work since there’s no point in chopping up the action into little pieces to give the audience the impression that he knows what he is doing since, well, he really does know his stuff.

With Speed Racer we’re talking about racing not hand to hand combat, although for some reason, the Wachowski Brothers have decided to showcase some martial arts anyways but the fundamentals are the same. Racetracks just merely exist with no rhyme or reason or even easy indicators to show their layout. The lack of visual cues means you are just presented with miles of track that seem to loop or wind with no sense of scale or purpose. Even during a rally style race that takes place mid film we’re shown environments that seem to have been constructed to meet the demands of being cool rather than having any real function.

Constant and endless quick cuts and some surprising odd angles make the action choppy with no sense of fluidity. Cars explode or go careening into obstacles with regular ease but there’s no weight with the audience as none of the drivers have any personality whatsoever. Not to mention no one actually dies. This being a kid’s film a horrific accident just results in someone ejecting or a parachute being deployed. This is an obvious oversight as all of Speed’s competitors are not fully fleshed out. Actually, they’re not even given any motivation whatsoever except the slimmest desire to just win at all costs.

To say the visual wizardry overshadows the cast is an understatement. Promising young actor Emile Hirsh is reduced to posturing and furrowing his eyebrows while even veteran stalwarts John Goodman and Susan Sarandon are pigeonholed into one-dimensional character studies. Villains are over the top but Roger Allam’s megalomaniac takes scenery chewing so far beyond the limit that you almost expect his eyeballs to pop their sockets or his character to suffer a heart attack with his sputtering tirades. Add in a completely humorless chimpanzee which, while is nod to the original cartoon, is so out of place that it makes you wonder if even kids will get a kick at his antics.

That brings to light just what exactly kids will make of this film. At 135 minutes the movie doesn’t exactly barrel along at light speed but rather starts and stops as the engine struggles to move the film forward. That is to say the overall pacing seems slow although the visuals are working on hyperdrive. It is rather odd that everything feels languid and without a real sense of purpose even though the action is over the top. The two-hour running time is bolstered with an off-tangent and completely extraneous side story centered on rival racer Taejo (Korean megastar Rain) whom Speed needs to aid. This effectively cuts the movie into two and throws the pace even more off kilter.

With visuals that seem to meld 60’s acid trips with 21st century graphics, the Wachowski brothers have created what should be a visual delight but instead the experience is literally dizzying. Throw in a vapid storyline and you have a recipe for nausea-induced headaches. I sincerely doubt this was the reaction the brothers had in mind when they agreed to tackle this project.

*1/2 out of ****

2008, USA, 135min
Directed by Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Writing credits: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Produced by Grant Hill, Joel Silver, Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Executive producer: Bruce Berman, Michael Lambert, David Lane Seltzer
Original Music by Michael Giacchino
Cinematography by David Tattersall

Speed Racer: Emile Hirsch
Trixie: Christina Ricci
Pops Racer: John Goodman
Mom Racer: Susan Sarandon
Racer X: Matthew Fox
Rex Racer: Scott Porter
Spritle Racer: Paulie Litt
E. P. Arnold Royalton: Roger Allam
Jack 'Cannonball' Taylor: Ralph Herforth
Taejo Togokahn: Rain
Horuko Togokahn: Nan Yu

One of the surprising aspects of the new Apple 3G iPhone is just how robust the game selection is. Traditionally, Macs have lagged far behind PCs in this area with most gaming companies totally ignoring bringing their games to OSX. Those that do sometimes release ports of their wares months, even years, after the PC release. Therefore, it’s a joy to see Apple beginning to come around and noticing that the gaming market is incredibly lucrative and, if the reports are correct, the bulk of iPhone APP store purchases are indeed from video games. The biggest problem for consumers though is trying to wade through the copious amount of below par software that is available on iTunes to try and find the gems. Confounding this even more is the severe lack of online reviews and articles about the available software. Relying on comments in iTunes is just about useless as most are nothing more than knee-jerk reactions praising the game as the best thing since sliced bread or the worst piece of garbage ever to be coded. Hopefully, in the future, some of the bigger video game sites will see that iPhone/cell phone gaming is going to boom.

This brings us to Everest: Hidden Expedition an iPhone port of a PC title made by veteran casual game developer, Big Fish Games. To understand what exactly the game entails one just needs to see what genre it comes from on Big Fish Games’ website – the Hidden Object Game. The goal of the game is simple. Under the rather flimsy pretense that the player is in a race with three other teams to find the treasures and secrets of Everest the game takes you on a worldwide adventure to find clues to unlock the mystery. My advice? Ignore the pastiche of a plot and focus on what you are really tasked to do.

Putting it simply, the game presents you with a static, though nicely drawn piece of art showing the location you are currently searching for clues except the whole picture is filled with numerous objects of every type from sports equipment, fruit, animals, vases to guns and swords. It’s as if someone threw all their belongings out onto the street in a jumbled mess. The object of the game is to find the items that the game asks of you. For example, you make it to Hong Kong. As soon as the image of Hong Kong appears a smaller text list of items is displayed at the bottom of the screen. These are the items you need to find in the image. A simple tap on the correct item removes it from your list.

To attempt to add some tension a progress bar runs below the picture showing the various teams and how well they are doing finding the objects. Obviously, three teams are A.I. controlled but the player has his/her own indicator as well. With every successful item found the progress bar jumps ahead on the bar. A.I. teams just increase at a steady rate unless you try to cheat and randomly mash your fingers all over the screen in a vain effort to click items you need. In this case the game will cause your iPhone to shake and penalize you by boosting the progress of your A.I. competitors.

If you really do get stuck trying to find a particular object do not despair as there’s a hint timer given to you. This works like a clock by having a hand turn clockwise over the face. After it does one complete rotation it lights up indicating to the player that a free hint has become available. If you press the face of the clock the game will automatically reveal the general location of one of your pending items. While this might sound like you can just afford to sit back and wait till the clock fills over and over to reveal items let it be known that the time wasted would inevitably make you lose to the A.I. teams.

Now, I can hear what you are thinking already – Is this fun? Well, it all depends on what you are looking for. Action gamers should stay far away as the game just boils down to something akin to “Where’s Waldo?” The challenge presented to you is that the items are ingeniously placed on the image so that they blend in extremely well with the environment. A pea pod for example could be placed in the midst of forest plants to obscure it from your view. There is definitely a sense of satisfaction to be had when you discover a particularly well hidden item.

However, if you are not a patient person the game can easily frustrate. There are sure to be times where you want to rip your hair off when you can’t find a needed object. The game’s pace is incredibly sedate with mellow sound effects to boot. I must admit I almost dozed off at one point as I was lying on the floor. My advice – don’t play this if you are already tired and sleepy.

The game though does have a few design quirks that are rather odd and while they don’t ruin the game it gives the impression that the QA team was a bit sloppy in missing them or else the developers didn’t foresee different playing styles. The game, like nearly every casual game in existence, is designed to be played in short bursts such as finishing one location during each play session. The reason why this is easy to discern comes if you decide, like I did, to play large chunks at once. If you do you’ll quickly realize the spastic random way the item list you need to find is generated.

Although the game has many locations there is a lot of backtracking to previous stages. You might start the Hong Kong level, go to Ankor Watt, then Japan and then back to Hong Kong again. The problem lies here when you return to a previous stage as the game has a wicked tendency to ask you to find many of the same items again. If you are playing continuously you are more apt to remember the location of items you just found mere minutes ago. Another problem that may or may not affect players lies with the items themselves. For the most part 99% of them are everyday objects but you’re going to be up a creek if you have no idea how Yin and Yang or a Nautilus looks like. The only recourse if you really don’t have a clue is to use the hint feature.

Those players with a keen eye will find that the game is not particularly difficult and rarely will the A.I. come close to filling the progress bar before you. Even though there are many locales the basic game never changes which leads to monotony quite quickly. Finally, like nearly every game I’ve played on the iPhone to date, once beaten there’s really nothing to bring you back for more. Even worse, there’s no scoring system other than what position you placed in regard to the A.I. teams.

Everest: Hidden Expedition is definitely not a game for everyone with its sedate pacing and brain-cramping game play it might frustrate more than titillate. Actual game play amounts to nothing more than an image treasure hunt. Still, the game does sport higher than usual production values and those who like their games that stimulate their brainpower more than their dexterity might find this title much to their liking. It’s too bad that Big Fish Games didn’t attempt to spice things up between levels by adding new features. Trudging through hours of image hunting takes its toll and without a big payoff it feels more like work than fun.

**1/2 out of ****

Developer: Big Fish Games
Published by: Big Fish Games
Size: 118 MB
Version: 1.1
Released: 11/14/2008

Heroes Season One, while it had some rough spots, was not only a shining example of science fiction done right but had enough thrills, chills and plot twists to rival the best TV has to offer. It deftly juggled a multitude of characters all the while infusing them with enough humanity and gumption to keep audiences enamored as fans lit up forums in an attempt to decipher all the show's mysteries. In this sense it was a phenomenon very much like the first season of Lost, another science fiction ensemble show that premiered to great acclaim. Although the season ended with a rather clunky mishandling of the cliffhanger, hopes were high that Heroes would continue to present compelling storylines in its sophomore season.

The unfortunate answer is that it did not. In fact, it took just about everything commendable and established in the first season and proceeded to tear them down one by one leaving audiences aghast at some of the poorly implemented story elements and stylistic choices that did nothing but confuse and frustrate. Some of this can be blamed on 2007’s writer’s strike that basically paralyzed Hollywood and led to many shows having truncated seasons. Originally scheduled for a full season run of 24 episodes, Season 2 of Heroes became stunted and forced to end at episode 11. This gives the season an incredibly off kilter pacing as storylines are forced into premature resolution.

Still, this constitutes only part of the problem. It is evident from the season premiere that creator Tim Kring and his writing staff have tried to generate more intrigue by basically fast forwarding the show four months after the end of Season One. That, in of itself, is not an inherently bad idea but in doing so, instead of adding to the building mythos it totally deconstructs and resets whole character arcs so much so that it becomes jarring and adds too much confusion for the audience to grasp or follow. Some of the main characters are not even introduced until many episodes into the season while others are unceremoniously written off the show entirely.

While the entire narrative thrust of the first season culminated in the heroes all converging on a specific location and acting in concert to avert disaster, season two callously rends them apart once more. It’s a bit of a stretch that these neophyte heroes would even go their separate ways on their own accord once they find others who, like them, are becoming more at ease with their super powers. You would think the first reaction would be to stay together to try and figure out their collective place in the universe.

All the characters undergo some truly odd and awkward transitions in their new storylines. Season one standouts Hiro and Claire actually suffer the most by being saddled with pointless meandering plots that, especially in the case of Hiro, seem totally disconnected to the main narrative of the season. Admittedly, there is a surprise in his narrative arc that attempts to bring disparate plots together but it comes off as wholly manufactured and, even worse, totally unconvincing. Claire however, spends the season reenacting almost the very same storyline she had in the first season as she perpetually butts heads with her dad while suddenly finding love at her new high school. What follows is a silly teen romance ripped from the pages of The O.C. with an added dash of Smallville. Why? Because her new boyfriend has the power of flight. You’d think his name was Clark Kent although he lacks any sort of sense whatsoever as he decides to fly around in broad daylight even though he does not want anyone to discover his secret.

Other core characters don’t fare much better such as super-powered Peter Petrelli and Sylar both of which are again saddled with arcs that take forever to get going. In Peter’s case the writers seem so bereft of ideas that they pull out the oldest trick in the book by making him lose his memory and then shipping him off to Ireland to fall in love with a local lass. Season one supreme bad guy Sylar comes off even worse. Stripped of all his powers he does nothing but glower menacingly at newcomers Maya and Alejandro who are some of the blandest characters ever to be introduced on network television. This trio spends the entire eleven episodes on an exasperatingly dull road trip from Central America to New York. We barely get to know them at all and even when we are given a hint of a back story the writers decide enough is enough and off one of them in one of the most anticlimactic fashions ever devised.

Both Mohinder and Niki are almost criminally underused in season 2 but this is not such a bad decision since when they do appear they seem to have lost all sense of logic and, even worse, been infected with a virulent strain of the stupids. How else would you explain Mohinder cozying up to The Company and betraying his friends? Niki is a whole different story as it is painfully obvious that the show runners have little inkling on how to move her character forward. This stance is ultimately revealed when they finally decide on a direction during the season finale.

Another new character is introduced by the name of Monica who so happens to be related to Niki and her son Micha and although her power to mimic anything she sees shows signs of progress, again the execution falls far below expectations.

About the only character who actually shows promise from season one is Matt Parkman who begins to expand his powers while finding the time to raise young Molly. He becomes the most humanistic caring figure and one can easily identify with his struggles especially when he soon comes to heads with his father who abandoned him when he was a mere pup. The other plus is the inclusion of ex-Veronica Mars alum, Kristen Bell who plays a character much unlike the chirpy teen sleuth that gained her fame. Her character, Elle, comes off as being playfully sadistic and seemingly lacking a moral compass. It’s a shame she is so underused. One can hope we see more of her interacting with the other heroes in the next season.

Making matters worse is that the season contains a wide variety of plot holes, strange logic and a lack of overall tension. Season one worked so well in part because it distilled every plotline into the simple catch phrase of, “Save the cheerleader, save the world.” Nearly everything revolved around this giving the characters a razor sharp motivation to extend their efforts. Season two squanders many hours before revealing the major narrative thrust of a virus that would be released with the potential to wipe out 93% of the world population. However, this is revealed much too late and then, because of the writer’s strike, all together truncated so it never feels anywhere as calamitous a proposition than the nuclear bomb going off in season one even though the stakes are higher.

As everyone knows I am a big Star Trek fan. As Trek grew and grew and grew and more series were made the show runners realized that the amount of Trek lore, technological jargon and history was beginning to become unwieldy. In order to attempt to keep errors to a minimum they had a team of people whose only job was the make sure new episodes did not contradict older ones. The team sought out these problems and informed the writers if any violations were found.

Heroes only had one full season under its belt but it is amazing how the show runners run smack head first into problems with their own mythology and guidelines. In fact, there appears to be no such guidelines in place. Part of showcasing a super hero is also showing their Achilles heel (i.e. for Superman it was kryptonite) or at least thoroughly explaining the extent of their superpowers. The show doesn’t even bother to create boundaries leaving the viewer constantly scratching their heads wondering, “I didn’t know it worked like that.”

Looking at new character Monica is one such example. Here you have a character that can mimic any action she sees. Therefore, if she sees a wrestling match she can suddenly replicate the complicated move with precision. We see her later learning martial arts and this finally culminates with her receiving a video iPod filled with many useful moves just in case she gets into trouble.

The problem is we, as the viewer, have no idea how her power actually works as it is never explained in any detail. Once she sees it does she always remember or does she naturally forget? It might not sound like a major problem but the show doesn’t even make an attempt to enlighten us.

Later in the show Monica has a chance to basically illegally enter a house and steal a stack of valuable comics. We immediately see her turn on her iPod and watch video of someone doing parkour up to the second floor of a house. This gives Monica the ability and she proceeds to follow suit. However, we run smack dab into a conundrum. Her power is absolute mimicry yet the house in the video is not the same house she has to burgle. As the episode progresses she is captured but this raises another issue. If she only has to see something once in order to mimic it then why didn’t she watch the whole wealth of video on the iPod before she did anything? Wouldn’t it make more sense to be totally prepared? After all, it is quite clearly shown that many hours pass before she has the guts to do the deed. This is what occurs when you don’t write firm rules and it gives the impression that the writers are just winging it and making it all up on the spot.

That’s not to say that season two doesn’t have any redeeming qualities. The production values are still excellent and some of the story elements are decent but there are unfortunately more misses than hits. Take for instance poor Ando, Hiro’s best friend and constant buddy from season one. Just about everywhere Hiro went Ando was with him and part of the charm was watching the duo get into and out of tough predicaments. Season two keeps both friends apart by sending Hiro back in time and keeping Ando in the present. This is not so bad until you realize that all Ando is doing this time is sitting in his office or lab and reading out loud about Hiro’s exploits in the past. Talk about a waste of a character.

There’s also the problem with Claire’s blood which suddenly has become the Holy Grail of cures. Although we know she has regenerative powers we see her blood becoming a massive plot point and even in some cases, being able to bring people back from the dead. I don’t know about you but if someone were ever found to be like Claire everyone in the world would be clamoring for drops of her plasma. This also complicates the story since it gives the writers an easy way out to explain horrific injuries to major characters. Not to mention, you’d think some villain or evil country would want to capture her and just hook her up to a blood extracting machine for the rest of her life to manufacture this miracle cure. Hmmm, maybe a plot for a future season?

Season one was blessed with a wonderfully sadistic villain in Sylar but due to his loss of power he’s reduced to window dressing. His replacement is the enigmatic Adam Monroe who is one of the least threatening villains ever to be conceived. This brings us to another issue with Season two in that many heroes find out they share the same super power. Anyone who reads comic books will realize that there is some overlap in this regard but for a show entering only its second year the extreme lack of imagination is glaring as there’s not even a hint of difference in some cases. Take Nathan Petrelli who can fly and then Claire’s new boyfriend, West, who, also can fly. How about Adam Monroe’s regeneration skill which is the exact skill Claire is endowed with? In this case why doesn't anyone capture Adam and use his blood instead? This strips away some of the allure from these characters and gives the impression that these traits are common amongst all these enhanced humans.

In the end, Season two is a huge comedown in quality from season one so much so that it almost completely torpedoes the franchise. Thankfully, the characters, although damaged, still retain their inherent qualities that endeared them to viewers. It will be up to Tim Kring and his writing staff to hopefully think things through and get the show back on track for season 3. If not, viewers will continue to turn the channel and Heroes will end up being a one season wonder. At this rate you almost hope they pull a Dallas and tell everyone that last season was just a dream.

*1/2 out of ****

2007, USA
Created by Tim Kring

Peter Petrelli: Milo Ventimiglia
Nathan Petrelli: Adrian Pasdar
Hiro Nakamura: Masi Oka
Claire Bennet: Hayden Panettiere
Mohinder Suresh: Sendhil Ramamurthy
Matt Parkman: Greg Grunberg
Ando Masahashi: James Kyson Lee
Niki Sanders: Ali Larter
Noah Bennet: Jack Coleman
Sylar: Zachary Quinto
Angela Petrelli: Cristine Rose
Sandra Bennet: Ashley Crow
Micah Sanders: Noah Gray-Cabey
The Haitian: Jimmy Jean-Louis

So you just bought yourself a spanking new Xbox 360 console and are wondering which games to pick up to quickly get caught up with Microsoft’s newest HD experience. Hopefully, you’ve been smart or lucky enough to buy one of the new bundle packs that make the 360 the best deal for the coming holiday season. These bundles affect the whole range of Microsoft’s 360 SKUs and are an incredible way to quickly have some fun. Regardless ,you should have at least gotten Lego: Indiana Jones and Kung Fu Panda for free. If you were extremely lucky you might have even obtained a few others thrown in as many big chain stores are sweetening the deal with extras that can include Dark Sector, Sega Superstars Tennis, Viva Piñata or even Assassin’s Creed.

There’s certainly a huge sense of wonder and excitement whenever you buy a new gaming console that begins right from the unpacking. This holiday season is tempered by the current economic woes being felt around the globe but there’s always a chance to let loose and have some fun and video gaming is certainly a good outlet to let off stress. Just don’t take things too seriously even if you find yourself cursing at your TV because you got fragged by some potty-mouth teen.

I own every current console (Wii, PS3, 360) and though I like them all I’m still recommending my friends and family that if they only have one choice to pick up the 360. Dollar for dollar it’s still the best deal on the market unless you are buying for a preteen or drastically need Blu-Ray playback. Regardless of your motivation you can’t really make the wrong choice as all three systems have a good variety of games in their catalogue with more on the way.

For new 360 users there are many features that open up to you especially if you are upgrading from the previous generation of Gamecubes, PS2s or original Xboxes. With HD 1080p graphical output to the wide array of online services and features the 360 opens up the world to you through the net.

I heartily recommend that new owners take their time in learning some of the cool features of the console even though they are dying to quickly pop in a game.

Check out my previous review on the new NXE interface here to see what is in store for your 360. Those users who are upgrading to Microsoft’s next gen console will find a wide variety of options available that was just not even conceivable on older systems. Downloading hundreds of game demos, video rentals, game expansions and letting you listen to custom soundtracks are some of the most basic examples of this new medium. Add on the fact that you can make your 360 a Media Extender to stream movies and TV shows from your laptop or PC through your 360 and to the TV truly make this a step towards the mythical set-top-box.

For those with only 360 Arcade Units this is a great SKU to get you started on your gaming journey but I think you’ll quickly find that you need to upgrade in order to experience the full array of features your new console has.

Thankfully, Microsoft has made upgrading extremely easy with the release of the Live Starter Pack. For around $100, depending where you buy it, you get a new 60GB hard drive, a headset, an Ethernet cable and 3 months of Xbox Live Gold. With the hard drive you can fully experience the online community as well as install the NXE patch with ease. Although you have to pay to play for online services through your Xbox Live Gold subscription whereas it is free with the PS3, there’s no doubt that Microsoft’s service is more robust. That is not to say that the PS3 network is bad but rather the integration across the 360 from in game chats to party invites to overall stability is unparalleled.

Here are a few tips to remember regardless of SKU you have that will go a long way to giving you a better 360 experience:

• Make sure you are using the best connection possible. If you have an LCD / Plasma TV that supports 1080p it would be an absolute waste to use standard composite AV cables. This cripples your image resolution by providing washed out colours that are prone to flicker. If you bought an Arcade SKU then this is the default cable that came with your unit. Trust me, if you have a HD TV don’t use the standard cable. Go out and buy a Component AV cable or HDMI if you have a HDMI port. You’ll notice a huge difference.


• Whether or not you know, the initial 360 consoles are prone to overheating. Leaving your console on for extended periods of time is only recommended if you have placed your unit with a lot of free flowing air circulation. Stuffing it into a hot cabinet with no ventilation is a recipe for disaster. Make sure you properly place it or you are going to increase the likelihood of it literally melting. Conversely, this applies to your huge power brick. For heaven’s sake don’t put a hot towel or other heat absorber over the thing unless you want it to malfunction as well.


• Never ever turn your Xbox 360 from a vertical to horizontal position or vice versa when a disc is spinning. This will severely scratch your game disc probably rendering it useless. With new games costing upwards of $60 this will make you cry.


• Purchase a “play and charge” or “quick and charge” kit for your wireless controllers unless you have rechargeable batteries on hand. Normal AA batteries surprisingly last a long time but you might as well get rechargeable batteries since they are more cost efficient in the long run. Remember too that your wireless 360 controller can go up to 30 feet away from your console. Don’t be afraid to sit comfortably in your sofa and enjoy your experience! For those with only wired controllers you'll find things much easier and liberating with a wireless unit.
  


• Pop in your favorite CDs and rip them to the internal hard drive. Remember, many games feature custom soundtracks which mean that instead of listening to the music developers put in their games you can override this and have your own music playing instead.


• Set parental restrictions especially if you are concerned with your underage kids playing ultra violent games. It doesn’t take long and it’s easy to configure.


• Hook up your 360 online and download the NXE patch! Seriously, unless you have an old arcade unit with a small memory card or no hard drive there’s no reason not to since it adds functionality to your console.


• Download as many demos as your hard drive can hold. There’s no reason not to as they are a good barometer of how well you will enjoy the finished product. You might even find games here that you would never have bought if you hadn’t monkeyed around with the demo. This applies to Xbox Live Arcade and community games as well. Just try it since it’s free.


• During a game you can press the Xbox Guide button (you know, the giant button that looks like a honking huge 360 logo located in the middle of every controller). This will bring up a miniature version of the 360 dashboard giving you access without you having to stop the game you are currently playing.


• If you do get the dreaded RROD – Red Ring of Death – and your console displays an error warning don’t fret as it could be one of many problems. Check all your cables to make sure they are properly seated. In some cases unplug and put them back in. If that doesn’t work remove your memory cards, controllers and hard drive. If all this doesn’t work you’re probably out of luck and have to call Microsoft customer service.

There are many features you can explore on your own. Of course, it doesn’t matter if the console can do your laundry if it doesn’t have games but don’t fret as there’s no lack of good software on the 360. Now there’s so much you can take of playing Lego: Indiana Jones and Kung Fu Panda especially if your taste runs a bit more mature. Kicking ass as a Panda has its perks but slicing a zombie with a chainsaw can provide some needed testosterone.

Simply put, after spending two bills or more on your new console I suspect most new users are going to be strapped for cash so over the next few weeks I’m going to be posting reviews of some of the best 5 games you can pick up on the cheap.

• Crackdown
• Dead or Alive 4
• Dead Rising
• Earth Defense Force 2017
• John Woo's Stranglehold

Nearly all of these have been out for a year or two and can be found easily in your local EB Xbox 360 pre-owned section. The last time I ventured in there I noticed that these titles are all $25 or less and if you are lucky you might even be able to pick up all 5 for less than $100.

After all this Xbox 360 love, I hope Microsoft sends me a cheque for all this free advertising I’m giving them! On a side note, look out for more reviews for other systems such as the PS3, Wii, DS and PSP.