Planet Zombie 3: Zombie Wars

Like I said before, pretty much anyone can win against a one-on-one fight against a zombie. How about if it were like a war. Horde against horde. Which side will win?

Humans Vs. Zombies. Hands down zombies. The zombies can easily outnumber the human population. When a human dies, it becomes a zombie and so on. But of course if you base it on the different movies and games, it's pretty much a tie.

Elves Vs. Zombies. Are we talking about the Lord of the Rings elves or the War Craft Elves? I guess they're pretty much the same when it comes to marksmanship. Elves have come a long way in marksmanship skills. From making toys (for Santa) to shooting down foes with pinpoint accuracy from miles away. As long as the zombies don't come from an unlimited source, the elves might win.

Vampires Vs. Zombies. Though both of these creatures are of the undead, both have a way of being 'killed.' It is unfortunate that even if the vampire has the advantage of speed, strength, and intelligence, it has a lot more weaknesses than the average zombie. And there are a lot more ways to kill a vampire than there is a zombie. If the battle would last well into the morning then it would spell the end of the Nosferatu.

Werewolves Vs. Zombies. Like the vampire, the werewolf has the advantage of speed, strength, and intelligence. However, unlike the vampire, the werewolf is a living, breathing monster. Which means it is prone to getting zombified. Judges? Zombies win.

Wizards/Witches Vs. Zombies. Really now. These magic users don't even have the need to lay a finger on a filthy undead. They could just turn all zombies into harmless little rabbits. I think that would be, in a way, cheating.

Robots Vs. Zombies. I would have to go with robots here. Robots are on an entirely different undead level. Zombies can't even bite through a powered down robot much less a fully armed and fully functional robot. Zombies might not even feel the presence of a robot since a robot is not alive in the first place. Just think Terminators vs. Zombies and you get the idea.

Aliens Vs. Zombies. I guess the winner of this war is open for debate. It would depend on what kind of alien species are involved in battle. If the aliens are anything like humans then we pretty much know how the battle ends. However, if the aliens are anything like the, Zerg (from Star Craft), then it's goodbye zombies.

Super Heroes (or Super Villains) Vs. Zombies. The only documented event where this happened is the Marvel Zombies arc of Marvel. Here, almost all heroes and villains have become infected and have become zombies. Including those in other planets. Of course the zombie strain in this story is also the 'super' kind so you can't really argue the outcome. Plus, the heroes and villains that were infected kept their super powers and abilities in tact making them super zombies.

Plants Vs. Zombies. I don't know the plants win but for some reason they do. This war is well supported by just one game. Unless of course you're playing Endless, then the true essence of a zombie horde on a feeding frenzy has befallen you.

Nuff said.

TRON Legacy

I remember seeing TRON when I was just a little boy. Back then, its visual effects were amazing. I guess it was one of the best Science Fiction films of its time.

Earlier, I had the chance to see TRON Legacy. And just in time too, before all the MMFF films get on the big screen (Whew!). After almost three decades, the sequel to TRON has come. The movie stars Jeff Bridges, Garret Hedlund, and Olivia Wilde. Like the original TRON movie, Tron isn't the lead character. I wonder why the movie is titled after him. On with the details. Visuals. Both 2D and 3D versions look great but is better in 3D with all the special effects; shattering. Story. The story is quite linear and you can pretty much predict the outcome. But you can't argue with a Disney production for being such. It doesn't offer much to the occult following of the original movie either. Still, it's very entertaining. Overall tomato rating: Seven tomatoes.

Before the movie started, I had the chance to see previews of the up coming movies for 2011 and I'm pretty psyched to see them; Thor, Transformers 3, The Green Hornet, Red Riding Hood (pretty much like what they did to Snow White long ago), Real Steel, and the return of Captain Jack Sparrow.

Planet Zombie 2: Zombie Science

What is a zombie?

Basically. A zombie is a corpse that has it's basic motor skills in tact and has the basic instinct to feed. It is one of the so-called undead creatures. That would be the basic definition of a zombie in the horror/creature sense.

In a more scientific sense, it's probably a person (a live one) that lost all his brain functions except his basic motor skills, vis a vis, walking. I'm no psych-know-how person so I'm not really sure. But I'm certain that the term zombie is used on some people like those who watch too much TV.

The mythos and lore about the zombie is quite vast. In some cultures like here in the Philippines, the dead coming back to life is brought about by black magic and evil energies. In pop culture, the zombie effect can be brought about by a microorganism like a bacteria, parasite, or a virus and, like a disease, could infect others.

Let's run down some of the characteristics of a zombie.

Slow movement. This and its poor navigation skills makes it easy for its prey to escape it. However, in pop culture, there are some zombies that can run. e.g. Zombieland.

Basic instincts. The zombie is equipped with only the very basic functions; motor skills for movement. Though in some lore, they have all five senses. It is common for zombies to only have sight and hearing. They don't really need touch, taste, and smell. As seen in in many movies, severed limbs and other body parts don't seem to stop them from getting to their prey if the sense of touch (vis a vis feeling) is one of their senses or else they would be in constant pain.

Weakness. Since the brain is the control center of body, destroying the brain is the way to go when killing zombies. Hence, it is pretty easy to kill a zombie. One only needs to give the zombie a massive head trauma. Decapitation also works but the chomping still continues.

Not really a weakness. Unlike most of the dark creatures or undead, zombies don't mind having a little tan. The ultraviolet rays of the sun don't seem to bother them at all. They don't even need to rest, they could go on and on and on for all eternity, if they have to.

Relentless. Zombies are relentless. Cut off one of its limbs and it's still coming for you. A zombie with just its waist up can still crawl up to its victim (if it ever caught up to it). You'll probably be dead of starvation because of hiding and it's still coming for you.

Strength in numbers. With a properly placed hit on a head, a kid would probably win a one-on-one fight against a zombie. But even a troop well trained combatant armed to the teeth might not survive a zombie feeding frenzy.

Brings about the holocaust. Once zombies roam the streets, it's pretty much the end.

Planet Zombie 1: How I Came to Love Zombies

I remember when I was about ten years old. I saw the movie Night of the Living Dead and it turned me into a paranoid kid. I thought that everyone walking outside our house was a possible zombie. From that day onwards, I was terrified of zombies. Being swarmed by zombies was my worst fear until Resident Evil.

Resident Evil (the game, not the movie) changed my views of zombies. Since I had the power to shoot them down, they totally lost their terrifying appeal on me. My fear of zombies took a complete u-turn. I don't fear them anymore. Instead, I played almost every zombie-themed game, watched every movie or TV show, I think Marvel Zombies is one of the best Marvel Sagas I have ever read, and I've watched the on-line series Xombie (until they stopped making it). Heck, I even have a zombie tribe MTG (Magic the Gathering) deck.

Zombie-themed, survival horror games gave me the courage to fight off my fear of zombies. On top of the list is the Resident Evil series then followed by the rest. There's House of the Dead that I usually play in the arcades. There's also Oneechanbara, Left 4 Dead, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Teenage Zombies Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys, and let's not forget Plants Vs. Zombies.

The movies I've seen are; Night of the Living Dead (this was the first), Dawn of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Resident Evil (this time, the movies), 28 Days Later (almost a zombie movie), 28 Weeks Later, Zombieland, Zombies of Mass Destruction (very funny movie), I Am Legend (again, almost a zombie movie), Zombie Strippers, Onechanbara (this one's Japanese and it also happens to be a game) and quite a few more.

I've also watched the anime series High School of the Dead. Trust the Japanese to make a zombie story where the zombies just appeared. No particular origin. The students use their skills to survive the onslaught of zombies; gun-geek, kendo master, spear specialist. This series was full of zombie killing action.

Lately. A new TV series was brought to my attention by a friend of mine. It's a TV show with the title The Walking Dead. And yes, it's zombie-themed. So far I've seen six episodes and I can't wait for the seventh. It's just your ordinary, run-in-the-mill zombie survival story but with the characters with character. Not just the basic kill and survive that we usually see in movies. The zombie-fan should definitely watch it.

Zombies. They're not real (hopefully) and they're not all that bad once you get to know them.

The Other Guys

The Other Guys is an Action / Comedy film that stars Mark Wahlberg, Will Farrell and features Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, and Samuel L. Jackson.

It's a story about two cops (Wahlberg and Farrell) with very opposite personalities that want to fill the shoes of the top cops gone-splat-on-the-pavement (Johnson and Jackson). Visuals. Johnson's and Jackson's action scenes were pretty well made. Especially the part where they hit the pavement. Pretty funny stuff. Story. The plot is simple enough to follow. Make it more complicated and you'd loose the fun in it. Recommendations. It's a fun movie to watch. Entertaining but I wouldn't recommend it to the some of The Rock's fans because his characters dies in a very... un-intellectual way. Spoiler alert?. Too late for that.

Tomato rating: Five tomatoes.

107.5 Reformatted

A few weeks ago, The Home of NU Rock NU 107 signed officially signed off the air. It was also said that the frequency, 107.5 on the FM band, would be back with a different format.

A couple of days ago, the radio on the laboratory where I work in was tuned to a seemingly new radio station. The station played mainstream, standard, a few rock songs, some classics. It reminded of or RJ Radio. However, the DJ sounded like someone from the masa station. It was a good thing the DJ didn't do much talking like the ones from the rest of the masa station world.

When that station played its station ID, it mentioned that its frequency is 107.5. Then it hit me. So this is the reformatted 107.5. It's not all that bad. I just wish they get rid of the masa station-sounding DJ's. Now they are called, Win Radio (or is it Win FM?).

I was right. There will never be a station quite like the Home of NU Rock.

A Week Ago... The End of a NU Era

The home of NU Rock, NU 107 signed off the air one week ago. Today, I would have been listening to the station via Remote Control Weekend. But alas, today I am not. Last Sunday, they aired their last song, Huling El Bimbo by the Eraserheads. Fans were at the studio singing together and chanting, 'More!' and lit up 107 candles as a tribute to the station.

NU is one of the only two radio stations that I actually listen to (one of which is 995 RT). Now I'm down to one because I'm not fond of the so-called masa stations that are coming out like mushrooms. Quite frankly, since the onslaught of these masa stations, the Philippine standards for DJ's considerably went down. I find masa station DJ voices very annoying especially when they laugh.

NU programs that catered to different tastes though they did play genres of the rock kind. They had stots for the up and coming bands in In The Raw, the faithful in Against The Flow, requests in Remote Control Weekend, and many more. Of course let's not forget the 17-year run of the NU Rock Awards.

It was said that NU or at least 107.5 will go back on air with a different format. However, I believe that it will never top the 23-year run of the Home of NU Rock.

In the words of one of my friends, "Itaas ang lighter!"

Suspense Movie Marathon

I was able to watch three movies on a Sunday and all of them had a scary and suspenseful feel; Monsters, After Life, and Suicide Girls Must Die! Spoiler warning.

First up, Monsters. The movie is about two individuals, a photographer and the daughter of the photographer's boss. They are to travel from Mexico to the USA going through the 'Infected Zone.' The premise is that six years ago, alien creatures somehow infected an area of Mexico. Visuals. The movie had a little bit of Cloverfield and District 9 feel to it. The rendering of the monsters were pretty much ok since they looked like octopi on land. Story. The story was plain and simple. Just get from point A to point B but with challenges. Kind of like movie, The Road (if you have seen it). Recommendations. Go ahead and see it. It's not as fast chasing as The Blair Witch or Cloverfield and not as visually stimulating as District 9. Rating. Eight tomatoes.

After Life. This movie stars Christina Ricci, Justin Long, and Liam Neeson. You'd think that it's a supernatural story at first but you'll find out otherwise as the movie progresses. Casting in Ricci (Wednesday Addams) was a great touch. Not to mention Neeson (Qi Gon Jin) since he finds himself an apprentice. Visuals. Nice play of lighting, make-up, and all those analog effects. Story. Here's a spoiler if you haven't seen the movie. It was more like a serial killer movie. I don't know how Neeson's character does it, but he makes you think you're dead until you accept that you are then he buries you alive. Then off to the next victim. Never gets caught and he even picks up an apprentice. Recommendations. Suspense fans, go see the movie. Big screen, 3D, HD, DVD, it doesn't matter. I think you'll like it. Rating. Five tomatoes.

Lastly. Suicide Girls Must Die! Meant to be a reality show stint about the making of a calendar. So you'd be expecting amateur shots like the Blair Witch. But no running around while making the viewers dizzy. It's more of a reality TV feel like Survivor mixed with Top Model. Visuals. Nothing much to say but wow. Did I just say that? Not because of the amateur shots but of the nude stills. Hey, they are great. I wonder where I could find them. Probably on their website. Story. The girls think they were just shooting some stills for a calendar. Then one by one they go missing. Yet they continue until all hell breaks. Then the last girl finds out that it was all a prank. They've all been Punk'd! Recommendations. See it if you're bored. It just might work. Rating. Ten tomatoes.

There you go. Three movies in one day and probably in one genre.

Contra 4, Spider-Man, and Viewtiful Joe

Since I got myself a Nintedo DS, I figured I'd write something about the games I've been playing on this hand-held device. Besides, I haven't had any game reviews. Rating system? Just a simple 1 to 8 scale. Don't ask why I chose 8 as the highest. And folks, I would just be giving reviews and not cheats since the net is probably crawling with the cheats already. Let's begin.

Contra 4. The classic 2D, shoot-em-up game with the classic Konami cheat is on the DS. The game stayed loyal to its classic roots of hard core 2D action and two player mode, as it was meant to be. There are three levels of difficulty and you can't see or play the last stages if you choose the easy mode, wimp. Graphics even stayed as close as the original but made use of the DS dual screen. But it didn't make full use of the DS's touch screen feature. Other features include a museum where you can view tidbits about the past Contra games. Ratings. Difficulty; 5 out of 8. Graphics: 4 out of 8. Playability: 7 out of 8. With an overall 5.3.

Spider-Man: Friend or Foe. Spider-Man teams up with his friends and foes in order to stop a planetary threat. Like that hasn't happened before. Nothing new there. Like all Spider-Man games, it is very linear and has very little to offer in terms of playability. Play it once and you're pretty much good. It makes very little use of the DS's touch screen. Only when switches or the like need to be tinkered with and to solve puzzles. Ratings. Difficulty: 3 out of 8. Graphics: 4 out of 8. Playability: 4 out of 8. With an overall of 3.7.

Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble. Saving the best for last. Joe comes back for more on the hand-held. However, he would be fighting baddies in the real world. This game makes good use of the DS's touch screen; Scratch, Split, Switch. And what's a good Viewtiful Joe game with out the super slow mo. Even if you finish the game, you'd want to go at it again just to unlock all Joe's abilities. Henshin a-go-go, baby! Ratings. Difficulty: 5 out of 8. Graphics. 6 out of 8. Playability: 7 out of 8. With an overall 6.

There you go. The first three games. Come back for more DS game reviews. I'll probably have newer ones. Probably.

Henshin!

Being a Kamen Rider fan that I am, I finally decided to write a little something about the masked rider.

Kamen Rider, the masked transforming hero that usually rides a motorcycle and kicks antagonist ass. Through the many years that Kamen Rider existed and through the two eras that it has been, Showa and Heisei, there have been many of them.

In this article, I would like to differentiate each of the main riders of the Heisei era, from Kuuga up to OOO, according to what type of rider they are, their status as a rider at the beginning of their respective series, how they know when and where their enemy would strike and what are their enemies called.

I would be categorizing them as:
Technological type - Source of powers come from the advancement in technology.
Organic type - Changing into a rider entails that the riders entire biological make-up changes as well. (However, I think none of the main riders are of the organic type.)
Mystical type - Origin of powers come from mystical sources such as ancient artifacts, mystical creatures, and the like.

Kamen Rider Kuuga - Mystical type. Not a rider at the start of the series. Yuusuke Godai acquires Kuuga's belt and is able to transform. His enemies are called the Gorongi. He knows they are around since the police usually are the first on the scene then he comes next.

Kamen Rider Agito - Mystical type. Since Shouichi Tsugami lost his memory, it is unsure if he was or was not a rider prior the start of the series. However, it is safe to assume that he was since he is very knowledgeable of Agito's abilities. His enemies are called the Unknowns. Shouichi seems to have a connection with the Unknowns and feels it when they are about to strike.






Kamen Rider Ryuuki - Mystical type. Not a rider at the start of the series. Shinji Kido finds a blank Advent Deck and makes a contract with Dragredder and becomes Ryuki. He battles other riders and the monsters from the mirror world. Shinji and the other riders hear some kind of high pitched sound whenever a mirror world monster is about to attack.






Kamen Rider Faiz - Technological type. Not a rider at the start of the series. Takumi Inui dons the Faiz Gear and transforms into faiz. Orphenochs are what Faiz fights. Since the Orphenocs are after the Faiz gear, trouble seems to find Takumi.








Kamen Rider Blade - Technological type. Kenzaki Kazuma is a newbie rider at the start of the series. He uses the Spade's category Ace to transform. Blade seals the Undead. The undead are found via a tracking system.








Kamen Rider Hibiki - Mystical type. Hidaka Hitoshi became an Oni on his own. He discarded his name a long time ago and was then since called Hibiki. Hibiki fights kaijins they call the Makamou. He and other Oni hunt the Makamou with the help of Disc Animals.








Kamen Rider Kabuto - Technological type. Not a rider at the start of the series but knows that being a rider is his destiny. Souji Tendou has a rider belt since he was a child and he was chosen by the Kabuto Zecter. The alien Worms are what he fights and some of the alien Natives. Since every worm leaves a pattern, Tendou easily finds the culprit Worm.






Kamen Rider Den-O - Technological type. Not a rider at the start of the series. Ryotaro Nogami was given Den-O's belt because he was a Singular Point, a being that is not affected by changes in the time stream. Den-O battles the wish-granting Imajin. The Imajin that possesses Ryotaro can feel the activities of their fellow Imajin.







Kamen Rider Kiva - Mystical type. Already a rider at the start of the series. Wataru Kurenai was passed the power of Kiva from his father, though not directly. The vampire-like Fangarie are the antagonists of this series. Wataru's father's violin, The Bloody Rose, which strings vibrate every time a Fangarie attacks its prey is the sounding alarm.






Kamen Rider Decade - Technological type. Not a rider at the start of the series. However, it was said that Tsukasa Kadoya was already a rider way before and only lost his memory. Since Tsukasa travels different worlds, he fights whatever or whoever it is that is the antagonist on whichever world he is in. But his main nemesis is Shocker.






Kamen Rider Double - Technological type. Already a rider at the start of the series. Hidari Shotaro and Phillip use Double Driver and Gaia Memories to transform into Double. Shotaro and Phillip fight Dopants. Since both of them are detectives, they find that most of the time, their cases involve a Dopant.







Kamen Rider Ozu - Mystical type. Not a rider at the start of the series. Eiji Hino was given the seal to transform with by Ankh, a mystical being known as Greed. The incarnation of human greed are known as the Yammi and this is what Ozu fights besides the Greed. Ankh, being a Green himself, can feel if a Yammi is in the process of growth.






There you have it. All the twelve Heisei riders in a nutshell. There are other riders in the Heisei era. Some of them are secondary riders from the series, some are from the series but only have a cameo appearance, and some are move exclusive riders.

I'd probably categorize the secondary riders on my next post. Until the next post.