This is the reviews message board area, post reviews of movies, CDs, books, games etc. Tell me if I need to add a new category for reviews. Please write not more then 200 words on each review, and please rate your review with a 1-10 scale. (10 being impeccable and 1 being total nonsense.)

• Meet Joe Black
  19/1 Khoo I think this was a wonderful movie. The acting was compelling and absorbing, the story was interesting enough to keep me interested, and the script was pretty well done. As a big-starred film with paranormal elements, it has delightfully little special effects. (There was only one special effects scene, and it was a very good one too. It scared the daylights out of 2 girls sitting behind me in the cinema.) Anyway, I do have one complain, it is too long. It is 3 hours long, and in some scenes, there are pregnant pauses large enough to drive an elephant through. But, it is a must see for Hopkins or Brad Pitt fans. Bring your girlfriend, I regret that I didn't. I give it 8 out of 10.
• Pi
  19/1 Khoo I saw this a couple of weeks ago, and I thought it was a movie about maths or something like that. Bored already? For those of you who has probably never heard of this film, it is about this mathematical genius, who is obsessed with number theory, working on patterns in the stock market. It sounds boring, but it was quite artistically done. The slightly hazy black-and-white picture, compounded with neat camera handling, gives the audience the feeling of a genius on the very edge of madness. The story is a bit so-so, but art films are not known for their scripts. The uneasy cinematography means you should not watch this film if you have a headache. Must see for indie fans. I give it a 6 out of 10.
• Rush Hour
  25/1 Khoo Okay, I just saw this 2 days ago. I know, I know, it came out ages ago. I am sure everyone has seen this, but I will tell you what I think anyway. It is not that good, is it? I mean, I am so used to Jackie fistfest that this movie leaves me wanting more. The plot is so simple at least 50,000,000 Hong Kong movies have used it. And it is particularly painful watching Jackie speak English. Language barrier notwithstanding, the movie has quite funny moments when the two main characters try to "cultural exchange". Chan and Tucker are both comical without trying too hard. If you are a hard-core Jackie fan, there is nothing here for you. If you want a pretty adequate comedic cop show, you will like it. Ohhh yeah, do you smell a sequel? I do. I give it a 6 out of 10.

CD Reviews

• Prince of Egypt Soundtrack
  19/1 Khoo I got this 2 weeks ago, right after I saw the film. The reason is simple, I can't get enough of the music. From the very first moment of the film, the song "Deliver Us" establish the operatic and epic feel of the movie, and then blends into perhaps the best melodic tune of the year. Hans "The Rock" Zimmer has out-done himself again, with excellent lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (after 2 rather mediocre efforts in Pocahontas and Notre Dame.) Listen for angelic Michelle Pfeiffer and "Steve Martin Short". Did I say that Michelle can sing? You know that, didn't you? Liked the film? Get the soundtrack. I give it a 8 out of 10.

Book Reviews

• Eat the Rich by P. J. O'Rourke
  26/1 Khoo It is claimed that P. J. O'Rourke is the most quoted person in the world. Read his books, appreciate his wit, and you will find that the claim is not hard to believe at all. In "Eat the Rich", the well-known socio-political writer dips his fingers into the global economic cake, and gives everyone a clear lesson on cake distribution. Each chapter of the book describes one country, and the writer's experience when travelling in that country. The writer also tried to read an econ text book, but failed. Well, he has taken a lot of drugs during the '60s. This is not the best O'Rouke, but it is still an O'Rourke. I give it a 7 out of 10.

Game Reviews

• Battlezone (Activision)
  26/1 Khoo For those of you who remembered when the first Battlezone game came out (circa ~1985), and thought that computer gaming had reached a plateau, and any games produced later would never be as exciting as Battlezone, I have good news for you. Activision has taken up revamping the Battlezone concept, and made it better. You know sometimes in an intro to a game, you see movie quality sequences with heart-stopping explosions, and artistic designs that show what 500 hours of rendering can do; and then in the actual game, you see terrains made of simple lines and has 4 colors, and you control this stupid jerky plane that moves like an arthritic grandfather, and an explosion is just a bleep on your PC speaker. This is not true with Battlezone, the game plays and looks like the intro, and the intro was phenomenon. You get to pilot about 10 different vehicles, and you can change as often as you want during the game, and you also get to play strategic planning of buildlings, defensive forces, offensive forces and resource management. If you enjoy C&C-type planning, but also like blasting baddies away like Descent, you can't miss Battlezone. It gets scary too, wait till you see what the Furies can do. I give it a 8 out of 10.

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