Brian T. Nakamoto

Nanking

Nanking is a somber documentary about the Japanese occupation of the Chinese city during World War II. The film focuses on the story of westerners portrayed by a panel of recognizable actors such as Stephen Dorff and Woody Harrelson. The distracting dramatization cries out for a Ken Burns intervention as the historical evidence would be more powerful accompanied by simple narration. The actors also take away from interviews with real survivors.

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Buy n Large

Buy n Large is a neat-o promo site for WALL•E, Pixar's next film. Wikipedia has a breakdown of BnL easter eggs.

Xobni

How good/bad is Xobni? Hard to tell until they send out an invite, which is why there's now a Xobni badge in the sidebar. The badge supposedly grants early access...

Heroes - Season One

The first season of Heroes is finally here on DVD.

Hopefully, the series lives up to the hype...

The Official Palm Blog

The natives are restless. Palm CEO, Ed Colligan, blogged: "We have only just begun to fight!" What a relief. This post was going to join the intervention initiated by Treo fans. However, Palm wisely leaked a photo of their forthcoming Centro, and Foleo it is not. Centro's smaller profile and $99 price tag may help Palm momentarily stave off the CrackBerry Perls while they can implement some of the (hopefully) good advice from their new Apple alumni board members.

Superbad

Superbad is bad, but not like MJ (back when he was a thriller). It would make an okay DVD/Blu-ray. It may also explain why the Yolo Bypass levee rock sign has been reconfigured into a phallic formation that's visible from the I-80 eastbound causeway entrance, right after the Yolo Fruit Stand. Wonder how long before they take it off the wall...

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War

War is good for its action sequences. Jet Li is a deadly assassin who toys with San Francisco yakuza, triads, and an FBI unit led by Jason Statham's character. As expected, the plot requires the suspension of disbelief. It's neat that the movie is supposed to be set in the Bay Area although a lot of the scenery—especially Marin County—looks like Vancouver.

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Unknown

A little known film titled Unknown is a poorly executed, unoriginal idea starring decent actors. What do you do when you wake up, trapped in a place with some strangers, and no memory of who you are? It's more interesting to imagine courses of action based on the plot's premise than to watch the movie play out.

Santana Row

Santana Row is a nice place to use a MacBook/Pro especially when the weather is great like right now. The faux facade of the place is reminiscent of Universal Studios, which is easy enough to overlook for all of its conveniences: easy access, free parking, decent dining, comfy outdoor furniture, and clean public restrooms.

Google Video

Google averted more negative PR by issuing complete refunds to their Download to Own/Rent customers. Got an email yesterday. The $2 test from June, 2006 is available on iTunes.