Lifestyle – Page 101

No GTA in Thailand after game-related murder

It’s controversy-time for Rockstar again. Reuters reports that Thailand has halted sale of Grand Theft Auto 4 after a dumbass teenager admitted to killing a goddamn taxi driver after being inspired by the game. While we’re not sure as to how much of an impact this is going to have on the game’s sales, Rockstar is definitely going to take some moral beatings.

The 18 year old boy wanted to see if it’s as easy to hijack a taxi as it is in the game. To conduct this experiment, he tried it on a 54 year old taxi driver. When the driver resisted, the boy killed him with a knife. He was later caught “trying to steer a cab backwards out of a Bangkok street with the severely wounded driver in the back seat”. Holy shit.

And what’s worse? The boy will be executed by a lethal injection if proved guilty. Seriously. I’m not even sure what to say. The boy was an arse alright, but a lethal injection? Thailand’s law is not to be messed with.

While anti-video game fanatics will say otherwise, I still say that there’s nothing wrong with the game. If the kid is stupid enough to try and find out if it is “as easy to hijack a taxi in real life as it is in the game”, then he was definitely the village idiot here. Or maybe suicidal.

A lethal injection. Damn.

Keanu Reeves as Spike in Cowboy Bebop movie? Woah.

A live-action adaptation of the extraordinary anime series Cowboy Bebop is bad enough, but then it gets worse. Rumour has it that Keanu Reeves almost certainly has the role of lead protagonist Spike Spiegel. Now, Spike doesn’t really talk much, which is a good thing, but I still have every belief that Reeves will screw this up.

The movie is supposedly under development at Fox, but they haven’t announced anything officially yet. A source close to FirstShowing here says that the movie is still there, and will be headed for a 2010 release. No clear director yet, but Keanu has been attached to Spike Spiegel for some 8 months now. Disturbing.

I’m against a live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop, because it is best damn anime I’ve ever seen and one of my most favourite franchises. Now a CG movie or something, I can appreciate that. But why does Hollywood have to take it live action?

The awesome characters from the series will now be replaced by some crappy people like Keanu Reeves and what-not. I also doubt it the series will capture the original theme of the series, its mature Western feel, the importance of the soundtrack and its synchronization with the fight scenes. Instead, we’ll probably just be treated to some fancy special effects.

With the disaster that was Speed Racer, you must understand that it’s difficult to get your hopes up for this. I’m not saying that the anime was much better than what the Wachowkis made of it, but still.

First Look at Gerard Butler in Game

Gerard Butler: ever since 300’s first trailer came out, he has been seen on dictionary entries for “awesome”. Butler will be next seen doing awesome shit in Game from Lionsgate studios. As the name suggests, the movie will be about a game, but judging by the first photo released (that you see above), it is going to be a far cry from Game Over and most other abysmal video-game-inspired movies.

In Game, we see a huge uber-violent multiplayer game called Slayers, that involves real death row inmates. Butler plays Kabel, one such inmate who must go through what must be one hell of an adventure of death, fury and destruction. Funny thing is, Kabel will be completely controlled by a nerdy teen, who, going by our experiences with Halo, will be screaming expletives while munching on potato chips and tacos.

No, seriously: Kabel will have to fight the creator of the maniacal game and overthrow the system, while at the same time being entirely controlled as a sim character. This is a very promising concept that should most likely go pretty well. The photo above seems to suggest that a bit of 300 style will be applied here as well, which can only be good. The plot also sounds pretty similar to Death Race, starring Jason Statham. Personally, I’d prefer this to Death Race.

The plot also sounds unusually similar to Unreal Tournament and its sequels. In UT, we see a futuristic gladiatorial tournament where humans, aliens, mutated humans and other such beings fight each other for fame, glory and fortune in a ultra-violent killing frenzy of a tournament relished by seemingly adolescent viewers across the globe. Interestingly, the background on some of the characters in UT2003 says that they were prisoners and were forcibly entered into the tournament.

Whatever the case, this is one movie to watch out for. It is scheduled for release this year, although we have practically no information about it, such as more photos, a trailer or anything like that…

Hustle – Returns for season five

For those who are unfamiliar with Hustle it’s a TV show from the UK about a group of con artists who each episode try out an even more far fetched scam to take someones cash. The catch is they have to be evil in a way, or a jerk. The show which was picked up in the US will be back for a 5th season it has been reported although the cast is to change yet again.
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Lost Zombies: Zombie videos go Web 2.0

Zombies. They’re everywhere. And even today, people think that they are merely monsters in horror movies and content matter for horror movie parodies. Fools. All of them. One day, the zombie apocalypse will take the lives of millions of humans from all over Earth. But a bold step has been taken to prevent this: Lost Zombies.

A fine cross between Zombie Awareness and Web 2.0, Lost Zombies encourages you to post any proof you have about zombies, in photos or videos. Hit the jump to know more about what you can do to save the world.

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Top 5 Wii-Fit Tips

GamePeople explores Wii-Fit.

Video gaming that gets you to exercise is exactly what you needed to get in shape for summer! Now fast forward three weeks. The balance board has a home at the side of the TV and makes a tempting ebay item, unused and unwanted. What happened in those three weeks to make the savior of your health and fitness goals turn into handy plant stand?

To understand this we must start with the first principle of why you bought Wii-Fit. Most people are not too concerned at how much they weigh, don’t care what their BMI is, or know what BMI means. In my experience most people are driven by the promise of a trim, attractive body without all the flabby bits. Yes, exercise offers the chance to be young and sexy again, but there is a cost, you actually have to do it and over an extended period of time. When starting out with exercise you have a clear idea of how you want to look and your motivation and enthusiasm is at an all time high. However, the results are slow in coming, you cannot see any changes in the mirror and the scales haven’t budged, but and the effort and pain are real and immediate.

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