Well, it's been a little time since my last post, and I'm kind of disappointed it took me this long... Expect a bit more over the next few weeks.
Let's start back up with Transformers Two: Rise of the Fallen.
Now, I always liked Transformers in my (very) juvenile years, when it was on TV frequently, and the graphics weren't spiffy and 3D resemblance, but I never was a hardcore fan. I knew the basis of the show, who Optimus Prime was, Megatron, Hotshot, Bumblebee, Starscream... and so on, but I never really knew anything past that (probably because I picked up halfway through the series, and missed the entire beginning... Anyway.
Transformers 2 was pretty good, compared to the first one which I really didn't care for. I thought the action scenes were superb, and I actually felt a rush from two several-megaton robots beating crap out of each other for my amusement (or the fate of earth. Whichever.). Although admittedly, sometimes there were just so many moving parts in different parts, and they were all, for the most part, that metallic silvery grey, I had no idea who was choking who. Now for the bad:
Michael Bay definitely tried to hard with the humor bit. There were probably 12 unnecessary gags in there, that drove up the production cost up a few hundred thousand... I mean, sure, even if Sam's mom running into a hanging flower pots cost... $20, it ruins the whole moment of suspense... Transformers is an action series... And should be an action series. An occasional joke here and there is fine, but I mean it just seems like they're giving up the key nerd demographic, to entice more and more people to come spend money for the two bit puns.
Which I won't stand for ;).
So in hindsight, Transformers 2: Rise of the fallen is definitely must see if you're (A) into the series, or (B) like lots of action. If you're not either of those two, I'd definitely recommend renting T1 and T2, just because they're all around great movies...
I'd say Transformers 2: Rise of the Fallen scores a solid, 8 god-killingly-awesome-transforming-Cameros, out of 10.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Matt Lauer Can Suck It!: Land of the Lost (spoilers possible)
The movie is hilarious, so I'll try and keep the spoilers low, but it's going to be hard... It was Classic Will Ferrell, backed by a great supporting Cast... They entailed: Anna Friel, Jorma Taccone and Danny McBride (more on him later). Supporting casts, are really the heart and soul of Ferrel movies; for without them, who else will he verbally - and sometimes physically - abuse?
But right, saving the best for... first, I guess we should start with the opening trailers... There Were 4: Year One, 9, G Force, Funny People. Two looked great, one looked... intriguing to say the least, and one looked AMAZING!
... For 8 year olds.
Let's start Funny People. I hadn't heard of it until tonight and all of you, sans Adam Sandler fanatics, haven't either. It looked kind of confusing in the beginning, but the movie in general looks pretty funny. Basically, Super Funny Man (Sandler) has sustained a flourish stand-up career for awhile... And his biggest fan (Seth Rogen.. score!) knows every joke by heart. They meet, get close and Sandler reveals he is really sick... and Rogen might have to take the throne. All turns out well though, and I'm sure Sudden-Death-due-to-Laughter is one of the diseases Sandler is affiliated with in the Flick.
Now for... 9. I saw this trailer (all) of the times I went to see Star Trek, and each time I didn't really know what's going on... see if you can make sense of it:
Mad Scientist is one of the last people in a dying world, and he's putting his legacy into a tiny, cloth, homunculus resembling creature, whose destiny is to save the world... Some big scissor monster is chasing him, and he's hiding in a mouse hole with other homunculi rag dolls. It sort of looks like one of those "Hero gonna slays the Dragon, and probably gets the girl to boot", which I'm not a big fan of, but hey, Tim Burton *is* magic.
G-Force, or the movie that was totally out of place being shown in a Borderline PG-13/R movie, would have looked kind of cool to me if I was half my age... It was about CIA agents, that were the government's pride and joy, and were being closed down and spread through out the country because they were becoming too well known. They started to live normally lives, only for the government to call them back again when they need them most. Does this seem like a R rated thriller to you, at first glance? Me too! Except, I forgot to mention the aforementioned CIA agents, are guinea pigs.
Lastly, Year One has looked epic since the firs time I heard about it. Hell, I was excited when I saw the cardboard cut out of Jack Black and Mike Cera. So basically, if you haven't heard any of the hub-bub, it's really like history's first round trip... But this time we use my favorite medium: Foot. They set out from their primitive hunter gather tribe, to some big city (looked like Rome... but that wouldn't make sense. Probably Jerusalem, or something like that). They stumble their way through the town, and comedy ensues. Can't you just wait for Black to over-deliver every joke, and Cera to under-deliver everything?
Now, to the feature presentation *lights dim, and cool music cues*
Land of the Lost, I think, was probably the best movie I've seen in the last 2 or 3 years, sans Stepbrothers for the sheer hilarity, and Star Trek... for well, being Star Trek. But Land of the Lost, was some of Ferrell's best work... I clearly remember, at one point, the whole theater was laughing from one joke, to the next big one about 2 minutes later... There were only about 30 people present. I don't want to spoil the whole entire movie, but Ferrell is dismissed as a mad man, by Matt Lauer and the scientific community and now teaches 7th or 8th grade children. Another scientist (Much younger and hotter, might I add), from Cambridge comes to talk to Ferrell about his theories about time travel... He shows him some fossils, and he eventually gets around to finishing the machine to take them, not backwards, but sideways in past, to the Land of the Lost. There, he does all of the following: Get's a blood feud with a T-Rex.
Roundhouse kicks an alien into a fiery oven.
Becomes the master of a half ape half man.
Freezes a Dinosaur my catapults nitrogen into it.
See what I'm getting at? Who else, but Will Ferrell. Movie is great though, I really recommend it... and if you're pretty liberal on what you kids (probably 10 or 11 is the minimum age I'd advise) watch, it's decently family friendly. Funny as anything, but not too vulgar... But I digress. At first, I thought land of the lost would ruin Ferrell's great dynasty of Hollywood Comedy dominance, but I was pleasantly surprised tonight. I can't really stress how funny it was, and everyone needs to see it for him or herself. There are puns, and tons of irony... even penis jokes! (PENIS JOKES FOR GOD'S SAKE!)
The movie was 9.5/10, where I thought it'd be in the high 5.x at best. Get off my blog (for tonight) get on Fandango. And go see this movie.
Ah right, and about Danny McBride... I thought he did a good job of acting, but I really wish the "Will Ferrell, and John C. Reily duo stuck together... they were harmony and hilarity... Harlartiy? I think that he would've played the place of Will a bit better, if only becasue him and Ferrell have a history of sheer awesome behind them.
-- We have topped the 500 hits mark! I'm looking forward to another 500 with you all :D.
A Shout-out to Coidzor!
But right, saving the best for... first, I guess we should start with the opening trailers... There Were 4: Year One, 9, G Force, Funny People. Two looked great, one looked... intriguing to say the least, and one looked AMAZING!
... For 8 year olds.
Let's start Funny People. I hadn't heard of it until tonight and all of you, sans Adam Sandler fanatics, haven't either. It looked kind of confusing in the beginning, but the movie in general looks pretty funny. Basically, Super Funny Man (Sandler) has sustained a flourish stand-up career for awhile... And his biggest fan (Seth Rogen.. score!) knows every joke by heart. They meet, get close and Sandler reveals he is really sick... and Rogen might have to take the throne. All turns out well though, and I'm sure Sudden-Death-due-to-Laughter is one of the diseases Sandler is affiliated with in the Flick.
Now for... 9. I saw this trailer (all) of the times I went to see Star Trek, and each time I didn't really know what's going on... see if you can make sense of it:
Mad Scientist is one of the last people in a dying world, and he's putting his legacy into a tiny, cloth, homunculus resembling creature, whose destiny is to save the world... Some big scissor monster is chasing him, and he's hiding in a mouse hole with other homunculi rag dolls. It sort of looks like one of those "Hero gonna slays the Dragon, and probably gets the girl to boot", which I'm not a big fan of, but hey, Tim Burton *is* magic.
G-Force, or the movie that was totally out of place being shown in a Borderline PG-13/R movie, would have looked kind of cool to me if I was half my age... It was about CIA agents, that were the government's pride and joy, and were being closed down and spread through out the country because they were becoming too well known. They started to live normally lives, only for the government to call them back again when they need them most. Does this seem like a R rated thriller to you, at first glance? Me too! Except, I forgot to mention the aforementioned CIA agents, are guinea pigs.
Lastly, Year One has looked epic since the firs time I heard about it. Hell, I was excited when I saw the cardboard cut out of Jack Black and Mike Cera. So basically, if you haven't heard any of the hub-bub, it's really like history's first round trip... But this time we use my favorite medium: Foot. They set out from their primitive hunter gather tribe, to some big city (looked like Rome... but that wouldn't make sense. Probably Jerusalem, or something like that). They stumble their way through the town, and comedy ensues. Can't you just wait for Black to over-deliver every joke, and Cera to under-deliver everything?
Now, to the feature presentation *lights dim, and cool music cues*
Land of the Lost, I think, was probably the best movie I've seen in the last 2 or 3 years, sans Stepbrothers for the sheer hilarity, and Star Trek... for well, being Star Trek. But Land of the Lost, was some of Ferrell's best work... I clearly remember, at one point, the whole theater was laughing from one joke, to the next big one about 2 minutes later... There were only about 30 people present. I don't want to spoil the whole entire movie, but Ferrell is dismissed as a mad man, by Matt Lauer and the scientific community and now teaches 7th or 8th grade children. Another scientist (Much younger and hotter, might I add), from Cambridge comes to talk to Ferrell about his theories about time travel... He shows him some fossils, and he eventually gets around to finishing the machine to take them, not backwards, but sideways in past, to the Land of the Lost. There, he does all of the following: Get's a blood feud with a T-Rex.
Roundhouse kicks an alien into a fiery oven.
Becomes the master of a half ape half man.
Freezes a Dinosaur my catapults nitrogen into it.
See what I'm getting at? Who else, but Will Ferrell. Movie is great though, I really recommend it... and if you're pretty liberal on what you kids (probably 10 or 11 is the minimum age I'd advise) watch, it's decently family friendly. Funny as anything, but not too vulgar... But I digress. At first, I thought land of the lost would ruin Ferrell's great dynasty of Hollywood Comedy dominance, but I was pleasantly surprised tonight. I can't really stress how funny it was, and everyone needs to see it for him or herself. There are puns, and tons of irony... even penis jokes! (PENIS JOKES FOR GOD'S SAKE!)
The movie was 9.5/10, where I thought it'd be in the high 5.x at best. Get off my blog (for tonight) get on Fandango. And go see this movie.
Ah right, and about Danny McBride... I thought he did a good job of acting, but I really wish the "Will Ferrell, and John C. Reily duo stuck together... they were harmony and hilarity... Harlartiy? I think that he would've played the place of Will a bit better, if only becasue him and Ferrell have a history of sheer awesome behind them.
-- We have topped the 500 hits mark! I'm looking forward to another 500 with you all :D.
A Shout-out to Coidzor!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
HOLY $#!T: My Playthrough of X-Men Origins: Wolverine
As the title states, there was one phrase that me and my buddies couldn't stop shouting during epic fights... "HOLY ****, WOAH! DUDE!" reverberated through my basement louder than my guitar amp. This is simply because X Men Origins: Wolverine was:
GOREgeous.
I mean, sure, if you're not into the whole 'bloody heads being pulled off in the most acrobatic ways possible' then The game, probably isn't for you. But if you are... Every kill you'll feel the adrenaline pumping through you, and excitement of the slow-motion head being chopped off. I remember, at one point, there is a mini-boss battle, and you push the "Windigo" off a small cliff... you proceed to walk down it, only to be ambushed by the half-dead mutant, and we tries to crush you to death... Of course, the "Mash 'Y' Button" trap is waiting for you, but once you flex out of it, you rip the Windigos head off... while doing a back flip. I distinctly remember letting out a roar at this part, as the tension was so great... But when it really gets down to it, XMO:W is really just a button masher, with slow motion scenes of awesome gore... which, on no scale is bad, and is special in its own right, but the game could have been made so much more in depth. The game play is decent, and the skills and upgrades section, while essential in games these days, is nice. The game play, and the minor puzzles in XMOW are very... transparent. While the combat moves look nice, you're sort of limited to what you can do... and after a little while, it seems that the only strategy that will efficiently end your foes: Lunge, stab, stab, roll dodge, lunge, stab, stab, roll dodge, lunge, stab... et cetera. Camera Angles also weren't the greatest. The camera would occasionally glitch, and zoom really close in on Logan, making seeing the environment impossible (for all my World of Warcraft players can you say, Strigid Screecher?). This wouldn't be that bad of a problem, if it didn't happen most every boss battle. Last peeve that I have with XMOW, would probably be the redundance of all the puzzles presented to Logan... a striking majority of them - I'd say over 90% - are "Pick up the [C4/Crobar/Battery] and plug/plant it into/on the [truck/Cage/Generator/Machine] and press B". Even the very first time you do it, you feel bored, but by the 50th time...
So, in hindsight: X-Men Origins: Wolverine was great fun, even thoguh it's not very special... The gore is spectacular, if you like that kind of thing, but if not this game isn't for you. Be wary of the the camera glitches, and extremely poorly thought out array of puzzles and traps. X-Men origins is probably not worth the $50-60 to buy it, but renting it for a week or two worth is a great deal.
7/10.
A note about The Mud Puddle in general: Firstly, I'd like to give a big shout out to Mr. Nameless, on GitP for making this sweet banner, which you can see in my signature on the Giant in the Playground forums. This is the first post in a series of probably about 100 over this summer. I hope you all are as excited as we are.
-- Mud.
GOREgeous.
I mean, sure, if you're not into the whole 'bloody heads being pulled off in the most acrobatic ways possible' then The game, probably isn't for you. But if you are... Every kill you'll feel the adrenaline pumping through you, and excitement of the slow-motion head being chopped off. I remember, at one point, there is a mini-boss battle, and you push the "Windigo" off a small cliff... you proceed to walk down it, only to be ambushed by the half-dead mutant, and we tries to crush you to death... Of course, the "Mash 'Y' Button" trap is waiting for you, but once you flex out of it, you rip the Windigos head off... while doing a back flip. I distinctly remember letting out a roar at this part, as the tension was so great... But when it really gets down to it, XMO:W is really just a button masher, with slow motion scenes of awesome gore... which, on no scale is bad, and is special in its own right, but the game could have been made so much more in depth. The game play is decent, and the skills and upgrades section, while essential in games these days, is nice. The game play, and the minor puzzles in XMOW are very... transparent. While the combat moves look nice, you're sort of limited to what you can do... and after a little while, it seems that the only strategy that will efficiently end your foes: Lunge, stab, stab, roll dodge, lunge, stab, stab, roll dodge, lunge, stab... et cetera. Camera Angles also weren't the greatest. The camera would occasionally glitch, and zoom really close in on Logan, making seeing the environment impossible (for all my World of Warcraft players can you say, Strigid Screecher?). This wouldn't be that bad of a problem, if it didn't happen most every boss battle. Last peeve that I have with XMOW, would probably be the redundance of all the puzzles presented to Logan... a striking majority of them - I'd say over 90% - are "Pick up the [C4/Crobar/Battery] and plug/plant it into/on the [truck/Cage/Generator/Machine] and press B". Even the very first time you do it, you feel bored, but by the 50th time...
So, in hindsight: X-Men Origins: Wolverine was great fun, even thoguh it's not very special... The gore is spectacular, if you like that kind of thing, but if not this game isn't for you. Be wary of the the camera glitches, and extremely poorly thought out array of puzzles and traps. X-Men origins is probably not worth the $50-60 to buy it, but renting it for a week or two worth is a great deal.
7/10.
A note about The Mud Puddle in general: Firstly, I'd like to give a big shout out to Mr. Nameless, on GitP for making this sweet banner, which you can see in my signature on the Giant in the Playground forums. This is the first post in a series of probably about 100 over this summer. I hope you all are as excited as we are.
-- Mud.
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