World of Warcraft Cataclysm

Just when you get out, you get sucked back in.. I took about a month off last fall. And I was kind of hoping to stay out of it. But, economically MMOs are a pretty good bargain for their cost. But that is inversely proportional to the amount of time it sucks out of your life usually.

For $15 a month play as much or as little as you want. Which is basically skipping one trip to McDonalds a month. But your time just evamporates into this netherworld of digital addiction.

Well, Blizzard has done it again. I logged back in with a 10 Day Cataclysm Trial to have a look at the new stuff. I'm not very interested in starting any new characters. Even though all the low level content has been redone pretty much. I would like to have a high level Priest and Mage for Horde. But I already have Alliance ones. I guess this is the best time to do it again, seeing as the content has changed. And with about two years between expansion maybe I can squeeze in a Hunter as well. Or just spend the money and transfer them over. But at about $55 a pop that isn't likely I don't think.

Anyway, back to my point.. The new zones I got to look at being Mount Hyjal and the underwater zones have been pretty good. The usual hunt this, collect that. But they look fantastic. And I haven't gotten to play underwater really since EQ 1. And the mechanics they added really took away the annoyance of being underwater. The Sea legs buff, letting you walk on the ocean floor, and still be able to lift off and swim. And the quest chain that gets you a Seahorse mount. Which Is awesome. Too bad you can't use him in any underwater environment.

Archaeology I only started to get into, but was interesting. But I was finding it a little sparse looking for dig sites.

Overall, I was finding it more entertaining than I did TBC or WoTLK when I first started those expansions.

At any rate I don't expect to see Blizzard get any real serious competition until Bioware releases Star Wars The Old Republic. But, then that's also two different genres. So, may not be a head to head much anyway.

Damages

Well.. after watching the bulk of Season One this weekend I don't think I will ever be able to watch Law and Order ever again. Not that I've watched it on some time anyway.

But if you have any interest in a legal drama / Mystery / Thriller at all then this is the show for you. It took a few episodes for me get going with it. But I like the cast, Glenn Close is great, and I'm just loving Ted Danson as this slimy dirt bag character. And there are enough strings and threads going on, that I hope they get wrapped up at the end of the season. Because I'm not entirely sure who is working for who, and doing what exactly.

Not recommended for people who don't like to think much or need their answers hand delivered on a silver platter.

Watch it now

4 out of 5 stars

Tron : Legacy

It's been so long that I no longer clearly remember what the original movie was like. But I can say that the sequel was basically a summer FX popcorn movie released at Xmas time. The is little to no substance to the movie. And a great deal that doesn't make a lot of sense.

We know why people had to eat and drink in the Matrix.. But it seems to make no sense why they would do so in the Grid. And the Portal that the movie seems to be centered on, that Clu doesn't want them to reach, or is so dangerous and heavily guarded to reach.. has a train that runs straight to it..

Anyway, enjoy it for what it is.. A Sci Fi version of 2012.. eat your popcorn and enjoy the ride. Just don't think a lot about it after you leave the theatre.

Rent it..

2 stars out of 5

Little Fockers

I don't see too many comedies these days that actually make me laugh. They just don't make them like they used too. Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Midnight Run, Meet the Parents, Austin Powers I even the original American Pie..

Well, this isn't one of those movies. It was interesting to say the least, as the characters move along through time since the first one. But, little seems to have changed. I haven't seen much of the second installment. But, Jack is still spying on Greg. Has his secret basement spy lab, and now we see that like Inspector Gadgets Arch Nemesis has Jinxie sitting there with him.

Suffice to say, the best parts of the movie are the very end. And that wasn't Dustin Hoffman deciding he made a mistake by turning down the job and then getting it back. It was DeNiro getting loaded into the Ambulance shouting Focker to get Gregs attention only to have the EMTs wondering why he was cursing. The best was during the credits.. The Jack Byrnes Remix.

Wait for a Rental..

2.5 stars out of 5

Tangled

Finally, a fantastic kids movie this year that appealed as much to adults as the kids. This past springs How to Train your Dragon was good.. But was more a kids movie than anything else. This one seemed to have the depth for both.

And I will give all the credit to Lasseter and his Pixar touch for this turning out so well.

And as a side note regarding 3D.. I finally got see a 3D movie, and the effects worked out very well. I'll be interested to see of Tron Legacy is as nice, or if being an animated fearture added any strength to the effect.

Verdict

Go see it now..

4 out of 5 stars.

Fringe

Well, looks like Fox is giving the show the kiss of death. That's too bad. Moving to Friday nights, doesn't seem to have worked for any show since the X - Files what 18 years ago.. And when it moved to Sunday nights, everyone followed.

But, with PVRs and stuff now, I just don't see audiences following a show, and changing their schedules like it happened back then.

And to try and claim that pairing it up with Kitchen Nightmares or whatever Kitchen show and claiming moving to Friday night isn't a death knell is just foolish..

Here hoping they can wrap up major plots before it's over.

The Walking Dead

Been watching this since it came on. Been reading the comics, but I am behind so far. And this show is just fantastic. So far, it's all going great.

The changes they are making has been good, and apparently done so readers will have a fresh show to watch. And that the writers of the series made some mistakes a long the way they would like to have changed. So far, it's coming off as a great companion piece to the books.

It's wrapping up it's first season soon. Go watch it.

4 out of 5 stars

Already renewed for a second season..

HP And the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Seen this on opening night. And will say up front that after the last few years I don't remember the book in any great detail.

But with the films, this one strikes me as the best one since Columbus left the franchise. So since around movie 2.

Everything just seemed to flow good for me, and the two hours plus just flowed on by. Which is a good sign, when your not looking at your watch every 5 mins.

Now, I saw a review today on a show that should remain nameless. Where one of the hosts bitched about how he was lost.. Well, you know what. Go read the books, or watch the movies from the start. Like Star Wars and Star Trek, you can't remake the first of every installment from the beginning for the people who know they are going to movie number 7 and yet expect the whole back story explained out to them. Maybe they should just go watch 1 to 6 first, or find another movie.

So, your going to a 'franchise' movie cold and complain you don't know what's going on. Well, guess what. Maybe it's not for you.

4 stars out of 5

Due Date

I was looking forward to seeing this one. A comedy road trip in the vain of the old classic Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Not too mention Midnight Run.

The movie was decent, not nearly as funny as the commercials would lead you to believe (Surprise, I'm sure) but had a few laughs. Mostly to do with Robert Downeys facial expressions. And the one awesome scene where he's left to babysit the kids, while Zack is scoring his medicine. Best scene in the whole movie.

Probably best left for a rental.. Not worth the $12 just for one scene..

3 out of 5 stars.

RED

Retired Extremely Dangerous

I will have to lump this movie in with the not bad.. I will agree with the reviews, in that it was probably the best Action / Comedy of the year. But, I liked The A - Team almost as much.

The performance to watch in this one, of course was John Malkovich. Maybe if I had of seen this movie when it first came out, I would be a little more excited about it. But, I had to wait a month. And by then, the clever Hollywood machine marketing had worn off on me. So, maybe this is more of an honest opinion after all.

If you can still catch it in theatres, go see it. If you can't or don't have any burning desire then wait for the DVD / Bluray release.

Solid 3 out of 5 stars.

Paranormal Activity 2

Seen this one on opening weekend. Wasn't quite sure what to expect from it. Being a sequel and as I have learned, a prequel I guess I did expect more of the same.

But what it seems I got, was exactly the same, just with different names and a new house. By the time the movie was over I was glad to be leaving the theatre.

The movie was pretty much the same as the first one. Although they did do an interesting job of tying them both together. And the other problem, is for some reason the lead actress looks very familiar but I can't seem to find out from where. I would have greatly preferred an entire cast of unknowns. Which, it mostly was to me but for her.

Seeing as this was a clone of the first movie, the plot was of no great surprise. And neither was any of the bumps or moving doors or anything of that nature. Sticking so close to the original pretty much destroyed any suspense or surprise that this movie may have contained. There wasn't even any mystery to be had. At least the first one had some mystery, and a general tone of horror, like a blanket settling over the people in the house. That something was very wrong.

It's never a good sign for a horror movie when the audience is laughing and snickering more than jumping or just silent. And the verdict was in before the movie was even half over.

Disappointing, but not totally bad.

3 stars out of 5 (Probably should wait for DVD)

The Fall

Finished reading book two in the new Modern Vampire trilogy by Del Torro and Hogan. Was a great book, and once again will be a long wait for the final chapter.

The book made me a little nervous when they started with the ancient group of master vampires. I was more interested in their being a lone ancient who was going to corrupt the earth. But, I had nothing to be concerned with. Since the rogue master eliminated them rather quickly. And the Earth is collapsing into some kind of post apocalyptic future.

Rumors were that there will be a movie in the works. Hopefully he gets to do it himself, which I presume is the plan. But stranger things have happened in Hollywood.

But, this really kicks the snot out of everything vampire related I've seen or read recently. This series would be my #1 followed by True Blood and then Twilight. I will admit that could arguably be three different genres catering to three different audiences. But from the vampire aspects this is my order. And I did enjoy them all for different reasons.

4 out of 5 stars. Read it immediately.

BSG The Epic Series

First up, finally managed to finish watching Battlestar Galactica The Epic Series. I can now say that I have seen every episode. And I was a little surprised at where it ended. I vaguely remember that episode. And for them to be getting close to earth, for it just end there. Well, was disappointing. The set had a few eps of 1980 tacked onto the end, but I won't bother with them.

I will go out on a limb here, and say that I enjoyed the original a lot more than the new series. Even with all the campy and cheesiness of the dialogue at times. And the throwing around of galaxies and universes and stuff. The special effects and model work held up great. And I love the old cylons better than the new ones. And all the politcal, religious zealotry just didn't entertain me as much as a 30+ year old space opera action adventure show did.

Oh, and I probably did see them all as a kid, but I hardly remember that.

The Condemned

A three year old action movie by rising action star "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. About a producer who acquires death row inmates from around the world to be dropped onto a deserted island and let loose for the benefit of his internet PPV extravaganza.

Sounds like the plot of an 80s action movie. And it plays out like one too. And incidentally made a better 80s action throwback than the recent attempt at doing just that The Expendables did. And it had a better cast and I would bet, a hell of a lot more money to work with.

There's nothing to write home about with this movie, it is what it is. Very much in the grain of Commando, Rambo II and the such. Was a decent action movie.

Dare I say though, that the main villain, Vinny Jones seemed to have more character than the the main character Austin did.

2.5 Stars out of 5 (Worth renting for action aficionados )

Dark Rising

I seen this movie on the shelf at Blockbuster several times. And it looked interesting if for no other reason than the green cover with the babe in some sort of bikini armor and a helmet on.

As it turns out, it's a Canadian film made about 3 years ago. And it was kind of interesting beyond said warrior woman in skimpy armor.

The star of the movie was WWE Christian. Well, he was the best friend of the star I guess. But he had the best role. He was interesting and funny. And all around a good performance.

As for the rest of the movie, beyond some brief nudity and a story that reminded me of the old Evil Dead movies without the log cabin. Wasn't much to see.

It ends with what appears to be a cliff for a sequel. But somehow, I doubt one will be coming any time soon.

So if you want to see a Horror / Comedy with some Nudity and a funny performance from Christian this is your movie.

2.5 Stars out of 5 (better rent it to be safe)

Fall Premieres

It's that time of year again, and over the next month or so the new shows will be premiering on TV. So far NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles have premiered. I seen both, and was not impressed. Can't say I have been to impressed with LA anyway.

But hopefully over the next 19 or so episodes NCIS will get better. Wasn't a very entertaining start.

House also started, but I didn't watch it. Waiting right now on Fringe and Supernatural to come up.

The Gamers

Managed to see The Gamers : Dorkness Rising. And if you have ever played tabletop RPGs before and especially Dungeons & Dragons you will love this movie.

It's a low budget, basically fan film about the adventure of a group of gamers and their campaign. Just like a fan movie of the comic Knights of the Dinner Table. It's funny, and the stuff that goes on should be very recognizable to gamers.

There are lots of nods to the tropes of the genre. Including a appearance of Nodwick, and the line 'Waste'em with my crossbow'

This was more entertaining, and even more with the in game parts than the two official D&D movies combines. Someone should give these people some money for better costumes and CG effects and let them make more.

4 out of 5 Go see it right away

Wall Street Money Never Sleeps

Managed to make it in to see it this weekend. I hadn't seen the original in years and years. I liked the movie, was pretty good.

I could see how people would find it boring, with all the financial mumbo jumbo for like two hours. I know I didn't understand it. The character reactions kept me on track on whether it was good news or bad news once it all got a little in depth.

Performances were good, I was a little surprised at how the woman who played Shia's fiance Gekkos daughter, was able to cry on command and turn the water works on. Maybe they kept the onions on hand.

Overall, a worthy sequel that felt like a natural continuation of the original and even had some nice appearances from old faces. Namely Oliver Stone himself, and Charlie Sheen. And Sheen wasn't just a walk on. He had some lines, and a neat catch up of what happened while Gordon was in jail.

3 stars our of 5. Go see it if you liked the original.

The Town

Second movie up this weekend was The Town. I wasn't up for Ben on Friday night, was still in doubt about it. So I went to see Devil first.

But, The Town was a great movie. I quite enjoyed it. Good Heist movie, nothing too dumb going on. Bens acting was pretty good, and I usually don't like him much. Once it was over I felt like going home and throwing 'Heat' into the DVD player.

I would think that maybe Ben is better served in making movies rather than starring in them. I havn't seen his other acclaimed movie, but if it's as good then I would say this is true. And if him and Damon can get together. And have Matt star and Afflect write and direct we could have a great movie.

But, back to the Town. Go See it. I almost feel like going again.

4 out of 5 stars

DEVIL

This was a pleasant surprise. I guess it may go to show that M. Night may be better placed these days in the idea department and let other people run with it, putting together the scripts and directing the movies.

This movie turned out plenty entertaining. And the movie focused on the cast stuck in an elevator for the whole movie, wasn't as boring or anything as I would have thought. Reminded me a lot of Clue the movie without the comedy.

Who killed who, with what and when.. Seeing as every time the lights went out, someone was going to die. Also felt a lot like an extended episode of Twilight Zone..

I wouldn't quite call it a horror movie at all, more of a Thriller to me. If anything I was dissappointed in that the 'Devil' wasn't quite as creepy or supernatural as I would have liked. The black contact lenses are just done to death. I would have prefferred a spectre like entity with horns and some smoldering or something that just fades away at the end when he loses.

Well worth seeing, and hopefully we won't have to wait 2 years for the next one..

3.5 stars our of 5

True Blood

I guess last Sunday was the season finale.. I was hoping it wasn't so maybe something good would have happened this season. It would seem that every season just seems to get worse.

Looking at the show after having read all the books (Which were fantastic) is certainly a downer. There is so much material that they could be using, especially with 12 or 13 episode seasons there just is no excuse for the crap that the last two seasons have been.

I can't think of any real way to describe it except as a mess. This season more so than last, I didn't like the whole Maryanne thing. But this season.. Well, Russell was fun to watch. And I like most of the characters. It's just what their doing with them. I feel like they are throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks.. And just plucking them out of the books at Random. Vampire King - Check, Were Panthers involved with Jason - Check, Alienate Bill - Check, Fairies - Check, Introduce Al Herveaux - Check.. I mean I just felt lost and adrift trying to watch this week to week. When I know the books had so much that could have been adapted sensibly. And certainly with short seasons would have lasted long enough for them..

Ick.. Well, heres hoping next season is better. It would almost have to be.

Twilight Saga - Revisited

Just finished reading the books for the Twilight Saga, all five of them. Which should be no surprise to anyone who reads books and then sees the movies based on them. Generally the books are much better than the movies. Not always, but a majority of the time.

I've seen all the movies so far, and they have gotten progressively better. But the books for obvious reasons are just more detailed, and deeper. The movies seem to be tightly focused on the romantic relationship between Bella and Edward. And that's how it starts, and never disappears. But there was a lot more stuff going on beyond just that.

I kind of hope there would be another book, but so far doesn't seem like it. And the story seems mostly complete at the end of Breaking Dawn and so be it.

The State of Professional Wrestling

It's been at least a year now or more since I decided to start watching Pro Wrestling again. Which these days pretty much means WWF(E) since I don't get TNA and haven't seen anything of ROH.

So after a years worth of Raw and Smackdown and WWE Vintage Collection. I would have to say, I wish that they would give 'Mean' Gene Okerlund a 3 hour show every week. The old vintage matches from the 80s and 90s are so much better than what we get from week and week out.

Now, I just recently went to a live house show of Smackdown back in the spring, and it was a great show. But when I watch the shows and the PPVs week in and month out. They are supposed to be part of a bigger picture.

These pictures are just mostly boring but serviceable. Now, I grew up with this stuff. I used to go to the Atlantic Grand Prix wrestling live shows when I was a small kid every time they passed through town. I watched it on TV religiously.

The thing that seems to strike me these days is that the WWE has re branded Pro Wrestling as Sports Entertainment. But they seem to have all but forgotten the SPORTS aspect of it.

When I watch the Vintage Collection stuff, that is the part that strikes me. We all know that it's always been about entertainment. It's a soap opera for males. But it was a SPORTS oriented soap. The ref wasn't just there to be part of the show. He was there to make sure that the matches were fair and followed the rules. Y'know the rules, the part that made it appear to be a real sporting contest and not the mostly scripted and choreographed show that it was, and still is.

This comes home a lot more with the vintage stuff because you get to see much of the shtick that they don't even bother with anymore. And now the ref just seems to hang around the ring, until one person or the other is done showboating some rediculous series of moves ( Cena and MVP come to mind, although I can see that harken back to the Rocks Peoples Elbow) and he's needed to make a three count and that's it.

Maybe it's just nostalgia since everything you grew up with is better than what's around now. Or maybe it's just like everything else, they just don't make things like they used to.

I will say one thing, I hope that TNA does well, and I get to see some of it on TV soon. WWE needs some competition. Some of the best years I remember watching was during the Monday Night Wars with Raw Vs Nitro. And that's been over for a very long time now.

Resident Evil 4 : Afterlife

Well, after four of these movies what is there left to say about them. They're not very good at anything they do. Not very scary, no horror, not creepy and hardly interesting.

But then, most of anything I can think of right off that Paul W.S. Anderson has made hasn't been any better. The acting was decent, nothing wrong with the special effects. Movie was long enough. But as seems to be par for the course the story was mostly non existent.

And at this point, when they keep harping about how the world has succumbed to the T Virus and we see all this global destruction.. Where does Umbrella keep getting all these toys from anyway?? Do they have massive manufacturing plants on the moon or something?? If the movie was any good really, and made much sense within it's own paradigm we would have what they call 'suspension of disbelief' but we don't..

And they seem to have tossed in some seven foot tall Super Mutant with an Axe Hammer for good measure.. Not too mention why were all the zombies in L.A. congregated at the one sky scraper anyway.. They aren't supposed to be that intelligent or were the people in the building making sure to goad them back when their goldfish memories forgot about them.. I mean it would have taken some work to get them all there from every corner of the city..

After four installments these movies are just tiring, their not horror, action, drama, scary, creepy, interesting or much of anything really but a waste of money and two hours of time give or take.. Not even good spectacle movies Ala Independence Day, 2012 or anything else done by Devlin or Emmerich.. And least of which not even a good Zombie movie..

And let's not forgot except for some name dropping and the title, the movie(s) have pretty much nothing to do with the games. And the story for Resident Evil 5 (The game) was more interesting than this movie.

1.5 out of 5 (Don't even rent it)

Machete

After years and years Danny Trejo finally has a movie of his own. He's been in damn near everything over the years. And also had a part in this years movie Predators. Which I dare say was a much better outing for him.

This movie didn't quite seem to know what it was.. A homage to the old 80s crazy over the top action movies, with just unbelievable stunts, shooting, and even the old 80s staple of topless chicks which you never see in movies anymore. Speaking of which, one being Lindsay Lohan I wish I still hadn't seen. Putting her in a movie with Robert DeNiro was just sickening.

The other being a parady of said 80s action movies. Had the movie gone fully into one mode or the other I would have found it a lot more enjoyable. As it was, it served out a few laughs at the outrageous stunts and the straight face on Machete in the film.

It would be nice to see a sequel, and hopefully they would pull out the entire 80s playbook and make an old school action move. But I'm not going to hope too much in case they end up making a sequel to Hot Shots instead..

I realize there was a whole comedy aspect to the way things were done in the movie, but again they didn't sell me. And have been done much better in pretty much any 80s action movie that seemed to blend action with a dash of comedy much better.

2 stars out of 5 (Wait for rental)

Harry Brown

A British vigilante film starring Michael Caine. Great movie, Harry is a retired marine senior living in a run down neighborhood over run with punks, gangs and drug dealers. But he keeps to himself, and minds his own business, even being a witness to the crime around him. That is, until his sick wife dies in hospital. He may have made it on time, but he was forced to travel around on foot to avoid a gang hangout. And then later, a friend is killed after confronting them. Well, Harry has had enough. And decides to take matters into his own hands.

Great movie, and I generally like British films that aren't Monty Python. Probably not everyones cup of tea.

At least a solid rental.

3.5 out of 5

SummerSlam 2010

Well.. this has to be the best PPV I've seen so far this year. And that's not saying much. I miss the wrestling days of the 80s and to some extent the 90s and WCW..

May as well forget all the matches but two. Orton Vs Sheamus.. Was turning into a good match until we end up with a DQ finish.. WTF.. Sheamus keeps the belt and Orton goes to the back of the line.. I'm sure that will happen /sarcasm

WWE Seven (Raw Seven) Vs The Nexus.. Now this was probably the best main event I've seen in awhile. Cutting off the Miz and bringing out Brian Danielson was great. And to have him knock off someone right off the bat, even if it was just Darren Young was a good start. Everything was going well until just after Hart got DQed. Which I thought they handled brilliantly seeing Bretts health won't allow him to do much. But, it was good to see the shades of the old Hitman. And I liked that he has said he won't go back in the ring with the Pink & Black since he can't really perform.

Was somewhat downhill from there though.. With the Miz interference and quick win.. Was Cena really down or not.. I can't imagine anyone in the building believed that John Cena couldn't get an offence started. He's been beat down worse before to come back, and yet here he is dragging around for the whole match almost.

Oh, and Kane Vs Mysterio.. Who didn't know that 'Taker was in the casket.. Just a question of when will it open and he'd appear. Was interesting that they still play him as weak and injured and Kane still having the upper hand.

So, best PPV I saw all year. Better than Wrestlemania even. But still not as good as they used to be.

2.5 stars out of 5.

The Expendables

Seen this one on opening night. Was looking forward to it. The last of the three action ensemble movies of the summer. With the other two being The Losers and The A - Team. Coming third, appropriately marks this movie as third place.

Yes, they had a truck load of 80s and 90s action stars. But, a good chunk of them didn't do much. or have much to do. 'Stone Cold' Steven Austin hardly had 5 lines in the whole movie. Just kinda wandered around behind Eric Roberts just to get set on fire at the end of the movie. They didn't even have the decency to shoot him.

Jet didn't get to display hardly any of his skill, Mickey Rourke didn't leave the garage (Although I did like his role as the patriarch so to speak imparting his wisdom) Dolph was missing for most of the movie..

The best scene of the movie was the meeting with Sly, Bruce and Arnold. And that was mostly for the overtones towards Arnold and his being 'pissed' because he wants to be president.

Sly wasn't bad in this movie, but for me the real star was Jason Statham. He seemed to come off really well. And I enjoyed the parts of the movie he was a part of.

The whole thing was pretty typical of an 80s action movie. The plot was what you would expect. But this movie didn't seem to have half the polish that I would expect from even and 80s action movie.

And I've seen most of them. Arnold, Sly, Chuck, Jean-Claude, Steven.. And most of them were better. Too bad they couldn't have taken some more time to polish up this movie.

The A - Team was the best of the three, and The Losers was also great. Wait for DVD

2.5 stars out of 5

Sly supposedly had a sequel prepped and is just waiting for the green light from the studio after seeing the weekend haul. I've already read that it's the #1 movie this weekend at around about $35 million. If it does get the go, hopefully they will take more time with it.

Defiance

Been meaning to see this one for awhile. WWII Drama / Action movie with Daniel Craig. Came out a while ago now.

Didn't much care for it. If memory serves based on real events about a group of Jews on the Russian front who end up retreating into the forests and basically setup a guerrilla resistance against the Nazis.

I just found the movie to be boring, and didn't hold my attention at all.

For some good WW2 entertainment, see The Band of Brothers, The Pacific, Saving Private Ryan and Enemy at the Gates. Avoid seeing Pearl Harbor. These are probably more action oriented to some degree. But I also found some of them more educational.

2 stars out of 5

Death at a Funeral

I wanted to see this in theatres when it came out, but didn't get to it. The trailers looked good. And I had read that it was a remake of a British movie. And to me, that is a good thing. I like British comedies and work. So long as they don't change too much around about it.

As it turns out the movie is a good comedy. I found it to be well put together, good ensemble cast. Lots of little funny bits. Not much that was outrageously funny, but lots of small chuckle bits, one liners and toss out comments. I found it to be quite entertaining for the length of the movie.

Would have been good to see in theatres with an audience. And Danny Glover was great, had the best laugh in the first start of the movie when Tracy Morgan and Luke Wilson go to pick him up and his retirement home.

Good stuff rent it now..

4 stars out of 5

The Ghost Writer

Seen this one finally, the trailers at the theatre looked good for this one. But it didn't quite turn out this way. The movie bored me really.. I can't name too many Polanski movies. And the only one that I actually like is The Ninth Gate.

The plot sounded interesting, but it didn't turn out that way. I liked the cast but it wasn't enough. Wait for it to appear on television. If you want a summary I'm sure you can google it. Not much else to say about it.

2 stars out of 5..

Cop Out

I also finally got around to seeing this movie. After hearing so much about it, and I didn't realize that it was a Kevin Smith movie. As much as I like Kev. I don't actually like many of his movies. Dogma is about the only one I really like.

I guess the drama surrounding this film was that he directed and what not. But it was basically a studio film. And that got all his fanboys into a lather that he sold out. I don't care, he took a job. If only we all could take a temp job and get paid hundreds of thousands or a few million for it.

Anyway, this is a buddy cop movie with Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis. Maybe I'm not much for comedies anymore. The good ones I liked were all like twenty years ago. This movie was probably pretty average. As much as I kinda like Morgan I was getting tired of listening to his constant chatter. And Willis wasn't bad. The movie had it's moments and a few chuckle spots. And I liked the use of the Beverly Hills Cop music tossed around. As I'm sure that's what I was hearing.

Over all I'd say a good 2.5 stars out of 5. Glad I rented and not paid to see it at the theatre.

Unthinkable

Finally got around to seeing it. A thriller with Sam Jackson and Carrie Ann Moss. Jackson is always entertaining in pretty much everything I've seen him in. And it's nice to see Moss in something, since I don't think I've seen her since The Matrix trilogy and Red Planet.

Pretty straight forward thriller about a home grown terrorist planting three bombs and then allowing himself to be picked up. And the moral dilemma of his captors about how far will they go to get the information they need from him. Is his rights and wellness more important than the hundreds of thousands and in this case potentially millions of innocent civilians that his bombs may kill..

I found it to be an entertaining movie, but it is all pretty much about the interactions of the characters. So you won't find much action here.

Well worth the rental for me.

3 out of 5 for me.

The Sorcerers Apprentice

Let's begin this by saying that I found this to be one of the best movies I've seen Cage in, in quite some time.

The movie wasn't bad, could have been a lot better if they would have put a lot more effort into writing a better story. It seemed to be a first or second draft. Not ready to shoot yet.

The opening montage with the back story proved that to me. Kinda bland and cliche. Arch Wizard has three apprentices two male and one female. Both guys want the girl, one betrays them and out of jealously apparently to the big bad.

The conflict goes on somewhat through the ages, as the great wizard at the time of his death so many years ago, leaves a 'gift' to his brightest and tells him a chosen one will show himself someday and the 'gift' in this case his ring will show him who.. And only the chosen one can defeat said big bad yadda yadda..

I know this comes of making the movie sound really bad. It wasn't, just not great. But certainly one of Cages best roles recently. I totally bought him as Balthazar the Sorcerer.

I'd give it a 2.5 stars out of 5.. Worth seeing. Possibly wait for DVD unless the subject matter is especially appealing to you.

Thor

Managed to see the trailer for the upcoming Marvel movie Thor. With the knowledge that trailers seem to always look good. This trailer looks.. pretty good.

Not much more to say I guess at this point, not going to be coming out until May 2011 if they keep their date.

Google around, I'm sure you'll find it..

SALT

This one will probably be a short one.. Go ahead and see it.

Was a pretty decent movie, nothing that will be talked about around the water cooler for days like Inception was. But then this is a pretty straight forward spy type movie.

I came away with this movie feeling like something from the 80s for some reason. And like one review mentioned, and seemed to be dead one. This movie was more of a Bond movie than the last several Bond movies ever were.

The way the movie ends I would like to see a sequel. But then again, I don't. If you know what I mean.

Angelina did a great job, as did the whole cast. This is probably the first movie that I really liked Liev Shreiber in since forever. I always felt he was a good actor mainly, but never seen him in much of a good movie before.

I especially liked the Counter Espionage guy, whos name escapes me at the moment (Was also in Die Hard 4 if I remember right)

INCEPTION

FIVE STARS * * * * *

Where to begin with this one.. Shut down the Cinemas. I've seen the best movie of the year, and there is no point in going to anything else this year. Just hand out the awards now.

Not since I saw The Matrix (First one, not the sequels. I liked them too, but they were all different genres and the extras have some evidence of that ) or The Usual Suspects have I seen a movie that was just so mind engaged and smart. Not that I can think of off the top of my head anyway.

The movie looked great, sounded great and the only thing I can think of that I didn't like was what seemed to be some funny business with the time compression at the end. And my whole opinion of the movie could be swayed by the very last 60 seconds or so. But it's left in doubt, which isn't a bad ending. But if it goes one way I'd feel very ripped off. But since it's in doubt we shall never know.. hopefully.

The whole film is basically a caper movie. Dicaprio is the leader of a crew. Put together to pull of a heist. The only wrinkle, being that the jewels are locked away in a vault inside someones mind. It's like the matrix, but everyones own personal one. In a weird way it reminds me of Johnny Mnemonic. Kidnap whatever the target and jack into them and do the job. And if you do it well enough they don't even know they've been 'downloaded'

I was in no way a fan of Dicaprio for years. Not until I seen 'The Departed' since then I've been checking out his new movies. And they've all been pretty good so far. Even though I didn't find 'Shutter Island' to be as great as everyone made it out to be. But 'The Departed' was awesome and 'Inception' was off the charts.

Nolan get's a lot of pats on the back for 'The Dark Knight' now, I like Batman as much as everyone else. But I didn't find it to be the masterpiece that everyone seemed to think that it was. Ledgers performance as the Joker was amazing. But I have my doubts that if he were still with us the buzz may not have been so great. But an award winning performance none the less. The movie itself not so much. But 'Inception' is the movie that sells me on Nolan being a genius filmmaker.

Now from what I have seen and read so far, the opinions of this movie seem to break down into two camps. Black and White. You will either love this movie, or not at all. Which brings me back to the old idea that you have movies and films. This would be a film and for instance, 'The A-Team' would be a movie. They cater to audiences that want two distinctly different things. Also kinda why it seemed that so many loved or hated 'The Matrix' and the 'Reloaded' seemed to garner a different reaction. It being a different genre of movie from the first one, appealed to a different core audience.

So, if you don't like meaty brain food with your visual entertainment you may want to seek out a movie at the cinema. Since you probably won't like this film.

I have really cut back on my DVD / Blu-ray purchases in the last six to ten months since I don't watch too many more than once. Or even play a game more than once. And have funnelled that cash into my collectible hobby instead. But this is one movie I will look forward to on a super Blu-ray Special Collectors edition this fall.

VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

The Historian

Just finished reading this book. It was a fantastic read too. From what I've found out, it was a first novel from Elizabeth Kostova. The movie rights have been picked up, but that's always a roll of the dice on how Hollywood treats stuff.

The book basically revolves around the idea that Dracula is still alive. But the book isn't what you would call a vampire novel. Apparently there was a bidding war when the book was published, as they all thought they had the next Da Vinci Code on their hands.

This book is more about the search for the clues that Dracula is still alive, and where he might be. And the evidence of the existence of what could turn out to be vampires. It's more of a Mystery / Thriller. With the disappearances, and cover up the evidence and the race across Europe trying to tie together the clues to locate him. Dusty old libraries, tombs and events taking place in a couple time lines. As the plot continues from a father down to his daughter.

Highly Recommended. Was much better than the last Dan Brown book, which I found to be a big disappointment really. And hopefully no movie version coming. Or then again, maybe this time the movie would be better.

P R E D A T O R S

Was a pretty good movie. I can't say I was expecting much with how these things usually go. But with the director and casting choices I was pretty hopeful.

The movie turned out to be a throwback to the 80's and was probably the best Alien / Predator movie since Predator 1 and Aliens (2). Smart choice not going with the usual action star type to lead the movie.

Only real issued I had were with Fishburne (Who I usually like quite well.. Anyone remember Deep Cover?? ) His part just seemed pointless mostly, and a waste of time. His part could have been told with a found journal or torn notebook pages. Or even better, let the group find his hiding hole with him gone. And just the journal to tell the tale of a lone survivor and his 10 seasons on that rock and no clue what had happened to him.

Other than that the Predator dogs were interesting, wasn't enough stalking and such of the group. And it would have been very nice to see the Yakuza win that duel for a change. Not have a double KIA. That sucked.. A scene thrown back to Predator 1, but this time the human wins would have been so much better.

I've read that Rodriguez is interested in a sequel.. I'm not sure that is a good idea. This one worked, and was pretty good overall. Let it rest. They will need to do something quite different with the game preserve for a sequel not to seem like been there done that before.

Dispicable Movie

What should come as no surprise I guess, Despicable Me wasn't much of a movie. I should say, that even the bad movies have good scenes in them. But, this movie a lot like How to Train your Dragon was operating on one level only. And if you weren't a kid, you weren't going to get much out of it.

The trailers gave away (as usual it seems) the best parts of the movie (It's so Fluffy!!) and the attempted break ins at Vectors HQ. Not too mention the Freeze ray scene from the coffee shop.

Toy Story, G-Force and even Band Slam this movie most definitely is NOT.

Weekend

Looking like a good weekend for the movies. With the third straight day of temperatures up and over forty degrees with the humidity, which is ever present here.

Predators and Despicable Me opening, the AC should be worth it alone. My off the cuff suspicion will be that Despicable Me will be the better movie. Until Ridley gets around to doing Alien 5 I don't expect to see any good Alien or Predator movies anymore. We shall see if I'm wrong or not.

The Last Airbender

Managed to get to this movie. Was a pretty decent movie. Special FX were good, acting was Ok. Story wast serviceable, not ground breaking. Overall a pretty decent Asian style fantasy movie.

And if it weren't for the fact that it apparently cost almost $300 million total out the door to threatres I'd be interested in the 2 proposed sequels. But with that high a cost, and only $16 million taken in (Find out the whole weekend total by Monday I imagine) it's not looking too good.

As for the avalanche of negative reviews.. I'm not entirely sure what to think about all their claims. I found the new Twilight movie to be the best of the 3. And a lot better than I expected. But Avatar was far better. Maybe it just appeals to me more, with the elemental powers, martial arts and the asian flavour.

For what it's worth I don't know much of anything about the source material at all. Never seen a single episode of the cartoon.

And with all the flops that M. Night has put out since Unbreakable this would be his sole decent effort since then.

I think this movie isn't deserving of all the negativity that it's getting. If there was one thing I would really complain about, it's that the movie really didn't seem to have an end. And with the sequels in question. The story is started, but unfinished. And leaving the theatre I was annoyed at only seeing about 1/3rd of a movie (Story)

Paranormal Activity 2

The trailer was attached to Twilight: Eclipse.. Fantastic.. I can't wait to see it. Looks like an awesome old school outing once again. Creepy as hell, with the trailer even having tons of little details to watch for in the scenes. Must try and see this opening night with a full audience.

I hope it beats the hell out of the crap they call horror these days. Since if I recall it's due in October along with the perennial Saw release /yawn

The Twilight Saga

What can you say about the movies that are bucking the apparent trend. Big budget movies that attract hordes of kids to the theatres and repeat viewing. The female crowds mainly.. Their based on a hugely successful series of books. None of which I have read, and had said I would never read after having read what I considered the much better of the two franchises ( True Bloods Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries). But now may have to.

Now in it's third movie with two more coming, supposedly splitting the final volume in two with the usual about not having to sacrifice so much.

Having not read the books, I don't know how close they are to the source material. Judging from the fan reaction and comparing it to the first two Harry Potter movies (One of the few series I have read more than once) I can presume they are very faithful Which could be why they didn't go over well with the people at large unfamiliar with the source. If like HP, The first two which were the best, because of being so close to the books. And also criticized greatly for not striking out on their own. And were a too literal translation of the books to film. Well, guess what?? Thats what the people wanted and thats who went to see it. The HP films have gotten worse over time. As more got cut out, and different directors have tried to put their stamp on them. Rather than serving up the fans what they want, the books on film.

To get back on track, I can presume that this is what is NOT happening with Twilight. Seeing all the complaints. And seeing the first two myself, ignorant of the books. I hated the first one.. I could understand what was going on with Bella and all the whining and stuff. She was 16 or 17 and didn't know shit for lack of a better word (Unlike Sookie who in all fairness, is in her mid to late twenties and is more mature) But the movie was just stiff, questionable acting, boring what else can I say. But the girls seemed to love it.

By the time the second one came around, and we got to see the Werewolves and the tribe more. It was starting to hook into me. I read most everything White Wolf put out ages ago for the world of darkness line. And I just got hooked with the Werewolf aspect of the movie. The tie to nature, their warmth, protectors of the wild and all that. And especially the fact that they were like 7' tall at the shoulder in wolf form. I am glad that they don't have a hybrid form. Human and Wolf. That's enough. When I started the new season of True Blood, one thing among a few this season that was disappointing was seeing the Weres being like the size of a German shepherd.

So going into Eclipse I wasn't expecting much.. And the reviews I had seen were very bad, low rating and lots of complaining. But dare I say, I liked the movie. Wasn't the greatest movie. But I can see some growth with Bella, and the love triangle. With me starting to see some maturity in Edward who seems to want Bella. But also, what's best for her. And is torn between what he knows should happen, and what he wants to happen. And he seems to be putting some thought into the fact that in not wanting to change her. Jacob is the better choice between them. Will he let her go in the last installment(s) so she can free to live a warm human life with Jacob.. I suppose people can be flawed, but if Edward were really a century old or so. He should have the maturity to either change her so they can be together forever, or just let her go. He should know that at her age, she really doesn't know what she wants. And everything is a big deal. Come back when she's like 30 or 35 when she will mentally be able to make informed decisions.

Something else the books may make more clear, but WTH is with the Volturi (spelling??) They don't seem to be anything more than some bumbling clown hierarchy.. Here it was looking like the vampire had some higher authority among their people. Some laws and rules.. Well maybe not.. They don't seem to make any sense at all. It would appear that they have some ulterior motive going on.. But would one or two be able to go 'Rogue' in secret from the others. Or is there only like five of them?? And if there were only so few why haven't they been overthrown by now. It would seem that True Blood has them beat hands down, with making the vampires seem to have a society of their own that they owe allegiance too. Shouldn't they be worried that Victoria was making a mass vampire factory that risked exposing them to the humans??

And I'm told that they don't sparkle in the books.. Well I damn well hope they don't. But beyond that, the fact that vampires are up and around during the daylight hours just bothers me to no end. It's just wrong, like boiled icing. It should not be happening. But, I've managed to ignore it so far.

So with all this rambling my favorite movie characters are Jacob, Alice, Jasper, Edwards Father and the Werewolves. (Sad to see Graham Greene gone ) Firmly Team Jacob here.

Raw is Yawn

Another yawner of a Monday Night Raw for me last night. I did get a chuckle out of the opening when Cena throw out that line out about his Mother canceling his Warcraft subscription.

The best part of the whole show me would have been the tribute to Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat and his DVD release with the WWF / WCW legends.. But that they had to go and ruin that.

I knew when I saw it coming, can we just have a nice tribute to the Dragon without any crap. And of course not. Now, I imagine they had no problem trying to help put over the new faction. But, after the first few beat downs it has gotten boring and repetitive.

Especially since the Raw and Smackdown talent was barred from contact with them. Great.. Seems like they are trying to re-create the old NWO takeover type drama. Let them take over the announcers table for a show and call it.

Or even the TV truck outside and run their own Promos.. But a beat down without opposition every week has run its course.

Knight & Day

Say what you will about Tom Cruises' religious affiliations or what not. He does tend to make good movies. Not many great ones, but good ones.

Knight & Day was a good movie. Fairly humorous, few chuckles and no laugh out loud events. It was worth seeing, although some movies.. Comedies and Horror are a better viewing experience in a full theatre. But, when I saw it there must have been less than 15 people in the theatre.

I assueme most people have seen the trailers and are mostly familiar with what the movie is about. I don't know what it is about Diaz, but I still don't like her. So the movie may have been better with another actress. Other than that, the only problems that stood out for me was the movie was just too long. Roughly 2 hrs by my watch. Could have been 30 mins shorter. And because of that, the joke gets old.

Is Tom telling the truth, is he a whackjob. Is he an amazingly talented but inept appearing secret agent.. That's what we've all seen in the trailers and it was funny for the first hour or so. But it get's old, as the plot turns and the movie just keeps on going and going.

So, just some random observations on it. I liked it, was worth going to. I thought it was funny. But a little too long, and too bad the female lead wasn't someone else.

Go see it, and try to see it in a mostly full theatre.

Reading Material

Eifelheim is a novel by Michael Flynn published in 2006. It's about a small village in the 1300s close to the Black Forest of Germany.

One day they notice thunder & lightening and strange occurrences in the forest. And it becomes known to the local Pastor and a few others that new visitors have arrived in the forest from another world.

The book covers the interactions of the aliens with the Medieval village over a period of I think, was less than a couple years. And how people of that time dealt with it.

The book is told from two perspectives. One mainly from the view of the local Pastor in 1348. And the other in the present from a Physics Professor and her boyfriend who studies population and settlements and what not ( lack of remembering what it's called). It begins with him trying to figure out why a village was abandoned in the late 1340s for no reason. When there appeared to be an abundant amount of local resources that people would not just leave behind, or resettle in a generation or two.

The book was slow to get started, but it builds and gets rolling along. The author did a great job on his homework, or else he is a history buff himself. The book did a great job imparting a small part of what life must have been like for the people in the 1340s. And dread of the coming plague at that time. And how they would struggle with the understanding of what had come to visit them. Although in my opinion, I don't know if as many people would accept the aliens as did in the novel. But then, if they didn't wouldn't be much of a novel so..

Read it, great book.

Three Dee

Am I the only one that thinks that all this recent 3D crap, is just that.. The latest gimmick to try and rush people into theatres.

Blaming piracy for most of the ills.. Why not crappy movies, remakes and poor scripts written to the lowest common denominator. Rushing movies out to video as fast as possible to turn a quick buck when people have 60" home theatres with surround sound systems can watch it at home without the hassle of other people and burnt popcorn.. have little incentive to go to theatres when they can wait 3 months and see it at home a lot cheaper as well.

I guess I am just getting tired of hearing all the hype about every thing coming out in 3D like it automatically makes everything better. Even though some items I've read makes mention that a chunk of the population can't watch 3D without getting nauseous. I guess I may find out this summer for myself when I get to see something in 3D.

The A - Toys

Toy Story 3

Went to see Toy Story 3 last weekend. Pixar is still on a roll. Was a good movie. I wouldn't call it great, but a solid good movie. Unlike 'Dragon this one works on a couple levels for kids and adults. And basically was an animated riff on prison break movies. The big one that comes to mind as an example was Eastwoods 'Escape from Alcratraz'

The toys end up having to escape from the Daycare when things there don't wind up to be all that they hoped they would be. Not too say much else, the movie has a happy ending. And one scene is right out of Return of the Jedi.

With any luck this is the last, everything nicely wraps up. And we get to see most of the toys. And some not more than small cameos. Namely, Zerg. So we know where and what happened to everyone.

So, certainly a solid good entertaining movie. Go see it, kids optional.

The A - Team

What a pleasant surprise this was. Let's just say now, that this movie was fantastic. I enjoyed every minute of it. Even though there was a few really over the top moments. But, expected in a summer action blockbuster.

When I saw the credits at the start, I knew it was a very good sign, or a very bad one. And luckily it was very good. Riddly and Tony Scott. And no Russel Crowe in sight. I think their magic has ended.

But, with this being the second ensemble action movie this summer, after The Losers. I wasn't expecting much. The trailers looked interesting, but also a little insane. But, the Tank sequence was awesome.

This movie is a great Action / Buddy / Endemble / Comedy style movie. In the vain of the original Beverly Hills Cop movie. And it's also a sensible movie. I noticed that, there wasn't a lot of 'plot skipping' and by that I mean, where characters seem to do, acquire or take advantage of things that seem to come out of thin air. Where the audience isn't shown where it comes from, or how they got it. I found this movie had a lot of logical progression that way. If you pay attention they don't do much that isn't explained or shown as they go about their plans.

The only real down side I found was Liam Neeson. I like him, Taken was a fantastic movie. But, he just didn't feel right as Hannibal.

Awesome movie, heres hoping for a sequel. But with a $100 million budget and what I read was not a big splash opening weekend. I don't know if it's likely. Heres hoping for a big international showing.

And I am familiar with the 80s TV show, and I did find this a good homage to the original.

This is how you make a re-make of an old property.

Now where is the Fall Guy or Simon & Simon..

Kung Fu Kid

Chalk up another one to the studios for presuming that the movie going audiences are morons. Having to name the movie Karate kid for some minuscule connection to the 80s franchise when he was being taught Kung Fu because they needed the tie in or no one would know what the movie was about.. really..

Anyway, the movie is actually pretty good. Will Smith is starting a movie dynasty. His kid has presence on screen, and can perform well. (Someone should have explained this to George when he was doing The Phantom Menace..) Bit of a long movie, nicely updated.

Only thing I would complain about was that we didn't get to see enough of the Tournament stuff. And a nice nod to the original would have been his winning with the single Crane Kick knockout (Like the original if I can remember that far back)

Other than that it was pretty good. Not great, but pretty good. Which is asking a lot by modern Hollywood standards.

Finales

SGU finished it's first season last night. I will have to say that this show is a slow burn. Which is a good thing (tm)

At this point I wouldn't even call it Science Fiction but Drama. And that would seem to be the problem some people seem to have with it. It is such a departure from the franchise. Not being an action / adventure sci fi show. That it is pretty much building it's own fan base. And the existing one doesn't know how to take it.

But after two series, and one that didn't get a full seven seasons it's great to have something in the same 'Continuity' but essentially a different genre from the preceding shows.

And I like the ending. Here's hoping that MGMs woes don't bring it all down over the summer.

Supernatural ended it's season a few weeks ago now. And what a great ending it was. And a great series finale as well. I still don't know what else to really say about it. But that the next season is going to be on the edge of a knife not to screw all this up.

I know I will probably consider it a new series unless they manage to navigate the minefield. As it is Seasons one to five are start middle and finished with a great ending.

Question: Was Chuck god?? Seems to point that he was. Although I would have preferred it to be Cas. Chuck is just too obvious and right there. Or else even better, he / she hasn't been revealed yet. And Chuck was called up since his job was done.

NXT Season 2

Well, I can say I was pleasantly surprised by the premiere of Season 2.

If we back up a bit, I enjoyed the hell out of the end of Season 1. Once Daniels flipped out and ripped into Cole with some great Work / Shoot cuts. Poor Mans JR.. I was stunned at what they allowed him to say on air. And greatly entertained. And we shall see where they go with this NXT Invasion angle they just had on Raw.

But as far as Season 2 goes, I was only entertained by one person really. "Showtime" Percy Watson. With that strained double row white smile (Grimace?) and the dancing with those thick rimmed red glasses.. Was funny as hell. I hope he wins. He even wrestles with them on.

Cool to see Mr. Perfects son in there. But, what a stupid name they gave him. And why?? Wasn't to cover up his roots obviously since they brought up his past several times. Wish I could say I was just as impressed with Husky. Which If I remember right is the son of IRS.. correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyway, overall I can say I guess that NXT in the last few weeks has been more entertaining than Raw or Smackdown.

And don't get me started right now on the crap that they called Viewers Choice Raw..

Dwarfers Rejoice

Well.. Sometimes you get what you wish for. After wanting more Red Dwarf, I've read this week that Craig Charles (Lister) gave an interview where he confirms two new series are in the works. And that shooting is set to start up early next year. (Of course I now can't find the link)

Great news, been watching that show since '86 or was it '87 when I was in junior high. I can still remember watching it with my friends. Staying up hideously late on school nights since we only got it on PBS back then.

Great news !!

Why won't it end ?!?

I've been playing Infamous on the PS3. I remember last year when it and Prototype came out. How they were supposed to be similar games. I finished Prototype on the 360 and it was pretty good. I got the whole sense of the quarantine and that the city was locked down and going down hill fast.

Infamous isn't giving me that at all.. In fact, it's reminding me very much of another game.. Assassins Creed II.. It just doesn't want to end. It goes on and on.. And in the case of Infamous I'm apparently supposed to be in a quarentine zone with these mutants or some such running around. But the place doesn't look very cut off. And cracked down at all. Doing missions, getting power upgrades. And just getting bored at this point.

With the time I have into the game now, I would have to say that Infamous seems to be a poor knock off of Prototype. Although I don't know which one came first. I see that there is a sequel in the works for Infamous, but I don't plan to be playing it. I'd like to see the end of the story. But, I'm unaware of whether I can stick with it long enough to see it through to the end or not. Just like Assassins Creed II.

Dr Who??

After all these years, I may have finally seen a few episodes of the show that I actually liked. I liked the previuous Dr.. David Tennant but the show that he was a part of seemed to be just as bad as all the other episodes I managed to catch over the years.

Now, I like BBC stuff. And as far as I'm concerned Red Dwarf is the best thing to ever come from across the pond. No, I didn't much care for the Beatles and as much as a travesty as it was when I was kid I really didn't like Monty Python.

But the new younger Doctor so far has been pretty good. And from what I've been reading, it must be because of the darker tone that the show has taken. I've been watching Torchwood, not a bad show. The last miniseries was the best. But the new Dr Who seems to be even darker than Torchwood.

Now granted, I've only seen about 3 episodes so far. But the Angels episode was a good hour. I'll look forward to watching the rest of the season when I manage to catch it.

But I will always be crossing my fingers for more Red Dwarf !!!

Death in the Sand

Prince of Persia

Once again, what can you say.. Not much of a movie. Plot was paper thin, a lot of action running sequences. Movie was more Assassins Creed feel than anything else. If Jake had of been dressed in white I could have mistaken him for Ezio. If not for the desert surroundings. I liked the cast though, and the FX was good. Just no plot and no story to speak of. So, pretty typical of a big summer action movie. Seeing as how they released in the late spring, I guess they didn't want to risk it going up against the real summer mega blockbusters.

Death in the Family

Book 10 of the Southern Vampire Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris. The series that True Blood is based on. And thankfully the book series is so much better. The show is taking some departures. I may have beat my record for fastest read of a hardcover novel. Unfortunately it's going to be a long wait for the next book as this one just came out. At least Guillermos book II of the Strain is coming out in September.

So, in summery Vampires good (Buy the book) and Prince of Persia bad (don't even bother renting)

Talisman: The game of Magical Adventure

Anyone who likes board games with a little crunch should check out Fantasy Flight Games. They have a deep range of tabletop games to satisfy most genres.

I was introduced to Talisman almost 26 years ago when it was still in 2nd Edition under Games Workshop. That was the best edition, and into the 90s it went into a 3rd Edition that wasn't so great.

But now FFG has the license and it is now a real throwback to that old edition. A new board expansion has just come out. Hopefully they will round out the last two corners with a new version of the City.

Basically it is a board game of Adventure and Magical quests. With character classes, followers and items. Monsters and board squares to explore and overcome. Wonky rules, random dice and wildly different power levels (Not everything was in balance) was the charm and flavor of the game.

And unlike Descent and some of the newer bigger games which are more like D&D Lite this game doesn't require a Gamemaster, but does need more than a few hours to run through with 3 or more players.

Heres hoping for more surprise endings.. Bring back the horrible Black Void !!!

Bits and Pieces

Went to see Shrek 4 the other day.. What a steaming pile of crap that was. After about 45 minutes I had to leave the theatre and I felt like standing in the hall for the remainder of the movie.

There was nothing cute, funny or entertaining about the film at all. I went to see How to Train your Dragon earlier this year. That movie only worked on one level, for the kids. But it still wasn't a bad movie at all. Not like the original Shrek and movies of that sort, where there is one layer that entertains the kids. And a second one that appeals to the adults in the audience.

That second layer was missing from Dragon. But, it still managed to be a fair movie for adults and good for kids. Shrek 4 didn't have anything for adults and nothing but the most base entertainment for kids. Who I imagine, never really noticed anyway.

At this point the best kids movie I seen or rather 'Family' movie that had something for young and old alike was last summers G-Force and Band Slam.

In other news I managed to finally finish God of War 3 on PS3. Should have done it sooner, would have got some more trade credit for it than I did when I turned it in.

I found it from a game play standpoint to be much better than GoW I and II. Still had puzzles, but they weren't a frustratingly massive turn off. Since these were supposed to be action games, not puzzlers. I would prefer them to be shorter and more straight forward so as they don't interfere with my killing the enemy. GoW III delivered more than the originals.

Wasn't worth a purchase though, too short. And I almost never play something twice. Challenge levels and what not don't appeal to me at all. So, I bought it on credit, but once I run out of trade credit I won't be buying many more games new. Probably a few when they get to the $25 dollar range. And I will just re-open my gamepass up. When I can finish a game every 2 weeks or so when I work at it. They just arn't worth the $70 price tags and be lucky to get $30 back.

Russell of the Hood

Went to see Robin Hood. I liked it better than Prince of Thieves. But, I also haven't seen PoT in quite some time. Somehow I don't think it will be much better now, seeing as how Costner is still in it (Yes, he has some good movies.. Bull Durham and Untouchables for two.. )

This one seemed to be more of the Lord of the Rings of the Hood. A more gritty and realistic take. No real comedy, swashbuckling or anything of the sort. Which was good. King John was great, I liked his performance. Crowes was alright, nothing to write home about. I like Max Von Sydow better as well as the Marshall ( Hurt ).

Well worth seeing, borderline on whether you should wait for a rental or fork out for a theatre ticket. Was a little too long. And the big surprise, is this isn't really Robin Hood but the prequel. So, naming the movie Robin Hood was kind of a cheat.

Dare I say no Oscars for this one..

Daybreakers

Go out and rent this movie. I missed it when it first came out in theaters. Which was too bad, because it's actually not bad at all.

Nice change of ideas, to have the world basically populated with Vampires and the humans are the rarity. Almost seemed like a take on modern society whether intentional or not, about overpopulation and the dwindling of natural resources. In this case human blood.

I wouldn't even call it a horror movie really. I could so far as to say I would have liked it to have been a HBO mini series type of thing, or possibly a couple of movies that could have started with the beginning of the plague and the rise of the vampire society to the fall of humans all in a 10 year span. And than have this movie which dealt with the crunch of lack of resources and the search for a synthetic substitute and the discovery of the cure. And the people who want to stay vampire for all the 'health' benefits that it imparts.

Was kind of humorous how the new society was very much like the old, but on the opposite side of the clock.

Anyway, held my attention for a couple hours. And is certainly worth the rental.

Twenty - Four

Well.. what can I say about this weeks episode. By the end I thought I was watching video from Army of One..

Pretty good episode actually, probably a good thing this is the last season. Because at this point, Jack has become Captain vigilante and is hunting down all the bad guys and killing and or eviscerating them and not necessarily in that order.

Should be interesting how they will swing a movie after this, unless they plant it in the past. Since I would expect Jack to be killed or else locked up for sure this time. How on earth are they going to excuse him this time, and let him go begrudgingly so that they can call him back in again later like they usually do when they need him, but fear his methods that get results that national security demands. That they then hate him for providing for them..

Not too mention, that the show has also become a little too formulaic with its approach. There is always a mole in CTU.. or more than one. Always a surprise return character, even towards the end of the season. Jack will kill and torture people. And likely die at least once himself. No one eats or goes to the washroom for 24 hrs straight. And damn near everything that happens has multiple contingency plans since the plot goes forward for 24 straight hours no matter how Jack messes it all up.

Sunday Afternoon Smackdown

Got back yesterday from WWE Smackdown house show. I haven't been to a WWE/F live event since 15 years or so ago. And let me tell you, that back then it was pretty crappy.

We had Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Duke the Dumpster, Doink, JJ, Smoking Guns.. Crappy sound system (Arena fault I would say ) no real matches, a lot of pushing, shoving some punches and kicks and just a total lack luster display.

Flash forward 15 years and we had Cody Rhodes, Rey Mysterio, Big Show, Kelly Kelly, MVP, Shad, Drew, Kofi, Christian.. Good Sound, the ring actually had the WWE Smackdown logo and colors. And the show was good. Just like every Friday night. Pretty much all the spots and finishers. I didn't expect Rey to go all out like he does on PPV or TV. But damn, if he didn't fly around the ring, jumping from the ropes, 619 (Kinda lame move really) and everything. Was a good 2 hr show. If I had anything to complain about, it would be that they had a second show 4 hrs later and a 1 hr or more drive to get there. So, we didn't get to see anyone or autographs.

We did have good seats too. And not on the floor either, just above them. So I could see the whole ring at a nice angle. And not be sitting flat on the floor looking through the ring and past other people.

But, I'll be watching for their next stop through. And hopefully Raw next time so we can see the other side. And hopefully not so rushed so we can try and get some pictures and autographs.

It only took 15 years for me, but I finally feel justified in the money I spent then. That it motivated me to go again and finally see a good show.

Popcorn Season Has Started or Film Season has Ended and Movies have begun

Well.. Iron Man 2 was Ok.. Seems the info was right. Big budget special effects extravaganza. Light on any real story and heavy on CG and FX. If it weren't for Downey this movie would have crashed and burned. The whole thing rides on his insane level of Charisma and Charm.

Whiplash is mostly forgettable, and having two billionaire arms dealing, fast talking, techno geeks in the same movie?!?

Oh, and I'm not sure if this was even Iron Man 2. It could have been S.H.I.E.L.D. Episode #0 or maybe even the Avengerns Prequel with all the screen time that Nick Fury got (And we didn't even get one Motherfucker out of him ) and the ending with Thors Hammer..

Now, maybe the little plot plot points that Nick brought in for Tony was true to the comics. But, guess what.. I didn't read Iron Man. And probably no one else in the audience did either. So, all the SHIELD stuff was just throwing off the movie.

Which in the end just didn't seem to have much in the way of any direction besides a paper thin plot to meander through to get to the big money shots.

Oh well, they all can't be like X-Men 1 & 2, Spider Man 2 or even Iron Man 1.

I enjoyed the new Episode of Supernatural the night before much better. And it was free. Can't wait for the next one.

Iron Man Challenge

It's Iron Man weekend. Will it be any good, will it compare to the original?? If Early reviews are any indication it's much more on action and a lot less on story and character.. Which if done right should be ok.

So, here's hoping for a good action flick.. Has to be better than Sherlock Holmes..

Sundays

Went through a few DVDs I picked up previously viewed over Xmas and never got to. Rewatched The Hangover, still not bad. Wasn't as funny the second time around of course. First time was only a few chuckles. But, not a bad movie. I'll be interested in seeing the sequel thats in the works. Off to the trade in pile this one goes now, I'll never watch it again.

Public Enemies.. I had to shut it off.. What more can I say about it. Saturday night I had rented Boon Dock Saints II: All Saints Day, and fell asleep. This was worse, I had to actually get up and shut it off.

As for Boondock, I remember liking the first one. But, I hadn't seen it in some time. But the sequel was better than Nyquil for your insomnia.

Still have Inglorious Basterds to watch again. As well has Gran Torino and Harry Potter. Those last two on Blu Ray.

Stargate: Universe

I really hope that the mess at MGM doesn't cause this show to get shelved or even cancelled. Kind of like what's been going on with the new James Bond movie.

This weeks episode was great, and I'm looking forward to the last few new episodes pretty much more than anything else on TV.

I find it to be a nice breath of fresh air, and a real gamble that they took. Breaking from SG1 and Atlantis and making a more character driven show, with the Sci fi being more of a backseat. With the originals being so Action Adventure with the comedy tossed in. This one is a real departure.

Pretty much in the mold of the new Battlestar Galactica, which although I liked it. I like SG:U much better.

Heres hoping for 6 more seasons at least..

Where has all the Horror Gone..

Well, got back from the first showing of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010.. I won't say it was absolutely horrible. But, I would certainly say to wait for rental. And not purchase.. But rental.

Not a lot to think about with this one, it pretty much staggers from A to B to C. Jackie doesn't have much of a part to work with. And I liked the character of Quentin but not so much Nancy. Chris was better, and she doesn't last nearly as long. For that matter Dean was it?? That dies in the diner at the start, was more likable and he was only in the movie for 5 mins or less.

I didn't think it was as bad as the reviews are saying, but then again, I'm old enough to remember the original somewhat. But also, old enough for it to be fuzzy. I don't remember how serious Freddy was in #1.. I presume he gained a lot of his charm in the sequels as they got campier.

But I didn't much care for Freddys look in this one, and the few one liners he did have didn't come off all that well. Unfortunately Jackie is no Robert Englund. And that's too bad.

The Crazies was a better horror movie. And these days they don't seem to even make horror anymore. Just action / thriller / Slasher flicks. Not much old school anymore a la Amityville Horror (Still havent seen the remake) and last years Paranormal Activity was a wonderful throwback to old school real Horror movies. Not the torture porn etc.. that passes as horror today.

And this movie was just full of cheap / jump scares. Nothing really scary or horror buildup at all I found.

Weekend

Stargate: Universe is coming up tonight, I think it's a new ep. I didn't check the PVR schedule today.

And A Nightmare on Elm Street is coming out, with Jackie Earl Haley. Looking forward to getting to that. Rated 18A so should cut down on a lot of the rabble from getting in to ruin the movie. Wonder if Dokken is on the soundtrack..

The Broad Strokes

NCIS

The one show on TV that I can usually watch re-runs of, over and over and not get bored with. Not a bad episode, not a great one either. Always fun when Fornell is around.

NCIS: Los Angeles

Why is this show around?? Heady is about all I watch this show for. It doesn't look, sound or feel like its branding NCIS.. I don't dislike Robin or LL Cool J. The show would probably be better as XYZ Police procedural show or CSI: LA. The NCIS title causes it to fail to live up to expectations.

V

Two weeks ago I would have said it was getting better, and hopefully would get the time it needs to mature. But, now after more 90210 drama and some Alien Soldier who didn't seem to be all that bad ass after all.. I'd rather they stick a fork in it now. Why couldn't Jericho have stayed around..

Fringe

Wow, coming up on the end of the season and a real throw away episode. I didn't get into the whole Film Noir / Gumshoe apsect about it all. Let's get back to monster of the week or something.

Supernatural

I liked this episode, was pretty good. Advanced the mythology some, went back and filled in some blanks about Sams past. Brought Crowley back. Good to seem him again after his run on Battlestar Galactica. Too bad we couldn't get his father a part as an old crusty Angel or Demon. Just so he could have some cool dialogue with his voice. Maybe he will be Death.. Heres hoping.

New Blood

In a little over two months, we will be seeing the beginning of the third season of True Blood on HBO. Based on the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris.

The first season was fantastic, and the show has it's own quirky charm. And being on HBO they don't have to tone it down any. I think one of the best comparisons would be, what if Twilight was actually made for grown ups and had some maturity about it.

Season 2 wasn't all that great, the whole plot arc with Maryanne was just excruciating to experience. And Even more so, after reading the books and finding out that it didn't need to be that way.

I am thankful that the seasons are only 13 episodes each, helps keep the filler down and hopefully the quality up.

There is apparently a set of webisodes coming that will lead into season 3, look forward to see them.

Now, the countdown to the next book. Due next month.

MMO Roundtable

Star Trek Online or World of Warcraft?? I've played WoW for 5 years off and on. Horde and Alliance, Raids, Dungeons, Solo, Battlegrounds.. Played Star Trek Online for a week less a few days, since it was so mind numbingly boring.

Don't get me wrong, ST:O looks fantastic, ship battles are just the way I hoped they would be. Reminds me a lot of Starship Battles. Ground combat was ok.. I guess it was just that I found myself doing the exact same things over and over.. The grind (tm).. The thing that every MMO has to some degree, and try their best to hide. Once you see that hamster wheel it's never the same again.

But ST:O being from Cryptic is very much like City of Heroes in space to me. I played CoH off and on since launch. And it's fun for awhile, but again very repetitive. And I would probably be still playing if it was $9.95 a month, or even better free like Guild Wars or Dungeons and Dragons Online. I would describe it as MMOLite. Just not enough meat to keep going long term.

But, contrary to all the bitching and moaning that goes on about paying a $15 US monthly sub. MMOs are very cost effective entertainment. Play as much as you want for that 15 bucks. You can hardly eat out once on your own for that. And forgetting about buying a console game for $70 now days, you can't hardly rent one for a week for less $8 or so. But, granted you can usually wrap most games these days in a week if your dedicated enough. And renting 3 games a month and we're back to MMOs being better bang for your buck.

So, I've landed back once again in Azeroth. My last trip didn't last more than 2 weeks before I closed my sub and didn't even log in the last two. I have a bunch of Alliance in the 60s, one in the low 70s and some horde in the 70s and 80.

Cataclysm sounds interesting, and supposedly will launch in November. I'd like to have two level 80s by then. So, I can try and play the next 5 levels from different perspectives. But, last time I had difficulty leveling through the same terrain all over again. And whether it was horde or alliance the difference from 70 to 73 seemed minor. And I was bored.. I didn't expect 74 to 80 to be any more varied.

I'd like to have a DPSer to go alongside my healing toon.. But I find oddly enough, that my two most prospective candidates are both healers. And I'm more bored working up a Mage in the 70s. And until Cataclysm launches I'm certainly not going all the way down down to level 1 again to try a Rogue (For the third time, one level 47 and One level 20 already.. ) Until I can try Worgen out and the new low level stuff.

I did play a fair amount of Lord of the Rings Online. And there is a lot to like about the way they did things. But WoW being out longer, just has more to do as far as I'm concerned. Maybe I'll talk about LotrO later.

And the odd duck of the bunch, Star Wars The Old Republic by Bioware I am looking forward to seeing more about. Looking like the MMO to break the MMO mold. And if anyone can do it, I would have said Blizzard. But since, they have WoW who seems to have sharpened and perfected the current EQ style. Bioware would be the next choice to upend the paradigm. But we have upwards of a year or so before we find out.

Monday Night Yawn

The WWE had their annual monday night draft on Raw last night. Now, I've been watching and following Wrestling for years and years. Had a big break of probably about a decade after the late 90s. But, I was kinda hoping this would be a huge draft, shakeup of all the super stars. And keep Raw and Smackdown fresh. And maybe force the writers to work up stuff for two new talent rosters.. And not just a total work like I figured it would be. And it was.. 8 people change over. Eight.. big deal. I have yet to see the supplemental draft. But.. yeah.. eight. What a disappointment so far. Most politicians have bigger cabinet shuffles.

Raw seems to be top heavy now, like I've read today. Why not?? Most of the big names and the ones with all the spark are there now. Whats on Smackdown.. Off the top of my head Undertaker and Big Show. Anyone on Smackdown who looked like they were going someone got drafted to Raw last night.. Bye Edge, Bye Jericho.. Guess Smackdown may as well be Friday night NXT..

Jericho is best heel period. Do you all understand what it is that I am saying to you right now??

24

Not bad.. Pretty much following the formula now. Mole in CTU, Jack going wild. Crisis with the President. The fun seems to be in how they will get through the day. Too bad it's the last season. Here's hoping for a good movie.


Update: 11 more drafts for WWE Raw / Smackdown. Still a little disappointing. And more than a little obvious that certain people were randomly drafted together (Edge & Jericho, Hart Dynasty & Natalya. Not too mention Golddust?!? Haven't seen him yet. And Ive been back watching for must be 6 months.. )

Salvation from Clash of the Avatars

Avatar

Just watched this again last night on DVD after having seen it once in theaters. Not a bad movie, but not great by any stretch of the imagination. Was a good effects laden, spectacle, summer blockbuster action movie. Had some interesting themes and ideas running through it. Like the whole moon (Since Pandora is in orbit of a larger body in the background) seems to be a large biological network.. Hopefully they will expand on this in the sequel(s)

I just didn't find this movie to be the best thing since sliced bread, like everyone and everything seemed to be trying to convince me it was. By all the hype I expected there to be a sequence at the beginning where James Cameron would demonstrate walking on water.

Clash of the Titans

Now, I'm just old enough to have seen the original when it came out. And by the same token, have a fuzzy enough memory to think that the original was pretty good (It's not.. I got a copy for $5 and had to shut it off.. I don't do that often.. )This re-imagining was.. well again I liked the cast, and the effects and stuff was good. But the movie is basically 3 set pieces.. The Scorpions, The Medusa and the Kraken. And they had to find a way to wrap a story / movie around them. If memory serves the same thing that happened with Mission Impossible 2. The Medusa was a great sequence, and so was the Kraken. And so much more could have been done.

Altogether another good FX movie, summer, popcorn flick. Just don't think about it too hard.

Terminator : Salvation

Well.. After all the crap that seems to get said for T3: Rise of the Machines. This should have been off the hook. But, it wasn't. Again.. great FX. Loved the Cycle bots. The movie comes off better when you think about it from Sams perspective, as a half human cyborg struggling with his new identity. I just wish we could finally get the movie we all want to see.

The war with the rise of the machines.. Tanks, A-10s, wheres the fight?? We never seem to see much. It's like humanity just rolled over and quit. I know, there was supposed to be nukes everywhere. But, really.. Wheres the fight?? They had A-10s in this movie, choppers.. There has to be stuff around still. They even had s sub..

The Resistance.. Wheres the old WW2 style resistance fight against the machines than?? Not so much an action movie. But an espionage style, infiltration and stealth movie. The sense that was invoked from the future scenes from T1 over 20 years ago.


In the end we got 3 movies with Sam Worthington who seems to have come out of nowhere. I like him, look forward to his next movie. Since the fade of Van Damme, Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Diesel (Who never seemed to take off) we don't have a big bankable action star. I'd love to see Jason Statham get more to do.. But hopefully Sam will keep coming. And not a Transporter 4. One was enough..

Anyway, 3 movies which could have used some more depth. Of the 3, Avatar would have the most. With the global biological network, they have a lot to work with. And hopefully the sequels will be better. And not just better FX and more shooting. How about more story and more character development. More Drama and a little less action.

Kick My Ass

Someone should have for bothering to go see this movie. Right off the bat, let's be clear that I liked the cast. The look of the movie, and seemed to be the right length. Unfortunately the story seemed to be a bit of a mess.

I felt that it should probably of had several more rewrites. But my biggest problem would have been that the story seemed to try and walk too thin of a line between Kick Ass and Big Daddy & Hit Girl. More focus to either side, reducing the other to a side story would have worked a lot better for me.

A movie about the violent vigilante justice of BD and Hit Girl on their quest to clean up the crime and seek revenge against the crime boss as the main focus or more of a teen action / comedy about Kick Ass trying to live his dream of being a real superhero but getting the shit kicked out of him. While he sees the news about the two real vigilantes that he'll never live up to would have been much better. But we get is a half and half that doesn't seem to mesh in either direction.

I never heard of the comic before now, so haven't read it. From what I can find out, the movie is quite close to it. But, I have to believe that it is probably better.

Oh, and Red Mist.. who didn't know he would be a turn coat..Would have been better had he really thrown in with Kick Ass instead of just working for his father. (And yes I remember that he seemed to be really torn about his father taking Kick Ass in with BD & HG)

The Losers

   Went to see The Losers yesterday. The first of apparently 3 commando, unit, military type action flicks set to come out before the end of the summer. This one, based on a comic book which I had not heard of, or read.

  Was a pretty good movie, actually. My movie reviews are pretty knee jerk first off the top of my head opinions. I won't be watching the movie 10 times, looking for minute details of dialogue or camera work. Just a seat of the pants reflection on how I thought when I came out. Not an in depth analysis unless something sticks.

    I Like the cast, not too big or too small. They seemed to all have a good chemistry together. Especially Chris Evans who was great. I wasn't expecting much after reading some of the professional reviews. And was pleasantly surprised.

    One of the best parts is at the end into the credits, at Evans' nieces soccer game. Was a great laugh. And keep watch for the T-Shirts he wears throughout the film.

   I'm still of the opinion so far, that sadly the A-Team is looking like it could be the worst of the 3. I hope I'm wrong, but from the trailers.. for me.. it's in 3rd place.

Music

Queen Rocks.. That is all.

Now to find my bicycle..