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Movie Review: Miss March

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Premise:


Stand Outs: I liked the Whitest Kid U Know show, which this movie features two of the guys Trevor and Zach from that show. It's a good movie to watch with friends, or when your tired, because the movie doesn't require that much thought.

Overall Rating: I saw that this movie got really poor reviews. Some even called it one of the worst movies of all time. When I watched this I couldn't see why. Sure, it's not an amazing movie, but it's basically any other teen comedy. It had me laughing at points, and kept me entertained. 3* outta 5* an average movie score.

When you should see it: While you're still 20 to 23 years old.

Thoughts on Ace Attorney: Miles Edgeworth

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One of the reasons I do the Clearance Bin Video Game Review is because of the original Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright game. A game that sat in a clearance bin turned into one of my favorite game series of all time. When I heard of this newest installment of the Ace Attorney series I had to pre-order it.

This time in the Ace Attorney series you play as Miles Edgeworth. This game actually has quite the difference from the other games. The great story and characters are still in there, but you actually don't have the usual court setup. You figure everything out outside of the court (unless the crime takes place in a courthouse). This isn't a bad thing though, and is a fresh new idea for the series.

I still have one more case to go before I beat it, but I can say that I'm loving this game. I believe I'm about 12 hours into the game, and the longest case is usually the last one. I'm assuming the game is going to be 20 hours long! What a deal for a $30 game.

Final Say: Granted this game isn't for everyone. A lot of people are disgusted by the idea of a video game that is almost a novel. While Edgeworth isn't as great of a character as Phoenix Wright, this game is still a great game in the series. If you have played the others before and liked it, this is a no-brainer! PICK THIS GAME UP! If you've never played any game in the series, start at the first one!

ThinkGeek Presents Timmy O'Riley: A Who Cover

For those unfamiliar with ThinkGeek, it's essentially SkyMall or Brookstone to the highest degree. ThinkGeek's main selling point is that they produce ridiculous gadgets that no normal person would think about spending money on, but makes super-nerds mouths water. In what appears to be something of a publicity stunt (that is clearly paying off if I'm blogging about it) a band (potentially of ThinkGeek contributors) named L. Hadron and the Colliders have produced a hit youtube video using nothing but the gadgets ThinkGeek sells. That innovative masterpiece is "Timmy O'Riley" an instrumental cover of The Who's "Baba O'Riley". Epic? The research labs at the Organized Remains Battlestation (AKA ORB) say "yes."

Phil's Review of Wet

We've interviewed Phil on the site before, and decided to give him a web series. He will be reviewing and playing a game with one of his children. To start him off we sent him the game Wet for the Xbox 360, but it's also available for other systems. His son Kent will be joining Phil this review.

WWE NXT Review

I don't like to bring my professional wrestling nerdery to this blog, as I don't want to "cross the streams" as they say in Ghostbusters. However on occasion there's a big story in wrestling that I feel the need to cover, and this is one of them. Tuesday nights on SyFy used to feature WWE: ECW (World Wrestling Entertainment: Extreme Championship Wrestling), but WWE have recently dropped the entire schematics of the show to remodel it as WWE: NXT ("Next Generation of wrestling"). NXT is supposed to be an average wrestling show mixed with Ultimate Fighter. Eight rookies make their debut on WWE television to be mentored by eight pros: accomplished Superstars on WWE Raw or WWE Smackdown. This seemed like an innovative concept so I thought I would write a review on how it was done.


Within the first minute I'm cringing. "Wild and Young" by American Bang is the worst theme song for a wrestling show imaginable. It's not loud, it's not aggressive, and the opening video doesn't even portray that I'm watching a show about youngsters chasing a dream, because their clearly gimmicked up, well-built, trained professional wrestlers.


The night starts off with the reason the internet tuned in - The Miz, duel Champion on RAW and hated by the majority of fans, confronting those who follow the indy wrestling world's sweetheart, his assigned rookie: Daniel Bryan. Miz orders Bryan to the ring to formally introduce himself and show some charisma. Bryan comes out to the ring and is completely devoid of charisma until The Miz gets in his face and verbally runs him down. Bryan isn't going to be a push-over and insults Miz for his past in reality TV as well as his current look. Miz slaps the taste out of Bryan's mouth, but Bryan gets back on the mic and tells Miz after he's gone that he's going to slap him back, and he'll slap him back even harder.

Then we go backstage to one of my favorite WWE personalities, former wrestler and former school teacher, Matt Striker interviewing Bryan about the incident... but with a clear bias. Firstly, it bothered me that Striker was being used as as a backstage interviewer because while he's a great off-screen color commentator for matches, he looks too much like a wrestler to interview other wrestlers. And as he interviews Daniel Bryan, he completely trashes him, looking past any and all accomplishments he's trying to build his reputation on, and telling him, not suggesting, but telling him he needs to respect The Miz or he's going to fail. Matt Striker, you are no Dana White. When The Miz tells his own rookie that he needs to show some respect or get out, it's one thing, but when the backstage interviewer isn't going to show a rookie any respect, why should the fans?


Michael Tarver's video package did make me interested in him, unlike Heath Slater's. Tarver's whole deal - son of the sparring partner of Mike Tyson, who's known to knock people out with a vicious punch. Heath Slater... likes to shake his hair and stick out his tongue. Both were pretty good wrestlers who put on a nice tag match with their respective mentoring pros, Carlito and Christian. The match demonstrated a new feature on WWE programming, an up-close camera angle... that isn't really that up-close. WWE demonstrates they can get camera shots within the confines of the ring but would rather get it from just outside of the ring to highlight the ropes. And white ropes at that! Bold move! Christian winning over Michael Tarver was the right decision, as it kept Carlito looking strong as a pro, not losing the match for his team, and made Christian look that much stronger a leader of his team for getting the win in general, while at the same time developed Tarver's character as too brash and needing of the mentoring.


Next match - David Otunga (arrogant, savvy punk, with possibly the greatest catchphrase "Come on man, google me!") supported by R-Truth (beloved rapper), squashed Darren Young (fun-loving partier) watched by CM Punk (my favorite wrestler, crowd-antagonizing Straight Edge cult leader who doesn't seem to like his rookie). A very short match that saw the heel, Otunga win with a sloppy Spinning/Standing Powerslam. Not much else to say about this.


Main event match - Chris Jericho vs. Daniel Bryan. Before you watch this match, something will be abundantly clear - you still don't know the entire roster. Pro: Matt Hardy, his rookie: Justin Gabriel, and pro: William Regal and his rookie: Skip Sheffield were bumped off of this episode, but promoted for the next. This was kind of a let-down as I thought it would be best to get the audience acquainted with everyone right away, but I guess saving some surprises and stories for the next episode so no one gets burnt out too quickly makes sense. What I don't think makes sense is putting the World Champion of Smackdown who just won a match of great importance - Elimination Chamber, defeating five other top Superstars in a match against a relative nobody to WWE audiences. Yes, many in the WWE audience knows who Daniel Bryan once was before WWE but this still seems like WWE is getting waaaaay ahead of itself on Bryan. Is it a ratings grabber? It may be, we'll have to wait for the numbers to come in, but it also drags Jericho down in my mind. Any amount of offense Bryan gets in is going to make him look better than the prestigious champion. From the build of the show, that very well may be Daniel Bryan's whole character: he is four-steps ahead of the rest of the rookies and ready to compete with the big dogs, but a lot of things work against him such as Striker and even Michael Cole, a typically bipartisan commentator who follows Striker's example that Daniel Bryan isn't half as important as he thinks he is, no matter what his fans think. I understand the concept of playing the villain and making rude and belittling comments to rile a crowd up, but this seemed needless. WWE hasn't had a villain commentator in some time, and Daniel Bryan seemed to be one of the only rookies attacked by Cole. It seemed like one step forward for Bryan's gimmick and two-steps back.

Before the match starts, Chris Jericho has his rookie: Wade Barrett introduce him. Barrett first introduces himself, since Jericho ignores the importance of that, and right away I have an interest in Barrett. He's cool, he's smooth, he's a giant, and he's European with a thick accent. Barrett and Jericho play off of each other very well and I expect some real greatness out of the pairing. The match actually kicks off and from a work-rate standpoint, it's a pretty darn decent match. Not an amazing match, but that's alright as both men end up looking good, especially since Jericho wins with a brutal Walls of Jericho with a knee in the back of Bryan's head. From an overall-perspective, I had an overwhelming "WTF?" state of mind. Mid-match, the camera cuts to Wade Barrett outside of the ring being asked by Matt Striker about what he's learning. It doesn't even matter what he says, because it doesn't make sense why the camera would need to cut away from the match that's been promoted most of the night! Sit Barrett down at the announce table with Michael Cole and Josh Matthews to get his voice in the mix or something, I don't need to be reminded that he's big, European and smooth! And like the interview with Daniel Bryan, Matt Striker makes Wade Barrett look twice as stupid as he is big by twisting the answer he gives to the question. After the match, The Miz enters the ring and pummels the crap out of Daniel Bryan to end the show.


Quote of the night that summarized the show came from Michael Cole "I'm not sure if our cameras caught that" in regards to the most incredible move - a Suicide Dive from Daniel Bryan that Chris Jericho caught and threw into the announce table. You're the friggen WWE! You have cameras up the wazoo! Are you intentionally hindering the production values because the 'rookies' aren't worth the big budgets? Why make your show look less than it really is, including the random needless camera shots? Essentially the entire focus of the show was on the dysfunctional relationship between The Miz and Daniel Bryan, but Daniel Bryan was having his legs cut out from under him at every turn. He didn't need a winning streak to get over, he didn't need to to get much offense in against Chris Jericho, his turmoil with The Miz was a great starter program to test the waters. There was no need to have the backstage interviewer and commentator pull the big-league card on him. I'm not sure if I want to tune into the next episode, as I can only give this one 2 *'s out of 5. Of all the episodes of the previous format - ECW that I've seen, this episode of NXT is on par with the worst episode of ECW. ECW had it right, and WWE tried to fix what wasn't broken.

Any Website is a Music Website

Code Organ turns code into music by getting rid of all the letters that are not A through G in the website's code. Then playing each note. A very cool idea I believe, except a lot of websites are meh sounding. Especially Organized Remains!

I'm on a quest! I need to find out what would make a great sound! I need to think here. What would make a great sound? The Wikipedia article of Keyboard Cat!? Not so much. Alright my brother at Superluminal Comet made us a nice theme for our Youtube videos. Will Superluminal Comet have a good effect? Not really... must not give up!

How about music related websites? Pandora? Last.fm? Myspace Music? Nothing more than meh!

Last thing I'm trying... Rick Wakeman's Wiki Page! Wait! This isn't too bad, sadly it's no Rick Wakeman solo, but I think it's the best we're going to hear.

Maybe a website's code shouldn't be used to play music, but Code Organ is a neat idea. Also it's surprisingly addictive.

The Only Thing I Know Commentary

I came across this video recently and before I pass judgment or explain my beliefs, I must state that I am human and must add a disclaimer out of respect and integrity. I don't know this narrator or the actual experiences, trials or tribulations he's gone through. I'm going off what the rest of you are - what he describes in this video, with that said, let's begin.

You didn't get divorced or isolated or apathetic because of video games, you were always a selfish, insensitive, lazy jerk, and you picked video games as your "poison". The video comes off very anti-video games, despite claims that he's not on that side of the fence, but morons like this have been around forever. Watch Married With Children - Al Bundy isn't ignoring his wife because he can't put down the game paddle, it's because he'd rather watch TV. Homer Simpson would rather be at Moe's Pub than listen to his wife or spend time with his kids. And while I can't think of a character to fit the bill, I'm sure there's someone out there who fancied horse races more than his dutiful life with societal responsibilities. None of these acts or concepts are inherently bad, but they attract the weak who never understood moderation to begin with.

Just because you didn't take anything from the games you played doesn't mean that there's nothing to be taken from them. Learning the guitar became a huge cultural fad when the Guitar Hero and Rock Band series became big. Skateboarding and X-Games drew more attention thanks to the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series. And my co-blog collaborator and I understand the rules of games like football, baseball and hockey thanks to playing Madden, MLB and NHL games. But let's put all the semantics aside and look at something I find a bit more offensive.

"For the sake of entertainment..." Why does life need to be more than this? Is a man dying in a hospital bed looking back on his life full of fun, entertainment, smiles, laughter and joy any better or worse than the man dying in the bed next to him who's well versed, knowledgeable and culturally experienced? That's for no one to decide but the man meeting his maker, because it's a matter of opinion not lecture. Neither man's experiences are going to help him escape the grip of the reaper. Or at least not forever.

MY Research: I googled how long it legitimately takes to reach a level 80 character in WoW. The consensus is that it depends on how aggressively you play the game, how good you are at it and other obvious factors, but here are some of the results: Gamespot says that playing only a couple of hours a day, you can reach level 80 between ten days and a 'couple of months'. According to Ezine Articles, it takes a bare, bare, bare minimum of eight days. Yahoo answers' best answer says about two months of lax, casual playing. So firstly, if you're playing lax and casually, then it's not consuming your life and not in control. Secondly it's not that awful if you spend six months (since "the average player makes 2-3 level 80 WoW Characters) casually playing a game.


The big picture of this video is this: you were a self-loathing loser who drowned his sorrows in video games, while millions of healthy folk with much fewer self-esteem issues played the same video games happily. Let me raise this theory - do violent video games make children violent, or are violent children attracted to violent video games? You can't blame the lifestyle for your own shortcomings. You couldn't handle it because you lacked the maturity for anything else. You are the equivalent of a gay person who willingly goes to a Christian conversion camp to straighten yourself out with the power of the lord. You turn your back to your life, those friends you made in the life, and you turn your back to what came natural and made you happy, because in your eyes, possibly largely due to the eyes of those on you, you feel you failed at life. Well I think as part of the video game community, we'll accept you back when you realize you were wrong about thinking you were wrong. Or we'll mock you and call you a friendless n00b. But hey, get a job in animation or presentation or public speaking or something, maybe commercialism, because while your views on the topic are idiotic and semi-retarded, it was a heck of a presentation!

The Living Legends Of Rock Collaboration

According to Rolling Stone, Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver guitar icon Slash has been forming a "solo" album. Typically when an artist does a solo album, it means they'll be singing, but in this case he's got friends in very high places taking that role. From the impression I get from the article, every track is going to be like a guest host of vocals. Slash had to leap through rings of fire and climb treacherous mountains, but he locked his own personal music heroes into the mix - Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead. Slash describes working with these two as an f***ing trip, and apparently Lemmy needs two things to work: potato chips and Jack Daniels. Nothing but the best for Lemmy!

And some others that will be on the album: Iggy Pop, Kid Rock, Adam Levine of Maroon 5, and Fergie of Black Eyed Peas! A lot of times I get skeptical when I see an artist throwing every name in the book onto their album to garner some hype for it, but rarely does it work well. Timbaland's latest album would be a good example of it holding a lot of promise with all the talent involved, but falling pretty short. I have a lot of faith that Slash will produce some top quality stuff with this all-star ensemble.

Wikipedia notes this album due for April 6th release date, so keep an ear to the ground for it!

CBVGR: Wario Land: Shake It

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Script: Welcome to the Clearance Bin Video Game Review by Organized Remains. Today's game is a Wii Exclusive called Wario Land: Shake It. Mario's strange enemy Wario is in his newest installment of the Wario Land series costing around $15.

Wario is no hero, and if he is, he's an anti-hero not out to help anyone except for himself. Wario wants this gold coin sack that has an infinite amount of coins in it. To do this he must save 4 different things called Merfles, these Merfles then unlock a door to the boss of the area.

This is a platform game that uses the motion detection of the Wiimote, which I was a fan of. You had to use this when shaking money bags, aiming on cannons, doing a ground punch, and directing which way wheeled objects go. The 2D platform part of the game only adds to the fun. There are also many different pathways to go through each level, and many treasures to collect.

One thing I was annoyed with was buying area maps. If you didn't have enough coins to buy the next set of levels, you had to go back to previous levels and get more coins. After having to do this once, I made sure I checked every surface of each level so I didn't have to go back. Also another annoyance was that the game only took 5 hours to beat. At least there are tons of treasure to collect, so to complete it 100% would take much longer.

Final Say: Besides the buying area maps, and short 5 hour game, I had fun playing through Wario Land: Shake It. I've always liked 2D platform games, and this game combines the 2D platform game into a nice graphical experience. If you're looking for a fun platform game for the Wii make sure to pick up Wario Land: Shake It. The game is only $15 used and $20 new.

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button Review

image from moviegoods.com

Premise:
Just as World War I ends, a sickly mother dives giving birth to a son with a very rare genetic disorder that causes him to be born with all the physical ailments (arthritus, wrinkles, cataracts) of a man in his 80's. The father, Thomas Button, is so consumed with rage at the loss of his wife that he snatches up the child and abandons him on the door step of a nursing home. The African American woman who runs the nursing home, Queenie, discovers the child and names him Benjamin. A doctor happens to be present at the nursing home, making a house call, and checks Benjamin out, warning that he isn't long for this world. Despite the diagnosis, Benjamin lives on, and with every chronological age he gets older, his body gets younger. This whole story is told through a series of diary entries from Benjamin, read by the daughter of a dying elderly woman who knew Benjamin.


Standouts:
I know the name of the movie is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but for the large cast of characters Benjamin Button meets and become an important part of his life, I didn't care about ANYONE but Benjamin Button. I didn't care about the dying elderly woman who the story was being told to, or the daughter who was forced to read it, or Benjamin's adopted mother Queenie, or any of the friends he made. They were all just extras, and I don't think that was the intention, so in that aspect I was disappointed.

I was also mildly disaapointed in Benjamin character from a big-picture standpoint. I've read this comparison before so I can't claim credit on it, but a similar character to Benjamin that was much more well-rounded was Forrest Gump. Both characters were handicapped and against the world with a naive smile and optimism. What Gump had that Benjamin didn't, was purpose and flaw. Gump's goal was to make Jenny love him, and his simplicity saw him the point of much heartbreak and self-caused suffering. Benjamin didn't have either of these two factors; the entire film was just a detailed biopic about what was an interesting life. He also was overcoming obstacles in every single scene of the movie, so there was never any conflict or failure for him except for a brief rejection from a girl we're supposed to believe he loves, even though he shows little interest in her until he needs a rebound girl.

I can't be all negative however. Brad Pitt was phenomenal and for a near-three hour film, you're kept glued to the screen for the most part. The concept of the film, specifically Benjamin Button's ailment is enough to get you to watch from start to finish.


My Highlights:
When Benjamin obtains his first job, when Benjamin gets the girl of his dreams, when Benjamin performs undoubtedly the most selfless act short of dying on the cross for the sins of mankind, and the very final few minutes of the film.


Overall Rating:
There was what felt like a lot of filler in this film and only worked because of Brad Pitt. There's no conflict and no dynamic characters, so you're glued to the screen for three hours based primarily off the fact that Brad Pitt is very charming and handsome. Hey, I can admit it. He's a miracle worker! Cast anyone else in his spot and this movie would have bombed. Pitt makes you care for him so much that male or woman, if you don't come even close to crying while watching this drama then you should consider selling storage space where your heart would be. As a critic, I can't give this film a perfect rating based off of the fact there are other movies that make me care about and strongly remember every character, and this isn't one of them. This gets by off of what is essentially eye candy, which is fine, and enjoyable, but can't make for a perfect film. 4 1/4*'s out of 5, or 8 1/2 out of 10, a VERY good movie, but I'm not sure it lives up to all the hype.


When You Should See It:
Your next date night, especially if you're not a stickler about missing huge chunks of movie due to making out. I know its a big sacrifice, so I think it's fair to warn you. This movie will get you action. Unless you really bawl watching it and step over the sensitive line into pansy-town. Then you're a lost cause and should watch it on your own time.

Vatican's top 10 albums

Sadly not straight from the Pope, but a Vatican newspaper came out with a list of the best Rock/Pop albums. When I went to look at the list I was a little scared I would see all these religious bands, but I was surprised. There are some good albums on this list, and of course The Beatles came in first. Which someone made the comment, "Lennon was right! They were bigger than Jesus!"

What can be learned? Vatican has some good music choices, but we want to hear from the Pope himself! Well that probably won't happen, so here is a list of the top albums, we think are the Pope's favorite.

Kiss - Revenge: Revenge might not be on the Pope's mind, but the song God Gave Rock 'n' Roll To You is always playing!


Kiss - God Gave Rock 'n' Roll To You
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Cheap Trick - Heaven Tonight: The song On Top of the World must be the favorite. As the lyrics say, "On top of the world, and you can't get any higher!" That sounds like the highest position to God... the Pope!



Blondie - Parallel Lines: One way or another, I'm gonna get ya! Sounds like anything sinful act you do, God will find out. One of the Pope's guilty pleasure songs, but still a favorite.



Journey - Infinity: The Wheel in the Sky is the favorite of the album. You might not know what tomorrow will bring, but God will! "Plus the vocals are just Godly!" I quote from the Pope himself... well maybe.



Weird Al - Poodle Hat: Finds the song Couch Potato to be hilarious.

Sarah Palin vs. Family Guy

I've only seen clips of the controversial episode, but apparently according to Entertainment Weekly and other news sites, the most recent episode of Family Guy centers on Chris Griffin seeking a date with a girl named Ellen who has down syndrome. From the clips I've seen, Chris tries hard to impress Ellen and wants very much for her to like him, but she's often grossed out by him. The controversy stems from one line by Ellen, when Chris finally gives her a moment to talk about herself and she mentions briefly her mom was the former governor of Alaska. Sarah Palin's real life youngest son does have down syndrome, and as soon as she heard about the episode's reference she jumped on Facebook and wrote some angry statuses. Her daughter, Bristol Palin then jumped on her mother's bandwagon and also complained about the remark.

As a sign of the end of the world, I actually find myself on Team Palin. The whole family is susceptible to jokes based on incompetence, idiocy, or hypocrisy, but there's a certain line that's kind of cruel no matter who you are. If Family Guy were to make a joke about Ellen being the retarded inbred child of the Palins, then it would be funny because it's not really true, but purposefully insulting to the Palins in the media. Sadly the youngest Palin, who could very well grow up to over-throw his family and ensure the safety of this great nation was mocked. On the other hand, it was just a brief reference. They didn't spend the entire episode to my knowledge bringing up that Ellen is related to Sarah Palin, or directly attacking the young Palin with down syndrome. So all in all, I wouldn't say the situation is worth making a huge fuss over, such as I'd be right back on Family Guy's side if the Palin Family over-reacts and tries to get it banned from TV, but its understandable why the Palin's are upset.

Flash Game Time

When I come across fun flash games, I like to share them. Today I'm sharing One Button Bob. You only have to click the mouse to play. What the mouse does depends on the level. I found the treasure in 615 clicks.

Link: http://www.lingolux.com/2010/02/03/one-button-bob/

The second game Blosics was also found at LingoLux. Just a sweet physics game. I beat the game with a score of 771.

Link: http://www.lingolux.com/2009/12/16/blosics/

My Bloody Valentine 3D Review

Premise:
Eleven years prior to present day, a mine cave-in trapped six miners. When they were dug out, one of the miners, Harry Warden, had killed the other five, but was unconscious in a coma. Not being able to arrest a vegetable, he stayed in a hospital until he awoke and continued his killing spree, particularly targeting the mine worker he felt was responsible for the cave-in (Tom Hanniger (Jensen Ackles of Supernatural fame). Police believe they kill Harry Warden amidst his killing spree, but after a ten year absence he returns and continues his reign of pick-axe wielding terror.


Standouts:
This is a slasher film above and beyond many of the horror movies produced today. It draws you in not only for the gruesome kills, the excessive gore and intense action, but also for the characters. There are few characters who are killed that you don't have some sort of emotional attachment for, be it feelings of love or hate.

On the other hand, some of the scenes you have to be ready to understand are done just for good clean horror fun, regardless of whether or not their logical. For instance, one of the trademarks of Harry Warden is cutting open his victim's chest and stealing their heart, often leaving it in a candy box like a Valentine's Day present. Also while a Supermarket chase scene is unique and interesting, some of the action in it was just darn cheesy. But if you don't watch this movie in 3D because you don't own a pair of 3D glasses, then some of the scenes are going to be noticeably unmarketable towards you.


My Highlights:
The shock ending, especially for the directing of it, and how subtle a lot of the themes were. The characters are really so developed that I'm undoubtedly in love with this movie. There's a lot to be learned by today's young writers by the writing in this horror film.


Overall Rating:
I wish I could compare it to the original My Bloody Valentine, but I've never seen it, so I'll be basing it solely on the merit I've bared witness to. The writing is superb, the directing amazing, and the actors all top notch. There are some silly scenes, but I wouldn't say that they bring the film down much due to it being of the slasher genre. The only small complaint I have is that I didn't own a pair 3D glasses and it negatively effected my viewing pleasure in some scenes. If you compare this to a film like Avatar, which can also be seen in 3D (I presume will come out as such on dvd/blu-ray as well) the 3D is just an added bonus and doesn't really detract if you're not witnessing it. So, overall an honorable 4 1/2 *'s out of 5, or a 9 out of 10!


When You Should See It:
Don't wait until next Valentine's Day to witness it as a gimmick film. This baby has all the prestige and shine to be next on your Blockbuster/Netflix Queue, or however it is you witness movies these days.

Thoughts on Bioshock 2

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Three years ago the first Bioshock came out, and I remember thinking it was one of the greatest shooters I had ever played. I think what made it a great experience for me was the story, the setting, the characters, and all the items! Bioshock 2 brings it all back, and seems like it's almost just like the first one. Some people might dislike that, but I really enjoyed it. Don't fix what's not broken.

Well Bioshock 2 did bring something new to the table, and that is multiplayer. When the first one came out I remember this being the biggest complaint by many people. This wasn't the biggest complaint from me though. I love a good story in a game, not a game with an alright story with some multiplayer. Luckily Bioshock 2 still holds a good story. Maybe not as great as the first one, but it's still good!

I love the look of the games; looks like the future... in the 50's? I have no idea how to explain it, but I love it. There are so many places to check for hidden items, many things to go back to and replay through it a second time. It's just a nice looking game.

Final Say: Buy, rent, or borrow from a friend, just like the first game (Which should be pretty cheap these days), this is worth playing through! Maybe it had a little bit of a slow start, but the more I played it the more I loved it. I haven't even played the multiplayer yet! There is more and more to this game!

Rob Zombie's "Hellbilly Deluxe 2" Review

image from Lala

Artist: Rob Zombie
Album: Hellbilly Deluxe 2
Release Date: January 27, 2010
Tracks: 11
Runtime: 46:13


Track Breakdown:
(All ratings out of 5 *’s)


1) "Jesus Frankenstein" - Frighteningly dark and malicious. Rob Zombie took a glorious and beloved figure like Jesus Christ and insinuated that when he was resurrected, he came back as a horrifying monster! But God does this song rock so hard. I laughed at first when I listened to it because the concept is so absurd, but the more I listened, the more it scared me with the tone and lyrics. 4 1/2 *'s, a very strong opener to the album that'll give listeners a great taste of what they're in for.


2) "Sick Bubblegum" - Vulgar, sexually explicit, and everything that rules about heavy metal. Zombie understands timing and the band understands build. While the lyrics I felt were just a little, and I emphasize little lacking, this is another fantastic track. If you don't headbang to this track at all, then you should go back and listen to your Gavin Degraw while petting your stuffed unicorn. 4 1/2 *'s!


3) "What?" - One of the shortest tracks on the album, at 2 minutes, 47 seconds, but also a smart choice for the first single of the album. It's got a little bit of a mainstream dance vibe to it, though not to the extent of... even say, Paralyzer by Finger Eleven. But there's something about the tune of this song that makes darkness cool again to the average listener. They'll want to bring back the oddity, gothic lifestyle and scare people with their memento mori frame of mind. 5 *'s.


4) "Mars Needs Women" - From an musically artistic standpoint, I have a great amount of respect for this track. It has a certain Je ne sais quoi about it that makes it cool, but to the average set of ears, when i take myself out of my 'informed insider' character, it becomes pretty repetitive and overly simplistic. Thus; I can't give it a great score but can't give it a terrible score. It gets 3 *'s by me.


5) "Werewolf, Baby!" - A very fun, Rock N Roll feeling track. Not so much head-banging as there is jumping up and down, ready to start a mosh-pit. 4 *'s.


6) "Virgin Witch" - good for a video game soundtrack, but not the strongest track for driving to. Just strong enough with powerful guitar work to make you want to slaughter in Left 4 Dead or Halo, but only worthy of 3 *'s overall.


7) "Death and Destiny Inside The Dream Factory" - Wow. I didn't know the robotic autotune sound when mixed with an industrial theme would sound so extraordinarily crap. By far the worst album on the track. 1 *.


8) "Burn" - A blessing compared to the previous track, but mainly due to the lack of special effects on the vocals. Unfortunately, the lyrics and tone of this track don't hold up to those that began the album. Color me disappointed because "Burn" gets 2 *'s.


9) "Cease to Exist" - Those with an ear for music are going to really love this track. The drummer has his time to shine, and the guitarist finds a groove that works in perfect harmony with the drummer. But then Zombie decides to dust off the vocal-special effects board and hack it up. Which I say with all the love in the world for Rob Zombie. 3 1/2 *'s, though a generous rating at that.


10) "Werewolf Women Of The SS" - Not a song for radio, but an amazing song overall, and hopefully one that gets weaved into something mainstream. I have no idea what, other than if Rob Zombie makes the film this song was based off. It's really masterful and RAW, but at the same time a little too absurd to just toss into anything. It's a very niche idea really. 4 1/4 *'s.


11) "The Man Who Laughs" - A full orchestra in a Rob Zombie song? Daring, bold, and but non-surprisingly thanks to his film directing experience he's picked up the right people for the job. It's creepy, it's eerie, and it's artsy in a metal kind of way. INSANE five-or-so minute drum solo at the end. Though this solo made up about half of the ten minute song, it was pretty rocking. 4 1/2 *'s.



My Highlights:
"Jesus Frankenstein", "Sick Bubble Gum" and "What?" But if you're looking for something instrumentally epic, I'll add in "The Man Who Laughs". Listen to these tracks on Lala.com, or youtube, or maybe Zombie's myspace if you find them on there. I can never attest that a 30 second preview from somewhere like Amazon will do a song justice, but these songs need to be heard!


Overall Rating:
Averaging all the ratings for this album, I would give this album 3 1/2 *'s out of 5. However! Taking into account things like the quantity of tracks vs the quality of the tracks, the number of highlights, and overall organization and aura of the album, i'm using my brownie-point addition powers to bump this up to an easy 4 *'s out of 5, or 8 out of 10! This is an excellent album ladies and gentlemen, and I wish all my readers to give it a try. There's only two faults to this album, both of which can be skipped, or glossed over. The first is an overuse of interweaving quotes from newscasts or movies or creepy little girls into the songs, and the second is Zombie trying to get too new-agey with autotune-esque special effects on his vocals. That's it. That's the only small anchor weighing this album down. It's nearly perfect!

$13,000 for a box!

How much would you pay for a Nintendo Entertainment System with five games? What if Mario/Duck Hunt, Mario 3, and TMNT 2 was three of the five games? $40 maybe? How about $13,000? That's right an NES with five games sold for $13,000. Why? Stadium Events CIB! For the people not addicted to trading games online, CIB is cart/CD, instructions, and box. On the Wiki page they say only 10 of these boxes exist because the game was remade, and a new box was made.

I was worried I had a video game buying addiction myself, but once I reach the point that I'm spending $13,000 on a box... I will know I'm an addict. Even spending $1,000 for an NES test cartridge is too much for me.

Congrats to the guy that won the box, and congrats to everyone that didn't win the box and was able to buy an NES with basically every NES game ever made. May I recommend Snake Rattle N' Roll?

Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus Review

image from wiki.

Premise:
Oh no! Global warming has melted the ice caps that kept frozen the prehistoric Mega Shark and Giant Octopus! Giant Octopus destroys a Japanese oil rig alerting the Eastern hemisphere's government. Mega Shark fetches a low-flying plane full of travelers from the sky alerting the Western hemisphere's government. For whatever reason, the Japanese government loans the American government one of their top scientists to assist, not the most qualified, not the most trained, but the simply the first random collaboration of scientists that piece the puzzle together themselves. And so it's a race against the clock! Kind of. Contain the monstrosities or let the world be torn apart by them.


Standouts:
Suckiness stood out in every minute. This is a movie bent on Mystery Science Theater 3000, awkward pauses for humorous commentary included. The acting is dry, the main female protagonist looks nothing like a scientist, and the special effects are anything but special. I kid you not, in some scenes meant to build tension, the same clips are used in a loop. And the monsters that star in this film are History Channel CGI. Not even up to the standards of Discovery Channel or Animal Planet CGI. It's laughable how bad this movie is. They even tried to make science sexy with a passionate sex scene (devoid of nudity).


My Highlights:
Well a giant shark tore an airplane from the clouds. That was good for a chuckle. And an octopus busts a stealth bomber to shreds with one pimp slap.


Overall Rating:
1/2* out of 5*'s, or 1* out of 10*'s. Seriously. Seriously. It earns a generous half a star for at least coming up with an interesting enough concept that produced a great viral video trailer. But to be direct, this film should have ended with a caption reading "sorry we made you sit through this." Friedberg/Seltzer "Date Movie" bad.


When You Should See It:
In a just world, the production company The Asylum (who's resume of film abominations is long and depressing: The Da Vinci Treasure, Snakes On A Train, Transmorphers, The Land That Time Forgot, and so on and so forth) would put this film up for general domain. That means that anyone could legally download it. But in a just world, people would still not watch it, because it's that bad.

CBVGR: Just Cause

Video Review:

Script: Welcome to the Clearance Bin Video Game Review by Organized Remains. With a sequel in sight, I thought it would be good to try out Just Cause. While you can get it on a lot of last generation consoles like the PS2, I'm playing it on the Xbox 360. It costs around $5 if you're buying it for an older system, while the 360 version is going to cost around $10.

To quote the back of the case, "Lead a nation to freedom! Play as a Latin field operative and specialist, and trigger a revolution on a tropical island. Ally with rebel forces and drug cartels."

The side missions involve your solo efforts to take over parts of the nation, while the main missions help you take over parts of the nation with some assistance from your allies.

While the game is a descent opened world game, the map is my biggest complaint. Look at the little map in the corner, look how long it takes me to reach the road. They need to make the icons and roads on the map a bit smaller. Also with a very large map comes a lot of traveling. When you're in a mission, you usually have to travel to a very far away spot. Thankfully they put in helicopters and planes to help you get to places faster. That's until you can't find one, and have to travel far to find a helicopter or plane. It can take forever to drive from one place to another.

What gives this game its brownie points is the stunts, and the grappling hook. A stunt example is when you're able to climb onto the roof of a car while it's moving. Then jump to another car while it's moving. The grappling hook is for similar use. You may grapple a moving car and your parachute will open up so you will be able to fly in the sky and follow that car. Also the game does make some driving look awesome by putting it in slow-mo. I found this to be annoying during cop chases though, even if it does look cool.

Final Say: With the $5 to $10 price tag, you can't really go wrong with the game. It's not spectacular, but it has its moments. If you're bored of the Grand Theft Auto series or the Saints Row series this wouldn't be a bad game to have in the collection. I hope they fix the mapping system for the sequel, and maybe put out some more health packs, because this game has a lot of potential.

Moon Knight Vol. 1: The Bottom Review

image from Marvel.Wikia

Gulf War Mercenary turned Superhero, Marc Spector sits in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down from an act of heroics that went awry. Spector spends much of the first half of the six issues collected in the "Moon Knight Vol. 1" graphic novel recapping what his life was like back when he was able to fight crime. Spector received his powers when tomb raiding in Egypt and being chosen by the God of the moon and of vengeance, Khonshu to be his avatar (living embodiment). The New Committee is a team built of the sons of murdered fathers by Spector when he was a mercenary, and who play up the new world order, behind-the-scenes conspiracy of keeping Spector wallowing in misery. But one wrong move by The New Committee Moon Knight is back and thirsty for blood.


Charlie Huston knew what he was doing when he wrote this series. It's dark, gritty, violent, but at the same time artsy in it's delivery. There's a lot of time, and space jumping in the pannels. For example, we'd have Marc Spector narrating his life with fantastic visuals from David Finch, but then have the narration overlap into a new visual of The New Committee. And when the New Committee's spiel would end, their last line would play over a new scene starting up with Spector. The only complaint I have with Huston's writing, and it is incredibly small in the grand spectrum of things, is how he chose to portray the God Khonshu. I had a great appreciation for Spector's worship of Khonshu and the powers he appeared to have, but when Khonshu actually talks, it falls very flat. The aura built up around Khonshu developed too much hype to live up to when he began talking. He was better as a silent character in my mind.


Overall: If you're a fan of The Punisher, Wolverine, or Ghost Rider, this is going to right up there as one of the best graphic novels you could own. It's a little worrisome for new fans to comics to dive into a character that hasn't been promoted for 40 or 50 years as an A-List, film produced superhero, but this has me severely hooked. It's edgy, dark, and full of drugs and violence. Can you say "Brass Knuckles With Spikes?" And that's the hero's weapon of choice! Moon Knight is a bad son of a gun that you do not want to tick off. I would give this graphic novel a perfect score if it didn't rely so heavily on implied violence (swinging fist in one panel, guy being down in a pool of blood in the next). 4.5 *'s out of 5!

Superbowl $$$

Adfreak.com made this informative picture, comparing the cost of one Superbowl commercial to a lot of other things. Seeing this reminded me of this YTMND about what you can get with $599 US dollars that's not a PS3.

Alright that first paragraph was a trick! This is a rant! Not about a hatred for sports, but a hatred for the people that assume I'm stupid. I get this all the time, because I don't regularly watch sports. People have assumed I don't know the rules to sports, and start to teach me what is going on. I have to stop these people and tell them I know the rules to football. They think I must know nothing about the sport, because I'm always locked in my room playing video games.

These people are dead wrong, in fact I might possibly know more than they do. This is where video games come in. Not every gamer plays sports titles, but I'm the type of gamer that likes to get their hands on every title that exists. This includes sports titles from hockey to soccer, and even football. I explain to people that I have actually played the game, with all the rules intact and understand what is going on. Some people don't believe me, because video games can't possibly teach you anything... right?

DON'T ACT SURPRISE WHEN I KNOW SOMETHING!!!!!

To all the gamers out there that have to explain, "I don't watch sports regularly, but I understand what's going on." This blog post is dedicated to you.

PsiBands - Relief For Video Game Motion Sickness

Like many these days, I'm a frequent sufferer of the newly emerging illness, video game motion sickness. When I play first-person shooters for extended periods of time, my eyes send the signals to my brain that i'm moving, but my brain fires back that i'm not, and it gives me extreme nausea and a woozy feeling in my head. I purchased a product off of Amazon called PsiBands yesterday, which were endorsed by Oprah herself. These wrist-bands need no electricity or bells or whistles, they just apply pressure to a particular nerve on the inside of your wrist that relieves the nausea! They're also suggested for pregnancy morning sickness and sea sickness. I had avoided playing my newly rented Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 game because it continuously made me ill, but on my first try with the bands I was able to beat the entire second half of the game! In one sitting no less! Though this is the first motion sickness wristband I've tried, I'm curious if there might be a better brand out there. I wasn't nauseous when playing, but I could still feel a slight discomfort throughout my body, as though the motion sickness was still struggling to break through. Regardless, it was definitely the lesser of two evils. So I'd suggest getting this particular product, or another brand name's version if you have any problems with motion sickness, video game induced motion sickness, morning sickness or sea sickness.

Sonic the update

A while back I mentioned a new 2D Sonic game, and how it might not be awful! Well I got some more news about the title. It will be called Sonic 4: Episode 1... EPISODE???? From what they explained, this means they are going to go into more of a story. Still being released on only Xbox live arcade, PSN and WiiWare.

For more information go here.

Also coincidentally College Humor just put out a video about Sonic. Which I recommend you watch.

Comcast/NBC Merger In Question?

As watchers of NBC over the last few months know, NBC had inked a deal to be bought out by media giant, Comcast. According to Variety, United States House and Senate subcommittees are trying hand-over-fist to put a block on this already signed deal. The main condemer of the partnership is former NBC star of Saturday Night Live, Senator Al Franken. Franken makes a great quote that basically sums up why this merger would be troublesome:

"When the same company that produces the programs runs the pipes, we have a reason to be nervous."

Basically, we're looking at a strong potential for favoritism that could negatively effect everyone on the other networks. Also some history about false promises cable companies/networks made to the government are brought up, but I only make mention of it because some may find it an interesting read.

Personally, I never thought about the possibility of a monopolizing stronghold in the merger. I definitely see the danger though and am hoping that the deal between Comcast and NBC is deemed null in void. But then I also have a bias against NBC as of late. Keep an ear out for more updates though, as this thing could get just as ugly as NBC's last un-named blood feud.

CBVGR: Mister Mosquito

Video Review:

Review: Welcome to the Clearance Bin Video Game Review by Organized Remains. Ever wanted to be in the mind/body of a fly? No? Well that's where Mister Mosquito for the PS2 is taking us. $10 is the lowest I found it on the internet.

What can I say, some of these Japanese games (the games that look like they came straight from Japan) I love. Some great examples are the Persona series, Hotel Dusk, and especially the Phoenix Wright series. Well Mister Mosquito's story isn't as great as the other games I've mentioned. You play as Mister Mosquito in a family's home. The family starts the game off by babbling about some photo album, but as the game goes on there is only one thing on their minds... Killing you! That's it for the story.

As for the game, I found myself having fun playing the game. You have to fly around and find people's blood spots. Once you find one, you press circle and dart over there. Then you must press R3 to poke through the skin, and then the sucking blood mini game starts. You have to spin the analog stick, but you must keep the circle on the left in the blue. Once you've collected enough blood from the blood spot you can move on to the next spot. As the game goes on some strategy is needed, like waiting under a desk until they stop in front of you.

The controls are just like a lot of flying games. The controls are just like a lot of flying games, but not the most fluid I've seen. It takes some getting used to, but they're not awful. My biggest problem with the game is the length. It took me around 3 hours to beat it. With only 12 stages to the game, most of the levels take place in the same room! Maybe they could have added more characters to the house. This family is only 3 people! Why no family of 4 with a pet dog?

Final Say: Luckily I didn't buy this when it was $50. For $10 though, it's hard to say, I'd have to compare it to going to the movies. It costs around $10 to see a movie in theaters, and that's usually only 2 hours of entertainment. In that sense the $10 is worth the 3 hours. Plus there are other collectibles and a harder mode to be unlocked. If this game looked fun to you from the video, then you should pick up the game. If you're not so much into flying games, maybe you should try something else.

New Shows Picked Up

Pardon the pun, but according to Variety, a variety of new television shows for the big networks have had their pilots greenlighted.


To ABC: "It Takes A Village" - Man conceives child with woman, but the two divorce. Man realizes he's gay, and finds a new partner, as does the woman. The show revolves around all four adults attempting to raise the first two characters' fifteen year old son. Talk about whacky and confusing! Seems like it has potential to be one of those family-night hits.


To CBS: "Reagan's Law" - New York City cop drama. Could go either way depending on the writing and acting of those involved. People love their cop dramas, but it could just as easily go south.


To NBC: "Perfect Couples" and "Beach Lane". Beach Lane stars Matthew Broderick (Bueller... Bueller... Bueller...) is a celeb, hot shot author hired for a small town newspaper by an eccentric and incompetent billionaire. If you ask me, this sounds way too specific, and doesn't leave a lot of room for characters out of their element, or room for a third dimension, and also a real stretch of believability on Mr. Deeds levels. But maybe I'm reading too much into it too early. "Perfect Couples" is about three separate loving couples in different stages of their relationships. Sounds kind of like Modern Family to me.


So if any of these shows interest you, keep an ear out for official premier dates. Personally, the only one I can see being much of a hit is "It Takes A Village" and maybe, MAYBE, though I don't personally dig the genre, "Reagan's Law". Heck, The Shield is over. That fanbase needs somewhere to go.

Thoughts on Assassin's Creed 2

Source of Image
It's been some time since I've played the first Assassin's Creed. When I heard that Assassin's Creed 2 would fix all the problems from the first game, I wasn't sure what that meant. I thought the first one was pretty good, and since it's been awhile since I've played it I didn't remember any parts of it that were bad.

That's until I played Assassin's Creed 2. I realized that I was having more fun with it. I wasn't waking up as the guy after every mission, the map seemed bigger and better, and there was more to do.

I recently played through the first Uncharted game by Naughty Dog. I can see that both games have a similar jumping around and climbing objects style. When I first started playing Assassin's Creed 2 I was somewhat disappointed, because he did all the climbing for you, unlike in Uncharted. Later in the game however they teach you how to jump while climbing, and the Uncharted feel came into play. I was so used to not jumping to higher ledges, I wish they introduced this earlier, because I believe I was two thirds done the game when they taught me.

Final Say: I really enjoyed Assassin's Creed 2. It took me 12 hours and 20 mins to beat it, and I had fun throughout the whole 12 hours. If a remember correctly (I could be wrong) the first game had a lot more stealth in it. The second one didn't have so much, and maybe that's why I enjoyed it a lot more. I think if you have any interest in playing this game, you should go for it, because it'll live up to your expectations.

Mini-Review On "Leverage"

300th Post!!


I was recently bored to tears by everything on the TV today and turned to my beautiful Netflix Instant Watch in hopes of discovering some quality programming. I stumbled upon this TV Show, "Leverage" and watched the first two episodes, so I thought I would give my thoughts on them.


The first episode sets up the point of the entire series. Nathan Ford is a disgruntled, unemployed former insurance agent who's bitter against the world, and especially an insurance company who refused to pay for medical treatment for his son. Ford is approached mid-binge drinking by a man who wants to hire him to lead a team of thieves. Why him specifically? No idea. Not really explored much. So Ford becomes the brain of the three-other-member team, consisting of the British brawn, Eliot Spencer, cat-burglar and daredevil acrobat, Parker, and nerdy black hacker, Alec Hardison. Kind of strikes me as a cliche that you team consists of this very basic format, but having not pulled off a heist or anything of the sort, I'll just presume these are the essential workers needed for a high stakes theft. The team steals the blue-prints to an airplane design back are not only refused payment due to lack of delivery, but all are nearly killed by the man who hired them, who did in fact receive the blue-print. Unfortunately for the puppetmaster, he's not angered four of the most dangerous and vindictive individuals he could have left alive.

Naturally, they get their revenge in a clever and action-packed way, which leaves us with the next episode. Nathan Ford establishes an official business with his three allies called Leverage Inc to assist the needy against evil corporations. In this second episode, Leverage Inc's client is an army foot soldier who just happens to be documenting his thoughts and feelings as a present for his girlfriend back home, when he picks up footage of private security doing something insidious and illegal, resulting in many, including himself, getting shot (client survives, obviously). The episode mainly focuses on the gang of Leverage Inc being spooked about the sheer force they're up against, as three-fourths of them aren't trained for actual combat and don't want anyone getting hurt. Spoiler: Everything gets resolved nicely through a combination of keen wit and the brunt of a fist.


Overall, even though I've only seen two episodes of the show I'd say it's pretty darn good. It reminds me a lot of Burn Notice and Ocean's Eleven, both of which I'm a big fan of. The show is only on it's second season on TNT so you should check out your local listings, because I'd rate it 4*'s just off of what I've seen.