Dare to Play the Game
Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on April 2nd, 2008
The Failure of Wii Online, Blizzards starts up the Sue wagon, and the British offering cash for lies? – Welcome to the column that promises to stick to the truth except when it comes to whether or not Silent Hill still makes us wet the bed at night known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. After bludgeoning people with my Bloody Brass Knuckles all week in WoW, this fist weapon is here to stay for now in my 34th level Troll Rogue’s arsenal. I find this to be the case because simply there aren’t a lot of appealing blues at my level to begin with.
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Sweeney Todd – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Special Collector’s Edition)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 1st, 2008
Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Helena Bohnam Carter, and a 1970’s Broadway musical by Stephen Sondheim about a barber with a penchant for truly close, and rather bloody, shaves. With these kinds of ingredients you have a can’t miss recipe for Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street. The finished product is a wickedly clever and most unusual movie experience. Tim Burton’s style blends so seamlessly with the dark humor of the original production.
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Aqua Teen Hunger Force Volume 5
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on April 1st, 2008
Aqua Teen Hunger Force has hit mainstream, well for the most part. The Tv Show has been on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim for a few seasons now and they even released a theatrical film. The film entitled Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film wasn’t exactly a run away success. The film only made 5.5 million dollars nationwide. However, this was also about 7 times the budget which made the film a profitable success. So with the movie behind them, would the fame of past efforts fill their minds and make the creators’ (Dave Willis & Matt Maiellaro) heads swell with pride? Let’s turn into Volume 5 (Season 4) and find out.
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Stargate Atlantis – The Complete Third Season
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 30th, 2008
Stargate Atlantis went into its third season with a lot to prove. Its companion and older series SG-1 was winding down and preparing to take its show to the longer direct to video path. Atlantis rose to the challenge and had what was arguably its best season to date. The best decision the show runners could have made was the one to concentrate on their core characters and give us episodes that were obviously intended to help us learn more about them. We meet McKay’s sister and Ronon’s wife and family along the way.
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The Mist (Single Disc)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 29th, 2008
In The Mist, Frank Darabont returns to familiar territory, directing another movie based on a short story by Stephen King. Darabont struck gold in 1994 with The Shawshank Redemption and then came close to, but did not equal, that magic with 1999’s The Green Mile.
Is the third time a charm for Darabont working with King material? The answer is a resounding “yes”.
The Mist is near-perfect on every level.
Horror movie? Check.
Morality tale? Check.
Metaphor for today’s world? Check.
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Who Said Philosophy Has To Be Boring?
Posted in Brain Blasters by David Annandale on March 28th, 2008
Let’s consider today’s exercise a companion piece to my colleague’s excellent Dare to Play the Game column. That’s by way of saying to that I’m going to risk slightly poaching on his turf by considering a tangentially game-related topic.
I’m probably not going too far out on a limb to assume that just about anyone with access to an Xbox 360 or a sufficiently powerful PC played Bioshock at some point in the last year. Among its many qualities, Bioshock is one of the best-written games to have come down the pike, and one of its not-inconsiderable delights is the dialogue it engages with the ideas of Ayn Rand. Specifically, it is her magnum opus Atlas Shrugged that provides most of the game’s philosophical fodder. Anyone with the time to slog through the book’s utterly lunatic thousand-plus pages will surely find their appreciation of the game increased (and this is one of those rare cases where the writing, characterization and ideas of a game are consistently better than the work of literature it is bouncing off). And the book is so insane that is has an absolutely compulsive, Biggest Train Wreck Ever appeal. But let’s pretend you don’t have that much of your life to give up to an experience that can best be described as the philosophical equivalent of high camp. There is a more time-efficient alternative.
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Asi Del Precipicio
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 28th, 2008
Three female friends are there for each other’s personal storms. One is a coke-addled sensation addict, one aspires to be an artist (and does her share of powder too) and the third is taking refuge from an unhappy marriage and questioning her sexual identity. Many scenes of heightened emotion are the order of the day.
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Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married?
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 28th, 2008
Tyler Perry burst on the scene in 2005 with Diary of a Mad Black Woman. It was one of the worst reviewed movies of the year, but when it raked in over $50 million dollars at the box office, Tyler Perry silenced critics and became a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood.
Before his movie-making career, Perry was already a huge success in the African-American community, having written several Christian and family oriented plays upon which many of his movies are based.
After Diary, Perry went on to star in and direct the sequel, Madea’s Family Reunion, which did even better at the box office. And since then, he’s created his own studio, released three more movies, is set to release a few more, and currently produces a sitcom, Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, on TBS.
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The Kite Runner
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 27th, 2008
The Kite Runner is one of those films that is extremely hard to pin down. On the surface it’s a moving story about friendship and redemption, but I have to wonder if that is really the collection of themes intended by either the original novel’s writer Khaled Hosseini or the film’s director, Marc Foster. The story begins with two young Afghan children who appear to be friends, but they are from different worlds.
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The Namesake
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 27th, 2008
It has always been odd to me that for as popular as Bollywood films are in India, they really haven’t made much of an impact here in the States. Films from other countries find their place here, but Indian works are pretty widely overlooked here. Maybe it has to do with the wide cultural differences. Maybe it is because so many Bollywood films rely heavily on the traditions of the American musical. Whatever the reason, no Indian films have really caught on here, and the same can be said of the beautiful and talented Indian actors and actresses.
Once
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 27th, 2008
From the Oscar ceremony, the only thing to speak of when it came to the quaint Irish charmer Once is that the girl was going to speak after the song “Falling Slowly” won the award for Best Original Song, and she was cut off, but she got a chance to thank everyone after the commercial, so points for trivia in case you stuck in there for that long (I know I didn’t). For those who hadn’t seen the film before that, they were certainly missing a slightly profound and moving experience.
Wildfire – Season Two
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 27th, 2008
Imagine my surprise when I found out that the show Wildfire, aired exclusively on the ABC Family network on Monday nights, is coming up on its fourth season. So it makes me wonder, since ABC Family is a little long on episodes, if a show airs on a network that people barely watch (aside from the occasional Gilmore Girls repeat), does the show really exist?
The Nines
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 27th, 2008
The Nines truly is a film that defies description, albeit in not an entirely new and convincing manner. For instance, I could tell you that I just got done eating a chicken sandwich after consuming several mojitos and a beer, and at least with that statement, you could tell what it is that I’ve done, you know? But to be fair, The Nines decides to take on some daring filmmaking and storytelling, and does it in a way that you can’t help but want to watch it again, even a little.
Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (Xbox 360)
Posted in Game Reviews by Michael Durr on March 26th, 2008
A cold day in Vegas no more. Hopefully over the short vacation, you have had time to hit the slots, schmooze the local women and even rubbing your barrel a little more than you should. Why you ask? Because Rainbow Six, Vegas style is back. That’s right; more taking cover and sneaking around killing terrorists in the land that never sleeps. Apparently the rent on the automatic terrorist prevention machines was a little high and so they have asked for your MTar firing, Flashbang throwing behind to lead the charge once again. Rainbow Six Vegas 2 takes back your 360 and hopefully sends us more than new maps and some spit and polish.
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Dare to Play the Game
Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on March 26th, 2008
Rainbow Six Vegas 2 bugs, No Waggle in the Rock Band Wii and Powerball action – Welcome to the column that keeps scratching even when it should have stopped a long time ago known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. Yes it’s World of Warcraft corner with your host, IAMMurloc. Or rather Kedrix (I know Sarah would appreciate that). Up to 33 on my Troll Rogue, 14 on my Dwarf Priest. I’m not sure what I did for most of the week with my characters to be honest. (Because I was going back and forth between WoW and Rainbow Six Vegas 2)
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Pauly Shore’s Natural Born Komics Sketch Comedy Movie: Miami
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 25th, 2008
“Are you retarded or something?” is the line that stands out the most for me from
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Killer Pad
Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on March 25th, 2008
Do you ever look at some covers in disbelief and wonder why this ever got made? Okay, some directors are trying to break into the business or perhaps an actor is taking on an indie release that one can show their acting range with. But if a movie looks, smells and feels like a B movie; then most likely you are in for a rough ride. At the end, you might come out okay. A lot of times however, you might not. I witnessed such an example in Killer Pad. A movie directed by Robert Englund. Yes, the “Freddy” guy. The box sports some clueless guys and a hot devil lady. Oh and a spooky house behind it all. I’m scared, mainly cause I have to watch it.
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Gattaca – Special Edition
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 24th, 2008
A decade or so ago, Andrew Niccol’s Gattaca came to a theatre near you. It received a fair amount of critical acclaim, including a few award nods for production design and music, but wasn’t much of a commercial success. Beats me why not, because the film is right up there with the best in the science fiction genre, at least in my book.
Now on a Special Edition DVD from Sony Pictures, Gattaca has another shot at the mass popularity it deserves. But does the special disc treatment add anything to improve its chances?
Undead or Alive
Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 21st, 2008
A tough-as-nails cowboy (James Denton) unwillingly hooks up with a naive greenhorn (Chris Kattan) when they have a run-in with a bent sheriff. They may think they have some problems now, but things are much worse than they think, as the town and the surrounding countryside are in the initial stages of a zombie plague.
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Robert A. Silverman and the Comedy of David Cronenberg
Posted in Brain Blasters by David Annandale on March 21st, 2008
Time to praise another journeyman performer, another unsung hero of the heterodox film scene. Today: Robert A. Silverman. He’s been kicking around the scene for ages, popping up in everything from Prom Night to Waterworld to Jason X. But his most memorable work consists of the sterling character turns he has done for David Cronenberg.
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Stargate – The Ark of Truth
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 19th, 2008
I’m not going to spend any time in this piece telling you about the characters, actors, or plots of the new Stargate direct to DVD film The Ark Of Truth. Honestly, if you are not up to speed you will be totally lost here and have zero chance of even remotely enjoying the ride. For the show’s fans, I think you’ll know exactly what I mean when I say that The Ark Of Truth is basically a perfect extended episode of the series.
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Dare to Play the Game
Posted in Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on March 19th, 2008
Multiple Games in MMO’s, No More Pro Gaming and Games are Pron – Welcome to the column that thinks Wussy and Nambi Pambi should be submitted as new ratings for the ESRB known as Dare to Play the Game.
Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. World of Warcraft, oh how I find thee to confound me. Up to 32 on the Troll Rogue, 12 on the Dwarf Priest. Lantanador, the Rogue is up to a pretty nice 125 gold and I still have purple pants. I make mention of this because my girlfriend Sarah torments me that I still have purple pants (which are a high teen level blue item).
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No Reservations (HD DVD)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 19th, 2008
It seems like foodies are everywhere these days. Maybe Emeril is to blame, maybe it’s Paula Dean, maybe it’s the Food Network as a whole.I have even been sucked in my Anthony Bourdain myself (whose show is ironically also named No Reservations). Wherever there is a trend, there is guaranteed to be a romantic comedy to follow. Enter Aaron Eckhart and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Eckhart has been doing some fantastic work lately, from his work in Thank You for Smoking to lesser known films such as Conversations With Other Women, he is quickly becoming one of the best actors on the scene today.
Bee Movie (Jerry’s Two-Disc Special Edition)
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 19th, 2008
Bee Movie is almost completely a Jerry Seinfeld creation. The idea apparently came out of a conversation the comedian had over dinner with Steven Spielberg. From the simple concept of a film about bees called Bee Movie, Seinfeld teamed with his long-term collaborator Spike Feresten. Together they created a rather amusing world where bees can talk and live in a human-like society dedicated to the production of honey.
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Greek – Chapter One
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 18th, 2008
I don’t know what I really expected when I started watching Greek. I never saw the broadcast, and the series was extremely underplayed in the crowded wilderness of promos and press. Honestly, I’m not sure I would have invested any time in the show if I had heard of it. So, when Greek showed up at my door to watch and review, I had to scratch my head a little bit before deciding to put the first disc into my DVD player.
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