Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on March 5th, 2010
Data East was a great video game company that lasted from 1976 to 2003 when it declared bankruptcy. It had an arcade & pinball heyday for most of the eighties with many fantastic titles. Luckily, most of the assets were bought up by a single company called G-Mode when Data East was forced to sell them off. Recently, Majesco worked with G-Mode and re-released fifteen of them in a very nice retro collection for the Nintendo Wii. With fingers crossed, we hope that this collection has aged well.
It's really hard to sit here and rate graphics on games that range from 15 to nearly 30 years ago. One has to rate it in the context of the era. Most of the games are emulated perfectly. Heavy Barrel looks amazing (the NES really got an inferior version) as does Crude Buster or Caveman Ninja. However, I think we can safely say that Lock n Chase or Burnin Rubber are still pretty ugly. The colors are sharp and they don't need an HD presentation to stand up on their own two legs. The only complaint would be that the menus were really rather dull.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 5th, 2010
So here we go with yet another heaping helping of public domain offerings from Infinity. I last looked at their Abbott & Costello package, which concentrated on TV shows and only featured a couple of movies. This Mickey Rooney set is heavily oriented towards the movies. Here's what you get:
Disc 1:
Posted in: Dare to Play the Game, News and Opinions by Michael Durr on March 3rd, 2010
Heavy Rain Film Rights, PS3 Lockdown, & Activision shuts down King’s Quest? - Welcome to the column that asks you don’t read any other gaming columns for the next 24 hours known as Dare to Play the Game.
This week for the time being, I am still playing Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe for the Xbox 360. I ran through the story mode on both sides and grabbed myself all applicable achievements. I’m at 350 points, unless I put some serious dedication to it, I don’t see me getting much more.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 2nd, 2010
"Hoorah! Semper Fi! Do or die! Hold 'em high! Gunnery Sergeant R. Lee Ermey here. Listen up! Ever wonder how warriors on the battlefield went from throwing rocks to this? Then this is your lucky day."
You've seen R. Lee Ermey in several movies and television shows over the years. He pretty much plays the same character, most notably Gunnery Sergeant Hartman on Full Metal Jacket. He always does a fine job with these roles, but there's a good reason for that. Ermey was, in fact, a Gunnery Sergeant in the Vietnam War. Not much acting required out of the man. His authenticity has been what's made him such a dependable stalwart in these military films. You've got to give the guy some props. He is the real deal, and it has always shown in his roles.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on March 1st, 2010
The ice caps have melted, leaving only 10% of the world livable, according to the opening narration of this adventure/disaster film. Salvaging relics from “lost” cities is a means of making money for our heroes, a boat crew that comprises of James Brolin as a Captain with a secret connection to the Vatican, and his two sons. As they pick up goodies to trade or sell they also search for clues towards a grand solution to the global flooding problem that the Vatican is housing.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 28th, 2010
In the 2006 hit The Devil Wears Prada there was a single line that summed up Meryl Streep’s pitch-perfect portrayal of icy fashion editor Miranda Priestly: “That’s all.” The real-life inspiration behind the character, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, has such a commanding presence that even those few words are hardly necessary. Her disapproval is apparent with a single glare.
The September Issue follows Wintour and her loyal band of editors as they prepare for the most important month of the year in fashion. As one employee says, September in fashion is like January for most people: it’s a fresh start. Throughout the 90-minute documentary director R.J. Cutler captures an intimate, surprisingly compelling look behind the scenes of an institution that is synonymous with fashion.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on February 28th, 2010
Hellhounds is the tale of Kleitos and Princess Demetria—a “Greek” soldier and his bride to be. When Demetria is poisoned on their wedding day by a jealous friend, Kleitos enlists the help of a witch to travel to Hades and retrieve his bride’s soul. The soldier and his loyal friends—each with their own unidentifiable accents—make their voyage into the underworld only to face the wrath of Hades’ hounds when they arrive. They must escape with Demetria’s soul and reunite it with her physical body before Hades claims her as his bride. All the while, the four-legged beasts are hot on their trail for a taste of blood.
Usually made-for-television movies really aren’t trying to be anything they’re not. Hellhounds often seems like it’s exceeding its grasp due to the script’s melodramatics. You get the feeling director/NYPD Blue actor Ricky Schroeder is trying to tap into that 300 style of storytelling, but it falls short. If you’re looking for stimulating dialog or even good acting, look elsewhere. Expect plenty of vacant expressions and emotionless delivery from the cast, especially stone-faced lead Scott Elrod.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on February 27th, 2010
Several years ago, I went through my divorce. We were clearly not made for each other and spent many nights arguing over the simplest things. Despite our constant bickering, our divorce went reasonably smooth and we were able to agree on most things. Thankfully, we did not have kids to further complicate the proceedings. However, if we did have kids and had arranged dual custody, I wonder if it would have turned out like Gary Unmarried: Season One.
Gary Brooks (played by Jay Mohr) is recently divorced. He has his own place and tries to do the best he can. He also takes care of his two kids, Tom & Louise (played by Ryan Malgarini & Kathryn Newton) on alternating weekends and holidays. Most importantly, he is trying to care of his own life and he finds that single life is a very tough struggle. Especially when that tough struggle involves dealing with your ex-wife Allison (played by Paula Marshall) on a daily basis.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 26th, 2010
Every seven years, thirty assassins descend on an unsuspecting city and slaughter each other, all the while being observed by hijacked security cameras for the benefit of the high rollers who are betting on the outcome. The previous winner was Ving Rhames, and he thought he had walked away from the life after that tournament. But then his wife was murdered, and he learns that the killer is in the new contest (taking place this time in England). Also taking part is the fatalistic Kelly Hu, who winds up being the reluctant protector of drunken priest Robert Carlyle, who even more reluctantly has become a long-shot competitor in the tournament after accidentally swallowing a tracking device that paints him as a legitimate target.
This sounds a bit more complex than the film really is, as the plot is primarily there just to facilitate the spectacular butchery that follows. The action is fast and furious, and the blood is as copious as you're going to get this side of Hostel. All of which is more than passably entertaining, and there are also some surprisingly witty moments, usually courtesy of Carlyle. In its enthusiasm to go over the top, however, the film does dip its toe into some of the same ugly misogyny that so pollutes the Crank films. Still and all, bloodthirsty action fans could do worse than spend 95 minutes in The Tournament's company.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 26th, 2010
For all intents and purposes, it appears just like any routine Fall day throughout the world. People are busying themselves about their normal concerns. Suddenly everyone on the planet blacks out for exactly 2 minutes and 17 seconds. Just think about that part for a moment. Every human being collapses at the same moment. Think about all of the things that people are doing at any given moment. Driving cars. Flying planes. Performing delicate surgical procedures, or just walking across the street. Pretty much any activity is going to become dangerous as the blackouts occur. 20 million people worldwide die in the event.
Now, what makes this show different from your typical high-casualty disaster series is not the global body count. It's what happens to the folks who don't get killed that sets this series up. During that 2 minutes and 17 seconds, every person has something called a flash forward. It's a vision, if you will. They get a glimpse of the future from their own perspective. Investigation soon reveals that everyone's future vision was the exact same moment in time: April 29th, 2010 at 10:00 PM. Each person experiences that moment in their lives. Further investigation confirms that the visions are accurate and persons that were, or will be as the case may be, together at that time share the same confirmable experiences. Who or what caused these flash forwards, and why? Mark Benford's flash forward finds him looking at an investigation board containing crucial clues to the flash forward investigation. It puts him square in the lead to take the case, because now he's got a sneak peek at what key pieces of evidence will be found. He also has a line on pivotal players in the case. The feds set up a program called MOSAIC, which encourages people to share their flash forwards online. It allows people to make some sense of their visions, while giving the government a working database of flash forwards. Further clues uncover the fact that there were two people who were not effected by the blackouts and were up and around while the rest of the world was knocked out. The images are fuzzy, but their identities are of vital priority.
On The Web
Sponsors
