4/25/2008
Futurama: Bender's Big Score
When Futurama first came on the air I thought it was the greatest thing since spilt milk....err I mean sliced bread. Yes. Anyways, I thought it was great. The first season or two of Futurama was incredibly witty, really funny, and just an overall good show. Sometime after that, though the show remained popular it, to me, just became a little boring. Looking back I find that the episodes never really got bad, but it has more to do with the fact that Futurama is better in small doses.
Now, having not truly watched Futurama for years I was presented with the fact that there is a fairly new, straight-to-video movie which is rekindling people's interest in the series. Remembering the good times I had with the show, I decided it was only appropriate to give it a chance.
Coming in at a whopping 88 minutes Bender's Big Score is really just an extra-long episode of the show. Fans of the show, including those like me who only saw a few seasons worth or just random episodes here and there will definitely find that this is the Futurama they originally loved to watch. The basic storyline is that after being fired unknowingly for two years, the team is called back for a final delivery. On this delivery the members of the crew are tricked into signing a petition which asks for their e-mail addresses. Later, the crews e-mail boxes are full of spam, but each finds certain pieces of spam irresistible to click on. Bender becomes infected with a virus, and the others have their money and property stolen. This waves slowly takes over the entire earth until the whole planet is taken over by 3 aliens who love to scam people. Then, randomly there is a code for time travel on Fry's ass which allows them to go back in time and continue their scamming... but with the risk of creating a doomed paradox and destroying the world as we know it....
My greatest fear when watching this movie was that it would start out funny but become boring after 15 or 20 minutes, however that is not really the case with this film. I found that even as the movie neared the end it still managed to hold my interest and remain very amusing. A little research showed me that Futurama movies 2, 3 and 4 are all currently in the works. Two are set for release sometime this year with #4 coming out in 2009. I slightly disagree with this tactic because I feel as if releasing an excess of Futurama movies is going to re-create the problem which started Futurama's downfall in the first place. That is simply is not as funny in large doses. I think one release per year would have been quite sufficent.
Regardless, I will give the next Futurama movie a chance. And I will likely continue to watch them as long as I still find them interesting. So let's hope the team has a few more tricks up their sleeves.
Rating:
Good stuff
Related Links:
IMDB
Official Site
Now, having not truly watched Futurama for years I was presented with the fact that there is a fairly new, straight-to-video movie which is rekindling people's interest in the series. Remembering the good times I had with the show, I decided it was only appropriate to give it a chance.
Coming in at a whopping 88 minutes Bender's Big Score is really just an extra-long episode of the show. Fans of the show, including those like me who only saw a few seasons worth or just random episodes here and there will definitely find that this is the Futurama they originally loved to watch. The basic storyline is that after being fired unknowingly for two years, the team is called back for a final delivery. On this delivery the members of the crew are tricked into signing a petition which asks for their e-mail addresses. Later, the crews e-mail boxes are full of spam, but each finds certain pieces of spam irresistible to click on. Bender becomes infected with a virus, and the others have their money and property stolen. This waves slowly takes over the entire earth until the whole planet is taken over by 3 aliens who love to scam people. Then, randomly there is a code for time travel on Fry's ass which allows them to go back in time and continue their scamming... but with the risk of creating a doomed paradox and destroying the world as we know it....
My greatest fear when watching this movie was that it would start out funny but become boring after 15 or 20 minutes, however that is not really the case with this film. I found that even as the movie neared the end it still managed to hold my interest and remain very amusing. A little research showed me that Futurama movies 2, 3 and 4 are all currently in the works. Two are set for release sometime this year with #4 coming out in 2009. I slightly disagree with this tactic because I feel as if releasing an excess of Futurama movies is going to re-create the problem which started Futurama's downfall in the first place. That is simply is not as funny in large doses. I think one release per year would have been quite sufficent.
Regardless, I will give the next Futurama movie a chance. And I will likely continue to watch them as long as I still find them interesting. So let's hope the team has a few more tricks up their sleeves.
Rating:
Good stuff
Related Links:
IMDB
Official Site
Labels: movies
Darkman
While extremely bored I chose a movie at random and decided I would watch it no matter what it was. That didn't happen. 5 random picks later and I found one that actually sounded slightly decent, though a bit weird. This movie was Darkman.
Darkman is the story of a scientist who is trying to create, for whatever reason, synthetic skin, though he is unable to fully perfect the formula/process because all the skin he creates disintegrates after 100 minutes in the light. His girlfriend happens to have some important document stating that some high-up villain fellow had been issuing payoffs and the paper happens to be in the lab of the scientist guy. So they go in there and beat the crap out of him and destroy the lab by burning it to the ground. They think they killed him... but he wasn't dead. He wakes up with extremely bad burns in the hospital, so bad that he is a "John Doe" they do not know who he is (FAKE!) they have cut off the nerves in his body that allow him to feel pain, so he can not feel any pain. He manages to escape from the hospital and salvage some things from his lab where he tries to recreate his face with synthetic skin but can only do it for 100 minutes at a time... while at the same time recreating other peoples faces to get revenge and play tricks and crap.
It's a typical movie similar to say Spider-Man or something, just older and lesser known. It's certainly not bad but it has some major plot holes. The biggest one being the 100 minutes. Some of the things this guy manages to do in 100 minutes are seriously amazing. In real life 100 minutes is hardly any time at all, by the time you drive where you want to go the 100 minutes would be over - but he manages to perfectly time every action and get everywhere fast enough to do all these crazy things in exactly 100 minutes....
Anyways, there is more to it than that, and it's not a bad film, but it is old, and slightly outdated. Every once in awhile I find it amusing to watch a older film like this. And it just so happens there is a Darkman 2. (AND DARKMAN 3?!?!) But I'll probably be watching them later rather than sooner.
Rating:
Certainly an interesting movie....
Related Links:
IMDB
Darkman is the story of a scientist who is trying to create, for whatever reason, synthetic skin, though he is unable to fully perfect the formula/process because all the skin he creates disintegrates after 100 minutes in the light. His girlfriend happens to have some important document stating that some high-up villain fellow had been issuing payoffs and the paper happens to be in the lab of the scientist guy. So they go in there and beat the crap out of him and destroy the lab by burning it to the ground. They think they killed him... but he wasn't dead. He wakes up with extremely bad burns in the hospital, so bad that he is a "John Doe" they do not know who he is (FAKE!) they have cut off the nerves in his body that allow him to feel pain, so he can not feel any pain. He manages to escape from the hospital and salvage some things from his lab where he tries to recreate his face with synthetic skin but can only do it for 100 minutes at a time... while at the same time recreating other peoples faces to get revenge and play tricks and crap.
It's a typical movie similar to say Spider-Man or something, just older and lesser known. It's certainly not bad but it has some major plot holes. The biggest one being the 100 minutes. Some of the things this guy manages to do in 100 minutes are seriously amazing. In real life 100 minutes is hardly any time at all, by the time you drive where you want to go the 100 minutes would be over - but he manages to perfectly time every action and get everywhere fast enough to do all these crazy things in exactly 100 minutes....
Anyways, there is more to it than that, and it's not a bad film, but it is old, and slightly outdated. Every once in awhile I find it amusing to watch a older film like this. And it just so happens there is a Darkman 2. (AND DARKMAN 3?!?!) But I'll probably be watching them later rather than sooner.
Rating:
Certainly an interesting movie....
Related Links:
IMDB
Labels: movies
4/20/2008
Super High Me
It's 4/20, and I don't smoke weed. So, in order to not feel left out on this "special day", I decided to watch a little movie called Super High Me.
You may or may not recall a movie from a few years back with the name Super Size Me? Well, Super High Me is comedian Doug Benson's take on that movie. Instead of eating McDonalds for 30 days straight, he decides to first not smoke any pot at all for 30 days, and then smoke pot heavily for 30 days. Of course, he is able to do all this legally due to the lovely laws in favor of medicinal marijuana in the state of California.
Theres not a whole lot to say about this movie as far as the plot is concerned, I've pretty much covered it all. The film consists of him going on his usual comedy tour, meeting people, and getting various peoples opinion on pot and what he is doing.
I didn't expect much from the movie, but it did bring up a few interesting points. Apparently, Marijuana is legal in California provided you have a prescription from a doctor, which is apparently very easy for anyone to get, however, on the federal level it is still illegal, so every so often the DEA will just burst into California and seize all the "legal" weed in these stores in California which sell marijuana, legally, with a license, according to the state of California.
More than anything I think the movie is trying to bring up a point that weed really is not dangerous. Sure, no form of smoking is good for your lungs in the long term, and you probably shouldn't drive when you are high, and pot makes you lazy and hungry, so you'll probably gain some weight. But is it dangerous? Unlikely. Should it be illegal? Probably not. I think in the coming years we will see a sort of revolution where marijuana possibly does have a chance for become legal on the federal level for private home use. Until that time, I can't recommend using it except in the state of California, and with a prescription!!!!!!!
Rating:
Interesting movie, but nothing spectacular. Brings up good points, holds your interest. Could have done a little more.
Related Links:
IMDB
Official Site
You may or may not recall a movie from a few years back with the name Super Size Me? Well, Super High Me is comedian Doug Benson's take on that movie. Instead of eating McDonalds for 30 days straight, he decides to first not smoke any pot at all for 30 days, and then smoke pot heavily for 30 days. Of course, he is able to do all this legally due to the lovely laws in favor of medicinal marijuana in the state of California.
Theres not a whole lot to say about this movie as far as the plot is concerned, I've pretty much covered it all. The film consists of him going on his usual comedy tour, meeting people, and getting various peoples opinion on pot and what he is doing.
I didn't expect much from the movie, but it did bring up a few interesting points. Apparently, Marijuana is legal in California provided you have a prescription from a doctor, which is apparently very easy for anyone to get, however, on the federal level it is still illegal, so every so often the DEA will just burst into California and seize all the "legal" weed in these stores in California which sell marijuana, legally, with a license, according to the state of California.
More than anything I think the movie is trying to bring up a point that weed really is not dangerous. Sure, no form of smoking is good for your lungs in the long term, and you probably shouldn't drive when you are high, and pot makes you lazy and hungry, so you'll probably gain some weight. But is it dangerous? Unlikely. Should it be illegal? Probably not. I think in the coming years we will see a sort of revolution where marijuana possibly does have a chance for become legal on the federal level for private home use. Until that time, I can't recommend using it except in the state of California, and with a prescription!!!!!!!
Rating:
Interesting movie, but nothing spectacular. Brings up good points, holds your interest. Could have done a little more.
Related Links:
IMDB
Official Site
Labels: movies
Logan's Run
Logan's Run takes place in the future, at a time where human life as we know it now ceases to exist and the world is a mere "city" contained in a bubble. The inhabitants of the world have life clocks built into their hands which start at green, turn to red, and at age 29 begin to blink as they approach "last day", the day they turn 30. On this day, it is believed, they must participate in a ritual called carousel where they will be "reborn", otherwise, they will die. A few people, appropriately called runners decide to run from carousel out of fear. There are people assigned to catch them before they get away, these people are called Sandmen. Logan is an ordinary Sandman until one day he kills a runner with a certain "Ankh" medallion. Logan thinks nothing of it until the computer detects it an asks him if he knows it is associated with the word sanctuary. The computer then assigns Logan a mission to find sanctuary, the place where, it is believed by the computer there are over a thousand unaccounted for runners just chillin' and waiting to be caught. In order to do this Logan himself will pretend to be a runner. Recalling that he has seen this medallion on a woman earlier, he decides to ask her for help. Together, they go on a pretty epic quest for sanctuary which turns out to be little of what either of them expected...
This movie, which is from 1976, was certainly very ahead of it's time. Of course the special effects are rather fake by todays standards, the set design is absolutely amazing and it is quite interesting to see movies form this period relating to the future, and see the worlds people imagined the future would be like. The story is still exciting and gripping to this day.
A remake is currently in the works, expected to come out sometime in 2010. It will be interesting to see the way the film is re-created to live up to modern standards.
Rating:
See it before the remake!!!!
Related Links:
IMDB
This movie, which is from 1976, was certainly very ahead of it's time. Of course the special effects are rather fake by todays standards, the set design is absolutely amazing and it is quite interesting to see movies form this period relating to the future, and see the worlds people imagined the future would be like. The story is still exciting and gripping to this day.
A remake is currently in the works, expected to come out sometime in 2010. It will be interesting to see the way the film is re-created to live up to modern standards.
Rating:
See it before the remake!!!!
Related Links:
IMDB
Labels: movies
4/16/2008
Joni's Card Deleted Scenes
4/15/2008
Random Deleted Funny Things 01
This is the first of a series that will consist of whenever there is random footage that is kind of funny but doesn't really consist of enough to make a video or really fit into another video. Hopefully the future episodes in this series will be longer.
Famous Amos: Ye Olde Switcharoo Deleted Scenes
Sick To My Stomach Deleted Scenes
The People Under The Stairs Deleted Scenes
4/14/2008
Paranoid Park
Paranoid Park is the latest (on dvd) release from director Gus Van Sant who brought us films like Elephant, Good Will Hunting, and Finding Forrester. While the production quality of this movie doesn't quite live up to that of GWH or FF (it's about the same as Elephant), it provides a very realistic (and possible???) view of one kid's experience in life.
A kid about 16 years old, named Alex likes to skateboard. His friend and him go to a park downtown called Paranoid Park, it's where all the real intense skaters go. They plan to go a second time but his friend decides he can't go. Alex has nothing better to do so he goes anyways just to watch. While there a older guy asks him if he wants to jump a freight train... Alex manages to get involved in the accidental murder of a security guard, which starts a chain of events in his life, disillusion, confusion, guilt, etc. He is eventually told by a friend that the best way to get something on your chest is to write it down - which is ideally what Paranoid Park is. The story is told out of order and there is much more to it than this, the story is told as if we are reading it as Alex is writing it, it bits and pieces, in the order he remembers it. As he randomly remembers something he missed, our picture of the situation is filled in.
The film has basically all no name actors, and the vast majority of them are teenagers who likely have little or no experience in acting. Due to this, the film is at times a little bit strange, however they pull it off and I feel like the no-name people help bring about a better sense of realism to the situation. (I would find the story less believable if it was Shia LaBeouf playing the lead role)....
This is a good movie, and if you get the time, you should check it out. It's very slow, but I found it interesting. The movie is certainly not for everybody. It is very artistic and there are many shots with no talking. If you feel like this sounds interesting, give this movie a look.
Rating:
What will Gus Van Sant do next?!?
Related Links:
IMDB
Official Site
A kid about 16 years old, named Alex likes to skateboard. His friend and him go to a park downtown called Paranoid Park, it's where all the real intense skaters go. They plan to go a second time but his friend decides he can't go. Alex has nothing better to do so he goes anyways just to watch. While there a older guy asks him if he wants to jump a freight train... Alex manages to get involved in the accidental murder of a security guard, which starts a chain of events in his life, disillusion, confusion, guilt, etc. He is eventually told by a friend that the best way to get something on your chest is to write it down - which is ideally what Paranoid Park is. The story is told out of order and there is much more to it than this, the story is told as if we are reading it as Alex is writing it, it bits and pieces, in the order he remembers it. As he randomly remembers something he missed, our picture of the situation is filled in.
The film has basically all no name actors, and the vast majority of them are teenagers who likely have little or no experience in acting. Due to this, the film is at times a little bit strange, however they pull it off and I feel like the no-name people help bring about a better sense of realism to the situation. (I would find the story less believable if it was Shia LaBeouf playing the lead role)....
This is a good movie, and if you get the time, you should check it out. It's very slow, but I found it interesting. The movie is certainly not for everybody. It is very artistic and there are many shots with no talking. If you feel like this sounds interesting, give this movie a look.
Rating:
What will Gus Van Sant do next?!?
Related Links:
IMDB
Official Site
Labels: movies
Horton Hears a Who!
Horton Hears a Who is a kid's movie. Sure. Maybe you are thinking, why on earth Robert would you watch a kids movie? Well, it just so happens that Dr. Suess is amazing, and let's leave it at that. Anyways, I watched the movie. On top of the fact that this is a classic Dr. Suess tale, the movie is also packing an incredibly talented cast consisting of Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, and Seth Rogen, among others. This fact alone should be enough to make you watch this movie...
The movie follows the plot really well, actually, and adds a few additional treats here and there. Unlike other movies that totally screw up books, this one takes the story and expands it in a very Suess-like fashion; if Dr. Suess were still alive this is exactly how he would have done it/wanted it done.
The story is that of an elephant, Horton, who with his powerful hearing is able to hear the sound of a creature on a tiny speck of dust which just happens to be floating through the air. Horton catches the speck on a clover (flower) and makes it his duty to bring it somewhere will it will be safe. There is a whole world of people on that speck, but only Horton hears them and some of the other animals in the jungle are not please with the fact that they feel Horton is lying to them, and simply being ridiculous. At the same time a similar event is happening in "who-ville" where the mayer has found out he can talk to Horton through a pipe, but no one else knows the mayor's secret as he doesn't want to cause a panic, and also no one listens to him anyways.
Jim Carrey is known for his role in The Grinch, which was a pretty decent movie. He takes his knowledge of Suessism to a whole new level in this film, which is better, and funnier than The Grinch. (Also, this film is animated)
Yes, this is a kids movie, but it really isn't. This movie is funny enough and entertaining enough for anyone to watch with or without kids. There are jokes in here which everyone can find funny, and also a few which are made just for kids and a few just for adults.
Rating:
Well worth your time.
Related Links:
IMDB
Official Site
The movie follows the plot really well, actually, and adds a few additional treats here and there. Unlike other movies that totally screw up books, this one takes the story and expands it in a very Suess-like fashion; if Dr. Suess were still alive this is exactly how he would have done it/wanted it done.
The story is that of an elephant, Horton, who with his powerful hearing is able to hear the sound of a creature on a tiny speck of dust which just happens to be floating through the air. Horton catches the speck on a clover (flower) and makes it his duty to bring it somewhere will it will be safe. There is a whole world of people on that speck, but only Horton hears them and some of the other animals in the jungle are not please with the fact that they feel Horton is lying to them, and simply being ridiculous. At the same time a similar event is happening in "who-ville" where the mayer has found out he can talk to Horton through a pipe, but no one else knows the mayor's secret as he doesn't want to cause a panic, and also no one listens to him anyways.
Jim Carrey is known for his role in The Grinch, which was a pretty decent movie. He takes his knowledge of Suessism to a whole new level in this film, which is better, and funnier than The Grinch. (Also, this film is animated)
Yes, this is a kids movie, but it really isn't. This movie is funny enough and entertaining enough for anyone to watch with or without kids. There are jokes in here which everyone can find funny, and also a few which are made just for kids and a few just for adults.
Rating:
Well worth your time.
Related Links:
IMDB
Official Site
Labels: movies
4/11/2008
Full quality videos now here!
As I said not too long ago... full quality videos are now here.
Click the link on the right.
Thanks,
Rob
Click the link on the right.
Thanks,
Rob
Full quality videos
So if you remember a little while ago I began offering downloads on full quality videos on r00ster before the switch over.
Well, those days will return in just a few days!!!
You can download FULL QUALITY videos as soon as a domain switch is over! (Should be within just a few days). The navigation system will be better also (ftp?!?!) Should be great, check for more details in the coming days?
Well, those days will return in just a few days!!!
You can download FULL QUALITY videos as soon as a domain switch is over! (Should be within just a few days). The navigation system will be better also (ftp?!?!) Should be great, check for more details in the coming days?
Name Tag
So I am working on co-op if you didn't already know, and today, I finally got my name tag. It took awhile because the company didn't want to put the request through for whatever reason to get my name tag - or they didn't know how to do it, I am not sure. But today, I finally have the 100% unauthorized unofficial name tag which my group decided to get for me, and its BRIGHT GREEN to match my shoe-laces and sweatshirt. It is also like twice as big as every other name tag here so it takes two name tag holders to hold it up so it won't fall!
4/10/2008
The Bank Job
When I first saw the previews for this movie the first thing that went through my head was "Oh no it's another kind of good action movie like the transporter or crank that succeeds at being cool, but fails at being different." What I got however, was something else entirely.
The Bank Job takes many of the "cheesy" aspects of what you'd expect from an action movie of the same type but combines these aspects with a good storyline, and a well thought out plot. The movie is actually based on (I guess) a real bank robbery which occurred in London. I didn't know that before watching the movie and it doesn't become obvious until the end when they tell you what became of those involved...
Martine Love is caught at an airport on drug related charges. She is then "black-mailed" by part of the government that the only way she can get off these charges is if she steals these pictures out of one of the safe deposit boxes in the bank, with no connection that could ever be traced back to the government. (Not 100% sure if this was the original story of what really happened or added in for dramatic impact). So the crew gets together, and digs a tunnel into the vault to rob the bank but it's not so easy. There are a lot of bumps along the road - and a lot of people get pissed off when they find out that their things have been stolen... There was more in that vault than just the photos....
I really don't want to reveal too much of the story because I feel like this a movie that you really should watch. All in all it is a great action packed movie which keeps you wondering and guessing and hoping. Best of all, it seems possible - unlike many modern action movies, probably since this one is based on actual events, the way everything plays out is fairly believable, which gives me a great deal more respect for the movie. It's a good one, that most people will for sure enjoy.
Rating:
Really, really, good.
Related Links:
IMDB
Official Site
The Bank Job takes many of the "cheesy" aspects of what you'd expect from an action movie of the same type but combines these aspects with a good storyline, and a well thought out plot. The movie is actually based on (I guess) a real bank robbery which occurred in London. I didn't know that before watching the movie and it doesn't become obvious until the end when they tell you what became of those involved...
Martine Love is caught at an airport on drug related charges. She is then "black-mailed" by part of the government that the only way she can get off these charges is if she steals these pictures out of one of the safe deposit boxes in the bank, with no connection that could ever be traced back to the government. (Not 100% sure if this was the original story of what really happened or added in for dramatic impact). So the crew gets together, and digs a tunnel into the vault to rob the bank but it's not so easy. There are a lot of bumps along the road - and a lot of people get pissed off when they find out that their things have been stolen... There was more in that vault than just the photos....
I really don't want to reveal too much of the story because I feel like this a movie that you really should watch. All in all it is a great action packed movie which keeps you wondering and guessing and hoping. Best of all, it seems possible - unlike many modern action movies, probably since this one is based on actual events, the way everything plays out is fairly believable, which gives me a great deal more respect for the movie. It's a good one, that most people will for sure enjoy.
Rating:
Really, really, good.
Related Links:
IMDB
Official Site
4/06/2008
Hitman
It's hard for me to say anything good about this movie. I guess that's a pretty interesting way to start a review. I was definitely a big fan of the first few Hitman games, the others I never really played. The point is that I played the games enough to know the basic storyline and things that go on in the game. I know how the character of Hitman behaves and how he was supposed to act. Basically, the movie is shit compared to the game.
The movie takes the whole storyline and point of the game, tries to stick to it but fails horribly. I highly doubt the people who wrote the movie played the game very much, or if they did they really did not try to base the movie on it, they were just like oh well here's an interesting idea for a character now let's make a shitty movie and get some money off of it.
I don't even know much of what happened in the movie. The storyline was terrible and uninteresting. The character development sucked. It was about a Hitman who seemed to be living in Russia I guess in a house who randomly finds a girl and kidnaps her thinking she has information for him, but she doesn't and then the rest of the movie is about him trying to protect himself and her and stop people who are trying to kill him...
The script is poorly written, the events are non-linear and just not very much care at all seems to have been put into this movie. I am sure it could have been much better if an effort was actually made to create a good film rather than just bank on the fact that at least a certain amount of people will want to see it because it is based on a fairly popular video game.
Rating:
Shit, man.
Related Links:
IMDB
Official Site
The movie takes the whole storyline and point of the game, tries to stick to it but fails horribly. I highly doubt the people who wrote the movie played the game very much, or if they did they really did not try to base the movie on it, they were just like oh well here's an interesting idea for a character now let's make a shitty movie and get some money off of it.
I don't even know much of what happened in the movie. The storyline was terrible and uninteresting. The character development sucked. It was about a Hitman who seemed to be living in Russia I guess in a house who randomly finds a girl and kidnaps her thinking she has information for him, but she doesn't and then the rest of the movie is about him trying to protect himself and her and stop people who are trying to kill him...
The script is poorly written, the events are non-linear and just not very much care at all seems to have been put into this movie. I am sure it could have been much better if an effort was actually made to create a good film rather than just bank on the fact that at least a certain amount of people will want to see it because it is based on a fairly popular video game.
Rating:
Shit, man.
Related Links:
IMDB
Official Site
Labels: movies
4/05/2008
We Own The Night
I've been wanting to see this for awhile and finally got around to it. We Own The Night is the story of a man, Bobby, who is trying to make a decent living in the way he wants to live. Both his father and his brother work for the NYPD, which Bobby respects but doesn't see to be a fitting life for himself. Though it goes unspoken, Bobby's father and brother seem to disagree and really wish that he had chosen to go into the police force.
The friends Bobby makes and the job he holds are slightly shady; he works for a club in Brooklyn (?), which is a good enough job but leads to some associations with some shady characters.
The whole deal ends up evolving into the NYPD coming after drug dealers in the club, Bobby's family being targets by Bobby's colleagues who does even know he is family at first, etc. It's basically a typical film of the genre but manages to keep a fairly unique storyline and hold your interest.
Every time I watch a movie like this I know there is going to be some kind of twist, and this movie is no different. Around the middle of the movie I thought I figured out the twist and it seemed so obvious that I began to lose interest in the movie just a little bit but continued to watch. Then, you find out the twist is something entirely different which was quite a surprise to be though maybe not as satisfying or logical...
All in all, not a GREAT movie, but not a bad movie. Not a bad choice of a movie to watch if you already have some interest in it. If you want or wanted to see it, I recommend watching it. If you've never heard of it before, it's probably best to keep it that way.
Rating:
Related Links:
IMDB
Official Site
The friends Bobby makes and the job he holds are slightly shady; he works for a club in Brooklyn (?), which is a good enough job but leads to some associations with some shady characters.
The whole deal ends up evolving into the NYPD coming after drug dealers in the club, Bobby's family being targets by Bobby's colleagues who does even know he is family at first, etc. It's basically a typical film of the genre but manages to keep a fairly unique storyline and hold your interest.
Every time I watch a movie like this I know there is going to be some kind of twist, and this movie is no different. Around the middle of the movie I thought I figured out the twist and it seemed so obvious that I began to lose interest in the movie just a little bit but continued to watch. Then, you find out the twist is something entirely different which was quite a surprise to be though maybe not as satisfying or logical...
All in all, not a GREAT movie, but not a bad movie. Not a bad choice of a movie to watch if you already have some interest in it. If you want or wanted to see it, I recommend watching it. If you've never heard of it before, it's probably best to keep it that way.
Rating:
Related Links:
IMDB
Official Site
Labels: movies
4/04/2008
Halo 3 versus Call of Duty 4
Chances are, if you have an Xbox 360, you have at least one of these games if not both. But for those of you who don't hopefully this article will shed some light on the subject.
Let me begin by saying both of these games are amazing in their own way and if possible every 360 owner should have both. The criteria i will use is "Single Player", "Local Multiplayer", "Xobx Live", "Funness?", and "X-Factor".
Single Player:
Both games have amazing story lines. Halo being set in the future and the end of a trilogy, and CoD4 in fictional modern times of war. Both games are very linear, you progress through "levels" in the game the way the developers want you too. You don't have much freedom to go off on your own aside from what guns you use and where you shoot them from. I would say Halo is a little more slower pace than CoD4. You don't have action going on all around you at all times. CoD4 just throws you right into the game. You have quick tutorial level and right off the bat are on a battle ship trying to disarm a nuke. Next thing you know the ship is sinking and you are trying to make your way back to the helicopter with your screen sideways following the sound of your team leader. All i have to say is "No one makes the first jump." Call of Duty 4 also offers more varied scenarios. One level you are on a sinking boa, the next your sneaking around radioactive field, and the next you're in a helicopter bombarding anyone who moves. Halo is a little repetitive in my opinion. The levels change but the game play is very similar throughout the game. On the other hand, Halo 3 has a coop mode which I personally enjoy much more than just straight single player. The game plays exactly like single player but there are now two of you. I would have to give this one to Call of Duty due to the fast paced ever changing game play offered.
Winner: Call of Duty 4
Local Multiplayer
Both games offer local muliplayer of 4 people split screen. You can customize radar, headshots, maps, and all the other things you'de expect in a first person shooter. Halo 3 just takes it to the next level. You can customize maps in the forge and drop weapons to make the game entirely different. You can also have matches like soccer or warthog racs. There are two things things that i wish both games had. Call of DUty 4 has a kill cam which is awesome for rubbing in a kill or finding where that annoying sniper who always kills you is. Halo 3 offers match replays at the end of a match. Both are very useful features and i wish kill cam was available in Halo and match replays in CoD4.The variety offered in halo multiplayer takes the cake hands down.
Winner: Halo 3
Xbox Live
This is where the games start to differ. Halo 3 allows you and 3 other friends to join you from one xbox and play over live while in CoD you can only have one person per xbox which can be annoying when you've got people over and not enough xboxs. Once again, halo offers much more variety including racing and soccer among others. The gameplay in both is very similar to the local mulitplayer for both games. The differences lie in the wait time for finding games. In call of DUty 4 you can move from match to match within seconds where as In Halo 3 you can have wait times of up to 10 minutes or even more just to find one match. This can get very annoying especially if you are impatioent. Because of this i would have to award this to CoD4.
Winner: Call of Duty 4
Funness?
Both games are a lot of fun especially when you play with friends whether its local or over live. I honestly can't give the prize of fun to one game over the other because i find myself switching between both games and often in one night.
Winner: Tie
The final tally leaves Call of Duty 4 ahead by a point over Halo 3. I enjoy both games tremendously but i do have to give it to CoD4 for my favorite Xbox 360 Shooter game.
OVERALL WINNER: Call of Duty 4
Let me begin by saying both of these games are amazing in their own way and if possible every 360 owner should have both. The criteria i will use is "Single Player", "Local Multiplayer", "Xobx Live", "Funness?", and "X-Factor".
Single Player:
Both games have amazing story lines. Halo being set in the future and the end of a trilogy, and CoD4 in fictional modern times of war. Both games are very linear, you progress through "levels" in the game the way the developers want you too. You don't have much freedom to go off on your own aside from what guns you use and where you shoot them from. I would say Halo is a little more slower pace than CoD4. You don't have action going on all around you at all times. CoD4 just throws you right into the game. You have quick tutorial level and right off the bat are on a battle ship trying to disarm a nuke. Next thing you know the ship is sinking and you are trying to make your way back to the helicopter with your screen sideways following the sound of your team leader. All i have to say is "No one makes the first jump." Call of Duty 4 also offers more varied scenarios. One level you are on a sinking boa, the next your sneaking around radioactive field, and the next you're in a helicopter bombarding anyone who moves. Halo is a little repetitive in my opinion. The levels change but the game play is very similar throughout the game. On the other hand, Halo 3 has a coop mode which I personally enjoy much more than just straight single player. The game plays exactly like single player but there are now two of you. I would have to give this one to Call of Duty due to the fast paced ever changing game play offered.
Winner: Call of Duty 4
Local Multiplayer
Both games offer local muliplayer of 4 people split screen. You can customize radar, headshots, maps, and all the other things you'de expect in a first person shooter. Halo 3 just takes it to the next level. You can customize maps in the forge and drop weapons to make the game entirely different. You can also have matches like soccer or warthog racs. There are two things things that i wish both games had. Call of DUty 4 has a kill cam which is awesome for rubbing in a kill or finding where that annoying sniper who always kills you is. Halo 3 offers match replays at the end of a match. Both are very useful features and i wish kill cam was available in Halo and match replays in CoD4.The variety offered in halo multiplayer takes the cake hands down.
Winner: Halo 3
Xbox Live
This is where the games start to differ. Halo 3 allows you and 3 other friends to join you from one xbox and play over live while in CoD you can only have one person per xbox which can be annoying when you've got people over and not enough xboxs. Once again, halo offers much more variety including racing and soccer among others. The gameplay in both is very similar to the local mulitplayer for both games. The differences lie in the wait time for finding games. In call of DUty 4 you can move from match to match within seconds where as In Halo 3 you can have wait times of up to 10 minutes or even more just to find one match. This can get very annoying especially if you are impatioent. Because of this i would have to award this to CoD4.
Winner: Call of Duty 4
Funness?
Both games are a lot of fun especially when you play with friends whether its local or over live. I honestly can't give the prize of fun to one game over the other because i find myself switching between both games and often in one night.
Winner: Tie
The final tally leaves Call of Duty 4 ahead by a point over Halo 3. I enjoy both games tremendously but i do have to give it to CoD4 for my favorite Xbox 360 Shooter game.
OVERALL WINNER: Call of Duty 4
Not Worth Watching: Cards
This is what I have to go through every year when I visit my family!!
4/03/2008
Not Worth Watching: Driving Days
Tops Inconsistencies
Tops is a grocery store near my grandmother's house in Buffalo, NY. Needless to say there are some inconsistencies.
Labels: r00ster specials
4/02/2008
Back To Boston (Visit Over Break)
I'm Hungry NOT At College: Ho Toy
During break Egin and I became hungry. So we ventured out in the middle of the night to get Chinese at the only place in Worcester that would be open... Ho Toy.
Labels: r00ster specials
So hang on...
Is this a movie blog?
What exactly is the purpose of this thing?
What exactly is the purpose of this thing?
No Country For Old Men
I just watched No Country For Old Men last week and quite honestly I don't see what the big deal is. Everyone is talking about it and praising it as a simply amazing movie and it just isn't. Sure, it's a GOOD movie but there is nothing special about it really. It isn't really that different from other action movies, at least in my opinion.
Labels: movies
21
This movie is about the real life story of a team of kids led by a professor at MIT who learned to work as a group to count cards and went to vegas on the weekends to play blackjack and basically just complete dominate.
For some reason this movie got mixed reviews, mostly bad ones from all the well known critics. Well, you might not trust me, but if you do, take my word for it that these reviews are wrong and that this movie is really good. Note however that I have not read the book, so if you have perhaps the movie is a poor adaptation?
The movie centers on an average kid, Ben, who really isn't too average at all because he is absolutely amazing at numbers and math. He has a 4.0 GPA and MIT and has just been accepted into a pre-med program and Harvard. The only problem is that it is $300,000 to go there and he doesn't have the money. He is one of 70 applicants for a scholarship which would pay his way but "...has a resume that is just as impressive as most of the other applicants..." and needs to "dazzle" if he wants to be given it... Enter Kevin Spacey, the professor. He takes a keen interest in Ben since the first day he has him in his class. Why? Because Ben thinks outside the box. Basically hes a genius from another mother... It's some crazy stuff. So he talks to Ben about a spot that just opened up on their Blackjack team. At first, Ben isn't interested but then this really hot girl that he wants to sleep with talks him into it. So he joins. And he loves it because it's awesome and he made a crapload of money.
Everything is going fine until Morpheus (yes, from the matrix), who just so happens to run casino security at basically every casino in Vegas somehow at the same time catches on and starts putting down his iron fist... But counting cards isn't illegal...
All in all this isn't probably the kind of movie where you will say "I really liked that movie and I'm going to buy it". However, if you go in with the right expectation that this movie is going to have a decent storyline and be extremely entertaining, that is exactly what you will get from this movie, and it is completely worth watching.
Rating:
(Or 16.8 out of 21)
Related Links:
IMDB
Official Site
For some reason this movie got mixed reviews, mostly bad ones from all the well known critics. Well, you might not trust me, but if you do, take my word for it that these reviews are wrong and that this movie is really good. Note however that I have not read the book, so if you have perhaps the movie is a poor adaptation?
The movie centers on an average kid, Ben, who really isn't too average at all because he is absolutely amazing at numbers and math. He has a 4.0 GPA and MIT and has just been accepted into a pre-med program and Harvard. The only problem is that it is $300,000 to go there and he doesn't have the money. He is one of 70 applicants for a scholarship which would pay his way but "...has a resume that is just as impressive as most of the other applicants..." and needs to "dazzle" if he wants to be given it... Enter Kevin Spacey, the professor. He takes a keen interest in Ben since the first day he has him in his class. Why? Because Ben thinks outside the box. Basically hes a genius from another mother... It's some crazy stuff. So he talks to Ben about a spot that just opened up on their Blackjack team. At first, Ben isn't interested but then this really hot girl that he wants to sleep with talks him into it. So he joins. And he loves it because it's awesome and he made a crapload of money.
Everything is going fine until Morpheus (yes, from the matrix), who just so happens to run casino security at basically every casino in Vegas somehow at the same time catches on and starts putting down his iron fist... But counting cards isn't illegal...
All in all this isn't probably the kind of movie where you will say "I really liked that movie and I'm going to buy it". However, if you go in with the right expectation that this movie is going to have a decent storyline and be extremely entertaining, that is exactly what you will get from this movie, and it is completely worth watching.
Rating:
(Or 16.8 out of 21)
Related Links:
IMDB
Official Site
Labels: movies
The Golden Compass
So last night I was faced with a really tough decision: Play PS3 or watch The Golden Compass. I started to play PS3 but the game cheated, so I watched The Golden Compass instead. I was expecting this movie to be good, and it was, but I didn't really know what it was about. All I knew about the movie was that it looked like a narnia rip-off and that it had a sweet ass giant bear in it. Now, I kind of like narnia. But I fucking love giant bears, that is sweet. So I basically just had to watch this movie.
Anyways, it's about this world that isn't too different from ours, the difference is that in our world peoples souls live inside our bodies, but in this world the soul lives outside the body in the form of a creature called a "demon". When you get hurt, your demon gets hurt, and when your demon gets hurt, you get hurt. Anyways this is the start of a series I think so all the details are a little blurry, but basically there is a ministry that is trying to impose strict rules on people about what they can and can not do. There is a discovery of "dust" which is basically the opening of a passage between the worlds - new worlds like ours where demons live inside the body. Anyway, the ministry hates the mention of dust and the study of dust and they want to completely rid all mention of it. They want to make the world a horrible place where people are devoid of freedoms, etc.
So this woman played by Nicole Kidman comes and tries to take the main character, this little girl away, but before that she (the girl) is given a golden compass which the chosen one can read to answer any question truthfully. The girl escapes and finds the bear and the Egyptians which are like these crazy bad ass people that are mad good at shooting arrows. There is an epic battle and a sick ass bear fight and they have to rescue all the children taken away by the ministry....
But that's only part one, and my terrible description of this movie, but in all honesty it's sweet and worth watching just for the bear fight and to master your fear.
Rating:
BEARS ROCK!
Related Links:
IMDB
Official Site
Anyways, it's about this world that isn't too different from ours, the difference is that in our world peoples souls live inside our bodies, but in this world the soul lives outside the body in the form of a creature called a "demon". When you get hurt, your demon gets hurt, and when your demon gets hurt, you get hurt. Anyways this is the start of a series I think so all the details are a little blurry, but basically there is a ministry that is trying to impose strict rules on people about what they can and can not do. There is a discovery of "dust" which is basically the opening of a passage between the worlds - new worlds like ours where demons live inside the body. Anyway, the ministry hates the mention of dust and the study of dust and they want to completely rid all mention of it. They want to make the world a horrible place where people are devoid of freedoms, etc.
So this woman played by Nicole Kidman comes and tries to take the main character, this little girl away, but before that she (the girl) is given a golden compass which the chosen one can read to answer any question truthfully. The girl escapes and finds the bear and the Egyptians which are like these crazy bad ass people that are mad good at shooting arrows. There is an epic battle and a sick ass bear fight and they have to rescue all the children taken away by the ministry....
But that's only part one, and my terrible description of this movie, but in all honesty it's sweet and worth watching just for the bear fight and to master your fear.
Rating:
BEARS ROCK!
Related Links:
IMDB
Official Site
Labels: movies
Invites
If you know anyone who should be invited to contribute to the blog that I didn't invite, or if you feel you should be invited please contact me.
New r00ster.com
Welcome to the new r00ster.com. Yeah, so it's pretty different from the old site a lot of people might have been used to, but in the end I feel like this is a change for the better.
The site is now primarily a blog, which will allow for more updates, easier updates, and contributions from a number of users other than myself.
With the growing ease of use and popularity of sites on the internet like youtube it is no longer necessary to waste effort, space, and bandwidth to post videos directly on r00ster.com - youtube is a site like what I always wished existed when r00ster was first created, and the fact that our videos can now be easily access by those who visit r00ster and at the same time be open to a wider audience is, in all honest, great. r00ster was always supposed to a a "friend zone" if you will, and I feel like this blog is going to only enhance that.
So what does the future look like? More videos which can be posted on youtube and embedded in the blog. More random blog updates and events. And more updates from people like YOU. Anyone with a google account (which you can also make for free if you don't have) can be given access to add entries to the r00ster blog. It's easy. Right now I want to give access to anyone who has had any part in r00ster's 4 year history. These people should contact me with their google account information for access.
So what content might we see on r00ster? Well, that is entirely up to the contributors. Use your imagination. Discuss, post, etc.
The site is now primarily a blog, which will allow for more updates, easier updates, and contributions from a number of users other than myself.
With the growing ease of use and popularity of sites on the internet like youtube it is no longer necessary to waste effort, space, and bandwidth to post videos directly on r00ster.com - youtube is a site like what I always wished existed when r00ster was first created, and the fact that our videos can now be easily access by those who visit r00ster and at the same time be open to a wider audience is, in all honest, great. r00ster was always supposed to a a "friend zone" if you will, and I feel like this blog is going to only enhance that.
So what does the future look like? More videos which can be posted on youtube and embedded in the blog. More random blog updates and events. And more updates from people like YOU. Anyone with a google account (which you can also make for free if you don't have) can be given access to add entries to the r00ster blog. It's easy. Right now I want to give access to anyone who has had any part in r00ster's 4 year history. These people should contact me with their google account information for access.
So what content might we see on r00ster? Well, that is entirely up to the contributors. Use your imagination. Discuss, post, etc.
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]