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Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category

The State of Winter/Spring Television

Posted in Reviews, Television, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 1, 2013 | Leave a Comment »

Parks and Recreation - Season 5

It’s no secret that my love for television extends beyond many of my other loves.  These include video games, movies, drawing, books, and comic books.  Doing these recaps are my favorite because it allows you to share with everyone about your favorite shows and gives others a chance to chime in their opinions on what I’m missing out on!  Trust me, these kind of things actually happen because it’s because of my readers that I got into Modern Family!

Anywho, Winter/Spring television is very much started and some shows only have a week or two left before their finales, but I figured now would be a good time to recap on what’s happened and why you should pick up on the shows I’m watching!  11 Shows this season, can you keep up?

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I Want You to Remember Clark…The Dark Knight Returns Review

Posted in Books, Movies, Reviews, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on March 25, 2013 | 1 Comment »

dark knight returns 1

Did you ever want to know what would happen to Batman when he would inevitably become aged?  In Frank Miller’s non-canonical but still incredibly relevant, “The Dark Knight Returns”,  follows Batman in his golden years, 10 years after retirement.  As Gotham is still in the dark shadows, a new generation of criminals who do not know fear try to take over Gotham.  Only so long can the Dark Knight sit idly as he watches the city he gave half of his life to burns.  But he isn’t the only one watching Gotham…When he inevitably comes back, an old foe’s spark is reignited to return as well.

Spoilers beware

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Kick-Ass the Movie vs. Kick-Ass the Graphic Novel(s)

Posted in Books, Movies, Reviews, tagged , , , , , , , , , on December 3, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

kick-ass

Kick-Ass, a title you’ve only probably heard as a 2010 movie that relatively little people saw, revolved around a boy who wanted to become a superhero in everyday life.  The movie was based on a comic book written by Mark Millar (Wanted) and illustrated by John Romita, Jr.  Being a super geek myself, I’ve found myself in the same position that I wish I could be a superhero in real life.  Unfortunately this is not the type of comic book or movie to inspire you to do so.  Both tales are dark, one being significantly darker than the other, with cutting dialogue, violent page spreads, and snappy pop culture references.

Seeing as not many people have read or even seen the movie, I’ll keep this article light on the major spoilers.

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Metropolis – The Bedrock of Science Fiction

Posted in Articles, Movies, Reviews, tagged , , , , on November 20, 2012 | 3 Comments »

There are a lot of options to choose from when looking for something to watch on Netflix Instant – sometimes too many options to tell what is good and what isn’t. There is one movie available which stands out as a groundbreaking example of one of the world’s first sci-fi films.

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The Amazing Spider-Man is Darker, More Adorable, and Still Unnecessary

Posted in Movies, Reviews on November 9, 2012 | 1 Comment »

The Amazing Spider-Man came out on DVD and Blu-Ray this past week and I was able to finally watch what I didn’t feel obliged to watch in the movie theaters.  After only 5 years, it’s pretty absurd to get another reboot, with other reboots of such short range only being [in my knowledge] Sweden’s 2008 Let the Right One In and America’s 2010 adaptation Let Me In or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’s Swedish and America’s version in 2009 and 2011 versions, respectively. But in all honesty, rebooting foreign films is somewhat understandable versus the Sony reboot with totally different cast and director.  So this was definitely an interesting watch.  Balancing whether or not it stands in itself from the original trilogy starting in 2002 or if it’s better or worse doesn’t necessarily matter, because it already made loads of money and sequels are on the way.  This new series will eventually overshadow the original whether it’s better or worse simply because it’s more contemporary.  However, I still find it interesting to write about as the new direction they took is definitely worth writing about.

You all know Spider-Man’s story.  Peter Parker is a textbook nerd with a descent heart and gets bitten by a mutative spider.  Director Marc Webb [500 Days of Summer] took a darker approach to the film with more realistic [but still fairly absurd considering the source material] storylines and better chemistry between leads Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone [in my opinion] than Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst.  But let’s get into the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

Spoilers Away!

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Assassin’s Creed 3 Journal: Day 7

Posted in Reviews, Video Games, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on November 6, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

As I finished a test on October 30th, I left the classroom defeated and broken.  In a rage of impulsiveness, I went to the closest Gamestop and purchased Assassin’s Creed 3 on the fly.  I had read a couple of reviews and I actually wasn’t expecting myself to buy this game.  At least until the Game of the Year Edition came out with all the DLC loaded.  But I was in such a foul mood after that test, I needed some immediate happiness.  So after purchasing the game and throwing possibly over 10-20 hours into it already [maybe more], it’s been quite an interesting road.

Assassin’s Creed 3 picks up where Assassin’s Creed: Revelations dropped off [which I didn't get].  My familiarity with the franchise only extends to 2 of the four previously released: Assassin’s Creed II and Brotherhood.  The story is somewhat bloated between the present day  Assassin/Templar conflict and the historical setting that’s essentially simulated.  I have little care for the relation between the two and find myself loathing the present day stuff, so I’m going to focus this review on the historical setting chosen.

You play a Native American, Connor, during the peak of the American Revolution.  The colonies are in conflict and the British Royal Army continues its oppression.  Given the skills of a masterful assassin, it’s your job to turn the tides of the war making friends like Samuel Adams and George Washington along the way.

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Batman: The Long Halloween Review

Posted in Books, Reviews, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on November 2, 2012 | Leave a Comment »


Loeb and Sale

There isn’t a more fitting review to write a couple of  days after Halloween.  A while back, I announced my recent expedition to graphic novels.  About half of my purchases were Batman-related.  My recent obsession with Batman is quite deep: drawings [see them here] and a replay of  what is my opinion the best video game of 2011, Arkham City.  Reading the Long Halloween was another great way to solidify my love for the Batman universe.  Widely regarded as one of the best Batman Graphic Novels of all time,The Long Halloween adds surprising depth to the Batman universe and in Christopher Nolan’s words, “The Long Halloween is more than a comic book, it’s an epic tragedy”.  This review is riddled with references to Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, as it’s well known that this graphic novel served as inspiration to the writing of that movie.

This is a recommendation piece, so I’ve allowed as minimal spoilers as possible.

Historical Overview and Basic Plot of Jeph Loeb

Written in 1996 and published in 1997, The Long Halloween was written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Tim Sale.  The graphic novel itself received critical acclaim and created two sequels to this series: Dark Victory and Catwoman: When in Rome. The basic plot of Jeph Loeb’s story is written during the early days of Batman’s career where crime mob families are still adjusting to the Dark Knight’s presence.  But when a serial killer sparks a mob war between two families, Batman tries his best to get down to the identity of the killer before more people are killed. (more…)

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Big Things Have Small Beginnings – Prometheus Review + Open Discussion

Posted in Movies, Reviews, tagged , , , , , , on October 5, 2012 | 4 Comments »

I got around to finally watching Prometheus having skipped out on it when it was out in theaters.  I didn’t really know what to expect as a whole although I did watch the trailer and was pleasantly surprised on how hair raising it was.  Therefore, I wasn’t too surprised and even disappointed when I saw the movie and thought it to be as hair raising and spine tingling as the trailer.  Ridley Scott sure knows how to make a pretty damn entertaining movie.  The cast is great, with special shout-out to Michael Fassbender’s David.  The writers however have another issue coming at them, while they did pen a great cast of personalities and create an interesting premise, they ultimately failed to deliver on the bringing the story to some descent closure.  First a short summary and then read on below for a SPOILER FILLED  critique and review as well as hopefully the beginning of a great discussion on a definite “love it/hate it” type movie.

Dr. Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Dr. Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) are archeologists/anthropologists [I'm not entirely sure on what their profession is, seeing as they're pretty well versed in a lot of stuff regarding humanity] who have found an alien connection throughout human history.  They appeal to a research and development company to charter a 2 year journey to an obscure planet.  Joining them are a crew of geologists, biologists, pilots, an android and commanding officers.  When they arrive on the planet they find themselves far more over their heads than thought possible.

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Salmon Fishing in the Yemen Review

Posted in Movies, Reviews, tagged , , , , , , , on October 3, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Review: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen was perhaps my most anticipated film voyage as of late apart from maybe Perks of Being a Wallflower. The British film is based off of a novel of the same name by Paul Torday. It premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and achieved widespread release in 2012. The premise is eccentric and endearing. Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt are the dream team of charm. And there is something romantic to me about salmon. I want to start this review of “Salmon Fishing” the way one of my favorite movies 500 Days of Summer began. This is the story of a boy meets movie, “but you should know upfront, this is not a love story.” (more…)

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Party Down is a Hilarious Workplace Comedy

Posted in Reviews, Television, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 1, 2012 | Leave a Comment »


Starz

The workplace comedy.  It’s funny how work place comedies entertain us through something that we’re supposed to be confronting with everyday.  For those who don’t know what the workplace comedy is, it’s like a movie or television show that is primarily set in a single business and follows the antics of its employees, using jokes that are relatable to anyone in a similar situation [queue the entire workforce].  The comedy is written around office norms and situations and the antics that can occur.  While some movies and television can be solid escapism, workplace comedy juggernauts like Clerks, Office Space, The Office, etc. can certainly point out some of the funnier aspects in what many of us consider mundane.

Queue the most recent workplace comedy I’ve been fortunate enough to watch: Starz’s Party Down, starring Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan, and Ken Marino.  This show aired in 2009 and was cancelled after 2 seasons.  There have been talks about a movie release, but it doesn’t seem enough gas is on the burner, so I’m writing this article to maybe get 1 or 2 of you involved with watching to increase the cult following.  Set is California, the comedy revolves around a party catering company that primarily consists of failed/working actors using the catering company Party Down as a means of making money before finally making it big.  Self-centered, lazy, horny, ignorant and [often] drugged up, the Pardy Down crew ‘caters’ to a myriad of hilariously great situations that involve brushing with a Russian Mob, a Porn Star Dinner, and an orgy.  Read more as to why I recommend you become a follower of this cult hit [more cult followers = more likely chance of a movie getting made, just look at what Arrested Development accomplished].

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If We Burn, You Burn with Us: Mockingjay Review

Posted in Books, Reviews, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 28, 2012 | 5 Comments »

It took a while, but I finally got to the end of Mockingjay, the third book of the Hunger Games Trilogy.  To be straightforward with it, I’ll be honest, I didn’t enjoy this one.  People say that the third book is their least favorite, but this book became so much of a chore to finish, that I ended up resenting it for putting me through it in order to finish.  The adventures of Katniss Everdeen have long worn me down with her whining and essential uselessness, and the finale of the war for Panem through her eyes is so boring and disappointing that it kind of put a sour taste in my mouth regarding the whole series.  And I find it even harder to believe that this is the movie they’ll be splitting up into two parts.  Below, my list of both my distastes and liked moments of the Hunger Games Trilogy Finale.  Spoilers below.

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Now Playing: Borderlands 2

Posted in Reviews, Video Games, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 24, 2012 | 1 Comment »


All images owned by Gearbox Software

Since my midnight pick up of Borderlands 2, it’s an understatement saying that it’s been a tremendous trending event in my life.  I’ve had about a week with the game and I’ve thrown over 40 hours into it so far.  With other places like IGN, Gamespot, and other professional sites giving reviews of having played even more hours than I have, I decided to share some of my experiences and impressions instead.

Any Problem with the First Game? Consider it Fixed

If your beef with the first game was the dry settings, similar AI, and bland/uncompelling story, then start praising Gearbox for taking the time to listen to their audience and fix all these problems.  It’s not uncommon knowledge that the settings are way ore beautiful, the enemies are way more diversified, and the story is much more sensical and even worthwhile.  Even some smaller issues with the game like lack of personalization of your characters are attempted to be fixed.  Beforehand, ‘treasure hunting’ was the primary motivation for the vault hunters, but the game makes somewhat an effort to try and draw why these new characters are on Pandora in the first place.  And if you were confused as to why the originals are in Pandora, seeing them again certainly fills in some plot holes.

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Walking in the Garden: The Wire Series Recommendation

Posted in Reviews, Television, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 7, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

It’s been over a year since I pledged to watch The Wire and I’ve finally accomplished it.  People have gone to great lengths to define the greatest television drama of all time, with The Wire more than often reaching the finals if not being the victor.  That’s what truly inspired me to get in on this in the first place.  I mean, regardless of content, personal taste, or opinion, if this many people are praising it or even talking about it as much as they are, I figured it would definitely be worth the shot.

So 5 seasons later, which equivocates to over 40 hours, [5 seasons with about 10 episodes each episode having 50 minutes] here I stand, finally having an opinion on what is regarded as one of the greatest shows on television.  And shit, boy did it not disappoint.  We’ll keep this discussion spoiler free as I’ll tread lightly on some of the high points of the series.  Read on below to either learn about the Wire or simply relive some memories.

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Savages: Movie Opinion and Lessons Learned

Posted in Movies, Reviews, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 5, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Savages

There are many reviews for Savages available online from critics far more eloquent and accomplished than I. So I wanted to forgo the review and take this opportunity to share the lessons I learned from this wild beast of a film.

But first I can’t resist offering a brief comment regarding my opinion of the movie in the form of a recipe. Savages is three and a half quarts of spectacularly brutal drug trade violence and suspense. Add in two tablespoons of “war on drugs” satire. Take a fresh pinch of Benicio Del Toro psychopath and mix it in with a dab of hilariously corrupt John Travolta. Grind up the lives of 3 people deeply in love before tossing in. Bake the entire concoction for 131 minutes in the Laguna Beach sun. The final dish should entrance, excite, and terrify you. It will be beautiful and haunting. Dare I say it willI be the best dish you’ve sampled this summer. Don’t forget to serve to a chilling Salma Hayek drug kingpin. Or maybe it was don’t forget to serve chilled? Regardless one bite will delight. The sensation is not unlike the tears of joy too many jalapeños bring.

 

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Gliding Over All: Breaking Bad Review

Posted in Reviews, Television, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 3, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Sorry for the late review, but Labor Day’s kept me pretty busy this time around.

I’ve overall felt that I’ve done a pretty bad job at reviewing Breaking Bad.  As I finished the episode and sat down and wrote my article, I went to some of my favorite other pop culture websites to see what they had to say.  To be quite frank: they’re better than me at this.  They’ve pointed out a numerous amount of things that simply went over my head and that I never would’ve came to conclusion to.  They theorize some of the most absurd but sensical things [oxymoron] and are all around better at discussing Breaking Bad than me.  So instead of riding on their coattails, and claiming their ideas be my own, I direct you to some of the most passionate Breaking Bad watchers out there.

I hope you enjoyed this season as much as I did.  It certainly will set up the season finale well and I can’t believe I have to wait 10 whole months for it to happen.

Upproxx Talks Breaking Bad

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9 Reasons Why You Should Watch The Newsroom

Posted in Articles, Lists, Reviews, Television, tagged , , , , , , , on August 29, 2012 | 2 Comments »

 

Coming at ya with zero spoilers

1. There really is something wrong with the mainstream media

For those of you who have not seen the show here is the one sentence Wikipedia synopsis. “It features an ensemble cast including Jeff Daniels as anchor Will McAvoy, who, together with his staff set out to put on a news show in the face of corporate and commercial obstacles and their own personal entanglements.” The premise behind this news show is that it will be one that will present only unbiased facts that facilitate relevant, honest debate with the intention of informing American voters. I interpret this as a deliberate and exhilarating smackdown on the lacking mainstream media that people patronize today. I should mention now that this is a largely political show. A politically interested viewer will get more from this show. If you are not at all interested in politics… still watch the show.

 

Jon Stewart said it best. The mainstream media, particularly Fox News and MSNBC, is utterly biased towards “sensationalism, conflict and laziness;” in addition to “relentless partisanship.” I wholeheartedly agree with Jon Stewart and that is why, in addition to its quality drama, I think The Newsroom is so refreshing. Whether you agree or not The Newsroom will make you re-evaluate your opinion on how news is presented to you. And it will do so by respinning the biggest news stories of this past year.

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Say My Name: Breaking Bad Summary and Review

Posted in Reviews, Television, tagged , , , , , , , on August 27, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Breaking Bad aired last night and I’m reeling.  I admit I expected a lot of the events to happen, but the execution was exciting as always.  The soundtrack this year is absolutely astounding and fitting for so many occasions.  I even thought of Drive at a certain point.  Anywho, this episode, Say My Name, is the episode before the season finale.  As a whole after seeing this episode, I’m curious how it will all wrap up, considering that this episode didn’t really set up anything major to happen.  There was a lot of resolution in many places, and could honestly have been the season finale itself.  That means huge things will happen next episode and they’ll happen quickly.  Anywho, let’s summarize what happened last night below.  As always, major spoilers below!

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Fall TV Preview

Posted in Reviews, Television, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 21, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Fall TV is upon us and it nothing is more exciting than scheduling days of the week with my favorite tv shows to look forward to.  The glorious return of some favorites such as Parks and Recreation, Happy Endings, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia are sure to make the weeks better and then Sunday night is filled with madness as well.  Not football madness, but the 9:00 and 10:00 spot will be heavily competed for when it comes to Dexter, The Walking Dead, and Boardwalk Empire.  How do you guys cope with so much television?  Don’t you dare say “I don’t watch it”, because that’s inexcusable.  Just kidding, but anywho, I’ve compiled the trailers and expectations of some of my favorite shows, so check ‘em out below!  The spoilers in the drama season are likely to be huge, so tread lightly!

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Buyout: Breaking Bad Review

Posted in Reviews, Television, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 20, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Two more episodes until the ‘season’ finale of Breaking Bad.  I’m assuming this most recent episode is the final set up before the explosive finale.  There are a lot of loose ends to knot up before we get there, and hopefully most of them are finished up before we have to wait an entire year before we see the resolution.  This episode is primarily a quick wrap up of what happened last as what most episodes are, but this we learn a couple of interesting new things that make us guess twice about end game each character is aiming at.  Enough vagueness, read below for the spoiler filled summary and review of the episode.

All images belong to AMC.
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We’re On Your Side – Catching Fire Review

Posted in Books, Reviews, tagged , , , , , , , on August 17, 2012 | 6 Comments »

It doesn’t take long for me to finish Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins’s second book in her Hunger Games Trilogy.  After the face paced finish of the first book, I was hungry for more Hunger Games [I bet THAT hasn’t been used before].  And with only 50 pages in, I got exactly what I was looking for.  Catching Fire forgoes a lot of the character development and setting up of Panem and dives deeper into its infrastructure and functionality.  It was overall neat as I was wondering how Katniss would be involved in all this, but I definitely wasn’t disappointed.

Although it seemed rushed and devoid of any of the vivid descriptions that made the first one more interesting and other books overall more colorful [George R.R. Martin could’ve spent an entire chapter of the Hunger Games describing a room vs. the quick plot advances in Collins’s style], I think Catching Fire was an overall better book plot wise and kept me even more glued to the pages than the first book.  And that’s definitely saying something. Major books spoilers below!

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