View From Heaven

Breaking the Silence

2011-07-21T01:51:00.005-04:00

Just wanted to leave a note here, for passers by. After almost 8 years, different hosts, and several pleas to try and get this site the attention and variety it once craved, I've come to terms with what it's become.

It's not much, but it was a nice 8 year chapter of my life, and the site will live on as proof of that. Sure, our old hosts have long gone, and thus some of this chapter is missing. But I'm ok with that. I'm proud of the work both my team and myself have done over the years, and I'm kind of shocked that we all managed to run this on our own free time for that long. I've made some great friends over the years thanks to VFH, both near and far, and if that's all I have to remind myself of my time here then it was worth it.

This isn't the first semi-depressing letter I've written here, but it's most likely the last. I've just become too busy with other work to actually maintain this by myself for no compensation.

I won't close the site or our social media accounts, I could never bring myself to do so after all the time we've put in, but updates on our Facebook and Twitter will probably be kept to a minimum barring a few note-worthy links here and there. It's not much, but it's the best I can do given the time I have.

However, I myself am not going away. Feel free to follow my art blog, Twitter, or even my Tumblr; each of which are generally regularly updated with my thoughts and latest works. When I'm not self-promoting I'm generally talking about movies, music, TV, comics (and all the other crap I like and would generally speak about here in full length when given the time). Who knows, maybe some day I'll have a reason to come back to this place and start writing again, wouldn't that be swell?

Thank you to everyone, I'll see you later.

Green Lantern Review

2011-06-25T00:49:00.004-04:00

I'm breaking my hiatus from movie reviews because I'm honestly so distraught right now. I've seen a lot of great films so far this year; Rango, Source Code, Thor, Super 8, X-Men: First Class, among others, that sadly I was too busy at the time to write raving reviews about them. And hell, as disappointing as Tron: Legacy was, at least it was cool to look at and listen to.

Green Lantern, on the the other hand, is no where in the realm of these films. And it really really troubles me to say that. I have wanted to see a live-action Green Lantern film since I was a kid. Sure, my tiny brain was entertained by the campy Batman films I grew up with, but how awesome would it have been to see some guy floating around in space with a ring that can do anything?! That's like, the most BASIC way to explain Green Lantern comics, at its core that's what it is, and it just expands from there. This film, doesn't even get that right.

No no, instead we have a Stark-esque jock who doesn't really do anything, and suddenly has flashbacks of his never mentioned father while flying. And then we have Hector Hammond, a no-body of the DC Universe who might actually have more depth and screen time than the titular character. Whom of course becomes nonexistent by the film's end so why did we waste so much time on him anyways? Oh, and just for the hell of it, throw in Parallax, a relatively new DC creation that had absolutely nothing to do with Hal Jordan's origin.

In fact, fuck it, lets take Hal Jordon, the Green Lantern Corps, and all other things people might recognize, throw them out, and hand them over to a director who admittedly said he was not familiar with the character. Yeah, that sounds great; while we're at it, have 5 or so people handle writing duties so it doesn't feel like 1 film at all. Does this sound ridiculous to you? It does to me. I don't understand how no one in charge of the characters handling at DC thought something was wrong here.

This film is a mess. Don't be fooled by all the advertising and promotional materials that show all the crazy alien Green Lanterns or Hal on Oa, because no, people can't handle that. Instead, lets put most of the film on Earth, have the Green Lantern save maybe 1 person, and not introduce any of the real Green Lantern elements until 2/3 into the film. Yeah, this is sounding great right? .... right? ... hello?

The biggest problem with this film is that clearly, no one knew what film they wanted to make. There's a slow paced story of a man who can't outgrow his father's shadow (where this came in, I have no idea), there's another story about some bald guy that looks older than his dad, there's a story about crazy space politics, there's a story of revenge and supposed corruption, there might be a love triangle? Seriously, there's just way too many stories going on in this film and none of them are interesting enough to care. In the end credits, there's suddenly a scene of Sinestro putting on the yellow ring and changing, clearly setting up a sequel. Why? I couldn't tell you, at least not if I had never heard of the character before, because he has such little screen time in the film I have no idea what his motivations would be to do so.

Which leads into the other problem, trying to be Marvel. Marvel did a bold thing with Iron Man, and eventually The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor and the upcoming Captain America. It made a film with the hopes of starting a cinematic Marvel Universe in which all its characters inhabit. But what Iron Man did right was it allowed itself to be its own stand alone film, only really setting up its connection to the other films after the credits; something both Iron Man 2 and Thor got wrong. Green Lantern, while not making any clear links to other DC heroes, was made with the purpose of eventually setting up an expanded universe. It's here it goes for the Iron Man 2/Tron: Legacy approach; instead of having one, cohesive film that works really well by itself, we have a film that is clearly setting itself up for a much better/more interesting sequel, and forgets that it needs that first great film to get people actually interested in what's to come.

What else is wrong? Where to start? Casting: No. Ryan Reynolds, you are not Hal Jordan. As soon as I heard he was cast I immediately had doubts about this film. Hal Jordan isn't this kooky wise guy who goes around making jokes, showing everyone and their dad (literally) what he can do; he's also not bronzed. Hal's seen some shit, he has a sense of right/wrong and a strong demeanor. Reynolds is just Reynolds here, his persona works for Deadpool or Wally West's Flash, but not Hal Jordan, never Hal Jordan. Blake Lively, sure, she's got a body, but again, Carol Ferris is never portrayed as this hot tanned just-over-teenage model, who is somehow also a really smart test pilot. Sure, she's a smart, good looking character in the comics, but... she also doesn't have Lively's ... dare I say... unlively acting presence.

Aside from them, Hector Hammond is an unneeded character, and really was just laughable looking. The main members of the Corps, Tomar Re, Kilowog and Sinestro were also great, BUT, they're barely have any screentime and are ultimately wasted. Which goes into the next problem, special effects. 80% of these characters were created by animators, not motion capture artists, which while that would be great for say... Toy Story, but this is a real live action film is supposed to be at least somewhat visually believable. I got to understand the gross use of motion capture suits, it makes sense in the other-worldliness, but when Kilowog starts moving like a cartoon character and not a physical being, you've suddenly taken me out of the world. And let me tell you, some of those Green Lantern effects, especially in flight, we awful. Like, SyFy TV movie awful...

I really could go on and on about what was wrong with the film. The score sucked, the 3D sucked, I already tore apart the story, the writing, the acting, the directing, the casting... the blatant attempt at suckering people in for a shitty film in order to fund a more expensive, probably more well made sequel. If you're a fan of DC, and have been waiting for a great superhero film that can stand alongside the likes of Superman: The Movie, Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight, look away. I don't care how much you might love the character, look away, you don't want to see this. I'm officially more of a Marvel fan now.

Overall Score: FuckThisMovie/10

E3 2011: Nintendo Conference

2011-06-07T13:26:00.006-04:00

Here's everything...

The Legend of Zelda: 25th Anniversary
- Link's Awakening arriving today on Nintendo eShop
- Ocarina of Time 3D arrives next weekend (we know this)
- Legend of Zelda: Four Swords for DSiWare in September
- Skyward Sword releasing for Wii this Holiday
- Gold Wii Remote launching with the game
- Zelda Symphony Concerts worldwide this Fall
- Ocarina of Time 3D soundtrack free to early register of the game on Club Nintendo

Mario Kart 3D
- Trailer shown
- Fly with karts, dive with carts
- Customize karts with with wheels and accessories
- Arrives this holiday

StarFox 64 3D
- Arrives in US this September
- Play with normal or motion controls
- 4 player multiplayer records players faces

Super Mario 3D
- First original 3D Mario game on a portable
- Return of Tanooki suit, music blocks
- Has 2D platforming levels
- Releasing before year's end

Kid Icarus: Uprising
- Full voice over… I'm scared
- 6-Player Multiplayer battle mode
- Will have AR Cards of its own
- Coming "later this year"

Luigi's Mansion 2
- Trailer shown, looks fun!
- Will have "several" new mansions

Nintendo eShop
- 10 3D videos to be available soon (?)
- Demos for games coming later this year
- Free Excitebike 3D (available now)
- Pokedex 3D available free now as well

Nintendo Wii U
- Controller has a 6.2" screen
- Continue game from TV to controller
- Seems super gimmicky
- Controller has 2 circles pads, D-pad, A, B, X, Y, L, R, ZL, and ZR buttons
- Has a camera, gyroscope, microphone, speakers
- Works with all Wii titles and accessories
- Video chat online using the controller
- HD Zelda demoed, looks awesome… but, I'm turned off.
- Arriving next year

(click to enlarge)

Super Smash Bros.
- Nothing to show, but will with with both 3DS and Wii U

Graphical Demo
- Doesn't seem like actual gameplay graphics, just pre-rendered footage

New Super Mario Bros Mii
- Tech demo, Use Mii to play on TV or controller screen

Sheild Pose
- Tech demo, use controller as shield/continuation of screen

Chase Mii
- Tech demo, 4 players on Wiimotes, 1 using the controller
- Miis in Nintendo franchise universes

LEGO City Stories
- Co-published by Nintendo and Tt Games for Wii U and 3DS
- Really?

Darksiders II, Tekken, Batman Arkham City, Assassin's Creed, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Online, Dirt, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Metro Last Light, Ninja Gaiden 3 all in development.

E3 2011: Sony Conference

2011-06-06T22:01:00.002-04:00

Compilation trailer opens the show… features NGP, no PSP in sight. Nevermind, PSP shows up late to the show…

Jack Tretton gives out an apology regarding the PSN. Much appreciated.

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
- Live demo shown, somehow looks better than Uncharted 2
- Multiplayer begins June 28
- Will support 3DTV, another trailer shown
- Releases 11-1-11

Resistance 3
- Live demo shown, also supports 3D
- Bundled with Sharpshooter controller, PS Move, PS Eye, Analog controller for $150

God of War: Origins Collection
- Remakes of PSP God of War games: Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta
- Both game remastered in HD and 3D
- Releases September

ICO and Shadow of the Colossus Collection
- Both game remastered in HD and 3D
- Releases September

PlayStation 3D Monitor
- $499 gets you a 24" 3D monitor, with glasses and HDMI cable, and Resistance 3
- 2 Players can see 2 different images instead of split-screen somehow.
- Releases in Fall

NBA 2K12
- Uses PS Move
- Kobe claims it's realistic, he's also a rapist…
- Releases October 4th, 2011

Medieval Moves
- PS Move title played from sort of first person/third person hack n slash adventure
- Will probably have the same fate as Sorcery the PS Move game we saw last year
- Claims to be releasing in Fall 2011

InFamous 2
- New trailer despite it releasing tomorrow
- User created features coming in Fall

LittleBigPlanet 2
- Update coming to heavily feature PS Move

Starhawk
- Sort of sequel to Warhawk

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
- Pre-rendered trailer shown
- Coming 2012

DUST 514
- Connects with EVE Online
- Supports PS Move and NGP
- Beta in Fall, releases Spring 2012

BioShock Infinite
- New gameplay trailer shown
- Will support PS Move
- Comes with BioShock 1 on PS3 (weird)

BioShock for NGP
- Only mentioned, no footage or screens

Saints Row 3
- Launches November with PS Move support

Star Trek
- Trailer shown, co-op based gameplay
- Based on next Star Trek film
- Will support PS Move and 3D, with a Phaser controller coming out
- Coming 2012

SSX, Need for Speed: the Run, and Battlefield 3 all support extra context exclusive to PS3

PlayStation Suite
- Service for non-PlayStation devices like Android phones and tablets

PlayStation Vita
- Final name for the NGP
- Two analog stick, 2 cameras, SIXAXIS, 2 touch panels
- Will have 3G and WiFi models
- AT&T exclusive 3G carrier for PSVita in North America
- PartyRoom allows cross game voice chat
- Near, allows you to play games and see trophies of nearby Vita users
- More than 80 titles in development
- Releasing Holiday 2011
- WiFi model costs $249
- 3G model costs $299

Uncharted: Golden Abyss
- Live demo shown
- Can use traditional controls, or touch/motion based controls

Ruin
- Top-down fantasy combat game
- PS3 version will be compatible with Vita version, cloud saves.

ModNation Racers
- Entirely new version developed exclusively for PSVita
- Use both touch screen and rear touch panel to raise/drop elevations
- PSVita version will be able to access content from the PS3 version's community

WipeOut 2048
- Compete via PSVita or PS3 at launch

LittleBigPlanet
- Touch controls
- Carries over LBP2's design tools
- Horizontal or vertical levels
- Share costumes/content with PS3 version

Street Fighter X Tekken
- PSVita version, live demo shown
- Will feature Cole from InFamous

No PSP new for obvious reasons, and seriously, where was The Last Guardian??

E3 2011: Ubisoft Conference

2011-06-06T19:05:00.004-04:00

What a... weird presentation, no James Cameron boring people to death, but... yeah.

Rayman Origins
- Live demo shown, has co-op
- Looks fun!

Driver: San Francisco
- Hyperactive man says dick jokes on stage
- New trailer shown

FarCry 3
- They didn't even say what this was for the first 5 minutes of this trailer/gameplay
- Doesn't seem that exciting…
- "THE surprise of the show" I beg to differ

Brothers in Arms: Furious 4
- Looks a bit cartoony
- Oddly doesn't show swastikas despite calling the bad guys Nazis
- Probably has Left 4 Dead inspired gameplay

The Adventures of Tintin: The Game
- Spielberg and Jackson talk about the game based on their film (in a trailer of course)
- Trailer shown, 2D/3D gameplay

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
- Live demo shown, with a controller this time

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Online
- Free to play web version of the franchise

ManiaPlanet
- Trackmania 2 for PC releases in September
- Shootmania and Questmania also coming

Rabbids: Alive & Kicking
- I can't believe this franchise is successful…
- Exclusive for Kinect
- Share photos from the game on Facebook
- Comes out November 8, 2011

Just Dance 3
- Another franchise I don't get why its popular
- Not only on Wii, now on Kinect and PS Move

Rocksmith
- Another use-a-real-guitar music game
- Coming Fall 2011

Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012
- I'm just bored now

Assassin's Creed Revelations
- New trailer shown
- Features Ezio and Altaïr
- Live demo shown
- Releases November, like every other big game...

E3 2011: EA Conference

2011-06-06T16:34:00.002-04:00

No major reveals, but I did this anyways...

Mass Effect 3
- Releases March 6th, 2012 on 360, PS3, and PC
- Live demo shown, looks amazing

Origin
- EAs new Steam-like service, "Go check it out!"…
- No really, its after EVERY TRAILER

Need for Speed: the Run
- Super stat-tracking
- Out of car gameplay, a.k.a. running from the cops

Star Wars: The Old Republic
- New trailer shown, all pre-rendered footage we've seen…
- No date

SSX
- No more serious look or subtitle
- Comes next January

FIFA 12
- Yup, they still make it.
- EA Sports Football Club connects you through all versions of FIFA regardless of platform.

Madden 12
- Holy Crap!! I cannot believe they're bringing this franchise back!
- Really, they used Inception music for this??
- Enough of the meat-heads please.

The Sims: Social
- Facebook is not a gaming platform, get out of my face.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
- First game from 38 Studios
- Open world fantasy game

OverStrike
- First multi-platform title from Insomniac Games
- Weird off-portioned realistic characters, I'm scared.

Battlefield 3
- New graphics engine is … astonishing
- Beta in September
- Free stat tracking, coughActivisioncough
- Releases October 25, 2011

E3 2011: Microsoft Conference

2011-06-06T14:00:00.002-04:00

A summary of Microsoft's E3 Press Conference. Media will possibly be added later.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
- Live demo shown, with controller hiccups too!
- Graphics/animations look better
- Releases November 8th, 2011

Tomb Raider
- Origin story (if you didn't already know)
- Live demo, looks totally different, more cinematic
- Releasing Fall 2012

EA
- Tiger Woods PGA, Madden, FIFA, and another game will support Kinect
- Sims 3: Pets and other EA titles also using Kinect

Mass Effect 3
- Uses Kinect for voice commands
- Speak Shepard's speech choices as opposed to just pressing a button…
- Tell party members what to do in battle

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
- New trailer, clearly not in-game footage
- Uses Kinect for… everything. Seems, odd.
- All future Tom Clany games will use Kinect

A new Xbox user interface, streamlined for Kinect
- Very much like Sony's Xross Media Bar
- Will support YouTube (which Wii and PS3 have done with browsers for years)
- Bing to search Netflix, Hulu, XBL Marketplace
- Live TV support with voice controller
- Launching in Fall

UFC
- Brofest 360
- watch live events, check stats, play trivia, for an added fee of course

Gears of War 3
- Ice T live demos with Cliff B.
- Ice T's band Body Count will have a new song in the game...

Ryse
- Formerly Codename: Kingdoms
- Trailer shown
- Kinect based Roman first person combat

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
- Rerelease and remake of Halo 1
- Releases November 15, 2011

Forza Motorsport 4
- New trailer
- Releases October 14th, 2011

Fable: The Journey
- Trailer shown, pre-rendered footage
- In-game demo, uses Kinect
- Releases 2012

Minecraft
- Exclusive console debut in winter for 360 and Kinect

Kinect Disneyland Adventures
- No longer give your kids a vacation, tell them to stare at the TV
- Actually a mini-game collection
- Awful child actors not included

Kinect Star Wars
- Actually looks like a real product now
- Yet another mini-game collection basically

Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster
- From DoubleFine
- Uses Kinect
- Comes out this Fall

Kinect Fun Labs
- Being added to the dashboard
- Scan your body and make an Avatar
- Drawing in 3D space
- Scan in your real life items
- Goes live TODAY

Kinect Sports: Season Two
- More Wii Sports in HD
- Skiing, Tennis, Golf, Football, Baseball, something with a stage?

Dance Central 2
- Because no one wants plastic instruments, but shaking like a fool is fun.
- Import songs from the first game, like Rock Band did.

Halo 4
- Teaser trailer shown, still no personality
- "Start of a new trilogy"
- Not by Bungie
- Fall 2012

No More This Week in Futurama

2011-05-23T00:11:00.003-04:00

It's exactly one month before Futurama returns to Comedy Central again with new episodes. But I've decided, with an upcoming busy work schedule, and an unfavorable feeling when I wrote the previous episode reviews that I won't continue the episode reviews for the remainder of the show's existence.

I'm fine reviewing Fringe and Doctor Who, because at least those shows generally have an overall narrative that I can discuss my thoughts and theories about (and sometimes bounce ideas of another reviewer like I do with Fringe). But when it comes to Futurama (and not the movies, cause I can at least treat those like movie reviews), I'm just judging the humor, and that honestly just gets annoying after awhile when I can't say anything about the story. Sure, the episode plot may have something to say, but overall, it doesn't matter. But really its a mix of that, and the fact that I have a lot of work to be doing on my own film this summer, so I figured I would cut the feature I liked the least.

Sorry if you were looking forward to those, however, I'll still be tweeting my thoughts on the new episodes over on @ViewFromHeaven with #Futurama.

A Thought on Box Art

2011-05-19T02:29:00.001-04:00

This awesome and official minimalist box art by Olly Moss for Resistance 3 almost makes me want to buy the game just for that reason... but then I remembered it's Resistance 3.*

Either way, if it sells well, I hope more publishers go with 'Criterion' box art like this instead of the usual guy/girl front and center with big guns and/or muscles/boobs.

Class it up, game industry, class it up.

*I'm aware that Resistance has its fans, and that the games are well made. But from what I've experience from demos of the game, it's just not for me. And let's be honest, the boxart for Resistance 2 was pretty crap/generic when compared to the need-no-explanation photo cover used for the first game.

This Week in Doctor Who - 5/14/11

2011-05-15T03:14:00.001-04:00

Lets be honest, last week's episode sucked. Nothing happened, the characters weren't interesting, and overall it was just a waste and had nothing to say. And in all fairness, the season opening two-parter, while interesting and grand, wasn't nearly as good as "The Time of Angels" and "Flesh and Stone". So, with Neil Gaiman's first foray into the world of Doctor Who, does he bring some life into this so far unimpressive season?

Episode 4 - "The Doctor's Wife"

There are a lot of things to say about this one. First things first, one of the "fan theories" I've heard regarding River was that she was the TARDIS, and I angrily dismissed this theory because while the TARDIS is referred to as living, it's never once been shown as a humanoid lifeform and just the idea of the theory was so stupid and canon breaking that it upset me. And then this episode showed up (with no River thankfully)...

The Doctor, Amy and Rory travel into what can only be described as a bubble outside of the universe, but not really, after the Doctor receives a piece of Galifraen mail, filling him with the hope that the Time Lords are indeed still alive. But instead, he's led to what is basically a TARDIS scrapyard, with a few strange inhabitants. Oh, and the soul of the TARDIS is ripped out and put into the body of a strange Victorian woman. Just the Doctor's type.

The episode follows the Doctor as for just one day, he lives his ultimate fantasy of traveling with his TARDIS as a woman... while Amy and Rory are trapped inside of the actual TARDIS, which is now controlled by an evil entity (voiced by Michael Sheen).

Overall this episode, unlike the last few, was just really interesting to watch; there was an actual sense of risk (something this season lacks from the last) and the creep factor was actually creepy and not just looking like it it's trying to force it. The moments with the Doctor and his living TARDIS are quite tender, and it was pretty sweet to see that Eccleston's and Tennant's TARDIS 'desktop theme' is still intact somewhere as well as seeing some familiar classic TARDIS pieces on the junkyard world. Gaiman's first attempt at Who was a great one, and I hope he comes back to it at some point.

Overall Score: 9.5/10

Sadly, next week's is the first of a two-parter from the writer of "Fear Her" probably the most hated episode from Tennant's run. Whoever's idea it was giving that guy another chance hopefully made a wise choice, or I'll be quite upset.

This Week in Doctor Who - 5/7/11

2011-05-07T22:22:00.000-04:00

Doctor Who is back again, in the first one-off episode of Series 6. How did it turn out?

Episode 3 - "The Curse of the Black Spot"

Not well, that's how. Maybe it's just my bias against pirate/swashbuckling things (honest, I've yet to see any of the Pirates of the Caribbean films) or maybe because this episode was written by the guy who wrote the least popular episode of Steven Moffat's new Sherlock series (as I've been told, I've yet to watch the series myself). But, point being, I didn't like this episode, and go as far as saying it's the worst episode of Moffat's run since "Victory of the Daleks," also the the third episode from last season.

My problem starts with the opening, there's nothing carried over from the last episode. I get how series like this work, I've been a fan of Star Trek and Doctor Who for many years and know that not every episode has linked continuity. But when you have a cliffhanger like in last week's episode, you expect some follow up; and there is none, which make this episode feel all the more like a throw away.

Basically, there's a pirate ship in an undisclosed time and location, where a man accidentally gets cut and black spot appears on his hand, which brings in a whimsically haunting siren that makes the 'cursed' men disappear. And then the Doctor and the Ponds just show up. There's an attempt to make the story touching, with the captain and his stow away son, but in the end of it all I just didn't care. And, it turns out she's not some evil siren, she's a trans-dimensional.. nurse? Yeah, I thought it was stupid too.

And in the end the pirates have a space ship. I thought this was ridiculous, and that's coming from a guy who watched Zardoz for the 5th time earlier today as well as the Fringe finale. I've also done alot of rewatching of old Doctor Who lately, and for bit, I just wished I spent the 45 minutes of this episode watch those instead. Alas, next week is Neil Gaiman's episode, hopefully that proves to be better, cause right now I'm not feeling it.

Overall Score: 6/10

This Week in Fringe - 5/6/11

2011-05-07T22:02:00.000-04:00

After many hiatuses and thoughts of cancellation, we've finally made it to the season (yes, not series!) finale.

Episode 22 - "The Day We Died"

Zach says: It picks up right where the last episode left things, with Peter in the future, 2026. However, he doesn't really remember he's from the past, so things progress in this future time period as they normally would, and while some things are nice, like Peter and Olivia being happily married, other things aren't looking too bright.

As it turns out, when Peter got in that machine all those years ago, or last episode, he ended up destroying the other universe; oopsies. Walter was blamed and sent to prison, and basically everything else stayed the same; Broyles became a senator and Olivia became the head of Fringe and everyone is happy, except for the Walters. Apparently, Walternate escaped from the other universe and has plans to do to this universe what Peter did to his; namely destroy it.

Needless to say, bad things happen, but, we learn one new, crucial, crazy, piece of information, in that Walter was the one to create the machine. Through some research, Walter learns that he was the one to send the pieces of the machine back through time, and he tells Peter that this has already been done and cannot be undone, but Peter can change his past decisions and the outcome of the future and the universes.

It's a bit of a crazy idea, but sure, why not. Then come the end of the episode, Peter is sent back to the past, to when he entered the machine, now with the knowledge of the future and what needs to be done. He uses the machine to combine the two universes, or at least a part of it, bringing together both labs were the machines are held, along with the Walters and Olivias. Peter explains the future and tells them they need to cooperate to change the future and fix the world.

Waltnerate is still pretty pissed, so I don't know how things are going to turn out, but this seems like it will be the premise of the next season. Will they be able to work together? Will they be able to fix the universes? I guess we'll have to wait and see. Oh, and Peter might be gone forever. Kind of hard to say, but yeah. He "served his purpose," bringing the two groups together, and that may be all there is to it for him.
Zach's Score: 8/10

JDW says: I'm a fan of time travel. I enjoy the Terminator films, Doctor Who, Quantum Leap, and many of my favorite Star Trek episodes and films deal with time travel. So to say I was excited where Fringe was going after last week's cliffhanger would be an understatement. The seemingly post-apocalyptic setting, the possibility that Peter could return to the past knowing what he see's in the future, the possibilities made me tingle. But then the episode started...

At first it was confusing, because it was as if Peter had no recollection of the past at all, he was just back to what his 2026 self would call normal. And much like seeing the alternate universe for the first time, I liked analyzing everything in the frame, picking out little details about what made this world different. I enjoyed seeing the parallels of future Walter and Walter from when we first saw him in the series opener. Or how Walternate goes from bitter, to bitterer murderer. Or how Olivia was never killed by that guy she said she knew was going to kill her (seriously, now that just makes that semi-waful LSD episode a complete waste), you know, till Walternate shot her in the head...

Nice to see the Observers again though; and I can swear I saw one that wasn't white, so that's cool. But who knows what this all means. If this actually turned out to be the series finale (i.e. the show was not renewed for a fourth season) it would've probably been more interesting to watch, as we'd be left to speculate what it all meant. Of course we can still speculate, but at least we can hope that the next season makes it all clear. I can wait till then I suppose...
JDW's Score: 9/10

Overall Score: 8.5/10

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

This Week in Doctor Who: 4/30/11

2011-04-30T22:21:00.000-04:00

Following up from last week's episode, comes another This Week in Doctor Who. Spoilers!

Episode 2 - "Day of the Moon"

Last week's episode ended with an abrupt cliffhanger, of Amy shooting at the mysterious astronaut girl, the Doctor still unaware of who sent the envelopes, and the Silence coming after everyone. So it was really weird when this episode opens up to Canton Everett Delaware the Third going about chasing Amy, River, and Rory who are all covered up with (and by the end of the episode, still unexplained) tally marks written all over their bodies. All of this which leads to a bearded Doctor who has been in captivity at Area 51. The sequences are cool and all, but there is seriously zero explanation for all of it, which really bugged me.

They try to make a point of explaining the severity of how the Silence make you forget you ever saw them, but it just gets more and more convoluted and the way they finally have everyone on Earth take notice of them by the end of the episode is even more questionable, as opposed to "The Eleventh Hour," when the Doctor sends out a photo of Prisoner Zero to everyone in the universe, this episode takes place in 1969... how the hell did get a cellphone video to transmit data to everyones TV?! I get that there's alot of timey-wimey fiction involved, but like... that cellphone lasted THREE MONTHS without needing to recharge. How does that work?

As fun as the episode was though, and there are not only fun, but really touching and also really scary parts, it didn't feel like the end of a two part episode. If anything, this story deserved a third part. Why? One, because for such a huge threat, they totally eradicated the Silence in a jiff. And two, the episode hasa HUGE cliffhanger of the little girl regenerating like a Time Lord. Is she River Song as a child? Is she the daughter of Amy and Rory? If so, how is she a Time Lord? Well, looks like we might not find out cause next week we're fighting PIRATES!!! Yeah, what the hell?

Overall Score: 8/10

This Week in Fringe - 4/29/11

2011-04-29T23:13:00.000-04:00

Last episode before the season finale, and while it starts a bit slow, the ending makes for quite a finale to come. MEGASPOILERS

Episode 21 - "The Last Sam Weiss"

Zach says: More crazy events occur due to the machine, and Walter unwillingly pulls himself away from Peter to investigate and find a way to stop the events. Naturally, his cleverness does allow him to figure out a pattern to the events and find a solution.

Peter does wake up as well, although his mind is a bit fuzzy....I'm not surprised something was off about him after what had happened with the machine, so we'll see if that has any major impact in the future.

Sam and Olivia go to figure out how to turn off the machine and get Peter inside. They learn that not only is Peter attached to the machine, but so is Olivia; go figure. Apparently, she can use her telekinesis to turn the machine off. Naturally. We also learn that Sam's family have long been researching "The First People" and learning about the manuscripts of the machine, etc.

By the end of the episode, Peter gets in the machine, and then!!!!! He wakes up in the streets of New York and there are fires and the city is rioting or something and it doesn't look good. Peter also looks hurt, and some police officer recognizes him, because I guess he is an important person? And he might be in the future? I don't know, but the finale should be exciting.
Zach's Score: 8/10

JDW says: So I actually really liked this episode. I didn't like it at first, but when it finally got running and the use of the machine was reveal, I was giddy. For real. I mean, some of it bothers me; why is it called "The Last Sam Weiss"? It's not like he dies in the episode, and unlike my theory, that the machine opened a third universe where we then learn that Sam Weiss is some crazy universe hopper and is the last of his kind or some crap. But yeah, aside from that, the fact that in this crazy mystic box from a race of people we never even knew existed, theres a drawing of Olivia. I know this is a fictional show, but give me a break.

However, when Olivia gave Peter the go to enter the machine at the end, and it turned on, the sequence was kind of magical. And when he awoke in some post apocalyptic version of New York City (soon revealed to be sometime after September 11, 2021; where a new building has been erected at Ground Zero), I was really excited. In a way, it reminded me a lot of the cliffhanger ending from the Season 2 (and series) finale of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, where John Connor transport to the future, and no one knows who he is. Yeah, thanks for cancelling the show after that one, Fox!

So, for that reason alone I was excited, because if the show was canceled this season like we expected (it was thankfully renewed for a third season), I would have hated to have a repeated sequence like that. Thankfully, there's just one more episode, so unlike Terminator, we're at least getting some follow up of Peter's travels in the future before waiting a year for the next season.
JDW's Score: 9/10

Overall Score: 8.5/10

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

This Week in Doctor Who - 4/23/11

2011-04-24T15:48:00.001-04:00

The Doctor is back! And for the first time a new season is starting the same day in the US and UK (granted there's still a 6-9 hour difference depending on your time zone, but still). I almost got to see the first 2 episodes of Series 6 a couple weeks ago, but apparently arriving 10 hours in advance doesn't cut it like it did last year.

Episode 1 - "The Impossible Astronaut"

The episode seems to open some time after the previous specials "A Christmas Carol" and "Time and Space," as we see Amy and Rory have settled into a home of their own and it looks like the Doctor has been trying to get in contact with them throughout varies moments in time. But alas, none of this works until they receive a TARDIS-blue envelope with a specific date and time. Turns out River Song and two other mystery invitees also received these letters as well.

But what this all lead to? An astronaut emerging from a lake in Utah which shoots the Doctor, causing him to regenerate, only to shoot him again mid-regeneration, killing him. Yeah, that just happened; or did it? It turns out to be a Doctor from 200 years in the future, but as the Doctor says, time can be rewritten. Which somehow brings us to Washington DC with a run in with Nixon, and yadda yadda yadda. Oh and there's new monsters that look like gray aliens with skinny ties, the Silence, and in a oddly similar fashion to Weeping Angels, you have to keep looking at them because as soon as you turn around you forget you ever saw them. Point being, there's something big developing, and I really don't want to summarize, especially with there being a cliffhanger that I'll ultimately have to cover next week.

But overall, this was a fantastic season opener. I'm still a bit particular to "The Eleventh Hour," last years opening and Matt Smith's first episode, but I think that's because it was a completed story. Where as this episode is a two-parter, but split over 2 weeks, and I hate when a cliffhanger is actually one that wants to make me see the next one right away; another reason to get upset about not getting into the premiere two weeks ago.... Can't wait for next week I guess!

Overall Score: 8.5/10

This Week in Fringe - 4/22/11

2011-04-24T15:22:00.000-04:00

Things seem to be winding down for this season of Fringe, which means universes will be destroyed or saved. Let's see which happens first.

Episode 20 - "6:02 AM EST"

Zach says: Olivia is back in her body and everything seems to be progressing nicely for everyone, that is, until the universe starts collapsing. As we saw previously, Walternate got a blood sample from Peter's baby, and it appears he has used that to turn on the machine, which not only caused the standard universe's machine to power up, but also started creating vortexes that are destroying our Earth, similar to what had been happening in the alternate universe since Walter stole Peter.

Now, it is up to Fringe Division and Massive Dynamic to predict and contain these events. Peter however, thinks he can stop it altogether by interacting with the machine to turn it off. Well, that doesn't go over so well, oops.

We see a little bit of the parallel universe this episode, mostly in characters' motives and beliefs. We see that Walternate knows that destroying the other universe is quite tragic and he knows the weight of his decision, however, he is very firm in his choice. We also see that Fauxlivia doesn't agree at all with Walternate's decision, as she tries to cross universes to get Peter and stop the machine.

And the last of the events is with Sam Weiss, the bowling alley owner guy, who knows an invaluable amount about the machine, etc. He looks very concerned about what is happening, and approaches Olivia to get to the machine before it's too late.

So, it's not looking too good for the home team right now, but it seems as though there are forces on both sides working for them, so I'm sure they'll be able to turn it around quickly. Hopefully, next week's episode acts as a continuation from this week, as I would be very let down if the story diverged into some other part of the plot. But, like I said, the season is winding down with only a few episodes left, so I'll keep my fingers crossed that we get some kind of satisfying conclusion before the finale.
Zach' Score: 7.5/10

JDW says: To be specific, there's just TWO episodes left... and it seems like there's a alot to cover besides just "which world survives". My biggest gripe was that for an episode where I'm seeing that the end of our universe is imminent, I was really "feeling" it.

And why suddenly bring Sam Weiss into this with 3 episodes left? Where the hell has he been all season? And if he's that important than why haven't we seen him. I don't like be told a guy is important if I never actually see him doing anything. I know it's a nit-picky thing to complain about, but if a character is going to be central to the plot, at least have him on screen. I don't need another Walt. Hopefully the final 2 episodes have something better to offer.
JDW's Score: 7/10

Overall Score: 7.3/10

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

This Week in Fringe - 4/15/11

2011-04-16T17:03:00.000-04:00

Fringe is back from its hiatus, and the concern is that William Bell needs to find a new host to embody, as Olivia's mind can't take much more before she is lost forever. So, the premise is that the gang will take some drugs, and enter her mind to find her. I'm ok with the premise, but what happens when they're there is pretty f'ing weird. I'm sure Jared will have much more to say on this topic.

Episode 19 - "Lysergic Acid Diethylamide"

Zach says: Anyways, Olivia's subconscious has fled inside her mind to hide, and it is up to Peter, Walter, and Bell to find her. Luckily, Peter actually cares for her so he has a plan on where she would go to hide. But, the episode gets weird. For SOME crazy reason, the world turns cartoony, and the live action goes away. Now, I would suspect this is due to the fact that Leonard Nimoy, who plays William Bell, has like, retired, so they can't use him, but needed him, and this was the best they could come up with. Ummm, ok. Fine. But then, there are zombies, and when Peter finds Olivia and they don't need Bell, it switches back to live action, but then they go outside where Bell is and it's cartoon again. Shit be crazy. I think the WRITERS were the ones on LSD. Oh, and they totally ripped off Inception.

But, they find Olivia and she escapes, and mostly all is well. Olivia even got to confront her personal demons, and seems to be a stronger person because of it, being completely confident now. She isn't even bothered by the fact that she thinks she knows who will kill her. Not sure how she would know the future, but hey, could be interesting in future episodes to see if this guy makes an appearance.
Zach's Score: 7/10

JDW says: I'm crossed. I want to love this episode, but I really hate this episode. While the Inception like premise was a little... unoriginal? The idea behind it was cool. But.. well the best way I can talk about this would be Pros and Cons.

The Pros: Holy shit, Leonard Nimoy is back! If you're like me, you probably thought Olivia's awful Nimoy impression was a bit overdone and stupid for a show like Fringe, and I'm glad they finally dropped it in order to bring Nimoy out of his retirement just to add his voice. And despite totally ripping off Inception and kind of being out of place, the premise was cool. And lastly, Broyles on LSD was just fantastic! It was great seeing Lance Reddick step out of his usually stern and cold acting style.

The Cons: ... Where do I even start? As Zach said, presumably the reason why they went animated for Nimoy's on-screen appearance was because he retired, and while he may have been willing to phone in his voice, he probably was not willing to come in and do full on acting. But there in lies the problem: do it well or don't do it at all. I get that TV shows can't get a theatrical budget, but there's no excuse that a show from Fox and Warner Bros., companies that spend over $3 Million per episode of their fully animated programming, should look this awful. Seriously, I've seen better TV animation from Xavier: Renegade Angel, and at least that show's fun to watch. But the animation here was just awful, the designs were awful, the actual character animation was awful, and logistically/stylistically it was completely out of place from the rest of the series.

When Nimoy signed off in last season's finale, it was a wonderful episode and a really great representation of an actor's finale on-screen appearance before retirement. But all this episode did was undo all of that wonderful experience and leave was presumably is actually Nimoy's last appearance on Fringe as something utterly gross. I think I'd off at least accepted the animation premise if the entire inner-mind world was like that and was in an appealing style, but as the way it was last night was just embarrassing for everyone involved and watching. I wanted to love this episode, because of Nimoy's return and Broyle's LSD moments, but I just can't with the awful animated sequences.
JDW's Score: 6/10

Overall Score: 6.5/10

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

More AR Games Weirdness

2011-04-10T22:41:00.009-04:00

I was reading the comments section on GoNintendo after they reposted my article from earlier today about AR Games acting weird, when someone posted a picture of their Link card in the mirror, and Kirby appearing in the reflection. So I whipped out my mirror, and I tried it out myself...

It appears that Pikmin and Kirby are most likely to accidentally appear for other characters for some reason. I even had Kirby appear on the ? Card alone, but I couldn't managed to snap a pic of that, as I wasn't sure what exactly was triggering it. The weirdest to me is when both Kirby and Pikmin would appear from one card that wasn't their own; and when even with the Kirby card present, he still appears for Mario's reflection...

At least now we know Mario is not a vampire... but Kirby's in Mario's body via Quantum Leap.

AR Games Weirdness

2011-04-10T18:21:00.008-04:00

So I've had my 3DS since launch, and while I haven't had the time to do any formal reviews, I have been using the device daily. Once thing I haven't used much though, are the AR Games. I played them when I got the system, and then just put them away until now... and I encountered something... weird.

I took out my Mario and ? cards, placed them on my desk. I then took out my Pikmin card and held it to observe how it tracked the card at different angles. As I moved my Pikmin card in front of the other two... and strange thing happened. Kirby showed up and quickly disappeared! After a ton of tries, I realized it was happening when I covered the ? card a certain way, leaving just the bottom exposed. I managed to get 2 snaps of the occurrence:

I also tested what happens when 2 of the same card are visible. Sadly, no you cannot make a Pikmin army, as the software will only recognize one of each card, so it will either only identify the nearest image or the characters will pop between the two...

Now I'm just curious if Nintendo has any plans to release new cards, or update the software to allow for multiples. Because I'd be all over that. I did buy an e-Reader after all ;)

Initial 3DS Impressions

2011-03-27T16:13:00.004-04:00

Hello all, I picked up my 3DS this morning, along with four games: Ridge Racer, Super Monkey Ball, Nintendogs + Cats, and Pilotwings Resort. I've played around with the device a little bit, and here are some basic impressions.

The first thing I noticed when unpacking the 3DS, is how sexy that handheld is. I have the Cosmo Black one, and it's just hot. I don't know, maybe it's because it's a new piece of tech, but it just looks and feels slick. I like it.

The stylus takes a little work to pull out, and I can't just flick it out and get it from the slot. It's also inconveniently placed on the back of the system, instead of on the side like the DSi, and I think the DS Lite. It also takes a bit of work to extend it as well. Granted, it's all brand new and shouldn't be flimsy, but it simply takes a bit of effort to pull it out and use, so you can't just do it at will during gameplay. You'd want to pause the game, take it out, extend it, and then go. We'll see if it gets easier after doing it a bit.

The camera is kinda shitty. Haven't played around with it too much, and it was in a semi-dark room, but it's like, .3 megapixels, and it's all...pixelated....It ain't no iPhone 4 camera. I haven't messed with any real 3D pics though, so no comment.

Everything can have a suspend temporary save, and everything pretty much requires one. I haven't looked at the manual yet, because it's 100 pages long, but it seems like each channel requires a suspend save, although there are a few menu items on the top bar, like the browser, note pad, and notifications, that don't have this suspend file. You can also only have one suspend at once. What this basically means is, you can't suspend a game file, from the cartridge, go to the menu, and do ANYTHING else. You are limited to the few aforementioned options on the top menu.

Also with the above, you HAVE to create a suspend file when leaving any of these channels/applications. For instance, with the Mii Plaza, when you leave, you AUTOMATICALLY create a suspend file. There is no way to simply go back to the main menu. You can't hit 'B' until you're at the home screen, but instead, MUST hit the HOME button to go back, which creates the suspend. This is kind of weird, and not how the Wii does it. This also requires a few warning messages to pop up, alerting you that you have the suspend and alerting you that when you try to enter another channel, it will be deleted. It's pretty annoying.

Another interesting thing I'm noticing is that a lot of stuff is saved automatically to the SD card. This includes some 'extra data' that games save to. Out of the retail games, I've only played Ridge Racer, but it has some of this 'extra data' which is saved to the SD card, and not the Ridge Racer cart itself. I'm not 100% what all this means, but I think it's like ghost data and SpotPass data. I just find it a bit odd that it would need to save onto something besides the cart, and wonder exactly how much data this is and how much Nintendo will allow for. You might need to be getting a few more SD cards....

And while I do like the slide pad, when I'm playing, I feel like it should be able to move further out. Like, when I'm taking a turn, I want to move the pad more to the right or left to take a tighter turn, but it's hitting that wall and I can't turn anymore. I also noticed this while playing the demo of Pilotwings at Best Buy earlier last week. I'm not sure if it's just my 360 controller has a deeper analog or what. I guess I have to get used to it.

Other than those things though, the 3DS is pretty slick. The interface is nice and the buttons are solid. Setting up the device is very easy, and the system moves you step by step to set you up. Each channel, like the Mii Plaza, pictures, music, etc, each have a little guide to help you navigate the options. There is also a notifications menu to give you little tips. This channel will also house notes about StreetPass and who you've downloaded info from. It seems cool, but was kind of annoying when starting, as you would see you had a notification, go and check it to see a tip about the menu, exit, and then instantly get another notification, which was another tip. I understand why they might not want to bombard you with information at the beginning, but don't make me go in and out of the same app for no reason.

But yeah, so far, enjoying it. The hardware is solid, and the software is great as well.

This Week in Fringe - 3/25/11

2011-03-25T23:09:00.000-04:00

This week's episode takes place in the alternate universe, where we're reminded that Fauxlivia is pregnant with Peter's child. The episode focuses entirely on that fact, with no case-of-the-week. But, Fauxlivia is in danger...

Episode 18 - "Bloodline"

Zach says: From pretty much the start of the episode, we see Olivia get abducted, and soon learn it's because of her baby. But who would do such a thing, and for what purpose? Well, we don't know the exact purpose yet, but we do learn who and what the result is.

Later in the episode, we see a variety of characters, like the return of Henry, the taxi driver, who for some reason will continue to play an important role of some sort. It seems like the Fringe division, now led by Lincoln, are starting to be skeptical of Walternate and his deceit. We also see Walternate put up a seemingly fragile, emotional front, but then see some insidiousness. And another character we see is the main Observer, who proclaimed, "It is happening."

Things definitely have been set into motion. What it all means and how it will play out are to be determined.
Zach's Score: 7.5/10

JDW says: Yeah, i definitely have no idea where this series is going with this whole baby deal and Peter having to choose an Olivia. But it's episode was certainly interesting, it just wasn't keeping my attention as much as the show has been lately.

But hey, at least we got news that the show has been renewed for a fourth season. So, if the rest of the season starts to go downhill, it won't feel as sour as when we thought it was going to be cancelled. But I'd rather not have it suck in general.
JDW's Score: 7/10

Overall Score: 7.3/10

Also, warning! Seems like the show is going on YET ANOTHER hiatus, and won't return for another three weeks (back on April 15th). Which is just stupid, every show just had a two week break. So, yeah, see you in 3 weeks, hopefully we have some 3DS content to hold you over...

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

3DS Indecision ....hmmmm

2011-03-24T15:15:00.003-04:00

Should I get a Nintendo 3DS? Fuck yeah, shoooooot. But what games?!?! This question is killing me, and the launch of the 3DS is like, 2 days away. I still don't know what I'm gonna do...

The first question, whether or not I should get a 3DS in the first place was pretty much a no-brainer. I love the DS, and the 3DS will have many amazing future games, be they Ninty titles or others, like Metal Gear Solid. I want it. However, my only original concern was whether or not I could actually see the 3D. Apparently, I have astigmatism, which I guess is why 3D movies never wowed me. I could make out the picture ok, but it was always a bit blurry. I thought it was the technology, but apparently, my eyes are simply retarded :(. So, here comes the 3DS, the main attraction being the 3D. Would it be worth getting the system if I couldn't even see the 3D? After a few hours of pondering, I figured I couldn't miss out on the games, even if I couldn't see the 3D, but the question still lingered.

Luckily, I got a chance to actually play with a 3DS a couple days ago at Best Buy. There are demo units set up in many of their stores, so if you're curious, I'd recommend heading to one. Nways, I played with the 3D slider a bit, getting kind of scared, because again, it was blurry. Luckily though, on the lowest possible setting, I could see the 3D and the image wasn't blurred at all! An amazing feeling. So, if you're like me and have eye problems, there is still hope. What I want to do next is try playing with my glasses on, totally defeating the purpose of glasses-less 3D, but hey, we'll see. I'm not too hopeful, as I can't use them to look at things close up and I very rarely wear them anyways, but I'm curious to see what effect it might have.

Anyways, after getting over that fear for the most part, and having pre-ordered my Cosmic Black 3DS long ago, I must now decide on which games to purchase, and I'll tell ya, I'm struggling. I went in with the idea months ago on which games I would probably get; PilotWings and Nintendogs. Now though, I just don't know. I've been reading reviews and flip-flopping all over the place, considering games I wasn't before, and thinking I shouldn't get some I wanted initially. It's all very confusing.

Being a pretty heavy gamer that I am, and Nintendo lover, I want all of them. Well, not ALL of them, but a decent number. And luckily, I have a job and plenty of money, so if I really wanted to, I could afford however many games I want, but I'd feel bad about it, especially these days. I buy games all the time, and then rarely play them. I have a problem with that, especially games on sale. If I see a $20 game that was $60, I'm buying it, even if I never play it. I have a handful of games I've actually never played, and quite a few more that I've only put a couple hours into.

But these 3DS games....$40 each. Kind of steep, so I know I'd hate myself if I got one and only played an hour or two of it, worse yet, if there's only a couple hours of gameplay in it to begin with. And what if those prices drop next month? I'll feel even stupider...but, at least with Nintendo titles, they NEVER go down, so I don't have to worry there.

Anyways, I've pretty much narrowed my choices to the following: Nintendogs, Pilot Wings, Super Monkey Ball, Ridge Racer, and Ghost Recon. Street Fighter looks really good, but I never really get into fighting games, so I know if I got that I'd regret it, even though it looks amazing, I'd probably never play it. I love getting Nintendo games, even if only to get those darned Club Nintendo coins I NEED so much, but Steel Diver looks stupid and short. I wasn't really interested in Ghost Recon at first, but then saw it was similar to Advance Wars, and I love those games. I watched a video though, and it looked pretty bland, so I'm on the fence and will have to wait for reviews I think, which will hopefully come before its launch.

So, that leaves four titles, although after reading one comment, I started to teeter on Monkey Ball, but I think I'll hold true to my decision to get it. And if you didn't know, Toys R Us is having a sale, perhaps all week, but definitely on launch, for a Buy One, Get One 50% Off on ALL 3DS titles. I can't pass up a deal like that, and nor should you guys, so head over there. So, I COULD get those four games. Or I could somehow narrow my choice down to two games...getting an odd number doesn't make any sense, because of the deal; damn sales trickery *shakes fist*. I don't really need Nintendogs, seeing as how I got it for free on the DS, THANK YOU NINTENDO!!! Good times. And Pilot Wings, looks cool, but I don't know how long it will last and how repetitive it will get...So there go the Nintendo games, but damn it, I need those points!

So, I'm not sure. There are definitely some titles I'm in no way interested in, but I'm not sure about the others. I don't want buyers remorse, because that's the worst, and I don't want to buy too many games that I get distracted with one and don't play the others. But, I can't wait and buy them later, because I'm lazy. I just don't know. I'll head over to Toys R Us after I pick up the 3DS from Best Buy, see what they have, and slap my debit card down and be done with it.

The State of VFH Address

2011-03-24T02:30:00.002-04:00

Hey, just a little something not Fringe or Doctor Who related. We still exist. Well... I do at least. But when I'm not writing here on my free time, I'm very busy. I go to school, I work in a studio for a whole day each week on what should be my one day off, and when I'm not going to school or work I'm back home, drawing, animating, and doing research for my next film. Sure, sometimes the research involves reading comics, watching movies, and playing games as they apply to the subject matter, but generally its all older things, and I've always tried to keep our content based on new releases. Because of this, my writing time is very limited, and if it weren't for Zach writing the bulk of the Fringe reviews this season, I probably wouldn't do them at all.

I've gotten to see a bunch of movies in theaters that I still haven't reviewed, i.e. Season of the Witch, Unknown, and Rango; one of which I've really enjoyed enough to recommend it to a lot of people. And I've listened to a lot of new music that I haven't gotten to review either. I haven't had any game time though. I bought Mass Effect 2 on PS3, and some older titles, but I've had literally no time to play them, let alone review them. If I do any gaming, its... Angry Birds on my iPod, and right before I go to bed. But despite all this, I've got a 3DS pre-ordered (no games though), as does Zach, and I want promise a rush of 3DS content, but we'll see where the week takes us.

Why the gradual lack of content? Real life, to put it bluntly. Our seventh birthday is in just TWO days. Yes, SEVENTH; that's seven years of my own life that I've dedicated to writing reviews about the things I buy, just so that maybe a few hundred people could read it each day, despite never commenting back (yeah, I check my Google Analytics). Seven years ago I was just starting high school, I had friends from the Nintendo Nsider Forums, and I wanted to share my thoughts on games outside the confines of a message board, and allow them to do so as well.

Thankfully Derek (Reo) gave me that chance, with our own website, and VFH was born. Within those seven years though, things have changed. The world is different, money doesn't buy as much as it used to, and we've all grown up. It's one thing to be able to review what we want whenever we want because someone's parents were nice enough to buy them the latest game. But the real world doesn't work that way when the only money you get goes to food, supplies and rent. The other ... listed writers (I can't really call them active) haven't really been upfront with me about WHY they don't write... but I can get it.

This upcoming year and the following year will probably be the most important time of my life, as I get into production on my thesis year animated film and start looking for a job. At some point I have to realize that I have no priorities in VFH, it's just something that I've done in my free time for seven years. I don't regret any of the time I've spent doing this; I love the feeling of getting that 1 in 1000 comment, I feel more comfortable writing essays and letters because I've spent so much time with VFH. When I brought the site to Blogger, I did so because it made updating even easier, and it allowed me to invite more people and have them share their opinions easier as well. It does sadden me that despite constant efforts to get the other writers more involved with just sharing their opinions, this has always remained a place where I just basically praise the things I like, and Zach doing TV show reviews with me. But, I still got what I could out of it.

I get that we're 1 of a million website on the internet devoted to reviewing games and entertainment, and I completely understand why people would go to an IGN, Kotaku, or other site before here; I go there too. But I never intended to make VFH a competitor for that. I made VFH because it was a place where me and my friends could get together, online, and share with the world I thoughts and opinions. It's why I've always been against putting ads on the site, and shoving the fact that I run a website in people's faces. It's not for the glory, its just a love for what I do. I want to be able to write more about the things I watch, play, hear and read, but I just don't have the time like used to.

I think what I'm trying to say is, if there was an easier way to do this. I would do it. Formal writing takes time, and while it's payed off for me in the long run, it doesn't always make sharing my opinions easy. I could do video reviews, but who wants to be another floating head on YouTube? And then I'd have to worry about video editing. I could tweet reviews, but even as a sentence that sounds stupid. I want VFH to exist, even if I don't always have the time for it.

This is not the end, but it's at least a substantial notice. Thank you.

This Week in Fringe - 3/18/11

2011-03-20T23:58:00.000-04:00

Hello hello. Sorry for missing last week, but I had my Spring Break and went out to Las Vegas to gamble away all my money. Luckily, I was able to sell everything except for my computer, so I can still make these posts. Because JayRad got to do last week's episode by himself, I'll go ahead and take responsibility for this week.

Episode 17 - "Stowaway"

Zach says: At the end of last week's episode, "Os", we saw William Bell inhabit Olivia's body. This happening remains constant this week, with Bell taking control of Olivia. For obvious reasons, Peter isn't too happy about this, but Walter is quite excited by the reunion. We see Walter and Bell team up on their investigation, making a great pair, cracking jokes, and solving problems.

We are left hanging though from last episode, with decoding the discs from the shape shifters. Bell said the decoder was in his office, but instead of following up on that lead, we learn that Bell must find another suitable host, so Olivia can live her life. We are also distracted with a 'case of the week', with a woman who is apparently unable to die.

This case doesn't really seem that unremarkable to me, but it has a semi-message to deliver about fate and destiny, which ties into Bell and Peter. I wasn't too impressed though.

At the end of the episode, Bell still hasn't found another body, but we see him talking with Peter, at which point a church bell rings, bringing back Olivia's consciousness for a few seconds, after which Bell returns and says that things might be a bit more complicated than he originally thought. I don't see how that alone complicated much, and I would assume Bell's original assumptions would still hold true, but I'm guessing we'll see where this goes next week, perhaps with the ability of switching between Olivia and Bell on command.

Oh, and we also see Lincoln Lee in the normal universe, working with the FBI. We had previously seen him in the alternate universe, apparently in love with Fauxlivia, but had yet to see him here. He had been investigating the woman who couldn't die and joined up with the Fringe gang to solve the mystery. At the end of the case, he basically lets Peter know to call him if they need anymore help, showing his interest in the group. It'll be interesting to see how this develops.
Zach's Score: 8/10

JDW says: Zach basically covered everything, so I guess that's fair. I watched the episode, but I was in a pretty shitty mood so I don't think I'm write to score it. But something tells me that the Lincoln Lee we saw was actually the Other Side's version, spying on Fringe Division, thinking he could just get away with the Clark Kent disguise and the luck that Olivia was taken over by Bell and unable to recognize him at the time. But that's just my guess.
No Score

Overall Score: 8/10

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

Last Week in Fringe: 3/11/10

2011-03-18T19:16:00.001-04:00

Had to change the title of this post for obvious reasons. As you may have realized, this season of Fringe, both Zach and I have been reviewing the episodes, where as with Season 2, I did it alone. Well, it turns out that Zach has been away for the past week or so, unable to watch the episode, so we decided, last minute obviously, that I'd go solo on this one. Which is a shame because I'd of loved to hear what Zach had to say on this one...

Episode 16 - "Os"

And now for why I'd of loved to hear what Zach had to say, THE EPISODE OPENS WITH HURLEY FROM LOST, who happens to be a security guard at Massive Dynamic and decides to get high with Walter, when Walter realizes no one ever enters William Bell's old office, and starts browsing through his files. Sadly, that's the last we see of Jorge Garcia as well.

Soon after, the "case of the week" kicks in, wall climbing burglars who somehow float when they die... and later become heavier than a truck. What does this mean?! Well, since I'm a week late I'll just tell you. Our universe is collapsing, and elements are changing their properties. So somehow Cameron from Ferris Beuller, now a scientist who has a paraplegic son, is looking for a cure to make his son walk again, and has been experimenting on other paraplegic boys to get it to work just right. Sounds a lot like Walter... in a way. So it was an interesting comparison/parallel.

In other news, everyone's encouraging Peter to get with Olivia. So we'll see where that goes... All in all, I enjoyed this episode. Seeing Hurley on TV, albeit briefly totally made the episode for me; but the case of the week and how it related to Walter was really cool for once. Plus, it was Cameron, CMAAAAN!

But then there's the twist ending... without Leonard Nimoy. And Olivia makes the dumbest voice ever... See you again tonight!

Overall Score: 8.8/10

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

This Week in Doctor Who: 3/18/11

2011-03-18T18:37:00.001-04:00

Before I get to reviewing last week's Fringe (sorry about that delay by the way), I have another surprise! New Doctor Who!

In honor of Comic Relief's Red Nose Day, the BBC have produced a new Doctor Who short, which leads into the new season in April. Thankfully, because Red Nose Day isn't acknowledged in America apparently, the BBC have posted the new short in 2 parts on YouTube:

Red Nose Day Special - "Time" and "Space"

When this mini-special was announced a week ago, it said there would be two 4-minute shorts. One called "Time" and another called "Space". The video itself only has one title card, and it says "Space" but the YouTube page from the BBC calls it "Time" Parts 1 and 2... so, I'll just call it "Time" and "Space".

It's a short special, but it's sweet. If you needed to compare it to anything, it's like the Children in Need specials, Doctor Who: Children in Need, and the fanboytastic "Time Crash". Since I've actually posted the episode I don't think there's a need to summarize anything for you.

But I will say this, while I enjoyed it, it's kind of annoying that the rules of time seem to change in every episode of this Moffat-Who era. I still love the new series to bits, but the law has to be laid down at some point. Plus, right before there was two Matt Smith's in the room, I crossed my fingers hoping for Christopher Eccleston or Paul McGann to appear; not that it would make any sense, but after all, "Time Crash" did happen. Otherwise, fun short, and I can't wait for "The Impossible Astronaut," but these time rules have gotta be made clear.

Overall Score: 8/10

Fantastic Who News!

2011-03-09T21:05:00.003-05:00

I guess BBC America knew they got it right this past Christmas, because on April 23rd, both the UK and USA will get new Doctor Who! Yes! For the first time, aside from that aforementioned special, episodes of Doctor Who will now air the same day regardless of which side of the pond (no pun intended) you're on.

So, yes, this also means n more delays in reviews like we had to deal with last season... assuming BBCA doesn't screw up and take random weeks off again. Here's to hoping that won't happen though!

via EW

This Week in Fringe - 2/25/11

2011-02-25T22:48:00.000-05:00

This week's episode is a bit different than normal, and takes us back to 1985, after Peter was taken by Walter. It shows us the lives of both parents after these events, and shows us how it effected them. It's like the back-story of Lost, in season 6, except this episode didn't suck super balls.

Episode 15 - "Subject 13"

Zach says: The episode opens with a scene of young Peter at Reiden Lake, the place where Walter crossed over to the other universe to take him. Peter knows he is not at home, and believes that this lake will be where he can get back. The entire episode, we can see that Peter is completely aware of the fact that he is not from this place, and that Walter and his wife are not his real parents. I find it interesting that Peter, at a relatively old age, somewhere around 8-10 perhaps, is so sure of himself that this place is foreign to him, yet in his adult life, from what we've seen of previous episodes, he doesn't remember this at all. So basically, it seems like a big contradiction the show has shown. How could adult Peter not remember this stuff? Don't make no sense.

Anyways, aside from this drama that is presented through most of the episode, with his mother trying to affirm that he was simply sick, and everything is ok, lies of which take their toll on her, we see Walter trying to discover, through his children test subjects, a way for them to transport to the other universe to take Peter home. So, we can see that Walter has good intentions here, or so we think. Olivia is the one, of course, who exceeds expectations, and actually went to the other universe.

As the episode progresses, she does it multiple times, and even warms up to Walter and confesses that her step father has been abusive. However, it was actually Walternate who she spoke to. We also see what has happened to the alternate universe in this episode. Here, Walternate is the one breaking down over the loss of his son, which leads to issues with the marriage, over his obsessive behavior. However, he has a breakthrough when he meets young Olivia from the regular universe, and he realizes what has truly happened to his son. A breakthrough that assuredly leads to events in the present.

I really enjoyed this episode. It was definitely different than regular episodes of Fringe, and showed how certain events effected everyone involved, and how things became the way they are. There were a discrepancy or two I think, like how Peter doesn't remember this, but overall, there was a lot to learn and I liked the emotionally driven episode.
Zach's Score: 9/10

JDW says: It's hard to say anything Zach already hasn't, but here's a nifty bit of trivia: the back story episode of Lost Zach mentioned in the opening of this post was the 15th episode of Lost's 6th Season. The original 80's episode of Fringe from Season 2, "Peter," was the 15th episode of that season. And now this 80's episode is also a 15th episode... 4 8 15 16 23 42 What are you up to Mr. Abrams?!

But, back to the episode, the last time Fringe went to the 80s, in "Peter," I gave it a VFH Seal of Approval, and rightfully so, I still think that it's the shows finest hour. "Subject 13" follows in that tradition of making the 80s episodes the best thing this show has to offer. I think this further proves my theory that the further away Fringe is from its formula, the better it is. I already prefer Other Side "case of the week" episodes over our own side's case, and the 2 80s episodes (which awesome 80s opening) are even better than those. Sure, it was more of a surprise when "Peter" did it, thus making the episode a bit more special and original, but "Subject 13" is still a really strong episode, even if they didn't get around to explaining why Peter and Olivia at their current age don't remember any of this... And last week's standard case of the week sucked, so I think my theory is fact...
JDW's Score: 9/10

Overall Score: 9/10

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

This Week in Fringe - 2/18/11

2011-02-19T22:10:00.000-05:00

This week's episode deals with mysterious happenings at an apartment building in Brooklyn, where it appears the very fabric of the universe is coming apart! Sounds exciting, right? Yeah, well, it's lame.

Episode 14 - "6B"

Zach says: Sure, the idea that the regular universe is starting to crumble and have weak spots like the alternate universe is interesting, and it's some what revealing how they intend to solve the issue, just like the other side, but the story used to present this stuff was pretty boring, overstated, and wasteful.

There might not be too many more episodes of Fringe left, and to see the entire episode spent on some old lady and her grieving was pretty disappointing, and not very entertaining.

Nothing very exciting happens throughout the entire episode, except that Walter starts to question whether or not Walternate is a bad guy, and Olivia finally stops being such a bitch and starts giving Peter a second chance.
Zach's Score: 6/10

JDW says: I missed the episode last night because I went to see Unknown, but caught it on the DVR tonight. Let's just say, I enjoyed Unknown more, and I didn't really like that movie...

There really isn't anything I can say that Zach already didn't say. A bulk of the episode takes place in one room, and its a generally uninteresting room where an old man just stands there, staring. The parts of Walter becoming more like Walternate were neat, but there really just wasn't enough going on here to make me comfortable with the fact that if Fringe really is on its last lengths, they're not using their time well. ... Next week's episode might be cool though.
JDW's Score: 5/10

Overall Score: 5.5/10

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

The King of Limbs

2011-02-14T21:49:00.005-05:00

Very big thanks to Nick for informing about this, cause I was just looking at Radiohead's website yesterday out of curiosity and saw nothing...

The King of Limbs - Pre-Order

Yeah, that's a new Radiohead album. And despite it only being announced today, get this, it will be released this Saturday, the 19th of February. Well, this Saturday to download in MP3 and WAV formats only, for $9 or $14 depending on your preferred format. The King of Limbs won't see a physical CD release until March 28th, and that's for the UK only as of now.

You can also pre-order a special "newspaper" edition, for release in May 2011; which includes two clear 10" vinyl records, a CD, and "Many large sheets of artwork, 625 tiny pieces of artwork and a full-colour piece of oxo-degradeable plastic to hold it all together." This also includes a digital download, again in MP3 or WAV, so that you won't have to wait to hear the new music.

So, for us cheapos, we can't name out own price like we could with In Rainbows, but hey.. NEW RADIOHEAD! I can't say I've listened to Radiohead too much since playing the hell out of the last album in 2007, and those couple of singles they gave out in 2009, but I'm pretty excited. As of now there's no mention of what the tracks on the album will be titled, or how many tracks there will even be. We'll find out on Saturday!

This Week in Fringe - 2/11/11

2011-02-11T23:36:00.000-05:00

This week's episode finally takes place in the alternate universe, and while we don't really see what they've been up to this whole time, we are getting reintroduced to characters and happenings.

Episode 13 - "Immortality"

Zach says: The episode follows the standard formula of presenting a bizarre case to follow along with, while there are bits and pieces from the main story. The case this time deals with a scientist looking for a cure for the avian flu, and a page in the history books for such an achievement. Unfortunately, to finalize his immunization, he must extract an enzyme from a long extinct species of beetle. Luckily, he can just plant them in humans and they can crawl their little ways out. Lovely.

On the more important side of things, we learn that Walter and the Department of Defense are researching the machine part they retrieved from the other side, and are planning on installing it into the machine. We also learn that they've been testing that synthesized Cortexiphan sample from Olivia on patients, with them dying. The scientist dude thinks testing on children is the key, as they are young and their brains possess limitless potential. However, here we see a gentler, caring side of Walternate, in his refusal to test with children, probably due to losing his own child, Peter.

It's definitely nice to see Walternate not being completely maniacal, and having some sort of conscious. It also makes you think about the real Walter and the experiments he did on children... who is the REAL bad guy?

Anyways, we also learn a little something about Fauxlivia, who got proposed to by her long time boyfriend who has just returned from his trip. A lot has happened since he left, and while Olivia did accept the proposal, something happens to kind of break that up. Ooops. Should've had that Trojan Man there, brah.
Zach's Score: 8/10

JDW says: I'll be honest, this episode actually caught me by surprise. I mean, after what, five episodes away from the Other Side, not to mention that long winter hiatus, I kind of completely forgot that things may have been going on over there; cause they sure as hell didn't say anything about it till now. So, nice surprise to have another Other Side episode, because I'll say it again, their "case of the week" episodes are just better.

But aside from the interesting case, there's some interesting developments that better not get cut short if the show is done after this season... i.e. Fauxlivia's pregnancy. I don't want to have to have that lingering around unanswered. I mean, there's no way they're going to time skip from her being six weeks pregnant to birth, and still answer everything on both sides with just 9 episodes left in the season. But regardless, this episode was good, I just hope it all pans out well by season's end.
JDW's Score: 8.5/10

Overall Score: 8.3/10

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

Super Bowl XLV Trailers

2011-02-07T07:52:00.006-05:00

Seems like the last time I did this was back in 2009, but who can blame me? It's not like there were that many great films last summer... Regardless, I watch the big game for the commercials, more specifically, the trailers:

There's a few missing, like Fast Five, Battle: Los Angeles, Limitless, and Rio... but they weren't very exciting trailers. But that Super 8 trailer... that's the most awesome thing I've seen in a long time. Can't wait!

This Week in Fringe - 2/4/11

2011-02-05T20:41:00.000-05:00

This week's episode diverges from the main story arc, and goes back to the classic "case of the week" style, however, there are still a few important tidbits to gain. Sorry for the delay!

Episode 12 - "Concentrate and Ask Again"

Zach says: The bulk of the story deals with revenge by ex-military men who want to murder people who approved a deadly weapons project which resulted in their inability to have children. Not too incredible in itself, but the weapon was some chemical compound which caused people's bones to disintegrate, so that's pretty cool. Fortunately, Olivia was able to squash the main attack, with the help of a Cortexiphan study patient, like herself. However, this man was able to read people's minds, so thusly, could identify the attackers. Fun.

The story here itself was decent enough, and relatively entertaining, but nothing too special. While all of this was going on, Olivia was still struggling with how Peter and Folivia were together, and whether or not Peter loved her, etc. Also, Nina was doing some research on "The First People" and discovered who the author might be.

As it turns out, it's that bowling alley guy, Sam Weiss; the one who helped Olivia after that bizarre car accident in Season Two. Yeah, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but sure, why not. This Sam fellow seems to know a lot, and says that Peter will decide on which universe is saved and destroyed, based on which Olivia he choices. You would think, like everyone else, that the real Olivia is the obvious choice, but Peter still thinks about Fauxlivia, according to the man who can read minds....
Zach's Score: 7.7/10

JDW says: While I was a bit bothered at first that after a good string of main-plot based episodes we were suddenly back in "case of the week" mode, overall I was pleased with this episode. It's a bit formulaic, not just in the case format, but the fact that this isn't the first time we've been introduced to a new Cortexiphan who ultimately is the only way to solve the case, and just so happens to come across the Fringe division at the most convenient time. Granted the last time we had Cortexiphan patients help out the Fringe crew they came aboard like the Super Friends and then all died in the Season Two finale... so, lt's just say this probably isn't the last we'll see of the mind reader.

But all in all the case was cool, the presentation of showing the guy's struggle with mind reading and hearing voices what pretty neat, and it was nice to see them actually have an interesting plan to catching the criminals as opposed to the normal, shoot guy and have Walter look at his body method.... though some of that was still there. Also, if Sam Weiss was such a big player in this whole scheme, why is it that we haven't even see him until 12 episodes into this season, despite seeing him all of last season?
JDW's Score: 8/10

Overall Score: 7.8/10

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

This Week In Fringe - 1/28/11

2011-01-29T16:13:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the delay, we both somehow forgot about Fringe last night! We blame the new time slot...

Episode 11 - " Reciprocity"

Zach says: Everyone is in their right universe, and the investigation is heating up. They've cracked Fauxlivia's computer encryption and are reading her files, and they've also assembled the deadly machine, minus a part or two that Fauxlivia made off with. However, they can't get the machine to work or figure out what it's supposed to do. Go figure. But, when Peter walks in the room, gears start moving and things start happening, but why?!!?

Also, shape shifters start getting murdered. Turns out, fairly expectantly, that Peter is behind the murders, and while he's been a bad guy in his past, seen in very early episodes, apparently he wouldn't be one to go out offing this bad guys. I don't know if that's quite accurate of his true character, but let's just assume it is. Walter says that perhaps when he interacted with the machine, it changed him in some way, turning him into an angry, dangerous person, which could lead him further into wanting to use the machine to destroy the other universe.

So, the plot thickens some more. Interestingly, we haven't seen anything in the past two episodes of the other universe. What are they working on? How is Fauxolivia doing? What about Walternate? What is he planning?!?!?!?
Zach's Score: 7.5/10

JDW says: Well because this is late, Zach's review is spoilertastic and doesnt leave me with much to say... But, I enjoyed this episode; I like that the scientist guy sounded just like Samuel L. Jackson (but wasn't T.C. Carson, the guy who usually replaced Jackson for the Clone Wars and Star Wars games, and is Kratos), and i liked that it wasn't another 'case of the week' again. But something seemed off...

The last and first time we heard of these 'First People' our Fringe Division only found one piece of this fantastical universe destroying machine. Now, all the sudden, they've found all the parts (which were supposedly scattered all over the world), and they knew exactly how to put it all together but somehow weren't aware of the whole deal about Peter being the key to its operation. Like, it doesn't feel like THAT much time passed since that episode, for everything to already be in place, but at least we didn't have to see 10 episodes of them just finding the parts. Win some, lose some I suppose...
JDW's Score: 8/10

Overall Score: 7.7/10

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

J.J. Abrams Needs New Font

2011-01-25T00:23:00.000-05:00

So, I was reading an article on io9 the other day, regarding J.J. Abrams' new series coming to Fox (and probably taking the place of Fringe), Alcatraz. But something seemed peculiar... not about the show, but the font in the promotional image...

It seems like Mr. Abrams has a thing for metallic 3D font, and he's used it in nearly all of his projects starting with Lost in 2004. I'm not sure if it's a conscious choice by him, or he has the same designer doing logo work for all his projects, but seriously, try something different!

Also, I love that the Mission: Impossible: III logo has lense flair, despite that not even being a joke until 3 years later when Star Trek came out.

This Week In Fringe - 1/21/11

2011-01-21T22:24:00.001-05:00

Fringe has returned, but at its new time, Fridays at 9/8 Central, and it continues just where it left off, I think. I don't really remember....but, we have the real Olivia in the right place, and the whole gang is doing what they do. First review of 2011!

Episode 10 - "The Firefly"

Zach says: This week doesn't mess with any random case files, but sticks to the point, more or less, which is winding down to the end game. Fringe's future is uncertain, and this could possibly be its last season, and if that is the case, then the writers will want to have some sort of conclusion to wrap things up, so they can't afford to waste time.

The Observers are back, and aim to set things right, which Walter messed up so many years ago taking Peter from the alternate universe to save his life, with unforeseen consequences abound.

Luckily, Walter realizes that he did indeed mess up things and turned the worlds on their heads, and knows he might have to make sacrifices to fix them, however, he may not be willing to lose Peter again, although he did give in this time. Will he be able to in the future, with real stakes at hand? I'm thinking we'll find out soon enough.
Zach's Score: 8/10

JDW says: Usually Zach writes the review review and I just have a rebuttal, but... whatever. Cause while this episode did more or less stick to the main story, there was actually a 'case of the week' it was just a bit more light-hearted and didn't involve inspecting dead corpses. Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown!) guest stars as Walter's washed-up musical idol, who claims to have seen his son, who died in the 80s. Spoiler: The Observer let him come back.

There didn't seem to be any like crazy plot twists or gruesome mystery death and drama. It was a fun episode, and for what was essentially a 'case of the week' episode, it was one of the better ones.

But I'm really bugged by the Friday night time slot. It just doesn't work; sure Bones might be the work show on TV but when it played before Fringe on Thursdays it just made sense. But what the hell is Fringe doing on a Friday night after Kitchen Nightmares? It's like I'm watching the show in a completely different setting and it's throwing off the way I look at it. Zach said it right though, especially with this new timeslot and an episode titled, "The Firefly" (WTF Fox?!), they really need to get this show into gear, because there's basically just 10 episodes left and I'm not sure where they plan on going with this...
JDW's Score: 8.2/10

Overall Score: 8.1/10 (Yup.)

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

First Look: Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man

2011-01-13T18:50:00.002-05:00

It may not come out until 2012, but here's the first look at Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man from Marc Webb's unneeded reboot of the film franchise...

While it's thankfully a tangible suit and not CGI like Green Lantern's costume (that's a rant for another time), I can't say I've very pleased with this... for one it just doesn't look like any other Spider-Man costume before it. Where's the webbing that looks like webs? The stripe that connects from the shoulders to the hands? The waistline? And why does it still not look like something that Peter Parker could make himself?!

Sure, the previous costume wasn't perfect, but with one look I could tell it was Spider-Man! It at least followed the design of the original look in the comics, aside from the silver webbing. But what the hell is going on here? What's with the spike design in what seem to be separate gloves? Why would you put a long narrow torso piece on a guy that's already tall and skinny? At least Toby Macguire was stout, the costume suited him, this just looks weird.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Spider-Man 1 and 2 are probably my favorite, most memorable superhero films, sure the third film was pretty bad, but there was no need to reboot it already. I'm bitter about it now, and I'll probably be bitter about it until a trailer comes out. But seriously, let's try making films of other superheroes before we start rebooting ones that were already fantastic...

Black Swan Review

2010-12-29T18:05:00.003-05:00

I joked in the 127 Hours review that I'd probably forget to review this, or maybe not review it all; and to be honest it's taken a few days to finally get this started... because I'm still unsure how I feel about this film.

For one, this is Aronofsky's latest film since The Wrestler, which I liked so much I gave it a VFH Seal of Approval (it was actually the first movie to get one, if you dont count WALL-E on Blu-ray). Which makes my judgment even harder, granted when I saw that film I hadn't seen any of Aronofsky's other films, which I've since gone and done and now have a much better idea on how I should judge his work...

...Anyways, Black Swan! The film centers around a ballet dancer, Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman), the best of her dance company and is trying to land the lead in Swan Lake, the company's re-imagining of the classic ballet. But despite being highly considered for the role, she is thrown off her pedestal by a newcomer, Lilu (Mila Kunis), who is basically everything Nina is not: free-spirited, out going, and overtly sexual. The pressure and influence of her rival, not to mention that fron her overbearing mother, director, and the company's former star dancer, ultimately leads Nina on a strange mind-bending ride.

Prior to seeing the film, I heard from a lot of people that the film would freak me out, and that I'd be thinking about it for days, etc etc... Well, that wasn't the case, for me at least. Yeah, I guess a lot of the film was weird or taboo, but it wasn't shocking, or that weird. I mean, I have watched Zardoz numerous times... But that's not to say I was disappointed, I'm just saying that people make this film out to be much stranger and brain-busting than it really is, I think.

Regardless of other peoples' opinions, I really did enjoy the film. I loved how it was shot just like The Wrestler, which a very intimate and realistic look, as if you were right there with the characters. And the fact that Black Swan adds the mind bending elements that obviously weren't in The Wrestler, makes the style of shooting even more effective. That's not to say 'big-budget Aronofsky' isn't apparent as there are a few scenes that bring in some CGI work that started to give me flashbacks of The Fountain, but thankfully the film never takes it that far, and the one scene that heavily uses CGI here is actually quite beautiful.

Acting-wise, everyone's really good in this film. I can't think of anyone more fitting for this role than Natalie Portman, and I was surprised that Mila Kunis was able to pull off the role, as I don't think I've seen her do anything appealing. Both Barabara Hershey and Vincent Cassel were great as Nina's mother and director respectively, as both do a fantastic of job of portraying seemingly sweet mentors but then ultimately becoming over-controlling and sinister.

Overall, I really did enjoy Black Swan, but I don't think I liked it as much as people are saying I should... if that makes any sense. I'd gladly watch it again, as it's a very brutal film, but not in the same depressing sense as Requiem For A Dream, which I honestly can't bring myself to watch a second time because it's so uncomfortable. But at the same time, I still don't think I enjoyed it as much as The Wrestler, because I find it difficult to get any sort of emotional connection to the characters of Black Swan like I had with The Wrestler. But ultimately both are great films, and really shouldn't be compared to each other aside from the relation of having the same director. Bottom line, I liked this film.

Overall Score: 9/10

This Week in Doctor Who: 12/25/10

2010-12-26T14:14:00.000-05:00

It finally happened! For the first time ever, an episode/special of Doctor Who aired the same day in America as it did in the UK... barring a 5 hour time zone difference of course, but still! That's a fantastic thing when you consider that by the end of the recent Series 5, the episodes were airing almost a month apart between the two countries' air times. Let's hope this sticks come Series 6's premiere is Spring 2011. But enough about that, we're here to talk Christmas, in particular: Doctor Who's rendition of A Christmas Carol.

2010 Christmas Special - "A Christmas Carol"

Where to start? The episode opens with our newly weds, Amy and Rory, honeymooning on a ship somewhere out in space, which suddenly experiences some turbulence which I'm sure had something to do with the whole set looking like something out of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, with large visual screens and lense flares to boot. It's soon revealed that a man named Kazran Sardik (Michael Gambon, you know, Dumbledore), the Scrooge type character of this Earth-like planet, who has the ability to control the skies. But these aren't just any skies; no, these skies are filled with fish that can swim in fog... and sharks can swim there too!

In order to save Amy, Rory, and the other 4,000 people aboard the ship, The Doctor must convince Kazran to fix the sky, even if it means playing "the Ghost of Christmas Past" and going back in time, changing Sardik's memories before his very eyes.

Not being a Christian, I've never really cared for Christmas, let alone the overtold story of A Christmas Carol, and certainly an episode of Doctor Who isn't going to change my feelings about that. However, for an episode that was by far the most Christmas-y Doctor Who special yet, I very much enjoyed it. For instance, "The Christmas Invasion," "The Runaway Bride," "Voyage of the Damned" and "The Next Doctor" all took place on Christmas or referenced something from the previous Christmas... but they were never really about the holiday. And last year's special, The End of Time "Part One" wasn't about Christmas at all, because everyone was tuning in to see David Tennant make his farewell as The Doctor, which was all about gloom and doom and not "Christmas cheer" as you call it. So for once I guess it was neat to see a Christmas special that really was actually about Christmas, and not just something that seemed to be conveniently timed.

But overall this special was really great. There was a lot of fan service, from fezzes to long colorful scarves, to hilarious moments where The Doctor accidentally marries Marylin Monroe; there was a lot of fun to be had in this episode. Also, the trailer for Series 6 at the end, totally awesome! Spring can't come soon enough!

Overall Score: 9/10

....aaaaaaaand I just realized I never did a season recap like I said I'd do at the end of the last This Week in Doctor Who... whoops!

Tron: Legacy Review

2010-12-23T15:40:00.001-05:00

With one Jeff Bridges starring movie getting reviewed today I couldn't just skip over the one the he stars in twice... and admittedly the movie I've waited all about 3 years to actually see. But the question is, was it worth it? After countless times of rewatching the original 1982 Tron, constantly watching the trailers, trying to find any preview of the soundtrack that I could, participating in almost every viral marketing event, going to Tron Night, and skipping over a free screening last Monday so I could see a free screening of True Grit that happened to be at the same time AND across the street. Was it worth it?!

No. Not completely at least. Tron: Legacy is the feature length debut of Joseph Kosinski, who previous had only directed some special effects-heavy commercials. I think that's a big part of the blame for Tron: Legacy's end result. The other blame is hype and over-marketing. But I'll get into these later.

Tron: Legacy is the long in the making (though probably not the intended result) sequel to 1982's Tron, a film directed by Steven Lisberger, and famous for being the first film to use CGI to create a completely artificial world, and really the rest is history. So nearly 30 years later, what innovation does Tron: Legacy bring? The only thing I can think of would be 3D that's used to tell a story and costumes that can actually light up...

Story-wise, it isn't required that you need to see the original, as film takes place 25 years later, and much of what has changed is either explained via bedtime stories, news broadcasts and flashbacks; all of which seemed like really poor way to tel story in a theatrical film. Flashbacks are cool in Lost, but they just feel out of place here, and the news broadcasts were shown in a ghostly room full of phantom televisions... also weird. And then theirs the cliche story about how the digital world is building an army that wants to break free of their realm and take other the Earth. Yup...

Acting-wise... Garrett Hedlund knows how to do two things: smile, and stand. And that's really all I can say about his character of Sam Flynn. Olivia Wilde doesn't know whether she's playing a badass warrior, small minded child, or mannequin. And Jeff Bridges... while enjoyable, and I get that he's been in this world for over 20 years and things change, but he didn't feel like the same character that I saw in the original film, and that was kind of upsetting. However, his character of Clu felt completely different than "The Dude" and most of the time I thought it was a different actor, so, well done sir.

But, this is nothing new. If you've actually watched the original Tron, and not just assumed you've seen it thanks to pop-culture, you'd know that the film was never any sort of cinematic masterpiece, everyone just remembers it because it was the first film to use CGI and it looked cool for the time. Even to this day, Tron probably still has the most unique visual style of any film ever. Thirty years later however, things basically haven't changed. Tron: Legacy has two things going for it, an awesome visual style and art direction, and a killer score that's unlike anything before it. But, it's still not that great at telling a story, and guess we can call it the Tron Tradition... or Trondition if you will. I can hate on the acting and the story all I want for either film, but in the end I still love both because of the way they look and sound, and you can't say that about a lot of films.

Overall, I'd say this, I was certainly disappointed with the film because I got sucked into the hype. When a movie appears at Comic-Con three years in a row, and all you can do is read about how people loved what they saw, you can only assume good things. Getting wrapped up in the viral marketing aids to that as well, but I don't regret getting all the free swag that I did. But while I really loved the way this film looked and sounded (a separate review for the score will be up eventually), there are definitely a lot of things to question about some of the film making choices, and I think Disney really should have considered a director with more experience at telling stories than just making things look cool, especially when they want to make a franchise out of it.

Overall Sore: 8.2/10

To justify that score, I'll say this. I enjoyed it more than Avatar, which I gave an 8/10 last year. While I praised that film for the way it looked and story that just 'worked' I wasn't crazy about it. Tron: Legacy's story may not have 'worked' by most standards, but because of the visuals and soundtrack and familiarity of some of the characters (a.k.a. fanboying) I have to give it a bit of an edge. So that's how I justify that score despite a lot of negativity. Plus I intended to see Tron: Legacy numerous times in theaters, I can't bring myself to watch Avatar again.

True Grit Review

2010-12-23T14:50:00.000-05:00

First off, sorry; I actually got to see True Grit at an advance screening last Monday, and would have loved to of had an early review for you all, but my schedule has been really busy. But, to my luck and surprise, on my first day of vacation yesterday, TCM was airing the original 1969 version of True Grit with John Wayne's Oscar winning performance, and I really wanted to see it before I made my final judgment on the Coen Brothers' take on the western novel.

Basically, my main impressions are going to be based off seeing the film cold, without any real knowledge of the original adaptation and without seeing anything but the first trailer (something I wish I did for Tron: Legacy, but that's my next review). I'll make some judgments based on my newfound knowledge but, nothing major. Having said all that, I'm a huge fan of the Coen's films, with my favorite being last years seemingly under the radar, A Serious Man (which I surely would have given a Seal of Approval had I seen it in theaters), and with only 3 of their films still unseen I think I have a pretty good judgment as to what works and what doesn't when it comes to their work.

True Grit works, and its damn good. I'd really love to just leave the review at that but I can't. I, like many others semi-doubted that not only could the Coens not pull off a remake (or new adaptation, your pick) but could they pull off a western? Granted there aren't really any westerns anymore, and if there are they're not original; 3:10 to Yuma, anyone? But if someone was going to do it right, the Coens were the right choice.

While some of the advertising may suggest that Josh Brolin is a major part of the film, or that the story is all about Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon, you'd be wrong. The real star is first time actress Hailee Steinfeld, who not only narrates the film but is practically in every scene of the film and its about her life... so as to why people are award her as 'supporting actress' is incredibly baffling to me. But any recognition is good recognition because for a first timer she really carries this film all her own and does a really great job.

As for the rest of the cast, both Matt Damon and Jeff Bridges are great. Bridges (unlike his reprise of Kevin Flynn in Tron: Legacy) does not play "The Dude" here, and his character is very unlike the gritty but heroic character that John Wayne played in the original. He's ruffer, he's grosser, but he's still great to watch. As for Matt Damon, I doubted he could pull of a southern accent and a mustache, but he proved me wrong. And Josh Brolin, he's good, but he just deserve to have his name on all the posters and ads, he's barely in the film and doesn't even say much, DON'T BE MISLEAD. But really all the acting is superb regardless of misleading ads.

But how does it compare to the Coens other films? Well, I'm generally not really into westerns (Clint Eastwood aside) so I can say that this is one of the few I actually enjoyed (and having seen the original now I much enjoyed that as well). But my favorites of theirs are A Serious Man, No Country for Old Men, O, Brother Where Art Thou?, Fargo and The Big Lebowski, amongst others of course, but I'd say True Grit is definitely up there now.

The film just came out yesterday, with the holiday weekend coming up; and I know this review is incredibly informal when compared to my past work, but do yourself a favor, if you see anything before the year ends: SEE THIS MOVIE.

Overall Score: 9.5/10

This Week in Fringe - 12/9/10

2010-12-11T01:08:00.000-05:00

Olivia has returned to the right universe and goes back to her job, but will being a woman have any effect on her work? You betcha.

Episode 9 - "Marionette"

Zach says: Taking place in the regular universe, this episode follows the trek of a crazy, brilliant doctor-man who steals a bunch of transplanted organs to put them back into an underage girl who committed suicide. Very romantic. Then, before bringing her back to life, he makes her dance ala marionette. Again, touching.

Unfortunately though, Olivia feels for this crazy dude, and after Peter told Olivia about what happened with faux-Olivia, she's none too happy. Hopefully, Walter can create some miracle potion to make her forget or something.

But on a very interesting note, we see that original Observer walking about. And now, from what we've all seen, this brings up an interesting theory, that perhaps the Observers hail from the same lineage as those original pre-dinosaur people who created the death machine!!! What could it mean?? Hopefully, we'll find out.
Zach's Score: 7.5/10

JDW says: I'll be honest, I watched the episode last night, and I didn't catch any of what Zach's talking about regarding the Observers. I did see the main Observer, watching Walter, but the rest I didn't pick up on. I assume that because I was grossed out and traumatized at the site of the man with NO EYES, and Frankenstien-esque dead-girl marionette dance recital. No really, for the first time in a long time, I was terrified to watch something on television, so ... good job I guess.

As for the rest, I get where Olivia is coming from, but really how was Peter to know? She fit right into the other world, so why can't faux-Olivia just fit into her place? I mean it's not like some gross mutant was sleeping in her house/clothes, just her.. from another universe... chin up kid!
JDW's Score: 8/10

Overall Score: 7.7/10

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

NOTE! Sadly, yet again, Fringe is going on hiatus, this time until January 21st, 2010. And if you happen to be looking at a calendar, you'll notice that Fringe is moving from its current Thursday slot to ... Fridays, also known as Fox's infamous "death slot". What does this mean for the future of the show? Who knows, but if it's been getting good, it would be a shame to get the axe now.

Conan offers a glimpse of Green Lantern: The Animated Series

2010-12-10T11:43:00.001-05:00

Last night on Conan, he visited Warner Bros. Animation to basically ridicule them about DC effeminate character designs. But then he met with DC Animated Universe pioneer, Bruce Timm... and I noticed something in the background:

Here's a couple of screenshots:

After a bit of research, I found out that there was an under the radar announcement of the series all the way back in May, and that it would premiere on Cartoon Network sometime after the big Hollywood film starring Ryan Reynolds.

But still, when I saw this on TV I was giddy as hell because Green Lantern has long been my favorite DC superhero, and having grown-up on Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, one can only hope that this new show follows in their footsteps and returns DC animation back to Bruce Timm's DCAU.

Not that there's anything wrong with shows like Teen Titans or Batman: The Brave and the Bold (the latter of which I really enjoy), but some shows I could never really get on-board with, i.e. The Batman and The Legion of Superheroes, and while the Young Justice pilot movie was okay, I still don't like the look of it. Regardless, color me excited!

127 Hours Review

2010-12-04T21:43:00.001-05:00

Continuing in my new-found tradition of seeing things and then not telling you for a week ((or a month) ... or never), I'm here to finally post my review of Danny Boyle's latest film, 127 Hours, starring James Franco as Aron Ralston, a hiker who in 2003 accidentally got his arm trapped by a boulder while hiking alone in Utah, and his persistence to stay alive.

This is Boyle's first film since the Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire, which I saw and really enjoyed (and would totally link you to a review of it if I wrote one...), and I watched Boyle's first film, Shallow Graves, recently and really enjoyed it; so I'll say that I went into this anticipating a film that would be worthwhile (and hopefully devoid of any unnecessary Bollywood dance numbers). And it delivered, but how can a film about a got trapped for 5 days be enjoyable? Well, read on...

First off, I didn't see this year's other 'man trapped in a cramped place for a long period of time' film, Buried, so I can't give any remarks about who does it better, but I can say that it comparison to a lot of things I've seen this year, I really did enjoy this. It's the type of film I felt that I couldn't really predict how it would go down; I mean yes, I knew he was going to be trapped for most of the film, and that eventually he was going to remove his own arm (it's a true story after all), but just how I didn't know. Which is a good thing, I hate seeing movies where I know exactly what going to happen and how (lemme guess... Autobots win?) and Boyle does a great job of keeping the audiences attention, whether it be with interesting presentation or the sometimes weird an unneeded dream sequences; like the Scooby-Doo part was amusing but like... really? Did we need that?

The scene everyone's talking about though is when Aaron amputates his own arm. Like everyone else, I knew the scene was coming, but I had no idea what to expect. I've watched enough horror films to see somebody's arm get ripped off and not think much of it (okay, I'll cringe a little). But the presentation and realism really set this apart from other gore I've seen in films because you've been with this guy the whole film, with the feeling that you're trapped with him, and suddenly he makes this heroic decision to finally get out, and inside you're cheering for him ... And then he snaps his own bones and gnawes away at his nerves and tendons and it's just ... too much to bare. I'm not regularly squeemish, but just thinking of the scene as I write this still gives me chills. But I think that's the point, that outside of you're theater setting and popcorn, you are in Aron's shoes at that moment, and it really is testament to how good this film is.

If I had to compare this to the other 'really good film with a surprisingly young leading man who is usually in mellow dramas or comedies' film, The Social Network, I'd have to rate 127 Hours just a bit higher. Jesse Eisenberg did a great job acting in that film, but I've actually seen him act before so it was just a fitting role for him. But Franco, I've never seen him do serious well, and I didn't think much of him when I saw him in person, but he surprised me here. His usual comedic charm is there, but when he has to put on his serious face in times of desperation and struggle he does it, and he does it damn well. 127 Hours isn't a film I can suggest to everyone, for obvious reasons, but if you're not squeamish, definitely check this one out.

Overall Score: 9.2/10

Fun fact: just two years ago when Slumdog Millionaire released, Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler came out, and I enjoyed it so much I gave it a VFH Seal of Approval; and completely forgot to review Slumdog. Now, two years later, I've reviewed Boyle's 127 Hours, and Aronofsky has Black Swan releasing (which I also plan to see). Let's hope I don't forget to review that one this time...

This Week in Fringe - 12/2/10

2010-12-02T22:36:00.000-05:00

And things are heating up. Which side will come out on top? Who will win? Or are we just gonna forget about the war and go back to work? I guess we'll find out next week.

However, this week's episode was pretty good. Both Olivias got put back in their proper universes, but not without a fight on either side. SPOILERS BELOW

Episode 8 - "Entrada"

Zach says: The story remain focused on the main arc, and didn't divert to talking about some random case file, thankfully. The other side is still talking of war and fixing their universe at the cost of destroying the other, while the "real" side is hoping to find a better solution and keep both.

Unfortunately, it appears that soon the other side will have all, or most of the necessary components of the machine, but it would seem that they would still need Peter to make it work, and who knows what it even does.

Hopefully, these answers will be revealed in the weeks to come, but looking at the "next week" clip, it seems like things may go back to the "case of the week" style, moving away from the main story arc, which would be very disappointing.
Zach's Score: 8/10

JDW says: Aside from the on-coming universe war, there was something more interesting about this episode; it was the first episode since the season opener to not have any sort of case going on, and it was the first episode this season to take place in both universes (as opposed to the back and forth pattern they've been doing with every other episode). And despite that being a disgusting to look at, run-on sentence, the episode was actually pretty good.

For once, things actually happened, and get this ... there were permanent changes that will affect the dynamic of both worlds! OMGPLOTDEVELOPEMENT AMIRIGHT?! But seriously, after weeks of 'good other side episode / bad our side episode' I'm glad this one managed to pull through. But I agree with Zach, the preview for next week does look like more of the same, and with our Olivia back in our world, and other Broyles dead, I can't imagine we'll be seeing any more cool other-side cases... which is kind of a shame.
JDW's Score: 8.5/10

Overall Score: 8.3/10

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

This Week in Futurama - 11/21/10

2010-11-21T22:59:00.000-05:00

Well well, looks like Futurama's sixth season wasn't done at just 12 episodes. Futurama is back, just this week, for a holiday special, which is kind of annoying since it's not even Thanksgiving yet. But alas, it's here, it aired, and now I'm going to review it...

Episode 13 - "The Futurama Holiday Spectacular"

This holiday special is very much in the vein of the "Tales of Interest" episodes, except there's no use of the What-If-Machine, instead opting for commercial breaks to take the place of actual transitions, so each short is still separate from the other.

In the first short, the Xmas one, Fry longs for a pine tree for the holiday instead of the traditional palm. But pine trees have been extinct for years, and so the Planet Expres crew finds a lab that may still have ancient seeds ... but they might be contaminated, and lets just say it doesn't turn out well for Earth ... or me, the viewer, because this was generally uninteresting and unfunny when compared to previous robot Santa episodes.

The next short is for Robonukkah, Bender's made-up holiday to get off of work. So no Hanukkah Zombie, as this is strictly for the fake holiday, even if most of the humor really is playing off the real holiday. Bender claims to need oil for 6 and a half weeks of fembot wrestling, but oil no longer exists on Earth so the crew plunges to the depths of the Earth to search for some... and die. Bwomp Bwommmmmp. The short was amusing, but nothing great.

The final short is for Kwanzaa, so I'm going to assume this is the first Kwanzaa special outside of like ... Rugrats. Everyone comes to Hermes' house for Kwanzaa, when they realize that they don't have actual beeswax candles for the kinara, and it turns out that all the bees are filled with parasites, so the crew must go to the giant space bees, and fight off parasite with the spirit of Kwanzaa. Still, nothing fantastic here, but this was definitely the best of the bunch.

Overall, the special was nothing fantastic but there were definitely laughs to be had. It's just annoying that they finally have another "Tales of Interest" type episode ... and all three shorts basically have the same exact set up, but just the holiday is different. And not that I'm an Al Gore hater or anything, but this episode was incredibly preachy about global warming etc, and Mr. Gore was in the special throughout. And well... sometimes enough's enough.

Overall Score: 7/10

And yet, Season 6 still isn't over, but for this year it is. New episodes will be back sometime next year, so look forward to more ho-hum reviews...

Kirby's Epic Yarn Review

2010-11-21T00:39:00.002-05:00

With Nintendo's next retro-centric platformer, Donkey Kong Country Returns (which I have pre-ordered so maybe you'll see a review soon? ... though I do have a lot that still need writing first) on the horizon, it's a bout time that I finally write this review. I mean, it came out on the same day as it's visual polar opposite, Fallout: New Vegas, which I've surely invested more time in. But that's nothing against this game, after all it was my Game of E3 so hopefully my hyped meter was fulfilled... right? Read on to find out!

Story
What else were you expecting from Kirby? One day he's out walking aimlessly, when he spots food and decides to eat it ... but this is no ordinary food, it's made of yarn! Suddenly an evil wizard, Yin-Yarn, appears, angry at Kirby for eating his special food and warps him into a sock ... which happens to be a secret universe were Kirby realizes he is made of yarn and the whole world is as well. But there'sa problem, Yin-Yarn has disrupted the balance of this world and with the help of Prince Fluff, Kirby must literally sew the world back together.

The game's story is presented in a very storybook fashion, with paper/yarn cutouts representing the characters with minimal animation, and a mostly creepy narrator explaing the story and taking the speaking roles for all the character. It's a bit minimal by today's standards, but it totally works for the tone of the game.

Gameplay
What sets Epic Yarn apart from the traditional Kirby games is that there is no inhaling mechanic. To some scoffers, they'd say this isn't a Kirby game then, but if you recall, Canvas Curse on the DS also didn't use the standard inhale/use enemies' powers gameplay either, and it's regarded as one of the best in the series. Instead you are "yarn powered" which allows Kirby to transform into anything at any given moment, and use string to interact with the world and its inhabitants. Want to move faster? Turn into a car. Want float down instead of falling? Turn into a parachute. It's simple, but it works well.

Some if not all levels also feature parts where Kirby can transform completely, instead of just for one task like speed or floating; these include changing into rally cars, surfing penguins, giant tanks, UFOs, space ships and more, which add a lot of variety to the standard platforming, and if I do say so myself, the shmup-style levels are some of the best the game has to offer.

However, there is one gripe I have about the game ... it's insanely easy. Sure, it's a Kirby game, and has an incredibly light-hearted presentation, but having played nearly every Kirby game before it, I'd say this is by far the easiest game in the series. Don't be surprised if you can actually manage to beat this in a day, but unlike games like God of War III which only lasts few hours, theres actually some incentive to replay this game numerous time. There's also 2 player co-op, but I think because the game's already very easy having two players would probably just cause confusion than add any extra fun... and of course there's no online co-op. But, you can arrange furniture and play mini-games! ... yay?

Graphics
However, the gameplay isn't what sold this game for me. I was sold when I first saw this game's beautiful art-style back at E3 this year, and thankfully it stays completely fresh throughout the game with ever-changing level design and gameplay mechanics that further enhance this game's unique visual style. It's one of the few times I'd actually argue in favor of an HD capable Wii because 480p just doesn't do this enough justice and this game already out-rival's Sony's PixelJunk series (which I also love) when comes to fantastic play, unique looking HD 2D games. HD aside though, this game still looks great on my TV at 480p and sometimes I feel like the game is really made of physical material and not just highly detailed graphics. Whoever is responsible for this style needs a promotion.

Sound
You can't have a Kirby game without great music right? Well the its no different this time around, but instead of the surprisingly brutal polka tracks that we're used to hearing from Kirby games we're given a much more lighthearted soundtrack that certainly fits well with the visual style. It may not be for everyone, but for myself, when I was getting frustrated with the glitch-heavy wasteland of Fallout: New Vegas I'd turn on my Wii with Kirby's Epic Yarn and relax my frustrations away, and the music certainly helped.

Final Thoughts
Kirby's Epic Yarn is definitely one of the best games on the Wii right now, even if it is overly simplistic. Is it going to lure over the Halo crowd from their Xboxes? Probably not. But can you be a grown man and still enjoy a game that looks like it was designed for toddlers, definitely. Epic Yarn is surely a testament to that, and definitely embraces the all-ages approach of the Wii. Whether or not you'll be able to accept the game's incredibly easy gameplay is up to you, but it'd be a shame to miss out on a game that looks these beautiful and still has solid platforming.

Overall Score: 9/10

Doctor Who returns on Christmas!

2010-11-19T21:26:00.002-05:00

Great news Who fans! (specifically the American ones) For the first time ever, the next Doctor Who special, "A Christmas Carol" will air the same day in America as well as the UK! Check out the trailer released today:

That's right, no weeks of waiting, or pointless delays; once it airs in the UK it will air here in America just a few hours later, what with time zones and all that. So hopefully that also means an on time return of This Week in Doctor Who! Now we can only hope this practice carries onto the rest of Series 6 when it starts in the Spring next year.

This Week in Fringe - 11/18/10

2010-11-19T21:22:00.000-05:00

What's that? A reused scenario from a previous season? We must be in the alternate universe this week!

Episode 7 - "The Abducted"

So yeah, it appears some old guy wants to stay young, and Olivia knows how to solve the crime, more or less, from her past experience with the same thing. Through her help in solving the crime, she gains Broyles' allegiance, which will undoubtedly come in handy in the fight to come. Obviously, Walternate doesn't like her very much, and she went ahead and got herself captured. You know, because it would be hard to find another big thing of water to transport from ............ yeah. But with Broyles on her side, perhaps she can escape.

Also on the plus side, she managed to get a message out to Peter, so it'll be interesting to see what he does with it, and how he deals with faux-Olivia. Other than that though, the story was okay. Creepy old man abducting kids, because some clergyman went crazy with power after his wife died. I don't know. Engaging enough.
Zach's Score: 8/10

JDW says: Agreed, the episode was certainly engaging. I'd actually say that about all of the Other Side episodes, they're much more interesting and engaging. I'm glad that there's actually some character developement, with the increased dickishnes of Walternate, Broyle's every changing thoughts on his position and who he really trusts, and bringing back that cab driver whose name I don't remember, but he's a nice guy so I guess that's redeeming.... (I'll be honest, I keep putting of the review, so I'm phoning it in, but I really did enjoy this episode.)

And maybe I'm alone on this, but I totally hate the Peter/Olivia in-love thing going on, so I'm really curious to see how next week's episode pans out.... oh wait... the show is on another hiatus for two weeks because of Thanksgiving. THANKS AMERICAN TRADITIONS!
JDW's Score: 8/10

Overall Score: 8/10

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

This Week in Fringe - 11/11/10

2010-11-11T22:40:00.000-05:00

Another episode in the standard universe, and they are one step closer to solving the mystery of the universe!

Episode 6 - "6955 kHz"

Zach says: After some strange occurrences, and the mystery of the number stations, Astrid comes to a terrifying conclusion: the murderous machine that Walternate is trying to build might be on their side as well.

Apparently, a group of humans lived millions of years ago, and they were technologically advanced and so forth, and built/destroyed/hid the device. Through these number stations, the locations of the pieces of the machine can be found, which doesn't make all that much sense, but hey, why not.

What also doesn't make sense is that a shapeshifter was giving people amnesia, whom had cracked the code. But why? At the end of the episode, evil Olivia reported to the other side that they have found the pieces, which apparently was a good thing. Then why give everyone amnesia, stopping them from finding it? Shiz don't make no sense.

Anyways, it seems interesting, and who knows what building the machine will do. Then both sides will have it, so the fight for Peter will rage on, I guess. Could get interesting, and bloody in the future. A war is coming.
Zach's Score: 7/10

JDW says: Agreed, this shit didn't make any sense and was indeed a mess. What was the purpose of giving amnesia? Why did we need to see those people if they didn't do anything in the end? How the hell does this machine exist in 37 different places from a time before modern man and science? And how the hell does Walternate even know of its existence?

This isn't even a Lost type question barrage, asking about mysterious that won't be answers for seasons on end... No, these are serious, logical questions of episode structure and storytelling, there was a lot about this episode that just plan doesn't make sense. Even if the next few episodes try and explain just how these machine parts came to be, there's still a lot of logic issues wrong with this episode.
JDW's Score: 5/10

Overall Score: 6/10

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

This Week in Fringe - 11/4/10

2010-11-04T22:38:00.000-04:00

Fringe is back! After some crazy hiatus due to ... baseball? Fringe returns. This week takes place in the alternate universe, with Olivia gearing up to perform some tests with Walternate to try to unlock her universe-traveling abilities, and wouldn't you know it, they are successful.

Episode 5 - "Amber 31422"

Zach says: And a completely unrelated note, the main plot of the episode focuses on twins, one of whom was stuck in amber in one of the quarantine zones. After years stuck there, he is freed by his brother, and we learn that people stuck in such a situation, are actually still alive and can be resuscitated.

Anyways, the big news is that Olivia is seeing Peter more and more, who is trying to convince her that she is the "real" Olivia, and that she needs to remember the truth! By the end of the episode, she starts to believe it in fact, with the truth being basically validated during one of those experiments with the Defense Minister.

So yeah, pretty slow episode, the main story wasn't all that interesting and definitely not relevant, aside from relating to a Season One episode, and nothing much happened. Sure, Olivia will definitely start doing some stuff come two weeks from now, but that'll have to wait.
Zach's Score: 6.9/10

JDW says: I'll just say outright, 6.9 is an annoying score. Just saying. Anyways, I'll agree, the episode was extremely slow paced and was more of the same 'case of the week' type of thing we've come to expect from Fringe. But, like the previous case set in the other side, I liked it more than the typical 'case of the week' episodes. It's hard to explain, but the fact that the typical formula is broken up by a different setting and characters somehow makes it slightly more enjoyable and/or interesting.

Not to mention that we both disapproved of the episode from a weeks ago, set on our side, I'm going to just go out on a limb and say there's actually something to my theory that Other Side episodes are just better in general. We'll see if that's the case at the end of this season, but for now I think there's really something here. But I'll agree, despite a semi-interesting case, nothing happened in this episode for the most part, and I'm going to consider it a throw-away.
JDW's Score: 7.5/10

Overall Score: 7.2/10

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

Fallout: New Vegas Review

2010-11-03T19:44:00.000-04:00

Fallout: New Vegas, developed by Obsidian, has taken up the reigns from Bethesda, who made Fallout 3, and created a new experience for Fallout players. If you’ve played Fallout 3, you’ll feel right at home, as both the look and feel are almost identical. But, has Obsidian improved or done anything special to make New Vegas stand out from its predecessors? Read on to find out.

New Vegas, like Fallout 3, is very story and environment driven. You are placed in this wasteland, with all sorts of inhabitants, and have to find a way to survive, while being guided by quests and an overall goal. While there is a main series of quests that are story-driven, you are still very free to explore the wasteland and do whatever it is you want to do.

There are various groups of people, from the NCR and Legion, to the Brotherhood of Steel, Powder Gangers, and Great Khans. All of these groups of people have varying side-quests and dynamics for you to explore. You can change their allegiances, or choose an alliance of your own. If you don’t like one particular group, you can go and kill all of their members, or choose to cooperate with them. One of the main dynamics of the game is how each group can either like or hate you, depending on your actions. If you murder an entire sect of a community, obviously they won’t be too fond of you, but the way a group feels towards you can be more subtle, in that if you, for instance, help the Legion, the NCR, their rivals, will start to show aggression towards you. In this way, the entire environment and all of your decisions start to have more of an impact on how you are treated and what you get to experience. If you help one community, they may feel more comfortable with you and you may be able to do more quests for them, which could completely change later parts of the game. In fact, the game has at least 4 real ways to reach the end, which are all chosen by your actions and on whom you decide to help. Granted, the endings aren’t very different, technically, but you get the idea.

I believe Fallout 3 sort of had this idea, where, if you blew up the Brotherhood of Steel’s base, they would always be hostile towards you. However, New Vegas explores this much more deeply, giving you a reputation with each and every group you meet in the game, and these reputations will help lock or unlock quests. Having a good reputation can also lower costs for items, so that’s a plus. And, if you don’t have a great reputation with a group, you might be able to disguise yourself as one of them to walk around without getting immediately assaulted.

One of the fun aspects of Fallout has been exploration. This is still the case with New Vegas. The map seems to be about the same size as Fallout 3’s, and it is about the same in terms of how much there is to see. I might go as far as to say Fallout 3 had a more diverse map, with more interesting areas, but New Vegas has plenty to see. There are tons of buildings and vaults to explore, and areas in which to find special items and weapons. Another new thing Vegas adds is the ability to mod your weapons. As you progress, you can purchase modifications from vendors, which range from scopes to extended mags. These don’t really change the weapons too much, but they can be helpful, like the night-vision scope. Unfortunately, a lot of the same weapons from Fallout 3 are present in this game. Granted, they were decent weapons, but it would have been nice to see an entirely new arsenal.

New Vegas “borrows” quite a bit from Fallout 3 actually. And by quite a bit, I mean pretty much everything. The graphics are the same, controls are the same, items are the same, and pretty much everything else. Most of the enemies and character models are the same as well. I wish Obsidian would have went all out and created a completely new game, but New Vegas seems to simply take Fallout 3, and add in a couple new features.

But, there are still some more changes to discuss, mostly of which don’t drastically change gameplay to any degree. One such change is how you can create more things. One aspect of this is with food items you find scattered throughout the desert. If you come upon a campfire, and you know the recipe, you can create new items, which are more potent/valuable and can be used to your benefit. The same is basically true of ammo. You can break down unneeded ammo, and get parts necessary to build a new type of ammo. And some guns even have different varieties of ammo, so, instead of using standard ammo, you can use a hollow-point, or armor-piercing round, etc. You can spend lots of time building these pieces, or finding them scattered around, but I didn’t actual use either feature in my 30+ hour play through.

You also have a bit more control over your companions this time around, via the companion wheel, which gives you various options on how to instruct your companion. Again, I never used this, except to tell a companion to stay, or follow, and this was only done to get them to follow me again when they had to wait outside of a place, due to security, pft. But, it would be useful in combat perhaps, especially in Hardcore mode where they can actually die!

Hardcore mode is one of the main new features that New Vegas has to offer. This mode makes the game more “realistic” and challenging. One feature of this mode is three added meters that you have to take heed of; Water, Food, Sleep. Like radiation, if any of these get too high, you’ll be penalized via health loss, or other stat loss, etc, until you eventually succumb and die. But, like radiation, these things are fairly easy to manage, at least they were when I played Hardcore on very easy.... Basically, you eat food, your food meter goes down, drink water, water meter goes down, etc. Thankfully though, it’s not all that simple and there are various, realistic tweaks. For instance, if you drink alcohol, you actually get more dehydrated, just like real life, and if you drink a Nuka Cola, your tired meter goes down due to the caffeine. These meters are definitely important and things to keep an eye on, which can get annoying, because you can only see them on your Pip-Boy and can’t display them to your screen like HP, although warnings will appear when levels get too high.

Other features of Hardcore include ammo weight, and the fact that stimpacks and radaway heal over time. Also, you can’t just sleep to heal limb damage, but have to see a doctor or use a doctor bag, so you’ll want to be a little more careful. And actually, in all modes, food heals over time, which is a bit of an annoyance in comparison to Fallout 3.

The story in New Vegas seems to be more attached to everything you do. In Fallout 3, it seemed to me that finding your dad and all of that stuff was sort of a side mission. Once you got out of the vault, you could do whatever you wanted and I almost forgot I was even looking for my dad. With New Vegas, pretty much everything you do is connected to the main story line. That isn’t to say that there aren’t plenty of “unrelated” side quests and what not, but it seems to all culminate in a more meaningful way in New Vegas. You start off as a courier, trying to deliver an important package to an important client, but end up with a bullet in the end. Ah, that’s how it always happens. Anyways, you end up surviving, and start off on your journey to figure out who shot you, why, and what you were actually trying to deliver. It’s a fairly intriguing story and has great build up, but the ending was a little disappointing. And like I previously mentioned, there are various factions you can side with to alter the ending, so the replay value is fairly high.

Overall, Fallout: New Vegas is a great game. If you liked Fallout 3, then you should find plenty to enjoy with New Vegas, as it is essentially more of the exact same. There have been some minor enhancements, with the ammo system, weapon mods, and hardcore mode, but these don’t add too much to the game. I wish there would have been some more changes, like more new weapons and newer looking environments. The vaults and environmental items look the same, and pretty much everything else looks like Fallout 3, which is disappointing. Also, there are a ton of bugs. You would have thought they would have fixed all these in Fallout 3, but apparently not. I ran into a few problems with getting stuck in rocks, the game freezing, and some other issues, but I think JDW had even worse problems, like certain graphics not showing up, basically making parts of the game unplayable. Assuming you don’t run into those problems, there is plenty to enjoy, but those are some glaring issues that needed to be fixed before shipping the game. And on a side note, the Strip itself and all the excitement about gambling and so forth was also very disappointing... :(

Overall Score: 8/10

This review was based on the Xbox 360 version of the game, but most statements can also be applied to both the PS3 and PC versions of the game.

Flickr Update: Tron Night

2010-10-29T00:43:00.004-04:00

Just a few photos to supplement my Tron Night After Thoughts. There wasn't too much in terms of swag at the event, but I guess thats what happens when you blow your budget on renting out IMAX theaters across the world and offer a 23 minute free 3D sneak preview of your biggest film of the year. So what'd we get? At least at the theater I went to:

Nothing overly exciting; the first is a poster, the awesome one that I posted about last week, though it's slightly smaller than a standard movie poster, and has a few lines saying that it was printed exclusively for Tron Night (I managed to snag 3 of these, gave one to a friend). Next is my wristband that granted me entry, not really swag, but it's something. And the last two things were just little cardboard ads basically, but I took like five of each (they're something that could easily be signed and framed at a later date).

They also gave out a few swag bags for trivia winners, but there was no way I was gonna raise my hand and somehow get picked in a packed IMAX theater, so I can't tell you what was in those, but I think they had t-shirts. Oh well...

After Thoughts: Tron Night

2010-10-29T00:43:00.000-04:00

Tonight (really last night now that it's passed midnight) was Tron Night, a world-wide event where Disney was screening 23 minutes of mostly unseen Tron: Legacy footage, for free, in IMAX 3D theaters. I managed to register for tickets on October 12th (one ticket for myself and a guest) at the AMC on Broadway and W68th, in case you were wondering.

Before I get to talking about the footage though, I'm just curious if others at other theaters had the same issue that I did. It seemed like no one at the theater I went to knew what was going on regarding Tron Night, and I had to change the line I was in about four times. So I hope Disney or whoever was supposed to set this thing up did a better job where you were. Now for the part you came for, the footage!

Tron: Legacy is the first 3D film I've seen that really seems to use 3D for a purpose, which may bother some people, I'll explain. What we were shown were five (I think?) scenes, from different moments of the film's first half (or so we were told), and not all of them take place in the TRON world itself, obviously.

The first scene brings us to Sam Flynn's pad, a garage really, where he live's with his French Bulldog, and it's revealed that Alan Bradley has been Sam's surrogate father since Flynn's disappearance, and that the company (Encom presumably) would rather have Sam out of the picture. But Alan gives Sam word that he received a page the previous night (yes, PAGERS), and gives Sam the key to Flynn's Arcade, which has been seemingly shut down since the 80s. Sam enters, sets up the Tron arcade cabinet, and notices weird grooves on the floor, and somehow figures to move the cabinet, reveal a door, and then go down what seemed like endless flights of stares to find his father's secret workplace. Also, 80s pop music all around, it was pretty awesome.

Next we see Sam, in "The Grid," it seems like he's just entered the world, but the scene number was about 5 scene after, so, who knows. He's picked up by a Recognizer, and you see THIS IS 3D. Which is what I meant by Tron: Legacy uses 3D with a purpose, all the real world stuff is 2D, but when you get to the game world it's in spectacular 3D. It's here that we see other programs trapped on the grid, some more willing to fight than others, some with pixelated chunks taken out of their face. The next scene has Sam receiving his Tron-suit (is there an official name for the outfits? I don't remember...) and Data Disc from four emotionless women, and is then brought into the Game Grid, where he must face off in his first match of Disc Wars, which has changed a bit since his father played it in 1982.

The final, and longest scene we got to see was Sam and who is soon reveal to be Quorra, riding in a light-car being chased by 2 light-cycles, and they soon escape and go off-road through digital-blue mountains to a small place in the distance. It's here that we see Kevin Flynn, a much older Kevin Flynn who seems to be doing some sort of meditation and is nothing like the youthful Flynn we saw back in the old TRON, and I hope there's some explanation for that. Sam soon finally gets to speak with his father, and while their expressions and music were telling me the scene was sad, it was hard to get emotional when it was out of context. Finally, after all that, we were treated to a clip reel of both new and old clips and it was awesome.

Overall, I'm happy with what I saw. However, I don't know if I'm convinced on seeing the film in IMAX, because it might be too big, especially for a film like this where I really want to look at every little thing on screen. Also, and I'll blame this on my eyes, but some of the scenes looked out of focus, and when I saw the trailers in 3D at other non-IMAX theaters I didn't seem to have that issue. Some people in the crowd seemed upset when a disclaimer came up on screen before the footage saying the opening scenes would be 2D, but it makes a lot of sense in my mind, that's the effect that makes the game world seem so special and different. If the original Tron made using computer graphics to tell a story an accepted practice, then hopefully Tron: Legacy teaches people that 3D can work too when it's given a purpose. Of course, not everyone will be happy about paying the 3D premium for a film that only uses it 3/4 of the time, but I'd rather see a 3D film that uses it well 3/4 of the time than a film that uses really crappy 3D for all of the film.

Tron: Legacy releases in 3D, IMAX 3D, and 2D on December 17th.

New TRON: Legacy poster is ... RAD

2010-10-21T00:37:00.005-04:00

There's a new TRON: Legacy poster out, and it's glorious! And not just glorious, bad it pays homage to the original film poster.

Also, next week on the 28th is TRON Night. I managed to get me a ticket to the 20+ minute 3D IMAX sneak preview here in New York City, and will try to post an After Thoughts that night. Stay tuned!

... and hopefully I can either get a high-res version of this poster, or a physical copy at some point; I already have the first, "light cycles in perspective," poster.

Batman: Under the Red Hood Review

2010-10-17T17:13:00.001-04:00

While I'm in the review writing mood, I may as well get to writing about something that came out at the end of July, the (sort of) latest DC Universe direct-to-DVD animated film, Batman: Under the Red Hood. I say sort of, because Superman/Batman: Apocalypse released just two weeks ago, and while I bought it day 1, I haven't had the chance to watch it yet. Here's to catching up!

Batman: Under the Red Hood is the latest film in the DC Universe series since Februrary's Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, which while I liked at the time, doesn't really hold up with repeated viewings. And unlike Crisis on Two Earths, Under the Red Hood returns to adapting an actual DC Comics story arc, in this case Judd Winick's "Under the Hood," making it the first full length animated adaptation for a Batman comic, as opposed to Gotham Knight, which was just separate stories that very loosely filled the gap between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

The Movie
The films centers around the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin, and his subsequent rebirth and rise to criminal power as the new Red Hood (a mantle once held by the infamous Joker, the man responsible for Jason Todd's death) and how Batman and company must deal with him.

I never read the "Under the Hood" stories because when I was younger, Batman: A Death in the Family was one of my favorite collected comic books; and when I learned that they basically retconned the events of those books to bring back an already dis-likable character, it honestly just pissed me off. So I can't really speak of this as a good adaptation, but I still think the process of bring back Jason Todd was a terrible decision and the movie still hasn't changed my opinion at all. Call me bitter, but it's just one of those thing I can't let down, and I only bought the film as a collector in the slightest sense.

However, stylistically, the film was more appealing than some of the more recent DCU films, and I found most of the voicework to be believable and close to the characters' personalities. It's not that I hated the film as a film, but the deep ties it has still bother me to say much more.

Jonah Hex
Speaking of mediocre films that came out in the summer, Jonah Hex. Now, thankfully this 12 minute short has no connection to that other Jonah Hex feature film, lead character aside of course. Presented in a traditional western fashion, the animation and character designs here are neat and far more mature than the lead title on this disc, and you could probably even argue that Thomas Jane makes a better Jonah Hex than Josh Brolin, but I refuse to take the time to find out. Plus, it's got Sarah Conner, that's kind of cool right?...

Extras
This section is slowly appearing to be a sign of the times, as the DVD sets slowly lose material to the Blu-ray editions of these films. And while I do have a Blu-ray player, I still prefer the DVD sets because all the packaging matches when placed on my bookshelf, and generally these films aren't that stylistically great that I need to see them in true HD.

What do I mean by this? For one, this is the first '2-disc special edition' DC Universe film to not include a Digital Copy (since the introduction of that feature at least), and the discs don't even have colored labels any more (I noticed this first on the new Superman/Batman, so maybe I'm wrong). And aside from that, there's just a brief look at the history of the Robin character, but more so Jason Todd as the likes of Stephanie Brown and Damian Wayne aren't mentioned. Plus there's a Batman: The Animated Series 2-parter, but, I could do without things I've already seen.

Final Thoughts
Overall, Batman: Under the Red Hood isn't a terrible film, but it doesn't blow me away either. It works better as an overall story then the previous Batman-centric DCU release, Gotham Knight, but the reasons for that are pretty obvious. However, I have deeper annoyances with this film than the actual film itself, which may have been one of the major factors preventing me from reviewing this, and not just my busy schedule. And when it comes to the extras, DC is clearly trying to make it more apparent that the DVD releases are becoming more and more inferior, which sucks.

Overall Score: 7/10

The Social Network Review

2010-10-17T16:20:00.005-04:00

Finally! A review that isn't for Fringe! It's been a really busy month or so for me lately, with work and class and what not, and I haven't gotten the chance to see many movies in theaters or play new games, but I got the chance this weekend, and saw David Fincher's latest film, The Social Network, based on the creation of Facebook. Amusingly enough, I watched Fincher's first film, Alien 3, for the first time the day before seeing this film, and the contrast was nice.

As many many of you know by now, The Social Network tells the story of Facebook's creation and it's subsequent lawsuits as based on the book, The Accidental Billionaires, by Ben Mezrich; and now say... interviewing the actual participants of the on-screen events. Having said that however, I believe scriptwriter Aaron Sorkin does a wonderful job of representing the three clashing points of view (Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, and the Winklevoss twins) equally, and ultimately leaving the final decision of right and wrong up to the viewer, regardless of how the actual events panned out.

One of the things that impressed me the most was the cast, not just because they're all younger actors and seemed to handle Sorkin's incredibly wordy script with ease (Jessie Eisenberg was especially spectacular in this sense), but also the physical resemblance to the people they portrayed. Of course I didn't realize this until after the fact, but I was shocked how similar everyone looked to their real life counterparts, except for Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker (founder of Napster), who surprised me with his ability to actually act, but really wasn't pulling off the nefariousness he was trying for. Also great though, was Armie Hammer, who played both Winklevoss twins and really pulled a Sam Rockwell by portraying equal but different characters on screen at once, and was one of the more fun performances to watch in the film.

Characters and script aside though, the part I loved about the film the most was the score, which I had no idea would be this good. In a somewhat Tron: Legacy fashion, an orchestra was not used for The Social Network's score, instead Nine Inch Nails frontman, Trent Reznor, did the score and it just blew me away because I wasn't expect it at all. The moody electronic pieces seemed out of place at first, but through the length and tone of the film it just works so damn well. Seriously, listen to this track, and tell me that Daft Punk shouldn't be worried for best film score of 2010.

To say I went to see this film reluctantly would be a lie, I had a mild interest to see it, but it wasn't on my "must see" list; so, I'm kind of surprised at how much I liked the film (awesome score aside). I've known David Fincher to make some decent films, particularly Seven and Fight Club (and don't hate, but I liked Alien 3 more than James Cameron's Aliens); but I've also known him to make some crap: Panic Room and Benjamin Button, I'm looking at you. So going into this I had no idea what to expect, but the combination of Fincher's directing, Sorkin's script, great performances by the cast, and Trent Reznor's awesome score really made this one of my more favorite films of the year, and if you haven't seen it, go do it, I don't care how loyal you are to Friendster.

Overall Score: 9/10

This Week in Fringe - 10/14/10

2010-10-14T22:30:00.000-04:00

This week's episode takes place back in our world, where the fake Olivia currently resides. Just about nothing happens in this episode, so that was fun, but a key event or two occur.

Episode 4 - "Do Shapshifters Dream of Electric Sheep?"

Zach says: The main focus of the episode was a senator, a very powerful person, gets in a wreck, and as it turns out, he happens to be a shapeshifter from the other universe. So, this means that ANYBODY, even the president, could theoretically be a shape shifter. Unfortunately for Newton and Olivia, this senator happens to still be functioning a bit and has data pertinent to who/what he knows, and Walter and the gang are trying to extract it. It also comes to light that these shape shifters have feelings and emotions, just like Olivia; very touching.

By the end of the episode, nobody learns anything from this shape shifter, but after a super chase scene, Newton is captured, and subsequently commits probable suicide so he can't be detained/interrogated. This is basically the biggest news of the episode. Newton, who is basically the leader of these shape shifters and the entire movement, is now gone. This leaves Olivia to fend for herself, so it may be interesting to see exactly how she does that. Her first move is to have sex with Peter... makes sense. Lets see what comes next...
Zach's Score: 6/10

JDW says: I have to agree, nothing happens in this episode. Sure, there's a couple key things: Peter suspects Olivia is "different" (because.. she is!), there's more shapeshifters than we thought, Walter has basically moved his whole lab into Massive Dynamic (and I personally don't like the new setting), and Newton finally kicks the bucket. But really, a lot of these moments are brief and the rest of the episode just deals with standing around and everyone being suspicious.

As much as I love the chemistry between our Walter and everyone he interacts with, I have to stick with what I said last week, the "other side" is just far more interesting right now, and I'd love to see more of that instead of just more of the old stuff. Plus, Fauxlivia is just an incredibly unlikeable character, and we really have to get our Olivia back ASAP.
JDW's Score: 6.4/10

Overall Score: 6.2/10

Annoying news, seems it's baseball season somewhere, and because of that, Fringe won't be returning until November 4th. Hopefully we'll post some other reviews in the meantime.

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

This Week in Fringe - 10/7/10

2010-10-07T22:36:00.000-04:00

This week's episode takes place in the alternate universe, and follows the exploits of a completely irrelevant autistic dude who doesn't want to be reverted to his previous state, while Olivia struggles with her identity.

Episode 3 - "The Plateau"

Zach says: As last seen, Olivia has almost wholey taken on faux Olivia's identity, traits, and personality. She believes she is the alternate Olivia, however, deep in her brain, she knows this isn't true. She imagines seeing Peter and Walter, and by the end of the episode, Peter even talks to her, through her own subconscious, to remind her that things are not right and about who she really is. It also played another plot point in the episode, which I totally called, but is basically irrelevant, except for its effect on Charlie. Charlie voiced some concerns and thoughts about Olivia and thinking about the possibility that perhaps she wasn't crazy, but really IS who she said she was two weeks ago. It looks like Olivia will have an ally in the coming weeks.

Another interesting quote was from Broyles after Walternate said why Olivia was so important, due to the fact that she could cross universes freely. Broyles said something to the effect that using Olivia and gaining that tech could "help us to defend ourselves". To me, this means that Broyles, and via him, the Fringe division, aren't really nefarious or the bad guys. It seems that Walternate is quite the dastardly figure, so we'll see how his alliances work out in the end.

Other than that though, I didn't think too much of the episode. It was OK, and delivered both some major plot points, while mostly giving an "entertaining" story that doesn't have much to do with the major arc. It works.
Zach's Score: 7/10

JDW says: Unlike Zach, I felt this "case of the week" from the other side was actually an improvement over the Fringe norm. Sure, it is technically a return to the formula, where the case subject doesn't really have much to do with anything, but unlike all the other formula episodes from seasons 1 and 2, this was on the other side, with the other Fringe, and I honestly found the change in setting, characters, and tone to be quite refreshing.

Not to mention, I found the whole viewing inside the mind, seeing alternate reality... within an alternate universe scenes to be really interesting, and made the episode much more suspenseful than usual. But that's just me, and from the look of next week's preview all of the 'our side' episodes will be for progressing the story and all the 'other side' episodes will be for using the formula style, but different. We'll see.
JDW's Score: 8/10

Overall Score: 7.5/10

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

Welcome to The Jungle

2010-10-04T21:44:00.004-04:00

Panasonic has just released information on a new handheld they plan to release in the near future, The Jungle. Hopefully, it will do better than the last video game device they released; the 3DO.

The handheld is geared for MMORPG players and will feature a full qwerty keyboard, d-pads, shoulder buttons, touch screen and much, much more. The screen is rumored to be very high-quality, displaying HD-like graphics, and ... run on Linux OS. And, as it's touted as bringing players online games, it will assuredly have wifi if not more, say 3G, though I can imagine that running MMOs very poorly. I assume this will end up being a pricey little device, but only time will tell.

I can't really see it competing directly with the DS, PSP, or iPhone/iPod touch, but rather, cater to a completely new market of PC gamers who want a similar experience, you know, outside of their mom's basement. Just kidding, but seriously...

No news yet on release or price, but I'm sure more information will come soon. Hopefully the official site will be updated with some of the more important news soon, such as price, release date, and launch titles. But, with the popularity of current portables and the upcoming 3DS, who's to say Panasonic's return to gaming won't go the way of N-Gage, Tapwave Zodiac, and Gizmondo?

This Week In Fringe - 9/30/10

2010-09-30T22:51:00.000-04:00

This week returns to the normal universe, as opposed to the alternate, where things are starting to heat up a bit. "Evil" Olivia is still on a mission, and has met up with allied forces, such as Thomas Newton, the main bad dude from last season.

Episode 2 - "The Box"

Zach says: It appears as though they are looking for parts to the machine in the alternate universe, this week, with the part being something that transmits an ultra sonic audio blast that basically melts brains. Soothing.

The main focus of the episode was on figuring out this machine and trying to procure it, which was successful by the end. Other than that, we see a bit of both Olivia's cunning, and sensitivity. I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of the season, she turns things around and starts fighting for the good guys. Another big revelation was in William Bell's will. Apparently, he left Walter quite a gift, which could have big consequences in the near future. Not quite sure what those may turn out to be, but something, I'm sure.

Overall, it was a good episode which showed a lot of sides to various characters and presented a solid story that builds on the main story arc. Previews for next episode might be more disappointing and be less relevant, but only time will tell.
Zach's Score: 8/10

JDW says: After a quarrel last week, I'm both pleased and surprised to say I'm actually in agreement with Zach this week. I'm not sure how I feel yet about going back and forth between universes each week, but this episode almost made me wish that last week's season premiere was two-hours long so that we got an extended look at how both universes were effected by last season events. Of course, knowing me I'd of probably hated that, and I wasn't feeling the return to formula tonight at first, but, it progressed the main story so there's nothing to complain about.

All in all the second half of the episode was far more compelling than the first, although Peter's sudden uncomfortableness with Walter was weird, because he seemed perfectly fine around him in the beginning of the episode, and then he was all "I don't even know you!" and stuff. And I have to agree with Zach, I was pretty much shocked when Walter finally revealed what William Bell left him in his will, after all that anticipation, it was pretty crazy and I'm curious to know how this will affect the rest of the season.
JDW's Score: 8.5/10

Overall Score: 8.3/10

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

This Week in Fringe - 9/23/10

2010-09-23T22:47:00.001-04:00

Fringe makes its third season premiere tonight, and it catches everybody up on the finale, more or less. Where will the season go though? Well, we'll have to wait and see how everything plays out it seems. Oh, and welcome to the new (yet somewhat familiar) two-person format!

Season 3 Premiere - Episode 1 - "Olivia"

Zach says: The only thing out of place in the universes is the Olivias, who are swapped. The Olivia in the alternate universe has been captured and is undergoing drug experimentation to replace her memories with those of the alternate Olivia, so she will forget who she is. She makes a valiant escape, but after some time, the drugs take effect and she appears to be slipping into thinking she is the alternate Olivia. Walternate has reasons for doing this, but they remain hidden, and everyone else in the alternate plane believes she is the regular Olivia.

Other than that, the premiere didn't really show too much. It was a little disappointing in that way, as the only thing that really happened was Olivia getting brainwashed, in a very literal sense. I'm sure the story and plot points will pick up quickly in the following episodes, but thus far, nothing too terribly exciting.
Zach's Score: 6.5/10

JDW says: Well, if this season of Fringe plans on being different, then I suppose I'll have to adjust to the different set up of this feature... meaning Zach's hash scoring. Having suffered through and reviewed the many lows of last season, and the few but great highs, I think I have a bit better understanding about to judge Fringe, and this season premiere was definitely not a low point of the series, trust me.

For one, unlike last season's premiere, this episode cut right to the point and directly followed up season two's finale. I was really disappointed last season when it took them four episodes to follow up on the first season's shocking finale. Sure, not that much happened, but we got insight into how the other side is different, and the great lengths that Walternate will go to get his way. Plus, much like my favorite episodes of the end last season, there was no "creature/case of the the week" as would be expected from the show, instead focusing on progressing with and expanding the show's overall story and mythos. Not that I'm expecting the rest of the season to be this way, the preview for next week already looks to be more of the same, and on our side. But for now, different is good.
JDW's Score: 8/10

Overall Score: 7.3/10

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu

Fringe Returns Tomorrow Night

2010-09-22T19:18:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates this month, the day after writing the Machete review I moved back to New York City and have since been swamped with work and other stuff and haven't had the time to write anything, let alone see, hear, read, or play anything to write about.

But, now I will have something to write about, as Fringe returns for it's third season on Fox tomorrow night at 9 PM EST. And with that, it also means that This Week in Fringe is coming back as well, albeit a bit different. Unlike last season, where I reviewed Fringe myself, I've gotten Zach to watch the first two seasons so that both of us can do the reviews now, making the feature more like This Week in Lost and FlashForward were... also this way I won't be the only one writing This Week In reviews now that those two previously mentioned shows are over and/or canceled (however, Doctor Who and Futurama will still be by myself).

Hope you come back tomorrow night!

Machete Review

2010-09-04T19:00:00.000-04:00

Four years ago, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino released their Grindhouse double feature (Planet Terror and Death Proof, respectively). In between the two films were fake trailers: Werewolf Women of the S.S. from Rob Zombie, Don't from Edgar Wright, Thanksgiving from Eli Roth, and arguably the best of the bunch, Machete from Rodriguez. Well, four years later, the trailer isn't so fake after all, as Rodriguez has turned Machete into a full feature, with parts of the original trailer in tact. Should this outlandish concept of a film have stayed as a fake trailer? Or was this expansion worth it after all?

Machete is at heart an exploitation film, and if you get that going into it then you're going to have a blast. The film opens when our titular anti-hero and federale (Danny Trejo) answers a distress call and creates a bloody mess with his favorite blade, before getting set up and having his family murdered before his eyes by a drug-lord named Torrez (Steven Seagal, who is the most unconvincing Latino I have ever seen). Three years later, he's working as a day laborer when he is picked up for an assassination mission by a Senator's aide (Jeff Fahey, a.k.a. Frank Lapidus!!) who is unaware of Machete's past; leading to double crossing to an epic scale.

If you've ever seen an exploitation film, whether it be blaxploitation, mexploitation, whatever, it should be noted that you should never actually take the film seriously. Sure, there might be an underlying political message, that's not unusual, but as long as you know it's ridiculous it's great. It's interesting how a lot of elements from the original fake trailer are still in tact with the full feature. Some parts are obviously re-shot because of actor changes, but overall the film still feels like what the fake trailer promised four years ago, so it's a pretty cool transition.

I was a little worried that because Danny Trejo has always just played bit parts in various films that he wouldn't be able to pull off a leading role, but for the most part he was great. He's very silent in the classic western type, but when he has something to say he's awesome; and when he's slashing away and using intestines as rope he's even more awesome! As for the rest, Robert De Niro and Cheech Maron were pretty funny, Steven Seagal and Don Johnson just look fat and awkward, and Linsday Lohan was in it far more than I expected. As the leading ladies, Jessica Alba and Michele Rodriguez, both played their characters fairly well, although I could never take either of them seriously; and Alba's "We didn't cross the border, the border cross us!" speech was just awful on so many levels... at least they both looked good?

Overall, Machete is a pretty awesome film and will have you laughing quite a bit if over-the-top ridiculous violence is your thing. Some parts are a little slow and boring, basically the non-Machete parts, but that's also what makes his scenes all the more better. I'm surprised the transfer from fake trailer to feature film worked out so well, and I wish Rodriguez had more fun, adult-oriented films like this; it's still amazes me that the same guy who made Sin City, Planet Terror and Machete, can go and make 3 Spy Kids films and crap like Shorts. Regardless, when he's good, he's good and you should totally go see this film.

Overall Score: 8.5/10

Viewing Suggestion: See this in theaters with your friends, then go watch Black Dynamite right after. And keep away from The Expendables; get that CGI blood crap out of here...

Metroid: Other M Review

2010-09-03T18:45:00.002-04:00

I would like to start of by saying that I had high hopes for Metroid: Other M. It's been far to long since we've had a good Metroid title, and Other M's mix between 2D, 3D, and first person shooter seemed like it had a lot of potential. On that note, I would like to say that I was not disappointed by Other M, but at the same time the game did not meet my expectations.

Other M begins with the ending scene from Super Metroid, which admittedly is pretty damn cool. Seeing one of the greatest endings in video game history come to life in full-on 3D immediately gets you hyped to play this game. Unfortunately, immediately following this cut-scene is a tutorial on the games controls, which is where the problems begin. At this point you will have realized that the game is controlled by a single Wiimote. At first this was fine, everything was going swimmingly. Then first person mode is introduced. I immediately began to see problems, the biggest one being that fact that without a nunchuck it is impossible for you to move your character while in first person mode, and lets not forget that the only time you can use missiles is while in first person mode, meaning that the game literally forces you to use it when fighting a boss, or simply a strong enemy.

Notice how above I said "a boss or a strong enemy", well this is where my next problem with the game comes in. Usually you are simply fighting bats, or small rodents, that are easily killed with a shot or two from your cannon, but occasionally you will come across a stronger enemy, almost like a mini boss, which I could not stand. Nine times out of ten I found myself dying on these mini bosses more so than I did on the actual bosses. The biggest problem with the mini bosses was the fact there was always a specific way you needed to kill them, otherwise they would simply stay alive forever. Sometimes you would need to jump on there head, other times you would need to shoot them in a weak spot, perhaps you would need to go first person and fire a missile at them, or maybe you needed to do all three of these in a specific order before the mini boss would finally go down. It may not sound that difficult, but you need to keep in mind that these bosses would deal and overly powerful amount of damage (usually 40-60 points of damage), and they constantly stuck you in a 2-3 hit combo that you simply could not escape, and 90% of the time the doors to the room would lock until you had beaten this monster.

Which leads me to my next, and final, complaint about Other M. When I think Metroid I think of a few very simple things:

1) Exploring a deserted and unknown planet somewhere in the depths of the galaxy that contains...

2) Gigantic bosses that are guarding a wonder prize that is an...

3) Awesome power-up, sometimes old, and sometimes new.

Sadly, Other M disappointed me in all three of these areas. Throughout the course of the game you are taking orders from captain Adam Malkovich, he tells you exactly where to go, and exactly what weapons or power-ups you can use. With that I would like to thank everyone who ever complained about how "Samus always loses her powers at the beginning of every game", now I can only assume it is because of those people that Team Ninja decided they should switch it up. So, all you complainers, you got your wish. Samus starts with all of her powers from Super Metroid, but she decides not to use them until Adam tells her she can. This means that you will do exactly what Adam tells you to do, go exactly where Adam tells you to go, eventually fight a boss in these areas, and... receive absolutely nothing after defeating the boss. Now, I will admit that usually Adam gives you a new power-up while you are fighting a boss, but it doesn't have nearly the same effect as the classic Metroid style. The entire game I felt like I was accomplishing nothing, and that defeating the random bosses was completely pointless.

I realize that up until now I have basically done nothing but complained about what was wrong with Other M, but now that I have gotten all of that rotten stuff out of the way, I can focus on the things that I truly enjoyed about the game. The first thing that I would like to focus on would be the story.

I truly did enjoy the story of Other M, it was really what kept me going. Throughout the game you will find out a bit about Samus' past, why she quit the Galactic Federation to become a bounty hunter, and my personal favorite: How Ridley continues to re-appear in every game. That's right, as far as the story goes, Team Ninja definitely did their homework, and it certainly shows.

Another thing that I enjoyed was the battle system. I know that this is odd for me to say, considering that I was complaining about it earlier, but earlier was me complaining more about how over powered the mini bosses seemed to be. In the end the only problem I really have about the battle system is the fact that you can't move once you have entered first person mode. Other than that I liked how they went about handling the battle system, I enjoyed the way they allow you to dodge oncoming attacks, I enjoyed how fast paced the game was, but the thing I enjoyed most of all was jamming my cannon into a monster's skull, throat, or gut and firing a charge beam. It truly is a good feeling, especially if it's against a mini boss that has killed you 5 times.

Continuing with the three ideal things that each Metroid game should have, Other M was rather disappointing when it came to exploring and power-ups; though it did have a good amount of gigantic bosses that you needed to face. And on top of that, there were also a few recognizable faces among the bosses. Ridley being one of them, of course, but there was also an appearance of another Queen Metroid, just like the one you fought in Metroid II. Another familiar face is Nightmare, the gravity controlling monster that was first seen in Metroid Fusion (which takes place after this game).

All-in-all I think that the biggest problem with Metroid: Other M is simply the fact that it is a Metroid game. If it was a game that had no connection to the Metroid series whatsoever, like a new project from Nintendo and Team Ninja, I think I would have enjoyed it more, but the game truly just didn't have a Metroid feel to it. Still, if you're a die-hard Metroid fan like myself, and want to collect all the games, then you will not regret buying it. If not, then Other M is definitely worth a rent; you'll probably end up liking the game much more than I did because you won't be judging it against the other Metroid games.

Overall Score: 7.6/10

This Week in Futurama - 9/2/10

2010-09-02T23:03:00.000-04:00

I may have just posted last week's review yesterday, but the season finale of Futurama's first regular season back since its cancellation is here, and it's time to write this review on time.

Episode 12 - "The Mutants Are Revolting"

Not only was this the first season finale for Futurama since their cancellation, but it's also the series 100th episode! And because of this, the crew must make their 100th delivery, which isn't as impressive... Anyways, the person they deliver to invites the crew to a fancy dinner to honor her late husband, and Fry accidentally outs that Leela is a mutant and gets her deported to the sewers... and eventually the crew gets tossed down there as well for knowingly housing a mutant.

Where as last week's episode was heavy on the jokes and gags and less on the story, this episode is almost the opposite, with most of the episode focusing on the Fry and Leela story (with some self-aware nods to how obnoxious mentioning the relationship has been) and less so on gag after gag. That's not to say this is a humorless episode, as there is still plenty of laughs, but they're less a abundant that last week, but in the end it works for the better. Sure the 100th episode could've been better, but this still wasn't that bad.

Overall Score: 8/10

I may or may not do a season recap next week. For shows like Lost, Fringe and Doctor Who, which have season long story arcs with cliffhangers and such, it makes sense to recall everything that's happened to get an idea of where the series goes from there. But with Futurama, it's a comedy, and for the most part, each episode is completely separated from the rest, therefoe there really isn't that much to piece together and think about. So if there's no new TWi Futurama post next week, check back in November, when the holiday themed episode airs!

This Week in Futurama - 8/26/10

2010-09-01T23:24:00.000-04:00

...or more like Last Week in Futurama since I some how forgot about this for an entire week whilst writing three long reviews and getting ready to move back into New York City this weekend, so, here goes:

Episode 11 - "Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences"

This episode is kind of weird, because instead following one of the more 'important' characters from the Planet Express crew, the episode follows Lrrr, leader of the planet Omicron Persei 8, who has been kicked out of his home by his wife Ndnd and flees to Earth where he lands at ... Comic-Con, where he soon thinks to crash at Planet Express, whose crew went to the 'con to help Fry's comic book future.

Story-wise, the episode isn't exactly all there and is kind of moronic, but writing-wise the episode is pretty hilarious. There's tons of science-fiction and comic book references thanks to the whole Comic-Con setting, and it's great fun to kind of look around and try and spot all the subtle and well... extremely obvious references. There's a very self aware moment with Matt Groening and David X. Cohen are showing off their latest series that takes place in the year 4,000: Futurella, and it gets canceled in the midst of their panel, where Bender soon asks about a 2nd Simpsons Movie and gets shot. There's a whole convoluted plan using Orson Wells to get Lrrr and Ndnd back together and all and all the episode was definitely one of the funnier ones of the season, even if the story wasn't exactly all there.

Overall Score: 8/10

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

2010-09-01T18:25:00.004-04:00

Continuing on my "Week of Catching Up" here's the first of two album reviews for the week, Arcade Fire's third and latest album, The Suburbs, which released earlier this month without me realizing until a few days later. Regardless, the albums here, it's been here the whole month, so how's it holding up after all this time? Read on to find out, you may actually like this review!

In short, really well actually. With the first two Arcade Fire albums (I came into the band's music kind of late) I really liked them at first, and would listen to both together a lot, but after a while of listening to other things, I found them hard to get back into. When I got The Suburbs, I was really into it and already charted up play counts that surpass both of the band's first two albums combined, and I think that says a lot. Since then, however, I've spent a lot of this month listening to Anamanaguchi and Talking Heads, and didn't get back into this album until I decided to finally review it today, and it's still holding up just fine.

What's more interesting about the play-count feat though, is that this album is an hour long, as opposed to the just over 45 minute lengths of both 2004's Funeral and 2007's Neon Bible; that means I've done more listening of this hour-long album in the past month than I have of the previous 90 minutes in the past year. Instead of my usual album rundown, I'm just going to post a few highlights in track order, so, some tracks may be skipped.

The titular track and album opener, "The Suburbs," starts out this concept album perfectly, giving you a sense of a dramatic suburban tour, really setting the mood for the rest of the album, and is now one of my favorite tracks from the band. "Ready To Start" continues with this vibe, while "Modern Man" feels like something of Funeral. Passing on a few tracks, I found "City With No Children" to sound like a Bruce Springsteen song, except you know, appealing... And then you have a rock heavy track like "Month of May" which sounds like something the White Stripes would come up with if they had more than just Jack and Meg, not that that's bad or anything.

Unlike a lot of albums I've listened to, I found that The Suburbs didn't die out near the end of the album. If anything, it dies down mid-way after "Month of May" and then quickly brings itself together in the wonderful "We Used To Wait" after two slower tracks. But my favorite track comes after "Sprawl I," you guessed it, "Sprawl II," which sounds like a mix of "Haiti" off of Funeral and "Heart of Glass" by Blondie; actually, it sounds a lot like Blondie, and for whatever reason hearing new 80's style synth-pop sounds really appealing in the context of this album, and for that I love it, and it's the longest track too, which is a plus when it sounds this good.

What I love about this album, is that it really works as an album. What I find with a lot of records nowadays is that there's never a universal thing that holds them together; you have a few great tracks, and then some boring throwaway material. But with The Suburbs, I find that I really prefer listening to it as a whole on loop, as opposed to being shuffled with the rest of the Arcade Fire tracks. And by having the track rundown that fades in the middle, as opposed to starting strong and dying out at the end, makes it that much more appealing to listen to as a whole because you're not just going through waiting for the good parts, as the album supports itself from beginning to end. If you've never listened to Arcade Fire before, nows a great time to start.

Overall Score: 9.7/10

Now, here's the thing, I agree that like most things, everyone has there own tastes and not one single thing can be considered perfect. And when it comes to music there's definitely a lot more debate in that department. But, in this one instance, I'm going finally award the first VFH Seal of Approval to an album because it's just that good, and just that much better from the band's previous albums. (And this is almost still the month the album was released in...) Now, what happens when they release another album that's "better"? You ask? Well, judging by the three year gaps between each album, I guess I'll have to worry about that then, and who knows if we'll still be online by that time. For now, I'll enjoy this wonderful record.

Note: The album actually has eight different cover art variations, the one pictured is just the one I happen to have.

The Expendables Review

2010-08-30T20:19:00.000-04:00

If Inception was the most anticipated smartest film of the summer, then The Expendables was surely the dumbest most anticipated film of the summer; and was another film I saw the day after release but didn't review till now, thus continuing my "Week of Catching Up". Don't expect much...

There really isn't anything to say about this film's story or what it's about, because if you're like me and pretty much everyone else that went to see this movie, you're going into this expecting to see the greatest action movie cast of all time. You've got Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, Randy Couture (he puts an entire gym on your door, princess.), Mickey Rourke, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Eric Roberts, and cameos from Bruce Willis and the Governator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger in his first film role in like... ever. With a group like that, you can't help but at least see what the hell happens when you get them together. If only Steven Seagal, Jean Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris were in this, then it would've been perfect.

But if you do care about story, in this case what's wrong with you? But seriously, The Expendables are a group of hitmen? mercenaries? bounty hunters? bikers? pirates? To be honest, I was never really sure, but you're supposed to assume they're the good guys. And they go to some fictional dictatorship island and try and overthrow the corrupt government led by Eric Roberts (as The Master, derpderp). Basically though, the story was really second to none, and it was really about the characters and the action.

About that action... for a big budget action movie that was supposed to be an homage to the over the top action films of the 80s and 90s, there was a heck of a lot of CG'd blood and effects, and it really detracted from the feeling the movie was aiming for. For instance, the opening scene has the gang using laser sights on a group of Somali pirates, and you can clearly see that the lasers are a cheap After Effects effect, as they're opaque and much thicker than a laser should be; and that's right before a dude gets separated from his lower half, which looked to be done with traditional effects (plus CGI blood of course). It was just really disappointing because you'd think if they're going to go all out on an action movie at least use fake blood; computer blood just looks stupid and costs more.

Speaking of costs though: the cast. It's more than possible that the film's entire budget was spent on the cast, but that still won't excuse CGI blood. Despite the ensemble cast advertising, the film is really about Stallone and Statham's characters, with Jet Li getting a much lower third seat (short jokes). Crews and Couture's character are basically nonexistent for a bulk of the film, and Dolph Lundgren gets more screen-time than I expected.

The weirder part of the film was definitely Mickey Rourke's character, which looks like he filmed his parts during Iron Man 2's off time. What was weird was that in this incredibly over the top action film that had no brains whatsoever, Rourke does actual acting as the team's 'wise man' of sorts, and actually has a nearly 5 minute monologue about some girl killing herself. And, touching as it may be, it's an incredibly out of place scene for this movie and it's just like, "C'mon Mickey, what're you doing actually acting here? Blow some shit up like the other guys!". Then there's the Willis and Schwarzenegger scene, which if you saw the commercials for the film, that's all there is to see of the two of them; it was an amusing scene, but was spoiled very early on in promotions. So, as to why Willis even gets last billing is beyond me, but I had the same issue with Michael Caine in Inception.

Of course, I went into this film not expecting much substance in terms of acting or storytelling, so there wasn't anything to really be disappointed about there. But I was really turned off by the use of CGI blood, because it just makes the entire experience feel extremely cheap. It was great that all of the actors each got their moment in the spotlight, some more so than others, but I was a bit bothered that they never really felt like a team as the promotional materials would suggest. Watch this one with a group for an enjoyable time, but just don't expect in terms of substance (Mickey Rourke's moment aside).

Overall Score: 6.8/10

Inception Review

2010-08-29T19:26:00.004-04:00

BRRRRRRRRRRMMMM!!! This is the first and biggest part in my "Week of Catching Up"; a movie review that should've been written more than a month ago, and perhaps the biggest film of the entire summer. I actually saw Inception the day after it came out, just to put in perspective as to how long this has been delayed; and because of that my memory on the film may be a little flaky.

Inception was the first film directed by Christopher Nolan since The Dark Knight, so to say the least, expectations were high for this completely original work. And considering this was pretty much the only big movie this summer that wasn't a shoddy adaptation (not that Scott Pilgrim was shoddy; it didn't release when this came out, but it's still an adaptation no less) or so-so sequel, Inception was a pretty pivotal film. Personally, I tried not to hype it up, like The Dark Knight, I refrained from watching any trailers or clips so that I could get a true experience without any notion as to what I would be in for.

Being that this review is nearly two months late, I'm not going to sit here and write out a full synopsis of the story, because at this point you've probably seen it already, and if you haven't; shame on you. Basically, Leonardo DiCaprio and his crack team of dream wizards must enter the dreams inside dreams in order to plant an idea in the mind of the son of a rival corporation of the man who hired them; you know, basics. But seriously, I kind of remember the general story, but as I said, details are flaky.

Cast-wise everyone's pretty good, DiCaprio, Levitt, and Hardy all have their quirks that make them likeable. Ken Watanabe was good as well, but I found that I couldn't understand him most of the time except for a few words here and there, and I generally have no problem understanding thick accents. I really enjoyed Marion Cotillard's performance, as she was a really convincing threat to Cobb's mental stability, and made his character all that much more interesting. Only cast complaint I have is that Michael Caine got last billing, because he honestly didn't even need to be in the film; his character has no significance and only has like... two lines.

The most interesting part of this film was the special effects, as Nolan has be known to shy away from CG in his films. So while there is a significant number of moments in the film that couldn't be done without computer graphics, it's the parts without it that are stunning. The most spectacular one being where Joseph Gordon-Levitt has a fight in a zero-gravity hallway, and then must continue to group up all his unconscious acquaintances while still in zero-g. Of course being two months later, I've since found out how they actually pulled it off, but watching it the first time, without any idea what to expect, it was quite the magical moment.

Lastly, the score, this is by far Hans Zimmer's best score yet, and the addition of The Smith's Johnny Marr on many of the tracks just makes it all the more cooler. Plus, it's got plenty of BRRRRRRMMMMMM to keep your heart and brain going.

Overall Inception was a pretty fantastic film, and I would've seen it a second time had my schedule not been so filled up. Especially in a summer that's been filled with okay sequels, crappy adaptations, or just generally uninteresting or poorly made films, it was great to see something that really stood out above all the rest and wasn't afraid to actually make its audience think. To be honest, having seen most of Nolan's other works, I'd say this is his best and most ambitious work yet, and I even liked it more than The Dark Knight. And being that I gave that film a 10/10...

Overall Score: 10/10

If I have one complaint, it's that these people all had incredibly uninteresting dreams. Seriously, where my laser wielding pandas riding on T-Rex-back on Mars?! This is a dream after all, get creative!

Oh, and no Seal of Approval, because... I don't know, the review's late, and I think I give it out to casually nowadays. 10/10 is still good though, that's all that matters. But if you disagree, tell me, and I'll give it the Seal.

A Week of Catching Up

2010-08-29T17:22:00.002-04:00

First things first: sorry. Sorry that I've had an incredibly busy schedule this summer with my part time job and my job as an artist. Come June I honestly had no free time to play games let alone write reviews for games, and any free time I had was either spent reading or watching movies, once again, not exactly having the time to write about them. But as my last week of summer vacation arrives, I've taken a week off of work to get some things done, including back tracking on reviews for games, movies, albums, television, and maybe even a book or two. It's a lot that I have to do, but if I dont get them done now, they'll never get done.

Now that's my excuse, I can't speak for the other 5 writers...

This Week in Lost - Final Edition?

2010-08-25T00:10:00.001-04:00

The Complete Series of Lost, as well as the Season 6 box set, arrived on DVD and Blu-ray today. And while everything on the set has obviously been seen before, the Season 6 collection adds one extra special feature: a 12-minute epilogue that takes place after the on-island events of "The End". So, despite "The End" being... the end, this is truly the last Lost 'episode'.

Epilogue: "The New Man in Charge"

Zach says: The 12 minutes let us see a few glimpses of what Ben and Hurley are up to, although there is nothing TRULY revolationary (if that's not a word, it should be). We get a couple of answers to questions that weren't really important, or that we really already knew the answer to. "Why are there polar bears and where did they come from!?!?!?" Well, obviously the Dharma Initiative brought them to the island for research... you really couldn't figure that one out on your own?

The more important thing we see though, is Walt, and we see what things COULD possibly happen in Lost's near future, assuming there is one for the series, which isn't likely. So, it's kind of weird that they show us these things, which they aren't planning to elaborate on in any form of media. It's not that it's a bad 12 minutes of footage, but it would have been fine if they left it alone, as these don't really add anything to the mythos. But, it's still more Lost, and it's a bit tongue-in-cheek, and fun to see, but overall, it's pretty meh
Zach's Score: 7/10

JDW says: Well, I really loved "The End" and found it to be a really fitting ending to such a wonderful, smart, and mysterious series. But, not everyone was a fan of it, and I can understand that, especially with all those 'unanswered questions'. So what "The New Man in Charge" does is serves the purpose of pleasing those fans that want answers, but also rubs it in their faces.

Most the short is taken up by a lost Dharma video with Dr. Chang that talks about the origin of the polar bears on the island as well as the background behind Room 23 at the Hydra Station. At the same time Ben visits the Dharma food supply HQ, and gives the two workers there a chance to ask one question each, and when one worker asks "How does the island move?" Ben smirks and tells him he only gets one. Which was an amusing nod to those people that complained about not getting enough answers.

However, the best part of this was getting to finally see Walt again. Sure, we still don't know why he's so special, and the ending to this was so vague that really this could go anywhere, but it was great to see his character getting some sort of closure after a long absence. But seriously, all this was was a major tease. "The End" gave the series a great ending and closure, but all this short epilogue did was leave me want more. So really, is this 'the end'?
JDW's Score: 7.5/10

Overall Score: 7.3/10

While we've reviewed this 'episode' by itself, we don't have any immediate plans to review the complete series or Season 6 box sets as a whole. It's not that it wouldn't be worth your time, but it's just a lot to go through on our limited schedules, and this epilogue is the real attraction of the sets for a lot of people.

This Week in Futurama - 8/19/10

2010-08-24T22:19:00.000-04:00

More like Last Week In... because I'm terrible and actually saw The Expendables last Thursday and forgot to watch the new episode on my DVR...

Episode 10 - "The Prisoner of Benda"

When the King of Robo-Hungary comes to New New York, Bender hatches a plan to steal his priceless crown using the Professor's latest invention, the body-switcher. But there's one catch about the switcher, the switchees can't switch back without 2 extra people, which causes a whole mess of problems when not every is in the same room.

There are a lot of great parts in this episode, Scruffy's almost tearful moment with his humanized wash-bucket, the gross-out love scene between Fry and Leela (in Zoidberg and the Professor's bodies mind you), any and all moments related to Robo-Hungary, and the entire end fight scene. This was just a really well thought, funny, and just overall great episode that really evoked the feeling of classic Futurama's best episodes. It's nice to see that at least this one rare time, there was two great episodes in a row, which almost makes up for the awfulness that was "That Darn Katz!".

Overall Score: 9.6/10

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Animation

2010-08-13T18:22:00.000-04:00

Not enough Scott Pilgrim articles for one week? Well, here's this: a three minute animated short produced by Adult Swim and animated at Titmouse (the studio behind Metalocalypse) that brings to life the Lisa Miller/Kim Pine back story from the book Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (and later followed up in Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together), which was left out of the recently released film. But, the cast of the film reprises their roles, while Mae Whitman and Jason Schwartzman play different characters.

This supposedly aired last night, but I missed it, so here it is from Adult Swim themselves. I have no idea how long the clip will actually last on their site, so I hope it gets included in the DVD/Blu-ray release of the film or something. Kind of makes you wish there was some sort of Scott Pilgrim animated film... though something a bit better than Flash puppets would be appreciated.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World Review

2010-08-13T16:42:00.002-04:00

What? A movie review on the day it's released? And I still haven't reviewed Inception despite seeing it last month? Well, it's here! Edgar Wright's adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's six-part comic book series, Scott Pilgrim, is finally here! Does film live up to all the hype and comic fans' expectations? Or is this just another comic franchise that should have been left on the pages?

If you don't know by now (then you obviously don't visit often) the story of Scott Pilgrim follows the titular "hero" who recently starts dating a 17 year old girl, Knives Chau, too get over his previous break up but is soon taken back by a new girl in town that visits him in his dreams, Ramona Flowers. But there's one hitch to dating Ramona, in order to stay with her, Scott must defeat her Seven Evil Exes, or DIE!

Generally the film sticks to the story of the six books (despite the finale book, Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour, not being written prior to filming) however, because it's an adaptation of six comics in one film (and not one movie per book like some other film franchises) there's obviously a lot of edits done to the story. For one, the story doesn't span years like in the books (no birthday for Scott), characters like Lisa Miller or anyone over the age of 30 are completely absent from the film, and some of the Evil Ex battles are altered from their original forms. And what was cool, but only used twice, was for flash-backs, instead of using younger actors to portray the characters, actual scenes from the book were used, with O'Malley's drawings applied to animation which was cool, and some of his art work appears elsewhere in the film as well.

But it's not just seeing O'Malley's drawings on screen that makes this feel like Scott Pilgrim, but all the little visual cues are there as well; like the black dialogue boxes with character commentary, or visual sound effects that are ripped right from the books themselves. Aside from adapting Bryan Lee O'Malley's work and style though, is the other major element of the film, Edgar Wright. Despite the lack of any Brits in the film (though I hoped Pegg and Frost would cameo as the Vegan Police; there's another cameo instead, a surprising one actually...) and the lack of excessive blood, which was a staple to Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World still feels very much like an Edgar Wright film, which is a good thing. Heck, if it wasn't for the need to move on from conversation scenes and into effects heavy action, I'd say this wasn't too far off from Spaced.

The other thing was character portrayal. Going into this, I was really unsure if Michael Cera could actually pull off not being Michael Cera, but having seen the film now I'm actually pretty pleased with his 'performance'. He really gets to step out of his shoes during the numerous fight scenes in the film, but there are parts where he just gets to be himself, which is unfortunate. Kieran Culkin definitely steals the show as Wallace Wells, and I really enjoyed Alison Pill as Kim Pine, but she doesn't get the same focus like she does in the books which gave me the sadface. But it wasn't all great, despite Mary Elizabeth Winstead being quite appealing to the eyes, her performance as Ramona was really under-developed and the character just came across as really dry and unlikeable, which isn't like the comics at all.

As for the rest, most of the Evil Exes were great, especially Chris Evans and Brandon Routh (Captain America vs. Superman OMFG!!!), but I could do without Jason Schwartzman as Gideon. Hell, to be honest, the whole ending with Gideon was pretty weak when compared to the comic's ending, and I wasn't even too big on that when I first read it.

Overall, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is a good film, and it's one of the first films outside of video game adaptations that really speaks to the people that grew up with games, but also gets a few other pop-culture references in there. As a fan of the books however, I have to say that I like them better, because I already have a preconception of what's going to happen and a deeper feeling for the characters that I just didn't get out of the film's two-hours. So having said that, it's hard to say what non-fans will get out of this film, but if you're a gamer, a fan of music [the soundtrack is awesome], or humor, or Edgar Wright, I suggest you give this film a watch. And if you even semi-like what you see, pick up the books and get a better experience afterwards.

Overall Score: 8.8/10

Craving more? Check out my reviews of the Scott Pilgrim books by Oni Press: Volumes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6! [Contains spoilers!]

I will also be reviewing the recently released video game at some point this week as well!

This Week in Futurama - 8/12/10

2010-08-12T22:48:00.000-04:00

Oh yeah! Keeping these on time for once, here's another Futurama review.

Episode 9 - "A Clockwork Origin"

I was more then pissed off with the abysmal pile of unfunny trash that was last week's episode, so it was a surprise to no one this season that this week's episode was smart, funny, and just generally good (what with the good/bad pattern and all that).

After a heated debate about evolution, The Professor and most of his crew flee to a distant Earth-like planet where they discover that organic life forms aren't the only beings with the ability to evolve; yes, it's ROBOT EVOLUTION. There's also a sub-plot where Zoidberg becomes Q-bert's new father that has it's funny moments.

This episode was to the theory of evolution like "The Late Philip J. Fry" was to time-travel, but with a lot less heart and a bit more humor. Not that that's a bad thing, as I think this season and the 4 films forced a bit too much of Fry and Leela's romantic relationship on us without enough of anything else. Also, while I appreciate some references to the older seasons' episodes, there's some I'm not OK with; like someone digging up a fossilized dog and saying, "Oh no! It's another one of Fry's dogs!" which almost completely takes all the heart and emotion away from the episode "Jurassic Bark" which I still have a hard time watching because it's so emotionally jarring. But nit-picking aside, this was definitely an improvement over last week.

Overall Score: 9/10

Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour Review

2010-08-11T01:27:00.000-04:00

A week or two late, but I'll blame that on Amazon's shipping, non-existent e-mail replies, and my day job... Anyways! It's finally here, the sixth and final issue of Bryan Lee O'Malley's beloved (and somewhat over-hyped, just saying) comic series, Scott Pilgrim. What will become of your favorite characters? Will Scott defeat the last evil ex? WILL I WRITE SPOILERS?! NO! ... continuing...

Story
Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour takes more or less directly after the events of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Universe, with Ramona mysteriously vanished, Scott in his new apartment, and Kim Pine away with her parents; oh, and the last evil ex, Gideon Gordon Graves, constantly stalking Scott both consciously and subconsciously. But despite all this, Scott insists on waiting in his bed/couch, and playing on his PSPgo (gross). Eventually he must learn to man up, confront his demons, and find the girl he loves, and so on.

All in all the story work well and sums up all the characters quite well as there's pretty much a clear explanation as to what everyone ends up doing with their lives, it's not open ended like Lost or anything. However, I will say that the pacing was a bit off. It felt like nothing was really happening in the first few chapters, just meeting up with characters in an uninteresting fashion, and the just suddenly breaking out into all out action come the end. To be honest, the pacing was almost like the first book, and you'd think something like that would be adjusted after six years.

Writing
After re-reading my past reviews, and looking back, sometimes I wonder what the hell I was talking about. In this case, I find that O'Malley's writing really hasn't changed all that much from book to book. Sure there's humor, generally nerdy, hipstery, gamer based humor, and most of the time it's relatable and funny, but on its own the wriing doesn't really shock and awe, and the ending is very predictable.

Having said that however, I still enjoyed reading this book, and being the longest issue of the series, I'll admit there were moments where I wished it just would end; to the point that I'd just re-read pages to prolong the whole experience. I look forward to whatever Bryan Lee O'Malley does next, but I just hope it's once again not more of the same.

Arwtork
However, unlike the writing, O'Malley's artwork has changed significantly since the series started. Generally, most comic artists are working of monthly series so they're constantly developing their style, to the point where you probably don't even notice. With a once a year series like Scott Pilgrim though, the change from year to year is drastic. It wasn't as noticeable in the first three issue, but by this sixth volume, some of the characters look completely different.

And while I fell in love with the original character designs, I've grown to like these newer, over-simplified designs, as well as the more apparent use of half-tones, despite being a bit iffy on the designs when O'Malley revealed the first preview images from the book. Plus, I can actually tell Scott and Young Neil apart now!

Overall
With a movie releasing this week and a game releasing... well, yesterday to be exact, it's clear that Scott Pilgrim has definitely become a mainstream icon that goes beyond the indie comic series that used to be loved by only a few. But, when it's all said and done, this book was made for the people that cared for the series before all that, and I think the story and characters have gotten the send off they deserve. What becomes of the franchise now is anyone's guess, because there's definitely going to be a division of those that fell in love with the books, those that only know it as a film, and even a select few that only know the game. However, at this point, the proof is in the print, and reading Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour is truly the ultimate experience, even if there are some hitches.

Overall Score: 9.3/10

Forgot what happened? Check out my reviews for Scott Pilgrim volumes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5!

For more on Scott Pilgrim visit: scottpilgrim.com
For more on Bryan Lee O'Malley visit: radiomaru.com

This Week in Doctor Who - 7/24/10

2010-08-07T17:33:00.001-04:00

Yes, I'm very well aware what the date on top says, but that's when this was supposed to be written so I'm going to leave it as is. To be honest, I don't even know remember when the episode aired in America, as I watched it when it premiered in the UK so it's been well over a month or two for me... my bad.

Episode 13 - "The Big Bang"

At the end of my last review I made a little statement how parts of the episode felt like a "jumbled mess," that was before I watched this episode; which for about... three thirds of the episode is just going in and out and back and forth through time to solve problems, but really it just creates more.

What bothered me is that somehow the Doctor gets a watch-type device from River that allows him to travel time where he stands, and it basically just throws the rules out the door. Suddenly, instead of being trapped in the Pandorica, the Doctor from the future comes back and solves the problem, and then goes forward, and then Amy meets herself, and then they go back, and forward, and diagonal. Regardless of where they go, it's just the ultimate cop-out tool. Because then for every situation ever you could be like, "wait David Tennant, you don't have to die at the hand of Rassilon, let me just use my timey-wimey to go back and tell you 'Don't do it!' or some crap like that". Granted I know it's a show that revolves around time travel, but even the Doctor says he has rules about what he can and can't do. I think using a device to tell you past self what not to do is one of those things that just shouldn't happen.

But, despite the jumbling and rule breaking, when it all came together it was pretty cool, and for a finale, I definitely liked this better than "The End of Time" for the most part, Tennant's final moments aside. And the really awesome part of the episode was seeing the Doctor traveling back to all his adventures with Amy, even explaining his what-seemed-to-be bizarre wardrobe change in "Flesh and Stone"; and in the end it really brought the feeling together of that 'fairy tale' Moffat talked about before the new series started. Plus, fezzes are cool. Can't wait for the Christmas Special!

Overall Score: 9.2/10

I'll hopefully post the season recap before the next week is over.

This Week in Futurama - 8/5/10

2010-08-05T22:40:00.000-04:00

So much for thinking the new Futurama ok/awful pattern was over, because after last week's great episode, this weeks was pretty awful.

Episode 8 - "That Darn Katz!"

Amy finally attempts to recieve her doctorate, but soon finds that here thesis idea is stolen by an intelligent race of cats. And Nibbler feels neglected, because the cats are taking everyone attention away from him. There's some "lol-catz" jokes along the way, but like "Attack of the Killer App" any of the jokes here are just way too late, and generally the episode just isn't funny regardless.

Also, when the hell was Nibbler allowed to talk in front of EVERYONE and not just Lela and Fry? And when the hell was that just ok with everyone without any sort of WTF mention? If anything bothered me most about this episode, it was the lame and lack of jokes, it was this sudden acceptance that Nibbler can just talk when he pleases to whoever he pleases, thus throwing away years of the show's unwritten rules. And while the Bender/Hermes combo actually worked in "Lethal Inspection" the pairing of Amy and Nibbler is just awful and has zero chemistry. Screw this episode!

Overall Score: 4/10

This Week in Futurama - 7/29/10

2010-07-30T19:49:00.000-04:00

A day late, sorry for still not writing everything else...

Episode 7 - "The Late Philip J. Fry"

The general pattern of this season has been good episode/bad episode/good/awful/ok/awful/ok; so when last week's episode was decent my hopes were pretty low for this week's new episode... but I was proven wrong.

This week's episode begins when Fry arrives late for work, and then soon realizes that he's actually late for lunch with Leela on her birthday. They instead make plans for dinner, and Fry promises to actually make it on time... that is until the Professor drags him and Bender into his one-way time machine and accidentally travels to the year 10,000 instead of 1 minute into the future, thus leaving behind Leela and everyone else in the universe. What happens after was both really cool and hilarious, we see Fry, the Professor, and Bender travel to random years in the future and see what becomes of Earth and the Universe, but we also get to see what becomes of the Planet Express crew in their absence.

Overall I really liked this episode, like, more than a lot of the classic Futurama episodes, because it not only had a lot of heart but also had a lot of really great imagery with just enough humor. It definitely ranks up there with other time based episodes such as "Roswell That Ends Well," "Luck of the Fryrish" and "Jurassic Bark," and is definitely the best of the season so far. With a lot of dirt and fool's gold this season, I'm glad that there's at least one gem to remember. I only wish my DVR didn't cut the episode short and make me wait until the episode replayed; because this review would've been up sooner.

Overall Score: 9.5/10

VFH Seal of Approval would've happened, but I don't like rewarding shows for doing what they should've done all along.

This Week in Futurama - 7/22/10

2010-07-23T20:19:00.000-04:00

A day late, but it's here, sorry for the lack of updates.

Episode 6 - "Lethal Inspection"

After a war reenactment, Bender decides to gloat about how physically superior he is to his fleshy human (and decapodian) co-workers, and claims superiority over them in the name of Inspector #5, the person that approved him in the factory. That is until he springs an oil leak and starts dealing with the thoughts of his own mortality. So, he sets out on a quest to find this Inspector #5, and it leads him and Hermes to the Central Bureaucracy and then on an episode-long adventure.

The most awkward part of this whole episode is that it stars the unlikely duo of Bender and Hermes. Even in Hermes-centric episodes he doesn't appear that much. So to have this awkward pairing of him and Bender was bizarre yet surprisingly fresh. In fact, I wasn't even sure what to think of this entire episode... until the ending.

And to continue on that though, perhaps the best, but out of nowhere, part of the episode was the ending reveal that Hermes was Inspector #5 all along (which I guessed right away, just saying). Because it wasn't just a reveal, but it was a whole montage of Hermes' early bureaucratic life as an employee of Mom; it was very echo-y of the ending sequence of "Leela's Homeworld" from Season 4, and an unexpected return to the emotional tugging that Futurama used to have. An unexpected surprise of an episode, and definitely the better of the season so far, but still not in the show's overall top ranks.

Overall Score: 7.8/10

Some Things to Note

2010-07-23T19:47:00.000-04:00

Hello readers, just a couple things I wanted to say. Despite tons of movies, games, and other things releasing this summer, I personally have had quite the busy schedule and have found that VFH just hasn't been my top priority when I have what little off-time I can get. That's not to say that I've given up on this, I still enjoy writing about entertainment as a hobby, but this doesn't put money in my wallet so of course I have to spend most of my time actually working. Not that that explains why everyone else here hasn't written much or at all, but I'm sure I can credit it to similar reasons.

As for the site, there's some changes, some minimal, some major that I want to be noted. For one, you may have noticed that we now have our own favicon instead of the old Blogger "B" logo. But also, I found out how to finally insert page breaks, so starting tonight, all future long posts with have a "read more" link at the bottom to bring you into the full page post, instead of cluttering up the main page with text. With this, I may also go back into all of our past long posts and slim those down with page breaks, and possibly add more articles per page now that everything will be trimmed.

There's still a lot of things I'd love to write about, but just don't have the time. Perhaps I'll get around to reviewing them by the end of the summer, but at this point I don't know. Stick around!

Singularity Review

2010-07-22T23:34:00.008-04:00

After observing a spike in radiation levels over the Russian island of Katorga-12, US troops are sent in to infiltrate and investigate the island. After a strange occurrence of incidents, including time travel, it turns out that you have drastically altered the timeline, throwing the world into Russian rule. Using the help of newly acquired "friends" and weaponry, can you revert things to normal? Do you even want to?

The story starts out plainly enough, until you’ve crashed landed on Katorga-12 and start running into some interesting creatures. They are human-like in nature, but with very decayed and mutated bodies. Oh, and they are super aggressive and out to eat you. In a hurry to meet back up with your squad mates, you run into an old building, where you are thrust back in time, to when the building was burning down in 1955. You happen across an individual who is clinging on for his life, and decide to save him. Unfortunately, that kind of altered the time line, and now the man you saved is the man you are trying to kill to set things right.

You return to your time, in 2010, shortly after rescuing this man, Demichev. He then captures you in 2010, and wants to know about your time traveling powers, which you are unaware of, but you escape with the help of Mir-12, some underground group trying to figure out this time traveling thing. From then on, you are running around the island, both in 2010 and in 1955, trying to get the time line back to the way it was and correct all of your mistakes. You’ll find out a lot about the happenings on Katorga-12 and how all of these things came to pass, with the help of various notes and recordings scattered around the island. Mir-12 agent Kathryn, and 1955 scientist Barisov will also help you try to solve this mystery.

Katorga-12 was first discovered as the only place that contained a super rare and powerful element, E-99. Once found, the Russians built all sorts of facilities on the island to research its unique characteristics and capabilities, including weapons research and time travel. Unfortunately, a terrible accident occurred, killing most of the island’s inhabitants, and mutating the rest into horrifying creatures who you must now battle.

Some of these enemies are pretty cool, while others are quite annoying. Most take a humanoid appearance, with special powers, such as teleporting through time and space, making them worthy adversaries. Other enemies are little exploding kamikaze bugs, which are bothersome and attack in swarms, and another is similar to a giant, acid-spitting spider. So, there is a decent variety of enemies, but you’ll usually face the humanoid opponents, as well as Demichev’s soldiers who have guns, so you can’t go running around all willy nilly.

Aside from a range of standard guns, like a pistol, machine gun, and shotgun, you also have more advanced weaponry, like a spike gun, remote controllable grenade launcher, or sniper rifle that allows you to slow time. There is even this sweet rifle where you can control the bullet after firing, so you can wind it around cover and obstacles and still hit your target in the face, delivering a satisfying explosion. You also have the help of your Time Manipulation Device, or TMD. This little guy is very useful in both puzzle solving and combat. You gain abilities as you progress, but eventually, you can move objects, age objects into their 1955/2010 counterpart, to decay/fix items, create a protective bubble that stops time, use it as a melee attack, and more. The time altering abilities are pretty cool, especially when a pesky adversary is all in your face; just send them to 1955, bwahahaha.

The game isn’t too puzzle heavy, but it has its fair share, and they are pretty inventive. Unfortunately, they are redone again and again, so once you solve it the first time, it’s a no-brainer when you come across it again. However, the first time you come across a puzzle, you will probably be stuck thinking about it for a minute or two, so I was impressed with the inventiveness of the puzzle, and how it doesn’t simply throw the answer in your face. You have to use your powers and the items around you to figure it out.

Singularity does do a good job of setting the mood though. 2010 is pretty disheveled and everything is overgrown, while everything is nice and new in 1955. There are a handful of very atmospheric, and scary moments in the game, where things pop out at you, or the overall environment is truly creepy. There are even messages you can find on walls that have been left by a mysterious person, possibly yourself, which make you question your mission, what you are doing, and who you can trust. To further bring you into the story and what all was going on back in 1955, you can find and read an assortment of notes and listen to audio logs left behind by scientists and other inhabitants. These are left on desks and tables and all over the place. They slow the pacing of the game a bit, as you can stop to read or listen to each one, but if you get really into the story, then it’ll be worth it to investigate as much as possible to learn about what went on on Katorga-12. Obviously though, you can skip right by these and continue on to the action.

Exploration is also beneficial to more action-oriented players, as you can find many, many E-99 tech pieces, which can be used to upgrade powers and weapons. These can be used to increase health and energy, as well as increase your sprint distance, gain more ammo per pickup, and other perks. There are also weapon upgrades which can be used to upgrade each weapon in various stats, like power, reload time, and clip size. There is a problem though, in the way the game limits your movements. If you go through a door to a new section of the map, that door will close off and you won’t be able to go back. So, if there was some stock pile of E-99 tech in one room, but you decide to explore this other room first, which happens to be the main path to the new section, you may get screwed and not be able to back-track to that E-99 horde. This happened to me a few times….quite annoying.

Naturally, Singularity also has a multiplayer mode or two. It features a relatively standard Creatures vs Soldiers deathmatch mode, as well as an Extermination mode, akin to territories. Each mode features humans versus creatures. Humans have multiple class options, each of which has a different perk, such as the ability to teleport short distances, melee, or other such skill. You can also choose a weapon independently of class, like a standard rifle, shotgun, or sniper. The creatures’ classes are a bit more diverse. Each creature class is a different creature, all of which act and move very differently, so many play styles can be used here. One is that large ass spider that can shoot bombs at you, while another creature can place proximity mines. The little tick creature can run up and explode near an enemy, or jump on him, kill him, and inhabit his body, giving you access to his weapon and confuse opponents.

The Creatures vs. Soldiers mode is a standard deathmatch mode and is self-explanatory, but Extermination is more team-based. Here, the humans have to work together to bring three terminals back online. Once online, their spawn gets moved up to that terminal. Of course, the creatures are there to stop you from doing this, so it’s a constant battle to see who can get the upper hand. Once the time limit is reached, or all three terminals get brought online, you switch sides. The team with the most terminals online at the end wins.

Overall, Singularity does a good job of bringing you into the world of Katorga-12 and the E-99 experiments, with the various artifacts you can find and there are cool time manipulation elements to play around with. One downfall is that the NPCs don’t look at you when they talk, which breaks down the immersion, but aside from that, the single player experience is nicely crafted to bring the player into its world. There is then multiplayer which you can delve into, with ranks and leveling up, which could keep you busy for awhile.

Overall Score: 7/10

This review was based on the PlayStation 3 version of the game, however, most of which has been stated should also be applied to the Xbox 360 and PC versions of the game.

This Week in Futurama - 7/15/10

2010-07-16T22:02:00.000-04:00

I'm starting to regret making this feature, but enough of that, here's this, and sorry for the delay but I was held up with a piece of artwork last night and had to record the episode instead of seeing it live as I normally would.

7/15/10: Episode 5 - "The Duh-Vinci Code"

I think there's a pattern here with new Futurama, every other week it's been good, bad, good... so guess what this week's episode is? In its defense, "The Duh-Vinci Code" isn't as awful as "Attack of the Killer App," but it's still nowhere near as good as this season two decent episodes so far, and even mediocre episodes from the original run.

So what happens? The Professor goes on about his favorite artist and inventor, Leonard Da Vinci, and it soon leads him and his staff on an exploration from "ancient texts" a.k.a. The Da Vinci Code. Which brings them to Italy, where they uncover Da Vinci's greatest inventions, and then Fry and the Professor are transported to the planet Vinci, where Leonardo is from, and is apparently the stupidest of its inhabitants... go figure.

The problem here, much like in "Attack of the Killer App," is that all the jokes here are either irrelevant or just not funny. Hell, Da Vinci Code jokes would have been irrelevant in any of the direct-to-DVD films, so why the hell are they making this now? I'm sure fans of the books would find this episode amusing, as really it's to the Da Vinci Code as "Where No Fan has Gone Before" was to Star Trek. But that's the key thing, Futurama thrives on science-fiction related humor, so an episode about Star Trek works really well. But what's the show's connection with the Da Vinci Code? Why are you making the jokes in 2010? It just doesn't seem to make sense honestly...

To me, it really just seems like this was a script written back at the height of the book's and film's popularity, and was shelved when there was no production going on, and it obviously wouldn't have fit into any of the four films. But with material so dated, I think this one should have been left on the shelf.

Overall Score: 6.8/10

This Week in Doctor Who - 7/10/10

2010-07-10T21:40:00.000-04:00

Despite already airing in the UK almost four weeks ago [a whole month], this episode won't actually premiere on BBC America until next week. Sorry, but if BBCA wants to do it this way, that's not my problem. So for those of you that have sadly stuck with their schedule, MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW, but for those that watched it when it aired, this is old news.

Episode 12 - "The Pandorica Opens"

And we're finally here, sort of, as this is the first part of Steven Moffat's finale for the fifth series of Doctor Who, it's been quite the journey. Right away I found this to be unlike any Doctor Who season finale before it, the first scene brings back a screaming Vincent van Gogh (from "Vincent and the Doctor"), and then we soon see Bracewell and Churchill (from "Victory of the Daleks"), and then we reach River Song (who needs no re-introduction at this point). There is a message waiting for her, from Vincent van Gogh himself, at Elizabeth the Tenth's (from "The Beast Below") Royal Collection... it's a painting, of the TARDIS exploding! Booooweeeeeooooooo

Despite only being the first 8 or so minutes of the episode, I really loved that whole sequence because for the first time ever, the Doctor Who finale actually felt like a season finale by bringing everything that happened together, instead of just being one grand episode without any consequence from the prior episodes of the season. Granted Series 3 and 4 both closed the stories of the companion's rather well, everything up to those points were generally meaningless.

Anyways, River finally gets the message along to the Doctor, who previously grabbed a burned piece of TARDIS from "the crack" in "Cold Blood," but now this was just a confirmation. This encounter suddenly brings them to Roman Britain some time in the 2nd century, and then eventually to Stonehenge to find the mysterious Pandorica, in what really can be summarized as a confusing mess of words and imagery. Honestly, there was a lot of back and forth and mumbo-jumbo talk and at the end I was like ... "what?" But the payoff is great when the Pandorica is finally discovered.

But what is it? Well, why don't you ask "the Alliance," a.k.a. everyone the Doctor has ever messed with! You name it, Daleks, Cybermen, Slitheen, Silurians, Judoon, Sontarans, Sycorax, and other aliens from Doctor Who, Torchwood, and even the Sarah Jane Adventures are either seen or name-dropped, even some creatures from classic DW as well! The whole thing is basically one giant heap of fan service, it's insane. So what is the Pandorica? It's a time-sealed prison for the most sinister person in the universe: ... The Doctor!

To summarize everything else that happens, River uses the TARDIS and is brought to Amy's home on June 26th 2010, a day the Doctor was warned about. She soon realizes that everything that's happened has been part of Amy's imagination... or has it? Also, there's an Auton version of Rory and oh yeah.. he kills Amy. BAM! Told you there were spoilers.

Overall, this episode was pretty fantastic despite being somewhat of a jumbled mess from time to time, and because of that A LOT happens here, which makes it harder for me to summarize because basically every moment is pivotal. As much as I liked this first part, I'll wait for the second half before I make any truly final judgements.

Overall Score: 9/10

This Week in Futurama - 7/8/10

2010-07-08T23:03:00.000-04:00

After an abysmal episode last week (I wasn't alone, I read other reviews too, you know..) can Futurama return to its old hilarious? Or was last week a sign of what's to come for the rest of this season?

Episode 4 - "Proposition Infinity"

First things first, this episode is definitely better than last week's, just to get that out of the way. When Kif gets upset with Amy's obsession for bad boys, the separate and she leaves him for.... Bender! "But I thought Bender hated when Fry had a 'robo-sexual' relationship back in that one episode?" Yeah, well, don't tell me, this is what happened.

Anyways, without saying much, the jokes are memorable and actually funny this week, and George Takei even shows up, which is always awesome, because just before that happened there was another Star Trek reference... And as I complained with last week's stupid-tech humor, this week returned to the inside-joke nerd humor that I've always loved from the show, so I'm glad to see that last week's piss-poor episode was just a seemingly one-time case. I don't really have much to say else wise, but I definitely enjoyed this one, and would gladly watch it on repeat like have with the old episodes for years.

Overall Score: 8.5/10