Street Hoops

World’s greatest basketball game ever…

Stay tuned for a new mini-series.

Public Enemies

So, I know this isn’t a video game or anything (at least not yet (please please do not even try it video game makers, I beg of you)), I felt the need to express my feelings toward this recent film. Some people asked me practically the day of the Transformers release if I had seen that heap of flaming shit…to which I immediately responded “no,” and the main reason is because I know a bad movie even without having to go see it. I mean come on, didn’t the fact that Michael Bay had his name of the project give any sort of indication as to the quality of the product? Regardless, instead of seeing Transformers I went with my dad to go see Public Enemies, a movie which I knew was going to be great for a few reasons: the cast, and the director. When you have both Johnny Depp and Christian Bale in the same sentence, you can only assume that whatever follows must be pretty kick ass. Despite this praise, Christian Bale plays a practically non-existent role in the film which, honestly, isn’t a shame because his role is very flat and one-sided. Johnny Depp, on the other hand, is again at the top of his game in a performance which I believe most people will not understand or appreciate to its fullest.

You see, he portrays the historical depression era bank robber John Dillinger in such a convincing and powerful way that it is almost blatant the subtle nature of his character. Here is a man who, on the surface, is an extremely normal man and yet you (or at least I) can tell that there is just so much more than what is told by just the dialogue given. It is the emotion, the shifting of the eyes, the restrained nature of the delivery…in every way this man is a mystery. And who better to direct this mystery than the wonderful Michael Mann. Now although he has made a dud here and there, the man directed two of my favorite films of all times: Heat and Collateral. He has the ability and skill to tame and mold his actors into the grand scheme that he has all laid out in his head. And what does he have to show for all of his glorious efforts? Not a single oscar. Talk about a big “fuck you” to the man. And how does he respond? Well besides making Miami Vice (whoops) he releases this newest film in the middle of the summer when it is obviously a fall type movie (the time of the year when most oscar worthy films come out). So what does this all indicate to me? Mr. Mann is looking to make some serious money by banking on the large movie sales of the summer regardless of the fact that Transformers came out just a week earlier. So, for most studios, this sort of a move is used to push out some crap movies in order to make large sums of money so that they can make sequels and all of that jazz. But, even when Micahael Mann is given this task to create a movie to make money, he STILL makes a damn good movie. Should it get nominated for best picture? Meh…maybe. It is hard to say this early in the game but I can still say that it was a great movie which deserves the hard earned dollar of every honest American. Do your part; support good movies.

W00T, We Finally Did It!

I guess I sort of missed the boat on this one, but it was apparently the one year anniversary of this blog on the 8th…I just don’t know what to say. I feel as though I have put forth a fair amount of effort which really means squat in the big picture of things. Then again, the whole reasoning behind this blog was the fact that I play so many video games and have the spare time to write a blog that I figured that I would simply just ramble on and on and rant until the people shouted: “You there, sir, stop your ranting this instant. You are indecent!” However this moment has not yet happened (or at least not in person). Really the only reason I remembered the whole “starting in June of 2008″ thing is because this is the first month EVER that my blog has received viewers every day without fail(that’s 30 straight days!). So, in essence, I wanted to spend this post to thank all of the people (you) that come and visit this site every once and a while to [hopefully] find some either amusing or critical reviews on video games. I know I can and have been annoying and all with the advertising of this blog but please please please understand that this stuff takes a long time and a good amount of effort to create and it is always nice to know that someone somewhere cares about your work (whether it be big or small). So I must thank all of you out there from the bottom of my heart because even the smallest view of this blog fills me with joy; to know that at least someone took time out for me every once and a while is a wonderful feeling. So again, thank you, and may the next year be bigger, better, and full of comments (that’s where you come in…*wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*).

Pixeljunk Monsters

Sorry for the crap video quality. Oh well. Comments make me happy. Thanks.

Ready Steady GO

Just about finished filming the next review and now I just need to edit and do audio work. In conclusion, the next video should be up before the weekend. Thanks.

For Those of You Who Do Not Know…

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Now For Something Completely Different

First video ever that is under 10 minutes. Drink up, be merry, watch away. Enjoyment + comment = my happiness. K thx bai.

Up

For you, yesterday may have been only Saturday…but for me, it was possibly the greatest movie viewing day of my life. It all started with this gem (and yes I do say gem because I doubt it will gain the appeal and momentum Wall-E got). I must say, this film is a Pixar masterpiece and mind you, this is coming from the guy who flat out did not care too much for Wall-E (yes I know I have no soul). What it breaks down to and why I enjoyed this film just that much more than some of the other recent Pixar movies is because it is the second film to take on a story about humans and life in general. I know I should be more creative and understanding that the same conflicts that can affect a person can affect a car or toy, but it just does not have the human touch. I mean look at the iconic “destruction” of the protagonist, a common theme in all Pixar movies either literally or metaphorically. When Wall-E kicked the bucket I had no fear at all because he was a ROBOT…you can reassemble him. We, the audience, already know that there are tons of parts just lying around earth for this guy so why does the crowd shed a tear when he breaks down? The concept of a robot expressing emotion also confused me because, as most people would figure out if they thought about it, robots only do what they are programmed to do. So there is nothing human about this relationship; it is simply a bond made on 1’s and 0’s. But anyways, enough talk about why I did not care too much about Wall-E.

Up is an amazing accomplishment for Pixar. I mean, when I saw the trailer I thought that they stood no chance of making a good movie considering that the main character is a grouchy old man. I mean, there is only so much you can do to milk old person jokes and such. Then there was the whole “flying house” thing which made literally no sense to me and the trailer did not really indicate much reasoning behind it other than…oh look, the old man is flying away with his house. However, after seeing the movie I can say that this movie does not disappoint and the fact that I loved this movie when I came in thinking almost the exact opposite due to the trailer just goes to show how strong of a movie making company Pixar really is. I must warn people however: this movie is NOT a kids movie. Take for example the first ten minutes of the movie. It is one of the most heart warming and yet saddening ten minutes I have seen. It deals with adventures and exploration, love, hardships, and ultimately loss. Heavy stuff jammed packed into what can be considered as the introduction to the movie. But beyond this introduction is one man’s desperate quest to fulfill his life long promise to his wife. The entertainment never stops and the hard to swallow moments are broken up by some great humor and action. There is rarely a second of this film that wastes time and the experience leaves you wanting more. This movie is surprisingly short compared to most Pixar movies but I look at that as a positive because the movie actually moved and had a wonderful pace. Any slower or faster would have felt synthetic and would have lost the shockingly human touch to the film.

On Saturday I saw Up, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,the last hour of Deer Hunter, and the last hour of Tropic Thunder. Extremely wide range spectrum of movies however they are all great in their own right. However, if I had to pick the best, it would easily go to Up. Start to finish this movie does not disappoint and I was touched by its story and perseverance. I hope you all take some time and go see it (and love it) like I did on my glorious Saturday.

Bioshock

Here is my second video review. I actually edited and it is about 20 min still sadly. I am working on getting shorter stuff but as for right now I suppose this is what I have. Some new and improved features in the video (hopefully you will notice). Otherwise, enjoy!

NOTE: I said “underground” when I meant to say “underwater.” Rookie mistake I know.

Leave comments if you could. Thanks!

New Review Coming Soon!

To all you people,
Just finished a game. Going to review it soon. Stay in school. Don’t do drugs. Peace out.