Posts Tagged ‘BlueReview’
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Show of hands: who likes the Muppets?! Okay, good, lots of hands. Now, who likes OK GO videos? Mmhmm, yep, still a lot of hands. Awesome, awesome. Who wants to see an OK GO video WITH the Muppets?! Well, put those hands down and feast your eyes on this my friends!
That is the first single from the newest Muppets tribute, entitled The Green Album.
The Green Album features artists such as OK GO, Weezer, Hayley Williams (from Paramore), Amy Lee (from Evanescence), The Fray, Billy Martin (from Good Charolette), and a bunch of other people you may or may not recognize. The tracks are all songs that have some connection to the Muppets – whether they’re original tunes from the movies or just bits performed on the original Muppet Show. Now, I have to admit, when I think of a tribute album I’d prefer all the songs were originals from the Muppets in some way, but I’m not going to hold that against the album because I realize that when people hear a song like Mr. Bass Man they might think of Scooter and Sgt. Floyd Pepper performing it on the Muppet Show in 1976, instead of the original 1963 international smash hit written and performed by Johnny Cymbal.
Whatever, point is, all the songs in SOME WAY connect back to the Muppets. Good enough for me. Mostly.
Anyway, enough about the song choice; let’s talk about how the album sounds. In general, I found that most of the tracks fell into one of two categories: “keep it simple” or “push it into our genre.” Let’s cover the simple tracks first. Basically, I consider most of these tracks to be very similar to their original presentation, with the key changes being a more polished sound or very slight change that makes it’s style a bit more familiar to the musicians performing. OK Go’s version of the Muppet Show Theme Song is really not that different from the actual theme, just with a more OK Go sound in the arrangement. The Fray’s cover for Mahna Mahna is almost the exact same as the original – which was very disappointing to me. Amy Lee barely changed Halfway Down The Stairs and Andrew Bird did the same with Bein’ Green.
Now, I want to be very careful to point that NOT changing the songs is not necessarily bad. It IS safe, and it IS a bit dull, but it can be done well. Sometimes I want the songs to sound very different – like a remake of an old 80′s song should not sound the exact same… that’s just lame. In the case of these Muppet songs, for the most part, I was really able to enjoy the classic touch. Especially the way Weezer and Hayley Williams brought Rainbow Connection back with such a pure and simple charm that was every bit as familiar and heart-warming as the original. Plus, once again, I am amazed by the range and tone that Hayley Williams can bring with her voice. This isn’t her best song, but it’s such a unique sound from her. Really great track.
What about the other group? The songs that pushed our old familiar tunes into new and different places? To be perfectly honest there weren’t any terrible songs in this group either. Which… surprised me. Alkaline Trio took a song that was originally a bit of a campy upbeat tune and made it a bit more goofy rock and it worked – which is good because Movin’ Right Along is one of my favorite Muppet songs ever. Another one of those favorites is I’m Going To Go Back There Someday, which was guided down this interesting path of soft goth rock mixed with simple acoustic piano. Hard to describe but so very easy to enjoy. May be my favorite on the album, a great work by Rachael Yamagata. The only other song that might beat it is Wishing Song by The Airborne Toxic Event. They took this simple, slow song by Gonzo and turned it into this mellow tech rock tune that I could not stop listening to. Sure, I couldn’t understand half the lyrics – weird since I know the lyrics to Gonzo and Camilla’s version – but still very alluring and a wicked good song. (Quick fun note, the common version of that song you can find is Gonzo and Camilla but the original original was Gonzo and Madeline Kahn! She was replaced by Camilla for the soundtrack album. Wild, huh?)
What about Mr. Bass Man (or Mr. Bassman as the album lists it and I’m not sure which is actually right?) Well, it too was a good song. A charming and fun rendition that just gets caught in your head. To be fair, it’s pretty much the same song as the original… or even as the Muppet’s original… just updated a little with some simpler acoustic guitar by Sondre Lerche. And I would be completely horrid if I didn’t mention the charming spell that Matt Nathanson did with Ralph and Kermit’s song I Hope That Something Better Comes Along. Honestly, as a whole I think I liked the songs that pushed the envelope a bit better than the group that kept the same.
A bit.
Which is to say… I really liked the whole album! From start to finish it’s a great tribute with fresh and well put together performances that are fun and easy to enjoy. Even the ones that aren’t very original or maybe push a bit to hard. I would totally give it 5 out of 5 Muppets. No doubt.
One last thing. As much as I know about the Muppets and their music (and I know a lot)… there was a song on this album that I did NOT know and had NO CLUE where it came from. NO. CLUE. To make it worse… the song is brilliant and beautiful. Sadly, I can’t really compare it to the original because it came from a Christmas special later turned into a theater production called Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas. Brought to life by Jim Henson but originally a book by Russell Hoban. The song is called Our World and performed by My Morning Jacket, and it is so beautiful that I’ve now made it a goal to somehow find a video of the original Christmas special it came from.
So, how about that… this album even had a new treat for an avid Muppet lover like me. Really, what a great album.
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Well, this review is a little late and I’m sure that most of you that even thought about seeing it have seen it by now. And, you know what? That’s alright. It’ll make my review a lot easier cause I want to break down the progress of the film. So, while I will still try to keep this spoiler free I’m going to really break this movie down some.
So, to start off: I don’t really think this whole Avenger’s movie needed all this build up. I don’t think every member of the Avengers needed a movie. Going into Thor, I thought he probably needed it the least. (Actually, The Hulk was the one that needs a movie the least but I know better then to dream when it comes to movies.) I would still argue that, based on how the movie ends, we didn’t need a Thor movie at all. However, after seeing the movie I have to admit that Paramount and/or Marvel did succeed at making this movie matter.
You see, Thor did a great job of setting up OTHER parts of the Avengers that have nothing to do with the actual hero Thor. Establishing other characters that may or may not play vital roles in the Avengers movie.
But, whether or not a Thor movie was needed, it was made, and it’s time to take a look at that movie for what it is. Now, to clarify, I’m a fan of Norse Mythology and I’ve never really liked the way Marvel handles that mythos… but, I do like the character Thor in the Marvel Universe. Odd, I know, but regardless that’s how I felt going into the theater. A bit cranky about the myth stuff, not sure the movie even needed to be made, but excited for a little Thor loving.
Unfortunately for me, the movie pretty much starts with Thor’s mythical realm of Asgard. It goes on and on for about twenty minutes… establishing characters, background, and why Thor is on Earth. While some of the characters upset me, a few others where presented so well I have to admit that I was impressed. So, the myth stuff was a toss up.
Overall, I thought it looked great but I was actually very bored during the Asgard segment that began the movie. What I would’ve suggested to the writers instead is a bit more “in medias res” for this. I’d have rather seen us jump in during the battle that lead to Thor’s being cast out of Asgard without all the build up. Just toss us into the confrontation between Thor’s pack and the Frost Giants. Then give us some of his first few days on Earth. Later, during a scene between he and Jane Foster driving in a truck and her asking him a bunch of questions we could’ve been given the full background of Thor, his family, the Frost Giants, and the whole thing. I think the flow would’ve been a lot easier to get into, and to be honest, I would’ve been more invested in the character Thor and his struggles earlier in the film. Instead I nearly lost all interest and I didn’t feel connected to the character at all until more then halfway through the movie.
Alright, that’s all my thoughts on the plot. What about the acting? Fantastic. All win. I don’t know who Chris Hemsworth is, but from now on I’ll always call him Thor. The same way that Dwayne Johnson will always be Rock, now Chris Hemsworth will be known forever to me as Thor. He was spot on. Perfect choice. Natalie Portman was again amazing, and in the last two years (without even seeing Black Swan yet) I’ve really developed a lot of respect for her work. On a side note: the kiss between Chris and Nat was HAAAWWWTTT. Hot hot hot. You know when you bite your Hot Pocket to early and it sears every bit of flesh within your mouth? But it’s to late now so you swallow and tears well in your eyes and you nearly pass out? Well, it was that hot but without all the pain. It. Was. Hot. And it’s not creepy that I think that. Not at all.
Oh, and Loki was okay. I think that’s a very hard character to play and Tom Hiddleston didn’t do a bad job. The character is just a nightmare and I can’t fault him for being a tiny bit flat. Everyone else in the film was just okay, but really no one else mattered.
The most interesting thing for me was the director. I had NO CLUE that Kenneth Branagh was the director. No idea. Had I known, Thor would’ve been a top three anticipated movie. I am a HUGE Kenneth Branagh fan. HUGE. Admittedly, it’s his work with Shakespeare that I love so much. Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, and Henry V are some of my favorite movies. Ever. The only reason I ever even read Shakespeare was because of Kenneth Branagh. The man is brilliant. Branagh, not Shakespeare. Oh… wait… okay, they’re both brilliant but I was referring to Branagh in this case.
That said, I wouldn’t claim Thor as one of his best works. Still, you can see his fingerprints all over this film. The chemistry between Thor and Jane Foster (despite a weak WEAK written script between the two) was made believable because of good acting and great directing. The vision of Asgard was beautiful and I know that was at least 80% Kenneth. Almost every successful joke came down to great timing, and that is created by a great director. So, it’s my opinion that a lot of the success of this movie will come down to Kenneth Branagh. And that is about the only time you’ll hear me praise a director. So enjoy it. One thing I didn’t like was the action sequences- also the director. In that respect Thor fell flat. None of the fights felt very epic and most of the larger battles were to all-over-the-place to really follow. That would be my one big director complaint.
Alright, final score time. Did Thor live up to it’s divine background, or will I slap it down like Thor was cast down from Asgard? The answer is: neither. Three Mjolnirs.
It was alright. I wasn’t as impressed as Twitter apparently was, but I didn’t hate it at all. I’d recommend it to most people. It was the middle spot on my top ten must see list and it really was just average. A good starting point for Captain America and Avengers later on, but I won’t be counting the days till its bluray release.
In the end, I still say this movie never had to be made. But… it’s not soooo bad that it was. I guess.
About a month ago I made a tweet questioning how an actress the caliber of Anne Hathaway could end up in a movie like Rio. At that time, I had written Rio off as just another “Pixar Wanna-be” I am known to make mistakes, and this comment was definitely a mistake.
After having seen Rio, my updated Twitter would be: “How does a movie like Rio not get a better lead actor then Jesse Eisenberg??”
Yeah, you heard me. You read that. So let’s break it down:
First, the new implication is that Rio is a good movie. You know why? Cause it is!! Yeah! Even I was surprised! I mean, even if you put aside my original opinion that this was a faker movie, then the best – THE ABSOLUTE BEST – I was hoping for was that it wasn’t another Hop. I actually spent half my morning thinking of witty ways to use the city of Rio de Janeiro, the country of Brazil, and the many terms for birds as insults. I was by no means confident in this movie.
It is reasonable to ask why I would think that way, and here is my simple answer. Blue Sky Studios had not ever yet impressed me. Not until now. I didn’t like Ice Age much and I never could convince myself to see either of it’s sequels. I hated Robots. Even Horton Hears a Who was just ‘good enough’ and I’m convinced the spirit of Dr. Seuss is the only thing that carried that movie. Blue Sky is not Pixar. They’re not Dreamworks. Not Disney.
And for the first time I can say that’s “okay.”
In my mind, Rio is a coming of age for a studio. Welcome to the game, guys. Keep up the good work!!
Okay, enough about the backstage junk; let’s talk about the actual movie. Rio is a movie set in… wait for it…Rio De Janeiro, Brazil – during Carnival no less! Now, take a moment to consider the imagery that creates. Bright colors. Dancing. Beautiful beaches, lively jungle, mountains, a wild city, and music. So much music! That is a LOT of sight and sound to live up too. If you put a movie in such a vivid place, you better be able to live up to my imagination. I’m happy to say Rio does live up to it. It might have passed it actually.
Now, it helps that the cast is a bunch of well-animated, bright-colored birds voiced by the likes of musical talents Jamie Foxx, will.i.am, and Anne Hathaway. (Yes, Anne can sing and if you didn’t know that shame on you!) For the most part the music works – whether it’s sung or instrumental. It lays a very nice groundwork and enhances several of the scenes. I would’ve pushed that one step further though, and given Anne her own song. The one exception is the standard ‘villian’ song. This ain’t no “Be Prepared” or “Poor Unfortunate Souls” here. It’s pretty much the worst song I’ve heard in a movie since… um… that horrible bat-rap song in Fern Gully. Yeah, that bad. Very bad.
Now, the story itself is… well, it’s pretty predictable. There isn’t anything you haven’t seen before, just maybe cut and paste into different spots. Still, the writing is pretty good and I did laugh plenty throughout so it’s not dry. One thing I did like was that the humans don’t just disappear at the start then reappear at the end. Instead, they play a parallel storyline that manages to keep them interesting without overshadowing the birds.
Voice acting is pretty solid. Anne Hathaway is her typical amazing self. The sidekicks ( George Lopez and Tracy Morgan for example) are quirky without being over the top. Jemaine Clement is actually a really good baddie. The only lackluster performance for me was (unfortunately) the main character Blu, played by Jessie Eisenberg. Yeah, he’s a good actor in movies, but he has a dull and uninspired voice. Yes, that’s the voice I think they wanted for Blu, but he’s not able to bring that to life at all. He’s pretty much just flat the whole movie, and his voice never felt right on the parrot. That’s just how I heard it, and I’ve already been told by Rob I heard it wrong. Meh.
Still, my only complaints boil down to ONE really bad song and ONE bland voice. That’s it. Rio is a solid movie. It’s a good movie. In fact, I think it’s an early competitor for Animated Movie of the Year. (We’ll see how Pooh and TinTin do later.) Trust me, even I’m surprised.
So, with all that hype I just shoveled on you guys can you guess the final verdict? A well earned 4 out of 5 (blue) feathers.
One last note: I was forced to watch this in 3D. I personally do NOT like 3D movies, but that’s me. If you DO like 3D this is a good movie for it. Lots of birds flying around, neat glitter effects with the leaves, feathers, and parades. Tons of cool scenery shots that engulf the 3D space. It makes me dizzy and gives me a headache, but if it’s your cup of tea… well, Rio serves up a large jug.
Who remembers the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Live action movie with a cartoon rabbit drawn in over the film. Not the greatest movie, but a cult classic now. Well, Hop is almost exactly like that except I highly doubt it will ever reach cult classic status.
Quick summary: the main rabbit character is E.B – the future Easter Bunny. Poor chap doesn’t want to be the Easter Bunny, he wants to be a drummer. He runs away from home, and stumbles into a professional no-job loser Fred (played by James Marsden). Fred’s Dad told him he could be ‘great’ when he was a kid, but Fred’s ambition for greatness has limited his ability to grow up. Somehow to two become friends and save Easter from a Latin Chicken.
Hop is one fourth buddy movie, one fourth a Christmas movie, one fourth a family movie, and one fourth good.
So, lets start with that good part. Visually, the rabbits and their Easter Island factory looked pretty good. Nothing that made my jaw drop but definitely good enough for me to appreciate. E.B was voiced by Russell Brand and while I originally was worried about him as a voice actor, I was pleasantly surprised by his work on Hop. In fact, between the decent graphics and the good voice acting I’d go so far as to say E.B. was a very likable character – almost cute even. Almost. However, there is no doubt in my mind that the scene stealer in this movie was David Hasselhoff. By hamming it up to the max, David was one of the few parts of this movie that actually made me laugh.
And that is probably a good place to start nitpicking Hop. Dialogue in this movie is forced and awkward and rarely fluid. I’m not sure if the cause of this problem is writers trying to hard to be funny, or a script that didn’t know how to make an Easter Bunny story seem natural. Maybe some of both?
True, there aren’t a lot of Easter Bunny stories. Or legends, or fables, or anything. So, it’s hard to decide how the world would react to a talking rabbit with a British accent and a desire to bang the drums all day. The problem is, while I may not know how the world would react, I’d like it if my writers would decide and then stick to it. Sometimes people freaked out. Sometimes they shrugged it off. In one scene E.B. is pretending to be a puppet, the next he’s ordering carrot cake at a diner, and then the next he’s a stuffed animal. Very back and forth.
In a way, that inconsistent reaction to E.B. is a great example of the much larger problem in this movie. Why does anyone do anything? WHY?! I never got a sense for why the chickens tried to take over Easter. I never understood why Fred wanted to be the Easter Bunny. I still have no clue why Fred’s sister was so nice to him or why the rest of his family acted like he was human garbage. I don’t have the slightest clue why the ending went down the way it did. (I’m trying to avoid spoilers here, but lets just say the Easter Bunny grants a wish for someone that goes completely against the rules of Easter according to movie.)
Most of the movie made little sense if you thought about it for half a second. Characters were way to willing to accept things that didn’t make any sense at all. Stuff just happened and everyone moved on.
Now, don’t get me wrong. The movie wasn’t bad. I didn’t groan or roll my eyes or suffer through at all. I scratched my head a few dozen times, but even when it was just weird it wasn’t wrong. Depending on your sense of humor, it is entirely possible to sit down and watch this whole movie and feel good and move on with your life when the credits roll. To me, though, it was just sort of ninety minutes of quasi-entertainment with no thrills and only a couple of laughs. It was there, I was there, and together (somehow) we made it through. I do think kids will like it (the younger the better) but it doesn’t offer anything you can’t already find in any other animated movie.
In the end I’m going to give Hop a simple 2 Easter Eggs.
It’s not a movie I’d suggest going to see in the theater, but maybe later this year grab it from Netflix for the kids to watch. That’s about the best I can offer.
One of my favorite memories of college was playing WWF Smackdown on original Playstation with pretty much ALL of my friends. I’m not talking a few hours on a weekend night. I’m talking giant gaming marathon’s that went for DAYS at a time. We would have to wake each other up sometimes, but no one ever quit because the game was that addictive. We played till we burned out, then we slept a few days and came right back. When one of us started playing, it was only a matter of time until all of us were playing.
One of the best parts of the game was telling our own story- and back then I mean we literally told our own story. There was no story mode, no “Road to Wrestlemania,” and no career system. There wasn’t even a system for who was ‘heel’ or ‘face’ (aka bad and good in that order). There was a really poor create-a-wrestler feature where you put Chris Jericho’s head on Kane’s body and gave him Triple H’s moves. Then you took that abomination and threw him into the ring, and if you won you went up the rankings, and if you lost you went down. Win enough times against the right people and you might get a belt shot.
It was the most basic, simplistic, underdeveloped system EVER… but it was good enough.
We didn’t need the game to give us stories, we made them up on the fly. Blaine’s character kept getting put in matches against Chyna, so obviously he had a feud with her. I lost the belt to Rob in a match, and the next thing you know we’re hated rivals. During a tag match, Blaine hits me with a chair by accident and then gets pinned when he meant to tag out becomes “betrayal and the end of a stable.” Those were our stories, and we lived by them!
Later, when the game series moved to PS2, the series began to add story and career modes. They took away rankings, and instead made a system where you played a set storyline and won a belt. No multiple players, no rankings. It was all really cut and paste and it SUCKED!
True: my character could look ten times cooler then ever with facepaint and jackets and cool logos on the tights. But in the end, Rob had to play Rob’s story and Blaine played Blaine’s and there was no chance for us to really create our own stories or play out or stories together. Evolution had killed the wrestling genre (for us) forever.
Until 2011. You see, WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011 has made the wrestling game awesome again. Did I say awesome? Yes I did.
He's The Miz... and he's AWESOME.
To really understand how awesome this game is, all you really need to know is the WWE Universe mode. That’s where EVERYTHING is. It’s true that there’s an online mode, and another batch of “Road to Wrestlemania” stories, and even a very VERY robust create mode. But none of that is what makes 2011 so great.
It’s ALL about the Universe mode.
Since the rosters were already wrong, the first thing Rob and I did was a draft. The game allows us to move any and all the playable roster from one show to the other as often as we like. The game then adjusts the rankings, and the matches, depending on who is on which show. Then we downloaded a bunch of people we wanted – Sting, Kurt Angle, Diamond Dallas Page, Albert Del Rio, Booker T, etc. Again, because of the awesome create mode it was very easy to find just about anyone we wanted. We actually found more people then we planned for, but that’s alright cause it’s worth having a big roster!
From there we made our own characters and threw them in. Once all our outfits, and entrances, and theme songs, and titantron videos were done – and trust me that all takes a lot of time to perfect – we threw our characters on our respective shows and started off.
Universe mode is pretty simple. The game has a calendar, and then it makes events based on your roster and rankings and the show. So, Monday you get 4 matches for RAW and Friday you get 4 for Smackdown. At the end of the month you get a Pay Per View. It’s pretty cool, but not perfect. For example: over the course of a year we never had a single title match for Melina’s Diva belt. While you have the option to change any match you don’t like, there is one small hang-up. You can’t change any title matches or the belt won’t be on the line. We found a workaround for that later, but it still become annoying that you’re not allowed to adjust those key matches. Another thing is that the Pay Per View’s don’t really follow their gimmicks correctly. You don’t always get a Hell in a Cell match at Hell in a Cell or a TLC match at TLC. That did/does irk me a little, but it’s a small complaint about a really solid system.
Finishers off the top of ladders? Yes, sir!
When Rob and I started, we only got a couple of matches a month and always on Superstars (the show for no-names) and it took a while and a lot of wins to finally start getting some real matches on real shows. That might seem dull, but it’s not cause you can skip straight to your matches if you want, and it’s much more realistic to work your way up to the real shows, then the main events, and the title shots and the Pay-Per-Views- not to mention you’ll need those early matches to learn the game mechanics. All the while, the game creates feuds and rivals for you. Once I finally earned my way to Smackdown my superstar was feuding the Undertaker (and trust me that was not easy!) At one point, in the middle of a match the lights go out and then flicker and then Taker is in the ring and chokeslams my character and the lights go out and he’s gone. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MATCH!! Absolutely frickin’ awesome!
It’s those kinds of story events that really takes Universe to the next level. In the course of a year, Rob and I saw some awesome story events. Taker and Kane team up and then Taker turn on Kane during a tag team title match. After moving to RAW, Jack Swagger used a sneak attack on John Cena pre-match to win a number one contender’s spot. The Miz turned face by saving my character from an attack by the Undertaker. John Cena and R-Truth became tag partners and then turned heel together by attacking another team before their title match. And those are just some of the events I remember. There’s a TON of other stuff that happens and really makes the game feel like the actual WWE with all it’s plot twists.
Another thing to note, not every story event involves your characters. A lot of the events we saw actually had nothing to do with either of our toons. While you can skip any and all matches on a show’s card, there’s a lot of fun to be had in watching some of the matches and so Rob and I typically would watch the title matches at the pay-per-views. That is where we saw a lot of these events (but don’t worry because they’ll pop up on their own for your character too). My only complaint about the story events is that, while there is supposedly over a hundred events, it seems like the same fifteen are used over and over again. I’d like to see more events added in DLCs and a more randomness to their use. Seeing someone refuse to shake hands after a match gets old when it’s happened eight times already.
Universe mode creates real show cards with realistic matches based on real rankings and even the feuds and alliances made through the story events. While the system isn’t perfect it is a VAST advancement over the years before. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the game and feel really invested in your character while all of this is going on. But, if you’re like Rob and I, even that isn’t enough. That’s where the Create-A-Story mode comes in!
Rob and I had formed a tag team early on, and captured those belts long before we’d earned the right to challenge for some of the individual belts. Once we started winning seperate belts, and gone to seperate shows it became less and less realistic for us to keep holding the Tag Team Titles. On top of that, Rob wanted to push his character towards a heel turn while I was still involved with being the face portion of a fued with the Undertaker. So, using the Create-A-Story mode we actually made an entire month of events complete with our own written dialogue and selected matches that told the story of how Rob’s character turned on mine and cost us the belts, and then my character got himself traded to RAW so we could start our own feud.
Now, you might think that writing your own story and then playing it would be dull – but hold on! One of the BEST parts of the story mode is that you can make multiple paths. In some of the events you offer a choice “Who does X hit with a chair?” or maybe in a match you planned to win something goes wrong and you lose. When these things happen, you can create off-shoots for every scenario. Branching trees that change depending on what happens. Maybe your intent was for Booker T to beat Edge in a table match and earn the right to face Randy Orton at Backlash, but (oops!) Edge wins instead? Well, with a branching tree you can fix it! Maybe now Booker T attacks Edge backstage and injures him. Since Edge can’t compete at the Pay Per View Stephanie McMahon comes out and says Booker T will be in the match instead. Ta-da! Of course, that’s one path. You could also just let Edge feud Randy instead of Booker T. Or, what if you make it a triple-threat match now? Perhaps Randy Orton comes out and attacks Edge and Booker both after the match causing even more trouble. The options you can make go on and on thanks to the branching story feature.
Create-A-Story is really REALLY cool. In fact, it’s so cool you can easily burn hours and hours on making storylines without realizing it. It’s almost as much fun as just playing the game. The only real problem with that mode is that there’s just not enough options. There are somewhere around 50 scenes for you to use and create events with, but in all truth you need a few hundred scenes. There are just not enough options to do everything you want. Another small problem is that you’re limited how many created wrestlers can be involved. That means both yours as well as any you downloaded into your roster. Still, compared to preveious years this mode is just far-and-away a major selling point for SvR 2011.
There are other features in the game as well. You can still play Road to Wresltemania… if you want… but other then to unlock stuff there’s no reason. It’s alright but the whole thing is just outdated and silly now. Why waste time on some short, scripted, and limited story when you could play Universe or make your own storyline? Road to Wrestlemania is just a waste of time in my opinion. There’s also an online mode, as well as a survival mode, but none of that stuff really matters. The key to this game is Universe and creating modes. And in all truth, this game did an amazing job at both. Not perfect, but so close you’ll forgive them in a heartbeat.
Oh, and while this was one of the major selling points of the game I completely forgot about it once I got to playing – which is actually a compliment. There’s a whole new physics engine in the game this year. What this offers is more realism when wrestlers use weapons, ladders, hit tables or the ropes. Just because you get dropped on a table you may not go through it. If a chair hits your knee instead of your head, that’s the part of the character that actually takes damage. Do you want to set a ladder onto a table and then drop someone off that ladder onto a stack of chairs. Okay! Go for it! Totally possible now… assuming you can get it all set up during a match. It’s really amazing, but, I always forget about it because – quite simply – it’s so well done now that it feels ‘right.’ Trust me, at first you’ll be in awe, but after a few matches you’ll be used to it because you WON’T be complaining about game glitches costing you matches when the table isn’t even in the ring. It’s not a bad thing- it’s a good thing!
So, it’s time for the count. Shoulders are pinned and the ref’s starting the count. When the final bell hits, how does WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011 fare? They win the belt! In fact, they win four of them! That’s right, 4 out of 5 title belts!!
So, as we’re now a week out from Wrestlemania I’d like to suggest a quick trip to the store to grab a copy of Smackdown vs Raw 2011 and start your own road to Wrestlemania. Just, do yourself a favor and take that path in Universe not the actual (stupid) Road to mode. When you’re getting chokeslammed off a ladder by Undertaker you’ll thank me.
…right after you gain conciousness again.
Over the last couple of years my favorite game studio has slowly drifted from Square-Enix to Bioware. Years of Final Fantasy Fandom has slowly degraded into little more then a puppy love, while at the same time games like Dragon Age: Origins and the first two Mass Effects have been flirting with my affections. The transition has been gradual, and not complete.
But this could be the year.
With games like Mass Effect 3, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Dragon Age 2 all in the queue, Bioware was ready to steal the show (and my heart). So, when Dragon Age 2 came out it was with a rabid excitement I dove headlong into Bioware’s comforting arms once more.
Dragon Age: Origins created a world and then let you create a legend. Leading the tattered remains of the once glorious Grey Wardens, you managed to rally a kingdom in disarray to destroy a demonic invasion known as the Blight and save untold millions. Dragon Age 2 is a cluster of sidequests from that first game that your original hero wasn’t able to get around to while saving the world.
The hero of DA2 – Hawke – ran from the Blight with his or her family to a port town called Kirkwall. Over the course of the game you progress from an evacuee and indentured servant to the “Champion of Kirkwall.” While your Origins hero stops an army of demons, you save a port town from a few minor disasters over the course of a decade. I would, in fact, suggest that when the game ends you create more problems for the whole of the Dragon Age realms then you solved for Kirkwall. While that leads to more games in the Dragon Age series, it leaves Dragon Age 2 in an uncomfortable “waste of time” zone.
What makes it worse, and yes it’s worse, is that you’re stuck in Kirkwall. The story locks you in the city all the way through. Hawke’s rise to Champion of Kirkwall means he or she must actually stay in Kirkwall. Still, that might no be so bad except for one painfully glaring issue: ten hours into the game you’ve seen all Kirkwall has to offer. Every street. Every tunnel. Every house, cave, sewer, beach, alley, and warehouse. You’ve seen it. ALL of it. Many times. Many MANY times. Too many times.
There are about ten zones in the city and the outskirt of Kirkwall. When you’re sent on a mission, for example take out a gang of thugs, you’ll go into a small ‘instance’ zone – maybe a cave. You’ll kill the thugs and leave. Ten quests later, you’ll be on an unrelated mission to find a blood mage and go into the exact same cave. Oh, and to go along with it you’ll probably be fighting the same ten enemies (thugs, mages, skeletons, spiders, qunari, darkspawn, shades/wraths, and drakes) on every single quest. There are, at best, twenty zones and they are used, at least, forty times each. You will have these maps memorized better then the most twitchy first person shooters by the time you’re level twelve. I suggest giving each map a pet name and pretending like it’s a person and having a fake conversation with “Goobers” every time you raid that map. That is about the only way you don’t lose your mind. Or, maybe I did lose it and what I just wrote is proof?
Lack of epic-level substance and the mind-numbing re-zoning are the major complaints about Dragon Age 2, but I do have a couple of minor complaints to tack on as well. Why is there only one healer in a game that requires a healer? Companions get no new armor during the game, but instead get small upgrade packets. That really limits the use of gear in the game as well as hurting the general visual appeal. While I understand the idea behind the conversation icons (gold heart for flirt, fist for angry, swords for violence, etc.) I really think it takes away from the thought process of conversations. It’s to easy to flirt or be mean or start fights. By the end of the game I wasn’t even looking at what I was saying anymore. It’s a good idea that ends up hurting one of the games most appealing features.
Phew!
Okay, so, if you’re still with me you might think “Wow, this game sucks.” Well, hold on a moment! Despite the issues I just mentioned Dragon Age 2 is a solid and powerful game that will draw you in and hold you tight as you barrel through the game. Every day at work, Brian Sparks and myself would talk about the game and very VERY rarely did we talk about what was wrong with the game. Glaring issues? Sure, but only if you can see past the pure AWESOME on the screen.
Visually, the game is amazing. One of my major complaints in Dragon Age: Origins was how bland and unoriginal the game design was. Dragon Age 2 has no such problem. You can tell the staff spent a lot of time on design. The characters look great, the armor and weapons are bounds above Origins designs, and the city of Kirkwall has the genuine feel of a fantasy world port town. Along with that, the battle animations and the spells are brilliant – and you’ll never get tired of blowing enemies into tiny bloody chunks.
The gameplay itself, in my opinion, is smoother and faster. It feels like Diablo to some, but while playing my rogue I honestly kept thinking God of War. Either way, it’s fast and furious and massive. Your party doesn’t take on one big enemy very often. Most of the time you’ll be dealing with swarms of mobs, and as you clear a wave you’ll likely have another group pop out of the ground or drop from the rooftops or run around a corner. There’s something raw and invigorating about tearing through waves of enemies at high speeds that makes you feel epic. That said, you’ll still encounter a few ‘boss’ fights where you’ll need to take your time and direct your team – but it’s easy to pause the game with the radial menu, issue a few commands, and jump right back into the fray.
As for the story itself, I’m not going to lie and say it was inspired or even gripping. It was good. It had some strong points, and there were a few emotionally moving parts of the game. However, before I’d gotten very far in the game, I already was able to figure out exactly what was going to eventually happen. Nothing surprised me, and that might be because I’m a critical thinker but I got the feeling it’s just cause I was paying attention as I played the game. It certainly kept me entertained, but overall I’d just say it was “alright.” What I found most interesting was the way Varric relates your tale during the game, and if anything I’d have liked to see that played up more. It’d be nice if some of your major choices caused a short discussion between Varric and the Inquisitor rather then limited to (mostly) chapter recaps. Still, the style itself had a nice effect that was unique and fun.
So, what kind of score does DA2 get? That’s the tricky part. There are some rather large flaws in the game, and even overlooking those flaws I just didn’t feel Dragon Age 2 was as on the same level as previous Bioware games. I’ve heard reviews that tore the game apart. I’ve read a couple that suggested it was an early favorite for Game of the Year. I don’t know that I agree with either. While I can’t just overlook the problems I also can’t deny that I was really into the game and it was rare that I didn’t play for several hours at a time and enjoy that time. That said, it might be the first Bioware game I really have no desire to play through a second time.
Final verdict? 3.5 Dragons.
If you like the RPG genre or need a good action game with a decent story then you really should give Dragon Age 2 a chance, flaws and all. I think in the end you’ll enjoy it, but you probably won’t fall in love.
(The following review is intended to be spoiler free, but since the movie isn’t out for a week I thought it was only fair to warn you ahead of time. Again, I do my best to avoid spoilers but you have been warned.)
This weekend Rob and I were invited to an early screening of the new movie Dinner for Schmucks starring Steve Carell and Paul Rudd. It’s the first movie the two have done together since The 40 Year Old Virgin when they were both still earning their fame. Obviously, since then, they’ve risen the ranks quickly. Steve’s been headlining a little show called The Office and been in a few movies like Little Miss Sunshine, Get Smart, and Date Night. Paul stared in movies like Role Models and I Love You, Man. If you’ve seen at least one movie from each of these guys, then you probably have no doubt the two could carry a movie together.
Oh, and also, that new up-and-comer Zach Galifianakisarscosamoosekaneenisesaos is also in the movie. You know, the goofy guy from Hangover? Yeah. He’s in this too.
To start with, this movie is a comedy about a normal guy (Rudd) trying to get a promotion by impressing his boss with the best ‘idiot’ (Carell) at a dinner where the guests make fun of the losers. My concern going into this movie was that with an idiot dinner as the basis of the comedy the humor would be nonsensical and over-the-top. To my great surprise it was the absolute opposite. The writers did a great job of keeping the story in a zone of plausible – instead of a bunch of people being stupid simply for stupid’s sake, most everything that happened in the movie felt like something that actually could happen. Carell’s idiot was far more a naive, good-hearted simpleton and less a crazy person. That has a really endearing effect, allowing the audience to become sympathetic for the character while still appreciating the humor in the stupid things he does.
As good as Carell’s character is – and lets be fair, it’s a mix of the script and the actor – Rudd’s character never really blossoms. This time I’m gonna blame the script, cause there is no doubt in my mind that Paul Rudd can play a normal, everyday guy. His entire career is based on playing that guy. He’s the Sandra Bullock of guys. He still manages to be that normal guy in this movie. The problem is that the writers forgot to give him a clear motivation. The character is just kind of a mix of internal struggles, bouncing between conflicts without a lot of clarity to what drives him. At the end of the movie there’s a nice little summary, but at that point you’ve lost any chance to understand him or why he’s so conflicted. Still, even with that lacking Rudd does a great job playing counter to Carell’s antics and his acting actually makes you forget (for the most part) what a poorly fleshed out character he’s playing.
Now, I don’t want that criticism to carry too heavy. Overall the movie is fantastic and that one flaw was really an after-thought I had while talking with Rob about the movie. It certainly didn’t hurt the movie while I was watching itl. Especially since I spent 90% of my time in the theater laughing. The humor is mostly one liners that are well written and tend to build on themselves, and they’re crafted so well they never feel tired. There are also some great ‘goofy’ moments, and the best part about those is that the director sells out for them. What I mean is that when a goofy moment is about to happen you know before it starts and I found myself laughing in anticipation of what was going to happen and then laughing harder when it did. No tricks, no sucker punches, no bait and switch, no spit takes. What you think is going to happen does, and when it does you can’t stop laughing cause Carell and Rudd sell it perfectly. Simple but so very effective.
The movie is rated PG-13 and I think that’s exactly right. Mostly it’s pretty tame. The language is never too foul. There are some sexual conversations and jokes, but the content of those conversations is about on par with an episode of Family Guy or South Park. In my opinion it was pretty mild and not really very offensive.
I’d highly recommend the movie to anyone who’s a fan of smart comedy. Ironic to call a movie about idiots smart, but that’s really what it is. In a packed theater, the entire crowd was laughing out loud almost from beginning to end. For me, it was the best comedy since Hangover.
When you get to see it, let me know what you think with a comment or a tweet! Enjoy the movie!
In the midst of the madness that has been July I got a chance to experience one of the best musicals on stage in decades! For those of you who aren’t familiar with Wicked I’ll give you a quick run down.
Author Gregory Maguire specializes in writing re-imaginings of classic fairy tales from another point of view, and one of his most successful novels is Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West which is now an entire series of three (soon to be four) books offering a new perspective of the world in L. Frank Baum’s novel The Wizard of Oz. The musical Wicked is a (very) loose adaptation of Maguire’s book. It debuted in 2003 and quickly became one of the most successful musicals in years. Currently the show is on it’s second National Tour, which is why I was able to see it at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis.
Now if you don’t know, I think it’s only fair to admit that I’m a big fan of musicals on stage, in movies, or even on television. They’re a guilty pleasure. So, that said, you can imagine how excited I’ve been to see this show for a long time and how I went in with all the songs memorized and a good idea of the story and was even halfway through Maguire’s novel. This wasn’t a blind exposure by any means, and in fact there were a lot of expectations and even a bit of fear that it wouldn’t live up to the hype I’d build up in my mind.
From my experience, the biggest change between a show on Broadway (or the CD or video from that show) and the live National Tour is the change of actors. In the case of Wicked you have two of the most critically acclaimed actresses in Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel being replaced for their lead roles. I’m glad to say that for this tour the roles of Elphaba and Glinda are in good hands with strong talents – particularly Vicki Noon who absolutely owned the role of Elphaba from the soul-melting angst in her acting to the amazing vocals that sent shivers down your skin. She was so amazing, that while I was trying to wade a crowd of hundreds down three flights of stairs everyone was praising her endlessly. I won’t be the least bit surprised when she lands a major role in the near future.
The music itself was fantastic, and if you’ve never heard the score to Wicked I strongly recommend you make time to listen to it. The songs are rich and vibrant – even though they all carry a slight dark and corrupted tone, and at least half of them will get stuck in your head (which is a good thing.) The play itself has that same style of mixing light comedy with dark undertones. It isn’t sad or ‘emo’ but it does evoke a roller coaster of cheer and empathy then a mix of joy and regret all at once. It’s a fun ride.
After finally seeing the show I came away with only one real complaint. While the first act of the show is rich and detailed with good pace and strong character development the second act severely lacks in every one of those categories. It’s fast and spotty, and characters flip their positions and motivations quickly and with no explanation. While the first half builds up the world and cast of Wicked the second half just plows through all the events that the audience deserves to be emotionally invested in. It would be like reading the last scene of Hamlet where everyone dies without really knowing why everyone was killing each other. You’re still drawn into the intensity and power of the moment but you feel disconnected and a bit overwhelmed. Or maybe underwhelmed. Probably both.
STILL, the overall experience of this show is strong enough that it easily makes up for it’s one flaw. The music is amazing and pulls you through, and the characters are vibrant and strong. If you get a chance to see it live during this tour, then for goodness sake go and see it!!
