Scott Pilgrim Vs The World (Movie Review)

       Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. Before the movie was even released there was an almost universal amount of praise for this flick. Now that it's been released, the time is up for the verdict, is it worth your time? Read on to get to scoop. The Scott Pilgrim movie is a live action adaptation of the graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O'Malley. The director at the helm is Edgar Wright of Shaun Of The Dead fame. If you're a fan of either of those folks work then you'll love this movie.
       For those who haven't been run over by the bulldozer of publicity that's come before this movie let me fill you in. The graphic novel is, in a word, awesome. It's nothing you haven't seen before, the story of boy meets the girl of his dreams, falls for girl, fights for girl. It's standard story fare. What makes it stand out from the crowd is the implementation of other elements. The graphic novel was a love letter to nerd and video game subcultures. That's all I'm going to say about the graphic novel. Onto the actual movie.
      The movie is a veritable treasure trove of awesomeness. From start to finish, the movie literally turns the dial up to 11 and it never lets up. Outside of the mindless action flicks, a movie like this is a rarity. That's not to say that this movie isn't an action flick, it is, but it's got a whole lot of heart and a wicked sense of humor. Wright has to know how much the source material means to the fans because this movie is all about fan service. It's a rock and roll love story and as such, music is a big part of it. The vibe here is decidedly indie. Not the calming, hipster indie variety, but the more immediate, raw and visceral punk rock branch of the genre. Obviously with this type of movie the music adds an immense amount of vibe to the flick. As I said above, the graphic novel was heavily influenced by video games. The blend of live action elements with 8-bit video game motifs and over the top, old-school fighters of yesteryear has to be seen to be believed. If I had to find one way to describe the film, I'd say it was like an anime played out in real life;  impossible in the real world, believable in its own universe, and looking damn good all the time.
    As I said before, the story isn't really about the story. The fact that Scott falls head over heels for a girl who is, for all intents and purposes, unavailable and unattainable isn't new. The fact that he has somewhat of a heartbreaker past or the fact that he's been heartbroken isn't new. The ending of the movie isn't unpredictable by any stretch of the imagination. No, this movie isn't about the ending, it's about the journey. And what a journey it is, to be with the girl of his dreams, Scott has to defeat her seven evil exes. As one would expect, each of these battles plays out in glorious video game fashion, it's without a doubt what the meat of the movie is about. I need say nothing about the battles other than this; unbelievable. eye. candy.
    I said before that the movie has a lot of heart, and it does. True, there's little exposition on the actual relationship between Ramona and Scott but almost everyone will be able to relate to the feeling of falling hard for someone. It's worth noting that even though there isn't much exploration of the relationship or foundation thereof, there's no doubt that the two feel something for one another. This is a different role for Cera, he plays a move aggressive assertive lead this time around and he sinks so comfortably into it, that, light as the movie is, you can't help but believe he might be the Lothario he's portrayed as. Ramona almost but doesn't quite manage to steal the show.

Bottom Line: So what's the verdict? Without a doubt Scott Pilgrim Vs The World is an epic win full of win. 
Whether you're a fan of the graphic novel, of Wright's films, video games, nerd culture or just good cinema in general, there's something here for everyone. Films this viscerally intense are few and far between and this one manages to stay faithful to it's source material while simultaneously making it accessible to those not familiar with the comics. I wanted to find something to complain about in this, but literally, there was nothing I could find so I can't help but recommend this movie. Skip it only if you're the type that is violently opposed to light and fun cinema

Movie Rating: 5/5

Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions (Wii game review)

       Here we go, this is a review of the just released "Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions" videogame. It was released across all major consoles, but for this review, we'll be looking at the Wii version of the game. The normal fare for games being released on multiple platforms was that the Wii version would be developed by a different studio. It would be the same game only in name and often it lacked the quality necessary to be worth a play. This time however, Beenox developed this game across all the consoles. Read on to find out if this made a difference and indeed, whether the game is worth your time at all.
      There's been a hell of a lot of buzz surrounding this game over the last few months but for the uninitiated, here's what it's all about. Shattered Dimensions does away with the open world concept of the past generation of Spiderman games. For some, that was arguably one of the better aspects of those games; the ability to swing around an entire virtual city does have an intoxicating quality to it. With this new entry, the focus was to be on the combat and the action sequences. While worrisome (many would view the combat in past games to be the weakest link) it still held great, untapped potential within it. Undoubtedly though, the biggest draw to Shattered Dimensions was the concept. In the game you would play as four different incarnations of Spiderman across different alternate realities. Yeah, the idea is shaky, but come on, it's a freaking superhero game, you don't play this for it's firm sense of reality. The four different versions you would play came from the Amazing universe (The classic Spiderman), the Ultimate universe (The black, venom suit one), 2099 universe (a futuristic Spidey) and Noir (A stealthy, spy-type Spiderman).
       Okay, let's deal with whether or not any of that actually works. Firstly, I'll deal with the look of the game. The game takes on a comic book look. It's not really cell shaded but definitely does have that drawn aesthetic to it. The four different worlds have their unique looks and style, but the comic book vein is constant throughout. I found that the look works. If anything, it keeps the game from starting to look monotonous and mundane. Obviously the Wii version looks the worse of the three major consoles, after all, the Wii isn't a graphical powerhouse. It doesn't look BAD by any stretch of the imagination, it just isn't as visually impressive as the ps3 or xbox 306 versions.
        What of the plot, though? There was a great deal of interest surrounding the plot before the game was released. It was written by one of the comic's writers so that was enough to build hype. The voice actors were even the actual people that have voiced Spidey in his various incarnations over the years. Let me just put this out there; the plot FAILS. Full stop. It's sad to say that because there was so much potential, but even more so because it seems as if the writer just phoned in the story. It's not a spoiler when I say that the story is Mysterio tries to steal a tablet, Spiderman bursts in and tries to stop him, ends up breaking tablet into pieces and causes chaos across different universes. Spidey then has to travel across dimensions tracking down the tablet. Seriously. That's that story. All of that was released before the game came out via promotional info and that's really all there is. That's just sad.
        Okay, so the plot is an epic fail, but how does the game work? This is a part where the crappy story shows up even more. Because the developer chose to do away with the open world system previously, you're guided on a very linear pathway where you simply do level after level. This shows the story up as nothing more than an excuse to push you along stage after plodding stage. The levels really boil down to simply segments of swinging, some combat with enemies and then a boss battle. You rinse and repeat this formula throughout the entire game. There are some side missions and whatnot, all in an attempt to lengthen the game but with no real motivation to do anything here, most players wont bother. There's also an upgrade system to make the different Spidermen stronger and unlock abilities. It's extensive and deep but ultimately frustrating. Why frustrating? It's a genuinely good growth system smack dab in the middle of a seriously flawed game engine. I'll be honest, my idea of fun does not involve plodding through a level just  to fight a boss then rinse and repeat. In this era of gaming we expect more, and in terms of the way Shattered Dimensions plays out, it doesn't deliver.
             So the gameplay design doesn't work well, what of the actual engine though? I can't say whether the players on the ps3 and xbox 360 versions encountered the same problems but there were several issues in the Wii version. The first was random slowdown and, unsurprisingly, every time it happened was when the screen was full of enemies. Another was graphical clipping. Spiderman would walk through objects like they weren't there, and a couple times he got strapped in stuff while swinging. Also, at times the animations seemed terribly wooden and robotic. The final engine issue I had was the camera. Dear God the camera is usually the downfall of Spiderman games but here it was more than unhelpful; it was downright antagonistic. The camera was probably responsible for more deaths than the actual enemies. In fact, sometimes it would stick at a view from underneath Spiderman, making gameplay all but impossible. Aside from those technical issues I simply have to discuss the issue of the different universes. This is no doubt a problem across the board. From before the game released there were questions as to whether or not the game wouldn't get old, whether the ability to play as different Spidermen was enough to keep the game from being repetitive. Simply put, it didn't work. Too much of the changes are cosmetic. Yes, the move sets are different and the worlds look different, but for all the differences, they play essentially the same. I noticed no real substantial difference between Ultimate, Amazing or 2099. Noir was probably the most different universe but that was simply because it necessitated stealth play. The stealth itself was lame though. It didn't work. It was altogether too simple and boiled down to nothing more than creeping from shadow to shadow, stopping at obvious headlights and stealth attacking enemies.
           I'll talk briefly about the controls. Because this is a Wii game it obviously controls vastly different to any of the other versions. Surprisingly, this part works well. There's a slight learning curve but that's to be expected. It's really fun to weave in and out of enemies, picking them off one by one without sustaining damage, all the the while flicking and waving the wiimote. Also, the sound design is superb. The score is good but not memorable. The voice acting shines however. Narration is taken over by Stan Lee, and as I said before, the authentic voice actors from the various animated series return. It's sad that the talent used here couldn't have a better game.

Bottom Line: In the end, Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions isn't worth your time. The visuals are pretty and the sound can draw you in. Ultimately though, the game is too simple and too broken to justify the full price tag that they're asking for across the board. The game isn't absolutely horrendous, it just doesn't do anything groundbreaking or even particularly well. A shame given the potential and the material that was available. If this game were released as a ten dollar download online for the three systems I would've recommended it. If you've nothing else to play it's an entertaining , yet ultimately lacking way to burn a couple of hours.

Game Rating: 2/5
 Post Options

Resident Evil: Afterlife (Movie Review)

                                                    Resident Evil: Afterlife (Movie Review)

         The latest Resident Evil movie just got released recently and I'm here to give you the skinny on it. There's probably not much people who aren't at least vaguely familiar with the entire franchise but I'll just give a (very) brief overview of what you can expect. The Resident Evil movies are loosely (I really mean that word) based on the bestselling videogame series. The games have you dealing with the fallout of a biological weapon being unleashed that turns people into undead zombies that crave human flesh. The actual movies keep the idea of a biological threat, the zombies and well, that's about it. Nothing's inherently wrong with this, but it obviously pisses off fanboys of the games who go into cinemas expecting to see faithful recreations of the digital works that took up so much of their time.
          Afterlife marks the fourth film released under the name, and it probably won't be the last. I won't go into the plotlines of the previous three films and I'll try to keep this one as spoiler free as I can. One thing that I have to say beforehand is about one of the biggest aspects this movie touted leading up to the release. The 3D craze that's been sweeping through cinema lately rears its head here again. Sometimes 3D can enhance a movie, draw you into it that much more, but for the most part, it's just a cheap cash-in that developers use to justify charging you more for a ticket. Read on for the verdict on the 3D in Afterlife.
          The first thing I'll talk about however, is the plot. This is a zombie movie, people. A ZOMBIE movie. The focus usually isn't much on plot, but rather on action and scares. With this in mind, the plot in Afterlife is, well, it's serviceable. It works as a tool to push the story forward and to get to the next fight or action sequence. But as for finding anything that's gonna make you stop and think seriously about literally anything in your life? Nope, not here, move on. The movie starts off more or less where Apocalypse (the third RE movie) left off, with Milla Jovovich continuing her quest to bring down the Umbrella Corporation. If you haven't seen the third RE, that introduction will confuse the crap out of you and you'll be kind of jilted when you move into the actual meat of the movie. Overall though, the plot works well enough for what the film sets out to do.

The action is way hotter when there's three of me, cheyyahhh!!! 

 

 

 

         Okay, moving on from plot, how does the action and general eye-candy hold up? Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter (playing Apocalypse holdover character "Claire Redfield") are as beautiful as ever but that's not really what one goes to an RE movie to see. It's all about the action, the zombies and boy did they get it right. The zombies look downright filthy and diseased this time around (that's good btw) and there's even some cases of mutations which seem ripped right out of the later Resident Evil games. This mixing of elements from the games is something the movies do well and I think it's to be commended. There are characters from the games (the aforementioned Claire and now her brother Chris) as well as the overall shadowy Umbrella corportation. The RE movies mix visual elements of the games with their own plot; it can be seen as a reinterpretation. The graphics and makeup fare well, with convincing creatures and a liberal use of gore. One issue I had with the action sequences is a lot of the time they slowed down the sequences to a Matrix, "bullet-time" crawl. I think this took away some of the adrenaline rush and immediacy you would've gotten had they not done that. I'll get to that aspect in a moment.

Speaking of creatures, there's this dude, yeah...He's huge

 

 

       Okay so here we are now at the 3D aspect. This movie was filmed using the same 3D technology as James Cameron's Avatar so just on a logistical level alone the 3D should be better than any of the conversion cash-ins that are flooding cinemas now. Does it work? The short answer is yes. While the movie itself is nowhere on the level of Cameron's masterpiece the 3D effects are impressive and convincing. Unlike the conversions where you see cardboard-like figures popping out at you, the effects realistically bounce off and out of the screen. I actually pulled back in my seat a couple times before I realized what I was doing. It falls a bit flat though and here's why. In Avatar, the 3D was used as a tool, it was used to immerse you in Pandora with most of the 3D delegated to the dust particles, the flowers and the glowing living organisms that populated the world. This was awesome. In Afterlife however, the majority of 3D effects were used in flat-out cheesy moments where, say a bullet was coming out of a gun, or a guy threw his shades at the screen. There seemed to be no real reason for it other than "yeah, we can so do that". There were a couple of times when it really drew me into the movie though, with use of rain falling, or an explosion triggering huge clouds of dust and smoke and debris. These were all amazing. That's not to say the other effects weren't convincing; they were just cheesy. Also, it was because of the director's desire to capitalize on 3D that the battles were slowed down so much. It would be when someone stopped moving or slowed down that some arbitrary object would come hurtling towards you. I think this doesn't speak for the media but rather the execution. When done well, 3D can be a great tool that draws the audience in. While there were a couple instances where it worked here, overall I would've rather had the movie in normal 2D and skipped the ultra slow action sequences.

Actually, my shells ARE too sexy for this screen! 

Bottom Line: So, what's the verdict on the film? If you're a fan of the Resident Evil movies then obviously yes, go see it, it's not bad. It won't blow your mind or anything but there's definitely worse ways to spend two hours. If you're someone that's being hooked in by 3D, I'd say it depends on your preferences. If you WANT to just see fancy effects or a shameless use of 3D then yeah I'd say go for it. If, however, you're not a fan of the RE series but you'd just like to see a cool zombie flick I'd say save your money and rent it when it comes out.

Movie Rating: 3/5

09/15/2010 [Daily Update]

Whew, so I've been away from the blog for a couple days; was really busy. Anyway, I wasn't able to have the review of the new Resident Evil flick up before the weekend but I'll have it done and up by today. Anything else?....hmmm. OH! The Lord of the Rings online game is now free to play! Despite being a huge Tolkien fan I hadn't invested in the game before, the need to pay to play and the timesuck that was World of Warcraft had left me just a little more than afraid to enter the MMO community again. But now, with LOTR being free, I've once again signed on for it; I forsee a sharp decline in productivity. Nick; out.

09/11/2010 [Daily Update]

Hello world, it's the weekend now so enjoy it yo! The new Resident Evil flick is out and apparantly it's good (or at least not horrible). I'll check it out today and have a review of it up before the weekend is out. Also, gaming, yes gaming. I've been playing Uncharted 2 online these days, any of you who want a match can go ahead and add me on PSN, my id is SoulBlighterGod. That's it for now. Nick; out.

Linkin Park- A Thousand Suns (Album Review)

L

Linkin Park- A Thousand Suns (Album Review)

    It's been a while, but Linkin Park, arguably the most popular rock/rap crossover group is back with a new record. It's just been released today and I've got quite a bit to say about this one so let's get into it.
    It seems almost necessary to address the whole "Minutes To Midnight" issue. Linkin Park's last record was an alt. rock affair, very little of the hip hop influence that built them up. It created, almost immediately, a vast divide between fans. There were those who liked it and those who just gave up on the band. I'll be honest, on my first listen of that record it didn't quite hold me, but after several successive listens it grew on me. It never captivated me as much as the previous albums, but it was an interesting experiment for a band trying to grow.
      A few years later and here we are at their newest effort, "A Thousand Suns". What does it sound like though? Well, shortly after the release of Minutes To Midnight, the band confessed via interview that their next effort would probably be a concept record. For the fans that still gave a crap it conjured up all kinds of awesome. Does "A Thousand Suns" hold true to that? Yes, indeed. It's a concept album, spanning topics of loss and war, the powerful over the weak and the dangers of living under a machine-like system.
      The more important question though is, obviously, what does it sound like? Ready for it? It sounds like old LP. Hurray! That's not quite right though; it sounds MORE like old Linkin Park is probably more accurate. Hip Hop is present once again, and there's greater use of electronica and beats on this album than the last. The best I can come to describing the overall vibe of the album is old Linkin Park and U2 had an awesome stadium rock, rapping baby.
     This record spans a total of fifteen tracks with a playtime of nearly fifty minutes. That sounds like a lot until you take into account the fact that of the fifteen "songs" a few of them are actually lead-ins to the actual songs, comprised of atmospheric pieces of music or bits of recorded speeches and what-not. All in all, there are an around eleven real songs. I think that's fine though, because to put it simply, the songs are awesome. It's important to remember that this is a concept album, really meant to be listened from start to finish as a cohesive whole. As such, the songs themselves have some pretty extensive introductions that might not work on a conventional album, but in light of a concept it works.
    Lyrically, this one gets it right. Chester's back into this comfort zone, speaking about loss and being broken down, just on a bigger scale this time around. Mike pens some clever rhymes here, you'd think the real LP hadn't ever been away. Also, the fact that Chester's made strides as a vocalist shows, it serves and helps to make the tracks much more anthemic.
    There's a lot of standout tracks here, one for instance being the first single released that hinted at the scope of the record, "The Catalyst". With a common lyrical theme repeated throughout this song (and elsewhere in the album) it's a hypnotic, tightly-scripted electro-based number. It works. Hit up the link at the end of this review for the music video, it'll give you an idea of what to expect. Other standout songs on the record include "Wretches And Kings", "Waiting For The End", "When They Come For Me" and "Burning In The Skies". All of those mentioned, save the last, feature Mike laying down some rhymes and they are a great return to form. "Waiting For The End" is especially awesome because they break new ground for the band there, with him doing a funky, sing-song style of rapping that seems almost reggae-influenced. That's hard to explain but once you hear it it'll make sense. The album closer, "The Messenger" was probably the biggest surprise on the album. It's an all acoustic song, and one would expect that Chester pulls back his vocals down to a more intimate feel. He doesn't. His voice sounds more raw and flawed without the backing of a billion synths and guitars but it's also arguably the most direct song of the record. It also fits into the whole theme and concept of overcoming the system, overcoming the control by machines and going back to basics.

Bottom Line: There wasn't a bad song on this record I think. For a band like Linkin Park to come from the near-complete misfire that was "Minutes To Midnight" and pull of a record as complete as "A Thousand Suns" is astonishing. There's one thing I have to get clear though, this isn't "Hybrid Theory 2.0". That's not coming, it's never going to happen. The band has just moved on and grown up. They're not going to keep singing about having broken hearts for the next ten years. However, if this album is any indication of what they're about and what they can do, then I hope they'll be around for another decade. For anybody who likes Linkin Park, and even those who don't but like stadium rock, hip hop or electronica, this one is a definite purchase.

Album Review: 5/5

*As promised, here's the link to the first single, "The Catalyst". Enjoy, then go get the album and enjoy some more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAPXbypyaq0

09/10/2010 [Daily Update]

G'morning world, Nick here. So today marks a special day, it's the release of the latest Linkin Park record "A Thousand Suns". It's been a few years since their last release so I'm excited to see what they do with this one, I'll try to have a review of it up by the end of the day! Cheers peeps, Nick; out.