Smallville/24 Review Scores

Both of these are my favorite shows, so here's my scores for each season.

Smallville:

Season 1: 8.5/10

Season 2: 9/10

Season 3: 8.5/10

Season 4: 8.5/10

Season 5: 9/10

Season 6: 9/10

Season 7: 6/10

Season 8 9.5/10

Season 9: (Score Pending)

24:

Season 1: 9.5/10

Season 2: 9/10

Season 3-8: (Score Pending)

James Cameron's Avatar Review

The movie of the year is finally here. Yes, THE MOVIE OF THE YEAR.

James Cameron is one of the best filmmakers in history, directing favorites such as Terminator 2 and Titanic. So, the expectations have been high, and the hype is phenomenal. I'll save you time right now and say that it lives up to everything you've heard. First let me start with the visuals.

The strongest point of the movie is the revolutionizing special effects. I can imagine what the people watching King Kong (1933) and Star Wars (1977) feel, saying how "Yup, movies are changing". The world of Pandora is simply amazing, with every detail attracting my attention. The plants, the animals, and everything prove that Cameron has pretty much created a new world. The actual Na'Vi (blue people) look incredible. You remember Polar Express, and you've seen/heard of the new movies A Christmas Carol? Same technology here, except Cameron makes it look love action. You really have to see this movie to believe the visuals, as the trailers barely even give you a sample of it.

The 3D is also revolutionizing. James Cameron actually invented a new camera to make the 3D with. Its a camera with two lenses, sort of representing two eyes. This makes the 3D look so realistic, and certainly not gimmicky *cough* Spy Kids *cough*. There's nothing popping out at you like in Spy Kids just to show off the 3D. While watching it, you just feel so immersed in James Cameron's world you feel like you are actually there on Pandora.

The story isn't revolutionizing, but it gives some good messages about racism and more specifically the Native Americans (or at least that is what came to mind as I was watching it) and gives each character a personality that fits the story well. Sometimes the writing ids a little awkward, but its not really a big deal.

Acting, for the most part is good, and this is by far Sam Worthington's best film. He is way better in this than in Terminator, showing that he can give a more emotional performance when he needs to.

Avatar comes down to be the most epic film of the year. It has a strong story, and literally revolutionizing special effects, non-headache 3D (never thought that would happen), and it is just a piece of art. See it the best way you can (if not IMAX 3D, at least regular 3D), because Avatar is a visual masterpiece that you cannot miss.

A

Seeing Avatar in IMAX 3D today!!!

Yes, I will be reviewing the 3D aspect of it in addition to the film itself.

Iron Man Posters

The one with Iron Man and War Machine is my favorite!

ARKHAM ASYLUM 2!!!!

Spike TV Video Game Awards 2009 Video Game, Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 Exclusive Debut Trailer | Game Trailers & Videos | GameTrailers.com

Infected Trailer (title may change)

Infected is a new movie I'm making about a virus that turns humans into violent creatures. I'm planning on making it a two part movie, the first part being about how the virus was formed, and the second part about the creatures vs the humans that are not infected (I actually may call the movie "The Uninfected"). I also may make the second part into two parts, making three total movies, but I haven't decided yet. Here is the (extremely short) trailer:





(EDIT: Updated Trailer)

Vanguards of Vengeance: Coming 2010 (No official release fate yet)

MovieBuff Jr., Caseydude, and I are making a super hero film coming (not so) soon (2010 or 2011)! Its called the Vangaurds of Vengeance, which is like the 3 musketeers but for super heroes. The heroes names are Sharpshooter (ability to turn his hands into guns), Detonator (Can make small explosions), and the Cortex (all sorts of mind powers, including telekinesis). Here's the logo:

Just bought HDMI cable and Terminator Salvation on Blu-Ray

I always wondered why the Blu-Ray movies always looked better at the store, and why I really couldn't tell a difference on my PS3 between Blu Ray and DVD. Well, I can tell you that I am a total idiot. Of course it didn't look HD, I was using the component cables (the red, white, and yellow ones that you use for SD) instead of an HDMI cable (high definition 1080p cable)! So it was technically the same as a DVD when I watched Eagle Eye on Blu-Ray. So, I bought an extremely cheap (a little over 3 bucks) HDMI cable and Terminator Salvation on Blu-Ray.

Jurassic: The Hunted PS3 Review

I'm pretty new to first person shooters (lol), but here's my review for jurassic the hunted:

Graphics: Since this is a low-budget game, it doesn't have the best graphics, but for what it is, its decent. 7/10

Sound: Funny B-Movie type voice acting mixed with fitting suspenseful music. 8.5/10

Story: A little cliched (I have no Idea how to spell that), but overall it works for the game. Nothing too exciting, but not terribly boring either. 7/10

Gameplay: Basic FPS gameplay, but with dinosaurs. Not much else to it. There is a thing called adrenaline mode, which is sort of like bullet-time where everything goes slo-mo. It's not original, but there's something that's just plain fun about shooting the crap out of raptors. 7.5

Overall: Its a low-budget game, so you can find it pretty cheap. Its hard, but its fun. I recommend it, but not for more than $30. 7.5/10

Prince of Persia Classic (PSN Downloadable Game)

Graphics: The original Prince of Persia (1989) redefined video game graphics, and personally I think the original still is amazing. This one has "refined" graphics, so in other words its 3d-sicescrolling. I like the graphics in this game, but its not redefining the video game industry like the original. 7.5/10

Story: Nothing really new here, everything expected. 7.5/10

Sound: Good sound effects and cool music. 8.5/10

Gameplay: Basically the same as the original. You have 60 minutes to save the princess. Sword fighting and platforming are all there really is, but its really fun. The not-so-fun part is the difficulty. Its extremely unforgiving, which takes the fun away A LITTLE BIT. Still fun though. 8/10

Overall: Although its frustrating and the graphics aren't that special, prince of persia is a fun game and is cheap, too.

Pure PS3 Review

Graphics: If I'd played this about 2 years ago, I would have been absolutely blown away. Its been a couple years since PS3 came out, and especially after some recent games, this one doesn't look quite as good. Still great though. 8/10

Story: Every character has their own backstory, which is cool, and it shows that the developers put some thought into the game. Otherwise, its an ATV game, there's not supposed to have a story. 8/10

Sound: Great sound effects and decent music, too. 8.5/10

Gameplay: Some cool new features, including a pretty intricate trick system. You can either use your trick/energy meter for boost, or you can save it up for better tricks (more points and more boost over time). Although this is new and fresh, I prefer the classic "press that button to do that trick". But either way, this ATV game is enjoyable, even if its not the way we've learned to play these types of games. 7.5/10

Multiplayer: Online only, surprisingly and disappointingly no splitscreen.

Overall: One to check out if you like this type of game, but if you don't, it's still worth it if you get it cheap (I'd say from 8-15 bucks is a good price). 8/10

G.I. Joe Review

Although its bit a late (not as late as the 24 review), here's my review for the summer flick "G.I. Joe":

I think many critics make a review before they see the movie. They see trailers, clips, think about previous movies made by those people, if its based on something, judge it by that, and anything else they can think of. Stereotyping movies is what critics do a lot. I'm not saying always, but its obvious that sometimes this happens.

Critics hear the word "Hasbro" and immediately think that it will be terrible. Probably because "Revenge of the Fallen" has given Hasbro a bad name (sorry McKay!). But G.I. Joe shouldn't be blamed for what that movie did, but for some reason, I think it has.

You are not watching this for academy award material. You won't see incredible acting or amazing cinematography or anything spectacular for that matter. Your going to see some explosions, some action, some more explosions, some more action, and you get the idea. Keep that in mind.

The weirdest part about G.I. Joe is the effects. You've probably seen the great special effects from the trailers, but they don't show you when they ran out of money. I'm not joking, there are some scenes that look like an animated movie, and others that look incredible.

Now to the acting. Its not good. The only big name really in this is Dennis Quaid. All the rest are people I've never heard of. That negatively effects the movie a lot. There laugh out loud moments where the acting is so unbelievably bad. Plus, the writing isn't that good either, so put it together and you really can't take this seriously.

But thats the point: if you don't take this movie seriously, and you enjoy it for what it is, you will like it. You know from the trailers if you will like it or not. I personally thought it was fun and action packed, but there will be people who won't like it. Its not stupid like Revenge of the Fallen, so don't stereotype it for that excuse for a movie (haha, that was a complete exaggeration). G.I. Joe is its own thrill ride, and its one heck of one.

B

Beyond the Sherwood Forest

I just heard about this today, and apparently it was on last night (too bad I missed it). But, from the trailers on youtube and the poster, it looks pretty good. It had two actors from smallville: Erica Durance (Lois Lane) and Julian Sands (Jor-El in the episode "Kandor", great episode, by the way). It's a TV movie about Robin Hood and this dragon creature. Here's the poster and trailer:

Stuntman Ignition PS3 Review

Graphics: Although not technically great, there's is plenty of enjoyment as you drive across an earthquake while avoiding lava, seeing people on fire, then watching your replay and ask yourself "Was that really me? I'm not that good. Or am I?" 8.5/10

Story: Its probably one of the only games where you are in a movie (not like a real movie like Spider-Man, but you know what I mean). There needs to be more kinds of games like this. We don't need another Call of Duty, make something original like this! (sorry for yelling at game developers) 9/10

Sound: Although the directors usually tick me off quite a bit, the sound effects, explosions,and everything else sounds great. 8.5/10

Gameplay: This game is based on trial and error, which I don't like very much. You are redoing a lot of levels just because you got too many strikes. But, once you get over that, there is a ton of fun to be had here in Stuntman. All the, well, stunts, are fantastic to do and fun to watch. Its really redundant, but fun nonetheless. 8/10

Multiplayer: Some fun split-screen (actually I have to admit I haven't tried them yet

Overall: Stuntman is original. There's not much like it. I got it for $10 bucks, and that's a steel (actually free because of the Black Friday buy 2 get 1 free deal). This is a great game, don't miss it. 8.5/10

Ryan Reynolds's Plays Green Lantern

Both this and a Deadpool movie are scheduled for 2011

Happy Thanksgiving! Here's my 24 pilot review

Since there won't be any new Smallville episodes till January 22nd 2010 (still counting the days!), I decided to get started on a new show. I picked up 24 the other day, and here's what I think.

Similar to alien movies/tv (see V pilot review) and disaster movies/tv (see 2012 review), there are a lot of espionage movies (come on Hollywood, give us something different!) Well, not quite as many as alien movies, but still, there's 007, M:I, etc. So what makes 24 special?

Well, for one, its not all about the special effects. As a 14 year old boy, you wouldn't expect this, but a movie isn't a movie if its all special effects (*cough* Transformers 2 *cough*). It needs to have an good story with good characters. 24 is just that. The best part about 24 is the suspense. You don't know who you can trust, how its going to turn out, or anything.

The thing that 24 does different is it's "Real Time" editing. Real Time is in quotes because every episode has to cover an hour but with the commercials it only has about 40 minutes. Anyway, what happens is you see something on the screen, it goes smaller and another scene appears at the same time. So you are watching two things at once (if that makes any sense at all). It does kinda give you a headache, but this only happens like once or twice in the pilot, and usually the scenes were directly related. It makes 24 different than 007 or Mission: Impossible, which is good.

I have high hopes for 24. The story can take plenty of different directions, which is a reason I want to keep watching. Another reason is that they are talking about making a 24 feature film (not like Smallville: Absolute Justice, this one's in the theatres!) Plus theres a TV movie called 24: Redemption that takes place between season 6 and 7, so there are a lot of motives to keep watching. This isn't the new Smallville, but trust me, its good.

Land of the Lost Review

Sometimes movie makers think their geniuses when actually they are complete idiots.

Haha, thats a harsh statement for Land of the Lost, especially considering I actually enjoyed it. Its whole "This is a cheesy movie and that's the joke" feel of the movie has two positive aspects. For one, it doesn't take itself seriously at all. And secondly, its outright hilarious.

But first, I'm going to get into the "movie makers think their geniuses" crap. This was their grand idea:

Okay, lets make a remake of the Land of the Lost 70's show. Lets make it a comedy. Lets have Will Ferrel play the part. (So far pretty genius, right?) Lets make some seriously offensive and crude jokes so we lose our audience. The kids won't watch it if its PG-13, and the adults won't want to see it because it's too kid-ish. Yeah I know, what were they thinking?

That really limits your audience. The only appeal would be ages 12-15 (and thats stretching it). Luckily, I am 14, and although I think the bad jokes are just cheap humor, most of Land of the Lost is just fun craziness. Will Ferrel plays the goofy character his plays in every movie, which I don't see how anyone could think its getting old.

So pretty much this is all you need to know: Don't let the little kids watch it. Its pretty violent (never in a purposely disturbing way, but an ice cream man's arm gets bitten off by a T-Rex), and its pretty crude (no details necessary). But, with this is mind, Land of the Lost is a fun adventure that is funny and exciting at the same time. Its hard to give this one a rating because of all these factors and that how much you like it will be based on your age, but here it is:

B+

Trine PS3 Review

Trine is a $20 downloadable game on the PSN. Here's my review:

Graphics: Trine is beautiful. Period. The artwork is fantastic and it gives the game a story book feel but still giving it a fitting dark tone. Trine looks better than a lot of real PS3 disc games. Actually, its better than most. 9.5/10

Sound: Narrator kind of detracts for the dark tone that the graphics are trying to create, the voice acting isn't all that great, but the music sounds like an epic movie score. 8.5/10

Story: Not the most intricate of stories, but its not shallow either. Its one of the first downloadable games that actually has a story (Fat Princess doesn't count). 8.5/10

Gameplay: The game is a mix of action, platforming, and physics-based puzzles. It all fits together to be incredibly entertaining. Each character has their own special abilities that will help with each of the elements of the game. The game is fun, but it makes you think as well. The gameplay works very well for Trine. 9/10

Multiplayer: Some great co-op here.

8.9/10

Trine is a great example of how a downloadable game can actually be better than many disc-based games. Although the price is a little higher than most other downloadable games ($19.99), its completely worth it.

2012 Review

Similar to alien movies (see my "V" pilot review), disaster movies are not scarce. So, that means there are a lot of crappy disaster movies. This reminds me of all the disaster B movies my brother used to watch (and these are not good memories). Its not that disaster movies have a bad reputation, thats definitely not the case. Its the fact that there are good ones and bad ones.

But either way, the biggest appeal of disaster movies is not the story, and usually not the acting. Its about the latest special effects. The question for directors always is, how big can you make your disaster movie? How can you top the one that came out 6 months ago? How can you possibly have better special effects than last time?

So going into 2012, you know your not getting an intricate story or any realism at all. You're paying 10 bucks to go see our planet get destroyed in the coolest way possible.

My problem with 2012 though is that it takes itself to seriously. It tries too hard to cram a story into this disaster movie, but ultimately it just ends up with too many plot holes. The best way I can describe it is "2012 gives 'in the nick of time' a whole new meaning". Scene after scene they are SO close to dying, but hey, guess what? They get away JUST in time. Surprise, surprise.

But, that being said, 2012 is entertaining. I mean, its really fun to watch. I love the audience's reaction in the theatre when Wyoming blew up (complete silence). The whole movie is completely well done in the way its mainly trying to accomplish. Its amazing what a special effects team can do now, compared to 20 years ago.

So when you walk into 2012, know this: you're seeing a special effects demo, not a movie. This is not a bad thing, but you have to realize that 2012 is shallow when it comes to story. I personally enjoyed it, but you have to make the decision if you would rather see something with more story. 2012 is well done though, and it lived up to my expectations.

B

MY 300 POST!

Finally 300 posts! Thanks to everyone who follows this blog!

New Trailer: Clash of the Titans

V "Pilot" Review

Alien movies/tv shows are so common in pop culture that they have to be amazing for people to watch them. We've seen alien's before, so what shows/movies are trying to do now is add twists. District 9 makes the humans the bad guys, Cloverfield gives the audience a first person view, but what does "V", a remake of an 80's mini-series (that morphed into a tv show), have to offer that we haven't seen before?

Well, its kinda got a twist. The aliens say they are friendly and everyone believes them, but trust me, this is no E.T. At the end of the episode, we see that the aliens have been here for many years, and they have been planning their attack on earth. This is kinda different, but honestly, V isn't that new.

What's cool about it is the characters. We, as people watching it, don't know who to trust. It adds suspense but also suspicion that shows rarely can capture now. Although "V"'s storyline is a little cliched, overall I agree with most reviewers in saying that it truly has potention.

On a side note, the actor for Kara on Smallville (Clark's cousin from Krypton who's Supergirl, not currently on Smallville anymore) is the young blonde alien that the guy has a crush on. I just thought that was cool. ;)

Smallville Season 9 Promo Poster

Should I start doing TV reviews?

I have been thinking about doing TV show reviews, since I already kind of started with Smallville. But should I write reviews for shows like The Office, V, Community, etc.? Also, should I do reviews per season or per episode? Write a comment on what you think!

Smallville 9-7 "Kandor" Review

Season 7's "Lara" was the episode I saw before this one yesterday (I had just bought season 7), which was the perfect one to watch before Kandor. Kandor is mainly about Jor-El and Zod and their backstory. And Jor-El (well his Clone type-thing) actually is in the episode (and he looks like Sting from the Police).

There is no Lois in this episode, which is surprising considering last episode's Clois kiss. But this one is almost completely about Zod and Jor-El. And Clark meeting his father (I still think this is weird). There is some good action, good special effects, and amazing acting mainly from Callum Blue (he plays Zod). I thought the opening scene on Kandor, which is a city on Krypton, was especially well done.

This episode was epic. It had answered a lot of questions about the Zod storyline, and added some good action in their as well. I'm loving how this season is turning out, but there is something I have to mention.

Lex Luther has been gone almost half a season now, and that is definutely not good. One of the best parts of Smallville was Lex Luther and Clark's relationship and how they started out as friends. And just when it was supposed to get good, where they are enemies, Lex dies. What the heck! Its rumored that he will be returning for the finale, but honestly why should we have to wait so long?

Even without Lex, this season so far is my favorite. He's finally becoming Superman. I mean, it took him 9 seasons to do it, but finally we're here. When Lex comes back, Smallville will be the best it has ever been.

New Smallville Tonight!

Tranformers Revenge of the Fallen PS3 Review

You all know I didn't like the movie as much as I had hoped, but here is the video game review:

Graphics: The transforming animations are good, the city looks pretty good, and the Transformers themselves look decent too. 7/10

Sound: Pretty cool music and voice acting. The transforming sounds are fantastic. 7/10

Story: There really not much of a story, but thats what the movie is for. This game is made for the explosions. 7/10

Gameplay: Transformers (the one based on the first movie) for PS3 was not good. It had bad controls and was outright frustrating. This new version is made by a new company (can't remember the name), and they have done it right. The new thing about this game is its Transforming. In the first game, you just press a button and you transform and it wasn't that cool. Plus, you had to be completely stationary to transform (like you couldn't be driving then change into a robot, you had to press the brakes first.) This one its completely opposite. You actually are encouraged (you pretty much have to) transform while moving. This propels you forward, and when you combine that with jumping and attacks, it makes for devastating attacks. This is what the game is mostly based on, this transforming to your advantage, and its just really fun to pull these of. It does take a while to get used to, but after a while the controls feel natural and everything feels great. 8.5/10

Multiplayer: Really REALLY fun online multiplayer. I'm not to bad actually (lol jk)

Overall: 7.4/10 Transformers is really fun. The transforming put to your advantage is great. It has never been so exciting to be a transformer.

Tornado Outbreak PS3 Review

Graphics: Okay, to be fair its made by a smaller company, but honestly this is the PS3. Tornado Outbreak looks like a LOW END PS2 game. Not like Gran Turismo for PS2, but like Spongebob Squarepants Video Game graphics. This really effected my first impression negatively. And while its not fair to judge a game by its graphics, this reflects the quality of the game and how much work was put into it. 5.5/10

Sound: Voiceovers actually are great. Music isn't terrible, and the sound actually does fit. There isn't really anything special here though. 7/10

Story: Okay so its about an alien named Zephyr who is trying to rid the planet of little fire monsters from outer space. What the heck does this have to do with a tornado? All I can say about the story i what the heck. 4/10

Gameplay: Tornado outbreak is actually not a terribly boring game. I mean, there should be some excitement in tearing down a barn. The problem with it is its simplicity: theres just not enough too it. Although it does get old, Tornado Outbreak is pretty fun at first and if you just look at that, its really not that bad of a game. It does get repetetive, but I'm still going to give it a 7.5/10

Multiplayer: It says there is co-op, but we never got it to work.

Overall: Tornado Outbreak is a low-budget game. There is no other way to put it without being unfair. The graphics are cartoony but really outdated, the story makes no sense at all, but the gameplay isn't all that bad. Still, there are so many great PS3 games out there, so unless your a Tornado fan like my brother, there isn't any reason to pick this up, at least at its current price. I might pay 15 bucks for it, but I'm not paying 40 for a 6/10 game.

First Avatar, now prince of Persia, so many exciting movies coming soon!

Whoah, there's a game! And it looks great!

I was watching some vids and this looks pretty good! Of course the movie will be outstanding as well!

Monsters vs Aliens Review

Pixar usually wins for animated movies. They have a great story, great characters, and great humor. Dreamworks usually falls short though. And thats why I was worried about Monsters vs Aliens.

I think this movie's main goal is humor, but it doesn't always work. I guess it might appeal more to little kids, but thats what great about Pixar: Great for everyone. There are funny parts, especially Stephen Colbert as the president, but a lot of the time Monsters vs Aliens falls flat on its face.

My biggest problem is the characters. B.O.B. is the only decent main character really. The others are flat out annoying, especially the main character (Ginormica). I don't think the movie is doing its job very well if you really don't like the main character at all.

The acting is done well about 50% of the time. Like I said, Colbert as the president was awesome, but the person who played Ginormica was not. The actor for B.O.B. was good, but the missing link was not. So it kind of turns into an uneven mess when it comes to acting. And when the movie tries to add heart, again its a cheesy mess that just doesn't work.

The visuals in Monsters vs Aliens are nothing special, especially compared to the other animated films that came out this year. Compared to 9 and Pixar's Up, this looks like something from Nickelodeon. It's not really that big of an issue, but it does add up with the other negative aspects.

Lastly, I was just completely bored the entire movie. There wasn't enough jokes to keep my attention, and that is not good for a comedy. It tries to be an action movie at the same time, but its just not.

So, Monsters vs Aliens is a complete mess. It does have funny parts, and B.O.B. is awesome. But really it just a family movie that not everyone in the family will enjoy. I fact, besides some clever pop-culture jokes, there isn't anything here for anyone above age 8.

C+

Smallville 9-6 "Crossfire" Review

Clark catches a bullet. Great slow-motion in this scene.

Lois on Good Morning Metropolis

Ever since season 4, fans have been dying for some Clois (Clark/Lois). Most of us are sick of the Lana crap the show has been teasing us with pretty much until this season. Finally we get some true Clois this episode, but is it really done right?

In this episode, Lois auditions for "Good Morning Metropolis" with Clark's help. But, even though it was only Lois auditioning, they said it had to be Clark and Lois together, or as the producer says "A package deal". Yes, this is one of those awkward funny episodes that make you want to scream and laugh at the same time.

While it is lighter on action, it still is pretty cool with the Zod/Tess storyline and the Speedy/Green Arrow storyline. I won't give anything away about Zod and Tess, but I will say that Speedy is Green Arrow's new side kick. It sounds cheesy but its actually pretty cool.

And of course the highlight of this episode is the kiss at the end. Now I'm not going to get into detail because, I mean, come on, I'm a teenage boy. But if you are so glad that Lana is gone then you must watch and enjoy.

This episode has everything. Good action, good humor, and good Clois. And by the way, you can watch all the newest Smallville on cw.com, so if you don't have the CW channel, you can watch this fantastic episode there. Just watch it. Its a good one.

Which Smallville Villain are you?

I was Lex Luther! Wow I'm really bored.

Which Smallville Villain Are You?

More on Smallville. Created by BuddyTV

Great New Avatar Trailer! Guess what? It actually tells what its about this time!

Smallville on PS3

The sad thing is that these aren't real. My favorite is the top one btw.

Great New Smallville Promotional Picture

We better see some flying this season! (click to enlarge)

Two New Shows I'm looking forward to ("V", Human Target)

Smallville 9-5 "Roulette" Review

Last weeks Smallville pretty much starred the Green Arrow instead of Clark, and this week is the same. I'm going to write a shorter review for this one because this is mainly just closing up the Green Arrow story line the last few episodes have been about.

The episode starts pretty cool. Theres some pretty good acting and some great action. Like I said, the star is Oliver Queen (Green Arrow's dual identity) and him finding whats truly important in his life. He almost purposely killed himself last episode, and he had burned his Green Arrow costume the episode before (the zombie one, still trying to forget it). So its good to see that he's a hero again.

So, the episode was good. It doesn't top the first two from this season, but finally that the Green Arrow is done taking the spotlight, the show can focus more on Zod, Lois's visions from the future, and Toyman's mission to recreate Metallo.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Review

Graphics: The graphics in this game are actually a disappointment. The character models are dedent, but that doesn't cut it for a brand new PS3 game. Although, I do have to say its a huge improvement from the first. Plus, they got rid of all the cheesy old costumes, so thats good. 8/10

Sound: Spider-Man is the only character that has a terrible voice actor, but the rest are actually pretty good. Music is a little higher than expected but doesn't distract from the game. 8.5/10

Story: The story is based on the "Marvel Civil War" storyline, where the Marvel characters actually fight. Good story points, but it is kinda weird how heroes would fight each other. 8.5/10

Gameplay: The game is very similar to the first one, the newest change is the fusion attacks. very character can combine attacks with another hero on your team. These are devastating and just plain flippin awesome. This will be the main reason you would buy the game. Aside from that, there are plenty of characters to play and unlock, and the RPG system (while watered down a bit form the first game) really makes this exciting. 9.5/10

Multiplayer: Some great co-op and online play.

Overall: If you liked the first one, this one is basically ten times better. Fusion attacks are incredible and fun, the story is decent, and there are tons of playable characters. And if you can get over Spider-Man's voiceover and "okay" graphics, you should definitely buy this game now.

8.5/10

My Birthday List (Hopefully)

Since I'm asking for a $150 Best Buy gift card, plus I'm getting 20 from my grandpa and 30 just from that week's allowance here's what I'll buy:

Special Edition Smallville Season 8 49.99

Smallville Season 7 45.99

Uncharted 2 (If i can convince my parents, which is probably about a 10% chance) 59.99

9 Review

I saw 9 about a week ago, and for some reason I forgot to review it. 9 is the newest Tim Burton animated film (his last two were the Corpse Bride and Nightmare Before Christmas, both of which are up there with UP for best animated movies of all time in my opinion). Tim Burton is an amazing director, and he always has a great art style and twisted story to his movies. 9 is no exception.

Like I said, Tim Burton is big on making the movie look dark and evil, even when its animated. And the first thing that comes to 9 is its incredible visuals. 9 is actually based on a short film (about 10 minutes long, you can watch it on youtube if you want) that one some awards. The visuals in this one are similar to the original short film version, but of course with Tim Burton helping out, it only gets better.

In 9, Elijah Wood plays 9, the ninth of the little sock-puppet type guys that are there to save the world from destruction. Each of the 9 characters have their own personality, which are a part of the creator (too hard to explain here, just watch the movie). Elijah Wood really just plays pretty much the same character as Frodo. The new guy who's supposed to save the world (or middle earth in the lord of the rings). He does his job well, as do the other actors.

Many critics commented that the story was a little to familiar. I do suppose that it is similar to Lord of the Rings in the ways I said before, but 9 is about as creative as it gets. Anyone who said that 9 copied any movie is crazy, because I'm pretty sure there hasn't been a movie about sock-puppet things saving the world before. I actually love the post-apocalyptic story, in a way that there is no hope for humanity, just for these little creatures. It almost gives you the feeling of despair and hope at the same time, which is quite original.

If you've looked at the length of 9, you will have noticed that it is a short movie. It almost seems like a TV special, running at 78 minutes long (not even an hour and a half). And it really does feel short. But 9 doesn't need to be long to get it's story and message across. Some may actually find it relieving that it isn't too long. I don't think I could watch a whole 3 hours of 9 (or 3 1/2 in the Lord of the Rings).

As you've probably noticed, I've referenced Lord of the Rings a lot. Basically, 9 is LotR except sock puppets instead of hobbits and the its the world at stake instead of middle earth. So with 9 you're getting incredible visuals, great voice talent, and a great story. If length is an issue, than wait for it to come out on dVD. But don't wait too long, because 9 is one of those movies where you definitely don't want to miss it.

A-

Smallville Episode 9-4 "Echo" Review

After that extreme disappointment last week, anything without zombies would be a great episode. This episode does not disappoint, but it does not live up to the first two episodes.

In this episode, Jor-El (Clarks bio-father) temporarily gives Clark the power to hear people's thoughts. This is where it gets cheesy. I really don't think Lois is thinking, "Wow that Clark is a hottie!". Or at least not in those words. They didn't do the thought-hearing part in this episode well, which is slightly disappointing. But what it does do well is having a great ending and building up a creepy villain that is sure to come in more episodes.

Toyman, a really creepy and almost Joker-like guy is the villain. He is obsessed with toys, and putting bombs into him. The opening scene with the hostages is really cool. Toyman's arch-nemesis is Oliver Queen, who had framed him for murdering Lex Luther (yeah I'm still pretty mad that Lex Luther is dead, although the director said he will be returning in future episodes). This builds up some cool backstory against the two. After this episode, Oliver Queen actually seemed like a character with heart, and they did it in a way that wasn't cheesy.

This episode had great action and a great villain. Some minor issues can be overlooked by the fact that this episode didn't have zombies. That makes this a good episode of Smallville. Its worth the 40 minutes to watch the TiVo recording if you haven't watched the episode yet. Check it out.

Darkseid Appearing

Whoops, apparently this picture was fake...

17 Again Review

For some reason I just don't like Zac Effron. Maybe its his show-off-ness, maybe its that he thinks he's so cool, or maybe because he is actually a talented actor/basketball player/musician and I'm jealous. Whatever the reason, I don't like him. Until now. Shockingly Zac Effron is funny in this, and he plays the part well. Big Step up from High School Musical.

17 Again is about a soon-to-be-divorced dad who is always mad about something and blames his soon-to-be-not-his-wife wife. Obviously, this is why they are getting divorced. Anyway, the dad meets a "strange" janitor and soon the magical creepy guy turns the dad back to 17 years old until he can "fulfill his destiny" or something. He isn't told what he has to do though, so a lot of the film is trying figure out how to be back to normal.

So, basically most of the movie is like Freaky Friday (actually its a little too much like Freaky Friday) where a dad is stuck in a kids body. Of course, like Freaky Friday, there is tons of pop culture jokes that actually I enjoyed a lot. The movie has a good heartwarming ending and really ends well.

So what's wrong with 17 Again? Well, if you think its one of those clean family movies, you're wrong. 17 Again has some pretty crude jokes, and they are frequent enough to notice them. Also, the move is not for everyone. Of course there isn't going to be any action. But even for a comedy, not everyone is going to like it. Your basically paying to watch Matthew Perry (actor for the old guy) in Zac Effron's body. You decide whether you want to see it or not.

With 17 Again, you pretty much know what your getting. Freaky Friday but with only one character. The pop culture jokes are hilarious, and the movie is just flat-out fun to watch. Don't expect School-of-Rock funny, but know this is not a High School Musical 4.

B+

Smallville Episode 9-3 "Rabid" Review

The first time I watched Smallville, I thought Cool, Superman without tights. Now that its season 9, I think, wow, Superman is like the Dark Knight now. No, Superman is better than the Dark Knight now. Smallville has learned how to make Superman cool. Thats what I love about Smallville.

Season 9 just keeps getting better. That is, until the worst episode ever was on last night. Smallville is not a horror show, so don't make it one. Whoever's idea it was to have zombies in Smallville was not thinking straight. Last night Smallville was gory, bloody, scary, and not fun at all to watch.

I really wish they would have not done zombies. Maybe like evil kryptonians or even a massive amount of freak-of-the-weeks, but not zombies. Come on.

Next weeks Smallville looks really good. I'm actually looking forward to it. Its supposed ot have Kryptonite bombs, which is enough to make me want to watch it. I'm desperate at this point for a good Smallville episode, cuz I really don't know what that was last night.

Fat Princess PS3 Review

Fat Princess is similar to Marvel vs Capcom 2 in the way that to play it you have to download it. This means you can't buy it at Wal-Mart or anything--you have to add money to your Playstation account to download it (Fat Princess is $15). Anyway, now for the review:

Graphics: Graphics have never been known to be good on downloadable games, but Fat Princess is an exception. It's cel-shaded and cartoon/story book-like, so the graphics really fit. Everything is great visually in Fat Princess. 9/10

Sound: Great voice acting (some British narrator who is hilarious.) Sound effects are funny, music is good for the game, and everything is well put together in terms of sound. 9/10

Story: This is the funniest game I have ever played. Its about two princesses who get lost in the woods and find cake. They love it so much that they eat it and get fat. Although the gameplay is almost entirely different than the story, I really like it. It makes Fat Princess what it is. 8.5/10

Gameplay: Think of it as a cartoon version of Lord of the Rings Conquest with better modes and more characters. There is the warrior, mage, archer, worker, and priest, all with their own unique abilities. Mage and archer have ranged attacks, priest can heal teammates and take away health from enemies, warriors are self explanatory, and worker can cut down trees to upgrade the other characters. Everything is even and has a good upgrade system.

The game's main mode is basically capture the flag, but instead with princesses. So, to make it harder for the other team to carry your princess to their base, you wanna feed her cake to make her fat. I'm actually not joking, thats really what you do. There is also other modes like deathmatch and soccer, but since they don't involve making princesses fat I don't enjoy them as much. 9/10

Multiplayer: Really fun online battles, I just jumped right in and I didn't feel like any of the players were much better than me (the equality of the different characters makes this fun).

Overall: Fat Princess is a great, fun, hilarious game. It doesn't have splitscreen, and not much content, but you're paying $15 for a full-priced quality game. Its funny, fun, and cheap. Highly recommend. Its better than Lord of the Rings Conquest, and its about $25 cheaper. 8.9/10

Smallville Episode 9-2 Metallo Review

Smallville has evolved into what I like to call "Dark Knight for Superman." In case you haven't seen the first episode of this season, Clark has an official costume now for his dual identity, which looks like something from the Matrix. This season is a lot darker, which is a change from season 1's comic-bookish freak-of-the-week (fans called smallville this in the first season when there was a different villain every week) feel. I think this is the best season of Smallville so far, and it better be if this is the last season (which many people have been speculating.)

This episode reminds me of freak-of-the-week actually, and surprisingly enough, I really enjoyed it. The story follows John Corben, a new reporter at the Daily Planet that appeared in the first episode. He has a grudge against the red-blue blur (Superman's widely known nick-name, he hasn't officially been named Superman yet) for not saving his sister (which of course is not Clark's fault).

He gets hit by a bus (this episode has a very brutal 5-10 minutes in the first half, so just to warn you) and wakes up in a laboratory. He looks at his heart, which weirdly resembles Tony Stark's but green and made of kryptonite. He now is living off kryptonite, which is not too great for our protagonist. Metallo (John Corben) sets out to kill the red-blue blur. I'm not going to spoil anything, but let me just say that the battle at the end is very climatic and just fricken awesome.

Pretty much all I can say is that Smallville has evolved into something amazing. Its now movie quality, and definitely could be my favorite movie if they ever made one (I'm hoping they have the Smallville show finale an actual movie, but I'm probably just dreaming...). I'm serious, if you have't checked out Smallville season 9, thats terrible. Absolutely ridiculous. Watch this now. Its worth the 3 bucks on iTunes by far.

Smallville Season 9 Premiere

Smallville season premiere was last night, it was awesome! Here's my favorite pictures from last night:

Superman saving the train

Daily Planet

Superman looking over Metropolis, talking to Lois

My favorite, the iconic symbol burned into the wall

That seriously was the best Smallville ever, you should watch it any way you can (TiVo, iTunes, even the Smallville website you can watch the full episode). Smallville now seems more like an dark super hero movie more than anything. Think of this season as The Dark Knight Superman style. He doesn't wear the cheesy tights in this, but he does wear a costume (black suit coat with shirt under with the Superman symbol is silver). Anyway, please watch this, Smallville season 9 will be the best season.

EndWar Review

Graphics: Although the graphics aren't fantastic, there isn't really anything wrong with them. 7.5/10

Sound: Great sound effects and pretty good voice acting 8.5/10

Story: End of the world. Would be nice for more twists and turns, but for what it is, its okay. 7.5/10

Gameplay: In EndWar, you control your army squad to victory via voice control. You use your headset to give commands. The voice recognition is phenomenal, and it has never misinterpreted what i meant to say. There are cool upgrades and different kinds of units, and the game is just really fun. I do think it could have been easier to learn though, the tutorial just covers the basics and nothing more. 8.5/10

Multiplayer: Online

End war is a fun game. It doesn't show off the PS3's capabilites with graphics, and its pretty light on story, but EndWar does what its supposed to do, and it makes it really fun to play.

8/10