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!