Friday, May 28, 2010

UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans- Echo calls it

Unfortunately, time is something I don't have a lot of right now. There's a fantastic card coming up this weekend, and I'll be watching, but I don't have the time to give the bouts a proper once over to pick them apart with my usual thorough, meticulous, and often brilliant analysis.

So, like any good blogger, I'm going to half-ass it.

Diego Sanchez vs. John Hathaway
Sanchez ruins Hathaway's perfect record. Next!

Antonio Nogueira vs. Jason Brilz
Brilz and Hathaway share a nickname and will therefore share a loss. Nog ftw. Bring it!

Todd Duffee vs. Mike Russow
I think Duffee took up the sport to compensate for his wussy last name. Oh, and he's going to lose. I'm done with this one.

Michael Bisping vs. Dan Miller
Bisping needs to win this one, so he's gonna. You can Count on it...Moving on.

Quinton Jackson vs. Rashad Evans
I desperately want Rampage to shut Rashad up. My understanding is that his will is a weak point. If I was Rampage, I'd start there.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Lost Finale- Echo calls it

Don’t worry. I’m not going to go into some epic rant about Lost and what it meant to me, and then analyze the finale down to the tiniest detail. Simply (and sadly) put, I wasn’t that kind of fan.

The fact is, I should have been on board with Lost from day one. Being the nerd I am, everything about the show screams “watch me.” I missed the first several episodes six years ago, though, and simply never took the time to jump on the bandwagon.

This January, however, I began to fix all of that. I ran through everything available in record time and, halfway through this sixth and final season, I was finally watching as it aired on television.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Review: Iron Man 2

I was delightfully surprised by the original Iron Man film. Director John Favreau put together one of the best comic-to-movie adaptations of all time with Robert Downey Jr. breathing an unprecedented amount of life into the eccentric millionaire, Tony Stark.

The whole team showed the project respect and, because of that, audiences were treated to top-notch dialogue, an engaging and adult story and tons of ‘splosions. It was everything a summer blockbuster should be.

Thankfully, Iron Man 2 follows closely behind its predecessor.

Downy has gotten more comfortable in his role, Samuel L. Jackson gets more face time, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts becomes a stronger, more well-defined character and Don Cheadle does an admirable job of taking over the role of James Rhodes (a.k.a. freaking War Machine).

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Motion sickness- Why motion control and 3D are not the future of gaming

I’m starting to get a little nervous about the future of gaming.

The fact is, business goes where the money is and, with the Wii doing so well in the motion control market and 3D taking off at the box office, it seems like more and more game developers are leaning that direction when it comes to planning future products.

I’m not a grumpy old man when it comes to my games. I may have been around since the late Atari years, but I don’t see all of this newfangled 3D and motion whosawhatsits and proceed to shake my fist at the sky, demanding the “casual noobz” get off my damn lawn.

I’m all for extra bells and whistles and, when it advances the actual product, I’ll be the first one to embrace a new technology. The problem with the direction we’re going now is that neither of these recent innovations actually achieves that goal.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Review: Random Acts of Violence

I was disappointed in Random Acts of Violence, the new graphic novella from co-writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray.

The premise was pretty brilliant: Two comic book writers, Ezra and Todd, create Slasherman, a homicidal maniac working under the belief that his killings are art and the grieving friends and family of his victims are the audience, receiving an emotional reaction you can't get simply by looking at a portrait or chiseled statue. The kicker comes when, at the end of one of the issues, the creators invite fans to “show us your best kill.” Meant to be an art/writing contest to allow a fan to take part in the creation of an issue, the book inadvertently flips a switch in the brains of several real life crazies who perform grizzly acts with the hopes of winding up in a comic book.

Other than the intriguing premise and Giancarlo Caracuzzo's art, the book has little more to offer than an unfulfilled promise to the reader of a violent comic that will force you to think. Palmiotti and Gray take several stabs at achieving this goal, but all fall regrettably flat. The first couple of pages are fantastic and feel like they are leading into something truly special. After that, though, the book goes straight downhill.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Monday mini-movies: Uuber skateboard trick edition



I stumbled upon this and, honestly, I'm not sure why I enjoy it so much.

It's short, simple and amusing enough to make me grin even after repeated views. I suppose you can't ask for much more in a youtube clip.

P.S. The more I watch it, the more I think it's that guy's face at the very end that sells me on it. Good stuff.

Friday, May 7, 2010

UFC 113: Machida vs. Rua 2

UFC 113 is here and, I’ve got to be honest, this card kind of snuck up on me.

The five fights set as the main event should all be entertaining bouts between some tough competitors.

Given the rather disappointing MMA events over the past couple months, I’m looking forward to this weekend’s fights reigniting my excitement for the sport.

Patrick Cote vs. Alan Belcher
The evening kicks off with a fight between two well-rounded dudes sporting identical records. Cote was on the warpath until he ran into the buzzsaw known as Anderson Silva and I fully expect him to pick back up where he left off in this fight with Belcher. I like Belcher and all, but Cote is like version 2.0 of the same fighter. Everything Belcher can do, Cote can do better.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Movies to miss in May


Now that the summer movie season is underway, it’s likely we’ll have a shortage of craptacular flame-fodder popping up in theaters until sometime after August. Most of the folks who make these atrocities know there’s less likelihood they’ll be able to blindside the masses if they’re going up against, say, Iron Man 2.

I suppose the exceptions will be the milked established franchises and ridiculously big budget action flicks based on video games. Oh, look! Here’s some now.

Shrek- Forever After: I’m still not sure if this one’s called “Forever After” or “The Final Chapter.” I’ve seen posters and commercials with both names. No matter what you call it, though, seeing it will likely result in the same thing: Disappointment. The first Shrek was pretty awesome. The second was iffy, at best. The third one, though, was an absolute waste of time and talent. The movie had absolutely no point. Given this downward trend, I expect those who go see this fourth installment will most likely pay their money, walk into the theater, receive a swift kick to the groin followed by an employee thanking them for their business.

Sex and the City 2: I saw the trailer for this one and thought I was being primed for “Cougartown- The Movie.” Are there really people out there still interested in these characters? Spoiler alert: They get drunk. They have sex with young men and gossip about it. They have sex with men their own age and gossip about it. They have sex with each other and gossip about it. In the end, everyone goes shopping for shoes.

Prince of Persia- The Sands of Time: I like Jake Gyllenhaal and all but from what little I’ve heard of him speaking in this film, his accent is just shy of nails on a chalkboard. I’m sure the over-the-top antics of Aladdi-I mean, “The Prince,” are entertaining and all, but this looks to be little more than a CG-fest on steroids with leftover scenes pulled in from the Mummy series. Of the three films being called out this month, this one shows the most promise. That was less of a compliment to PoP and more of an insult to, well, all three of these films.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Games to get in May


Years from now, when we look back on the history of videogame releases, I truly believe 2010 will be hailed as one of the best (if not THE best) years ever.

Think about it. We have games in the well-established universes of Mario, Final Fantasy, Halo, Call of Duty, Splinter Cell, Gran Turismo, Battlefield, Metroid, Metal Gear, Fallout, Pokemon and Castlevania all coming out this year. And then there are games like The Last Guardian, Dead Space 2, Bioshock 2 and others from top tier developers making (or sure to make) a huge splash. Then we have the PS Move and Project Natal on the way.

Who has enough time or cash for all of this awesomeness?

May is the biggest month of 2010 so far with a ridiculous amount of titles releasing sure to keep everyone entertained. A microcosm of 2010, May features heavy hitters from well known franchises and brand new offerings likely to turn more than a few heads. No matter the system, handheld or home console, there's something here worth taking a look at.