Thursday, May 30, 2013
The Tree of Life Review
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Arrested Development Season 4 Review
It's
not often we see a series come back after 7 years, and even rarer that it comes
back and still be f*cking hilarious. In 2006, the universally acclaimed TV show
Arrested Development was canceled after its third season. Originally airing
back in 2003, the show became an instant success. Winning awards and pulling
some pretty good numbers, the show looked like it had a promising future. But
being on Fox, it was canceled before it's time like every other show on the
network (except for House and American Idol). It's generally considered to be
one of the greatest comedies of all time. The show revolves around the Bluth
family, especially the middle son Michael. The Bluth's are extremely wealthy;
they own a once major real estate business. But after some bad investments and
a couple of counts of treason they weren't doing so hot. Most of these problems
were solved by the end of the third season. This new season take place six
years after season three. While some of the members are getting on with their
lives most are still just as dysfunctional as we left them. This new season
primarily acts as a catch up for all the characters. And I would like to
commend the writers on the whole set up. There is a very complicated and
intricate story line. They give several characters six years of back story that
weaves together so impressively that it’s actually quite amazing. But I would
say that is my major problem with the season. Since much of the season is shown
in flashbacks, following the timeline can be confusing. But what always made
this show great was the humor, so how does the new season stack up? All I can
say is the show is just as great as it’s always been. The show has been
garnering a lot of attention lately, not just because it was being re-launched
but because the entire season was released at once on Netflix instead of TV. We've seen
Netflix have original shows before but not a well established like this.
Personally I love it, it's convenient because I can just marathon the season all at once (which may or may not have been what I did with my day). This is proof Netflix
is taking over the world. It's fantastic that there are new episodes of
Arrested Development; it's really one of the best shows out there right now.
I'm glad that someone was willing to take a chance and bring this show back and
have it still be great. Let's just hope that they decide to continue and make a fifth season.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
The Hangover Part III
It's
always sad to see a series end, especially one that gave us experiences we only
wish we could have. But sometimes you just have to call it quits, before it's too
far gone. So the time has come, the wolf pack trilogy is over. Part 3 takes
place 4 years after the events of the original, most of the guys have their
lives together but Alan is still up to his crazy antics. After the death of his
father (caused by him), his family decides they want to send him to a facility
for help. So they call in his friends to make the process easier. But on the
way there, the guys are run off the road and kidnapped. They are taken by a guy
named Marshal who recruits them to find an old acquaintance of theirs, Chow. As
collateral they take Doug hostage and threaten to kill him if they don't find
Chow. So the wolf pack has to go on one last crazy adventure to save their
friend... again. I've always had one problem with the Hangover series; they
made a trilogy out of something that was clearly not made to be one. Some
studio executives were sitting in a room saw how much money the Hangover made,
and decided to make sequels. And you can especially notice that in the second
one. I am glad they decided not to use the same plot as the last two and take
it in a new direction. Like the previous films, I wouldn't exactly call the
humor in this movie high class. A lot of the humor in the movie felt really
forced as well. The whole plot of the movie, while different, is really
convoluted as well. The key character in the movie was Chow, and the problem is
they made him really annoying. Chow is supposed to be crazy and I get that, but
they make him do something crazy like every ten seconds. At one point he eats
dog food, just because. While there are a lot of problems there are a couple positive
aspects. There are several throwbacks to the original which were nice to see,
they threw in some pop culture references, there were a couple funny jokes, and
I will say it was more enjoyable than the second film. All in all it wasn't a bad
movie, just subpar. Not the worst movie I've seen this year and certainly not
the best.
2/5 Stars
2/5 Stars
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Star Trek: Into Darkness Review
A
few years ago we were met with an interesting surprise, there would be a new
Star Trek film released in 2009. Star Trek had long since been dead, with the
last film being released seven years earlier and the show's best days coming almost two decades ago. But upon its release it was met with near universal praise
from critics and audiences as well as making almost 400 million
dollars at the box office. A sequel was immediately demanded, and it couldn't
come soon enough. Well ladies and gentlemen, that time has come. Directed by
J.J. Abrams, Into Darkness is the twelfth installment in the
Star Trek franchise and easily the most anticipated. Into Darkness takes place
a couple years after the events of the original. At this point Kirk
has thoroughly established himself as the captain of the USS
Enterprise. The film opens up on a foreign planet where the crew of the
Enterprise is trying to save the lives of a primitive race. After
narrowly escaping death the crew returns to earth only to have Kirk stripped of
his title for disobeying orders not to interact with the native people. On the
other side of the planet an attack has occurred on a Star Fleet
building killing dozens. It is learned that the attack was carried out by a
member of Star Fleet named John Harrison. While in a meeting to discuss their
options, the high ranking officers are attacked be Harrison who kills several
of them. Outraged, Kirk volunteers to go after Harrison to seek
revenge for killing a friend; after some thought by the Admiral he agrees. Now
the crew of the Enterprise has been tasked with capturing the single
most dangerous individual to ever plague the galaxy. I have been
waiting four years to see this movie; going into 2013 it was easily my most
anticipated of the year. So I was worried that it couldn't live up to its
predecessor. Well not only did it match the original film; in my opinion it is
even better. I loved everything about the first film, and Into Darkness
improves upon it in just about every way. All the actors from the first one
reprise their roles and they play out their characters perfectly. The addition
to the cast that had everyone talking was highly acclaimed actor Benedict
Cumberbatch as John Harrison. Benedict is most well known for the award winning
series Sherlock, and he absolutely kills it in this movie. The biggest problem
with the first movie was the villain, he just wasn't special. He was
there just for the sake of having a villain. But Benedict's character is
on a whole different level. I would say his performance as a villain is comparable to Heath Ledger (the Dark Knight), Javier
Bardem (Skyfall, No Country for Old Men), and Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds). He
gives an Oscar worthy performance and really does steal every scene he's in.
One thing I really want to commend the film on is its incredible
visuals. The movie really does look stunning, and I saw it in 3D and in a wide
screen format ant it looks incredible. This is a movie that is best watched in
theaters. I also felt the writing was actually given a boost as well,
especially when it comes to humor. There are a couple scenes where you'll bust
a gut. The story is actually more complex than the first one. The movie has layers;
it's really not like what you thought it would be. There are some
really touching moments through out. This is a fantastic and epic sci-fi
adventure. I have been criticized for being overly harsh on huge blockbuster movies, most recently Iron Man 3, and that I only give good reviews to very serious movies like Zero Dark Thirty and Argo. The reason I don't kiss the ass of every big movie is because I have standards. Studio executives think that if there's a movie with lots of actions and explosions people will like it, they don't think it has to be good. But it's movies like Into Darkness that show you can have a blockbuster that isn't just all flash, it really can be great. This is a
movie that I would recommend to every man, woman, and child that are
interested. Even if you’re not a fan of Star Trek there is a good chance you'd
enjoy this movie. Its movies like these that make me love film; it shows that
not only artsy tour de force's can be great, but big summer movies as well. Just short of true greatness, this has been one of the best movies of the year and has quickly become one of
my favorite movies of all time. And I really hope they decide to make this into a trilogy.
4.5/5 Stars
Monday, May 13, 2013
Vice on HBO Review
I respect Vice
more than any other news outlet; when it comes to politics, pop culture, and
society, no organization does as good of a job or is willing to as go as deep.
I don't see the head of Fox news meeting face to face with top Taliban members.
For those who don't know, Vice started out as a magazine publication
in 1994. It was filled with controversy from the first issue. Vice has always
been popular but they've blown up during the last couple years with help from
the internet, especially YouTube. Their YouTube channel has gained more than 2
million subscribers over the past 2 years. They've become so popular that
earlier this year HBO premiered a televised version of Vice. The
shows format is very similar to the documentaries online but at a higher quality.
Each episode is half an hour long consisting of two different segments.
Some of these included political assassinations in the Philippians, China's ghost towns, conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmiris, the Taliban's use of child suicide bombers, China's population having 50
million more men than women, North Korean run aways being sold into sex slavery
by the Chinese, and much more. This show is not for the faint of heart, this
show is violent. During the first episode they showed clips of suicide
bombings, assassinated politicians, and much more. What I remember most is the
aftermath of a suicide bombing where they showed a severed head just lying of
the street. The closest thing I can compare it to is like watching an uncensored version of Gangland. But
if you can stomach the gore, this is quite possibly the best show currently
airing on television right now. Currently on episode six, I've
learned more about what's going on in the world right now than I have ever
learned in school this past year. The show isn't just informative and educational, it is
incredibly entertaining. It shows us what many main stream news sourced ignore.
While yahoo talks about what Kim Kardashian is wearing and ABC spends ten
minutes analyzing the Cowboys game, Vice has reporters on the ground
in Mali in the middle of fire fights between the French and insurgents. The HBO
show highlights the best of Vice and puts on some of the best documentaries
Vice has ever produced. If you haven't heard of Vice, just go watch some of
their stuff on YouTube and you’ll be hooked. And even if you have but you
haven't watched the HBO series, you're missing out. I'll include a link to
every episode from the first series as well as their YouTube channel and
website so you can check them out. Vice consistently brings high
quality programming in everything they do and is easily my favorite news
outlet. And it's great to see that they are being recognized for what they are doing and have been rewarded with their own show, and they really are making the most of it.
http://www.free-tv-video-online.me/internet/vice/season_1.html
http://www.youtube.com/user/vice?feature=watch
Saturday, May 11, 2013
The Great Gatsby Review
There
are a few things I've learned from the film industry over the past few years,
most notably if they want to make some quick cash they just make a movie off a
classic book...for the fifth time. The Great Gatsby is directed by Baz Luhrmann
(most known for his best picture nominated Moulin Rouge!) and stars Leonardo
DiCaprio as Gatsby himself. The Great Gatsby is based off the novel of the same
name written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The story is told through a third person
view by a character named Nick. Nick recently moved out to New York to be a
bond salesman, so he rented a little shack in a rich neighborhood and got his
future underway. He has a cousin named Daisy who lives not too far from him
with her rich cheating husband Tom. When visiting them Nick learns of
an eccentric millionaire who lives right next door to him by the name
of Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is known for his elaborate parties as well as
being extremely mysterious. One day Nick is invited to one of Gatsby's parties,
making him the only person to actually be invited. Once there he meets Gatsby,
a charismatic young man. Quickly the two become friends, but you
can't help but feel that Gatsby is playing an angle. Nick came to New York to
make a success out of himself, but instead he gets caught up in a plan years in
the making. When I first saw the trailer for this movie I thought it looked
great, but the more I thought about it the more I worried. Baz Luhrmann has a
unique directing style: it's fast paced, it's flashy, and it's in your face.
While it worked for movies like Moulin Rouge!, I was afraid it wouldn't work
for this... unfortunately I was right. The Great Gatsby is a story about the
characters, about this love that can never be. But Baz made this all about
style and ignored the substance. You're supposed to feel something for these
characters but you really don't. You root for Gatsby but not because you want
to but because you feel like you're supposed to. While this
over embellished world worked for the party scenes it
subtracted from everything else, also there was way too much green screen. When
70 percent of your movie looks like it was filmed on a green screen and you're
not Avatar, you have a problem. Of all the scenes in the movie the ones that
looked the best were shot in real rooms with no CGI. One thing that bothered me
(this is more of a personal preference) was the amount of modern
music used. The soundtrack is great but if you're in a 20's setting and you
have like five Jay-Z songs it sounds out of place. On top of that the whole movie
was obnoxiously loud. I know it sounds like I hated the movie but I really didn't it's not a bad movie. Leo does a great job playing Gatsby, the movie is true to
the book, and Baz's style did work for some of the scenes. While The Great
Gatsby didn't live up to my hopes there will be people out there that will
really like this movie, but personally I was let down and won't remember this
in a couple days (especially since Star Trek: Into Darkness is coming out
soon).
3/5 Stars
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon Review
This
game is so over the top, it makes Saints Row the Third look like Shadow of
the Colossus. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is a standalone downloadable game
based off my pick for best game of 2012, Far Cry 3. The game is only 15 dollars
and is available for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. I'd love to tell you what it's
about but I'm not even going to lie, I have no f*cking clue. The story is so
convoluted and crazy it makes no coherent sense. The game is an open
world first person shooter; it takes place many years in the future where
apparently everything is neon. It's formatted the same as Far Cry 3 for the
most part, there's a main mission and several side quests. As far as missions
go the game is much more limited than Far Cry 3, beating all the missions will
take 8 hours max. Like Far Cry 3 there are enemy bases all around the map that
you need to clear out to take over. The main difference is that in Blood Dragon
these bases are significantly larger with many more enemies. That leads me to
my biggest problem in the game, it almost discourages stealth. In FC3 I played
the game stealthy the entire time, while it was easier to run in guns blazing
you were rewarded for playing it stealthy. In Blood Dragon, the bases are so
big with so many enemies it felt impossible; on top of that most bases had a
heavy soldier which you can’t take out stealthily until level 15. Probably the
biggest difference in the game is how you level up. In FC3 you were given a
skill tree to pick and choose your skills, in Blood Dragon skills
improve automatically as you level up. Also in Blood Dragon you only
have a few weapon choices, but they are more customizable. As you can tell by its
name a new type of enemy was introduced into the game, the Blood Dragon. Blood
Dragons are essentially neon dinosaurs, they are mean and tough as
sh*t. The thing that Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon has going for it is that the
entire game is a throwback to everything 80's cheese. It's all the action
movies and cartoons of the 80's thrown into a game, and it's fantastic. They
even give you Robocop’s gun, which is as awesome as it sounds. The biggest
complaint that people seem to have with the game is that it's short, which it
is. But people need to realize it is a 15 dollar downloadable game, it's not a
full price game. You pay 1/4th the price you're going to get 1/4th the play
time. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is awesome; it is everything I love about Far Cry
3 with some really cool new game elements. For the price you can't go wrong,
and it's become a contender for best downloadable game of the year.
4.5/5 Stars
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Iron Man 3 Review
The
long awaited Iron Man 3 has finally arrived, riding the coat
tales of the Avengers it looks to get this next generation of Marvel
movies out the gate with a bang. Iron Man 3 takes place not long after the
events of the Avengers, and one thing that is apparent quickly is that Tony
Stark is not the same man. He's suffering from anxiety attacks, he's not
getting along with his girl friend, and he can't even sleep. On top of that
some terrorist known only as the Mandarin is causing havoc all over the world.
He seems to have some sort of new bomb that can cause massive damage without
leaving a trace of what it is. After one of Tony's friends is seriously injured
in one of these attacks, Tony refuses to take it lying down and
openly challenges the Mandarin. So Iron Man sets out to not only stop
one of the deadliest terrorists the US government has ever, but keep what is
left in his life together in the process. Iron Man 3 changes upon the formula somewhat from
the previous two; it is a little darker and they put even more humor in it,
which is actually my first problem with it. While many of the lines are funny
they are given at odd times. Like Stark will be in the middle of a fight,
inches away from death, and he'll crack a one liner. Probably the coolest
aspect of the movie are the fight scenes, they're pretty badass. And with the
addition of the best visual effect the series has seen makes them a feast for
the eyes. While aspects like these are very enjoyable, the movie has some
faults. Other than Robert Downey Jr. no one gives an overly good performance.
One thing that really seems to have divided people is the direction they took
the Mandarin in; people ether hated it or just went along, I hated it. I won't
spoil anything but in my opinion it's pretty dumb. For a while I really liked
Iron Man 3, but around the hour mark things started to take a turn for the
worse. The movie just falls apart during the second half and by the end it's
just unsalvageable. There are a couple plot points that are just really stupid
and defy the laws of physics (even for a superhero movie). I know it sounds
like I hated it but I actually enjoyed Iron Man 3 for what it was, a summer
popcorn flick. But I am disappointed, coming off the Avengers I was hoping for more.
If you ask me, Iron Man 3 is better than Iron Man 2 but still inferior compared
to the original.
3/5 Stars
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