So apparently I haven’t posted in awhile. Eh. Well, today should more than make up for that. I have a nice special treat for you. Apparently Hollywood will make a movie about anything anymore.
As a result, it seems like Ridley Scott has chosen to base his next movie off of Detroit’s most infamous mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick.
Russel Crowe stars as the hot shot prosecuting attorney trying to put down the corrupt mayor while simultaneously dealing with his own inner demons. Forrest Whitaker also stars in what looks to be yet another Academy Award winning role as Kwame Kilpatrick. Al Pacino plays the supporting role of the cop charged to bring down Kilpatrick who is surrounded by nothing but corrupt policeman. And finally Keanu Reeves stars as Kilpatrick’s right hand man.
Although the movie seems rather loosely based on mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s actual term in office, it still looks very promising, and with such an allstar class, it definitely seems like a movie you won’t wanna miss.
I managed to get ahold of a teaser trailer for those of you who are interested. I highly suggest you check this out.
For Next Week: A review of Zach and Miri, and Gears of War 2!
Well, Halloween is just around the corner, so of course that means a new Saw movie will be out soon. In fact, on Friday, October 24th, Saw V will be released in theaters everywhere. So what can we expect from this new Saw installment? Well, to be certain, more of the same. With each Saw installment getting progressively worse, it’s pretty safe to say that expecting an average “gorror” (lol, horror and gore) movie will be about on par with the way the series has been delivering.
Last year’s Saw IV was more or less a disappointment compared to Saw III, but still it wasn’t the worst in the series (that honor belongs to none other than Saw II). But with each entry becoming less and less intelligent compared to the genius (yes, I said genius) of the first Saw, it’s really only a matter of time before the entire series goes into the crapper. Regardless though, this year’s Saw will give viewers what they expect (including myself), some good old fashion gore and violence, along with some cheap scares, and an even cheaper plot twist. You know it’s gonna be bad when the catchphrase for the movie is, “You won’t believe the ending”.
And if that wasn’t the worse case scenario, director Darren Lynn Bousman is NOT directing this film, so I’m afraid to say that the majority of Saw’s creepy atmosphere is certainly at risk with this new sequel. For those of you that are wondering, I managed to stumble across an official, albeit brief plot synopsis: “Hoffman is seemingly the last person alive to carry on the Jigsaw legacy. But when his secret is threatened, Hoffman must go on the hunt to eliminate all loose ends.”
My predictions: (possible spoilers ahead) At the end of the movie it is revealed that John (Tobin Bell), is in fact not Jigsaw, and was simply a pawn in a much larger game, OR that John is in fact not dead at all. It’s also been revealed that Danny Glover (he played Detective Tapp in the first film) will be in this film in one way or another.
(end spoilers)
Either way though I’m sure the theaters will be packed for the upcoming film. If you’re a fan of the series like I am, be sure you check it out this weekend. If you’re not, look for my review which should be up some time next week.
Following the aftermath of a summer ridden with both blockbusters, and complete flops, comes a gamble of sorts from Lions Gate Entertainment. Righteous Kill stars two of Hollywood’s finest A-list actors, Robert Deniro and Al Pacino, truly together for the first time on film (yeah, I know they were both in Heat, but that barely counts). So I’m guessing you are sitting there and maybe you are thinking to yourself, “Sweet, Deniro and Pacino, that’s gotta be a great movie.” and as it very well may seem this way, let me simply tell you, that I fear it may be quite the opposite.
The premise behind the movie is that Deniro and Pacino are both detectives who seem to be nearing the age of retirement, when along comes a vigilante of sorts that starts killing criminals who have gotten away with their crimes. Deniro and Pacino are the detectives assigned to stop the vigilante, but it seems they decide that allowing the vigilante to continue is the best choice of action.
Now to me, it seems pretty obvious that it’s quite likely that either Pacino or Deniro are one of the vigilante killers. So, with that being said, I really can’t help but feel that Righteous Kill is going to end up being one of those generic cop movies, about two cops doing the “right thing”. At least that’s the way it looks in the trailer.
I have the distinct feeling that most of the movie will go down like this:
Old Cop 1: “Somebody shot anutta’ bad guy.”
Old Cop 2: “Let’s hope he does it again.”
Old Cop 2: “You were the killer all along? I never could have guessed it!”
Old Cop 1: “You should be thankin’ me! I was doin’ dis city a favah!”
Old Cop 2: “No, you’re wrong!”
*Old Cop 2 shoots Old Cop 1. Credits roll*
Yeaaah. You get the idea. Either way though, I still am probably gonna go see this, just because Deniro and Pacino are in it. In case you’re curious Righteous Kill comes to a theater near you on September 12th.
Well a new (well, not really new considering we are more than halfway done) year, brings a new Ridley Scott film. After last year’s hit, “American Gangster”, Scott turns his attention to a spy type genre with “Body of Lies”. The movie stars Leonardo Dicaprio as the CIA agent sent out to assassinate a high ranking terrorist, and Russel Crowe as Dicaprio’s CIA boss.
The movie is based on David Ignatius’ book which bears the same title, however the movie trailers themselves really leave the film seeming a bit shallow. Although one should obviously never judge an entire movie on a trailer alone, afer seeing the trailer I still can’t help but think Body of Lies feels a bit like another, generic CIA type movie. You know the ones. Said spy gets mission to kill some one, then fails to do so, said spy then learns he was betrayed by his bosses/ commanders, said spy then goes rogue to kill/ stop bosses.
However with that being said, it must also be taken into account that with both Crowe and Dicaprio on board, it’s probably safe to say that the movie will at least be more than generic. At the very least, it looks like a high class, fast paced action movie, that could easily rival the lateset Jason Bourne film.
You are probably going to want to mark your calendars for this one. Body of Lies comes out on October 10th of this year.
Finally, for those of you interested, here is a trailer for “Body of Lies”.
Now that E3 is over, we have finally been presented some answers to a number of questions that most of us have been pondering for awhile. One of those questions happen to be: “In the new Mortal Kombat game, are their going to be fatalities?” And my answer is this: Yes. There will be.
In case you haven’t heard, the newest Mortal Kombat game (which is to be released for the Xbox 360 and the PS3), is to feature not only a number of Mortal Kombat characters, but also a handful of characters from the DC comics realm. Now as weird as this seems, let’s not forget that Capcom did the very same thing with Streetfighter vs. Marvel, and we all know how well that turned out.
However, along with the addition of DC also came the mandatory “T” ESRB rating for the game as well. Initially, most fans assumed that without the “M” rating, there would certainly be no fatalities in game, but I am here to tell you that simply is just not the case. Fatalities have been confirmed, however they have also been indefinitely toned down.
Along with this a few new additions to the gameplay have been added, one of those which includes something entitled “Free Fall Kombat”. Free Fall Kombat is a sequence that is initiated during a battle when one character throws or knocks another player off a level, thus resulting in both characters starting a free fall. During the fall, bother characters can still fight, and as they land consecutive blows, it charges a “super meter”, which when fully charged allows each character to do a unique, special move. Another addition to gameplay is the “Klose Kombat” system which is a mode you can enter during a fight, causing the characters to lock with each other and the perspective to change to a close-up of the two, to make for an interval of close-quarters fighting (much like in boxing games).
Finally, at least two new mini games have also been confirmed for the new Mortal Kombat, and online play has also been confirmed for both systems.
As of now, the full character roster is still a mystery, but a number of characters have been shown. Those characters include: Scorpion, Sub Zero, Shang Tsung, Sonya Blade, Liu Kang, Superman, Batman, Catwoman, The Flash, and Captain Marvel. All I can say is that having a battle between Scorpion and Batman is sure to prove entertaining at the very least.
Here’s a trailer for those of you that are interested.
lol. Well, I just got finished watching both Nintendo and Sony’s briefing conference, and all I can really say is “Meh.” Nintendo literally had one of the absolute worst, if not THE worst showings I have ever seen at E3. The only game of remote interest that they unveiled was a new (but rehashed), Animal Crossings for the Wii. Talk about a disappointment, especially for a guy that was expecting to see a new Zelda game, and possibly a new Nintendo handheld. What a bunch of crap.
On a side note however, Nintendo has said that they would for sure be showing a new Kirby, and a new Wario game some time during E3, so I will be sure to preview that when I hear about it.
Sony had a better time with their showcase, although for the most part it sucked too. Basically, the only real games worth mentioning are a new 256 online shooter entitled MAG (Massive Action Game), an interesting third person, post apocalyptic game called Infamous, and a 20 second teaser trailer for God of War 2. The rest of the show talked about features the Xbox 360 already has, as well as taking time out to talk about the “old gray haired”, PS2. I crap you not. Sony literally took time out to talk about games for the PS2.
More or less, those are the updates at this time. Overall, it’s been a pretty pathetic E3. What at one time use to be the ultimate showcases in things to come, has relegated to a two hour long commercial about how great so and so’s company is. It’s inexcusable in my opinion.
Oh well. I’ll update again if I find out any more information. Until then, I will have to find something to keep myself occupied until the 18th, aka official release for The Dark Knight (woot).
Well it’s that time of year again. The time where all of the major companies in console and PC gaming get together and unveil their newest creations. So, for those of you that are too busy, or too lazy to actually look around and see all the new stuff that is happening, I figured I would make a quick update for you.
Yesterday marked the first day for E3, and more specifically it was Microsoft’s press conference as well as unveiling. Overall, they had a decent show, which included a lot of great info about Gears 2, including a new multiplayer mode called Horde, that enables a group of four players to team up against an onslaught of opposing enemies. Unfortunately, 4 player co-op has been left out of the game once again.
Other important game news included Fallout 3, with actual hands on demonstrations which can be viewed here: http://www.g4tv.com/e32008/videos/26939/Hands_On_Fallout_3.html
Needless to say, the game looks awesome. I’m really glad to see a console port of this game, so more people will be able to enjoy the greatness that is Fallout.
A nice long trailer of Resident Evil 5 was released, and all I can say is that it looks stunning. Capcom seems to be doing a nice job keeping all the things that made RE4 so great, and building upon it for an even better game. Also, (I just literally read this) but the newest Resident Evil will finally for the first time ever, have cooperative play. Eff yeah.
Microsoft unveiled a completely new dashboard and system layout that will be out some time this fall, along with revealing a new “Avatar” system, much like that of the Wii’s “Mii’s”. Personally, I think this is kind of a lame attempt at trying to appeal to a more casual audience (especially when 360 is pretty casual as it is), and on top of that the new dashboard just looks play awful. Here’s a quick picture of what the avatars and dashboard are probably going to look like.
And lastly (but certainly not least), Microsoft revealed, to the horror of Sony fanboys everywhere, that Final Fantasy XII would in fact be available on the 360 as well as the PS3. Sony fanboys have literally been raging all day as a result of this. Honestly, I am still really shocked about this. A lot of people are saying this is the final nail to be hammered into Sony’s coffin. Myself, I am not willing to go as far as to say that, however I will say it definitely will hurt the already bad sales of the PS3. Oh well. At least I will now have a chance to play the new Final Fantasy without spending an extra 500 plus dollars.
Thats all the news I have for now. The Nintendo conference will be starting very shortly, so expect another update from me soon.
I know it is rather soon to even be mentioning this film, but they finally released a new trailer for it. Honestly, I don’t think I have to say too much about this movie. Literally everyone is psyched about it. All the hype concerning Heath’s death is sure to make this a sellout box office weekend. On top of that, it looks like it’s gonna be the most anticipated summer release.
Anyway, come July 18th at 12:01 A.M., I plan on dressing up as Batman and attending what looks to be the most exciting movie this year.
Heres the new trailer in case you still haven’t seen it yet.
For the next couple of weeks I will be previewing a number of movies that will be opening over the coming summer. The warm weather is finally upon us, and with that comes an untold amount of movies that could possibly end up being worth paying the price of admission. I plan on previewing the movies that I feel have the greatest chance to do well, and also the ones that will most likely appeal to the masses. Let’s get started.
In case you have been hiding under a rock for the past 20 years or so, it has been nearly two decades since the last Indiana Jones movie. Currently however, it seems to be a growing trend to make sequels to movies which were presumed finished (I.E. Rocky Balboa, John Rambo, the new Star Wars Trilogy). Of course an Indiana Jones sequel has been talked about for as long as I can remember. I always assumed it was nothing more than rumors, but now it seems evidently clear that I was quite wrong.
With a release date just around the corner (May 22nd), we will know soon enough if Harrison Ford has what it takes to still play the part of the beloved Dr. Jones. Starring along side of him is up and coming actor, Shia LaBeouf, and returning actress and former love interest of Raiders, Karen Allen. Personally, I think it’s awesome that Allen is on cast for this movie. I thought she was terrific in Raiders, and I’m sure she will continue to deliver in the Crystal Skull.
It’s been widely debated by many fans as to what role LaBeouf will be playing the Crystal Skull. Some believe he will simply be playing the part of Indy’s sidekick (much like Short Round in Temple), but others (including myself) feel that he may be in the movie as Indy’s protege (which would mean more sequels).
Honestly, I cringe at the very thought of this happening. Having Indiana Jones without Harrison Ford really feels wrong in my opinion. Of course all of this is pure speculation, but I have the distinct feeling that by the end of the movie we are going to see Shia end up taking on a part of what Jones has done for so long. I even feel that it’s possible in true Hollywood like fashion, they may have a closing scene where Indy ends up giving LaBeouf’s character his trademark hat. Go ahead and quote me on that.
Regardless though, The Crystal Skull should prove to be at the very least, a great watching experience. The entire production crew is supposedly back for work, and both Spieldberg and Lucas have been doing a great job keeping the entire plot of the movie a secret (their is close to no information about this movie online). Whether it’s an awesome movie and a great finish to a fantastic series, or it’s a complete let down and a start up for a barrage of sequels, Crystal Skulls is definitely a movie that demands your attention, and quite possibly your money for admittance.
In case you aren’t aware, a new Street Fighter has been in development for quite some time now. Just recently some new information has been released, along with a short gameplay video as well. Anyway, I decided to just post a quick preview of some of the stuff I have found out. First things first, an actual in game shot showing the new “2.5D” look.
As you can probably tell, the game itself looks to be in full 3D. However, the actual gameplay is still 2D, exactly like how the old Street Fighter played. The camera switches to a more dynamic, or full 3D view whenever characters use there super or ultra special moves. The character models are also insanely more detailed this time around, and actually show varying levels of reaction facially when they get hit. Thus, the game has become dubbed “2.5D”.
The majority of the gameplay has been changed around since Street Fighter 3rd Strike in order to give the game a more “realistic” feel. A lot of the gameplay has also been changed, or reverted rather to give it more of a feel like the original Street Fighter. A new fighting system currently being called the “Saving” system enables players to charge up a gauge whenever they are damaged. This gauge, known as the revenge gauge, lets players use unblockable attacks, or add extra damage to EX and Ultra specials (both brought back from past Street Fighter games). Finally, the development team has scrapped the four button gameplay (I.e. just weak and strong attacks), for the oldschool six button play (weak, medium, strong).
Online play has been confirmed for Street Fighter IV, and it can be assumed that the game will be released for 360 and PS3 indefinitely. Of course, it will most likely come out to the arcade first. Along with this, the addition of at least three new characters has also been confirmed. Those three include, Abel, a French Martial Artist with “no past”, Crimson Viper, an American female fighter, and finally El Fuerte, a Mexican luchador.
I have read a number of hands on reviews and for the most part, most everyone is saying that SF IV plays a lot like the old Street Fighters, which is definitely a good thing. More importantly however, is that SF IV has been said to make a return to the original Street Fighter, something that should prove to make this game quite awesome if all continues to go to plan.
film (yeah, I know they were both in Heat, but that barely counts). So I’m guessing you are sitting there and maybe you are thinking to yourself, “Sweet, Deniro and Pacino, that’s gotta be a great movie.” and as it very well may seem this way, let me simply tell you, that I fear it may be quite the opposite.
generic CIA type movie. You know the ones. Said spy gets mission to kill some one, then fails to do so, said spy then learns he was betrayed by his bosses/ commanders, said spy then goes rogue to kill/ stop bosses.
we will know soon enough if Harrison Ford has what it takes to still play the part of the beloved Dr. Jones. Starring along side of him is up and coming actor, Shia LaBeouf, and returning actress and former love interest of Raiders, Karen Allen. Personally, I think it’s awesome that Allen is on cast for this movie. I thought she was terrific in Raiders, and I’m sure she will continue to deliver in the Crystal Skull.
