Saturday, October 31, 2009

30 Days of Night

A Review of the COMIC...And the Film...Coming Soon.

Drag Me to Hell: The Full Review

Review goes here
Wish Number two:


My review of Drag Me To Hell.


This is the first real and true horror movie in years. It is not the torture porn we've seen recently, it's not Cloverfield in that it has a giant monster. This is a movie with interesting characters, an only slightly larger than life villain, and most of all likable characters. That is one of the most important aspects of this movie. You do not want the Hero to die. This isn't a film where you like the Villain more than any one else.
Christine is a protagonist that you genuinely feel bad for and can(for most of them) understand her decisions. As you watch her go through the motions in during the first ten minutes or so, the film really starts to push her up a tree, and worse than the old adage, it starts to try and cut the tree down to get her out of it. And then she falls in a hole and is trying to climb her way out but the hole just gets worse to bear.
We watch as things seem like they might be okay, but then they get worse than they were before. It almost always feels like there is something trying to stop Christine. But unlike in a drama, in this horror film there actually is something trying to stop her. This isn't to say Christine doesn't make some bad situations that just get worse and worse for herself, but you will find yourself concerned for her safety.

This is one of the few horror films where the really scary moments are downplayed and instead moments that would feel incredibly frightening to a character in a situation like Christine's are played up creating a far more real to life experience. There aren't to many movies where horror is used as an expression and communicative tool of a character's emotions, but here it is and it is done effectively.

For a film with such a small budget, you would never know. It may have even worked in the film's favor for every set, every costume, and most of the makeup looks realistic. I don't think they built any sets for this movie. I honestly think they are all location shots. This creates an effect that makes the world the film is showing us seem very close to our real world. This is important because in most horror films the world created feels very much like a created world and not the world we live in. When we think of it as the world we live in suddenly the terror is not only for the events of the movie, but for ourselves and the (far gone) possibility that the events could befall ourselves. The horror itself is more suspense than anything. Raimi is very good with his use of sound and every day ordinary occurrences being scary when you are placed into a fearful mindset. In all honesty, I would consider this movie a masterstroke in crafting a horror movie.

The acting in this movie is far and beyond fantastic. Most of the time Alison Lohman is acting with nothing yet can convince you that something is happening around her. The old woman in the movie(whose name escapes me) does a good job being at times vulnerable and often creepy. The man who plays the psychic(whom I'm seeing more and more in roles and am enjoying his work) really portrays a certain amount of character that makes him seem different than a similar character in the movie Poltergeist. The two men that work at Christine's bank do a good job coming across as men, and not just caricatures of men. The low point in the acting is the parents of the boyfriend. They just don't do too much. But the one that steals the show is without a doubt Matt Long. With this performance and his role from Zach and Miri, he is proving to be a real rising star. In this movie he is playing the loving boyfriend, but more than any character in this film he is realistic. He is at times supportive, and at other times disbelieving. He has quirks and character traits akin to real people.
The biggest flaw is the director's cut. It doesn't add anything to the story and just shows a few alternate shots in certain scenes. And it doesn't need it. So skip watching the directors cut and just watch the theatrical cut(its on the same disk). Bonus features are scarce but this is one of the few times where the movie outweighs any extras. the Audio/Visual components look great and just as rich as they we're in theaters.
Score: 8.9

Top 11 Songs For Lucifer

the top 11 songs for Lucifer











Number 11: Devil Went Down to Georgia
Number ten: Jump in the fire By Metalica
Number 9: `Calling the Maker by Aimee Allen
Number 8: Running with the devil-Van Halen
Number 7: Back in Black By AC/DC
Number 666: Crossroads blues- Robert Johnson
Number 5: Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath
Number four:Highway to hell-Ac/dc
Number 3: Devil on my shoulder- Billy Talent
Number 2: Me and the Devil Blues-robert Johnson
Number one: Sympathy for the Devil-ROlling Stones

Friday, October 30, 2009

a deal

I'll make you a deal...Wait till tommarow...and I'll give you three wishes...

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Monday, October 26, 2009

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Saturday, October 24, 2009

end of october update

Whew. Things got busy eh?
Alright so Soon(hopefully during November)I'll be up dating the last 9 parts of the top ten list with reviews. These will be extra to fill in the gaps. I'll also be putting together a nice review of the pilot episode for Pretender as an early experience and a Review of Let The Right One In.
Other stuff including another edition of Hollywood Sucks, a top 11 list, A Tester's Dilema: Mantacon, and a couple movie and book reviews will show up. I'm warning you guys now, December may very well become a blackout month for me. Assuming this other gig falls through(i'll likely know by black friday) I'll start doing the last month in comics where I do 500 word reviews of comics from the last month on both ends of the good/bad spectrum from my pull list.
Glad to put that down, lets see me stick to it.

The top 100 films(Fall 2009 edition) - Part 13

Numbah 7
Cool Hand Luke

Friday, October 23, 2009

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

The top 100 films(Fall 2009 edition) - Part 10

Number 10....


The Fall

Have you ever known one of those guys that just tells amazing, albeit fantastical and non believable stories that completely captivate you? That is Lee Pace's character in this movie. You will leave this movie wanting him to tell you more stories.
The story is a cool one. A young girl fell picking oranges and found herself in the hospital with a broken arm. A 20 something man finds himself having fallen in a stage accident when he was a stunt worker. The girl is bored and imaginative and finds the man. He agrees to tell her a story but he eventually starts using the story to manipulate her into getting morphine for him.
And this stuff is powerfully emotional, but what is really amazing is the connection to the story our hero, played by Lee Pace, tells and the two fallen's real lives in the hospital. and this story is pure breath taking majesty. If you can see it on a big screen do it. The bigger the better because the movie is incredibly visual. It looks fantastic. The next best viewing mode is on blu ray. The vibrant colors of this film look great and are going to really catch your eye.
Lee Pace is brilliant. Especially in this movie! But really his work is fantastic. He conveys all of the levels of emotions he needs to as both Roy and as the Bandit in the story. The use of the story's characters as metaphor for both Her and His lives is so interesting and great on many levels. Even the climax of his story is big and vibrant and over the top, but it works in favor of the movie.
The locations on this movie look perfect. And they better damn well since their filming is what delayed this movie and made it cost wayyy more than it ever should have. except maybe the hospital set, I do not believe there is more than a single set in the picture and it truly grasps that grand power of a child's imagination to create this fantastical lands out of such a less descriptive story. It might be Roy who is telling the story, but it is through her eyes that the visual of the story is lensed. There are some elements where you might question the nature of their relationship but there is nothing dirty or perverted to this friendship so take your mind out of the gutter. The film technicly doesn't even have a really happy ending. It has a resolved ending and everyone lives, and gives the impression of the happy hollywood level, but when you think about the fact that he is likely not going to be able to work in his field anymore, and she is forced back to the groves they both are returning to things that aren't going to be good on either of them, but ultimately that is not what the film is about. The film is about belief and the power of it.

Ultimately I suggest this movie for anyone(except maybe young young children because of the violence) because the film addresses tough, interesting issues on many levels allowing different intellects and level of involvement and enjoyment at each of them.

10.0

Monday, October 19, 2009

The top 100 films(Fall 2009 edition) - Part 9

20. Drag me To Hell
Directed by Sam Raimi
I've been preaching this movie for months. It is the first great horror movie this decade. If you are a fan of horror, or horror comedy, you owe it to your self to see this film. The blood is minimal, the movie is even rated PG-13 but it works in it's favor. This has my total seal of approval.

19.The Empire Strikes Back(1980)
Director: Irvin Kershner
The only Star Wars Film I like on its own. I find Hope boring and cliche, Jedi is predictable, Menace only had good fight scenes, Clones was convoluted, and Sith was dark and edgy but still completely reliant on the previous films. Empire holds up and is a great film it it's own right.

18.Memento(2000)
Director: Christopher Nolan
I can not sing enough praise for the ground this film broke open. It is worth at least two viewings to bring in all of the visual information.

17.Gran Torino(2008)
Director: Clint Eastwood
17. (tied) Dirty Harry
I couldn't choose just one Clint film. They are both great and deeply fascinating. Check Em out.

16. Up(2009)
Director:
An absolute pixar classic. It will have you crying, laughing and feeling genuine emotions for these chracters you know for only a few minutes.

15.Casablanca(1942)
Director: Michael Curtiz
An opus of original thought.

14.Kiss Kiss Bang Bang(2005)
Director: Shane Black
A throw back to the great classic noir and action movies of the ages. Also Robert Downey Jr. is hilarious in it.


13.Princess Bride(1987)
Director: Rob Reiner
You haven't seen this movie? INCONCEIVABLE. Go now! STOP READING THIS. GO. It's that worth it.

12.Seven Samurai(1954)
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Absolutely Perfect.

11. Kiki’s Delivery Service(tied)
This is really the single best animated film you will see. No Joke. It is really impressive just how layered this film is. Plus dirigible.


11.Mi Familia(1995)
Director: Gregory Nava
The movie is sometimes titled My Family. It stars Jimmy Smits, Edward James Olmos, and Esai Morales. If those three won't get you into seats to watch a movie then you again might want to consider a different medium for your viewing pleasure.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

The Invincible Iron Man - #18

The Invincible Iron Man - #18
Here it is, the penultimate issue of Matt Fraction’s classic storyline. I say classic in that unless Fraction gives up completely on plotting the last issue of this story arc, this will go down as one of those runs where if someone asks for a good Iron Man story, you will tell them about World’s Most Wanted.
The issue picks up where the last issue concluded with Tony in Afghanistan, almost completely devoid of his knowledge. We have Maria Hill and The Black Widow in a H.A.M.M.E.R. cell in Avenger’s Tower and the former armor, Rescue, of Pepper Potts being held by Norman Osborn.
The majority of the issue is limited down to just two threads. We have the Afghanistan plot line and the Tower plot line. The Tower plotline is not entirely what is expected. Instead of being focused on the escape operation of Maria and Black Widow, instead we are given a story of a former SHIELD operative locating Tony Stark and feeling terrible about doing his job and reporting to Norman. Despite this being an Iron Man book, the emotional core of this issue is held entirely by this operative Christopher Walsh. It is a testament to Fraction’s writing that in the span of a single issue I completely cared about this character and found his conflict perplexing. Every single panel of this character feels like someone who hates themselves but keeps doing their work because it is their job. This has a lot to do with some of Salvador Larroca’s art. He has casted Walsh with a sorrow and emotion that most characters (and let’s face it, actors) can’t portray. You will be convinced that this is a man completely tortured by the conflict before him even without words. In fact some of the best material comes when he doesn’t have any words. It is also during these scenes that we get the single most Norman Osborn moment that Fraction has written. I’ve been on the fence about Norman’s portrayal in this book but with the line “I’m Norman Osborn. That’s all the authorization I need.” And then he winks at the reader. In this small, almost insignificant moment, I completely believe this is Norman Osborn and not a writer trying to write Norman.
Now in close second for emotional moment of the issue is Tony Stark’s interaction with kids in Afghanistan. And I am going to be honest, I saw this sequence begin and I was ready for this to be a clichéd moment just before we get to the final act of the World’s Most Wanted storyline. But instead, we have Fraction proving he was born to write Stark by keeping him consistent with everything that has been established about Stark in Fraction’s run and in general by recent writers.
Larrocca’s art needs to be addressed. Other than Walsh, most of his people look off. Most of them have the same head shape but more dramatically contrasting is the look of Tony Stark without his shirt on. He doesn’t look like a person. He looks like a cracked rock and this is a problem. That is not to say that all of his art is bad. All of his machines and settings look great. He can draw an Iron Man Armor like no other, but he really needs to improve his people.
8.9

Friday, October 16, 2009

The top 100 films(Fall 2009 edition) - Part 8

I apologies for the week entries this week, hopefully the entries for next week will be more up to par.

30.Monty Python And the Holy Grail(1975)
Director: Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones
Mother Fraking Monty Python. Easily the most commonly loved comedy of all time.


29.Ferris Bueller's Day off(1986)
Director: John Hughes
If there is one classic movie that can properly put teenage lifestyle into perspective, it is Ferris. Come see Alan Ruckman, some chick no one remembers, and Matthew Broderick.

28.Lion King(1994)
Director: Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff
This is the quintessential 90's animated film. Interesting Characters. Great musical numbers. If you aren't hooked into this story you need to stop watching movies because you are wrong.



27.Psycho(1960)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
This is Hitchcock's masterpiece. It defies Horror conventions and set the bar for decades to come. You'll never look at a shower the same way again.

26.Eternal Sunshine of the spotless Mind(2004)
Director: Michel Gondry
I might call it a love story in reverse. But at the same time it inspires you to reflect upon your own tales and adventures and self examine.


25.Finding Nemo(2003)
Director: Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
It's adorable.


24.Charlie Bartlett(2007)
Director: Jon Poll
I'll take flak for this as well. I think all of the casting in this movie is amazing, and the story is absolutely engaging.


23.Sunshine Cleaning(2008)
Director: Christine Jeffs
I really liked this movie. It a number of ways it suprised me and I didn't expect it to turn out the way it did. I was very impressed.

22.Chinatown(1974)
Director: Roman Polanski
"Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown."


21.Guess Who's Coming to Dinner(1967)
Director: Stanley Kramer
Not what you were expecting was it?
This is such an amazing film. It is a masterpiece far beyond Citizen Kane. It tackles so many issues that are still relevant today(and if you don't think they are relevant you are not paying attention to your world). The world and movie developed here are engrossing and you won't be able to stop watching. Sidney Poitier delivers one of the best acting performances in a film. Period.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Dark Reign: The List – Daredevil One-Shot

Dark Reign: The List – Daredevil One-Shot

After a fairly spectacular end game for the last year by Ed Brubaker, we now have his replacement on Daredevil, Andy Diggle. However in the story proper we don’t get to see new regular artist Roberto De La Torre. So all in all this issue should serve two purposes. 1) Setting up Diggle’s new story arc. And 2) continue the story for The List storyline. So is this what we get? Not really.
To begin with while the plot all revolves around Norman Osborn sending Bullseye after Daredevil it doesn’t feel like it’s even relevant. This could have easily been, Bullseye tries to kill Daredevil story and done the exact same thing. Norman even only appears in two pages total and he’s not scripted poorly, he does feel scripted. In fact, the entire plot begs to wonder, if Norman can send his Avengers as their villain personas after people, then why bother have his Black Ops Team, Thunderbolts exist at all? It doesn’t make sense.
Other things that don’t make sense? Lady Bullseye and The Kingpin’s involvement. Now I’ll admit, I really liked how subtle the entire plot that they have laid in placed, and I think I might have missed this had it not stuck out like a sore thumb, but it is an interesting turn and gives me quite a bit of hope for Diggle’s storyline. The only flaw is the obvious questions involving Bullseye and Lady Bullseye. You would think that someone who practically worships a character, would either have reservations about manipulating them or would have tried to interact with said character. It is a small g ripe that might be a storyline that Diggle will address, but in this one shot I’m really disappointed.
The bulk of the issue however is an action sequence that doesn’t do anything too terribly original for a Daredevil Bullseye fight. The conclusion of the fight is cool and most certainly much more drastic than we’ve seen Bullseye take before, but everything else is simply inconsequential. The result of said actions only lead Daredevil to the same story point that nearly every other hero in the Marvel universe has been jumping on board to. Apparently wanting to stop Norman Osborn is this years “Who do you Trust”, “are you a skrull” editorial theme.
The best elements are the potential that Diggle establishes. He has taken the cast and supporting characters that Brubaker(and to a certain extent, Bendis before him) had established and set them up for a more involved recurring role.
Billy Tan’s art well done most the time, giving characters diverse character traits(such as head size). He even manages to frame a few sequences in a minimalistic way to improve the story. That said most of his framing feelings typical and traditional, failing to break new ground and show off the gritty world of Daredevil, instead evoking images I’d expect out of an Avengers book.
I need to give the editors their due, they give you a sneak peek of Daredevil 501 and some sketches of De La Torre’s new design for The Hand Ninjas which look like they fit the world of Daredevil.

SCORE: 6.2

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

What the Hell Marvel


...
I think the picture speaks for it self(after I did some clever changes) :)


Seriously? What idiot thought Ultimatum was a masterpiece?

Guitar Hero: Van Halen

This post coming early as my schedule has required me to move the next installment of the top 100 films to Friday. (sometime Wednesday I'll also upload two of three comic reviews I did for an application, with the third showing up 4-6 weeks later after I have an idea whether I get the position I am applying for or not.

So instead for Wednesday I have to review the sneak preview copy of Guitar Hero: Van Halen.
First off I am going to say this quickly, Not a fan of Van Halen? Don't buy this game. Fan of Van Halen but afraid there will not be enough hard songs? Well the second half of the setlist is tough, I'll give it that, but only the three solos are really going to give you much trouble.
That out of the way, this is the best set list Guitar Hero has put out since Guitar Hero 3. It is quickly looking like the specialty games are going to be the games for Hardcore players and that the series proper is going to be there to accommodate more of the casual fans.
Of the setlist, only 19 songs are not by Van Halen, but many of those 19 were suggested by Wolfgang Van Halen. The rest are all Van Halen and almost all of them are classics. There are only 4-6 classic Van Halen songs I felt were missing and those are all Sammy Hagar era songs and therefore understandable that they are missing. I hope we will eventually get them as DLC for either Van Halen(which I don't think supports DLC) or for GH5 so that it can be in our collection.
The game returns to form with the return of Hyperspeed as a cheat, Tiered Career that makes sense, Money System, and great customization.
It is the Metalica engine with Van Halen Frame. The songs are fun.
The downside? There's not even 50 songs in the setlist. So unless you really really like Van Halen, I'd wait for it to go used to get it at 20-30 dollars. And then hopefully it can hold you over until the next specialty game. The menu system and graphics have sadly reverted to The Metalica graphics and when I first started playing I thought something was wrong with my game because the note chart had gone back to it's Metalica and it doesn't look nearly as polished as five.
Nitpicking aside, this game has made Guitar Hero fun again for both the hardcore player and the casual player resulting in a hit.
This score is based on my love of Van Halen and should be warned as such:
8.7

Monday, October 12, 2009

The top 100 films(Fall 2009 edition) - Part 7

40.Blade Runner(2007,1982,1992)
Director: Ridley Scott
I really love this film. It blends my two non classic genres(Noir and Science Fiction which are both young, no more than 200 years each). Now of course there are in face quite a few different cuts, but the final cut is pretty definitive. That said this is one of those instances where you can choose how you want this film to play out. I'm going to warn you this film does not come out and tell you everything that it is happen and requires deeper study(going against what I believed for Citizen Kane) however, this film rewards you with a greater understanding on the world that Ridley Scott crafted using a Philip K. Dick novel as the blueprint.

39.Hellboy 2(2008)
Director: Guillermo Del Toro
This is another film part of the second wave of comic book movies, more importantly it takes on the genre of Fantasy. The unique thing about the second wave of comics(that began with Iron Man) was that they instead of making an action/comedy starring comic characters, they instead went about making good genre movies(Fantasy for Hellboy, TechnoScifi for IronMan, Crime Drama for Dark Knight) and you can tell this was the goal because the movies are about that. They aren't about making a quick buck off of a trend, instead it is all about tell a good story. Hellboy 2 is an amazing fantasy movie(though as a fantasy movie it is second to Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth) but it makes up for it by offering up a great experience that while respecting the original source material it also respects it's audience to give you a good story and an original one at that.


38.Cabinent of Doctor Cagliari(1920)
Director: Robert Wiene
This is a classic expressionist film that does such a great job telling such an old story that sometimes you wonder if it really was made in the 1920's.

37.The Third Man(1949)
Director: Carol Reed
Check it out, many film fans will say its better than both Citizen Kane and Casablanca. It's noir. It's got Orson Welles. It is every hyperbole I could throw at you. Check it out.


36.Rambo(2008)
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Half an hour of talking, an hour of action and a compelling messege that is relevant to today's audiences.

35.Grave of the Fireflies(1988)
Director: Isao Takahata
This movie is really heartbreaking and it is such an amazing film, and I'll admit it, this movie makes me cry because it is both really good and really sad and will aim for your heart and not let go. It'll depict a horrible image of WWII for you from a perspective you might not have seen. It is rare right now, but if you find someone who has it, see it.

34.Jurassic Park(1993)
Director: Steven Spielberg
What kid didn't love dinosaurs at least for a little while? This film actually manages to hold up as a great movie about itself. More thriller than scifi or Horror, its message isn't necessary much anymore but it gives you a good look into where we predicted technology could take us.

33.Back to the Future(1985)
Director: Robert Zumekis
A classic comedy about time travel.

32.Fight Club(1999)
Director: David Fincher
Has someone ruined the ending for this movie for you? No? and you haven't seen it? Go see it. It's a mind puzzle on top of being a masculine awareness movie.

31.Toy Story(1995)
Director: John Lasseter
The original pixar film, this movie has everything any good family film has, which is the ability to entertain the whole family. Kudos team pixar, kudos.

Friday, October 9, 2009

The top 100 films(Fall 2009 edition) - Part 6

50.Citizen Kane(1941)
Director: Orson Welles
Ow. Ow. I can feel you verbally yelling at me from across the internet for Kane only being number fifty on my list. But here me out, I've had to watch this film more times than I can count to STUDY it. I've stopped being to enjoy it as much as I once could. This is a list about my enjoyment of film because film shouldn't just be art, it's entertainment, which makes it far more complex. Also way smarter men

49.Terminator(1984)
Director: James Cameron
This is one of the best low budget action films ever made. This is the movie that made Arnold a star and it started a franchise. More horror than it is action, the film does a good job at setting up the world that this film is set within and telling it's story. Yes there is some over abundance of nudity at times but in it's defense almost all of the action, all of the sex(the one scene) and the nudity it all contributes to the greater narrative. There is no Roman Polanski lets have lady Macbeth run around naked while she gives her soliloquy for no reason. This is Grade A material in the world of Science Fiction and Horror and does a good job blending both genres.

48.Dedication(2007)
Director: Justin Theroux
This is not the film you expect it to be. It wasn't the film I expected to it to be. It is one of those few romantic comedies since Say anything that I felt truly deserves to exist. The three leads(Billy Crudup, Mandy Moore, and Tom Wilkinson) each knock their performances out of expectations. There are some many story elements that work well and much of the films dialogue and ideas function truly truly well. It has a dark sense of humor to it and it is a bit touching. But it's a bit true to life in a number of respects. And there is a level of complexity in the relationships of the characters that you won't generally find in most films.

47.Meet the Robinsons(2007)
Director: Stephen J. Anderson
To be honest, this is one of those animated films that completely tugs at my heart strings. This is one of those movies that will make you laugh with some of its silly little humor and then it will also also make you feel for the characters and what they go through.

46. 12 monkeys(1995)
Director: Terry Giliam
Two time travel films in a row? What? Alright This is one of Terry Gilliam's crazy out there films. It is based on the french "movie" Le Jettee, and it takes a look in the inevitability of time travel. Brad Pitt delivers one hell of a performance. This is one of those films that gets better with each viewing.


45.Apocolypse Now(1979)
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Marlon Brando is amazing in this movie. Also it has such a classic story that will wondering just how f'ed up Vietnam really was.

44.V for Vendetta(2005)
Director: James McTeigue
Let Alan Moore hate on this film all he wants. The creators created a film where you can sympathize with a terrorist and even root for him. That's quite the accomplishment in it of itself.


43.Beauty and the Beast(1991)
Director: Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise
Classic fairy tale of Love and hatred of those that are different and how neither is right in either side of the hatred. A truly great and touching Fairy Tale. One of the last great solo disney projects.


42.Iron Man(2008)
Director: Jon Favreau
This film basically marks the new era in SuperHero movies. It will be remember as the film that started marvels film universe. But more importantly, you have Robert Downey Jr. playing a character he was born to play. Tony Stark was made for him and you'll be believe and care for this guy even when he's a jerk because of Downey's Performance.


41.Touch Of Evil(1958)
Director: Orson Welles
An Orson Welles Noir classic of life sprialing out of control and police wanting to cross the line even when they shouldn't. A precursor for Dirty Harry.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

The top 100 films(Fall 2009 edition) - Part 5

60.the Prestige(2006)
Director: Christopher Nolan
An interesting departure from Batman Begins that returns back to the style that has made this man famous. The Prestige does everything that The Illusionist had wanted to do but failed. I've found it enjoyable upon multiple viewings and suggest a second look if you weren't sure about it your first time.

59.Fantasia(1940)
Director: Various
Music? Check. Animation? Check. Together? Check check. I'm not a musical-ologist. I don't study music. But I was moved by a number of the musical numbers in conjunction with the images presented to me in a way that I'm not by either one by their lonesome.

58.Shawshank Redemption(1994)
Director: Frank Darabont
Please don't make me explain why this film has to be on this list.


57.Die Hard(1988)
Director: John McTiernan
This is the quintessential action/Comedy.

56.Rear Window(1954)
Director: Hitchcock


55.Nightmare Before Christmas(1993)
Director: Henry Selick
This comes with a caveat. I can only suggest this film if you can A) stand stop motion, B) stand musicals, and C) stand the film that basically started the Emo movement. Get past those three things and you will find yourself immersed in a great universe that is so rich and textured that after your first viewing, start watching the background for all of the colorful characters.

54.Stand By Me(1986)
Director: Rob Reiner
Not exactly what you expect out of Stephen King but the film does rock a cool story about growing up and really defines coming of age movie for me.

53.The Matrix(1999)
Director: Wachowski brothers
I am sure you have heard every thing to be said against this film. You might have heard the things in favor of this film. But there

52.Star trek Wrath of Khan(1982)
Director: Nicholas Meyer
I know I said that the 2009 film was really good and might have said it was better because it was more easily accessible. all of which is true. But if you love that classic series, and even if you don't, this is the highlight of the original time line. Khan proves to be an epic film filled with interesting characters and Ricardo Montaban's Pecks of doom.

51.Unbreakable(2000)
Director: M. Night Shyamalan

In my opinion, this is the only M. Night movie worth a dime. It is a really cool, original super hero story that's not. I know, your saying "Max, that doesn't make any sense." Well let me explain. This is a movie about a man who has a super power. But he goes about it the way many people would, which is hesitantly. Yes the twist is obvious like all M Night twists. But you get two really interesting characters out of Sam Jackson and Bruce Willis and it is one of those experiences that may not have a profound affect on you, but it does show that even before The Dark Knight, there were people out there trying to get the idea of super heroes taken seriously.

A little bit of sharing

The check out the following site:
http://stopuweboll.org/

If you know who Uwe Boll is then you already know to sign the petition.

Be clear, Uwe Boll is a German Film Maker(and sometimes boxer) who using a loophole in German technology, I mean government, is able to get his money back from making movies even if they flop. I'm fairly certain he saw the movie(or the play, or the movie based on the play) of The Producers and thought, BRILLIANT. He is a horrible horrible man who thinks everything he does is brilliant and that he is damn near infallible. He has also said that if a million people sign he will stop making movies. Oh dear god we can stop this man? Alright let us do it. Spread the word. He is going down.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Terra Khan- The Tester's Dilemma

Terra Khan- The Tester's Dilemma

I've been an avid Planet Eaters fan even before I knew I wanted to play. So to say my second faction out of the base six(Terrasuars) is like the red-headed Bastard Step Son is an understatement. In particular I've NEVER been able to win a game, or even make a game close, using Terra Khan.
I love Terra Khan. When I got into this game 3-4 months ago I knew that whatever monster I got out of my starter would be my secondary faction(unless I pulled a second Gorghadra, and then I'd only play one faction. So when I pulled Terra Khan, I was excited. I thought, "sweet, the Godzilla monster, I can now also grab Rodan at some point and the other three". They were always intended as my secondary faction. So in the last week after finding out the prize for this weeks tournament(mega Tyrranix) I decided, hey look, Terra Khan.
Now as I began testing I discovered this might be worse than I thought(I've even been considering playing the secondary faction for testing purposes, Rogzor). Alright so let's look at Terra Khan himself before we make any judgments.

First His Alpha, because we have no choice in this(hint hint PP, i want some alternate alphas!)

Wow, he's not bad for an TK
Speed: 6
D:6
Brawl:8 *2
Blast(long) 5*1
P; 6*2
Hp: 5

Abilities: Feeding Frenzy(brawl), Munch(Brawl), Berserk(blue), Flank, and Motivator.

Alright so clearly those abilities support two themes. 1) Unit support. With motivator, Flank, Berserk you are clearly supposed to be up in your opponents grill with units with Terra Khan standing beside them so they can just kick the monster. Also Feeding Frenzy makes TK want units next to your opponents monster so he can do that extra damage with brawl.

The other theme, though light, is unit destruction(though to be fair this more supports the idea that you want to be more defensive with TK than you do with say a destroyers monster.

Despite having a blast attack, this form does not support blasting. You really are better off using the extra dice to step or brawl a building for health and or p-dice.

Next we have Ultra Khan.

UK's stats are
S:8
D:5(ick)
Brawl: 9*4 (holy crap)
Blast(short) 7*2
p:7*2
HP: 6

abilities: Lightning attack(brawl), Disrupt blast, Explosion Blast, and Weapon master power attack.

UK is much a change in strategy. No longer do you want to hold back and use your units to support trying to beat on your opponent, this is all about rushing the gates and doing as much damage as you can. Right off the bat you can do one of two things. Brawl twice with dice in play(this should come out to two points of damage) or use a power attack with weapon master. Depending on your available a-dice(which unless you had a full p pool or just won't gain p die from power up, you power up bringing you down to 7-8 A die). at 7 or 8 A-die you really will benefit from doing a power attack since you are likely to gain building damage one way or another. Even if you just use a swat you can make sure to gain something out of it. In other words you want to be using Power attacks over brawl attacks and use the brawl attacks when you are out of P dice.
He can blast, but that's only really good for early disruption, there are easier and better ways to kill units, and if you honestly feel that dropping someone out of hyper is better than killing the hyper form, be my guest, disrupt away.

Lastly we come to my after testing least fave. Mega Khan.

Mk's stats look like this:

S:8
D:5(ick)
Brawl: 9*2
Blast(short) 6*1
p:8*3
HP: 6
something looking odd there? You just traded B die and pools in brawl and blast for a extra pool and b-die for power...
Maybe his abilities will support this idea?
Brawl chain attack, Charge, super rampage, and terrify.

Oh dear god this guy is bad. Chain attack is the single worst way to deal extra damage. this is because it doesn't use dice in play. Terrify isn't really useful either because most of the powerful abilities don't require adjacency, and there are more problematic blasting units than brawling units.
This leaves super rampage and charge as his only good abilities, and charge is only marginally good and can't be used if you are using rampage.

I hate Mega Khan because he offers no synergy within himself. At least UT uses his abilities to make up for his own shorting comings with some attacks so you actually can make a variety of strategies.
Mega Khan's best strategy is to turtle. You field five Mt. Terra's, five apartment buildings, and then an Insurance building and a Imperial state building. ISB is the best P-die production off a single building. Mt T. is No fly zone allowing you to slow down other monsters. And also fire. And then Apartment buildings are obviously Health.
If you didn't know, insurance building is the best building in the game. Shuffle and insurance do wonders for you. Buildings die left and right and this pays you for it. Then Shuffle is great if you need to take that turn where you really need that extra A-dice to take another turn. Be it monster or unit(I'm known for taking up to 7 Monster turns in a row)
Then Mega Khan does things like run( not far for this to work), punch your opponents monster and rampage back to your side of the map. Can't get to your opponents monster without 8 steps? Then make sure you have full pools or else it's not worth using chain attack. I learned with xaxor without perfect dice management, Chain attack helps no one but your opponent.

so lets assume your running ultra Khan.
I judge a defense of a monster based on its defense plus health and then a (-1) for each point bellow 7 on defense. That makes Ultra Khan a 11(-2). Alpha Khan is then a 11(-1). Therefore you either need to be really defensive with Ultra Khan(which again with his abilities does not synergize) or be very aggressive.
This is all well and good, except his Alpha clearly wants to be played defensively. And this comes to my fault with Terra Khan. he doesn't Synergize with himself. I love both Xaxor and Gorghadra because both have a plan and can be played the same. Any monster that requires you to completely change the way you play the game is going to throw you off, especially when you are knocked from one form to the other beyond your control(i.e. disrupt or death of a form) and can mess with any strategies you've built. If your playing as UK or MK and are going nuts at your opponents monster only to flop and roll and get smashed into three buildings and lose your form you are suddenly in the Unit heavy leader form but with no units prepared to support your new situation.

I will admit, there are play style issues going about for me. I'm a far more aggressive player in miniatures(I come from playing Tyranids in 40k) and this is working against me. But I'm also a power attack heavy player. I find that the most damage, control and disruption comes from performing power attacks. And yeah therefore Negation gives me trouble, but there are still ways around that.
Terra Khan, and much of the T-saurs units feel that they are built for turtling. This makes it hard to win timed games. I don't agree with fielding a monster who can't win the timed matches. Because all tournaments are going to have them. This plus his lack of synergy for me to build a unit force upon makes him a subpar monster in my book.
Therefore If you must play TK, play Ultra. But ultimately I can't recommend him.

We will see as time goes on if I finish this series and review the other four T-saurs or if I take the easy way and do an article for the Planet Eaters. I might, if I get any response for it, recommend some of the new faction monsters once I have a better idea of the field.

Monday, October 5, 2009

The top 100 films(Fall 2009 edition) - Part 4

70.LA Confidential(1997)
Director: Curtis Hanson
This is a well written, well executed, and well acted film. I have a few issues here and there with the direction, but there are alot of moments in the film that simply will blow you away. This is one of the film where I feel like Guy Pierce is one of our most underused actors of our generation and could use more exposure.
I can not mention this film without mentioning Kevin Spacey. He sells this movie for me. Without Kevin Spacey this film might not be on this list, his acting is top notch, and I'd almost argue it's his best performance he's given. Kim Baisinger is pretty spectacular in the film as well.


69.Say Anything(1989)
Director: Cameron Crowe
This is the be all end all of romance movies. No it's not a "chick flick". There are a number of negative conotations associated with "chick flick" that this film shouldn't be grouped in with. It does follow the age old basic romance movie formula, Girl meets boy. boy falls in love with girl. Boy gets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy wins girl back. But there are also some interesting sub plots along with a fantastic character played by John Cussack. One of things that I believe Cameron Crowe knew was that this film was going to survive solely on the quality of the actor playing Lloyd. And it is through Lloyd that we are able to witness this world that could today be easily seen as a cliche but instead it is translated into an original(okay that might be a bit of a stretch) story that breaks tradition and instead might just surprise you with how true to life these characters are portrayed. Teens have sex, drink, but they also are good people in there too and are just caricatures. The one thing I always say about this film is that it is for me the first last and best romance movie ever made. And with so few exceptions(that I can count on one hand) there has never been a reason to make another romance movie(unless your a studio trying to make money).


68.Raiders of the Lost Ark(1981)
Director: Steven Spielberg
A classic adventure of Action, Romance, and Comedy. Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones is an American Icon that also happens to be a really well done film. With great directing as was the pattern(before Spielberg slipped into his disturbing trend in the 90's/2000's) and pretty good writing on the part of George Lucas before he became the CGI hack you are taken on a ride that keeps up and who doesn't love some Nazi killing goodness?

67.Star Trek(2009)
Director: J.J. Abrams
Now I know I am going to take some flak for putting this up so high on this list(or at all) but hear me out. More than any other film in the Star Trek franchise, this film managed to take elements of science fiction and made them both interesting and unique(and not just geek porn shots of the Enterprise, I'm looking at you Motion Picture). And you would think with a film so heavily entrenched in mythology and time travel that it would be completely inaccessible to non fans, especially people who don't know a thing about The Original Series except that it had Spock in it(I'm serious, there is a large percent of people who don't know who Captain Kirk is) and they managed to introduce an incredible amount of characters who will become name brands again. The movie is not perfect, there is a chunk of material involving Nero that just isn't up to the standard of the rest of the film, but you have performances from Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Karl Urban(!!!), and of course, Leonard Nemoy, that just knock this film out of the park for being one the greatest science fiction films out there. And if you are a fan(unless you are a purist) you too are going to be entertained proving that you can appeal to both the fan boy and the casual viewer without bending the franchise over the counter and having your way with it.

66.In Bruges(2008)
Director: Martin McDonagh
Oh man is this movie messed up. There are so many lines crossed in this film. And it is those very line crossings that make this film such a great dark comedy. And with great acting from Colin Farrell and Ralph Fiennes you really get a sense that these are hit men who are written. But they are written to entertain(which they do) and really is going to defy your expectations. The real reason this film works is because it throws up concepts like being politically correct and instead goes for the more extreme, but it is a logical extreme that improves the film as a whole.

65.Aliens(1986)
Director: James Cameron
The horror/action movie that has been described to be as the best in both genres. The film is good, taking all of the concepts in the original Alien and toning them differently so that they work and function more to the strengths of James Cameron's strengths. But keep in mind that the directors cut adds about 20 minutes of padding to the film. It doesn't necessarily fair better or worse than the original, it simply enhances your viewing experience.

64.Ghostbusters(1984)
Director: Ivan Reitman
This is a film much like several others that has been hyped up to no end. And it meets those expectations created by such hype.

63.Casino Royale(Bond)(2006)
Director: Martin Campbell
This, I feel, is the only bond film where I don't feel like I'm watching a dumb action movie. Instead I feel like it grounds bond down and you the viewer feel more like you are watching a character than this stereotyped James Bond persona.

62.Maltese Falcon(1941)
Director: John Huston
One of the best noir films, Bogart is going to have you believing you might just get wacked at any moment. This is one of the best adaptations of a literary work. Period.

61.Toy Story 2(1999)
Director: John Lasseter & Ash Brannon
It takes what the original did, and expands the scope of it. a continuation of what had come before without weakening the resolve or power of the original. Don't believe me? For a limited time only(as of the time of this being written in the fall of 2009) a double feature is being released of Part one and Two and you can see for yourself that Toy Story 2 did for Toy Story what Godfather Part two did for Godfather.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

The top 11 songs of 2004

This is the top 11 songs of 2004
11.Disney land by five for fighting
10.Sometimes you can't make it on your own by U2
9.All these things that I've done by The killers
See who I am by within temptation
8.Forget it by Breaking Benjamin
7.The Longest day by Full blown rose
6.Hurt by Nine inch nails
5.I don't want to know by New found glory
4.Almost by Bowling for soup
3.Broken by Seether
2.Picture perfect by Tyler Hilton
1. Polaris by Jimmy Eat World










Heres the list of songs that didn't make the cut but were considered:

The 12th day by Autopilot Off
The Geeks Get the girls by American Hi fi
Make a sound by Autopilot Off
1985 by Bowling for soup
Down for the count by bowling for soup
Somebody get my mom by bowling for soup

Rain by Breaking Benjamin
With arms wide open by Creed
Everybody's fool by Evenesence
My imortal by evenescence
My Opinion by the exies
Dear enemy by the exies
Angels and girlfriends by Five for fighting
Take me out by Franz Ferdinand
It's good to be in love by frou frou
Chariot by Gavin Degraw
I don't want to be by Gavin Degraw
The Chronicles of life and death by Good Charlotte
I just wanna live by Good Charlotte
Futures by Jimmy eat world
Kill by Jimmy eat world
Just tonight by Jimmy Eat World
Leave (get out) by Jojo
Mr. Brightside by The killers
Points of Authority/99 problems/one step closer by Jay-Z and liknin park
burn Burn by lost prophets
Blow me away by Breaking Benjamin
Float on by Modest Mouse
Untitled hidden track(sex drugs and rock and roll) by Saliva
Survival of the Sickest by Saliva
One by Simple plan
In time by marc collie
Vindicated by Dashboard confessional
Gifts and curses by yellowcard
Vertigo by U2

Friday, October 2, 2009

Just another quick update

Quick update, I have the rest of the top 100 list scheduled. it is set. It is in Blog spot. It will be automatically posting on monday/wens/fri starting monday for another 1-2 weeks. at about 5 pm pacific.


I may post stuff between then, we shall see. it depends on if I find something I feel needs to be reviewed.

Also if you read the site, enjoy it, want more, hit the follow button up at the top.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

The top 100 films(Fall 2009 edition) - Part 3

So this is going to be a list of the top 100 films in my opinion. Periodically I'll update it because other than slots 1-10, which I put an incredible amount of time and effort into devising, it is roles of 11-100 which I have more trouble with. So I'm going to start at the bottom of the list and work my way up for the next ten days, giving an idea of the films that I have enjoyed and found to be successful.

80.Juno(2007)
This is a really good movie. It's funny(even if some of it's jokes are incorrect) and its got actual heart to it. It's quite the feat.

79.Terminator 2:Judgement Day(1991)
One of the greatest action films of all time. So awesome that it made the next two movies suck because it was so good.

78. Repo:The Genetic Opera(2008)
Second best musical of the last year. True Story.

77.Gladiator(2000)
Russel Crowe. Ridley Scott. Win.


76.Spirited Away(2001)
a Miyazaki great. This film will confuse you enough where you are forced to think about it and explore it.


75.Equilibrium(2002)
I like it. So sue me.

74.Double Indemnity(1944)
Fantastic noir movie. Compelling and well acted. This is going to send you into a downward spiral of awesome.

73.Hercules(1997)
This is one of those great disney movies that brutally masacres the truth. But its well voiced and the animation and story are worth your time.

72.Cars(2006)
Director: John Lasseter & Joe Ranft
This is one of those pixar movies that you either loved it or thought it wasn't that great. It certainly has a formula, but there is a huge amount of heart and soul to this and Paul Newman knocks it out of the part.


71.The Signal(2007)
Director: Jacob Gentry & Dan Bush & David Bruckner
This movie is broken into three segments. They have a sick, dark style humor, they are scary, but overall this is a fantastic horror movie.