FUCK MOTHER NATURE: AVATAR SO CLOSE YET SO FAR

Sorry I haven't posted in quite a while do to college craziness. I feel like i have something to say though. FUCK MOTHER NATURE!!! I should be sitting in a warm toasty screening of Avatar in IMAX as we speak the trailers are about to roll. And guess what I'm sitting at home typing this up instead. The snow has played some wicked tricks on me before but this is just cruel. It couldn't blizzard when New Moon came out or when Alvin and the Chipmunks hit theaters but on the FUCKING OPENING WEEKEND OF AVATAR. I'm so miserable right now that it hurts. I have in my hands 3 beautiful IMAX tickets for the epic 14 years in the making world changing AVATAR and i'm typing this. That is All.

Iron Man 2 Trailer

The Movie Blog recently put up this Iron Man 2 trailer, speaking of which I am glad that site will still exist even without John Campea. Anyway, here's the trailer:



At first the trailer was great until Whiplash started his monolouge, where I couldn't understand Mickey Rourke and had to replay it.

Otherwise, this trailer is sick. I finally got to see Rhodes in his War Machine costume, and damn did he look good. I also thought Whiplash looked cool and menacing, despite my earlier comment about being unable to understand him at first. Swing those whips!

There wasn't too much on the Scarlet Widow, but Johannson will probably do great. I did find the fact that Tony Stark disrobed his Ironman armor on stage in front of everyone kind of weird. In the beginning a court demands that Tony Stark hands over the Ironman technology, so wouldn't he want to avoid keeping it under a stage.

That's a nitpick, so don't think about it too hard unless the movie overlooks that fact when we all get to see it.

I have to wonder how Whiplash could figure out the Ironman technology for the power source, i'm sure the film will explain that too.

I'm looking forward to this movie VERY VERY MUCH, it could even be better than the first.

Halo Reach Trailer Impressions

It's long overdue, but I felt that better quality videos of this trailer needed to seed youtube before I actually posted one. So before you even consider my opinions on this matter, check out the trailer:



When viewing this trailer, I was pretty excited. The graphics/visuals are good, and Bungie stressed the importance of the cinematic scenes being on the in-game graphics capabilities. Good idea Bungie.

Visuals are all nice and everything, but among the ODST soldiers I did not see a single Spartan. True, Spartans like to act alone but seeing one would have been nice. Having said that, the encounters with the characters were entertaining at the very least. I noticed how different each ODST was dressed, i'm a fan of more customization for your character during online matches.

(rant)The helicopters in the trailer excited me, but for a different reason. Many Halo fans wish to drive the pelican, but i'm willing to forgo this in favor of aerial firing. It would be really satisfying to have a mission, where thousands of covenant litter a valley. Your Spartan/ODST would have to "spray" the field, then get down there and finish all of the rest. That is wishful thinking by me, and merely a rant.

For the most part the trailer was good, but there are clearly dissenting people who think the trailer was nothing special. Sure I would like to see gameplay, but it's quite unnecessary since we are getting a beta in Spring 2010 (at least that is what I have heard).

The Halo franchise brought me into gaming, Halo: Combat Evolved was the very first game I played on Xbox. So this early adoption of the Halo franchise makes me biased in many ways, and I get into arguments regarding Halo 3 and Halo: ODST many many times. Halo Reach is going back to the beginning of the fight, the brutes that dominated Halo 3 don't work with the covenant quite yet. So we're going to get more elite combat action, something I feel the lack of made Halo 3 and Halo: ODST disappointing.

So maybe the franchise has fallen in popularity with some, but would gamers truly consider a Bungie made game bad? No, they are a company who has made good games. We can hope Halo Reach is truly magnificent as a game, but we need to calm down when analyzing the trailer. It is just a trailer.

Ed's Top Five Recommended Christmas Specials

Christmas is upon us, and one of the things we love about the holiday is the barrage of Christmas special movies. Christmas specials are entwined within our hearts and part of memories with our familes, a tradition we pass along to our future families. So many movies around the sentimentality of Christmas are made, and here are five I hold in high regard

1. A Christmas Story
Did you honestly believe I wouldn't put this movie first? Not only is it highly regarded but it has some really genuine moments we can all relate to. The narration is SO good in this movie, and it even has some good laughs. The blatantly unrealistic moments in Ralphie's imagination when he has his BB gun are priceless to watch.

2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
The live action one with Jim Carrey is crap, it seriously fails in it's cheap gags to even be close to sentimental. The animated 1966 movie however is a classic. It's a perfect movie for those trying to find the Christmas spirit, even when it seems the Grinch is going to steal Christmas; the Whos prove him wrong. There's something magical about the singing of "Fahoo Forays" that really gets to me every time I watch it.

3. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
Everyone knows who Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is, he's in songs and he is in movies. his movie is his origin story of Rudolph and a story of his unintended journey to save Christmas. The musical numbers are pretty entertaining, especially the "Misfits" bit. Burl Ives, a man known for his timeless Christmas numbers narrates this timeless adventure.

4. Olive the Other Reindeer
This movie is not as high on the list for most people, but I personally recommend it. It seems to be my favorite one for some reason, maybe its because the drive of Olive the Dog is mishearing that Santa needed all of the other reindeer, which she heard as Olive, the Other Reindeer. That is a good chuckle that will stay with you throughout the whole movie. While the animation is nothing spectacular, the imagination of the animators as Santa delivers gifts around the world is pretty entertaining.

5. A Charlie Brown Christmas
Always been a Peanuts fan, really enjoyed their take on Christmas. Fans of the Peanuts gang debate over Charlie Brown and his redeeming values, many viewers will say "good grief" in this Christmas special. This movie even with all the issues of Christmas still holds true to the meaning of Christmas. Regardless of difficulties at Christmas, the arrival of the holiday brings peace in your heart and a willingness to stand together to enjoy the holiday. Nothing says that more than the touching way this film progresses and ends.

So those are my top five Christmas specials, some are typical and some will not appeal to you as much as others. That is completely fine, in the end its all about the magic, hope, heart and meaning of the upcoming wonderful holiday.

We Bought Modern Warfare 2

Wow! Big surprise here, we all bought Modern Warfare 2 on release day.
We also caught it all on camera! Watch all of the drama and action of our night, along with some interesting conversations about the game.

trailers of the Month: November 2009

ED's Pick's

Clash of the Titans Trailer

Looks promising, Leterrier showed us his abilities with The Incredible Hulk. A remake of this movie has MUCH to gain from advances in technology to make a classic like this all the more sweeter.

How To Train your Dragon Trailer

Dragons are awesome. I said the same thing when I was excited to see Eragon, but that ended up being terrible. However, I am a fan of Chris Sanders and what he has done in animation. To me he was one of the biggest losses for Disney, and the only time I’ve ever been mad at John Lasseter.

Grown ups Trailer

Dennis Dugan has made some real crappy movies for Happy Madison, named after its two best movies. However, I laughed quite a bit from this trailer and perhaps this movie will put Happy Madison comedies back on the map.

Beastly Trailer

I read the book and personally know the author. The teaser for this is much darker than the book’s tone, which is a good thing. As one of her first fans, it’s cool to see one of Alex Flinn’s stories being made into a movie.

Extraordinary Measures Trailer

Based on a true story, John Crowley takes a gamble to save the lives of his kids. To do this he sacrifices to fund the theoretical breakthrough of Harrison Ford’s eccentric character. Good premise, True Story, is it done well? We’ll see.

TJ's Picks

kick-ass Trailer

I'll save you the play on words of Kick-Ass is Kick-Ass by just saying this trailer is fucking epic. With the over saturation of superhero flicks over about the last 10 years or so I think we are finally seeing the end. This film pretty marks the "Shaun of the Dead" of the genre. Then again zombie movies still get made but post Shaun movies have had a very different vibe. So maybe superhero films with get that same sort of vibe. We'll see but either way I think we are in for a Kick-Assing good time. Sorry I couldn't help myself.

how to train your dragon Trailer

I saw this in 3D when I saw Jim Carrey's Christmas Carol and it just looked like a ton of fun. Dreamworks has really stepped up. There were a few crappy years but after Kung Fu Panda the films seem to be getting better and better. I can't wait to see this, maybe even more then Toy Story 3? Shhh don't tell anyone, it will be our little secret.

clash of the titans Trailer

It's not a great trailer by any means. The song doesn't fit the tone and the clips are terribly edited together. But there's giant scorpions, greek gods, and an up and coming action start Sam Worthington. I'm very interested and will have a better opinion when a full trailer is released.

salt Trailer

Cross Wanted and Mr. and Mrs. Smith and what do you get? Salt, at least thats what they are trying to make it seem like from the trailer. I didn't love either of those films although I do enjoy watching Wanted. But I really liked Angelina Jolie in both films. This will be one of the more interesting films to watch jsut because as far as I know it's a original new franchise which is rare this day. Although what do I know I could jsut go look on google and find out it's a book or a graphic novel buy then I'd be actually trying and no one needs that.

prince of persia: the sands of time Trailer

Bad trailer, Bad accent, Bad Acting, a white guy playing a persian, Ben Kinsley, Jerry Bruckhiemer, Video game adaptation, convoluted story, alright I think you get the point. There shouldn't be any reason to have this on my list. But I like dumb action movies and everything above leads to the conclusion that this will be a dumb action movie.

Note: I didn't watch Extraordinary Measures until after this post was written but it's dam good and would have made number 3 on my list if I saw it before this post.

Music Review: "For Your Entertainment" by Adam Lambert

Adam Lambert, the runner-up from the last season of our favorite singing talent competition American Idol, has recently released his debut album "For Your Entertainment" I recently had a chance to sit down and listen to it, and it has a very diverse sound to it. I think the only way to really review this album, or come to think of it, any album is track-by-track. I've also included a 30-second preview for each track.

1. "Music Again" - 4 out of 5
PREVIEW
The album begins with a slightly pop-rock track with elements of No Doubt, Queen, Bon Jovi, and upbeat techno. As odd as that sounds, somehow he manages to pull it off, and create a fun, and quite enjoyable song. He even throws in a short little guitar solo in the middle.

2. "For Your Entertainment" - 2 out of 5
PREVIEW
The title track for the album combines elements of modern hip hop, and sounds like the generic kind of music you'd hear on the radio nowadays. The vocals are still good, but that's the only saving grace for this track. The odd thing is how different this track sounds from the first one.

3. "Whattaya Want from Me" - 3 out of 5
PREVIEW
Once again, this sounds like a modern song you'd hear on the radio. Except instead of hiphop, I feel like he's going for more of a modern rock sound. Once the chorus comes in, it gets more of a techno feel to it, reminding me of something from Cascada or something.

4. "Strut" - 1 out of 5
PREVIEW
Definitely my least favorite track on the album. Reminds me of Lady Gaga more than anything else. I'm not a fan of her, and this song also doesn't do much for me, every now and then a guitar blazes in, just to remind you that it's there. There's also a slow part that doesn't really put any emotions to the forefront. The song sounds like your basic pop hit of today, and that's a problem.

5. "Soaked" - 5 out of 5
PREVIEW
Just when I was about to shut the album off, this song comes on, a classic ballad, reminiscent of something you might of heard in the 70's or 80's. Such a beautiful song, and Adam gives us some amazing, haunting vocals, putting in lots of emotion. The song literally sent chills up my spine, it was so good. Definitely my favorite track on the album.

6. "Sure Fire Winners" - 2 out of 5
PREVIEW
I got hopeful about the last track, hoping that a lot of the album would get better. However, this track comes on, and I'm instantly disappointed about how pop it sounds. After listening to it a couple more times, I came around on it and it's not horrible, but not something I'd want to listen to normally.

7. "A Loaded Smile" - 4 out of 5
PREVIEW
Going back to the same style of vocals on "Soaked" I felt somewhat relieved by this track, even though it's not quite as good as that song was, it still feels right. This is the kind of music Adam should be singing, slow, patient songs, with lots of meaning behind them. This track reminds me most of "Walk in the Rain" from the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack, the female version. It's kind of weird, actually, Adam is a guy, but most of his songs are reminding me of songs sung by women. There is one part in this song that reminds me of Peter Frampton, however, and that's always a good thing.

8. "If I Had You" - 1 out of 5
PREVIEW
Another generic Hip-Hop/Techno track that is reminiscent of Lady Gaga or something else you might hear on the radio. Really not my favorite part of Adam's album, and I hope he would dumb some of this stuff down in his future work. It is, interesting, though, how diverse he can be.

9. "Pick U Up" - 3 out of 5
PREVIEW
Reminding me of some sort of modern rock song, similar to something like the All-American rejects, But also some sense of Cascada thrown into the mix. It's very pop-oriented, but Adam's vocals seem to make me like the song better, especially when he hits those insane high-notes that he hits so well.

10. "Fever" - 3 out of 5
PREVIEW
This song sounds a little bit like some pop song out of the 80's but also has elements of Cake in there, and a little bit of upbeat techno. Once again, though, the best part of the song is Adam's vocals, which are amazing, especially when he screams. The worst part is the obvious reference to Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" when Adam goes "my Fa-Fa-Fa Fever, my Fa-Fa-Fa- Fe-Ver" It sounds so similar to Lady Gaga's song, and seems like a cheap way to try and get Lady Gaga fans to listen to him.

11. "Sleepwalker" - 2 out of 5
PREVIEW
Going back, once again to the pop-influenced side of his album, this track is a slow, brooding echo-laced song with too many melodies to be emo or gothic, but too sad to be an upbeat hip-hop song. Then they throw a short guitar solo that sounds like something out of Pharrell's band, N.E.R.D. This song is more confusing than enjoyable, and comes off as odd more than anything else, but at least it's not completely bad.

12. "Aftermath" - 3 out of 5
PREVIEW
A generic rock song that sound like something you've heard on the radio a million times before, Adam's vocals aren't really even tested in this track, and it comes off as just underwhelming. It's not exactly a bad song, but it's not exactly good, it's just kind of middling. I'm also not a fan of the unoriginality of it, which is a problem with a lot of songs on this album. Especially when some of the songs are so experimental and original.

13. "Broken Open" - 4 out of 5
PREVIEW
Just while I'm getting all bent out of shape about the unoriginality of some of the songs, this track brings it back, and brings in a slow melody, and some quiet vocals. The music itself has some trance melodies to it in the background, and some small touches to it, making me think of shooting stars, the twinkling night sky, and peacefulness, I can close my eyes, and instantly start picturing tons of things, it's the perfect song for that sort of thing. However, I shouldn't close my eyes for too long. The song is boring enough that I could put it on before going to bed and fall asleep within seconds, and that's it's only problem.

14. "Time for Miracles" - 4 out of 5
PREVIEW
Technically labeled as a "Bonus Track", This song reminds me the most of one of Aerosmith's slower songs, maybe something like "Cryin", and it also adds in a modern rock sound, similar to The Killers, except slower, creating a nice balance of new and old, and giving us some nicely refined vocals, closing out the album with a nice slow uplifting song.

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Adam Lambert, while having a few bad tracks on his debut album, seems like he's heading in a good direction. The weirdest thing, which I've vaugely mentioned in some of the song descriptions above, is the amount of diversity he has in his music. Some of the songs seemed too safe, though, and seemed below his actual ability.

It almost makes me think he has some big plan to convert a bunch of hip-hop listeners into rock fans by getting a huge pop hit, and then slowly easing them in to his other songs, which are more rock-oriented. I predict that in 5 years from now, Adam Lambert will have a totally different sound than he does now, and will have re-generated mainstream interest in rock music. At least, that's what I'm hoping.

The art in the album is very nice to look at, and some of it reminds me of various album covers and fashion styles of other music artists, including David Bowie, Micheal Jackson, Elvis, and M.I.A. I also got to briefly look at at special edition hardcover art book that comes with the album, and it's definitely some nice and interesting stuff to look at. Whoever Adam got to do his photo shoots is amazing.

Overall, I give "For Your Entertainment" a 3 out of 5.