Red Dead Redemption (video game)

From the creators of the Grand Theft Auto series, Rockstar Games presents...

"Red Dead Redemption" (2010)
Genre: Sandbox / Adventure / First Person Shooter
Release Date: May 18, 2010
Creators: Rockstar Games
ESRB rating: RP (rating pending)
Video game console I played it on: PlayStation 3

Red Dead Redemption is a ridiculously fun game. I was hesitant about it at first when I originally heard of it, mainly because of the whole 'western' theme to it. I didn't realize how big the gaming environment really was until I watched an IGN review video online about it. There's just so much different stuff you can go and do, it is a tad bit overwhelming...

In this game, as opposed to GTA, you ride horses instead of cars (obviously, given the time period of 1911-ish), and its twice as difficult at first. In order to pick up speed, being that it is a horse there is no gas pedal. You must spur the creature's ribs with your boot spurs, and get the animal moving (spurring drives horses crazy). However, if you keep tapping ( X )too much to spur the horse, he will throw you off onto the ground, which depletes your health and takes up time, not to mention it is annoying, so just don't do it.
Also, refrain from shooting any animals that aren't wild. Folk don't take kindly to that around here.

You can go hunting in Red Dead Redemption, and skin your animals...rabbits, deer, coyotes, foxes, wild boars, etc. The law system is in ways similar to that of Grand Theft Auto, in that if you get into trouble with the law, you are chased and must reach beyond the boundaries of the circle on the map which represents the bounty hunters or sheriffs coming to get you and kill you. You may only surrender to lawmen, as bounty hunters will kill you regardless.

There is a whole lot more to say about this game, but I'll let you say it yourself when you go buy it and try it out. FUN VIDEO GAMES ALL DAE!!!

My rating:

Rampage (film)

A man with a thirst for revenge builds a full body armor from Kevlar and goes on a killing spree.

"Rampage" (2009)

Length: 85 mins

Release date: 1 June, 2010 (Canada DVD premiere)

Genre:Action / Crime / Drama / Thriller

Director: Uwe Boll

Writer: Uwe Boll

MPAA Rating: Rated R

Starring: Brendan Fletcher, Shaun Sipos, Michael Pare, Matt Frewer

*SPOILERS AHEAD! BEWARE!*

This movie was messed UP, yo. For real, this kid in the film just DESTROYED the whole goddamn scene!! Blew everyone away, and then the motherfucker got AWAY with it!! Clap, clap, clap. Standing ovation!

Honestly though, I thought they could have chosen a much MUCH better cast. For as powerful as the plot was, the casting was very boring and plain - which I'm sure is what they were going for, to try and portray the average life of an average family with an average serial killer for a son. But, remember, this is a movie, and since you guys can do whatever you want to it, why not make it KAPOW with the casting, comprendez-vous?

The whole concept of blowing half the town away and then framing your best friend for it, that shit is genius. Cold-hearted, miserable, wrong in every way, yes...but fantastic to actually pull it off full-force. But I thought it was a little bit drastic how he didn't get shot even once through that shit armor he was wearing. Anyways, there isn't much to say about this piece as a movie. As an idea, great. As a plot, great. As a movie ... not so great. First person shooter movies?? Video games are video games, and movies are movies. Keep it that way.

My rating:

Stussy - J Dilla Documentary

J DILLA SAVED MY LIFE.

"Stussy - J Dilla Documentary"
Length: 33 mins
Featuring: Frank Nitty (Frank-N-Dank), DJ Rhettmatic, Peanut Butter Wolf and many more...

As a gigantic J Dilla aka Jay Dee / Slum Village fan, this documentary is...too goddamn short. But it's super dope! Comprised mostly of interviews of Dilla's closest music partners and homies, radio DJ's, fellow producers, rappers, etc, it was mega-interesting all the way through its' 33 minute duration. Recollections of Dilla's production methods, reminiscent friends thinking back on old times with mister Jay Dee, insight on how the Jaylib record came to be with Madlib, how Madlib and Dilla worked together and how right their chemistry was, like pow. What an intriguing look into the world of the late, great J Dilla. 

For those of you who aren't familiar with who Jay Dee aka J Dilla is, he is a producer/DJ/rapper from Detroit, a former member of the group Slum Village, a creator of a brand new sub-genre of neo-soul in hip-hop, making his own stamp on the rap game with musically comprehensive beats. His production methods were an eclectic mix of interstellar grooves and riffs, melodies of mayhem. RIP J Dilla.

I recommend this short Dilla documentary to anyone who's a fan of hip-hop. Get some learnin'.

True Grit (film)

Punishment comes one way or another...

"True Grit" (2010)

Length: 110 mins

Release date: 22 December 2010 (Canada)

Genre: Adventure / Drama / Western

Director(s): Ethan & Joel Coen

Writer(s): Joel & Ethan Coen (screenplay) / Charles Portis (Novel)

MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of western violence including disturbing images. Starring: Jeff Bridges, Hailee Stanfield, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin REMAKE OF THE 1969 CLASSIC WESTERN (STARRING JOHN WAYNE)

*SPOILERS AHEAD! BEWARE!*

I got this movie based on an online recommendation. IMDb (Internet Movie Database)  rated it as an 8.5/10, which is damn good and rather rare to see on that website. I had no clue what it was about, but figured it must be alright. So, I downloaded it (yes, I am the sort of asshole who doesn't pay hard-earned money for movies I might never see again), loaded the video into my VLC Media Player, hit 'Fullscreen" and laid back to watch the show.

I promptly shut it off after around 10 mins from boredom. I didn't give the film a snowball's chance in Hell...but therein lies the rub: I should have.

The next evening, after returning from work, I popped it back on to give it another go. I gotta say, I'm sure glad that I did...what a MOVIE! I mean, as of this moment while writing this, I still haven't viewed the entire movie; I fell asleep because I was exhausted from work, etc. I will, however, finish it tonight.

But no one says I can't begin a review of something prior to my completion of said workpiece; I thought (so far) that the film was excellent. Casting is spot-on pretty much, but I had NO IDEA that LaBeouf was Matt Damon until later on in the movie...mustache and whatnot threw me off, I guess.

The actress who plays the 14-year-old girl Mattie is an excellent little talent. I believe her when she acts, which is, to me anyway, the most essential aspect of the entire prospect of stage performance. She doesn't sound like she's reciting her lines, or like a cheap imitation of Anne of Green Gables or the little girls in Little House On The Prairie, either.

The film is set in vast, picturesque western terrain of sand, hills and wild bush. I was never much for westerns, but this film I can enjoy. Makes me want to download all the John Wayne flicks for collective sake.

Much of the film's theme is a portrayal of how the Native Americans were treated and dealt with back in that time. In 'True Grit', an Indian man is are hanged without being permitted any last words, Indian children are at one point kicked around for terrorizing a tied horse, etc. I figured at some point in the film (being that it is a modern-day remake) there would be nuances of anti-racism/anti-prejudice, but it never came. They just treated Native Americans like that back then, in that area especially. Then again, the Indians were noted to be cruel and callous.

The following evening...

I finished watching "True Grit", and it was good as a whole; the ending wasn't exactly what I thought it would be, as far as interest goes. I thought they could have cast a MUCH better actress to play the older version of Mattie - that woman was butt-ugly and rude-looking, whereas Mattie (14 or not) was at least rather pretty.
Throughout the movie, you keep forgetting that LaBeouf is Matt Damon - it really does not look like him like, at all....the only time a glimpse of the Damon shines through his character is when he has his cowboy hat off.

Favorite quote from the film: 

"If you wet your comb it might tame that cowlick." - Mattie, to Texas Ranger LaBeouf in their first scene together.

All in all, this movie was great, especially for a western. As I stated previously, I am not much of a fan of westerns, but I think I will give them another shot. I also enjoyed "No Country For Old Men", which is sort of a western as well - that movie was damn good.

I recommend this movie to anyone, especially if you are a fan of Matt Damon or Jeff Bridges.

My rating:

The Fighter (film)

A look at the early years of boxer "Irish" Micky Ward and his brother who helped train him before going pro in the mid 1980s.

"The Fighter" (2010)

Length: 115 mins

Release date: 17 December 2010 (Canada)

Genre: Biography/Drama/Sport

Director: David O. Russell

Writer(s): Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Keith Dorrington

MPAA Rating: Rated R for language throughout, drug content, some violence and sexuality.
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo
BASED ON TRUE EVENTS.

 *SPOILERS AHEAD! BEWARE!*

I'll start off by saying this: "The Fighter", as a whole, was a refreshing film. Mark Wahlberg's character, Micky Ward, is a different reach for him as an actor, I believe. Wahlberg almost always plays the tough guy, quirky remarks, and if not, the smart guy with all the answers. In "The Fighter", Wahlberg is quiet, withdrawn almost.
His older brother, Dickie Eklund, had once fought Sugar Ray Leonard back in 1978, and lost to Ray...ever since that fight, he always brags and boasts to everyone about how he fought Sugar Ray, and that Sugar Ray had said that he was "the trickiest opponent he had ever faced in a match". Ever since the Sugar Ray fight, Dickie got hard into drugs and crime. Micky, however, meant to make a name for himself in the boxing ring, despite his trainer (Dickie) being absent or disoriented most of the time.

Micky's family is depicted in the film as a bunch of manipulative, white trash....well, losers, really - the mother especially. They're always telling Micky what to do, when to fight, who to fight, etc. It becomes obvious throughout the film that Micky does not want to be controlled, but yet still allows his kin to manipulate his comings and goings, mostly out of a twisted sense of familial loyalty. No matter how badly his family messes with his affairs, both business and personal, he doesn't ditch them completely or cast them out. Family is a strong theme in this flick.

Christian Bale's character is (at least, to me) intensely reminiscent of his character Trevor Reznik in "The Machinist" (2004), in which he shed 62 lbs to prepare for the role of severely-gaunt machinist Reznik. Bale must be impervious to fatigue and malnutrition, as it seems his character in "The Fighter" differs very little physically-speaking. His half-cocked crazy smile, drug-riddled stories about past boxing feats, and several bouts of speedy descent from 2nd-story windows in attempts to flee from his mother make Bale's character the number one reason to watch this movie. He plays a crackhead extremely well.

Being that this film is based on true events and whatnot, its not logical to expect any severely climactic points in the film, let alone a firework ending; however, the portrayal of perseverance on behalf of "Irish" Micky Ward combined with Bale's self-destructive, narcissistic behavior as Dickie Eklund, makes "The Fighter" a film worth viewing. 

My rating:

Saw 3D (film)

In eye-popping 3D!

"Saw 3D" (2010)

Length: 90 mins
Release date: 29 October 2010 (Canada)
Genre: Crime/Horror/Mystery/Thriller
Director: Kevin Greutert
Writer(s): Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan
MPAA Rating: Rated R for sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture, and language.
Starring: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, Cary Elwes

 *SPOILERS AHEAD! BEWARE!*

This movie was horrifically shitty as far as premise and plot goes. Sequels are usually substantially low in substance value, so it's no big surprise that Saw 3D (aka Saw 7) lacks in intrigue, decent casting and furthermore, depth. THERE IS NO DEPTH. Just gore, blood, guts, brains, sinew, flesh, skin, muscle, tissue, tears, and a LOT of screaming. I have my PC set up through my hi-fi surround system as an auxiliary output, so I have very good sound for watching movies. All I heard throughout the entire movie was "AAAHHHH!!! AHHHADKLJABDABDLADKBJ!!!! RRRAHHHHHH HELP ME OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD"

Not the greatest sounds of all time, by any means.

Now, the only thing I have to give this movie credit for was its' special effects. There are at least 10 spots in Saw 3D where human beings get ripped to shreds by some sort of device or trap. 

In one scene, an allegedly-racist man awoke inside of his Monte Carlo, parked in a warehouse-type building, only to discover that his entire bare back had been glued to his seat. Two of his friends and his girlfriend are also positioned in deadly ways throughout the hangar, with the girlfriend placed underneath the Monte Carlo's front-left tire, which is spinning dramatically inches above her face (the car is hoisted up on jacks, and rigged to drop at the end of a 30-second timer positioned on the hood of the car just past the windshield). The glued man must rip himself free of the seat in time to hit a button/lever or whatever to stop the car from revving, which if he fails, will kill himself and all of his friends. It is yet another gruesome test of pain endurance, in which the neo-nazi dude fails at by a mere second or two, only after slowly tearing every inch of the skin off his back (gross, yet mildly fake-looking). His other two friends are positioned in front and behind the car, and when the Monte Carlo man fails at the 30-second mark, the car drops from its jacks and crushes his girlfriend's head while spinning her brains and skull-pulp backwards. The car then takes off at full-speed, with the back bumper attached by a chain to the friend of his behind the Monte Carlo. It rips his friend's arms and lower-half of his face completely off with a sickening slushy sound as the torn-off body parts slap the concrete hangar floor. Nanoseconds later, the Monte Carlo plows through Friend #2, obliterating his body into pieces whilst crashing through the warehouse wall to the outside, before the vehicle finally crashes into something out in the junk lot, causing the racist driver to crash though his own windshield, through the air, and smash through another windshield, killing him instantly. PHEW - hard to explain, that was. Don't believe I'll try that again.

Anyways, the Saw series should have been deaded at Saw 3 or 4, no pun intended. It's every bit as cheesy and predictable as the Final Destination series: made for unimaginative, mindless-violence seeking teens, marketed for the useless, by the useless. I do not recommend watching this flick - you are better off YouTube'ing the gory scenes for a condensed viewing, it's basically the same thing in the end. Go spend an hour-and-a-half and your $5 renting something better to see, because this movie effing sucks.

My rating:

 

Buried (film)

170,000 SQ miles of desert. 90 minutes of oxygen. No way out.

"Buried" (2010)

Length: 95 mins

Release date: 29 Sept, 2010 (UK)

Genre: Drama/Mystery/Thriller

Director: Rodrigo Cortes

Writer: Chris Sparling

MPAA Rating: Rated 'R' for language and some violent content

Starring: Ryan Reynolds

 *SPOILERS AHEAD! BEWARE!*