So I’ve finished my project and you can see it at technewsmadesimple.com. The title pretty much says it all… as we try to make technology news simple for you (or people who don’t understand the details). I won’t be blogging here as much as that is my new full time puppy, but I will try and put up some interesting new stories here.
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Archive for the 'Reviews' Category
Seen previews for 300? Watch 1776!
Ever see those exclusive releases for certain stores like Target? Or BestBuy? Well take a look at this as there are at least 3 different releases of this movie, each with a different “coolness” factor.
The Simpsons
If you want watched and followed the Simpsons as religiously as I have, you would know that although they are still funny in their mid-teen seasons, the earlier seasons were its peak as the show has declined in the past few years. With that said, was Matt Groening trying to save the Simpsons by releasing this movie? But the movie has been in works for the past couple of years now and all Simpsons fans were expecting it. But would it make or break this syndicated show?
Let’s take a quick look towards Family Guy. While its witty and raunch humor was a break through for sitcom prime-time television, it too has started a slow decline in humor (is it because I’m aging?). Regardless, Family Guy and Seth MacFarlane created a “only to DVD” movie entitiled Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story. This “movie” was later released as part of season 5’s finale (DISCLAIMER: I’m not quite sure if it is season 5…). While entertaining, it provided fans of Family Guy some disappointment as it wasn’t as good as the original episodes.
Now fast forward to today where the Simpsons aired their “movie” on the big screen. Difference? The Simpsons was BIG! And it should be with the marketing it oozed. But how good was it?
Pretty darn good if you asked me. Not only was it very entertaining, it provided with many gut wrenching laughs and moments where you ponder the deeper meaning of what Groening is really trying to say. After years of following the show and getting the series on DVD, it was worth the $10 to go see the movie. Will this movie make this upcoming 19th season better? We’ll just need to sit and find out. In the meantime, here is an extended trailer:
Final Fantasy Retrospective Part 3 is out!
Watch this clip that I came across on Digg.
I am not surprised that this was mentioned but I found it completely hysterical that with Matt Groening’s creative power, he was completely able to convince people that the Simpsons was actually a new broadcast. Leaves me to wonder what state of the nation we are in…
But in other news, I will be seeing the movie this Friday and I doubt that it will disappoint me.
Wow, another post! This one is for the avid gamers though… As you know, I am an avid gamer, all starting with the Nintendo (NES), Super Nintendo (SNES), Game Boy (GB), Playstation, PC and Xbox. I love gaming. If I could do this as a job, I would… seriously! But one of my favorite game series, as well as my brothers and sister, have grown to love over the years of consoles.
It first started out with GameBoy and Final Fantasy Legend II, which was such a great game for the time. It had a wonderful story line of a young kid, looking for his father who was kidnapped because he had the special crystals. But there was a deeper meaning behind this story, one that you might need to play to find out.
Next came Final Fantasy for Nintendo. This video gives a great synopsis of what has happened to Square and their development of one of the greatest video game series of all time.
Then came Final Fantasy 2 and 3 for SNES. Again, great stories, only this time with superior graphics and great music. The use of magical spells is the kicker for these games, with great intense sound effects and visuals.
Then it was FF7 for the Playstation. By far the best story line of any game that has ever been produced. Yes, I said it. This game has spawned a sequel as well as a visually stunning movie. Never did finish the game because I don’t own a PS. I have dabbled with FF8 for PS and it didn’t even compare to that of 7.
The next step with FFX for PS2, however, I only played a couple of hours into it. Dave has played it in depth and could probably provide as to the quality of the story, but the graphics are just amazing.
Then, the revolutionary FFXI came out for the PC. FFXI is completely different as it is an MMORPG or Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. It was a game where you picked one of a few different races and characters and classes (warrior, thief, black mage, white mage, red mage, etc.). But the kicker is you played with about 1 million people worldwide. This game was huge in Japan, with people actively cooperating with people in order to defeat bosses, gain levels, get items and ultimately be the strongest and most powerful, while trying to defeat the last boss (which never happens as they keep adding on to the story with new editions and patches). My FF saga ended with this game because as you got to a higher level, you required more people at your level to play with. At that current time, I was one of the few there, with skills that were unmatched, but no one to play with. Frustrated, I quit FFXI for WoW or World of Warcraft and I haven’t looked back…
Still, I’m waiting for the next console FF game (hopefully for the Xbox360 rather than PS3) so that I can relive the great stories, magic, music and monsters.
Until then, I’ll be waiting for the next installment of this video.
My free Slurpee wasn’t all that I hoped for. They merely gave a free 7.11 ounce cup for your free slurpee… 7.11 ounces That is just about 2.2 sips in my book. What do they expect to do other than to piss everyone off?! Needless to say, I got my free slurpee and my brother got a large so we got to split one (the large being his second of the day after his “free” one). Now onto better things…
HARRY POTTER!
It was a really great movie!!
Only 2 exclaimation points for this one since I knew it was going to be good and it didn’t disappoint me. My only regret was to not see it at a 3D IMAX where the last 25 minutes were in 3D. The last 25 minutes would have been well worth it and trust me. Granted the movie is just over 2 hours long, its hard to fit a huge 830+ page book into 2+ hours. So of course they will leave the details out, but I recommend to everyone, read the book before or after you see the movie. I won’t ruin the movie or tell you anything about it, but it is a bit drawn out and does have gaps leaving you to wonder what happened and all those questions you might have can be found in your local Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix book. For now, enjoy the extended international trailer from YouTube.
Three exclamation points!!! That’s right! It was that good…
For those who never watched Transformers as a kid or don’t know what all of the hype is/was about, you really don’t need any background to go into this movie to enjoy the stunning visual effects. The basis for many of books and movies go back to the good vs. evil mantra where evil tries to conquer but good prevails. Here you have the autobots (good) vs. the decepticons (evil). The decepticons try and take over the robot world by destroying all those who are against them (i.e. autobots). They come t… Why don’t you just go watch the movie…
It was really worth the $10 as I have been telling some of my friends. The story is decent as it was somewhat in line with the old 80’s cartoon. There were definitely some parts that were cheeze (def. cheeze: something that is tacky and stupid mainly along the lines of guy tries hard to get girl and she might/might not fall for it). But if you are looking for action, and I mean non-stop action from the beginning, with intense CGI , look no further. With it already making box office records, the movie leaves the audience wanting more. Of course there is more… but don’t click the link unless you’ve seen the movie as it does contain spoilers… (/disclaimer)
Just go see it…
After “Sing the Sorrow”, I was expecting something similar. A more dark, dreary, melodic harmony of bass, guitar and vocals. Something that was edgy, yet with a depressing undertone. It was different, just as this new release is.
Decemberunderground is a little dark, a little dreary, but not at all edgy as it seems as though AFI wanted to go “pop.” It used to be the standard of emo, but now, I can’t really categorize it. Just like Hoobastank’s 2nd big album, I think they sold out…
Some notable songs:
Prelude 12/21: I think this would have been a great song, but the background vocals are horrible. If they were a little more melodic and if they flowed with the rhythm a little more, then it would have been great! But that same somber tune was still there.
Miss Murder (single): Let me be blunt. It starts out sounding like Good Charlotte. Very very “pop,” with catchy rhythms, riffs, and vocals. I guess they tried to break up that pop sound with some screams during the bridge. It’s one of the better songs on this album.
Summer Shudder: Another “poppy” song. Simple riffs, simple drum line with some telephone dialing in there… Another song with catchy lyrics. I did like the violin bridge and thought it was a very nice touch.
Affliction: The bass line is busy, very similar to punk (think Rancid). The problem with this song is that it starts out hard, fast and furious. The bridge is really really slow and I don’t seem to understand the flow of the song. And right when you think the song is over, it leads into a ~2 minute instrumental with some unrecognizable lyrics. Where is this song going?
The Missing Frame: I think my favorite song on the album. It does have that “pop” sound with some catchy riffs. The vocals could be a little better during the verse, but the chorus makes this song. The background vocals are superb in this song, melodic, almost like a choir. If I had to pick a single, this should have been it.
Kiss and Control: I love the sound of this song. Great lead bass line, rhythmic, somber, slow but catchy and simple.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5. Could have been a much better CD. Maybe I was expecting too much from them…Â Still a good CD regardless
