The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: A Review

Hello there, welcome to my review of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. This movie is awful. I've seen other reviews forgiving this movie for its wrongs. Nope, this movie was just plain bad. Hollywood nowadays, I feel, just has a notepad filled with stupid, overused cliches. This movie used 'em all. From cliched characters, to slapstick comedy, to stupid oneliners, to a overused speech about heros and crap, to a corny villain that didn't even appear in the book. It is okay to stray from the book a little, but not to fill the holes with overused shit. The story itself was pretty true to the book, about the band of dwarves on a quest to take back there riches. Now, they didn't have much to work with, but this would have been a fine kids movie. If you made it one movie, not 3 hours long, taken out the awful comedy it would have been a good kids movie. But no, not serious enough, let's add something that wasn't in the book for comic relief. Radagast the Brown played a small role in the first LOTR book, he was never in the hobbit. I am just angered by this monstrosity. It itself wasn't that bad, but to take a crap on something I enjoy (the LOTR books and movies) is just awful. You have FAILED Peter Jackson. You have officially made The Phantom Menace of Middle Earth. 2/10!

50 First Dates: A (Bad) Review

Hello there, welcome to my review of 50 First Dates. Now, you might be thinking, why are you watching awful Adam Sandler movies, well the answer is they're funny. Not in the way they're supposed to be though. They are funnily bad. I have watched a bunch of these movies and will be writing bad reviews of them. So, the story is - the Adam Sandler character   meets this girl at a cafe. She has some form of Amnesia that makes her relive the same day every day for the past year. Adam Sandler really likes her( by the way she's played by Drew Barrymore) but she can't recognize him each day. He then makes her a tape so she can remember all the stuff she missed et cetera. Anyway, my main problem, besides the story and everything else about this movie is that the Dad of the girl, remakes the day everyday. What I mean is he tries to make it seem like the same day everyday. This would take a lot of money and be impossible to do everyday and why don't they just break the news to her?
It is just as cliched as you'd expect from Sandler and the only somewhat good thing is that the actor who was Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings movies is in this. Or is that bad? Now for the verdict. 10 is the worst and 1 is the best. This movie scores 7.4 on the badness scale. I'm sure there are worse things, but this one is pretty bad.

-Story
-Plot Holes
-Barrymore
-Sandler
+Guy who played Sam
-Hawaiian Stereotypes

Just Cause 2: A Review

SPOILER ALERT: THERE WILL BE SOME SPOILAGE IN THIS ARTICLE

Hello there, welcome to my review of Just Cause 2. The first thing I have to say about this game is - big. What I mean by that is everything in this game is big. The game is pretty long: it took me 32 hours and the explosions, world and scale of it is just huge. The island nation that you destroy is about 30 kilometers long, real kilometers. Anyway, this game isn't very story-driven or deep, but I don't think it needs to be. I think that if you go into any hollywood action movie hoping for a story driven experience, than you'll be disappointed. But, if you go into it hoping for a fun, explosion filled experience, than you'll come out of it thinking "well that was fun." This game is no different. The story is about agent Rico Rodriguez going to the fictional island nation of Panau in Southeast Asia and overthrowing the evil dictator- Pandak "Baby" Panay, a ruler bent on sending nukes flying at different countries around the world. Yeah, it sounds pretty outrageous, but it's fun.
The game's main mechanic is the grappling hook and parachute combo. You'll find yourself swinging about Panau and jumping out of planes and helicopters. This game is also chalk full of explosions. In places where there shouldn't be an explosion, there is. This isn't necessarily negative because it looks really cool.
One of my major negatives though is the combat. It gets kind of boring after a few minutes and some of the missions drag it on a bit too long. Many of the missions are quite similar and the "stronghold takeover" missions are quite boring. Shoot through guys, open gate, kill machine gunner, defend technician, repeat. It's all worth it though for when you get to the really awesome missions like shooting a satellite mid launch, jumping from nuclear missile to missile while rerouting each one and destroying an oil rig with a fighter jet. I give this game over all an 8/10.

The Room: A Review

Hello there, and I know what you're probably thinking- it's another review of the room, we've heard it a million times! Well, wait. First there's the obvious stuff, overuse of stock footage, plot holes, awful acting, bad camerawork, stuff that just doesn't make sense, and the fact the the many sex scenes in the movie are just different combinations of the same footage. I have a theory (remember just a theory) that maybe he planned it to be bad. All the actors and actresses are supposed to be bad and the joke's on us! Maybe, maybe not. I just think that no human could be stupid enough to actually make this movie without it being some kind of hoax.

Leave a comment. Do you think Wiseau is a Genius and has fooled us all, or is and idiot?

"This is a great party.You invited all my friends, good thinking!"

Skate: A Review

Hello there, welcome to my Skate review. Let me start out by saying, I was skeptical about the goodness of this game and was pretty loyal to the Tony Hawk franchise, playing games such as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, 3, 4 and American Wasteland. I thought, well I'm done with skateboarding games. I already have the ones I need. I was wrong. Skate has a superb "flick it" control scheme, fairly good graphics and fun and interesting missions. Missions can be anything from playing S.K.A.T.E to competing in contests, to photos, to video challenges. Also, a plus- Skate is open world. The world may not be super big, but it has plenty of bowls, rails and other things that are fun to skate on. Now, let's talk about the controls. This game takes advantage of both analog sticks on the controller and the triggers too. All the tricks are based on flicking up then down quickly in different patterns. The game lasts a good 30 hours too, plus multiplayer and freeskate where you get to show of your moves as some of the pros and characters you meet in the story. I prefer the open world non-linear style, preferred to the level based idea that the Pro Skater games had. Also the flick it controls seem more fluid than the button mashing controls found in the Pro Skater games. I like the roster of pros on Pro Skater a bit better, but the create a skater is more fleshed out in Skate. You can rock decks, shoes, trucks, wheels and clothing from real skate companies and end up choosing your own sponsor during the campaign. Now, I know I'm jumping around a lot, but the map... It is divided into four zones – The Suburbs, The Res, Old Town and Downtown. Different types of challenges become present as you progress through the zones.

I give this game an 8.7 out of 10. 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel

Hello there, welcome to my review of the Newest Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book. I know that I'm getting a bit old for these, but nonetheless they deal with issues that are present in my life. This specific installment deals with the time leading up to the school's Valentine's Day dance. It deals with getting a date and going to the actual dance. Now from my experience, middle school dances SUCK! Mine was held at 3:30 (right after school) and it was a cafeteria   full of sweaty apes and a fog machine. The awesome Katy Perry and Justin Bieber were playing through the sound system. A doorknob could of done a better DJ job. Anyway, Greg an inconsiderate antihero who manipulates his not so sharp, but friendly friend Rowley needs to find a date (which was kind of unrealistic. At my dance no one had a date. They just showed up.) Once he does find a date things go horribly wrong. So, if anyone is in middle school and hasn't been to a dance, do not go to one. They are awful. So I think that the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book: The Third Wheel was pretty good.

Why I Strongly Dislike Common Sense Media

Hello there, and welcome to me ranting about Common Sense Media. The reason I didn't use the word "hate" is because Common Sense Media isn't all bad, but I'll go into that later.

First, I want to address that if Common Sense Media had its way, I an 11 year old kid wouldn't be able to do 80% of these reviews. Apparently James Bond, Batman, Shadow of the Colossus, most superheroes and things that aren't complete garbage are not O.K for 11 year olds. This soviet idea of media restraining is stupid. I know they aren't enforcing it, but there are poor children missing out on the fruits of being a kid, playing bloody games, watching good movies, etc., because their parents will believe anything they read on common sense media.

Now for the not so cynical side, Common Sense Media does provide a basic idea for when you should let children watch movies, listen to music, etc., but it should not be closely followed.

Now I don't think that's fair- 16. I saw that movie and enjoyed it! What do you think? Leave a comment saying if you think 16 is a fair age for the appropriate-ness of this movie.

Skyfall: A review

Hello there, this is a review of Skyfall, the newest installment in the Bond Franchise. I know I skipped a bunch of movies, but I just saw it and felt like sharing my opinion. Well, this is my first Daniel Craig, Bond flick and I don't know if it is like this in all the other Craig movies, but I think fans of Connery, Lazenby, Moore and Dalton won't recognize it as a James Bond Movie. This was a great action movie with a great villain, a solid plot and great action and chase sequences, but the question is...is it a Bond Movie? Well, I know what your saying, "It says 007 right there, it must be a bond movie" I mean in the sense. The campiness of jumping over a river while karate chopping dudes with guns that you see with the Roger Moore movies is removed (which might not be a bad thing) and replaced with psychological dialogues. The Blofeld-esque villain is still there, but he's more believable. Instead of russians it's terrorists, but it's still pretty much the same. This episode in the James Bond series has some deep undertones below its rocky surface that help add to the atmosphere of the movie. 

Now let's put all that aside and let me say I HATE THE NEW Q. Desmond Llewelyn did a great job playing the joke cracking, clever, gadget ridden Q and after his death replaced by the clever joke cracking, gadget ridden R, played by John Cleese of Monty Python. If you take all that out and replace it with some screechy twenty-something you get New Q. Bond says it himself," really a radio and a gun, it sure's not christmas." There are no, I mean no! awesome gadgets at all! Just a gun and a radio. True they do come in handy, it's not fun. Although you have to give props to EON for including the Aston Martin DB5 from the Connery days. I think this was a great movie, just not a great Bond movie, if you catch my drift.

The Office: A review

Hello there, this is a review of the office. Now, let me start out by saying that this is one of the greatest shows on television. Now, let me tell you why. Unlike many people I started watching Parks and Recreation before the office and I really liked Parks and Rec because it could take something as boring as bureaucratic civil servants and government and make it so interesting. The office was the roots of the plant that made Parks and Rec, so why not give it a try. I had watched a few episodes of the English office and I didn't like it a whole lot. The american version was awesome. The wide range of characters that you would find at a workplace put in situations you would find at a workplace but turned upside down. There is amazing character development and a large fluctuation of who leaves or gets fired and who gets hired. For fear of spoiling it I won't elaborate. The office is one of those shows that will always be remembered like Mr. Show or Arrested Development. (At least remembered by me.)

Now Leave your answers in comment format.
1. Do you prefer The U.K version to the U.S version.
2. Who do you like more David Brent (U.K.) or Michael Scott (U.S.)

Sorry for Not Posting

Sorry everybody, I am not posting as much now that 7th grade has started and probably wont post until winter break or just before then, but hopefully after winter break I can spew out a post a week or so.

Also, starting a youtube channel. I'll be posting gaming videos, movie reviews, book reviews and most everything I do on my blog just in video format. I'll be posting the videos on the blog too.

Daiso and the Wonderful Things They've Got

Hello there and welcome to a quick look at Daiso. For those of you who don't know what Daiso is, here is a quick summary. It is a dollar store in the japan town mall of San Francisco, where most things are $1.50. If you walk around the store as I did, you might see some weird stuff like these products, some useful, some not so useful. Here we go... Some of the labels are blurry so I will type them out.

Shoulder Tapping (Strawberry Type)

Point Pressing Stick

Health Tool

Disco Man Party Wig

Emo Rainbow Fauxhawk Party Wig

Parts Case

Ass & Coin Case

There might be a "p" behind the "a" but, I'm not super sure.

Charming Girl Drawing Pad

Scum Absorbent Sheet

Container Bear Pet Large

Hair Water for MEN

This is the weirdest one yet. Duck faces are coming out of their private region. Is this some kind of duck head codpiece? No idea.

And last but not least, for a measly $1.50 you can purchase an EAR PICK.

Thanks for reading. If you have seen any of these products or thing I should send them into engrish funny comment telling me to do so.

The Dark Night Rises: A Review

Hello there, welcome to The Dark Night Rises: A Review. Let me start of by saying this movie compared to other superhero movies was not incredibly shallow. Yes, there were lot's of guns and explosions and eye candy, but there was actually a story with character development and other things that are key to a story unlike some other superhero movies I've seen. Previously being a fan of Adam West's performance and not seeing any of the newer stuff, the way they made the Batman franchise go was somewhat of a shock. I knew the endless jokes about batman, but I didn't know they were that true. Anyone who has seen the older Tim Burton movies tell me if it was such a sudden jump. This time around the villain is not the joker or Catwoman, played by Anne Hathaway (in fact Catwoman helps batman) it is Bane played by Tom Hardy. Ending the trilogy that started with batman begins ends with a bang. Sorry to leave you hanging but something kind of important happens at the end and I don't want to spoil it for you. Overall this movie gets a

91/100

A-

Waiting for Superman: A Review

Hello, and welcome to my review of the documentary Waiting for Superman. I'm going to start out by saying that almost everything a documentary is supposed to do was ditched to go after this one point–schools and teachers suck. The whole movie is, in one way or another somebody saying teachers suck or schools suck. As a student, I know some teachers and some schools, do suck but that isn't the only factor– Neighborhood, Wealth, etc. Going back to my first statement that this documentary ditched everything a documentary is supposed to do. What I mean by that is, it supplies few or no reasons why the schools suck even though I know there are many and they talk about bad teachers without saying how to classify one. No one cares about a documentary where one point is repeated to exhaustion with no explanation. Also the families they followed in this documentary are supposed to represent the children in high risk of dropping out or failing, but their parents are very supportive as you notice at the intese lottery scene to get into a prestigious charter school at the end. When you have low income children there is a higher chance of dropping out but with such supportive parents that chance is severely lowered. So my overall thought on this movie was: it's a one sided documentary that's villain-izing teachers and schools and not proving enough about the subject. 

C-

Humphry Slocombe: A Review

Welcome to my review of Humphry Slocombe. This is the first time in a while I reviewed a restaurant. Actually you can't really call Humphry Slocombe a restaurant. It's an ice cream parlor. And the catch...weird flavors. This place boasts some of the most creative and tasty creations that you can make with mere ice cream. Many of the flavors sound utterly vile but they turn out to be awesome. A few examples of this is, Jesus Juice, the Argentinian concoction of red wine and coke, Peanut Butter Curry, a popular asian food dish, but ice cream, Hibiscus Beet a flower, veggie combo, Szechuan Strawberry, a spicy strawberry sorbet, and perhaps their most famous flavor–Secret Breakfast, made with Bourbon and Corn Flakes! This is the only Ice Creamery that has clever flavors, interesting, artsy, decor, bacon as a topping and great service in one place. 5 stars!

Disneyland: A Review

Hello there, welcome to my review of Disneyland. It has been a while since I reviewed a place but I'm doing it now. I went to Disneyland and California Adventure from Monday to Wednesday. My grandparents who took me had been there on the opening years in 1955-1956. Apparently it has changed quite a bit. Even from my grandma's more recent visit in the 80's it has changed quite a bit. The layout of the park is very clever, how it is split into lands. After the first 45 minutes, you know your way around and it's a five minute walk from almost anywhere to almost anywhere–without all the crowds. The addition of the "Downtown Disney" section of the park and numerous hotels and restaurants has created a new revenue alone for Disney. I stayed at the Grand Californian Hotel and Spa, yeah I know–fancy! There was also the choice to stay in the Disneyland Hotel and the Paradise Pier hotel which I think is in California Adventure.
Anyway, the whole land idea was really cool...and well done. Every aesthetic choice, while not being very accurate, looks great nonetheless. Adventureland had the Indiana Jones ride which was very fun with its endless bumps and cool animatronics and Tarzan's Treehouse which was sort of a disappointment because how could Tarzan build something that complex. He was raised by apes! Frontierland had the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad which was a pretty fast roller coaster in the mine shafts of the west. Fantasyland had the Matterhorn which was sadly nonoperational and the Teacups which were. I also went to "It's a small world" which was ironically enlarged because of the American Obesity Epidemic! Tommorowland, my favorite had the spectacular fast paced Space Mountain, the indoor simulator Star Tours, the Finding Nemo Submarines formerly 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with its holograms and animatronics, Innoventions formerly Carousel of Progress houses the Home of the Future and outside the fun mini-ride Astro Orbiter. New Orleans square housed the Haunted Mansion with its spooky animatronics and Pirates of the Caribbean with its replicated pirate cannon fights. Critter Country, formerly bear country had the fast and wet flume ride Splash Mountain with a pretty scary 50 foot plunge. Last, but not least Main Street, USA. No rides are to be found here, but the pure aesthetic of the rows of turn of the century store fronts and original soda fountains are enough to wow you.
Then California Adventure. Man, this place deserves a review of its own. It is divided into 3 main areas each inspired by a piece of California history. The Hollywood Backlot with Sunset Drive and Hollywood Boulevard show the film business in the 50s and 60s. It has some rides based on Monsters, Inc like the Quest to Save Boo which is an animatronics driven ride showing Mike and Sully's quest to save Boo. A Bugs land features a ride and a great 3-D show involving other cool special effects and cool decor showing small items huge, as a bug might see them. Also the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is a long drop down a dilapidated hotel's elevator shaft. Paradise Pier is modeled after beach boardwalks and piers. It has a large roller coaster called California Screamin' which I chose not to ride. (Fine you can laugh. ) It also has a large ferris wheel and other attractions including Goofy's Flight School which is a roller coaster. It goes pretty fast around sharp turns, simulating the effect of having a horrible pilot. Also there is a ride called Soarin' Over California near the entrance. It suspends you in a giant simulation of flying over california, hosted by Patrick Warburton. The Golden State includes some of california's more natural things. A replica of Fisherman's Wharf in S.F is lodged between the Golden State and Paradise Pier. But anyway, The Golden State features a whitewater rafting ride called Grizzly Peak Whitewater Rafting Adventure which was fun but no worth the hour and ten minute wait. So that was my three days at disneyland. Remember beware of hitchhiking ghosts.

State of the Day: Ohio

State of the Day

OHIO

Fact: Ohio comes from an Iroquoian word meaning "great river."

Borders: Lake Erie, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Capital: Columbus

Size: 44,828 Square Miles

Population: 11,421,267 people

Statehood: March 1, 1803–17th state

Motto: "With god all things are possible."

Tree: Ohio Buckeye

Bird: Cardinal

Flower: Red Scarlet Carnation

Song:" Beautiful Ohio"

80's Hardcore Punk Band:

THE NECROS

Maumee, Ohio

State of the Day: North Dakota

State of the Day

North Dakota

Fact: North Dakota is named after the Sioux tribe, meaning "allies."

Borders: Montana, South Dakota, Minnesota and Canada.

Capital: Bismark

Size: 70,704 square miles

Population: 634,110 people

Statehood: November 2, –39th state

Motto: "Liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable."

Tree: American Elm

Bird: Western Meadowlark

Flower: Wild Prairie Rose

Song: "North Dakota Hymn" by James W. Foley, Music by C.S. Putnam

80's Hardcore Band:

None. I couldn't find any 80's hardcore bands from N. Dakota. If you know one tell me and I'll update the post.

Mr. Show: A Review

Mr. Show was a comedy masterpiece. Mr. Show had the most clever ways of making someone laugh. They had fake audience members played by Bob and David themselves. Each sketch was linked somehow. When one sketch ended, the last event of that one was the first event of the next. Each one was funnier and funnier. Such characters as Ronnie Dobbs– the man who gets arrested for a living and fake diseases such as entitilitis. The cast was as funny as the sketches too. Bob Odenkirk who had previously been on The Ben Stiller Show, David Cross who was relatively unknown at the time and Tom Kenny who is now Spongebob and other characters for Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. The brand of humor that is what you'd find on Mr. Show is either extremely odd, clever, spoofing pop culture at the time (1995-1998) or all of the above. This show is great to the tenth power.

More Music

I'm sorry for the lack of musical reviews but hey will be coming.

Comedy

Comedy. As you might have noticed I don't have a picture up there because it is hard to find one thing that defines comedy as a whole. In this post I'll be talking about some of my favorite comedians. For one, some comedians who rely on one thing too much isn't a good sign. For example,  a comedian who relies completely on vulgar statements isn't very good. I prefer comedy that has thought put into it and is clever. A few examples of this are Demetri Martin, Monty Python and the english double act Mitchell and Webb.  Comedy that pokes fun of just plain stupid things is also good, but controversial. Nowadays comedy writers that write TV shows aren't willing to make jokes on subjects they think they'll get a lot of hate for. Movie writers do the same. When you can escape the confines of what other people think you can make something that other people will like. It seems odd but true.

Arrested Development: A Review

Hello there, and welcome to my review of Arrested Development. It might seem weird that I'm reviewing a TV show, but after watching all the episodes I think it really deserves a review. Let me start this off by saying, this is the greatest show on TV in a long time. This show never got bad or "jumped the shark" as some would say. Every episode was as good as the last. Consistency is a big thing when it comes to television. With a movie it's a 2 hour thing that can't really get bad in the middle...maybe it can, but not usually. With a TV show with 4 or 5 seasons it can get bad really easily. Arrested Development is similar to the more current show The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret in the way that it is funny to watch all the characters make crappy decisions that often lead them into bad situations. Arrested Development also has a quite wide range of characters– Michael who is the competent one, G.O.B who is a magician, Tobias who is a "Analrapist" (Analyst and Therapist who wants to be an actor but can't be fully naked (never-nude), Lindsay who is hopping on any trend that will make her seem cool, Lucille who is a rich, somewhat evil person, George-Michael who is Michael's son and runs the family banana stand, Maeby who is a 14 year old film exec and George who is a rich housing tycoon imprisoned for embezzlement. Overall this show is one of the best TV shows ever. To bad it got switched to Cable mid-run...

State of the Day is Back!!!

Hello there. Remember a while back I did State of the Day. And then I stopped doing it... But, now it's is gonna be back hopefully at least thrice a week (that's three times.)

The Hunger Games: A Review

Hello there, welcome to my review of The Hunger Games. This review might seem a little late. I saw the hunger games a few weeks back and I had mixed thoughts towards it. Anyone that has read the book will already know the plot, but for anyone who hasn't read the book or seen the movie (I suggest doing both) here is the plot. A girl from poverty stricken District 12 get's chosen to be in the hunger games. Katniss, her sister volunteers in her place. The Hunger Games is a fight to the death, pitting a boy and a girl from all 12 districts against each other. The winner would bring home riches and prizes to their district.
My two biggest criticisms are one, they writers of the movie added a lot more corny love stuff and two, most of the violence is implied and not shown. The second criticism I can understand. When someone's making a movie based on a brutal, violent book it's going to be rated R. The fact is though that most people reading the Hunger Games books don't go to rated R movies. So, the writers cut out large chunks of violence and replaced it with sappy love bull-crap.
Besides those two things the movie was a pretty good representation of the book. The book is still better, though.
When the first hunger games book came out I was in 3rd grade and most kids weren't into it much. It wasn't until my year of 5th grade that I saw a lot more interest in the series. Most of my friends totally lost interest in the books in 6th grade (that I know of) and when the movie came out more kids started reading the book. So...the movie was a good, three star, representation of the book.

The Avengers: A Review

Hello, yesterday I saw The Avengers, the newest of the Marvel action movies. I'd seen previous Marvel movies such as Iron Man, Spiderman, Hulk, etc. and this one was the most thought out of them all. If you have seen the Spiderman movie you know they alter some of the back story to make it more movie-worthy. It is no different in The Avengers either, but sometimes bending the story is required when tackling such a big one, like The Avengers. Robert Downey, Jr. did a superb job playing the role of snooty, kind of dickish, smart Alec Iron Man. They certainly did add an element of humor to his character. In the Iron Man movie he was a little more serious. Also, they didn't address his alcoholism, which I think would of made for a good joke opportunity.
The main premise of the movie is Loki leaves Asgaurd and is goes to earth through a device called the Tesseract. Loki is teleported through the Tesseract into SHIELD's laboratory. He tries to kill Nick Fury and Black Widow–with no luck. He continues his rampage and Nick Fury is forced to assemble a team of Heroes. He calls them The Avengers.

The Villain in an intense action movie like this one is extremely important. If the villain sucks than no one will root for the Heroes. Also, crappy villains often result in crappy movies, take any Disney cartoon for example. The Heroes are also an important ingredient. Every avenger was pretty badass except for...Hawkeye. Hawkeye in my opinion kind of brought the whole crew down. His power is he is really good at shooting a bow. That seems underwhelming compared to the Hulk or Captain America or Thor. I also don't like heroes that rely on machines to be awesome so that rules out Iron Man and Black Widow. 

Overall this movie was awesome for a Marvel movie and Great for a movie in general. Probably the best Marvel movie I've seen. Right next to Iron Man...

Hallo there, welcome to an overview of the SFIFF Youth Media Mash-Up. There were about 10-12 short films featured on the program that I saw. There were mostly extremities. What I mean by that is there were really good films and utterly horrible films. I am only talking about a few of these.

First off, the first film of the program was a documentary about a circus school, specifically the sport of trapeze. It focuses mainly on one girl who goes to this circus school. This movie was a pretty good length and very precise and to the point.

The next film I'm talking about is one that I don't even classify as a film but as an ad for a vacation to Tahoe. This is the most simple film ever. It is a few seconds of stock footage of mountains, then some kid walks in frame for a few seconds. All this connected by cheap stock film burns. This film was about 20 seconds long and had no purpose whatsoever.

The last film I'm talking about was my favorite. It was an in-depth documentary about Huey P. Newton and the Black Panther Party. It features some key landmarks in the development of the party and struggle to preserve it. For example, the bullet-ridden residence of Huey P. Newton and the house where Little Bobby Hutton died. It was a brief history on something I didn't know was "just around the corner"

Katamari Damacy: A Review

Hallo and welcome to this review... First of all I don't know where to start! Stare at that picture. The three main components are a cow, a rainbow, and a huge ball of stuff. This game is an almost insane compilation of every weird thing you could ever think of. Its soundtrack is awesome: I'll post it below in the gallery, its graphics aren't perfect but they are weird and its story is the most bizarre part. A very large king who enjoys rambling about chewing gum and Thailand accidentally destroys the stars. I have no idea how he manages to do this; it is fiction though... He gets the prince and the prince's cousins which you can unlock, to roll big balls around picking up anything from thumbtacks to cell phones to people to the eiffel tower!!! The game is fairly short with a play-through time of 8-10 hours. The game is comprised of 10 different levels and a few bonus ones. Also many humorous un-lockable movies that all star a kid with his mom witnessing the stars being shot in the sky.

As far as fun goes this game is like a goldmine. This game is so fun you might want to play through it 2 or 3 times. This incredibly simple idea goes a long way. The first few levels might seem tedious but when you reach level 6-7 your patience pays off. You can roll up octopuses, skyscrapers, small islands, clouds and rainbows.

The camera in this game is somewhat annoying when your ball gets large but other than that I find no issue in the game's in game awesomeness.

This game was made nine years ago so the graphics are a bit outdated. Circles look a lot like pentagons. That is somewhat of a problem though because there are circles everywhere: trees, your ball, the princes body, etc, and textures are a little dull. Besides that though this game's colors and people who all look like lumps that shake are awesome.

These songs as I explained are awesome. I will leave one down below so you can listen for yourself.

Overall this game is wonderful and odd, but in a good way.

FINAL RESULTS

Fun--90/100

Graphics--70/100

Ease of Play--90/100

Sound--1000/100*

OVERALL

85/100--Awesomely Weird!!

*Not a typo, see for yourself...

Gallery

 Random Bear

The Prince changes sizes!!

Billions of dollars in damage

Atari Anthology: A review

Hallo, welcome to the new and improved Crud Wizard. It's been a few months since I posted anything with school and such so to make up for it I am going to review a retro video game in vivid detail.
Well, let's start things off by saying this game is hugely addicting. The simple ideas that now might seem completely clichéd aren't here because they were the original. A lot of modern video games try much too hard with spectacular graphics, complicated missions and great voice acting. Most of the time these games are good but some just stretch it and loose the idea of fun, while they're caught up in making a flawless product. Other video games just aren't that good. Atari Anthology brings back the simple ideas of Centipede or Pong. These games do lose some of the experience though when they are converted to the Playstation or Xbox controllers, instead of the classic Atari 2600 joystick or Arcade stick. Besides that this game is a fun, maybe even more than some modern games. Some people might say that games from the seventies are not fun and that is why we moved on. I don't think so. While these games aren't technically advanced they are quite amusing; isn't that what video games are supposed to be: amusing?
The graphics in this game are literally the same as those arcade games many people know from the 80s or many laundromats that have them. When it comes to graphics, the advanced, highly-rendered, textured, smooth graphics of new games are an obvious choice to their pixelated predecessors. Not much detail is needed to talk about the graphics in this game.
Soundtrack is sort of a useless topic when talking about this game for the only sound is the classic beeps and boops that were the original soundtrack for most games. This is another case where the modern version clearly outranks the earlier predecessor.
This is a classic don't-judge-a-book-by-its-cover case. This is truly the last stand of Atari and it's a pretty good one.

THE FINAL RESULTS

Fun--79/100

Graphics--10/100*

Ease of Play--85/100

Sound--10/100*

OVERALL (NOT AN AVERAGE)

80/100-- Great

*Since the game is an anthology of games from the 70s-80s its graphics and sound aren't expected to be nearly as good as its modern successors. 

GALLERY

What a yellow dungeon...

I never knew there were high scores in space???

The championship game of the PBA (Pixel Basketball Association)