Hijinks Movie Reviews: (500) Days Of Summer
Seems like many of the movies I’ve watched lately have had this ‘movie crush’ theme, and (500) Days Of Summer fits squarely into that category. My entire interest in this movie revolved around the fact that Zooey Deschanel was in it, not sure any other actress would have even made me curious about the movie. I just really enjoy her characters, they are quirky, off the wall, awkward, and usually just perfect.
I really went back and forth on this movie, there were a number of scenes and lines that made me laugh, but there were almost an equal number of scenes that just frustrated me. More after the break. Read More
Hijinks Movie Reviews: Green Zone
I first heard about Green Zone during it’s release week, which was March 12, 2010. It was wrapped in a fancy package:
Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, United 93) re-team for the electrifying thriller Green Zone.
So of course, I saw the first 10 words or so, combined with the description of ‘electrifying thriller’ and I thought, “Sweet! It’s going to be like a Bourne movie!” Well, it wasn’t exactly like a Bourne movie.
Released on DVD and Blu-Ray on June 22, 2010, I had to wait until late July to get it because of the stupid limitations and delays Netflix gets. I finally got around to watching it the other night and it was very different from what I expected. Matt Damon is another of my ‘movie crushes’, I’ll often watch a movie simply because his name is in the credits. Stuck on You is a good example of another Damon movie I watched just because he was in it (coincidentally, Damon’s co-star Greg Kinnear was also in that one, and I kept teasing my wife asking her how long after Stuck on You this movie took place because they didn’t even seem to recognize each other anymore since they were separated.)
Stupid jokes aside, we’ll get into what Green Zone was, the good and the bad, after the jump. Read More
Hijinks Movie Reviews: The Ten
I remember hearing about The Ten when it came out in 2007, and I was interested in it purely based on all the names in it, but I withheld some of my enthusiasm as the entire movie is basically comprised of making fun of the Ten Commandments. I really like Paul Rudd, even in the movies I disliked, I typically enjoyed the scenes he was in. You might say I have a ‘movie crush’ on him, sometimes I’ll watch a movie only because he’s in it. I’m looking at you Wet Hot American Summer, although to be fair, I also watched that one because Elizabeth Banks is in it. I’ve also got a ‘movie crush’ on her and watch some of her movies simply because she was in them. Hmm… ‘movie crushes’, sounds like a possible upcoming post!
Alright, time to find my way back from that rabbit trail… so my wife had a girls night, and I stumbled across Cinematicals Free Flick of the Day and it featured The Ten. So I headed over and found it on Hulu, put it on the big screen (connected to my Media PC custom made by Nelsen Technologies) and found out what this movie was about.
Hijinks Reviews: Batman Arkham Asylum
Hello again boys and girls. I realize Batman: Arkham Asylum isn’t the latest and greatest video game by any means, however, it is a solid game that merits involvement in our line of game reviews. It’s no coincidence that it’s also one of the games I played with my recent game pass from Blockbuster.
B:AA (short for Batman: Arkham Asylum, I like to simplify things) is an action-adventure stealth game that gets quite a bit more right than wrong. Many of the other Batman games that have come out over the years took a lot of liberties with their story lines. This one strictly adheres to the comic book mythology. They even went so far as to have long-time Batman scribe Paul Dini write the story. That’s a big point in favor of the game. The second big thing they got right with this game is the voice acting. They went out and got the actors from the DC Animated Universe, Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill to voice Batman and Joker, respectively. Many hardcore Batman aficionados consider these two to be the best representations of what these characters should sound like, in an animated universe anyway. The third biggest achievement? No Robin!! Just how Batman should be!! Read More
Hijinks TV Reviews: Louie
Ahh, Louis C.K. I’ve watched a few of his specials, but until recently I really didn’t know too much about him. In the last few weeks I’ve gone back and listened to more of his stuff and I’ve come to this conclusion. This is a guy with a completely twisted viewpoint on the world, totally morose and morbid… and it’s hysterical all at the same time. The only reason he’s not one of my favorite comedians is only because of his prevailing use of profanity. I can get by with a few curse words, but I don’t personally really care for the level he chooses to use on stage. Having said that, he’s a great comedian, and I think he comes across as a guy with a thick outer shell and a very soft inside. He loves his kids, and those are some of my favorite bits that he does, about being a dad. But does his comedy translate to a television series? Find out after the jump. Read More
Hijinks Reviews: UFC Undisputed 2010
UFC Undisputed 2010 is the 2nd edition of the THQ line of UFC games and, as expected, it makes some improvements over last years game. Here’s the big changes that they touted:
- Encourage camaraderie by forming fight camps and leagues to participate in ranking and champion tracking systems. Join forces, train like real-life UFC fighters and go online to compete against other camps in the virtual UFC world.
- Navigate a roster of more than 100 prolific UFC fighters, each fully rendered to convey a photorealistic appearance. Prominent UFC personalities, including the commentary team of Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg.
- A new Sway System with full upper body and head movement allows for the dodging of attacks, while on the ground and a new Posture System delivers fight-ending strikes from every position.
- Choose from an array of moves from all available disciplines, including newly added Sambo, Karate and Greco-Roman Wrestling, to become a true mixed martial artist.
- The “Game Is Watching You” system tracks every action and uses this information to dictate in-game commentary and career progression. Enhance the Career Mode experience through online co-op sparring sessions.
I can tell you that they really delivered on most of those promises. However, this game has been plagued with a number of problems on the online side, so I didn’t mess with that at all. For my thoughts on that parts I did play though, follow me after the jump. Read More
Hijinks Movie Reviews: Black Dynamite
Black Dynamite embodies everything that was great about the blaxploitation 1970′s cinema. However, it also relishes all the flaws of 1970′s cinema, and laughs with us all the way till the end. The film was released on October 16, 2009, in the United States, for only two weeks, and was released on home video on February 16, 2010.
Michael Jai White wrote and stars in this movie as Black Dynamite (a Vietnam veteran, former CIA agent, and professional bad ass) who vows to clean up the streets after his brother Jimmy is killed by a shady organization. The film’s director, Scott Sanders, describes the movie as “It’s just a little too badass. That’s the tone of the movie. Our humor comes from the fact that the movie is just a little too badass.” It’s one cheesy quote (“Your knowledge of scientific biological transmogrifications is only outmatched by your zest for kung-fu treachery.”) and crazy scene after another in this well done spoof. Read More
Hijinks Reviews: Helsing’s Fire
Publisher: Clickgamer Technologies Ltd
Platform: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad
Cost: $0.99 [iTunes Link]
Released: Jul 10, 2010
Version Reviewed: 1.0
I purchased Helsing’s Fire on the recommendation of my friend, Bob Sacamano (I told you about him in my last iPod game review). We were sitting around, shooting the breeze, and he mentioned this new game he was interested in trying. So we both downloaded it and gave it a whirl, and both came away with the same reaction, we’ll get into it a bit after the jump. Read More
