Today we celebrate Thanksgiving a day Native Americans and Pilgrims sat together in peace and harmony and ate Perdue or Shady Brook Farms oven buster Turkeys, Cranberry sauce that slid out of the can like dog food, Stuffing made with at least 2 whole sticks of Land O' Lakes Butter, Mashed Potatoes, Stuffed Mushrooms, Enteman's Coconut Custard Pie and washed it down with a frosty Sam Adams or Milwaukee's Best. Then the Native American and pilgrim men rolled themselves into the living room to watch football or play Modern Warfare3 while the women cleaned the kitchen.
Later the fella's sliped into a food coma while the women sat around in the kitchen and complained incessantly....
And thus an American holiday was born!
Any fan of old school Kung Fu movies and anime are in for a treat with The Man with the Iron Fists!
Anyone familiar with films such as Ninja Scroll, Afro Samurai, Game of Death, Master of the Flying Guilotine, Crippled Masters and many other Kung Fu films from the 70's
The story revolves around the blacksmith of jungle village, and a struggle for power amongst the local clans, Lion, Wolf, Hyena and a plot to steal a convoy of government gold passing thru Jungle Village. If that doesn't sound incredibly similar to Ninja Scroll, TMwtIF also has a mercenary named Brass Body whose skin turns to brass when struck....in Ninja Scroll Tessai is one of the 8 devils of Kimon and is a very large man whose skin can turn to stone...
The characters are so cliched yet I believe this was purposefully done to show respect to the genre this movie is inspired by.
There is very little originality in The Man with the Iron Fists but it is still entertaining.
Usually I prefer less "hollywood" figures in my movies but Russel Crow as Jack knife and Lucy Liu as Madam Blossom are actually very welcome in TMwtIF as they bring familiar faces to an otherwise almost unknown cast.
RZA did a great job choosing his cast as they all bring something enjoyable to the movie, and they all seem to have enjoyed making it....none of the cast appeared to be going through the motions for an easy paycheck.
As stated I did enjoy the movie but it is far from perfect, first the movie never settles on whether it wants to be taken seriously ie Enter the Dragon or be a comedy ie Kung Fu Hustle.....it sort of hovers between the two. Next the films budget really shows itself in some sets while others are well designed.
My biggest issue was the fight scenes....some were just poorly choreographed or perhaps the camera should've been at a wider angle as to better capture the scenes with the multitude of characters on the screen....I did enjoy the Gemini vs Lion clan battle at the Dragon Inn and the final battle in the Pink Blossom with the Black Widows and the Lion Clan, Lucy Liu was fantastic and demonstrates why she was ideal for the role!
I also want to give props to Byron Mann as Silver Lion, he really brought a charisma and fun quirkiness to the character which I liked but also created a bit of an imbalance in the movie as mentioned earlier.
I know there is ALOT of the movie on the cutting room floor, in fact enough to have made 2 movies! Personally I wish they had done that so the story didn't feel so rushed at the end and the events didn't feel so on top of themselves and most importantly I think if they had split it into two films RZA's characters back ground story would've worked immensely better at the start of the second movie instead of smack in the middle of this one totally destroying the movies flow and focus.
Check your brain at the door and enjoy The Man with the Iron Fists for what it is, an homage to Kung Fu and Anime classics.
Oh yeah one last thought.....of all the weapons the blacksmith could've forged for himself he goes with.....iron fists.....really? O.o
GTA IV was so over hyped, but R* has put out some truly amazing games is generation including RDR and LA Noir. I think it was inevitable that GTA V was going to have multiple main characters with interweaving story lines.
Daniel Craig returns for his third outing as Commander Bond in Skyfall.
In many ways this film felt much more akin to Casino Royal in it's pacing and scope.
Just as Casino Royale was a reintroduction to Bond and was a more personal story about James Bond, Sky Fall's focus is mainly on M and MI6.
Throughout the movie we are told that the old ways of doing things are outdated....no need for exploding pens when we can get the same results from a few clicks of a mouse....
For me the theme of Skyfall was the old school vs technology which brings us to Istanbul Turkey where Bond is tasked with retrieving a hard drive that contains the identities of undercover MI6 agents throughout the world from an assassin.
In Skyfall M (Judi Dench) faces harsh criticism from Gareth Mallory, (Ralph Fiennes) the Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee for the the loss of the hard drive, costing the lives of multiple operatives, the attack on MI6 HQ as well as her continued support for the cloak and dagger shadowy espionage operations.
This time around Bond isn't uncovering a sinister plot by an evil organization to control natural resources or something so grandiose, no, this time the threat is much closer to home. The villain is a former MI6 agent Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) who's target is M. Bond returns to active duty after hearing about the attacks on MI6 and it is apparent he has lost his edge.
This theme isn't new and was done well in Live Free or Die Hard, in fact the motives of both films villains; Thomas Gabriel and Raoul Silva are revenge against their former employers via hacking their systems are almost identical.
I really enjoyed Skyfall, I understand there are many people who don't like Daniel Craig as James Bond, and that's fine you can keep your invisible cars, laser wrist watches and witty one liners, I prefer my flawed Bond that'll kill his enemies with his hands just as easily as his Walther PPK.
One of the great things about Skyfall is we see the continued evolution of Daniel Craig's Bond in Skyfall, he's not as brash as he was in Casino Royal, but when pushed he will resort to use what ever means necessary to complete the mission including his apparent fondness for construction vehicles.
By far Skyfall is one of the most beautiful Bond movies to watch, the sets are a delight to behold such as the vibrant neon colors in the Shanghai scene, the ferry boat ride in Macau, to the unforgettable scene of the Skyfall estate burning in the night sky.
Skyfall is as much about Bond as it is about M, Judi Dench has a significantly increased amount of screen time in Skyfall compared to the previous 6 Bond films she's been in. This is due to her character being the epi-center of the controversy and Raoul Silva's motive for his actions.
I liked Bardem's character, he was defiantly a more threatening villain than Dominic Greene from Quantum of Solace. Of the three Craig Bond films to date I still prefer Le Chiffre over all.
I enjoyed the dialog between Bond and Silva on the deserted island base, it was reminiscent of the torture scene in Casino Royale. And when Bond told Silva it wasn't his first time while sitting in the chair I laughed out loud....my wife missed the reference:/
The story became even more enjoyable after Bond apprehends Silva and brings him back for interrogation and discovers the truth about his identity and relationship to M. From this point on the story becomes very fascinating as Bond has to be thinking "Am I just another pawn to M like Silva?" So now M finds herself cornered by Parliament, Silva, and possibly the loyalty of Bond! And Silva realizes this and plays into Bonds insecurities.
Skyfall is a beautiful film and a great Bond movie, definitely worth the cost of seeing at the movie theater! This movie is definately one worth getting on Blu Ray when it comes out. Great Story, Good Villain, Gorgeous sets, Fantastic performance by Judi Dench, Daniel Craig continues to impress as 007, Strong Supporting cast....everyone feels necessary and well developed regardless of screen time.
That's no moon....
That's Bahamut in a giant Poke ball!
Epic trailer Hooo! and no sign of dumb ass Galkans.
The LotR influence is totally in your face but it works very well and I love the FFVI reference to the Magitek mech armors!
Last nights episode reemphasizes why this show has such a passionate fan base! As usual I'm digesting what I saw last night and altering my theories of how the series is going to conclude and my latest theory is the infinity loop... The actions and choices Peter has made since Etta's death lead me to believe that Peter Bishop is the first Observer. With the observer tech in Peters head we see he's able to do things not possible for humans of that time to do. Now that Peter has figured out how to "teleport" what to stop him from traveling throughout time like September and the other Observers are able to do. And if he does figure out how to do that what's to stop him from going back to the point where Captain Windmark kills Etta....
This episode began to show multiple Splits within the group, Walter realizing he is losing himself to his "original" self since he's re attached the lobotomized part of his brain, Peters split with himself since he's added the Observer tech in his brain, and the divide that is beginning to show between Olivia and Peter...which is seen at the start of the episode when Peter is watching the hologram of Etta without Olivia, then when she shows up she says I don't want to lose you again (holy fore- shadowing batman!) and at the end when Peter and Olivia are on the monorail sitting apart from each other but facing each other. Great Episode, good character development, plot advancement, with a perfect balance of emotional moments and action. My wife and I love watching Peter beating Observers mentally and physically.
Someone needs to make a Peter Bishop teleport/neck break .gif with the Mortal Kombat "FINISH HIM" fatality text overlay!
Oh yeah then there's this picture I stumbled upon....>O.O<
Ok so here's the first trailer for WWZ....color me unimpressed. I read so many articles from the NYCC showing of the trailer, and everyone hyped this thing up....I'm sorry but the Resident Evil movies suck ( sorry Leeloo) and zombies on 5 hour energy in this trailer....I'm not feeling it. This trailer felt more like a Roland Emerich apocalypse trailer than a zombie movie.
The only one's doing it right are AMC's The Walking Dead and the Reboot of The Evil Dead.
Pass.....
The last two episodes of Fringe have finally given the show some momentum...I love angry/determined Peter and when he got all up in that observers face my wife and I were totally cheering him on...everyone loves an underdog! When Peter removed that tech from the observers skull it seemed very irrational and almost out of character for Peter but circumstances being what they are it is believable....I would definately react the same way if I were in his shoes.
Tonights episode looks promising and I can definately see where the writers are going with the parallel situations with Walter and Peter loosing their children.
Last nights episode was absolutely gut wrenching! Pun Intended ;)
Now I haven't read the graphic novels, which I hear are even darker but last nights episode, especially the end with Carl and his mother was so dark and left us in a very bleak and hopeless place.
As I watched Carl and Lori I couldn't imagine how terrible a thing it would be for any child to have to do what he had to do...nightmarish.
Lots to digest in this episode,
RIP T Dawg you went out as a hero! Welcome to the group Oscar, I trust you'll do the right thing. I'm not to crazy about Axel...he's a little too Whiskey Tango for me and seems too cowardly to be more than zombie fodder.
Good to see Hershel up and mobile, we need to retro fit those crutches with some weapons! I'm thinking a shot gun crutch and a battle ax crutch! Hell yeah!
This was a fantastic episode that would get anyone who hasn't watched the show yet hooked!
The season finale of Transformers Prime certainly leaves the autobots in a precarious position. We see Prime relinquish the Omega Keys and all but one of the relics to save Jack, Niko and Raf. Megatron activates the Omega Lock and begins to restore Cybertron, but this is Megatron we're talking about...
Why rule one planet when you can rule Cyberton and New Kaon (cyberized Earth). When the Omega Lock is rerouted via the Decepticon space bridge to Earth Optimus decides to fight back and destroys the only thing that could've revived Cybertron. Prime and the Autobots then retreat back to their base on Earth only to discover the affects of the Omega Lock on Earth right in their own back yard in Jasper NV. A Decepticon fortress looming over the Autobot base with the Decepticon warship hovering above! Prime gives the order to evacuate and as Rachet enters the space bridge the Nemesis fires down upon the Base. In the aftermath Megatron and Starscream survey the ruins of the base as the camera pans away we see the hand of Optimus sticking out of a pile of rubble....
Prime can't catch a break! At the end of season one he uses the Matrix of leadership and looses his memory and is fooled into helping Megatron decode the locations of the relics and now this.
I just prey we don't see a return of Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime.....that was kinda the downfall of the G1 series in my mind. Transformers Prime season 3 begins spring of 2013 and will feature Predaking (combiner hopefully) and the return of Shockwave (AWESOME!) Shockwave and Predaking, the Autobots are focked!
