Modern Warfare 2 – impressions

‘Spectacular’ is an easy word to throw around these days, but few times has it felt as justified as it does here.  Infinity Ward’s massively-hyped sequel to the award winning, fan-favourite first game, itself a re-invention of the celebrated Call of Duty franchise, arrives with the kind of anticipation only normally bestowed upon a Hollywood blockbuster.  But that’s exactly it … every part of this game, especially the finely tuned campaign is big-budget, glossy and packed with jaw-dropping set pieces.  Graphically its one of the finest games currently available with unprecedented detail in the environments, life-like animation from your fellow soldiers, the enemy and pedestrians, and a wealth of particle effects that enhance every explosion and burst of gunfire.  Add to this a sound design that raises your pulse to a ridiculously scary level, and the whole package is there – intense but amazing.  My only real gripe with the single player experience is the rather scatter-shot narrative, where you are globe-trotting from location to location, and their link to one another is often vague and under-explored.  Yet this is easy to ignore when every level seems so well crafted and filled with heart-in-mouth moments.  Yes it’s linear as hell (never a real gripe for me) and you’re always following someone, so exploring the environment is not only limited but often not even allowed.  The game falls into the same trappings of the whole franchise, where sometimes your squad mates are so good, they can nearly complete a level for you, but this is better disguised here compared to the last game, and the constant re-spawning of enemies until you press forward can get annoying, but is probably necessary to not make the game too easy.  Saying that I personally recommend playing it on ‘Hardened’ if you don’t want the campaign to be over in a weekend.

Now onto the multiplayer, and this is certainly the reason this game will stay in your collection for months.  It’s deep, more rewarding than before (a wealth of awards and achievements are handed out all the time to keep you playing even if you’re not getting that many kills) and the experience is customisable to a major degree, especially when you start unlocking the perks and new weapons, tailoring the game to your own taste.  This time around we also get an immersive ‘Spec-Ops’ mode which has you battling through various task based missions either single player or in 2 player co-op (!), and this is another reason to keep this game around well after the 8-10 hour story mode is finished.

So overall I’d say this is easily the best game released this year (which has been a bit underwhelming for us gamers, I think!), and has plenty of value for money.  I got the Hardened edition as previously reported, and this also comes with the original Call Of Duty, re-done in HD and on a console for the very first time – even more gameplay awaits!!

Star Trek

Viewed – 15 November 2009  DVD

So how do you go about re-inventing a franchise that had not only grown stale years ago, but was always something of a geek fanboy guilty pleasure?  Well firstly step forward hotshot TV producer and director J.J. Abrams, fresh off immeasurable respect from Lost and the third (and in my opinion, best) movie in the Mission Impossible franchise.  Now add to the mix a hot new cast of young, up and coming stars such as Zachary Quinto, John Cho and Simon Pegg, amongst others, and everything is in place for a great movie.

This is more of a prequel to the Trek movies & cult TV show than a direct sequel, and what with the baton having past to the Next Generation crew long ago, it was a great idea to revisit the old characters, back when they were fresh out of the academy and wet behind the ears, compared to the confident, assured presences of Shatner, Nimoy and co.  A young Kirk, as played by Chris Pine is a cock-sure, arrogant kid with little aspiration to be captain of a starship, until an old friend of his father’s persuades him to join Star Fleet.  At this time we also meet Spock (Quinto) who when his home world of Vulcan is attacked, turns to Star Fleet to train and work on a star ship so to have a chance for revenge when the time comes.  In between, the two iconic characters meet up with other crew members any Trekkie will remember (with a newly sexed up Uhura), and before long, at least for me, it began to feel like the Trek of old.

The new cast, especially Pine do bring a breath of fresh air to the well-worn characters and offer new insights into their personality without feeling too removed from what went before.  Zachary Quinto, most famous as boo-hiss villain Sylar in Heroes is excellent and captures much of what Leonard Nimoy brought to Spock for decades.  Saying that, Nimoy also crops up in an extended cameo as old Spock (something to do with time travel), and really chews the scenery.  Casting-wise the only real let down is Eric Bana, unrecognisable as Romulon nutjob Niro, and delivers nothing but a one-note vengeful bad guy that has nothing on, for instance, Ricardo Montalban’s Khan in Star Trek 2.  And the less said about Chekov, the better.

Thankfully though the effects work, set design, action and score are all first class, with Abrams’ direction adding plenty of style, wit and dare I say it, panache to the movie that delivers a great pop-corn experience and an assured starting point for future movies.

Verdict:  4 /5

Bad Biology

Viewed – 14 November 2009  DVD

Frank Henenlotter has the kind of movie making C.V. that I’d imagine he doesn’t exactly shout about in certain circles.  You see, he made a trio of bad taste horror oddities in the form of Basket Case, none of which I’ve seen, and also Frankenhooker, which I kinda wish I had.  His brand of goof-ball comedy horror is certainly an acquired taste, and the same can be said for this trippy sex comedy.

Charliee Danielson (yes, I’ve never heard of her either) plays, the best I can figure a photographer-come-pop video director who has a very high sex drive due to having a very unique vagina.  Ahem, this is a tricky one to explain.  She craves orgasms like drug-addicts crave their next fix, and is constantly on the look out for her next shag.  Now the downside to this is she has a very unusual reproductive system, and gives birth within minutes of having sex, every time she has sex, leading to a string of unwanted, screaming tots that are barely human.  Now at the same time, we have a guy, whose mutated penis has a mind of its own and he keeps injecting it with steroids to calm it down.  The two seem destined to meet, don’t you think?

Now thats the plot in a nutshell - so what is it actually like?  Well for one it has tons of sex, nudity, bare asses, boobs, full-frontal nudity, and even a rabid penis-monster (!), but none of it is titilating - it feels like a really freaky soft-core porn film, with the requirted awful acting and bonkers plot.  Yet strangely it is fun depending of course on how broad minded you are.  So to conclude, if you into really wierd, somewhat sick and twisted movies, with a sense of humour, then this is worth a look – but everyone else should probably stay clear.

Verdict:  3 /5

It’s my birthday!!

Well today is the day I received the veteran edition of XBOX 360 game

Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2

Now this features the game, in a steel case complete with hardback art book, a downloadable version of the original Call of Duty, and most importantly a brilliant sculpture of character ‘Soap’ McTavish.  Here’s a pic of the statue – pretty sweet if you ask me!  My usual first-impressions of the game will be following soon!

Thanks go out to all who gave money / vouchers towards the purchase of this collector’s item and also many thanks for birthday wishes and cards etc!!!  I’m having a great day and it can only get better!!

2010 teaser trailers – bring it on!!

Here’s two movies I’m sure are going to kick up a storm next year – enjoy.

Kick-Ass

Clash Of The Titans

Jennifer’s Body

Viewed – 10 November 2009  Cinema

This is an easy thing to admit – Megan Fox is hot!  Ok, that’s out of the way, so what is this latest horror all about then?  Well, Megan plays super-hot cheer leader Jennifer who is the object of every guy’s fantasy at the high school she attends in a small town.  She also happens to be the unlikely best friend of class nerd ‘Needy’, a book-worm always living in Jennifer’s shadow.  Yet when we first meet Needy, she’s a bad-ass juvenile offender in a borstal, and it’s clear some bad shit has gone down.  Flash back to high school, and now be-spectacled Needy watches as her sex bomb friend drags her to a sleazy bar where a goth rock band are performing, with her mind set on boinking the lead singer.  Yet something goes horribly wrong and Jennifer ends up possessed by a demon, and is soon using her obvious womanly charms to lure high school jocks to their gruesome end and dining on their innards!

This funky little movie has plenty of personality, sharp dialogue, a stand out performance by Amanda Syfried as Needy and some decent jump-scares and messy effects work.  It all resembles (a little too closely) the much darker ‘Ginger Snaps’ from a few years back which had a similar premise but threw werewolves into the mix rather than demonic possession.  Yet saying that, this has plenty of good moments, with an eye catching girl on girl snog that has MTV’s best-kiss award written all over it, and enough shots of Megan Fox in her underwear to get any guy shifting uncomfortably in his cinema seat.  Also worthy of note is an appearance by The OC’s Adam Brody as the goth band’s slightly unhinged lead singer, and proves to be an actor to watch - as he has a knack of stealing any scene he appears in with his talent for quality dialogue delivery.  Some of the violence does come across a little amateurish and not particularly well staged at times, and naturally if you have watched the Transformers movies, Megan has no real talent beyond her looks, so doesn’t deliver a particularly menacing villian … but thankfully this is all masked with loud rock music, fancy editing and an energetic pace – meaning you should enjoy it anyway.

Verdict:  3 /5

Braveheart

Viewed – 07 November 2009  Blu-ray

I have a bit of a love hate relationship with these sort of historical swords & sandals epics.  I wouldn’t normally jump at the prospect of a near 3 hour movie about some Scots barbarian, but with some exceptions to the rule, most notably Ridley Scott’s superb Gladiator, I can be made to see something special in a movie that is mostly about men killing one another on a battle field.  Mel Gibson plays legendary Scottish hero William Wallace, who in the 13th century stood up against an oppressive English regime headed by ruthless King Edward ‘The Longshanks’, and paved the way for Scotland to become its own free country. 

Now what helps such a serious subject be palatable and even entertaining is the charisma on show from Gibson’s character and the group of underdog rap-scallians that make up his posse, add to this the superb cinematography, a stirring score by James Horner and a story packed with genuine heart, and this has something for any real movie lover.  Yes it’s very bloody, the battles unflinching in their violence, but none of it feels gratuitous.  The supporting characters, especial Patrick McGoohan’s evil King are complexly crafted, with Sophie Marceau’s sensual Princess Of Wales enriching every scene she appears in.  But overall, this is Gibson’s film, and he is a revelation, handling the emotions and the feel-good speeches with real conviction, proving him a true Hollywood icon – he even carries off the accent with never a doubt in your head.

The Blu-ray as hoped is impeccable, with an exhaustive amount of information covering both the production and the real life source material, with a whole second disk devoted to reconstructions of the battles and candid historical documentaries to give a fully rounded interpretation on what really went on all those hundreds of years ago.  The movie itself is in great shape too, with the high-definition treatment shining, and bringing the Scottish highlands to vivid life.  Add to this a beefy DTS HD Master Audio track, complete with a feature-length commentary from Mel Gibson and Bonus View picture in picture footage to watch during the movie – and this is just plain and simple an essential purchase.

Verdict:  5 /5

Drag Me To Hell

Viewed – 31 October 2009  Blu-ray

If ever there was a perfect movie to watch on Halloween, then this is certainly a contender.  Hyped as Spider Man director Sam Raimi’s return to the genre that made him famous with the brilliant Evil Dead trilogy, this energetic ghost-train ride of a movie follows the story of young loan officer Christine (newcomer Alison Lohman) who after refusing an old pensioner a further extension on her mortgage repayments, is cursed, leaving just 3 days to discover a cure before being literally, dragged to hell. 

With this at first odd premise, Sam Raimi is like a court jester playing all his favorite tricks and traps as he puts our plucky heroine through the mill, throwing her all over the the shop for our entertainment (just as he did twenty odd years ago with Bruce Campbell).  Now although Alison Lohman may lack the comedic charm of ‘the chin’ she makes for a feisty and believable ‘victim’, and gives the forces of evil as good as she gets, from suffering torrential nose bleeds and an arm being thrust down her throat, to swallowing a fly and being vomited upon with maggots.  She certainly earns her pay cheque.  Of course in a movie like this, the other actors remain set-dressing and the story is purposely basic, because the real meat here is the energy and ideas, of which there’s is no short amount.  In this age of torture-porn endurance horrors (Saw, Martyrs), it’s refreshing to finally experience a horror movie that knows how to be fun as well as horrific, without leaving that nasty after-taste.

Raimi’s most infectious movie since Evil Dead 2.

Verdict:  4 /5

More Natural Born Killers

Following my previous post reviewing the theatrical cut of the movie, I have recently got hold of the director’s cut on blu-ray (still currently only available in the U.S.), and although I stand by the review, saying what is available in this uncensored version has little effect on the overall entertainment of the movie, any fan of Natural Born Killers should know – this is a movie that should never have been cut in the first place.  Finally we get the warts-and-all complete version, that although structurally identical to the theatrical cut, has just that little bit more attitude and bite.

New to the Blu-ray director’s cut is a 22 minute documentary exploring the impact of the movie and how it would be treated in this internet, information-obsessed age, which is invaluable – as is the older ‘chaos rising’ featurette that appeared on the DVD version of this cut.  Add to this all the extras from the previous release and a 44 page booklet (with a new Oliver Stone introduction) that is basically a re-issue of the original releases’ book contents.  Shame on Warners for making us double-dip, but if like me you need to have NBK in your collection, this is well worth the purchase.

Still one of the boldest, daring and craziest main-stream movies ever made.

A Scanner Darkly

Viewed – 23 October 2009  DVD

Wow.  This was a wierd one.  I rented this as I felt I had been neglecting the career of my favourite actress, namely Winona Ryder, and had heard many positive things about this sci-fi yarn based on a Philip K Dick short story, and co-starring Keanu Reeves and Robert Downey Jr.  Now one of the immediate points of interest in this movie is it’s animated ‘look’, a process where the whole movie is actually filmed with regular actors, locations etc … then given an animated post-processing style to create the look of an animated movie.  This being my only experience of such a process, I have to say it is both startling and bonkers.

Keanu Reeves plays an undercover cop in a not-too-distant future who becomes involved with a dangerous new drug and begins to lose his own identity as a result.  This was a difficult film to like for several reasons, firstly it has a group of mostly unlikable odd-ball characters that I guess are meant to be lovable loosers but come off more as annoying loosers, with no direction but screwing each other over, and secondly Keanu wears a wierd disguise that hides his identity, which is an interesting but mind-bending effect showing the character’s appearance changing every second.  Now apart from the obvious visual style that does earn this movie a viewing recommendation, the story is confusing and rather bland, with not much point or purpose, apart from a well warn image of drug-culture that can’t hold a hat to the likes of Trainspotting or Drugstore Cowboy.   The ending is mystifying too.  Acting wise all do a fine job with the material with Keanu and Winona especially standing out, but it’s the visuals here that pack the greatest punch, and some of the imagery and ideas are amazing – but sadly the story they surround isn’t.

verdict:  3 /5