Taking Over Comic Con 2013 (Denver, CO)

I want to avoid making this painfully long so if you want an in-depth review of the roughly five hours we spent at the event, read my biography in a few decades. I’m only saying this because I could talk about those five hours forever. I know we didn’t spend much time there but we made it count and it was completely worth it so let me tell you how we ended up at DCC and how it went.

Months and months ago, the great Stan Lee, inventor of Marvel Comics and most of its iconic characters, announced that he would make his return to Comic Con after a near twenty year hiatus this year in Denver. They published an article about it in the Boulder Weekly and I immediately told Fit. She had never attended a convention, especially one of this scale, so we decided it had to be done. Unfortunately, we had planned to attend a wedding in Santa Monica months in advance to that so we knew we wouldn’t be able to take off of work for Friday and Saturday… bummer. We settled for Sunday and I bought tickets in person at Guiry’s in Boulder at a discounted rate. I bought two one day passes for Sunday.

Months pass and we don’t put any thought into the event or what we should wear. Saturday night rolls around and costume-less, we decided to wear our aprons that we use in the house. Alana was a makeshift fit and cooking Wonder Woman while I was the same version of Captain America, with a Sonic the Hedgehog hat that has ears. It cost us no time and no money but we figured no one would even pay attention to us but oh were we wrong.

Excited!

Before leaving

We drive to Denver and pass a line that stretches for half a mile. Ten minutes after parking we end up at the back of that line and wait for the doors to open around 9:30 a.m. Almost everyone there is so nice and accepting of one another. The only people I don’t like are the bullies that make fun of other people. And we don’t tolerate bullying so there was none of that, but rather lots of positive reinforcement, high fives, and pictures. I will say that we got our money’s worth in people watching alone. The cosplays and costumes were top notch and I loved how passionate everyone was. We tried figuring out everyone’s costume and did a really good job. We even helped some clueless people by eavesdropping. Our first picture came when I ran into none other than the hero of Hyrule, Link. He was sporting his red fire tunic and the Master Sword. Link is super fit so I had to take a picture with him.

Link!

While the line was moving, the most unexpected thing happened. A photojournalist asked for our picture. We obliged and posed… little did we know, this would happen about 14 more times throughout the day. We never expected to be so popular but vendors, exhibitors, staff, photojournalists, bloggers, and attendees asked for our picture. One young woman who was with her friends even asked for a picture with us. Not just of us. We said yes and gave our regular pose every single time. I would love to see those 15 pictures especially the one with our fan because it was so random. Either people loved the idea that we were wearing aprons and it was creative or they thought we were fit and somewhat sexy.

Hungry and Fit! Our pose

Once we got inside we headed upstairs for the main hall. By doing this, we ended up missing a bunch of the panels and presentations we wanted to attend, such as the spotlight on Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day. What can you do? We don’t regret our choice because we had our most fun upstairs. When we ended up looking for the panels, gaming rooms, main events, and what not we ended up just wasting energy and getting frustrated. The easiest way to do this is just explain what is in our pictures since they highlight the best parts of the day.

Celebs

Here is Fit posing with Han Solo trapped in carbonite. Damn you, Lando, for selling him out to Vader and Boba Fett. This was a part of the Far Away Creations area where a group of Star Wars fans provided models and replicas of the original trilogy. Lots of fun.

After trekking through some aisles of vendors and trying our hardest not to spend every penny, we decided that we could each have one big purchase. Fit decided quickly that she wanted a picture with Chewbacca. Thus we paid Peter Mayhew for a picture with our camera and he autographed a photo of Fit’s choice. She chose a scene where Chewy and Han are wielding their bowcaster and blaster pistol. Epic. He was huge. He was as tall as us while sitting down and his hands were enormous. She also ran into a Storm Trooper with an awesome voice box and a Jawa.

Alana with Peter Mayhew (who played Chewbacca) –she can’t contain her happiness here

NEVER LETTING THIS GO

“Move along, move along”

Now it was my turn to decide. William Shatner, George Takei, Felicia Day, and Wil Wheaton were all tempting individuals to meet and take a picture with but my decision was a no brainer. I wanted to meet and take a picture with Kelly Hu. I had a massive crush on her when I was a teenager. She starred in The Scorpion King, X-Men, and voiced Visas in KOTOR II. For some reason, she had no line while all of the others were absolutely packed all day long. Her picture proceeds went to Much Love, a charity for animals. She was super nice and was happy to talk to us about everything from shopping on Amazon to our pets and more. Here’s the picture.

Kelly Hu and I

After that I got caught by Umbrella Corp because I was infected by a zombie. Their vehicle was awesome.

Here I am spying on someone’s crafts hoping to get some ideas for a friend. Secret agent style.

This is a co-worker’s ex-boyfriend showing why he was the coolest guy in the room. He’s a self-taught lightsaber master but he had a hard time actually talking into the mic. The crowd loved it though so good for him.

Gandalf! Literally hunted him down the whole time and finally found him

Fit met Gandalf and he let us pass.

Buff chicas. She actually made that armor!

Fit’s favorite costume of the day was Commander Shepard from Mass Effect.

Hungry’s favorite costume of the day was a Hello Kitty samurai. He let me hold his war banner.

Hungry and Fit! Our pose

Here we are on stage finally getting a picture of us together after fifteen other people took them first.

Fit found a bantha to cuddle up next to. It looked like a baby.

Hungry found a sausage for lunch while Fit had a pear salad. We spent a bunch on bad food there but it was expected and we didn’t mind.

I know my brother (Kai) would’ve loved to play this (I’m Gonna Wreck It!)

Fix It Felix Jr. does exist! We didn’t get to play.

I could go on and on but I don’t want to bore you too much so we’ll leave it here and keep you updated the next time Hungry and Fit attend an event!

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May302013

Hungry’s Movie Reviews: Star Trek Into Darkness

Either one of us could have and wanted to write this movie review, but our hectic schedule recently it fell onto my shoulders. With that being said, I am pleased and almost even honored to be able to review this movie. I have seen all of the previous Star Trek feature films in the franchise although I remember some better than others. I have seen most of the original series, nearly all of The Next Generation, most of Deep Space Nine, all of Voyager, and nearly none of Enterprise. I have attended some minor conventions but I do not consider myself a Trekkie.

Honestly, I was usually forced or felt obligated to be so involved in the Star Trek universe because my father and brother were such large fans. I believe that my brother knows more about Star Trek than nearly anyone but all of those hours I spent watching him play every Star Trek video game led to my own absurd knowledge on the subject. That is why I feel that I am a capable critic for this movie. I am objective because I never loved the series but I am knowledgeable because of my vast experience in the field.

Alana loves the team that created 2009’s Star Trek because they also brought her Lost. She is a huge fan of the first movie and was far more excited than I was about this sequel. The first point I would like to make is that the soundtrack is stellar. It utilizes themes from previous movies and television shows but remasters them. This brings about a very nice nostalgic atmosphere for fans old and new. The soundtrack also fit the context of the movie perfectly and was honestly what I feel was the most successful element of the movie. Special effects, makeup, costumes, and sets were all very streamlined and stylized compared to what was offered decades ago. It accomplished this effect, for me, without diverging too far from being authentic.

The original crew returned and continued to provide solid performances. Zachary Quinto was phenomenal. Chris Pine was good. Simon Pegg provided great comic relief. JJ Abrams was successful in many ways and it is reflected by critic reviews, box office numbers, and some fanboys’ feelings.

Here is my only qualm and it is a major spoiler so please do not continue if you are a Star Trek fan who is familiar with the back story… the WAY back story. Cumberbatch was perfect as Harrison but he is not Kahn. He did not live up to Ricardo Moltoban’s performance in what is widely seen as the best film of the series. They completely ignored the back story and history of the most prominent individual villain in Star Trek, period. Luckily, it did not take away from the context of the movie that Abram’s built. All of these successes, mixed with solid plot twists supported by a misleading trailer, make Star Trek Into Darkness as one of the most entertaining entries in the series. I would rank it in my top 5 all time of the 12 total choices. Off the top of my head, my list would look as follows.

1. The Wrath of Kahn – The greatest villain in the series creates the Enterprise’s greatest challenge.

2. A Voyage Home – Childhood memories and a comedic self-reflecting take make this one enjoyable.

3. First Contact – A powerful race tries to assimilate humanity as TNG crew fights back.

4. Star Trek – The series reboot provides fresh faces and style as Star Trek “enters pop-culture.”

5. Star Trek Into Darkness – Arguably the greatest back to back delivery, depending on how you feel about The Search for Spock.

6. A Search for Spock – Nimoy’s directorial debut takes Star Trek further outside its box and ties together two great films.

7-12. Final Frontier and Undiscovered Country were enjoyable as a child but were not more than that. Generations fail to capitalize on its title’s concept. Nemesis loses fans as it fails to achieve blockbuster status. Insurrection is nothing more than a bright mess. The Motion Picture bores all with its symbolic and body-less villain.

We may go back and watch the classics again because it’s been so long and Alana hasn’t seen them all but from my memory that is how the list stands. Whether you’re a movie fan, a Trekkie, someone like me, or just someone looking for a good time, I highly recommend you go out to theaters and watch Star Trek Into Darkness.

Mar242013

The Invasion of MMORPGs

Nerd alert post–no cooking or working out in this one. What is a MMORPG? It is a massively-multiplayer online role-playing game. Think World of Warcraft–the most popular and successful of them all. There have always been some: EVE, EverQuest, and so on. But now, big companies and big game lines have really started throwing themselves into this genre. Don’t get me wrong, I used to play WoW a lot, it’s a lot of fun, but my feelings start to get mixed once my beloved game series get involved.

This post is inspired by my playing Skyrim yesterday. I love the Elder Scrolls series, with them choosing different homelands of each of the playable races and being able to experience each one. Skyrim, which is pretty much all snow, is for the Nords. I usually either play as a Khajiit or a Wood Elf. I started thinking how cool it would be when Elder Scrolls finally got to their homelands. The desert land of the Khajiits with endless sand, or the forest-cities of the Wood Elves. How awesome it would be to explore it, especially now with such improved graphics and the ever-present attention to detail Bethesda offers.

My Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim character

And then I remember. Oh yeah, they’re making an MMO. That might mean that there will never be another Elder Scrolls game after that. And that kinda breaks my heart. I know they’re trying to make it as Elder Scrolls-y as possible, but it will still be an MMO. It will never be the same. I find myself wishing that they would choose not to jump on the bandwagon and instead, work on Elder Scrolls VI. Perhaps they still will, but that will be a lot to take on.

Star Wars: The Old Republic by BioWare (probably in competition with Bethesda for my favorite company ever) jumped at a huge MMO project like this as well. Of course I was excited–one of my most favorite series by one of my most favorite companies, it had to be good. And while I do enjoy playing SWTOR, it’s just not the same as Knights of the Old Republic. I would much rather have another single-player sequel to that amazing series with all its tough choices, exploration, and story than the impressive huge universe BioWare created. But KOTOR is a lot smaller than the Elder Scrolls games, so I doubt there will be another since TOR is out.

I’m not sure why MMOs are trending so much–perhaps because of the big money gains, the success, and fame? World of Warcraft certainly made its mark on gaming history and will continue to do so. But just because it was wildly successful doesn’t mean that every big awesome gaming company needs to do it. For me, the Elder Scrolls series is truly unique and I love the worlds they create, the attention to detail, and the openness of gameplay that is hard to recreate in an MMO. I hope the MMO format doesn’t kill it, but it probably will.

What are your feelings about the increasing number of MMOs? Cheers!

Dec142012

Midnight Showing Review: The Hobbit

If you know us, or if you’ve read this post, you know we are huge Tolkien/Middle Earth fans. So, obviously, we were at the midnight premiere of The Hobbit by the wonderful Peter Jackson & Co. Although we didn’t dress up (sigh), we were brimming with excitement. Finally! It’s out! So I was expecting to leave about 9:30/10PM to wait in line, my cousin said that there won’t be crazy lines. You never know, coming from Los Angeles and New York, we’ve both waited in hefty lines for big movies like this. So we left at 11 (took us ten minutes to get to the theatre).

We packed into the car and got there–no line. Yes! We didn’t have to wait in the cold. Plus, if we paid an extra $1 per ticket, we would get a free t-shirt. Uh, duh. So we got our shirts, our tickets, my smuggled popcorn and sat down for a 3D Dolby Atmos viewing.

Eventually, the movie started. Now with this insane amazing sound system, our ears kind of hurt. And it wasn’t just mine (I have sensitive ears, Chris calls me “wolf ears”), everyone’s was kind of ringing after. Especially battle scenes. The 3D was good, immersive, and not that silly “pop-out” kind of 3D that I hate. And for the picture…I believe it was a much faster frame rate. Now this was distracting. It looked like a filmed play, it was too realistic, and not theatrical enough. If you have an HD tv, sometime you can see this in certain shows. However, the action was pretty incredible and had a good flow. But…onto the story!

The story was pretty accurate to the book, though I haven’t read it in awhile. And he obviously split it up. I would give the Best Acting Awards to Martin Freeman (Bilbo), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), and Richard Armitage (Thorin). And of course, to Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, and Christopher Lee, though small roles in this movie they played. One thing I wished is that they made Thorin look more like a Dwarf and less like a Man. I know people were nervous about Martin Freeman playing Bilbo, but let me tell you, he was spot on. Seriously. And of course there’s Andy Serkis as Gollum who really just brings the caliber up. The riddle scene between Bilbo and Gollum was absolutely brilliant.

I started off unsure about it, how I felt, because it takes a little while to get rolling. There’s good humor with the dwarves and it’s fun to see Bilbo before he was an adventurer. By the end, after all the lore (which we love to see), fight scenes, troll scenes, and excellent dialog, I was happy. I want to see it again when it’s not 12 AM. Perhaps during Christmas week with the family.

Lastly…Howard Shore. What would the Lord of the Rings trilogy be without those held-close-to-heart themes that you know as soon as you hear them…the Shire…the Trio…Gollum’s music…It’s all Howard Shore. And he brings it back just as well this time. When we see the Shire, that familiar light-of-heart music comes on and you can’t help but smile. When Gollum comes creeping into the movie, so does his eerie music. And, with this new story (or old, if we’re talking timeline wise), he created a brilliant sound bit for the new adventure gang.

Rest assured, you will be laughing, gripping your seat, and holding your breath. Now stop reading this and go see it!

Nov282012

Holiday Movie Review: Rise of the Guardians

I know we’re called Hungry and Fit. I know. But take this as a metaphor. We are Hungry and Fit. All the time. But there’s more to life than eating and obsessing with fitness, it’s called fun and relaxing. So here’s another movie review, presented warmly by yours truly. 😉

Rise of the Guardians. A nice holiday movie for the kids (and the rest of us). It was Black Friday Night and we were strolling the beautiful outside 29th Street Mall with family. We all got big cups of hot cocoa and enjoyed the sparkling lights on the tree and light poles. After some last-minute relaxing Black Friday shopping in an empty Macy’s (new boots, thank you very much!), the elder generation of the family decided to hit the sack, but us youngsters wanted to see a movie. Well, really just Chris and I did, but we dragged my brother, Kai, along anyhow.

Passing by the quiet ice skating rink, we slipped into the Century Boulder Theatre (which we had never attended) and saw a 9:30 showing. We were one of three other groups watching the movie–guess it’s not a real popular time or day to watch a kid’s movie. Anyhow, onto the movie! Tell me to stop story telling.

Rise of the Guardians has a great cast: Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Chris Pine, Jude Law, and Isla Fisher. All of them do an absolutely incredible job at the voice acting, they really get into it, making it that much more enjoyable for the audience. We actually couldn’t believe Alec Baldwin played Santa so we had to watch this of him live-action doing it to believe. And for any Elder Scrolls fans, Santa totally sounds like a Nord so I spent the night annoying Chris and Kai with Nord-accented Skyrim quotes. I’m sure they enjoyed it.

With top notch actors, DreamWorks did a lovely job with making it beautiful and fun CGI. Definitely visually-pleasing and enjoyable to watch. I especially loved Sandy’s effects. The imagination of the creators was what was really the best part of the show…the story, the powers, the “guardians“…all of it. I found myself leaning forward into the movie, getting really into it, it was quite captivating as any magical holiday movie should be. Probably the funniest parts of the movies was whenever the yetis were in the scene. We definitely cracked up every time they were there.

It wasn’t excellent. But it was good and we left feeling happy. A good holiday movie that gets you in the spirit for the upcoming holidays. Go see it on a winter night and don’t forget the hot cocoa.

Hot Cocoa (Photo credit: wine me up)

Nov152012

Wreck-It Ralph and Skyfall: Double Feature

Ideally, Alana and I would go to the movies every time a new movie came out that we were even remotely interested in if we had the time and money. We’re not quite there but we’re close enough to be able to see the movies we really want to at a discounted rate on Sunday mornings before we both go into work for some late shifts. Although our checklist is backing up, it includes: Cloud Atlas, Argo, Chasing Mavericks, Man with the Iron Fists, Lincoln, Silent Hill Revelations, and Flight. You could probably figure out which ones we each want to see. Rise of the Guardians comes out nest Wednesday and that’s on there because we love Dreamworks but there are tons of upcoming movies that we want to see: namely The Hobbit and Les Miserables. But back to the point of this post, a review of this trip and those two movies.

As for the trip, we were excited to see that Hobbit promotions were everywhere and we even took some pictures with them. There was also a stand up of Georges St Pierre for his upcoming match against Carlos Condit. I want to see it but Alana doesn’t, but it’s not a big deal. So we brought our usual stash of goodies including popcorn, drinks, and candy and prepared for the double. First up…

In theater 4, Wreck it Ralph. This was a good Disney movie, plain and simple. Great voice acting, a good comedic and clever script, nostalgia for gamers, and a cute story line with great characters. It was entertaining, kept our attention, and was full of great lessons. The soundtrack was solid and the animation was top notch, going from pixelated throw back moments to smooth and beautiful modern day technology. In terms of a score, let’s just say it was a really good movie. 8 maybe seems fair. Nothing lower but there was nothing exceptional to make it higher.

No time to break, the previews here last for so long that we had to go to the bathroom and rush to the next one.

In theater 11, the movie I have been waiting for the past four years, Ian Fleming presents Daniel Craig as 007 James Bond. My dad raised me on James Bond movies and although him and my brother love Roger Moore, I am a little bit more open to the other Bonds. I always liked Sean Connery, and even Pierce Brosnan, and even Timothy Dalton, but Daniel Craig has done an exceptional job in the role. He is much more callous and introverted than past Bonds but maintains the confidence and debonair manner. I don’t want to give any spoilers but I was initially disappointed in the story. With that being said, I enjoyed the movie and was grinning the whole time. They kept regular Bond quirks but took some new turns and chances, such as with their “choice” of Bond “girl.” Javier Bardem was so amazingly creepy. It was great acting, beautiful sets and landscapes, dark and mysterious, but overall amazing. Maybe 8.5 but it’s hard to put a number to it.

And then we bought a 6 dollar fountain drink to win a trip to New Zealand for 4 and the set of the Hobbit. We lost and won a track from the movie soundtrack. That is one expensive song.

See these movies and wait to read our next reviews.

Oct312012

Return of the…Star Wars Franchise? What?

Stunned. Couldn’t actually believe it. George Lucas sold the beloved (well, mostly) Star Wars franchise for 4 billion dollars to Disney. Wait, what? You’ll have to repeat yourself. Took about twelve news reports until the news finally soaked in. The franchise I grew up with and became obsessed with , those amazing three movies, (and then those added 3 rubbish) are continuing. Images of Mickey Mouse with lightsabers and more creations like Jar Jar keep popping up in my mind. Vader, you said it. My first thought was just…let it die. Or rather let it live on in a semi-untarnished memory. At least of the originals.

I couldn’t believe Lucas would sell out like that. Well, that isn’t true, because look at the prequels. I’m just surprised because it came out of nowhere. Disney? Hmm… Please don’t serve us another set of bad, childish movies with painful writing. Don’t do the Princess-y Disney, do the darker and more complex movies you’ve been coming out with. With a looming 2015 release date, us Star Wars fans are left to sit with endless “what if’s” and imaginations of further franchise destruction.

But wait. Finally stumbling past my shock and disappointment, some friends pointed out a few things which I tend to forget. Disney recently bought Pixar and Marvel, two of my favorite companies. And the movies that have been coming from them? Brilliant. I absolutely loved the Avengers, I bought it on Blu-Ray/DVD as soon as it was available. For some reason, the thought of ‘Disney’ just brings images of cartoony corniness–something Star Wars needs to move away from. Which was why the news was accompanied with immediate stomach-wrenching dread. But, very good example, look at movies like the Avengers, Thor, Captain America, and so forth. All movies I thoroughly enjoyed. And they came from Disney. As did Pirates. So there’s a shot.

(what a weird picture)

This Kathleen Kennedy woman (who is taking over Lucas Films) seems like she’s got a lot to her. She’s produced tons of films which have collectively won 120 Academy Awards–that’s not a bad record. There could be something to this. However, in that article, she mentions Lucas as Yoda, something he absolutely strayed from as we all know–that is not a good sign. Still, as my dad pointed out, it could be a political move. She’s got a good record. She could make something out of it.

All I hope is that they follow the books of the Expanded Universe that so many brilliant fan-authors have created. There is such a rich universe filled with captivating stories, complex characters, and a certain depth to it. I know it’s hard to match that, because they’re books, but it’s a beautiful model to follow (well most of them…not the one where Lando had a dog–a dog, really?!). I just want Kennedy, or someone close to her, to have a deep knowledge of those books and the ability to relay them into some new movies. You could do so much. Mara Jade? Yes, please. Han and Leia’s children? Awesome. The New Jedi Order? LET’S SEE IT! Okay, now I’ve gotten myself amped up for things that probably won’t occur. But if you’re a fan like me, you understand. Imagine if Luc Besson or Joss Whedon wrote or directed it.

Overall, the dread has seeped out some and there is a dull excitement–maybe not even that. Curiosity, I suppose. Will wait on more details. How do you feel about it?

Oct012012

Family Addition: Television!

So, I start all my posts with so. What a bad habit, but not as bad a habit as buying ridiculous things, which ended up with us having a 39″ television in our little apartment. When I was in college, I can’t remember what year, I decided to buy a nice television for my bedroom at home. (I think it was when I graduated actually.) Why? Because I love playing video games and watching movies/anime. Plain and simple.

Now, my room at home wasn’t the biggest, and my vision wasn’t the best, but bigger doesn’t always mean better. As a result, I bought the most environmentally friendly television at the time (or one of them). It was a cute little 22″ Philips LED 720p TV and it got the job done. When we decided to move, I couldn’t let this little guy, which I spent a whole $159.99 on just stay behind. So we took him/her, despite the sea of other things we got rid of over the months. Somehow, it made it all the way across the country despite the ridiculous heat and bumpy roads. But here in Boulder, in our apartment, the Philips just wasn’t working out and I decided to make a move.

An exciting bundle of packages that may or may not have our TV inside

After debating for weeks, with a little financial aid and TV input from my brother, I finally ordered a 39″ TCL 1080p 60HZ LED TV. It was nearly $350 on Amazon, but had free shipping. It made it in two days with Prime, and seemed to be in perfect shape, as we watched “The Avengers” the first night we got it. We haven’t used it since but I can’t wait for tomorrow. Why? Because I ordered this television for one reason. Resident Evil 6. And I might as well use it for Dishonored. And every other good game coming out soon but really I can’t wait to put it to good use. It doesn’t have an off-axis glare like the Philips had because of its size. It fits almost perfectly and I think that movie nights and video games will be so much better with it. Now Alana can use the Philips as a PC screen so she can play Skyrim in super mode. And now I can play Skyrim in super-mode too. Can’t wait for Resident Evil 6. PSN username KINGTUCCI for anyone that wants to play online multiplayer.

There it is, in all its glory

Thanks for reading the short post, I’ll let you know how the TV performs in my soon to come review of Resident Evil 6.

Bonus Pic: Misty being pissy

Sep172012

Movie Review: Resident Evil Retribution

So, in typical birthday tradition we saw the newest Resident Evil film in the live-action series because it’s always released on my birthday weekend. Now, I did not think that any of the first four live-action films were good, as a fan of the series and as a blank slate, looking for an entertaining film. Some were better than others, but the only good Resident Evil feature length film was Degeneration, which was animated and starred characters that actually played a prominent role in the series, Leon and Claire.

Alice (Milla Jovovich) and the Red Queen, along with Rain and the White Queen, are all major film characters that were in fact created strictly for the films. They do not appear in any of the MULTIPLE video games in the Resident Evil (or Biohazard, as it is named in Japan) series. And that’s fine, it’s alright if you do not accurately portray the series… and although I might not like it, I have obviously still been open to watching them all. However, when you go against the story line of the series directly contradicting many important matters, then I have a problem!

So with that, they essentially took a bunch of characters that either did not exist or never met or worked with one another, and had them all shoot off 300,000 rounds of ammunition in this movie. Barry, Leon, Ada, Jill, and Wesker all together at the same time, this late in the chronology? A licker the size of an eighteen-wheeler fighting them in a car chase? Wesker trying to save humanity and not drowning in a pit of volcanic lava while trying to destroy the planet? And what happened to Chris and Claire Redfield who were with, I thought, Alice at the end of the last movie. Sequel? I hope not.

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 12: (L-R) Actors ...

Actors from the film

The actors in this movie did a horrible job. Horrible. And we think Milla is top notch, but she couldn’t even convince in this role because she probably knew how ridiculous it was. Leon didn’t look right for me, Ada didn’t look right for me, Barry didn’t look right for me, but their costumes were spot on and you could tell they tried. It’s always hard to cast perfectly for an animated character because there might not be anyone that looks identical. As for the effects, it was just overkill. Too much slow motion, too many bullets being fired off, the Las Plagas infected either looked too cheesy or not infected enough. It was just bad, too much was off for a fan to like it and it was just too bad of a movie for anyone else (Alana said it was one of the worst movies she’s ever seen).

Resident Evil video game

So with that, having seen it in 2d the day after it was released, I would have to give it a 1/5. And being from a genre that I generally love, horror, and having it be a video game based movie, that’s bad. Really don’t see it. Even if you saw the last five, don’t see it. It’s a waste of time and money. Wait until it’s either a waste of time or money, not both. So disappointing with my personal most anticipated video game release of the year, Resident Evil 6. October 2nd, it’s preordered and set up for release day delivery via Amazon. Scott Reiners, I hope you’re ready for co-op cause we have a Platinum Trophy with our name on it.

Aug242012

Two Games: Pixel vs. Turf

So, I am nowhere near as eloquent as Alana the Poet, but I will try to remember how to write so that it is enjoyable for the reader to get through the text. Recently, very recently in fact, I had the pleasure of playing (in) and finishing two games. One was more physically challenging and naturally, the other stimulated the mind. For anyone who thinks that video games cannot be a learning experience in a beneficial way, I think you might be wrong. Granted, some games encourage illegal and unhealthy activity, but how often are those issues raised with a Nintendo Game; let alone one that was worked on by Koji Kondo and Shigeru Miyamoto.

A Video Gaming Legend

The game that I just completed for the first time in a long time, was The Legend of Zelda Link’s Awakening, which was released in 1993, re-released for the DX in 1998 and re-re-released on the Nintendo E-Store for 3DS very recently, somewhat in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of arguably the greatest video game franchise of all time. (My favorite Nintendo based franchise, but Final Fantasy and the Elder Scrolls put up some serious competition.)

The version, which is six dollars, is well worth it. The graphics and game-play were cutting edge at the time, the music was nostalgic to the previous three major releases, and the story was clever and captivating. The replay value was still there, especially on the new handheld. I didn’t upgrade my sword to level 2 by collecting enough secret seashells or max out my health (13/14 hearts) but it was a relatively complete and smooth run.

Now, for the not so smooth run, which was more or less a series of short sprints tied with wheezing and a burning chest as the result of either altitude (no) or my being very much so out of shape (yes). We stopped by the Boulder Indoor Soccer “arena” last week to watch Ben Powell play in a very physical 6 v 6 game of indoor soccer. It is not too different from your typical soccer game but it is very fast paced with hockey substitutions. I am so grateful for those substitutions because this week, actually a few hours ago, Ben asked me to help fill out the roster. I came completely unprepared, with no indoor shoes, no shin guards, and no cardio based endurance. The third was the most painful. I had no idea there were two 22 minute and 30 second halves, but I am so happy there were not four.

Indoor Soccer Arena

It was physical, I was slipping, my legs were filling with lactic acid, and my chest was about to burst, but my technique was there and I played smart enough to not make any mistakes. In all of my sporting experience, which is pretty extensive for someone my age, my best piece of advice and the lesson learned from this post for anyone who is still reading, is that the most important role players in a team sport (and an essential quality for individual sports) and the players that determine whether you win or lose do not make mistakes.

Indoor soccer at the Phanzone in Hampstead, NH

Bam!

Now, let me make it clear that I am not saying that Lebron is the worst player in the NBA because of his turnovers; all I am saying is that there is a +/- way of looking at competition, and if you do not make ANY – moves, then you are in good shape to help yourself or your team. Honestly, you do not need the raw talent of Michael Jordan, you do not need the brute force of Babe Ruth, and you do not need any gift from whoever you believe in, all you really need is knowledge and composure. Your goal is to use your knowledge of the game to make the smart safe moves, and prevent the opponent from capitalizing on your mistakes, so that you can capitalize on their mistakes. 1-0 is a win. No real competition between two great opponents should ever be a blowout.

The first person to comment on what two pieces of advice I’m trying to give out in this post will receive…a random special give-away! It can be anywhere in the world, just leave your email address.