Friday, December 31, 2010

Black Swan Review

I have a feeling this movie is going to fly under the radar until Oscar buzz starts heating up. And when this film takes home a few awards then it will be at the top of Netflix most requested movie rentals and will probably make a decent second run at the box office.
Firstly I want to point out that the advertising for Black Swan is a bit misleading, there is horror in this film but it is absolutely not supernatural in any way. The horror in Black Swan is much more terrifying because it is real and many people suffer from the same symptoms as Nina.
Nina Sayers is young, beautiful, and a talented ballet dancer. She lives in New York City and has a very supportive mother. Nina is motivated to be the best and always gives 110%...all the qualities of a successful person.
The ballet company Nina belongs to is planning a run of Swan Lake and she is trying out for the white swan but in this performance the person who wins the coveted role must also perform as the black swan, the "dark side" of  the white swan. Nina is chosen to the chagrin of some of her peers and is accused of sleeping with Thomas Leroy, the director. In the directors eyes Nina is the empitomy of the white swan; beautiful, pure, fragile....perfect. Unfortunately Nina struggles to capture the essence of the blackswan. At the same time a new member joins the company, Lily. Lily is also a very talented dancer and befriends Nina. The two become close as Nina see's Lily's unrestrained, carefree lifestyle compared to her own overprotective mother and mundane existance as a missing aspect of her own life.
. Nina continues to struggle to prove she is capable of performing the role as the Black Swan and the pressure begins to mount, the pressure to not loose the role she's always dreamt of begins to intensify, nail biting, picking at her scabs, and incessant scratching.
By the end of the film Nina's paranoia overtakes her and she suffers from terrible hallucinations. Against all her obstacles Nina makes it to the show in time and overcomes her fears and pressures and gives the most memorable performance of her life...
We all suffer from life's pressures every day, from homework that's due to stress at work, at home...where ever.
The scary thing about Black Swan is how Nina's stress coupled with her penchant for obsessive compulsive behavior escalated her psychiatric symptoms, including self-mutilation (through scratching her shoulder and picking at her fingers, pulling away scabs) and hints of an eating disorder, all this led to a degree of psychosis via elaborate visual hallucinations fed by paranoia.
Black Swan takes a serious look at how the pressures of life can destroy a person and I'm almost certain anyone who watches this film will be able to relate, to some degree, with Nina. This is definitely NOT a chick flick and I highly recommend this for either men or women to see.
Natalie Portman does a remarkable job in this film and you can see how much she wanted this film to be made through her performance, not to mention she took a pay cut to get it made!
The contrasts between Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman are subtle yet extremely effective, the dance styles, lifestyles, color of their clothes all are purposely due to reflect the two sides.....no not the Jedi and Sith, but the White Swan and Black Swan.
This movie is a must see! Worth the price of admission.
A

Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas from Free Swim

Merry Christmas from Free Swim!
Remember while your in that euforic state when you open your gifts, why we're celebrating...
Jesus Christ was born and all he got was frankensense, mir, and some cheddar. Nowadays he'd probably get a XBL gold gift card, cologne, and a candle from Yankee Candle Co.
So take a moment and show a bit of respect because companies like WalMart and Rite Aid don't give a shit about anything but the allmighty dollar.   
I'm not trying to shove religion down anyone's throat but that kinda bothers me.
Anyway have a great Christmas!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

T3: DotM Megatron Revealed


Ugh so Hasbro just let the cat outta the bag for Megs new look in T3: DotM....and in my humble opion I say FAIL!
If they were introducing the Combaticons this would make a great Onslaught, not Megs!
Here's the set pics, I'd post the pics of the toy but Hasbro's interwebs goons are patrolling and well ya know...give it a week.

V season 2 begins 1-4-11

So V got re-uped for a second season...sorta. More like half a season as it will start January 4, 2011 and only be 10 episodes, better than nothing I suppose. Since the season finale there's been some interesting news regarding the show, first it was revealed that Jane Badler has been hiding the the bowels of Anna's ship. And Marc Singer is also returning....hopefully with looser fitting jeans!

Anakin you FOOL! Padme's a freaky freak!!!

Anakin...you're a fool! If you just listened to Obi Wan you would've been the happiest man in the entire galaxy! But no you had a bad dream and some possible jealousy issues and you go and choke your baby mama! If you only kknew how big of a freak Padme was....



Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Rango theatrical trailer

Yay a new Rango trailer, this looks fresh and enjoyable for the kids and adults. I am kinda tired of the Shrek, Ice Age and Toy Story movies and this really looks visually impressive and with Gore Verbinski directing and Johnny Dep voicing Rango my sons first movie might be Rango...

Gandalf is a Decepticon

Wanna know what REALLY happens to Gandalf at the end of Peter Jackson's Fellowship of the Ring??
Well the Balrog pulls Gandalf to the pit of middle erf and Gandalf battles the Balrog and finally defeats him. Then Gandalf falls asleep.......for a really long time!
When he wakes up on the moon and finds he's no longer Gandalf the Grey....now....henceforth he will be known as Gandalfatron! Leader of the Decepticons!!!!!!
Watch the teaser trailer for Bayformers and tell me you don't see Gandalf's mug on that bayformer!
Here I did the work for you.

 

PotC: On Stranger Tides trailer

I honestly had discarded the latest PotC before I had seen the below trailer or knew anything about the story, not because Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan won't be in it but it kinda felt like the story for the most part concluded with PotC: @WE. I thought this movie was gonna stand out from the others kinda like Indiana Jones:AtKotCS but after seeing the trailer it looks kinda promising.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Transformers DotM Teaser

Ugh, well here's the first trailer for Transformers: (Lets try this a 3rd time) Dookie on the Moon. Apparently they don't have Onstar on Cybertron....who knows how long Goldbug there was sitting around on the moon.


SSX Deadly Descents trailer

It's about friggin time! I've been waiting since SSX3 for the next worthwhile installment of the series (sorry Blur & On Tour weren't it). I don't mind the new, more realistic imagining as long as they don't tinker with the controls. Honestly SSX3 was a perfect snowboarding game and I still enjoy playing it today. I hope they enhance the multiplayer to include wager matches introduced in COD Black Ops. And please bring back the series mainstays Mac, Elise, Moby, Allegra, Griff, Kaori, Zoe, Psymon, and Nate.
I have high hopes for SSX: DD, I'll be following this one till release. If you're a fan of SSX I recomend checking out http://www.merqurycity.com/ it's a great community of SSX fans!


Mass Effect 3 VGA 2010 Debut Trailer



Friday, December 10, 2010

Daft Punk Derezzed Music Video

Here's the music video for Daft Punk's Derezzed, one of the songs featured in Disney's upcoming Tron Legacy. This song has been used to promote the movie in an earlier released video. The song is aweome and the movie it's tied to looks very promising.

Spike VGA's 2010

Neil Patrick Harris hosts this years VGA's on Spike at 8pm tommorow December 11th. Here's the list of catagories and the respective nominees.
I've highlighted my choices in red, chime in with your choices.
Game of the Year:

Call of Duty: Black Ops

God of War III

Halo: Reach

Mass Effect 2

Red Dead Redemption


Studio of the Year:

Bioware, Mass Effect 2

Blizzard Entertainment, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

Bungie Studios, Halo: Reach

Rockstar San Diego, Red Dead Redemption


Best Xbox 360 Game:

Alan Wake

Fable III

Halo: Reach

Mass Effect 2

Best PS3 Game:

God of War III

Heavy Rain

ModNation Racers

Red Dead Redemption


Best Wii Game:

Donkey Kong Country Returns

Kirby's Epic Yarn

Metroid: Other M

Super Mario Galaxy 2


Best PC Game:

Fallout: New Vegas

Mass Effect 2

Sid Meier's Civilization V

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty


Best Handheld Game:

God of War: Ghost of Sparta

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

Professor Layton and the Unwound Future

Super Scribblenauts


Best Shooter:

Battlefield: Bad Company 2

BioShock 2

Call of Duty: Black Ops

Halo: Reach


Best Action Adventure Game:

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

God of War III

Red Dead Redemption

Super Mario Galaxy 2


Best RPG:

Fable III

Fallout: New Vegas

Final Fantasy XIII

Mass Effect 2


Best Multi-player:

Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Halo: Reach

Call of Duty: Black Ops

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty


Best Individual Sports Game:

EA Sports MMA

Shaun White Skateboarding

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11

UFC Undisputed 2010


Best Team Sports Game:

FIFA 11

Madden NFL 11

NBA 2K11

MLB 10: The Show


Best Driving Game:

Blur

ModNation Racers

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit

Split/Second


Best Music Game:

Dance Central

DJ Hero 2

Def Jam Rapstar

Rock Band 3


Best Soundtrack:

Def Jam Rapstar

DJ Hero 2

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock

Rock Band 3


Best Song in a Game:

"Basket Case" by Green Day, Green Day: Rock Band

"Black Rain" by Soundgarden, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock

"Far Away" by José González, Red Dead Redemption

"GoldenEye" by Nicole Scherzinger, GoldenEye 007 (2010)

"Won't Back Down" by Eminem, Call of Duty: Black Ops

"Replay/Rude Boy Mashup" by Iyaz/Rihanna, DJ Hero 2


Best Original Score:

God of War III

Halo: Reach

Mass Effect 2

Red Dead Redemption


Best Graphics:

God of War III

Heavy Rain

Kirby's Epic Yarn

Red Dead Redemption


Best Adapted Video Game:

Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II

Transformers: War for Cybertron


Best Performance by a Human Male:

Daniel Craig as James Bond, James Bond 007: Blood Stone

Gary Oldman as Sergeant Reznov, Call of Duty: Black Ops

John Cleese as Jasper, Fable III

Martin Sheen as The Illusive Man, Mass Effect 2

Nathan Fillion as Sergeant Edward Buck, Halo: Reach

Neil Patrick Harris as Peter Parker/Amazing Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions

Rob Wiethoff as John Marston, Red Dead Redemption

Sam Worthington as Alex Mason, Call of Duty: Black Ops


Best Performance by a Human Female:

Dame Judi Dench as M, James Bond 007: Blood Stone

Danica Patrick as Herself, Blur

Emmanuelle Chriqui as The Numbers Lady, Call of Duty: Black Ops

Felicia Day as Veronica Santangelo, Fallout: New Vegas

Jennifer Hale as Commander Shepard (female version), Mass Effect 2

Kristen Bell as Lucy Stillman, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

Tricia Helfer as Sarah Kerrigan, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

Yvonne Strahovski as Miranda Lawson, Mass Effect 2


Best Downloadable Game:

Costume Quest

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light

Monday Night Combat

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game


Best DLC:

BioShock 2: Minerva's Den

Borderlands: The Secret Armory of General Knoxx

Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker

Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare


Best Independent Game:

Joe Danger

Limbo

Super Meat Boy

The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom


Most Anticipated Game:

Batman: Arkham City

BioShock: Infinite

Gears of War 3

Portal 2

 

http://www.spike.com/event/vga


Uncharted 3 Drake's Deception Teaser Trailer

Naughty Dog just released the first teaser trailer for Uncharted 3 Drake's Deception,  the teaser is only 40 seconds long but holds some secrets for those eagle eyed detectives. The teaser....and box art gives a clue to the environment Nathan Drake's newest adventure will take place in...the Arabian desert.



Sunday, December 5, 2010

SSFIV Arcade Edition update

The arcade version of SSFIV may have more than just Yun and Yang....the oft requested evil Ryu and "Oni/Shin" Akuma may be hidden jems. When will they arrive via DLC on consoles? At this rate Capcom should just announce "hey we're gonna eventually add all previous characters from SF, SFII,SFII, SFA, SFA2, SFA3"
And here's a request from lil ol me, World Tour Mode was fun, add that mode via DLC.