Showing posts with label 2004. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2004. Show all posts

Golden Eye: Rogue Agent (2004) Video Game Review

This guy may not have made it in MI6 but he is gonna kick some ass for the bad guys! 
007... Those movies have been entertaining audiences all over the world for literally generations, with there non-stop thrills technology, and what not!

But it wasn't until the late 1990s that I was able to partake in a side of the series that I didn't know existed... That is the games that were based on the series!

And you know what? Golden Eye: Rogue Agent (2004) is one of the few games that I know of that is based on this series, but doesn't have much of Bond in it!

The box art for: Golden Eye: Rogue Agent (2004)!
 Published by: Electronic Arts for the: PlayStation 2, XBox, Nintendo GameCube & Nintendo DS. This game told the story of a former MI6 spy known as "GoldenEye", who works for Auric Goldfinger against Dr. Julius No.

Protected or not... This guy is gonna kick all of their asses!
Now considering when this game was released, the graphics were pretty outstanding, (honestly though, they are still good, but I have seen better at this point...)

The effects though are still pretty excellent... The game is really hard, (which is always fun!)

The only problem though that I had with the game is that it didn't have the staying power to maintain being fun often and for long periods of time!

In the end though, it is worth trying out at least once!


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Hellboy (2004) - Movie Review

[caption id="attachment_385" align="alignright" width="353"]Official Score = 2 Devils Official Score = 2 Devils[/caption]

Over the years there have been a ton of movies that have been based on the comics... A couple of the more famous ones of course being, 'Superman', 'Batman' & 'The Avengers'.... But in the early part of the new millennium it seemed like the studios had decided to go in a different direction with their super hero movies...

The truth is, is I don't think that this was particularly successful, but it was still fun to see the difference between the more well known super heroes, and the lesser known... A good example of this (A fun movie but nothing to particularly jump out at you, and that is, The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003))...

The truth is, is that movie had an amazing cast (including: Sean Connery), who did a great job, it also had a fun story, but what it lacked was the seriousness that I believe makes some of the more well known super hero movies so great!

Another one that is an alternative to the more classic Super Hero movie, is the movie, Hellboy (2004)!

[caption id="attachment_2396" align="aligncenter" width="450"]Ron Perlman as, 'Hellboy'! Ron Perlman as, 'Hellboy'![/caption]

Written & Directed by: Guillermo del Toro (Pacific Rim). Starring: Ron Perlman (Drive), John Hurt (Alien), Selma Blair (Cruel Intentions), Rupert Evans (Agora), Karl Roden (RockNRolla), Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development), Doug Jones (Adaption), Brian Steele (Predators), Ladislav Beran (Blade 2), Biddy Hodson (Wilde) & Corey Johnson (Saving Private Ryan).

This movie tells the story of how near the end of World War 2, A group of Nazi Scientists and mystique's, decide to bring in to the world a demon that they hope will turn the tide of war in their favor... The problem is, is that when the monster is released, just about all of the Nazi's on the island are taken out by the Americans!

Well this monster as it turns out is a baby demon whom the Scientist/Mystique on the project by the name of Dr. Trevor Bruttenholm (John Hurt) decides to take home with him and raise as if he is his own, and calls him, 'Hellboy' (Ron Perlman).

Well ultimately this is not all, you see, in the present, the Professor has set up a special unit with in the American Government that is responsible for the more (paranormal) elements, and this unit, (along with Hellboy), are going to have to fight a plot that had been slowed that night on the Island during World War 2... Because if they can't, well it will literally be the end of the world!

[caption id="attachment_2398" align="aligncenter" width="450"]Hellboy 2 Hellboy with his team![/caption]

Now the plus points:

1. All the cast did good for their roles.
2. As always their was some fun special effects.

As for the minus points, the main problem that I had with this movie is that the way it was written was actually a pretty solid story, but the way it was filmed was not very serious (so much so that Jeffrey Tambor's comic relief was more of a distraction, then a welcome addition!)

And the other thing that I have to say about this movie is that even though I do like Selma Blair, I just couldn't see her as a love interest in this movie! I mean don't get me wrong, she did a good job in this role, I just don't think her role was written quite right!

In the end, this movie was a fun one, and is well worth a watch, but if you are looking for something truly epic, then this one is probably not the one for you!

http://youtu.be/OcEAOu80xSE

Short Stories And Their Importance to Movie Adapations

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Shawshank Redemption... A great movie that was based on the short story, 'Rita Hayworth & The Shawshank Redemption' by: Stephen King![/caption]

One thing I am sure that you have noticed is that there are some truly great big screen adaptions of novels, and there are some truly depolorable big screen adaptions of novels... But no matter if they are good, or if they are bad, they are never as good as the original novel!

My thoughts on this is that it is almost impossible to properly squeeze a 500 -1,000 page story in to a 1 hr 30 min movie... As a matter of fact I think this maybe the reason why, 'The Stand' ended up being about a 3 hour mini-series, (for those of you who don't know, 'The Stand' was a large novel that was written by: Stephen King.)

So the question becomes... Well, if a movie is never as good as the novel that it is based off of, then what could be done to make a truly great movie based on a story in a book? Well there are various ways... But I think universally that you would get dramatically closer with movies that are based on short stories...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300"] A great novel on this very topic![/caption]

The reason that I say this is that short stories generally tend to have a significantly less amount of information to try and figure out how to turn in to a movie from the original written story.

A great example of this is, Secret Window (2004)... This movie which stars, Johnny Depp (A Nightmare On Elm Street) tells the story of a writer who after discovering that his wife is cheating on him, ends up having a nervous breakdown... And months after the incident... It is still occurring...

That movie is freaking awesome! I mean I really enjoyed that film, and I would say that it is pretty close to being on par with the original Stephen King short story, 'Secret Window Secret Garden'... A short story from a book of short stories basically called, 'Four Past Midnight'.
In then end, I don't know if I have convinced you guys yet, but if I haven't then give it a try... I think that you will find an interesting turn of events with this one!

Rammstein: Ohne Dich (2004) - Song Review

[caption id="attachment_325" align="alignright" width="263"]Official Score = 3 Devils Official Score = 3 Devils[/caption]

One of the great things about music that I have found, rather it be listening to, 'Mozart', listening to, 'Seal', listening to Metallica, or listening to, 'Megaherz', that there are some awesome messages attached to some of these songs... A couple of people who do a great job with this is are, 'Metallica', and another one being, 'Rammstein'!

Now I will admit that being that I don't speak German, that what Rammstein could be singing about is their shopping list... (Well at least to some extent I know that, that is not true, and that is because I do know some of the words that are going through their songs... I just have to assume the rest...)

But there is one song, I would say that this is probably one of my favorite songs that Rammstein ever did, and that songs is an amazing and striking power ballad that was done with their classic heavy metal/industrial style, and that song is, Ohne Dich (2004)!

[caption id="attachment_2047" align="aligncenter" width="450"]Rammstein doing, 'Ohne Dich' live. Rammstein doing, 'Ohne Dich' live.[/caption]

This song, which had initially been played exclusively for members of their fan club in a concert where they tested their beta version of this song... Later this song would be stricken from the 2001 - 2002, 'Mutter' tour but would see the light of day again during the 'Reise' Tour in 2004 - 2005, and from there would continue to be played in almost every tour through out the years...

Along with gaining popularity in the concert circuits, they also created a truly spectacular and powerful music video

In the end, if you haven't heard this song yet, then I would recommend checking it out, if you are a fan of this style of music, then I think you might find that you like this song as well!

http://youtu.be/0PSUYhAmFPA

5 Great Musicians Taken Before Their Time!

You know, you would think that one of the most dangerous art forms to work in would be like, 'The Circus' or, 'Daredevil Stunt Work' and the truth is, is that those are some of the more dangerous art based professions to work in, but the truth is, is that I wouldn't say that these are the only dangerous art professions at all! Oddly enough, believe it or not, I would say that becoming a famous actor at a young age, or being a musician are some of the other ones!

Now I am not saying this because the professions is inherently fraught with risks, and thus you should not be working in these professions...

No, I guess what I am trying to say is that these professions are definitely not the most risky jobs in the world (Any job more or less has a slight degree of risk associated with it, but acting and music are by far some of the least professions fraught with peril!) No in this case what I mean is that they are some of the most dangerous because they have some of the biggest pitfalls there are! And because of that we have lost some truly phenomenal actors/actresses and musicians in the hole!

And that is why I thought that I would honor some of the great musicians that died before their time with this list of, '5 Great Musicians Taken Before Their Time'!

At number 5: Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009).

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="562"] Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009)[/caption]

Michael Jackson entertained audiences all over the world since he was a kid, to this day he is still a beloved artist by legions of fans all over the world... Unfortunately though, when Michael Jackson was preparing for his swansong tour, he passed away due to an accidental overdose!

http://youtu.be/h_D3VFfhvs4

At number 4: Darrell 'Dimebag' Abbott (1966 - 2004):

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Darrell 'Dimebag' Abbott (1966 - 2004)[/caption]

This guy has kicked ass in many bands including such bands as: 'Pantera', but unfortunately his career was cut short when while on stage performing with, 'Damageplan' he was murdered...

http://youtu.be/cvHDSTf3At4

At number 3: The Big Bopper, Ritche Valens & Buddy Holly...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="516"] Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper & Ritchie Vaiens, 3 legendary musicians that will never be forgotten![/caption]

In a lot of respects, these guys could be said to be the direct ancestors of a lot of the modern rock 'n roll scene! So it is a shame that when they were tired of taking their tour bus, Buddy Holly chartered a Plane for them... the only problem is that it crashed, killing these legendary talents!

http://youtu.be/SaXA_Hr0CE8

http://youtu.be/jNrpAgTXiC4

http://youtu.be/bfu_gfPBPWc

At number 2: Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977):

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="512"] Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977)[/caption]

Here is another amazing musician who when he was about to go back on tour ended up passing away before he could go back on tour... That light may have been snuffed, but the King Of Rock will always reign supreme!

http://youtu.be/gj0Rz-uP4Mk

At number 1: Cliff Burton (1962 - 1986):

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Cliff Burton (1962 - 1986)[/caption]

Still considered to be the best bassist Metallica has ever had, Cliff Burton passed away after a tour bus accident while Metallica was on the European leg of their, 'Damage Inc.' tour...

http://youtu.be/6O9zMnwD65Q

Battlestar Galactica Episode: '33' (2004) - TV Episode Review

[caption id="attachment_557" align="alignright" width="300"]Official Score = 3 1/2 Devils Official Score = 3 1/2 Devils[/caption]

Battlestar Galactica... now this show has one thing definitely in common with Star Trek, in that this series has had several renditions that have come since... The only real difference though between Battlestar Galactica, and Star Trek is that Star Trek has had several spin offs, but Battlestar Galactica had a couple of remakes...

Now the truth is, is that I haven't seen most of the remakes or even the original series that are out there (a mistake that I intend to rectify!) But the truth is, is if those series are as a good as this one is, then they are sure to be a great time!

Now as for this episode... Now this episode is not actually the pilot episode (there was a very long mini-movie that was the pilot,) this episode takes place after the survivors of the Cylon war have taken refuge on board the Battlestar Galactica (basically a gigantic space cruiser that had originally been intended as essentially be a large fighter carrier), and it's refugee fleet, During this time, a sleep deprived Galactica is jumping every 33 minutes due to the fact that it seems as though the Cylon fleet is able to continually follow them...

[caption id="attachment_661" align="aligncenter" width="300"]The Refugee Fleet! The Refugee Fleet![/caption]

At one point when they finally find an opening where the Cylons are not waiting for them, they rejoin the fleet, and bring everyone over, during this time the fleet is confronted with the Cylons, convincing them that there is a traitor some with in the fleet... So as the refugee fleet is trying to evade the Cylons, the remaining military authority now is tasked with trying to find the traitor in their midst so that they can deal with them and finally try and be free of this scourge!

Now the first thing I have to say is that, this episode was really well made! I mean the talent in this show truly is above board, and the special effects in this episode like the rest of this series is truly amazing! But the best part of this episode is the story! I mean in the mini movie before this episode, the movie told of how the Cylons managed to get their defense codes and what not, and quickly overran humanity... This episode, in a way shows that it ain't quite over yet, and that life as a refugee is not going to be easy!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500"] The Galactica and her crew as they prepare to lead the last of humanity![/caption]

All in all this one is a fun episode, and it helped to get me to love this series, and  you know what? I still do!

http://youtu.be/hvYVR6XXsHA

Ed Gein... Movies He Inspired!

Unless you are an extreme horror movie fan or some one who does research on serial killers, then I doubt you would have heard of Ed Gein...

Well first of Ed Gein is one of the worst serial killers there is, yet he is also one of the most prolific serial killers in history... Why is that? Well besides the fact that he murdered only 2 people, and besides the fact that Ed Gein was more or less obsessed with his mother, he was also known to have made furniture and what not out of human body parts, as well as also having been known to have started making a woman costume out of human skin, to arrange some strange rituals... And yet he was a nice guy that lived as a hermit out in the middle of no where... Sound familiar?

It should, you see, one of the biggest contributions that Ed Gein contributed to the world, is what he contributed to the horror movie genre!

[caption id="attachment_1415" align="aligncenter" width="520"]Ed Gein, after the truth about hos gruesome life came to be known! Ed Gein, after the truth about hos gruesome life came to be known![/caption]

The first of these movies is, Psycho (1960), you see this movie was based on the book by author Robert Bloch who based his story mostly on Ed Gein's case, in that Psycho told the story of a reclusive young man by the name of, 'Norman Bates', who lived out at his mostly empty Motel, and who was obsessed with his overly possessive mother, and how after he kills a woman one night, the world that he had created for himself, had started spiraling out of control!

[caption id="attachment_1416" align="aligncenter" width="597"]Anthony Perkins as, 'Norman Bates' in Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 masterpiece, 'Psycho' (1960) Anthony Perkins as, 'Norman Bates' in Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 masterpiece, 'Psycho' (1960)[/caption]

The next one that I thought that I would mention here is, Three On A Meathook (1974). Now this is another movie that is loosely based on the story of Ed Gein, with the exception that it appears that the mother is no longer in the picture, and the father appears to become obsessed with the son, when the son starts pulling away!

[caption id="attachment_1417" align="aligncenter" width="600"]Free Range Or Hormone Fed? A scene from, Three On A Meat Hook (1974)![/caption]

And another one that I thought that I would mention here (One of the first movies that maybe the first most closest adaptions of the old Ed Gein story), a movie that I found to be a lot of fun, (and if you are huge B Horror fan I think you might to), that movie is, Deranged: Confessions Of A Necrophile (1974). This movie tells the story about how after the death of the mother that he loved so dearly, that this old hermit farmer, becomes a grave robber and murderer, and even goes so far to try and keep and preserve his mother's corpse!

[caption id="attachment_1418" align="aligncenter" width="600"]This guy is taking the term, 'getting a new look,' a little to far!' This guy is taking the term, 'getting a new look,' a little to far!'[/caption]

The next movie that I thought that I would say is more closely based on the story of Ed Gein is not so much a movie as it is a character in a movie, and that is the character of, 'Jame (Buffalo Bill) Gumb' (Played by: Ted Levine) from the award winning movie, Silence Of The Lambs (1991), a movie which has FBI trainee, 'Clarice Starling' (Played by: Jodie Foster) and how she enlisted the help of a captured serial killer in an effort to capture a serial killer by the name of, 'Buffalo Bill' a loner, that is kidnapping women in an effort to make a woman suit out of the women that he has murdered... And has gotten the FBI's attention when his latest kidnapping victim is the daughter of U.S. Senator!

[caption id="attachment_1419" align="aligncenter" width="604"]Ted Levine as, 'Jame (Buffalo Bill) Gumb' in, 'Silence Of The Lambs' (1991)! Ted Levine as, 'Jame (Buffalo Bill) Gumb' in, 'Silence Of The Lambs' (1991)![/caption]

The last one that I wanted to mention here is, Ed Gein: D.D.S. (2013). Now this movie hasn't been released yet, but this movie will tell the story of how a witches coven will resurrect Ed Gein using an old haunted dental chair that had been taken from the Hospital that he spent the last years of his life at.

[caption id="attachment_1421" align="aligncenter" width="450"]Ed Gein will be resurescted later this year to have some more fun in, 'Ed Gein: D.D.S.' (2013) Ed Gein will be resurescted later this year to have some more fun in, 'Ed Gein: D.D.S.' (2013)[/caption]

And then of course there are the movies that are actually bio-pics of Ed Gein and his story, included in this is:

1. Ed Gein (2000), a movie which stars, Steve Railsback (Disturbing Behavior) as Gein.

2. Ed Gein: The Ghoul Of Plainfield (2004) a documentary on Gein himself.

3. Ed Gein: The Butcher Of Plainfield (2007) a horror movie that stars, Kane Hodder (Jason X)

4. Ed Gein: The Musical (2010) a movie which stars Dan Davies (West Of The Thunder)

The last area that I thought that I would mention here are just a few movies that took some element of Ed Gein and what he did for their film:

1. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) used Gein as the inspiration for, 'Leatherface', as well as the fact that Leatherface and his creepy family are on a creepy out of the way farm that is decorated with furniture that was made from Human remains.

2. Motel Hell (1980), used the whole creepy killer farmer element that lives almost entirely out in the middle of no where, and kills people!

3. Maniac (1980) a movie that used the fact that the killer in this movie had an abusive mother, and that is why he kills women he deemed, 'un-clean'.

4. Ed And His Dead Mother (1993) in this movie the lead character who is mourning the loss of his mother that he has lived his entire life with, dies and ultimately he has brought back to life!

5. Roadkill: The Last Days of John Martin (1994) tells the story of a crazy meat carver who lives on a farm by himself and goes out and kills people with car trouble for food... He also has an ornamental dead head.

6. House Of 1,000 Corpse (2003), now I suspect that when Rob Zombie was making this film, that he utilized the fact that Ed Gein would dress up in a woman suit and would dance in bizarre rituals at night as inspiration in this movie for the moment in the movie when the family dresses up (in real costumes) to sacrifice the remaining people that they had captured to, 'Doctor Satan'!

http://youtu.be/y9klJA1JMbM

http://youtu.be/04kk_XHyTvk

http://youtu.be/nSNJmvxNs80

http://youtu.be/lQKs169Sl0I

http://youtu.be/OzNOwnizMmg

http://youtu.be/nrhyZTNYdrU

http://youtu.be/mt9dFlDiC6k

http://youtu.be/Vs3981DoINw

http://youtu.be/k4AR3BgaCdA

http://youtu.be/btGEvamuaA4