What's on the Box: Game of Thrones - Season One (2011)

Warning: this review is super spoilerific. DO NOT read this if you haven't seen the show yet, as you really don't want it to be spoiled. Again, don't click the jump if you haven't seen the show! Consider yourself warned.

What is it?

 

HBO series based off the epic series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin titled A Song of Ice and Fire.  The television series takes it title from the first book, A Game of Thrones. There is already a second season in the works. 

New Release Movies: Bridesmaids (2011)

As you can tell from the title of the movie, it is a movie for chicks.  It's a chick flick.  Unfortunately the only bad thing about being married or having a girlfriend is that you have to sit through chick flicks/romantic comedies (romcoms) from time to time.  This isn't really a romcom though.  Sure there are easily predictable romcom elements to it.  The main character is unlucky in love, she stumbles across a fairly likable bloke, she likes him, he likes her and then she does something to push him away but of course they get back together at the end and we live happily ever after.  Dull, predictable and boring.

The chicks.

Movie Predictions: The Adventures of Tin Tin: Secret of the Unicorn

Disclaimer: This prediction is purely based on watching the trailer for the movie and without any knowledge of what this movie is about. We apologise for our ignorance in advance but hey, it's us.

     So, where to begin?

     Snowy!

     Fucking Snowy!

Fucking Snowy!

     I got a little bit of goosebumps watching that trailer..

     I think overall it looks great.

     Agreed.

New Release Movies: Scott Pilgrim vs the World (2010)

Scott Pilgrim vs the World is a flick from a great director in Edgar Wright, based on the comics of the same name. It's definitely a departure from his last films, which are predominantly hilarious English affairs involving Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Following up from the excellent Hot Fuzz would be no mean feat, but thankfully he delivered with quite simply a brilliant, quirky and downright cool movie.

New Release Movies: Toy Story 3 (2010)

We start of with a fantastic opening scene involving a train heist, bridge explosion, force field dogs, force field eating dinosaur and a giant pig space ship.  The toys are back and better than ever.  We skip to a montage of Andy and his family growing older and by the end of it Andy is 17 years old and off to college.  The toys are screaming out to be played with as it appears they haven't been played with for a long time.

New Release Games: LA Noire (2011)

Warning: This review contains spoilers. If you haven't played the game and want to remain spoiler free then do not continue reading.  For everyone else, enjoy the fuck out of it.

STORY

Quantom: LA Noire is set in 1940's Los Angeles (duh), immediately following World War II. You play as protagonist Cole Phelps, a returned soldier who is now adjusting to life as an LAPD cop on the beat. The game thrusts you straight into the role of Cole, and you jump into your first case as a traffic cop. The story immediately grabbed me, as it's something that hadn't really been attempted in gaming before. It's definitely edgy, violent, and at times twisted. The similarities are obvious, but at times it really did remind me of playing a game version of LA Confidential.

Jables: I'm a huge fan of the 1940s era in movies and I jumped at the chance to actually get to play it out.  And LA Confidential is a brilliant flick that I should definitely get around to watching again.

New Release Movies: Black Swan (2011)

Now, I should preface this by saying that I saw Black Swan when it first came out in January. I have not watched the film since. I can categorically say that I will never see this film again. I won't look at the DVD case when I'm at the shops. I won't accidentally catch it on cable TV and think "I'll just watch 5 minutes." If for some strange reason I am forced to watch it again, the universe may just implode as it means a paradox has occurred. 

Old School Movies: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

The year was 1999, I was in grade 10 and a new Star Wars movie was about to be released.  Boy the excitement was almost too much to handle.  2 years earlier they had just re-released the original trilogy to celebrate 30 years since A New Hope's release.  So the thought of Star Wars was still fresh with everyone.

Movie Predictions: Cowboys and Aliens

Disclaimer: This prediction is purely based on watching the trailer for the movie and without any knowledge of what this movie is about. We apologise for our ignorance in advance but hey, it's us.

Jables:      First off. Bond and Solo...hawt.
Quantom: Bond looks good. Solo so DAMN old.
J:       [Laughs]
Q:     Also, the title of the movie kind of sucks.
J:      Yeah.
Q:     I thought that with a name like 'Cowboys and Aliens' it would be really light hearted, but it seems to take itself pretty seriously. Okay, so it also has Sam Rockwell.
J:       I'm a fan.
Q:     Not sure about the token bird...isn't she from something?
J:       Tron recently. Olivia Wilde, I remember she was on OC.
Q:     So obviously Bond and her hook up. Going out on a limb to say they'll live happily ever after.
J:       Agreed. Thoughts on the special effects?
Q:      I mean they seem okay, but it reminds me of District 9. It looks good but you're like, "Hey these are graphics." What do you reckon?
J:       They weren't Green Lantern bad but as you say, they stick out like dogs balls.
Q:     [laughs] Green Lantern.

Old School Movies: Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

Dracula. Vampire. Nosferatu. Also can become a werewolf and fog of various colours. The Bad Guy.

I'm presuming everyone has seen this or some variation on the Dracula story. I remember first seeing Francis Ford Coppola's version many years ago, when I was in a pubescent state. I found the film utterly titillating, mainly because of all the tits. I also remember it had, as he was simply known then, "The dude from Bill and Ted's." It was with great pleasure that I came across a viewing on cable TV and couldn't help but watch.

Shit Albums: Animal by Ke$ha (2010)

For some reason I have decided to review Ke$ha's seminal album Animal.

Ke$ha burst on to the music scene in 2010 with a single titled "Tik Tok." Ke$ha, seemingly coming from obscurity, was now a superstar, and that damn song was played everywhere. I hardly even listen to the radio, and once I managed to hear Tik Tok three times in one day. And not because I wanted to.

New Release Movies: X-Men: First Class (2011)

Wow.  Where to begin.  How about a little bit of history.  The first X-Men movie wasn't perfect.  Hell, it wasn't even anything special.  But it was one of the first decent superhero/comic book movies.  It paved the way for a brilliant sequel (one of few sequels that are actually better than the original), helped to launch Hugh Jackman into superstardom and it brought together two amazing actors in Patrick Stewart and Ian Mckellen.

Old School Movies: Back to the Future Part III (1990)

The Back to the Future series is one of my absolute favourites. However, I've always found the third entry a bit of a strange beast. In some ways I find it unsettling. That's not to say I don't still find it enjoyable, as in some ways it perfectly ends the trilogy. So without further ado, here are my thoughts about Back to the Future Part III.