January 2009 Archives

After his match with Clubber Lang, Rocky consents to Apollo Creed's "favor", a private one-on-one matchup. Rocky IV (1985) begins where Rocky returns home to celebrate Paulie's birthday with his family.

Rocky and Apollo are enjoying their time at home when Soviet fighter Drago comes to America to test his strength against American boxers, and challenges Rocky to a matchup.

At first, Rocky is reluctant to accept this fight, so Creed steps in to test his strength against this "indestructible" fighter. Rocky advises against it, but Creed declares that this fight isn't just about him.

The exhibition match between Creed and Drago begins with an embarrassingly patriotic Cold War sequence featuring James Brown and a multitude of Las Vegas dancers. Apollo enters from a floating platform, dancing and moving to "Living in America".

As the match begins, Drago beats the pulp out of Creed. Apollo stays in the match, but is knocked unconscious in the 2nd round.

In an unflattering funeral sequence, it is revealed that Creed is no longer alive. While I understand that it was a necessary plot point, I don't think Stallone had to kill him off.

But I digress. Rocky finally agrees to a fight with Drago, and is fuelled by a montage of past victories, failures, and those who have left him.

Rocky relocates to Siberia to begin his training for his Christmas matchup with Drago. The obligatory training sequence begins, as Rocky trains in the wilderness, while Drago trains in monitored facilities, and gets injected with steroids.

At this point in the movie there isn't much to do but cut to the fight, and that's exactly what happens. Rocky's match with Drago begins, and the hostile and embarrassingly patriotic Soviet crowd eventually begins cheering for Rocky's victory.

The fight lasts 15 rounds, but ultimately Rocky wins the fight. Rocky gives a poignant speech, and establishes peace between Soviet and America. OK, that's not exactly what happens, but it's implied.

In my opinion, the writing in Rocky IV isn't quite as good as the writing in the previous films. Visually speaking it looks better than the other films, but there doesn't seem to be any particular reason for this movie except for the Cold War.

After Rocky defeats Apollo Creed in Rocky II, he goes on to defend the title 10 times while Clubber Lang (Mr. T) looks on. Rocky agrees to a charity exhibition match against Thunderlips (Hulk Hogan) to comedic effect.

Rocky attends a ceremony celebrating his accomplishments, and the unveiling of his statue. Rocky announces his retirement, but Clubber Lang provokes him into fighting him. Rocky agrees, and the training begins.

Mickey advises against this bout with Clubber, and reveals that he planned all the title defense matches with lesser fighters. Mickey indicates that Clubber is the real deal, and that Rocky has no chance.

Rocky is stubborn, and chooses to take on Clubber anyway. However, he is unable to focus on his training, because he is too busy living it up.

The day of the fight arrives, and a pre-match quarrel finds Mickey in dire straits. Rocky must face the music without his trainer looking on. He loses the fight in 2 rounds, and Mickey passes on.

Apollo Creed offers to train Rocky, but he is too devastated to go on. Eventually he concedes, and they travel to Apollo's old stomping grounds. They schedule a re-match with Clubber Lang, but again Rocky is unable to focus on his training.

Adrian helps him to realize that there is a passionate fighter within him, and Apollo tells him to get his "eye of the tiger" back. Thus his training in "rhythmic boxing" begins. Rocky learns the speedy footwork akin to black fighters, tightens up his already small frame, and prepares for the re-match.

Rocky regains his confidence, and is ready for the matchup with Clubber Lang. Rocky allows Clubber to get some free shots in, and wares him down. Ultimately, he is able to defeat Clubber in the 3rd round, and Rocky regains his championship title.

Apollo cashes in on his favor, and Rocky agrees to a match with him. The only catch is that they are fighting for fun, without any press, any audience, or TV cameras. This is where Rocky III (1982) ends.

Rocky III is not as serious as the first two movies, and is a little heavier on the comedic side. In fact, it could be said that it's easier to make fun of in this day and age than when it was released (the training sequence with Apollo is... uh... a little "fruity"). It's still a good movie, and I would willingly watch it again.

Rocky II (1979) is the first sequel in this long-running theatrical series. The original Rocky left off at the end of the heavyweight championship match between Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed.

Rocky II picks up exactly where Rocky left off. After the fateful match, each boxer is rushed to the hospital, where Creed tries to push for a re-match with Rocky. Rocky is in no hurry to accept this challenge. In fact, he announces that he will retire from the boxing world altogether.

Taking advantage of his newfound fame, Rocky tries to make a living in the commercial business. Unfortunately, the naïve Rocky is unable to cater to the demands of the directors. He tries to get a desk job, but no one is willing to hire him due to his lack of educational and experiential qualifications. He tries his hand at manual labor, but is laid off shortly after.

Rocky is unable to provide for his family and keep finances in order. Having blown all his money on a new home, car, and jewelry, a pregnant Adrian offers to take her old job.

A distressed and very pregnant Adrian is rushed to the hospital where she gives birth to Rocky's child, and goes into a coma.

Meanwhile, Apollo is ruthless in pursuing a re-match with Rocky, who realizes that fighting is his only real passion. Rocky accepts, and the training begins. However, Rocky is unable to focus and put any heart into his preparation.

Rocky spends most of his time at the bedside of Adrian. Finally when she regains consciousness, Rocky summons the courage to continue his training in earnest.

The re-match between Apollo and Rocky is another close matchup. Rocky seems outmatched in early rounds, but he comes back to prove that he is the true heavyweight champion.

In this day and age it's hard to find good sequels, but this movie is actually really well put together. In fact, I might go so far as to say the first movie doesn't seem quite as complete without this film.

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991) is, of course, the sequel to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. In many ways I feel it is far superior to the original film, but it's also more bizarre.

Apparently people wear ridiculous fluorescent outfits in the future. This isn't exactly consistent with the prequel, where people wore tinfoil. I guess I shouldn't be looking for consistency in a funny, far-fetched movie like this one, but I notice these things.

Rufus' old gym teacher has a plan to prevent the music of Wyld Stallyns from having the societal impact that it would ultimately have, and sends two evil robots that look exactly like Bill & Ted.

Bill & Ted - the heroes of the movie - are killed by their robotic counterparts within the first 30 minutes of the opening credits, which is also unusual.

And then we have our brave heroes dropping into a deep abyss (a hilarious and classic moment), all the way down to hell. While they're down there, they each experience their personal hell, with somewhat disturbing results.

The heroes opt to challenge the grim reaper to a battle. If they win, they will be brought back to life. This is also a really entertaining sequence, because the reaper keeps losing and challenges them to more games (like Battleship and Twister).

Of course, Bill & Ted win the battle against the reaper and are brought to heaven in order to find the world's smartest scientist in the form of two alien creatures called Station. They thus return to Earth, and have Station construct "good robot usses".

The Wyld Stallyns are scheduled to play at the fated battle of the bands, which presents an impossibly good deal for winning. The "evil robot usses" are there, filling in, carrying out their evil plan, when our heroes burst in with their good robot counterparts, and destroy the evil robots.

But it's not over yet. Rufus' old gym teacher (Chuck De Nomolos) bursts in and attempts to gun them down. His plan is foiled, as Bill & Ted use their time-travelling faculty to stage his downfall. They realize that they still aren't good enough to put on a show, so they go on an intense guitar training session, again using their time-travelling facility to their advantage.

And that's pretty much it. They play, the credits roll, and we see a magazine and newspaper montage that indicates how successful they would become.

Although technically Bogus Journey isn't an 80s movie, it's a sequel to an 80s movie, so I thought it would be worth reviewing (especially since I already reviewed the prequel).

Station!

These are my top recommendations for movies you should watch with your band. They remind us not to take ourselves too seriously, and enjoy ourselves where we are on the way to where we are going.

5. Wayne's World, Wayne's World 2

OK, so the main characters aren't actually in a band, but both movies revolve heavily around music and concerts. In the first movie, Wayne and Garth attend an Alice Cooper concert, and in the sequel, they attend an Aerosmith concert. How can you beat that?

You've got to love the "Gasworks" sequence, especially the bit about the "Shitty Beatles". Crucial Taunt is pretty awesome too, with Tia Carrere as the lead singer. I didn't know that she could sing before this movie.

What else is there to say? Wayne's World is like the modern-day "Holy Grail". So many cultural references and gags stem from this movie that almost every scene is a classic moment.

Get the net!

4. School of Rock

So you're probably thinking "School of Rock" should be higher up on the list, and you may be right. But don't jump to conclusions until you see the rest of the list, and the heavy competition it's up against.

One of the best things about this movie is Jack Black. He may not be a skilled musician, but he makes up for it in passion. The movie is a lot of fun, with plenty of laughs and a semi-believable storyline.

It's inspiring to see kids who are this talented, since there are adults who can't play half as good. Watch and learn!

3. The Blues Brothers, Blues Brothers 2000

All you need to know is they're "on a mission from God". The original movie featured John Belushi, who's actually a pretty good singer. It's too bad that he wasn't around for the sequel.

The original "Blues Brothers" is by far the better movie, though it's somewhat slow-paced. Then again, you don't see films like this anymore. It's a really epic movie clocking in at over 2 hours.

Both of the movies featured a kaleidoscope of Blues and R&B legends like Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and Eric Clapton, not to mention entire musical sequences with some of these musicians. How can you beat that? You've got to love all those police cars crashing!

"The Lord works in mysterious ways."

2. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

The entire story revolves around two teenagers whose music is destined to save the world. While both movies don't actually spend a lot of time showing the band playing, they're still immensely entertaining.

In Excellent Adventure, Bill & Ted must time-travel in order to bring historical figures from the past to help them with their history project. In Bogus Journey, Bill & Ted are killed by their robotic counterparts, and must find a way to defeat the grim reaper to be brought back to life.

You can't take all the time-travelling too seriously, but these movies are fun to watch - if for no other reason - for Keanu Reeves' most infamous role.

Station!

1. This is Spinal Tap

"This is Spinal Tap" is almost as well-known for its one-liners and cultural references as Wayne's World. The reason that it's the ultimate band movie in my mind is because it's a good reminder not to take things too seriously.

The soundtrack is littered with hilariously quirky yet impossibly catchy tracks like "Big Bottom", "Hell Hole", "Stonehendge", and "Sex Farm". The mere mention of these titles makes me smile. I know the idea was to mock the Hard Rock scene, but somehow all of these songs came out sounding even more Rock & Roll than a lot of other albums that were released at the time.

Just watch this movie and you'll see what I mean. There's some fantastic acting on the part of Michael McKean and Christopher Guest who also had a part in writing the movie.

This one goes to 11.

What are some of your favorite band movies?

Video Games Live is going to debut music from Halo 3: ODST in Seattle on January 24th. This is just one of the many new developments, as they are also planning on including segments from Chrono Cross, Chrono Trigger, Mega Man, Monkey Island, Super Smash Bros., Shadow of the Colossus, Earthworm Jim, Silent Hill and others.

All the more reason to check out Video Games Live in 2009!

For more information: Video Games Live

Some may say that this movie was exactly what was wrong with the 80s. I'm not one of those people. I enjoy the cheesiness, the juvenile humor, the 80s hair metal, and the 80s fashion and vernacular.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) begins with a bizarre CG sequence that seems kind of out of place. Back in the day, you may have watched the introductory sequence and thought that you had stepped in the wrong theatre. I'm sure it was cutting-edge technology at the time, but it hasn't aged well.

In any case, the movie is about two teenagers, played by Alex Winter (Bill) and Keanu Reeves (Ted) in one of his most infamous roles. The two are in a band called Wyld Stallyns, and are destined for stardom but are blissfully unaware. Both Bill and Ted are flunking their social studies course unless they can pull something together for their final project. The future of the band hangs in the balance as Ted will be sent to military school in Alaska if he flunks out of school. In comes Rufus, played by George Carlin. Rufus travels from the future and offers to help Bill and Ted by providing them with use of a time-travelling phone booth. Bill and Ted thus assemble historical figures such as Joan of Arc and J.S. Bach to help them with their history project. Unfortunately, even Ted's father is out to foil them, as he arrests all of the historical figures and puts them in jail. Bill and Ted break out the prisoners, and make it to the auditorium for their presentation just in the nick of time. The presentation is a massive success, and Bill and Ted redeem themselves. Later that night, Rufus shows up with the "princesses" they met in 18th century England, and a couple of new guitars to get their band kick-started. The band is still awful and doesn't know what they're doing, but apparently the entire society of the future is based on their music so they are destined for success.

All in all, it's a really fun movie. There are many memorable quotes and laughable moments, even if they aren't entirely intentional. Keanu Reeves is almost a caricature of himself, playing the part to a tee, but overacting in the process. This Sci-Fi Comedy is one of my favorite band movies of all time. The whole idea that a band's music could save the world is fantastic, but somehow poignant.

Super Fire Pro Wrestling 2 is one of those games with the misfortune of international title confusion. It's one of many pro wrestling games in this long-running series developed by Human Entertainment. Since these games were released on a variety of different platforms, this only adds to the confusion. For the sake of this review, I will take the Japanese title as correct.

SFPW2 was developed for Super Famicom, and was released in 1992. You can select from 25 different wrestlers who all vary subtly in appearance, stamina, and technique. This is not a game with a whole lot of depth; so again, the differences are usually pretty slight.

You can choose from several different modes including official league matches (singles and tag), exhibition matches, lumberjack matches, and elimination matches. You can play with up to 2 players in any mode (up to 8 players in the "open league" mode), though it's not possible to battle each other in the official league matches, as you are faced with increasingly harder computer opponents.

Gameplay

The gameplay is where this game really shines. It's a lot of fun to duke it out with computer opponents, though their tactics tend to be calculated and predictable. Human players, on the other hand, tend to be less predictable and therefore more interesting and challenging to engage. Using the X button, you can run to the ropes, and collide with your opponent or the referee to comedic effect. You won't see computer opponents trying this one on you.

All of the wrestlers have signature moves, and while their moves do tend to differ from one wrestler to the other, there are only a limited number (usually the same number) of moves a particular wrestler can execute. No particular move seems to do more damage than the other, so you could repeatedly throw your opponent to one of the corner posts and drain their energy that way. I have personal experience...

One of the things that often catches people off guard about this game is the complete lack of any status bar or health bar. There are other visual cues that tell you how close your opponents are to submission, but the easiest way to tell is to put them in a submission hold or to pin them down. If they don't give up, throw them into the corner post a few more times and try again.

Graphics

At least you can tell they're SNES graphics, but that's not saying much. It's an improvement over any NES game to be sure, but not a good reflection of what the system is capable of. Fortunately, the gameplay tends to make up for it in a big way.

Sound & Music

Frankly, quite hilarious. When you put your opponent in a submission hold, it sounds like you're pulling on rubber or applying pressure to a balloon. When you land a punch or a kick, it sounds a bit like hitting a leather sofa. Quite laughable.

The soundtrack is kind of cool, but is totally stuck in the 80s. The MIDI guitars sound more like motorcycles than guitars as they often did at the time. MIDI Guitar is just one of those hard things to get right. In any case, the music is kind of a combination of Hard Rock guitar riffs with 80s synth riffs. Like I said, the compositions themselves aren't that bad, but the MIDI sounds make it hilarious.

Overall 7/10

I remember playing this game with my friend a lot in elementary school and Jr. High. We had a lot of fun playing, laughing, and making spoofs of this game. I'm not sure exactly what it was about this game, but it was quite addictive and maybe a little too easy to make fun of. The gameplay is by far the best quality of the game, and besides that it's kind of a hit-and-miss game, and doesn't really hold a wide appeal. What? Don't look at me like that; wrestling was big in Japan at the time. I will throw you against the corner post if you step over the line. ;)

Click here to watch me throw my opponent against the corner post repeatedly.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past was released for the SNES on November 21, 1991 in Japan. It made its way over to North America on April 13, 1992 and was a big hit in both regions.

I seem to remember that there was a lot of hype surrounding this game, and rightly so. The SNES was a relatively new platform at the time of release, so the game looked visually stunning. Not only that, but the gameplay footage made it look irresistibly fun, and far superior to its popular predecessors.

There are few games that actually live up to their hype, but A Link to the Past was one of them. This masterpiece featured a tremendous amount of game content, an easy-to-learn control system, visually appealing graphics, and an epic soundtrack. What more could you want from this Action-Adventure RPG?

While it is apparent that the game was developed with kids in mind, an adult could just as easily pick up and enjoy this game. There is a decent amount of challenge to either demographic.

Gameplay

Action-Adventure RPG
While A Link to the Past will always be remembered as an Action-Adventure game, I've always thought of it as an RPG as well (minus the tedious menu systems). Like most RPG games of the time, you have to accomplish certain tasks before moving on to the next. Your initial goal to obtain the Master Sword requires you to gather the 3 pendants scattered across the world (and there are other tasks leading up to that).

In any case, the Action is still a lot of fun and relatively easy to learn. I love all the secondary items you gain throughout the game, like the bombs and the bow & arrow. There's a certain amount of fun built into each item you gain throughout your travels. For example, you gain the ability to run when you obtain the Pegasus Boots, but you also gain the ability to smash, crash, and bump into absolutely everything.

Light vs. Dark
A Link to the Past features 2 worlds; the Light and the Dark. Both worlds look similar, but are different in many ways. You cannot gain access to many areas in the Dark World when you first arrive because you don't have the items necessary (like the Magic Hammer). This was one of the most interesting facets of the game. Acquiring the Master Sword is only the beginning, with many adventures waiting in the Dark World.

When you obtain the Magic Mirror, you gain the ability to transfer freely from the Dark World back into the Light World. This becomes a rather essential skill, as there are many areas you can't gain access to without the effective use of it.

Heart Piece Collection
In order to gain the maximum amount of health in-game, you must collect all the heart pieces. This process can actually be a lot of fun, and often requires the effective use of the Magic Mirror. Heart pieces can be hidden in unlikely places, in the depths of caverns, at the edge of the map, in treasure chests, and other locations. This is the game's most extensive side quest, and the reward is actually worth it.

Graphics

Visually Appealing
What more can I say? The game still looks pretty good to me, even with the arrival of photo-realistic 3D Action games. Nintendo obviously took a lot of pride in their work, and for such a vast game, you can tell they took a lot of care in developing every detail, as if their careers depended on it.

Sound & Music

A Memorable Soundtrack
The thing about the music in A Link to the Past is, even if you don't particularly like it, you catch yourself humming it anyway. The themes are really memorable, and are effective in communicating the mood and ambience of the environment. The Light World and Dark World themes are particularly memorable, perhaps because you hear them more than any other theme, but the music is well-developed all around.

Overall 10/10

I haven't finished this game once. I haven't finished this game twice. I've finished this game several times, and then played it some more. Okay, there may not be many new things to discover once you've finished it a couple of times, but it's still just that fun. There are, in fact, certain experiments you could conduct in completing the game. For example, you could finish it without gaining many of the sword, shield, and clothing upgrades. Regardless, I give this game 10 out of 10 because every aspect of it is so well-developed.

This year I came to discover that there's a lot of great talent out there. Here are some of my favorite video game and movie reviewers of 2008. See who made the list and who didn't.

Angry Video Game Nerd (James)

Genre: Video reviews of video games and occasional video reviews of movies

I've been following the Angry Video Game Nerd since spring 2007. One of my students told me about him, and I was a little shocked that his parents even allowed him to watch these videos, as they tend to contain rather strong language.

In 2008 the Nerd released 24 videos (including his battle with the Nostalgia Critic). I don't know exactly how much time and effort goes into making these videos, but I'm guessing quite a lot. There may be those who say he's lost his touch, but his videos still make me laugh, and are quite entertaining.

His best moment of 2008 is hard to pinpoint, but his Virtual Boy, Double Vision, Batman, and CD-i videos are probably among the best.

If you decide to check out his videos, be warned that they can be rather crude. He's the Angry Video Game Nerd, after all.

Cinemassacre.com

Nostalgia Critic (Doug)

Genre: Video reviews of nostalgic movies, TV shows, and one video game

Really the only reason I know about the Nostalgia Critic is because of the Angry Video Game Nerd. On a whim I decided to check out his videos and I enjoyed them so much that I've been following him ever since.

There was a time when I wouldn't watch anything but the Angry Video Game Nerd, as I thought he was the pinnacle of web-videodom. However, because of the Critic I came to realize that there's actually a lot more talent out there.

His website also features 5 second movies, Ask ThatGuy (a different character), Bum reviews (another character), and other tidbits he's worked on. That Guy with the Glasses.com also features videos from other talent.

His best moment of 2008 was his reviews of Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and Godzilla. The Mortal Kombat review featured "cameos" from Ask ThatGuy and the Bum (all characters played by Doug himself), which was comedic gold. The Godzilla review harped on the creative team who seems to come up with amazing teasers, but whose movies never deliver.

Again, be advised that his reviews contain strong language.

That Guy with the Glasses.com

Spoony (Noah Antwiler)

Genre: Video reviews of video games and written movie reviews

I wouldn't even know about Noah if it wasn't for That Guy with the Glasses.com. I caught one of his Final Fantasy VIII videos at That Guy, which compelled me to check out his website.

His reviews are in the style of Mystery Science Theatre 3000, which I thought was awesome. Not only had it been a long time since I'd seen MST3K, but I remembered how much I loved that style of humor.

Noah's videos also tend to be more in-depth than any other reviewer I've seen. Not to say that he's "reviewing" so much as "poking fun", but just to give you an example he has 7 videos on FF VIII which are all 10 minutes or longer.

His best moment in 2008 was by far his review of Phantasmagoria 2: A Puzzle of Flesh. His "review", or rather "experiment" covers almost the entirety of the game (roughly 5 hours of gameplay). Yet every precious minute is comedic gold, as Noah pokes fun at this terribly acted, horribly executed game.

Be warned that his reviews tend to contain strong language, suggestive themes, and mature content.

Spoony Experiment.com

Honorable Mention - Goemon047 (Eric)

Genre: Video reviews of video games

At long last we come to Eric, who has produced some excellent videos, but hasn't been active for a long time. Best to my knowledge, he doesn't have a website, and hasn't produced any new material in over 10 months.

I came across his videos on YouTube, because he made a response to the Angry Video Game Nerd's review of Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest. I found his response to be quite entertaining and humorous. His other reviews are equally interesting, and (generally speaking) cleaner than the other alternatives.

His best moment so far has been the aforementioned review of Simon's Quest.

If you ever come out with more videos Eric, I would love to see them.

Visit his YouTube channel.

Who were some of your favorite reviewers of 2008?

Over the Holidays I've been playing more SNES than NES. I know I posted some upcoming NES reviews recently, but I might be getting to some of these before I get to those NES reviews. In no particular order:

Fighter's History
Front Mission
Kawa no Nushi Tsuri 2 (aka Legend of the River King 2)
Pilotwings
Seiken Densetsu 2 (aka Secret of Mana)
Sim City
Super Fire Pro Wrestling 2
Zelda no Densetsu - Kamigami no Triforce (aka The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past)

Tommy Tallarico will be speaking at MAGFest (January 1 - 4) this year. This sounds like a really fun festival and I wish I could go!

If you're in the VA area, I'd encourage you to look it up.

For more information:

MAGFest
Video Games Live

2008 was a big year for Video Games Live, and one of their most successful.

• Performed 47 shows around the world
• Released their first album
• Included in the Guinness Book of World Records

Of course, you can always read more about this on their website.

I attended a Video Games Live concert in 2007 in Calgary, Alberta and lead to my interview with Tommy Tallarico. It was an awesome experience; the music was phenomenal, and the presentation was a lot of fun. I would definitely recommend attending a concert if you haven't had the chance yet.

Read my concert experience if you want to learn more.

I hope that your New Year's Eve was an enjoyable one. I'm looking forward to another year of gaming and watching movies.

I hope that 2009 will be your best year yet, and that my site can be a source of fun and entertainment to you.

God bless.