April 2009 Archives

I haven't seen any of the prequels to Fast & Furious, so I have no basis to compare it to any of its earlier incarnations. What I can say is that it's an action-packed, adrenaline pumping, speed inducing action fest. To be terse, it's pretty much what I expected.

To its credit, the opening action sequence is as intense and stimulating as the introductory sequence from Quantum of Solace (in my opinion). This seems to be a current trend in action movies; they open with a big bang and draw you in. And why not? Many movie-goers are looking for a quick thrill, and may not have the attention span to hold out for long, convoluted storylines. I'm not pointing fingers at anyone, merely stating the obvious.

Unfortunately, I find the movie to be far too reliant on a particular "scene", one that I can't really relate to (yeah, I'm lonely :P). Parties, girls, alcohol, and muscle cars. And while that is all well and good, I have no point of reference for this lifestyle, nor am I particularly interested. Some would argue that that's the point of entertainment and movies in general, and I cannot discount that argument.

The movie is also pretty unrealistic (and again, that may be the point of over-the-top action flicks, but just hear me out). I am not proposing that the action takes away from the storyline, but I do have a hard time accepting that Brian O'Conner (played by Paul Walker) would get away with what he did, and still be welcomed back in the police force.

I also did not expect Vin Diesel's character (Dominic Toretto) to be a stoic one. I would not have thought him to be a grim and serious type (although Diesel pulls it off with grace). I understand that he is supposed to be the embodiment of masculinity, and in a rare glimpse of Hollywood counter-ethos, he refuses to get involved romantically with Gisele Harabo (played by Gal Gadot), one of the main ladies in the film. He is nevertheless an unrelenting and militant character, and even O'Connor winds up joining forces with him.

My expectations aside, it was a pretty decent action flick. I do not condone the making of such a film, but I would be lying if I said that it did not entertain me.

Front Mission was released in 1995, and developed by Square. The game was released for Super Famicom (SNES) but was never released outside of Japan.

And that's a shame, because it's actually a pretty cool game. It's basically a turn-based strategy game with role-playing elements. Your characters pilot wanzers, essentially large robots armed for combat. Your wanzers are highly customizable, and as you progress through the storyline, better parts become available.

The story begins where Royd's fiancée, Karen is killed by captain Driscoll (who later uses Karen's brain as the processing unit for his wanzer). Royd and his team were merely examining the premises, but this hostile action provokes Royd and his team to action, and sets the stage for the first mission.


While the storyline is pretty good, the main protagonist, Royd, is a rather stoic and colorless character. When Olson, the colonel of the mercenary unit Canyon Crows comes to recruit him, he readily agrees to lead the unit (without much persuasion). In this way, rarely does he make judgment calls of his own.

With that said, the game itself is a lot of fun. One of the best features about Front Mission is the ability to customize your wanzers. Everything from shoulder missile units to leg parts are fully configurable, and while it's usually a good idea to stick to the "best" parts, there is still a lot of choice. Through trial and error you may occasionally find unusual setups that work well.

The turn-based gameplay does require some thought, and the wrong move may find you surrounded by enemy wanzers. Rarely is it a smart idea to go charging in to the middle of battle, especially with Royd. If Royd is defeated in combat, you will see the "game over" screen. Fortunately, that never happens if any of your other team members are crushed.

Most of the time you are far outnumbered by enemy machines, but typically their gear isn't as good as yours (as long as you continually upgrade), and because your characters level up as they gain experience, they tend to be ahead of where your enemies are. As long as you make wise tactical decisions, you shouldn't run into too much trouble. The early missions tend to be a little challenging, however, until you get used to the system.

The music is pretty cool, though it's certainly not as memorable as the music from Final Fantasy VI. If anything, the shop music is the theme you remember the most, because of its laid-back, bouncy Jazzy vibe.

The menu system and the overall esthetics are unique to this game, and it's obvious that they put a lot of time into every detail. A slight departure from other Square games, Front Mission is a classic in its own right, spawning many sequels and spinoffs.

In another post I mentioned that this game wasn't so much fun as it was addicting. I don't retract that statement. Yes, it's fun, but it's addicting more so because once you're past a certain point, you just want to keep going so you can upgrade your equipment and test it out on the battlefield. I recommend this game to anyone who can read Japanese, or somehow get by with all the English that's in the game.

Canadian Bacon was released in 1995, and was written and directed by Michael Moore. The late and great John Candy stars as Sheriff Bud Boomer, a clueless American who goes to Canada to "save" his dear Honey (played by Rhea Perlman).

The movie centers on Canadian and American satire, and Moore takes plenty of stabs at both sides. The movie tends to unravel pretty quickly towards the end, and the so-called humor feels dated and maybe a little too close to home (and maybe too obvious) much of the time. If it wasn't for John Candy, it would have fell flat.

A brief plot summary: The President of the U.S. is waning in popularity, and his advisors counsel him to start a cold war against Canada to boost his approval rating. Boomer and his gang take matters into their own hands, and "invade" Canadian soil. What follows is pandemonium involving U.S. military, Boomer's gang, and Canadian authorities.

It may have been relatively entertaining for its time, but suffice to say Canadian Bacon isn't really that great of a film. It could be lumped in with movies like Strange Brew and Naked Gun, but not nearly as amusing.

I believe that The Matrix series somewhat redeemed itself with this installment. There is the sense that it was perhaps too little too late, but I found it far more satisfying than Reloaded.

The machines and the humans are fated to settle their score once and for all, and while Neo makes his way to machine city at the cost of his beloved Trinity, the humans make their last stand and wage battle at Zion. The humans are shown fighting valiantly, but they are far outnumbered, and their only hope is Neo. Neo arranges to destroy Smith (his counterbalance) once and for all, and succeeds in his task. Neo rescues humanity, and they are finally free from the menacing machines.

Much of the confusion and cryptic nature of Reloaded is wiped to a clean slate here. In fact, if you skipped Reloaded, you wouldn't be missing much. That's the problem with Reloaded; it didn't really advance the storyline any.

In the DVD extras, I heard the story described as the birth (the original Matrix), life (Reloaded), and death (Revolutions) of Neo. I think that helps to put the story into perspective, but it doesn't make me like Reloaded any better. Revolutions, on the other hand, is worth seeing.

In my humble opinion this is where the series takes a dive and suffers the consequences. I loved the original film and I wanted to love this one too, but alas, that is not the case. At first, I couldn't figure out why I didn't like this one, but some grievances started to surface after a couple of viewings.

The main problem with this movie is that it doesn't really tell a story. Nothing is ever explained, and it jumps from one scene to another without any explanation. There is no exposition; only dialogue and celebration and battle, which totals to a grand sum of zero storytelling.

Another problem with this movie is how it blows the scope wide open. In the original Matrix, you were given the sense that Morpheus' ship was the only hovercraft, and that Zion was some faraway place. In this movie, we are introduced to more hovercrafts, and gain the impression that Zion is an easily accessible place after all. It wouldn't be such a big deal, except that it damages certain assumptions you may have made after the first movie.

A few things that could have been explained better:

• Why is The Matrix still the battleground when Neo changed the rules?
• Why is it necessary for Neo to meet with the Oracle again?
• Why do they have to find the Keymaker?
• Who is the Architect and what purpose does he serve? What is his place in the story?

I'm not saying that there was no explanation, but these things were not explained well at all, and wind up being inconsequential in the grand scheme of the story.

I think by now you get the idea. I'm not a big fan of this film.

This isn't a review so much as a brief overview of my thoughts on the game, but this may be the only time I mention it. I played it for about 12 hours in total, and don't have much desire to continue.

First things first: this game is actually pretty fun. The graphics are quite good, the controls are fluid, and the music reflects the particular aesthetics and time period in which the game is set in. To sum it up, it's a third-person action shooter with RPG elements like character creation and objective-based story progression.

For my taste, the game is a little too violent and over-the-top. Of course, I probably knew that going in, but I didn't know to what extent until I actually played it. If I had kids, I don't think I would let them play it. I wasn't really surprised by the weaponry so much as the execution style murders and unnecessary hand-to-hand violence. Most FPS games aren't this violent in my experience.

Ultimately, there was good attention to detail, but I would prefer to see this caliber of development in games less violent. A certain basketball game, perhaps?

Well, here I am, back at it again. It's been awhile, but I think it is once again time for a little taste of Nathan's perspective. And a taste you will get...I got a few reviews comin at ya within the next little while.

But let's take this one step at a time, shall we? The Punisher: War Zone was in no way what you would call a classy movie, what with an F-bomb every few minutes and people getting graphically slaughtered left and right. No, this was definitely more of a movie you'd watch with the guys than a movie you'd take you're girlfriend too (unless she's into that kind of thing).

And I'm not saying that this was a bad movie. I mean, it for sure could've used less language and maybe a little stronger storyline, but not really. I mean, that's what the Punisher does...he punishes. And that, in large part, is what was going down. I also think they should've stuck with Tom Jane as the Punisher and that story, but Ray Stevenson did a good job. And especially if you go in with the mindset of "Ok, this isn't really Punisher 2, but a different Punisher kind of" then it's all good.

The basic premise of the movie is that the Punisher, ex-special ops FBI agent who now punishes the people who deserve it after his family was killed, is  methodically taking down the crime families of New York City. He runs into the new head cheese of the one family, Billy Russoti, and thinks he kills him by pushing him into a glass bottle crusher...and turning it on. But Billy, renamed Jigsaw for the plastic surgery done on his face, comes back with a vengeance. Long story short, he recruits an army, of mobsters and gang bangers and people of the like, the Punisher does what he does best, and...well you get the picture.

This movie, I think, was a little over the top. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it quite a lot, but some things I think were almost to the point of ridiculous. Like in the first 10 minutes or so the Punisher slaughters a whole house full of mobsters. People are getting capped left and right, they're getting their head cut off or shanked, and then he tops it off by hanging upside down from a chandelier and spinning, spraying the room in gunfire. Or where he blows up a guy in mid-flip from one rooftop to another with an RPG. That, however, was hilarious, because you don't expect it at all and it just looks so funny. And all I'm gonna say is "How'd he get in there so fast!!??" Watch it and you'll know what I mean.

Overall though, this movie was actually pretty good. Despite the language and the rediculousness.

The Ultimate Gift is a story about a man (Howard 'Red' Stevens) who passes on, leaving a great deal of wealth to his family. His greedy family is not interested in the man, but only in the prospect of a large inheritance. Howard is wise to this, and though his will does distribute the wealth to his family, he puts many limiting factors in place that don't allow easy access to the money. The family is aggravated by the fact that they don't have instant access to Howards' wealth.

Jason (played by Drew Fuller) shows up - a young man who has never worked a day in his life - expecting to receive a check for a large sum of cash. Howard is well aware of Jason's character, and sends him on a journey across the world in search of love, friendship, adventure, and so much more. Initially, he is given a choice whether he would like to learn what the "ultimate gift" is all about, and though Jason is reluctant, that kind of offer is hard to pass up. Jason learns to appreciate working for a living, the wealth he has, finding true friends, and uncovering the mystery of his father's death in the process. The ultimate gift is becoming a man who has the character to spend his wealth wisely and prudently.

The Ultimate Gift isn't just a heartwarming, Hallmark moment flick. It's about the transformation of a man who was once hard, uncaring, and unmotivated except by his own security and wellbeing. I like the concept, and while it could have been approached with more eloquence and grace, the point gets across with great clarity. Life is rarely eloquent and graceful, and messiness comes with the territory. Wealth in the wrong hands only corrupts.

Kawa no Nushi Tsuri 2 was released in Japan for the Super Famicom on April 28, 1995. The game was developed by PACK-IN-VIDEO, and is part of a much larger series of games, including Umi no Nushi Tsuri (sea fishing, as opposed to river fishing).

Fishing Adventure RPG
Kawa no Nushi Tsuri 2 is basically a fishing adventure style game with RPG elements. The menu system is similar to that of Dragon Warrior, which requires you to open up a menu window, go through a list of actions and commands, and select what you want to do. Fortunately, you don't have to open the menu every time you want to talk to someone or when you stop to fish, so all in all it's a pretty good system.

Interestingly enough, this game also has random encounters, and employs a turn-based battle system. Luckily, the meat of the game is spent fishing as opposed to fighting off snakes, centipedes and bears.

The Fishing
The fishing mechanic takes a little while to figure out, because there are no status bars or health bars to indicate how close you are to catching the fish. Basically, you have to let the fish run, and when it stops, you can pull it in a little ways. When the fish begins to slow down, you have to let it run again. Repeat this process, and eventually the fish will be brought to the surface.

What's simply amazing about this game is the variety of gear available to you. You can bait fish, lure fish, and even fly fish. You can select the type of float you want to use, the bait, lures, and even flies. There are a total of 66 different fish you can catch in the game, and an additional 6 river creatures (like frogs) you can catch for experience. It's simply mind boggling how jam packed this game is.

The Graphics
For Super Famicom (SNES), the graphics look quite colorful and stunning. The character of each fish is captured incredibly well, and while the backgrounds could have been improved, it's still amazing that they were able to do so much.


The Music
Uniquely Japanese, is the only way to describe it. Most of the music is either relaxing or upbeat and pleasant, and fits the mood of the game quite well. There is no music while you are fishing, and that could be a bit of a downside, but it does make it rather obvious when you're fishing vs. when you're walking around the map.

6 Areas to Explore
There are a total of 6 different stages to explore and fish in-game. You begin by fishing in the mountain creeks, and move on to lakes, rivers, and finally the mouth of the river. You have to find the cave in any given stage to move on to the next one, and sometimes this is easier said than done. Fortunately, if you've bought a compass, it will tell you where to go.

An Open Ended Adventure
When you set out on your journey, your goal is to catch the river king (Japanese Lates). While there is an "ending" of sorts when you catch the Lates, your adventure doesn't need to stop there. You can continue fishing for all 66 different types of fish (thereby completing your fishing notebook), and even fish for the record size of every fish. This could take awhile.

In Conclusion
I had a lot of fun with this game. I don't think it's everyone's cup of tea, but you can tell that the people at PACK-IN-VIDEO really love fishing. They could have just released another fishing game, but instead we got a game packed to the rafters with incredible content. I don't think they ever released this particular game in North America, but I think it would be worth checking out other games in this series.

Kawa no Nushi Tsuri 2 Review Part 1

The Matrix is perhaps one of my all time favorite movies. The sequels were somewhat disappointing, but that's another subject for another time. Let's take a look at what made The Matrix so awesome:

The Storyline
The Matrix has an awesome storyline and a shocking, epic reveal. Some may think that this movie was little more than an excuse for cutting-edge CG effects and outrageous Western style Kung Fu combat. I disagree. The Matrix is a story about freedom, love, and adventure.

Here's the story in a nutshell: Our main hero, Neo, discovers that he lives in a world called The Matrix. He finds out that The Matrix is merely a computer program, a place where almost the entire population of Earth is held captive to the machines. In the "real world", the humans are waging battle against the machines, and The Matrix is merely the battleground where this war is waged.

The Effects
It's hard to talk about The Matrix without talking about the special effects. To summarize, the filming crew invented new and revolutionary ways of capturing combat scenes. Because it happens so quickly, it's easy to take for granted, but you can tell that they put a lot of work into it. This movie spawned many imitators, and remains ingrained in the minds of movie watchers everywhere.

The Combat
Without combat, this movie would have fallen flat. It has plenty of shocking psychological elements to it, but I don't think it would have been quite as exciting if they hadn't included all the combat scenes. Some of the more humorous scenes were the combat scenes, because of their spaghetti Western style implementation.

The Soundtrack
The Matrix has an awesome soundtrack that mostly consists of Alternative, Techno, Industrial and Metal. The ending track, "Wake Up" by Rage Against the Machine was a brilliant pick. You can't have a great movie without a great soundtrack.

In Conclusion
This movie is really a story about how most of us have deadened our hearts. We all live in a Matrix of our own making. There's something that resonates about "entering the real world" for most of us, and the debate about freedom vs. bondage that ensues. That's what I think, anyway. What do you think?

"If you liked Crocodile Dundee, you'll love Crocodile Dundee II!" - printed on the back of a bootleg Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children DVD box.

While I was growing up in Japan, this was one of the many movies that I frequently saw on television. Perhaps it's because of the way Japanese tourists are portrayed in the movie, but it's surprising that they didn't take more offence to it. When I was a kid, I really liked this movie. How does it measure up now?

While I was watching it again, I must admit that it felt really long. This movie is littered with convoluted interweaving plot points, long scenes that offer no exposition or significance to the storyline, and plays on misconceived stereotypes.

Mick is portrayed as a man capable of (almost) singlehandedly saving his girlfriend from the mafia. There are several other scenes in which it is laid out with (perhaps too much) clarity that Dundee is a strong man. We get it, he's bad ass.

There is a certain amount of humor in the movie, but it's mostly because it's so terrible. There were a few good jokes to be sure, but playing off of stereotypes can only bring you so far.

What surprised me were the clever plot twists. For example, Mick meets up with Teddy (I think it was Teddy, I could be wrong) at the bar, and it is revealed that he's in the stationary business, and not a gangster as the movie would have you think. There were a couple of parts like this, where the movie makes you think it's going one way, but makes a complete 180 and goes the other way. Nice.

All in all, it's not a fantastic movie, and it hasn't aged well. It's still pretty fun, and if you're looking for a witty fish-out-of-water kind of movie, you've come to the right place. The first one is probably better though.

This "strange brew" of Canadiana was released in 1983, and features the infamous McKenzie brothers. What started out as a popular SCTV skit quickly snowballed into a variety of comedic CD releases, and of course, a movie entitled "Strange Brew".

The plot isn't even worth recapping because it's rather inane, but here's a brief summary: Bob and Doug go on an adventure in search of beer, and somehow wind up working at a beer factory. And that's... pretty much it.

If you like movies in the style of Naked Gun or UHF, then you might just enjoy this film from the 80s. It's not up to the quality of UHF, and just as juvenile as Naked Gun. It's more entertaining than Canadian Bacon, but that's not saying much. The movie tries to move at the speed of a laugh-a-second, but unfortunately it's not that funny. Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis are the redeeming grace of this movie, somehow able to pull humor out of situations where no humor should exist.

Still, it's worth seeing once, if that's saying anything. I enjoyed it for what it was, and never had high expectations for it.