Semi-Regular Reviews

Once every now and again, I feel the urge to share some reviews on recently purchased movies, music, video games, etc. This is one of those times. Enjoy:


Recently Seen Movies:
* Knocked Up – This movie is chocked full of one-liners, many laugh-out-loud scenes, and some embarrassingly funny moments. This will most likely be the most quoted movie of the summer … unless Superbad steals this title away.

* Pirates 3 – The writers seem to be going with more and more theatrical moments, and relying less and less on creating a story. Still, it was a relatively good movie, and the Keith Richards cameo is worth the price of the ticket itself (yeah, I’m a Stones fan).


Recently Purchased Movies:
* Crash – Yep, this was in the discount rack, but man, what a great flick. If you can find it for $5 or less, it is definitely worth it. Lots of great acting, even a surprisingly good performance from Brendan Frazer.

Music:

* The Bravery, The Sun and the Moon – If you liked their first release, you’ll love this one. This could be the band that challenges the Killers, much like The Beatles had the Stones rivalry. They definitely got a 1980’s Psychedelic Furs sound, with touches of techno in some songs, but most of the album gets your toes tapping.

* Razorlight, by Razorlight – Surprisingly good album that doesn’t jump out at you right away, however, the melodies seem to stick in your head for hours. Lots of influences here – U2, The Pretenders, Springsteen, Squeeze, and maybe even a little INXS if you listen closely. Delicate songs are interwoven with some really catchy rockers.

* The Kaiser Chiefs, Yours Truly, Angry Mob – Much like the first release, very incomplete. There are some really good tracks, but it seems like I keep hitting the next song button entirely too much. If you like Britpop, you’ll probably dig this album, but much like the first one, there are too many throw-away songs.

Video Games (for PS2):

* Guitar Hero 2 – In a word, amazing! I’m speechless on how cool they made this game. A friend of mine and I were talking the other day and he said, “I know I’m not actually playing guitar, but this game makes me feel like I am.” The choices of songs used in this are interesting, yet cool. The characters you can unlock, the encores that you play, the multi-player options – just plain crazy. I went out and purchased the wireless guitar, as well as pre-ordering the Guitar Hero 1980’s edition which comes out towards the end of July. You HAVE to get this game.

* Hard Rock Casino – I got this one in the discount rack for $9.99. Worth every penny and more. Not only do they have just about every slot and table game you can imagine in the casino (including War), they have sportsbook betting. Plus, the adventure mode offers you the thrill of trying to complete specific tasks to get to higher levels.

* Mark Davis Pro Bass Challenge – Got this one for $4.99, and again, worth every penny. The only issue I have with the game is that there isn’t a huge variety with regards to places to fish. However, the tournaments are great, and adds the interesting aspect of having to qualify for these tournaments. Plus, trying to find the big bass, while trying to avoid those annoying bluegills is a lot of fun.

* Pro Stroke Golf – Another $9.99 purchase, and another great buy. Sure, it’s not Tiger Woods golf, but the graphics are good, the complexity of the game is a nice touch, and qualifying for specific golf events and beating a ton of challenges makes this game very playable for quite a while.