Video Game Review: The Orange Box (2007)

What do you get when you cram all of Valve's triple A games into one nice, neat package? Let me introduce you to The Orange Box. Selling for 20 dollars, you get Half-Life 2, both the Half-Life 2 episodes, Portal, and the popular multiplayer game, Final Fortress. Each of these games have something to offer for any gamer, and I would have spent 20 dollars on a single game from the disc. Half-Life 2 strives to combine puzzles and physics elements into a game with easy-to-master shooting mechanics. The wide diversity of weapons keeps encounters varied and fresh, along with a variety of environments to explore and gawk over. Having a gunfight while trying to balance on a support beam of a creaky bridge remains the most tense and frightening experience that I won't ever forget. The characters have depth and real personality, with perfect character animation where few games can match. While jumping from episode to episode, there are noticeable changes to the visuals as Valve tweaked the source engine to adapt to better particle fields and lighting. Half-Life 2 is a monument to what first person shooters should be, as many games like Bioshock and Crysis 2 expanded from. Along with the entire Half-Life 2 series, Valve included their real gem, Portal into this already outstanding package. Portal is an experience previously unseen in modern gaming. Part shooter, part puzzle, Portal's ambitious goals are met and surpassed through mind-bending puzzles and shocking plot twists. I never been so fascinated by the antagonist, gLADos, who remains one of my favorite game villians in history. Clever writing and flawless gameplay make the Orange Box worth its valve by itself. This game disc showcases all of Valve's most successful aconplishments, branching from its PC roots into the console world with the best deal in gaming.

Score:
(5/5): This package is the most bang for your buck, buy it

Video Game Review: Alan Wake (2010)

Playing a game like Alan Wake is similar to watching your favorite TV drama series. It that grabs hold of you and doesn't let go until the finish. It surprises, and rises above my expectations of the horror genre in gaming and stands as a big step forward from the generic 3rd person shooter. Alan Wake is a writer, and the entire game is narrated by Alan as he traverses dark forests and mountain vistas. The game is divided in an episodic format, always leaving you with a cliff hanger after the end of every chapter. The story is unique and  interesting, though it does give a few winks to classic movies like Nicholson's Shining or Hitchcock's birds (which is addressed up front.) The gameplay is exactly what I expected from a horror game, always making you feel desperate as you use a combination of your flashlight and firearms to dispatch enemies. This is a game that should not be missed by anyone who has a 360, and I can't wait to see how the franchise moves forward with this.

Score:

(4.5/5): Only an ambiguous ending and poor lip-syncing serve as minor blemishes to a game that delivers on detail, gameplay, and excellent writing (no pun intended.)

Movie Review: The Proposal (2009)

As far as comedy romances go, this movie sticks close to the generic scenario. Successsful White-collar workers are put in an awkward romance that brings in family, exes, and bad humor. The movie has some flaws, but the shots are beautiful. The south Alaskan shots were very vivid and pleasing to the eyes. In addition, the house where most of the action takes place is country-like and fits the schema of the character of Andrew. There were some awkward shots, which was why I gave this an average rating. Several awkward moments with Sandra struggling with luggage or getting down a ladder made me cringe. A women as independent as her should pose ot be a more stronger character. I felt like she was begging to fall into the arms of Andrew, which made things felt a little fake. Despite character inconsistencies, I enjoyed the performance of both actors overall. Awkward moments with animals (why animals?), was a weak point and made me uninterested. The granny had the most "cringe" moments, and I had to skip past the tribal chant scene. It was too much to see two great actors, doing a god-awful pointless attempts at humor.The premise was interesting. It had a little bit of feminism and gender roles in the situational irony. That was something to run with in this movie. However, as the movie goes on, it suffers from bad humor and predictable writing. I did get to see Sandra naked in the movie, so it was definitely worth my time

Score:
(2.5/5): Good premise, bad humor, predictable plot. Unless your into movies like Sex in the City, skip this.

Movie Review: No Country for Old Men (2007)

Adrenaline filled thriller: Drug war. Cash in a bag. Silenced shotgun. Contracted killer. Average Joe trying to survive. From the start, the plot keeps moving along like a well-oiled machine and doesn't stop until the bloody end. The scenes are paced perfectly, wasting no time to linger in the environments. The scenes switch from Anto killing the head hancho to the sheriff eating breakfast, to Llewelyn waking up on the hospital bed in front of Cosby. The action is flawless, without any Hollywood explosions or baddies with bad aim. Both characters know how to use a gun, and when they get hit, they go down hard. The great part about it is finding out how both Anton and Llewelyn recover from their wounds. Llewelyn pays some guy $500 for a jacket to sneak across the border to receive help from a missionary group that sends him to the hospital. Anton rigs a car to explode, and amidst the chaos, he grabs medical supplies from the pharmacy and treats himself in a motel.

Score:
(5/5): The modern western. If you like suspense and action, watch it.

Movie Review: The King of Kong (2009)

I'll be honest, I went into this thinking that it was going to be a boring documentary about arcade games. The film starts out like a guiness world record episode about topping the world record for the Donkey Kong video game, but it shifts away from the geekiness of the game culture and focuses on a remarkable story of a man fighting an empire. It's a feel good movie, meant to shed some light on the bland culture of competitive gaming, but it offers much more with a very human story that anyone can relate to. This is a boring movie. If you have no interest in any gaming, this probably isn't your cup tea. But if you are willing to look past the pasty gaming culture, you're in for a story that is entertaining and satisfying.

Score:
(4/5): A surprising good experience despite its uninteresting premise

Movie Review: Taxi Driver (1976)

If you want to take a trip down to hell, Taxi Driver shows how close hell really is. The movie follows the protagonist, named Travis who spends his nights driving troubled new yorkers as a Taxi Driver, or on his days off, watches seedy porn movies in public theaters. Its disturbing, enticing, plausible and head-ache inducing. De Niro gives his best performance as a character that I won't forget in the future, with cinematography revolutionary for its time. If you're up for a wacky story, Taxi Driver delivers on all fronts. This movie is not for the faint of heart.

Score:
(5/5): A classic, all-american psycho-thriller that you shouldn't miss