Best Movies Of The Year

The Dark Knight

What can I say about this movie that already hasn’t been said? I wrote a mini review a few months back so I won’t go into that much detail, but after seeing it a few more times it still holds up as one of the best movies I have ever seen, however each time I see it I keep thinking to myself how they could have made the ending better. I hate how they ended it on a cliffhanger. I don’t want to see what happened to the Batman films of the 90’s happen to this series. I don’t want to see a Catwomen, Jim Carrey like Riddler, and I really don’t want to see a Robin.

Iron Man

A lot of comic book movies came out this year and besides Dark Knight I really enjoyed Iron Man. For a person that knows nothing about the Iron Man franchise like I do, I thought this told a very good story about how Tony Stark became Iron Man. I am sure it’s not the way it happened in the comic books, but since I don’t read the comics I thought it was well played out. I would have liked to seen more of Iron Man go back to the middle east or other places and kick more ass other than the one time he did but I guess they will leave that for the sequel.

Tropic Thunder

Here is a movie I am surprised I enjoyed as much as I did. It was a movie that made fun of everything that Hollywood is today, while telling a semi-decent story with some good humor. I can’t explain it but after watching it I walked away being felt entertained and that’s hard to believe coming from a movie that stars Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Iron Man (as a black dude) and Tom Cruise as a snotty, bald, ugly movie producer.

Worst Movies Of The Year

Star Wars: Clone Wars

If you thought and of the movies from the prequel trilogy were bad, give this movie a try. Personally I enjoyed the prequel trilogy; however the one thing I didn’t enjoy was the crybaby that Anakin Skywalker was. In this movie Anakin gains an apprentice to train himself, and she is as whinny as Anakin so within the first 20 minutes you just want to kill them or yourself. The story is Anakin and his whinny apprentice have to rescue Jabba The Hutt’s son who Anakin and his apprentice name Stinky. Alright that’s all I can talk about this movie. Just avoid it at all cost. I don’t know what would be worse watching this or watching a movie about Jar Jar for an hour.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

A lot of reviewers talk about how good this movie is and how it surpasses the first film, but I didn’t think so at all. I was really board with the movie. Hellboy and his crew have to go up against a vampire looking guy who wants to resurrect a Golden Army to take over the world. I enjoyed the first film much more. Although it did have good special effects, it wasn’t enough for me to like.

The Incredible Hulk

Another boring comic movie that came out this year. Basic story is Hulk is in hiding, Hulk is found, Hulk gets angry, Hulk tries to lose his powers, Hulk is called upon to save city, Hulk wins, Hulk goes in hiding again, Iron Man talks to enemy of Hulk says he is “putting together a team”, movie ends.

Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull

Awesome, a new Indy movie...... Until you saw it…. WTF Aliens.. Indiana Jones is looking for Aliens… what is George Lucas smoking anymore.. Aliens isn’t the only stupid part of the movie, don’t forget when Indy gets trapped in a Nuclear Bomb test site which is a small little fake town and he locks himself up in a little fridge and gets blown to hell and comes out with just a scratch on his face… Wait what, Indiana Jones now has a son…. Come on, now I know why South Park made an episode talking about how they raped Indy…

The Happening

M. Night Shyamalan must be banned from making movies. He got lucky with Sixth Sense. Unbreakable was just ok, then he just went downhill with Signs, Village and now this piece of crap about mother nature getting its revenge on the humans by having them kill themselves.. I am glad I didn’t see this movie in a theater cause I would have been laughing my ass off every time someone killed themselves because it was so stupid.

The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor

The third film in the Mummy series that stars Brendon Fraser has almost the same story as Hellboy 2, the Dragon Emperor rises and wants to awaken his army back to life so he can take over the world. It wasn’t that bad of a movie, but I didn’t think of it as a Mummy movie. When I think of Mummies I think of Egypt and I wish they brought back the Mummy from the first two films, Imhotep.

Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem

This movie came out in theaters the last week of 2007 so it didn’t make my worst of list last year, but since the DVD came out in 2008 I want to at least mention how stupid this movie was. I was hoping that this movie would be better than the first AvP movie, but this movie makes the first one look like a masterpiece. It’s that bad. The picture was extremely dark and it was hard to tell what was going on half the time. The "PredAlien" (A combination of a Predator and Alien, watch the first movie to see how this happened) did look pretty cool when you were able to see it, but other than that there is nothing good to see in this movie.

Best Games Of The Year

Fable 2

I never played the first Fable so I was unsure if I would enjoy this game, but to my surprise I did enjoy my time playing it. I have yet to finish it but I plan on it. The graphics and music are really good in this game. The story might not be the best but it sucks you in enough to play further.

Gears Of War 2

A game that felt more like a summer movie blockbuster hit. The story was very predictable, it looked really good on a big screen TV, the sound was great and it kept you entertained until the very end, and just like a big movie leaves you with a cliffhanger which makes you want the 3rd one ASAP.

Rock Band 2

Sequel to last year’s Rock Band game. Not much new was added to the game just a new soundtrack, but wow what a soundtrack it is. So many good songs and the fact that you can import all but 3 songs from the first game into this game and all the downloadable songs from the first game also work on this game was just genius. Plus the fact that new songs are put up to download every week, I don’t think there is a need for a Rock Band 3 anytime soon.

Left 4 Dead

I got this game at the end of the year so it almost didn’t make my list, but I am glad I played it because it is a really good game. It is a first person shooter and you go up against zombies. To get the most of this game you should play over Xbox live in a co-op game. Each time you play the game is a different experience due to the game’s Director A.I. It places weapons, items and enemies in different locations every time you play so you are never sure where you’re going to get attacked or where you can find the best gun.

Super Smash Bros Brawl

One of the first big games to come out in 2008 and one of the only major hits to come out for the Wii this year. The character roster is big and impressive, it feels almost like Smash Bros Melee for the GameCube, and it looks good. The only downside to this game is the Adventure/Story mode. It takes about 5-7 hours to beat and it basically going left to right just hitting things, the only thing that makes it worth playing is the beautiful cutscenes and the ability to unlock new characters. I prefer the Story mode from Melee which was quick and simple and could be beat within 30 minutes.

Star Wars The Force Unleashed

The story of this game takes place between Episodes 3 and 4 and tells the story of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice. I really enjoy how the story was told, the twists towards the end, but most of all I enjoyed going around and using the Force to pick up Stormtroopers and throw them across the screen. The first level was my faviorte since it allowed you to play as Vader and go around and kill tons of Wookies. The game also features 2 endings, one that leads into Episode 4 and a secret ending that would not make any of the original trilogy movies possible, so it was nice to see a what if moment. The game could have made a worst of list just because of one part of the game and for anyone who has played it, you know exactly what it is. The part where you have to crash a Star Destroyer using to the force. It took me forever to do, and feels like it has a glitch or two. Thank god you only had to do this once, and the story was good otherwise this would not have made my best of list.

Worst Games Of The Year

Rock Revolution

A game that is just like Guitar Hero or Rock Band but took a wrong turn. The songs are so terrible, they are all covers and they all sound like crap. You are required to use a guitar from Rock Band or Guitar Hero just to use in this game.

Condemned 2

I was waiting for a sequel to the first Condemned ever since I beat it back in late 2005 and when I finally got my hands on this I was completely disappointed. It did not have the same scare feel as the first one did and the story was just “weird” and made no sense where as the first one was a simple FBI agent investigating crime scenes looking for serial killers. This game gives you super powers that allows you to blow up people’s heads by screaming, it just felt like a totally different game.

Golden Axe: Beast Rider

A classic 2D game made by Sega back in the 90’s remade for a 3D platform. It sucks.. Sounds just like the Sonic franchise. I don’t know why Sega has such a hard time taking a secussful franchise that was big in the 90’s and upgrading it to today’s standards. One of the coolest things about the original Golden Axe game was it allowed you to play co-op with a friend, this new game has no co-op at all. You get to play as only once character and it is the girl. I remember this game on the Genesis, no one ever picked the girl, it was either the He-Man looking dude or the midget with the axe.

Sonic Unleashed

Speaking of Sega and their classic franchises and their terrible remakes here is Sonic The Hedgehog. This game “almost” had a chance though unlike previous versions. The first few stages almost felt as good as Sonic’s first and only good 3D adventure, Sonic Adventure. There were even sections that were 2D which made it feel like a 90’s classic Sonic game but wasn’t enough to make a best of list. What made the game worse was the inclusion of the Werehog levels. After a few “speed” levels Sonic turns into a werewolf and the game becomes a 3D beat ‘em up which feels really long and boring. Takes about 20-40 minutes just to beat one of these stages and after the first few you really get bored with the game and decide not to play it anymore. Sega almost had a somewhat decent Sonic game on their hands. The “speed” levels were playable and felt really fast, they might not have been as fun as Sonic Adventure, what killed it completely was the Werehog levels. Someday Sega will release a good game that equals that of the classic Dreamcast game.

Grand Theft Auto 4

I have never been a fan of the GTA series but I thought I would give this one a fair chance, and to my surprise I still hated it even with all the good reviews and hype. I don’t know what I hate so much about it, maybe I hate the main character and his stupid cousin who always wants to go out and do stuff. I hate most of the missions they all feel the same. I hate the driving controls, especially the motorcycle controls. I had a more enjoyable time playing Saints Row 2, it may not have the graphics the GTA4 has, but it has more to do and felt more enjoyable.

Guitar Hero 4

Rock Band announced their song list way back in June for Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero World Tour’s full setlist was announced about a month before release and it really feels like most of the songs that are on GH4’s setlist are ripped off from Rock Bands setlist. Most of the big hits found on GH4 were already released on RB2 which came out a month before however GH4 did have a few good songs that were not on Rock Band 2’s list such as Beat It, Freak On A Leash, Hey Man Nice Shot, The Joker and Hotel California. There are a lot of tracks from bands you might never have heard of and a lot of songs that feel like they are from foreign countries. They included Nirvana’s “About A Girl” but instead of the original loud song they put on their MTV Unplugged performance. Also a lot of songs such as Sweet Home Alabama, On The Road Again, and Purple Haze are live performances which really bummed me out, I prefer playing about with the studio tracks.

Too Human

Too Human was a game I enjoyed played at first but as I kept playing it got very boring and repetitive. It was confusing to figure out which weapon works best on certain enemies, every stage looked the same and every time you died, you did respawn close to where you died but there was a 40 second cutscene that you could not skip and as many times as you do die in this game you wish you could skip it. I thought for sure I would finish this game, I got to the final world until I just go so sick of it and now looking back I realize how terrible the game really was.

Turok

I thought an upgraded version of the classic Nintendo 64 series would be really good on the Next Gen systems, going around killing dinosaurs, hiding and trying not to get eaten by the big T-Rex would be fun, boy was I wrong. It was fun at first but the game is really difficult to the point that makes you not want to play it anymore and that is what happened in my case.

Wii Music

What a joke. I can’t believe I spent money on this game. If anyone saw the Nintendo press conference at E3 in 2008 and at the end saw people from Nintendo playing this and thought it looked stupid and gay, that is exactly how the game is..

Anything Made by Nintendo

In fact every game Nintendo released in 2008 for the Wii was a joke to me. Besides Wii Music, Wii Fit was a failure. It was suppose to help people lose weight and get fit, but it doesn’t even have a true work out mode, just stupid little mini games. If they had a mode that was 30 minutes straight of nothing but workout games, it may have been good. Animal Crossing was boring and felt just like any other previous version. To this day I still think Animal Crossing for the Nintendo DS is the best version since it’s portable. Even a big game like Mario Kart Wii felt disappointing to me. It felt just like a small upgrade to the GameCube version with the inclusion of motorcycles. It game with wheel like controllers to put your remote in but they hard to control and I found using a GameCube controller was best. Endless Ocean also was released by Nintendo and came out in 2008 which was a game about you being a scuba diver and just taking pictures of fish and other ocean life. No Zelda, Mario, Metroid or other hard core gamer favorites came out in 2008 and doesn’t seem to be any coming in 2009 so is the Nintendo Wii doing so well on the market when all their first party software is weak?

Best Games To Play With A Spouse/Girlfriend

Lego Batman

An easy co-op game that no one can really die at which makes it fun for people who aren’t the best at video games to play along. Also it features a drop out feature so that if your friend is really bad at a part you can pass the area and then they can join back in at a later point. It feature a lengthy story for both good guys and bad guys plus you can go back and try to collect items you missed so it will keep you and your spouse/girlfriend busy for hours.

Castle Crashers

If you ever played the classic arcade versions of Ninja Turtles or The Simpsons then you will love this game. It is a 4 player co-op beat them up that throws in some RPG elements as in leveling up you character to become stronger and faster. It didn’t take long for my wife to learn to play and we went on to beat the game together.

Scene It 2

If you and your spouse/girlfriend love movies then you will love competing against each other in this game.

Mario Kart Wii

I might have said I didn’t really like Mario Kart Wii earlier but for a 2 player experience with a spouse/girlfriend it might be fun. Mario Kart has been around for awhile so the basic game play is the same, it’s just more fun with 2 people.

Rock Band 2

This is the top game me and my wife have been playing. We play it at least 5 out of 7 nights since it was released in September, and even before that we played Rock Band 1. Rock Band 2 features a No Fail mode so even if your spouse/wife isn’t good at the game they can still enjoy playing without having to worry about losing.

Best Album/Worst Album

Metallica - Death Magnetic

I enjoyed the new Metallica album. Not being a total Metallica fan I found most of the songs on the album enjoyable and loud. Top songs for me are Cyanide and Suicide and Redemption, however songs like The Unforgiven 3 sounded nothing like I had hoped it would compared to The Unforgiven 1 & 2. Also it’s rare that the albums sounds a lot better on the game Guitar Hero 3 then it does on the CD its self due to compression done in the mixing for the CD.

Guns N Roses - Chinese Democracy

Wow, it finally came out and you would think all the years that this album was in the making each track would be a hit like Welcome To The Jungle or November Rain but not the case on this album. In fact at first listen each track is pretty much a dud, but after a few more listens I started to enjoy a few of the songs. It isn’t the best album, it isn’t the worst, it is somewhere in between.

News Stories Of 2008:

Actor Heath Ledger of Dark Knight dies

Heath Ledger died January 22 2008. He was in such movies as The Patriot, A Knights Tale, and a movie I will never see or care about Brokeback Mountain. However his biggest performance is in The Dark Knight. He played the Joker and did an awesome job. It is a shame he wasn’t around to see how people reacted to his performance and will be a bigger shame to see someone take his place if they decide to make a third Batman movie with the Joker in.

Summer Olympics Happen. Swimmer Michael Phelps wins record 8 gold medals.

I didn’t care for the Olympics, but I thought it was nice that American Michael Phelps won an Olympic record of bringing home 8 Gold medals.

Sarah Palin For V.P

Sarah Palin was chosen to be John McCain’s running mate for Vice President. A lot of crap came out about her that she wasn’t experienced enough, but I feel the same about Obama. She also looked pretty damn good and didn’t like taking shit but it wasn’t enough to get her or John McCain in office.

Obama Wins

First black president. That’s all anyone talks about anymore, not about what he is going to do as president, just the fact that he is Black and I think that pisses me off more than anything. Lets get over the race issue already.

OJ Going to jail for robbery

Well everyone who wanted OJ Simpson to go to jail back in the 90’s for murder can now rest in peace as he will be spending a lot of years behind bars for robbery in Las Vegas. He was trying to recover some stuff that was stolen from him and he went into some guy’s hotel room with a few friends that had guns to get the stuff back. No one was hurt, but it was enough to send Simpson to jail for 15 or more years.