Resident Evil 5 the best in series
If you were a fan of the first four, or the games in between like Code: Veronica or Umbrella Chronicles, you’ll be a fan of the up and coming Resident Evil game. Resident Evil 5 will have features that weren’t in the fourth installment or the ones before it (I’ve played an extended demo of it). You will have to shoot while you stand still again, but you can switch out weapons during game play so as not to impede the progress of your game. The controls are slightly different than what Resident Evil fans are accustomed to, but you will not be forced to get a great handle on the controls in a quick time. The progression is designed beautifully. For those frustrated because of some of the puzzles, the puzzles in RE5 are rather simple and with the help of your partner, Sheva (you’ll be involved in interactive game play, but she won’t be an impediment on you like Ashley was in 4), they’re a piece of cake (some time consuming).
Old enemies will return for this one, but there is also an unexpected twist. You might be able to figure it out toward the middle of the game if you pay close enough attention. Old friends will also come back, just not in the way you would expect. Resident Evil 5 is by far the best in the series. The comments about whether Resident Evil 5 is racist or not is ignorant at best and need not be mentioned in much detail. Do Spaniards have a problem with Resident Evil 4? How about white people with Resident Evil 1-3. Give me a break. There’s enough action in the game to take the heat off of those wanting to cause derision amongst the gaming community and against the makers of the game.
However, Resident Evil fans, I do caution this. If you are a fan of the game, expect this one to be the last in the series. Unless they make offshoots of the game such as Code: Veronica or Umbrella Chronicles, RE 5 ends definitively, but the way it ends, is amazing, to say the least.
Anime becoming bigger in United States
The anime craze has hit the United States and continues to grow in popularity. Pokemon was the first anime to have an extended amount of success in the United States and since then, other anime shows and manga (Japanese comics) products are now making their way into the U.S. Dragon Ball Z is another (live action movie coming out in April of this year). Many of the anime today is based off of some kind of older Japanese myth or folklore striking a unique display of literature through animation. The cultural entities come out in anime, many of which are unfamiliar to the American public. Much of the anime culture has also grown in the American pop culture through video games and entertainment. Final Fantasy and many games of its vein helped popularize the genre as well. It is difficult to pinpoint when anime first penetrated the shores of America, but it continues to grow at an abnormal rate. More and more classes are being taught at the university level that discuss the ideas and the cultural references in anime. Some universities and high schools have also formed, officially, anime clubs. Anime is also a featured at the San Diego Comic Con and New York Comic Con further expanding its reaches. Though it’s not a new phenomenon, it’s one that is growing at an abnormal rate. If you look closely enough, the cable package you ordered has a 24-hour anime channel. American comics and animation are taking a back seat to the sales made by anime and manga. In 1990, there were approximately 2,000 stores worldwide devoted to comic and comic book sales. Today, there are approximately 10,000, which the majority of them carrying 60 percent anime and manga, 40 percent other. Odd how one show can expand to become a fierce conglomeration of entertainment.
Summer of 2009 promises big box office surprises
This summer, the blockbusters seem to hit all at once. It will, no doubt, be a busy summer for movie theater employees. 2009 is dubbed as the year with the greatest movies, but only time is going to tell. Here is a list of the movies coming out in the summer of this year:
It starts with the highly anticipated Terminator: Salvation–Starring Christian Bale and his newly-found temper tantrum, this movie is the highest budgetary movie of the four. Don’t anticpate a sequel to this movie. Salvation will tie up all the loose ends and will provide an interesting death. May 21st is the release date.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince–This movie needs no introduction. If you’ve read the book, you know somewhat the things that will happen. Despite rumors of THIS movie being split into two is preposterous. Pay no heed to those rumors. July 17th is the release date.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine–Hugh Jackman gets his own movie this time. In it, he will discover everything about his past from how he entered the Weapons X program to how he had his storied rivalry with Sabretooth/Victor Creed. May 1st is the release date.
Star Trek 0– Star Trek 0 will not be a reboot of the series like we saw with Friday the 13th, but it is a prequel, of sorts, and will show us how James T. Kirk became James T. Kirk. He will be played by Chris Pine; this is his first starrring role. May 8th is the release date.
Gi Joe: Rise of Cobra–This highly anticipated film will have plenty of stars, action, plot and room for a sequel. Dennis Quaid will play Hawk, Channing Tatum, Duke, and Ray Park as Snake Eyes. Don’t expect miliatry-type uniforms for this movie. Expect a Matrixy look for the Joe force. August 7 is the release date.
Last but not least, Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen–This sequel to the largely popular Tranformers movie of 2007, expect this one to smash the first installment’s gross revenue. Many of the characters from the first movie will return; expect some of them to die in part two. By the way, the Fallen does not directly relate to the Decepticons. June 26th is the relsase date.
Movie goers and movie theater employees will have a busy summer indeed. Watching and enjoying a summer-full of blockbuster movies is a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it.
Friday the 13th remake heads into theaters, when else, Friday the 13th.
Masked and deprived child, Jason Voorhies comes back in a reboot of the series on Friday the 13th. For those who don’t remember the original very well, allow me to help you remember it. A group of counselors go to Crystal Lake (Kevin Bacon being one of them) and prepar for the reopening of the camp. One by one, they die and only one survives, a female. It’s revealed later on that the person that is doing the murders is Jason’s mother, not Jason himself, which doesn’t happen until the second movie. However, based on the movie trailers and the leaked information on the movie, it is obvious that the movie will be a reboot, not a remake of the series, much like Batman Begins was a reboot for the Batman series. Obviously with better effects and a different storyline, the movie should draw in fans of the slasher feature. Fans of the original would also be drawn to this movie. A sequel will be in the works if the first movie is deemed “mildly successful”. Much of the same things will occur in this movie: blood splatter, nudity, one-liners and more blood splatter. You can get away with more blood splatter in today’s culture than you could in 1980. This reboot should be a good one, but that’s coming from a fan of splatter flicks. We’ll see.
Top 5 Most Underrated Horror Movies
Everyone likes a good scare. I found it fitting to talk about the five most underrated scariest movies you may or may not have heard of. Some of these on the list aren’t high budget or made their way into the movie theater, but you don’t need a high budget to create terror. These are in no particular order:
2001 Maniacs: If you like Saw-like deaths and gore, 2001 Maniacs is a good choice. This movie focuses on a group of college students who go out on Spring Break, but get detoured to an odd town where deaths start to take place in the most cruel and unusual manner. This is not the town to go to if you’re searching for southern comfort.
Carnival of Souls (Original–1962): This movie combines psychological horror with suspense. The movie follows a young woman who emerges from a car accident only to find things don’t appear to follow reality. She is mysteriously drawn to “The Man” who is representative of the devil. The young woman, who is an organist, represents a much more sinister plot than what is presented on screen.
Battle Royale: Battle Royale is a Japanese film where a high school class is captured by the Japanese government. The only way to be set free of the abduction is to battle to the death and the last one standing gains freedom. The film not only provides a good deal of gore, but the meaning behind the film brings out issues of morality and greed. Could you kill your best friend? Is there a such thing as loyalty? Is society individualistic?
Deathwatch: A group of British soldiers fight their way through enemy lines only to get lost. They come across a trench where they set up camp only to tart hallucinating and doing things they ought not to. Something evil lurks in the trench itself, but the lone German soldiers who knows what lurks in the trench is killed the British soldiers are left to their own devices to figure out who or what it is and find a way to kill it. The gore level is quite low, but it is very suspenseful.
Cube: This movie was done on a very low budget but it delivers on more than one level. It is based inside a large cube where its origins are unknown. The people left in the cube are left to find a way out, if there is one, and no one trusts the other. Those who enter into an incorrect cube or room, they’re fate is either sealed or a clue is left as to where to go next. The conclusion of the film is mind boggling and left to interpretation.
Watchmen attempts to come out March 6, 2009
Watchmen, barring all legal suits are cleared and good to go, will debut March 6th. Those familiar with the Watchmen series are familiar of the many spinoffs that come from it, but this movie will follow the basic premises of the novel. An ex-superhero is killed by an unknown assailant and the hunt for the killer is on. Rorsach will play the investigator into the death and his conclusions will lead to a shocking conclusion (If you’ve read the graphic novel). The complement of characters will be in the movie as they are in the novel. For those who aren’t familiar with Watchmen, the book revolves around said murder and the investigation thereof which, not to give away too much, the destruction of all heroes. There is an underlying theme but that is for the watchers and readers to determine that and is not for conversation here. The book’s plot (though undetermined in the movie) has an impending nuclear war between the United States and Russia. The main characters you need to be aware of are Silk Spectre (both), Dr. Manhattan, Ozymandias, Nite Owl (both), and Rorschach. Subsequent characters will make cameos and likely play a larger role if sequels are made. The film should be a blockbuster hit, but unfortunately it will have to follow The Spirit, a much-anticipated film that had mediocre responses. It comes at the right time of the season where it is in the movie drull. This film comes in much anticipated because it’s 23 years of attempted production. Now with the legal battles attempting to keep Watchmen on the shelf, its arrival would be much warranted.