O.A.R. - Hold on True

Synopsis: (From IMDB.com) In Shanghai, China in the 1940s, a wannabe gangster aspires to join the notorious "Axe Gang" while residents of a housing complex exhibit extraordinary powers in defending their turf.


Review: A very short synopsis from the IMDB, that doesn't explain the depth of the movie. If you've never seen a Stephen Chow movie (Shaolin Soccer, God of Cookery, From Beijing with Love to name a few), this is where you should start. He has a way of combining action and serious stories with comedy that ranges from goofy to distinctly Chinese. This movie is the best balance so far of action and comedy. There are parts of the movie that are absolutely hilarious, while other parts almost made me cry...yeesh.

The DVD transfer is excellent. The video is crisp and detailed, with the special effects really coming through. Sound is equally as stunning throughout the film. There are several bonuses, including a very interesting 40 minute featurette on the making of the movie hosted by two of the supporting actors in the film.

This is one of the top three movies I've seen this year, sitting alongside Batman Begins and a movie that I'll be doing a 1 minute review of shortly. If you're at all into martial arts movies, this is a must.

Rating: Buy

Labels: 1mr, movies

Presidents of the United States of America - Peaches

Synopsis: The ultimate quick-hit of on-the-go gameplay, Burnout Legends includes tracks from Burnout, Burnout 2: Point of Impact and Burnout 3: Takedown, completely redesigned for aggressive racing on the PSP.


My thoughts: In last year's fall preview, I covered Burnout 3. Not only was this the most fun game I played last year, it was also the first game since Halo 1 where I completed the game 99% of the way through. That last pesky 1% was from the "signature crashes" that drove me to the brink of insanity trying to collect. So...I stopped.

Legends takes the best tracks from Burnout 1, 2, and 3 and combines them into portable form on the PSP. Taking advantage of Burnout 3's gameplay, it's focused on the takedown more than anything else. For the 3 of you that never played Burnout 3, takedown is when you force your opponents into a magnificent crash sequence, that hopefully leaves them at least paralyzed. This is about the most healthy way to take all the thoughts that pass through your mind on the interstate, and carry them out on virtual cars.

The developers have stated that the crash mode will remain in the game. A little less certain is whether or not the game will have infrastructure (online) play, but EA and Criterion have said they're working as hard as they can to make sure it's included. The game's coming out a mere 3 weeks from today, and anticipation on this blog is high.

Labels: games

Chumley's Toy - Blame

Just as I did last year, I'm gonna give some previews of games coming out this Fall that I'll probably be getting one way or the other. Sorry to you folks that read through this and couldn't care less about games...

Synopsis: Earth is under siege by an alien race. The Strogg are cybernetic warriors--a mechanical frame and decaying body parts stabilized by flesh consumed in a systematic annihilation of other species and civilizations. In a desperate attempt to survive a Strogg attack on Earth, an armada of Earth's finest warriors is sent to take the battle to the Strogg home planet. Earth's initial assault force is nearly annihilated immediately, but one marine manages to infiltrate the base, bring down their planetary defense systems, and kill the Strogg's collective brain and leader--the Makron. Earth assumed the destruction of the Makron would end it all, but it didn't. That's where QUAKE II leaves off and QUAKE 4 begins.


My thoughts: The second big id Software franchise to be released in as many years. This one's actually being produced by Raven Software while id works on a Quake title of their own, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. Picking up where Quake 2 left off, Raven has promised that this game will have a single player mode with some thought put into it (video). It looks like something of a cross between Halo 2 and Call of Duty.

Even if the single player doesn't turn out, the multiplayer is a lot of fun. Through some schmoozing at the Intel VIP booth at QuakeCon, I was able to hop on the game for a while and play with/against some of the Intel people in CTF. It feels a tiny bit slower than Quake 3, and the guns feel a lot more substantial than they did in Quake 3. Both of which are huge improvements to me. The game has a release date of October 11th at EB; I'll be there.

Labels: games

The Chemical Brothers - Surface to Air

These are 25 of the songs I heard and liked last night on XM.

Husky Rescue - New Light of Tomorrow
Jane's Addiction - True Nature
Rob Dougan - Furious Angels
Nine Inch Nails - Only
Nirvana - Something in the Way
Live - Freaks
Spoon - I Turn My Camera On
Paul Van Dyk - Movement
Erich Wolfgang Korngold - Captain Blood OST
The Crystal Method - High Roller
Rage Against the Machine - How I Could Just Kill a Man
Beck - Girl
Magic Sam - I Feel So Good
Alice in Chains - Heaven Beside You
Chumley's Toy - The Silence Sneaking In
The Vestals - Face the Ground
The Chemical Brothers - The Big Jump
Saigon - Out There
Lemon Jelly - '64 aka Go
John Lee Hooker - Turn Over a New Leaf
Led Zeppelin - The Rover
Duende - Amor de Dios
Husky Rescue - Rainbow Flows
RHCP - Under the Bridge
Ozzy Osbourne - Tomorrow
Lo Pro - Not Me

Spoon - I Turn My Camera On

I'm still in the middle of adding CDs back into my iTunes library, but it's slow going. In the meantime, I've been playing Battlefield 2 into the wee hours of the morning. Once in a while a game comes along that just makes you drop everything, and decide it's time to see how many times you can drive off a cliff in an armored buggy. This is that game.

Pick it up and add me on Xfire (nick: Schlep). Now back to the madness.

Hed PE - Other Side

So I'm gonna list my CDs in this post as I get them pulled into iTunes. Feel free to let me know how great or miserable my taste in music is.

Audioslave - Out of Exile
Beatles - 1
Beastie Boys - Ill Communication
Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty
Beck - Mellow Gold
The Black Keys - The Big Come Up
Blue Man Group - Audio
Chemical Brothers - Push the Button
Chevelle - Point #1
Jerry Cantrell - Degradation Trip
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin - Latter Days (disc 2)
London Symphony Orchestra - Carmina Burana (Carl Orff)
London Symphony Orchestra - Braveheart OST (James Horner)
Mogwai - Come On Die Young
Mogwai - Government Commissions
Mogwai - Ten Rapid
Monster Magnet - Monolithic Baby!
O.A.R. - Any Time Now
Oasis - Don't Believe the Truth
Oasis - Heathen Chemistry
The Offspring - Ixnay on the Hombre
The Offspring - Splinter
Pink Floyd - Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd
Queen - The Platinum Collection
Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire
Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade
Sevendust - Seasons
Shinedown - Leave a Whisper
Stabbing Westward - Ungod
Sublime - The Best Of (20th century masters)
Third Eye Blind - Third Eye Blind
The White Stripes - Elephant
The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan

Crystal Method - Keep Hope Alive

As I sit here studying and ripping all of my CDs again to a higher quality (long, boring story), I can't help but wonder...

Click the pic for the video

Labels: funny