While this isn't really normal subject matter on Automic Reviews, it does fall under "TV" (kinda). Below are links to see streaming video of select Regionals from the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
Austin Regional
Greenville Regional
Clemson Regional
Tallahassee Regional / Irvine Regional (Or other ESPNU coverage)
Fort Worth Regional
Houston Regional
Indiana Regional
Chapel Hill Regional
Norman Regional
Streaming video of the NCAA Baseball Tournament
Written by Matt on Saturday, May 30, 2009 at 3:31 PM
Top 5 Xbox 360 Games to Look for After E3 2009
Written by Matt on Friday, May 29, 2009 at 10:41 AM
Remember, this is MY list... don't get pissed off if you disagree.
America's Army: "FREE"dom is overrated (2.8.5)
Written by Matt on Thursday, May 28, 2009 at 1:58 AM
Before everyone who reads this and flips shit because they think I just said that "Freedom is overrated," chill out and listen to me. Freedom, like what we have as Americans is not overrated (though I'm sure a way-too-liberal former significant other would disagree). The point of this post's title is that the fact that just because America's Army is a free game, the low cost does not make it good.
Yes, I know that I shouldn't complain because it didn't cost me anything to play other than the 10 hours it took download the mere 2 gig game on a cable modem via the 'AA Deploy Client.' Still, this is like the third time I have tried to get myself interested in this game and I just can't, which is really sad given it has TONS of potential.
Currently the game is on build 2.8.5 with 3.0 just around the corner, a corner I have already reserved my username for, but even though it has gone through constant patches and updates since its original release on July 4, 2002, the game still is full of crappy controls, poorly designed maps, and physics that make even Doom 3 look realistic. Beyond all that, do you know what the worse part is? There is no built-in voice chat. None. We have a popular TACTICAL first person shooter in build 2.8.5 that is without VOIP? That's inexcusable.
Can you imagine playing Counter-Strike and not having VOIP to chat with your friends and teammates? No, because they got it right years ago... and CS isn't even tactical-based (let's be honest)! America's Army is a game, but it's meant to serve as a realistic simulation for actual tactical operations within the US Army and without using a 3rd party client there is no way to tell they guy next to you where you are about to move to without stopping movement, pressing the "y" key, typing your game plan, pressing "enter," waiting for him to respond, then moving ahead.
I'm sorry, but I still find the offline training missions more fun than actually facing a human opponent over the Net.
Here's to hoping version 3.0 fixes everything with this game that has all the potential, but no drive. ::cheers, mate::
Rating: 2 / 5
Will it soon just be Kate and the 8?
Written by Matt on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 2:02 PM
The only times I have ever watched TLC's hit series Jon & Kate Plus 8 has been while I was sitting on the coach next to a significant other, as was the case last night during the season 5 premier. It's not that it's a bad show, I mean the kids are cute and hilarious, but it just has never been something that really interested me, but I might start paying attention now that things are starting to get controversial.
As I'm sure most everyone knows by now thanks to the tabloids, husband and father Jon Gosselin has been caught by the paparazzi leaving night clubs and parties with female companions other than his wife Kate. Now I am not the one to judge whether the allegations are true or not on if he did in fact commit adultery, but the unknown of his actions could possibly lead to the show's demise.
In last night's season 5 premier there was only one time that Jon and Kate were both interviewed simultaneously, which was a brief 2 minute segment following the main show when the interviewer asked the two what would happen from here. Despite the camera trying to frame the couple with close-ups using opposite thirds in their interviews as if they were sitting on the other side of the couch from the other, we never saw them together throughout the entire episode other than at the sextuplets 5th birthday party and the only words I remember Kate speaking to Jon at that party were asking him to clean the water out of one of the "Jupiter jumps."
It really was painful to watch. Kate went on and on about how she had to plan the entire party herself, implying that Jon wasn't even willing to help. The paparazzi even started taking over the show, placing themselves in every scene that took place on public property... Even the kids said "there's the paparazzi!" (or they at least attempted to before Kate told them to be quiet and stop acknowledging the camera clickers).
I'm sorry to say, but this show is in trouble, Kate has expressed how much she loves doing the show and having the family's life broadcasted across the country while Jon does not seem happy with the way things have turned out over the past five years. While it's true that all families have issues to deal with, that's not why people tune in to TLC and watch the Gosselins. If we want to see a house of chaos, we tune into MTV's Real World, not Jon & Kate Plus 8.
I am starting to wonder how much longer Jon will stick around and if he does decide to bounce, whether or not the show will be able to continue with Kate doing everything herself. This really is the closest thing to the Truman Show we have and America wants to see these kids grow up, the only question is whether or not TLC will let the show go on...
Review: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Written by Matt on Monday, May 25, 2009 at 11:53 AM
So I figured I'd go ahead. and start my first film review this morning. Last night my girlfriend and I felt like going to see a movie and could not decide between Angels and Demons or the latest installment of Night at the Museum, but due to what time they were showing, we went with this summer's main family comedy. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this film, but it was one that I was wanting to see due to the fact that I enjoyed the first one when I went with my family back in 2006. They were both directed by Shawn Levy, both written by Robert Garant and Thomas Lennon and both films starred the same base cast, but for some reason Battle of the Smithsonian just didn't make me chuckle like Night at the Museum did and I would like to take a few minutes and dissect why that may be.
TIMEOUT: No, I did not think that the original Night at the Museum was some over-the-top funny film, I simply thought it was a great FAMILY COMEDY and got a good laugh out of it with my two younger sisters. Having said that, I will continue.
Something that first irritated me about Battle of the Smithsonian was the way the opening was setup. Yes, I understand that it is a sequel and in order to have a good sequel, you often need a decent amount of reference to the prequel, but let's remind ourselves here that this is a FAMILY COMEDY. Battle of the Smithsonian had way too many references to Night at the Museum, too many to the point that you really needed to see the original before understanding the second installment. For something like the Star Wars or Star Trek trilogies, things that are epic and have a cult-following, yes, these movies are in a series with a dedicated story line, see the A New Hope before you see Empire Strikes Back! Go watch the Wrath of Khan before you seen The Search for Spock! Yes, I get that, but for a family film, why make that an issues? No one has to see the prequels before they see Shrek 2 or 3 (The Third). While I may be going over the top here and acting like Battle of the Smithsonian couldn't be understood without seeing Night at the Museum, I apologize, it's not exactly the case, but it still does have that feeling that Levy and company wanted it that way.
Since we have that out of the way, what I really want to say is that this movie just wasn't funny. I'm sorry, but it wasn't, which is sad with such a great comedic cast. Ben Stiller didn't make me laugh, Owen Wilson was bland, Christopher Guest was decent at best, and the man I was expecting the most from was Hank Azaria, really just had one scene where he made me laugh, but I will tell ya, I laughed hard. Still, overall, I just didn't laugh very often last night.
Now give credit to Azaria on playing his main character, Kamunruh, as well as the voices of "The Thinker" and Abraham Lincoln, but Azaria usually always makes me laugh, but here he was just... vanilla?
Anyone who saw the original Night at the Museum would agree that while Ricky Gervais might have had only a small role as Dr. McPhee, his dialogue made audiences laugh their asses off. So naturally I expected him to do the same in Battle of the Smithsonian, but no, it was more vanilla than anything else. AND I LOVE THE COMEDY OF RICKY GERVAIS! Yes, that's how bad his lines were.
The attempted love affair between Ben Stiller and Amy Adams (Amelia Earhart) was just atrocious and unexpected. Now I'm thankful that there wasn't a spin at the end where the two end up being together just at night when Earhart comes to life, but even trying to add it in there was an obvious stretch that failed miserably and some of that could have been partially due Adams overacting job. Personally, I see Adams as a talented and versatile actress, but while playing Amelia Earhart she was just too over the top, forcing lines of awkward dialogue that were meant to stress what time period the came from, but it was just too overbearing.
Another thing that got to me was how the museum exhibits defied the rules of the original film, about how they cannot stray too far away from the tablet or else they'll freeze and go back to their "natural" state. Here we have not only the entire Smithsonian district coming to life, but the National Mall becoming animated as well whether the tablet had close proximity or not.
Yes, I realize that I should take the same attitude to a family movie like I do to a sci-fi flick where you just can't over think it and accept things the way they are, but the tablet thing along with the fact that Earhart was able to fit virtually all the exhibits of the American Museum of Natural History in the cargo hold of her Lockheed Electra was beyond me.
Yes, I realize all of this has been very vague, but there was just so much in this film that really disappointed me that I can't go into too much detail on it.
Unless you child or little sister is begging you to take them to see Battle of the Smithsonian, do yourself a favor and avoid it.
I give it a 2 / 5
Since we have that out of the way, what I really want to say is that this movie just wasn't funny. I'm sorry, but it wasn't, which is sad with such a great comedic cast. Ben Stiller didn't make me laugh, Owen Wilson was bland, Christopher Guest was decent at best, and the man I was expecting the most from was Hank Azaria, really just had one scene where he made me laugh, but I will tell ya, I laughed hard. Still, overall, I just didn't laugh very often last night.
Now give credit to Azaria on playing his main character, Kamunruh, as well as the voices of "The Thinker" and Abraham Lincoln, but Azaria usually always makes me laugh, but here he was just... vanilla?
Anyone who saw the original Night at the Museum would agree that while Ricky Gervais might have had only a small role as Dr. McPhee, his dialogue made audiences laugh their asses off. So naturally I expected him to do the same in Battle of the Smithsonian, but no, it was more vanilla than anything else. AND I LOVE THE COMEDY OF RICKY GERVAIS! Yes, that's how bad his lines were.
The attempted love affair between Ben Stiller and Amy Adams (Amelia Earhart) was just atrocious and unexpected. Now I'm thankful that there wasn't a spin at the end where the two end up being together just at night when Earhart comes to life, but even trying to add it in there was an obvious stretch that failed miserably and some of that could have been partially due Adams overacting job. Personally, I see Adams as a talented and versatile actress, but while playing Amelia Earhart she was just too over the top, forcing lines of awkward dialogue that were meant to stress what time period the came from, but it was just too overbearing.
Another thing that got to me was how the museum exhibits defied the rules of the original film, about how they cannot stray too far away from the tablet or else they'll freeze and go back to their "natural" state. Here we have not only the entire Smithsonian district coming to life, but the National Mall becoming animated as well whether the tablet had close proximity or not.
Yes, I realize that I should take the same attitude to a family movie like I do to a sci-fi flick where you just can't over think it and accept things the way they are, but the tablet thing along with the fact that Earhart was able to fit virtually all the exhibits of the American Museum of Natural History in the cargo hold of her Lockheed Electra was beyond me.
Yes, I realize all of this has been very vague, but there was just so much in this film that really disappointed me that I can't go into too much detail on it.
Unless you child or little sister is begging you to take them to see Battle of the Smithsonian, do yourself a favor and avoid it.
I give it a 2 / 5
The very first post
Written by Matt on Sunday, May 24, 2009 at 4:38 PM
What's up. Welcome to my new home on the Internet to review the latest in video games, film and television. Now you might be asking why the hell would you care about what I have to say and the truth is I have no good reason... This is just another in a long line of blogs on the web dedicated to one person's opinion in the latest in "pop culture" (I hate that term). But look, you're already here, why not look around a bit and see if there's anything you like or dislike that you can make fun for me for.
Now before we go any further, I would like to state that I am not a "video game rager." I'm not good at going off at inanimate objects, I'm good at going off at people every once in a while, but not at video games; I leave that to the "god of raging," Mr. James Rolfe (AKA the Angry Video Game Nerd). Now don't get me wrong, sometimes I will get heated on a subject, but I won't dedicate any reviews to how sucky something is unless it is a genuine piece of shit.
Right now I am still editing a bunch of BS code for this Blogger page, but stick with me as I hope to have it all ironed out soon.
So just sit back, relax, and let the reviews begin.
Subscribe to:
Posts (RSS)
