Dexter: "Those Kinds of Things" Review

     Well, America's favorite serial-killer is back and he's feeling like his old self again.  Sure, that sound's a little counter-intuitive, but we all know Dexter has grown leaps and bounds emotionally since we 1st began listening to his inner monologue. How are things looking this season? Let's take a look.

"Season 5 was disappointing??? Looks like I'm paying some critics a visit...."

Everyone's Mad for Mad Men

       4 seasons in.  4 Emmy's for Best Drama.  I, for one, am still trying to get over the fact that Season 3 of Mad Men beat Season 4 of Dexter for Best Drama.  I'm sure that I'm not alone.  The fact that Michael C. Hall has yet to win an Emmy for his outstanding work on both Dexter and Six Feet Under is dumb-founding, but that's a discussion for another time.  Let's get on to the task at hand.    

                                                                  "What?!"

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Preview

     I thought I'd talk a little about the upcoming Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and give you a video that best summarizes this grand adventure. I'll admit I had doubts when it was first announced. Zelda hasn't really changed its formula since the Ocarina of Time days. But after reading up on the game, I've begun to believe that this could be one of the best in the series, and an epic in the truest sense of the word. Nintendo may have managed to make the Zelda game fans have been hoping for ever since the Wii was announced.


     I've posted a video below from the Tokyo Game Show highlighting some of the newer aspects of the game. I hope you enjoy, and I personally can not wait for November 20th.

How to utilize 3D gaming

       As much as I deride 3D as a movie, television, and gaming fad, I was one of the 14 idiots who bought a 3DS. I had held off at launch due to the general lack of worthwhile, "must-have" games, but finally caved in for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3DS. As I started up the game and began running around Kokiri Forest in amazing, glasses-less 3D, I have to admit, I was really impressed.

Imagine this, but with an extra dimension thrown in.

     But as I progressed further into the game, I found myself using the 3D less and less. It was beautiful, yes, but I wondered, "What's the point?" If I turn the screen just slightly, I suddenly can't see the action, which is kind of more important for an action game than the 3D. So what is 3D good for? Well, let's brainstorm, shall we?

Fringe "One Night in October" Review

 


      Is there any show other than Fringe that can so skillfully weave a procedural "case of the week" story with an emotional, thought-provoking tie to the overall mythology of the series?  I seriously doubt it.  The sheer premise of the shows overall arc allows for extremely compelling stories.  It can force us to feel for a character we've only just met.  **SPOILERS FOLLOW!!!**     
     The episode starts off simply enough.  The tried and true formula of showing us the "mad doctor" and his gruesome way of off-ing his victims.  Naturally, there's friction with the two universes working together on the case (mostly between Olivia and Faux-livia/D-UN-ham).  

                       "Damnit!  I wonder if the alternate me remembered to buy milk."

 

Terra Nova Impressions

     Wow, John is blowing me out of the water here on posts. Guess it's time for me to step up to the plate so to speak. I was originally going to do my first post on why Ghostbusters is THE greatest movie of all time, but I guess that can wait until later.


     For now though, let me ramble about what I thought of the inaugural episode of the short lived new series, "Terra Nova".

Well, it's not cancelled yet, but let's just say Fox has a certain modus operandi.

Welcome to the Crisp Chill of October Baseball

  


      Well, it may not be October according to the calendar, but the MLB begs to differ.  That great month of sports is upon us again: the uneasy tension of playoff baseball and the NFL reaching a fever pitch.  I'm still savoring the Red Sox historic collapse.  What a night of baseball that was.  
    
      Yankees vs. Verlander (Tigers), Rays (Babes of Destiny) vs. the potent offense of the Rangers.  Surging Cardinals vs. the highly favored (over-rated?) Phillies.  Brewers vs. D-backs.  Where will the cards fall?  What controversies will set ESPN ablaze?  What names will come up big?  Only time will tell.  Who do you swear your allegiance to?  Predictions?  Let us know below.

Batman: Arkham City...Game of the Year Candidate?

   The follow-up to the universally-praised "Batman: Arkham Asylum" is a little under three weeks away from being shoved into the disk drive of your XBox 360 or PS3.  Seems like an eternity, I know.  I suppose talking about how great it will be only makes the wait even more insufferable.  Oh well, here goes.  Improved combat, larger world, more Riddler, and playable Selina Kyle.  What more could you ask?
     I suppose if there is one major gripe I have with Arkham Asylum, it's the ridiculously un-Batman-like final boss battle.  Hopefully, Rocksteady realized that the game is better suited with a tactical approach to boss battles than the arcade-style "OMG he's become huge and grotesquely monstrous!!!" approach.  The game deserved better than that.

                                         "What?  You mean you didn't see this coming?"   

    But enough about that.  We have a seriously improved sequel headed our way.  And that's saying a lot when you consider that most gamers would say the original is among their instant classics.  Arkham City looks to challenge, surprise and thoroughly entertain.  Is it October 18th yet???

                              Whips, huh? I didn't know Mr. Wayne was into that sort of thing.

American Horror Story or Horrible American Story?

      A few months back, I was lying down, flipping through the endless minutiae of late-night cable.  After deciding that watching Iron Chef America was entirely too torturous, I came across something that caught my attention.  No, no, not the Shake Weight commercial, you pervert.  It was an FX commercial for a very peculiar show: a serialized, horror drama.  Confusion abounded.  As much as it excited me, could it work?  Would it be approachable enough to garner a loyal audience?  Alas, these questions are yet to be answered.    
      
       FX has continued to air mysterious ads, each of which confuses me all the more.  To me, the biggest challenge is proposed by keeping the tension and the fear throughout a series like this.  It's not like a movie, in which you can build to a spine-tingling climax after the gratuitous shrieks and scares along the way.      
       
       Secondly, as all of us battle-tested horror lovers have learned, "horror" and "great story" don't often live in the same neighborhood these days.  Hell, they don't even call each other on holidays anymore!  Sorry, got a little off-topic there.  Apologies, dominus.  Woops! Wrong show. Uhhhhh yea, where was I?  Oh yea, this is the part where I hand it over to you for discussion.  So what do you think?  Can it succeed in making us pee our pants on a weekly basis?  Or will it get the classic half season and Rest. In. Peace?(**Yes, that was an Undertaker reference.**)  

               He REALLY wants it to succeed.  Would you really want to piss this guy off?


    Sound off below and be sure to watch the 90-min premiere of American Horror Story October 5 @ 10PM on FX.

                                             Is it wrong that this got me excited???          

Yea, what he said. That was John, I'm Tom. Basically our plan is to discuss our takes on whatever catches our interest on any given day. Maybe John will discuss why Nintendo has let him down lately. Maybe I'll go on way too long about how sick I am of Dark Knight Rises spy photos and story tidbits. I mean, you people really can't wait that you have to pour over every grainy cell phone picture that....No, I'll save it for the posts.

This was just a little introductory spiel by us to give you a sense of what to expect in the coming posts. Stay tuned, both of you, because rambling and witty self important postings await!

[Bear with us as we learn to both use the blog o tron. Perhaps it would be easier to learn without the bear constantly mauling us. ]

Welcome to the Thunderdome of Pop-Culture

Well...where to begin? Sure there are plenty of multi-media sites out there giving you the latest and greatest on everything pop-culture. But don't those people just seem, I don't know, out of touch with the people they're writing for? This blog is aimed at heated debates and interesting takes.

Video game commentaries? Check! TV tirades and reviews? Check!! Help to decide which movies are worth the insane ticket price and which you should catch once the DVD hits the Bargain Bin at your local Target? Check!!! All that and more. Forget the message board wars on the various sites you usually frequent. Bring all your bravado and machismo to one place. Don't like what we have to say? Say it better! Don't agree with our views? Show us your side of the fence. After all, isn't it about time we popped culture wide open?