Home Video? No....House Movie? Yes!

I don't know if people still read anymore, but I do. In fact, I read a lot, but that's neither here nor there. I read this book a while ago called "House" by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker. Well, as it turns out, someone thought it was good enough to make a movie about. It was a good read, and if done right, it would actually be a thriller that might be worth seeing. 

Books in the Christian fiction genre tend to get destroyed when turned into movies however, and I really hope that isn't the case with this one, because I did enjoy the book, and hopefully the movie will be just as an enjoyable experience. 

The film is set to hit theaters on November 7th, and while it's not a movie I'm going to run out on opening night to see, you can bet that I will go see it before too long.

Lately listening to: Christopher O'Riley

Today I was out and about with a very good friend of mine. We had decided to make each other mix CD's (because its cute and fun) and there was one artist on the CD that really caught my attention. His name is Christopher O'Riley and the song I heard was "Like Spinning Plates" a Radiohead song. The thing that made this cover special was it WAS ALL DONE WITH PIANO. That's right. This man took one of the greatest alternative artists of our time and turns their songs into beautiful piano pieces.

When I got home, I bought the whole CD on itunes, and fell in love with it. The CD is called "Hold Me To This" and it's all piano Radiohead covers, and its gorgeous. It includes songs like, No Surprises, Paranoid Android, Sail to the Moon, as well as other Radiohead favorites. I find it to be very peaceful and relaxing, and I hope you will find it to be the same.

Now, if you don't like pianos, or Radiohead, or you're just not a fan of good music, I'm sure I could find a Creed CD that you would probably enjoy. However, I assume most of you have a decent taste in music, so no worries there ;)

Thanks to Sydney, who always knows just how to make me smile.

Thank God they're graduating: High School Musical 3

First there was High School Musical. A movie put out by Disney that had everyone talking (and by everyone I mean all people under the age of twelve). But that clearly wasn't enough. They needed to make a second one, and if THAT STILL wasn't enough, the wonderful people over at Disney decided to bring you a third installment of the much acclaimed "High School Musical" series.

Um, there is not much that needs to be said here I don't think. Obviously SOMEONE likes those movies enough to make Disney delusional enough to produce a third one. You know what I think? I think it was a group of thirteen year old girls who went and saw the first two movies a hundred times each, causing Disney to believe it was a box office smash hit. Thank you Disney. We really appreciate what you're doing for mankind.

The Movie opened in theaters on October 24th and in just the first three days it grossed about 42 MILLION DOLLARS!!! That means its like the highest grossing movie musical (as far as opening weekend goes...) Holy hell! Those girls are at it again!!!! Damn you Disney! Damn you!

Just in time for the Blizzards: Snow Patrol

Yesterday, the band from Northern Ireland put out their third studio LP. The band is Snow Patrol, and the CD was released in the U.S. yesterday. It's called "A Hundred Million Suns" and it was put out on the Polydor/A&M record label.

The bands previous albums have been good listens, and while I personally have not listened to the new Album, my guess is that it will be decent, just like their past CDs have been decent. They're one of those bands that is worth checking out, but they have not achieved "favorite" status, at least on my list. I will make a note (haha) of it to get the New CD and update this post with the verdict.

So if you haven't checked them out yet, it's about time you do. I would start with their first CD "Final Straw" and make a judgment from their. If you don't like that one, then chances are you probably won't like "Eyes Open" either.

Force Unleashed: It hangs in the balance

I know this game is already considered old news by most die-hard Star Wars fans, but I thought it was worth writing about. I picked up my copy for the x-box 360 the day of it's released and went home and played it that night after work. Even after all the hype, I wasn't really sure what to expect, but here is what I found after about two hours of playing.

Upon starting the game, you realize that graphics are pretty stunning. That's apparent when you start to move around the brilliant (yet often small) 3d environments. Colors are bright and vibrant, shading and shadows are almost dead on, and of course, lighting. The physics engine was also impressive, as you got to watch Wookies, stormtroopers, and other enemies get hurdled in different directions. One of my favorite things to do was smash a window and watch all the helpless soldiers get dragged out into an unforgiving void. All of these elements were above average, and lived up to the hype.

Gameplay is fun, yet gets pretty repetitive pretty fast. While throwing around enemies, frying them with lightning, and beating them to an alien pulp with a lightsaber is fun, it doesn't offer a variety of different things to do. There is hardly any dialogue between characters (except for cut scenes that help progress the story) and as far as puzzle solving goes, there is none. The only puzzle for me was "How the hell am I supposed to get past all those guys WITH GUNS when i'm stuck with this glow-stick?" I think a third installment of Knights of the Old Republic would've been a better choice.

Overall, beating the crap out of the bad guys using nothing but the force is a good way to unwind from a long day at the office, but isn't for those looking to get into a real in-depth RPG or Puzzle game. Those of you who were expecting those sort of elements will be disappointed in this game. If you take it for what it is, it's fun. 7.5 out of ten.

A New Standard of Low

Okay, just when I was beginning to rejoice that I would never see another new episode of "The Bernie Mac Show," I see a commercial on TV for this new Movie. It's called Soul Men, and features the deceased Bernie Mac, and fellow African American actor, Samuel L. Jackson. Now before you get all excited and pre-order tickets for this winter's biggest flop, you might want to at least go in with some knowledge of what to expect. IMDB.com gives us a plot summary.

"Though it's been some twenty years since they have spoken with one another, two estranged soul-singing legends agree to participate in a reunion performance at the Apollo Theater to honor their recently deceased band leader."

Wow. Sounds like I'll be on the edge of my seat the whole time. I can't wait to see what kind of hilarity ensues when these two try to bring the band back together. Speaking of which, I should probably go tune up the ol' tambourine.

The disaster is set to hit theaters November 7th. Click here for all the details.

Fasciinated by The Faint

For those of you who are fans of The Faint, you already know about their latest album entitled "Fasciinatiion". The CD was released on August 5th by the blank.wav record label. After a few listens, I can't really say that there is one song that I don't like. It mixes elements from all their previous CDs (with the exception of Media, and if we're lucky, we won't see any more Media-like records from them) especially, Danse Macabre. The album has a solid root in the Electronica genre, and unlike Wet From Birth, almost completely stears clear of alt. rock.

Lyrically, The Faint have also matured. While songs like "Fish in a womb" and "The Geeks were right" are a throwback to the witt and humor of Wet From Birth, tracks like "Mirror Error" and "I treat you wrong" show the darker and more intellectual side of the band.

Overall, I deem this a quality album. A good listen for those moods where you're not quite sure what to listen to. As far as Electronica goes, "Fasciinatiion" is up there in the ranks.