Drag Me to Hell Review

Sam Raimi’s latest mixes elements of his most notable works, The Evil Dead and Spider-Man trilogies. Luckily there’s more Evil Dead here than the latter and Drag Me to Hell didn’t disappoint. The screen writing and fright scenes could already be considered some of the best of it’s genre.

Christine (Alison Lohman) is a good-intentioned bank loan officer who we first meet listening to life coaching seminars in her car. “There is no friction, with the proper diction.” the recording says, and Christine repeats. Tired of being taken advantage of and wanting to get ahead at work, Christine denies a loan extension to the wrong crazy lady who in turn curses her. Lohman (Matchstick Men) does a great job as Christine and even handles lines such as the Campbell -esque , “I’m gonna get some!”. Justin Long (Live Free, Die Hard), Dileep Rao, and David Paymer (Get Shorty) all turn in admirable performances and round out a great cast.

There was a whole lot more toothless-face-mawing (you’ll see what I mean) than I was expecting, but the cinematography and special effects are mostly excellent. Raimi sets up many great set-pieces and manages to have only a few odd ones. The horror genre can be tricky though, as there’s a thin line between genuinely terrifying and over-the-top. But I guess the only important thing is that I’m slightly more terrified of gypsy curses now than ever before, and that means I just watched a fine horror film.

Final Score – ****

-Ken Kleven

E3 ’09

Heavy Rain – Release Date – TBA

Original, beautiful, mind-bending. I really can’t say enough good things about Heavy Rain. It’s a psychological thriller that focuses on exploration and uses time-based actions for combat. The story follows 4 characters as they discover the identity of the “origami killer”, a serial killer who leaves you know what in the hands of his victims. Gameplay I saw featured a detective as he follows a lead to a junkyard. After getting no answers from the owner present, you break out your A.R.I. (sunglasses that pick up clues in your environ) and notice a blood trail to the acid bath… Seconds later, the junkyard owner has a gun to the back of your head and a nice action sequence takes place. All in all, Heavy Rain looks to be a breath of fresh air and the closest yet to an interactive movie.

X-factor – *****

MAG – Release Date – TBA

Even with it’s massive 256-player battles, MAG doesn’t look to have a lot going for it right now. The demo graphics were dark/ barely serviceable and even though the game is probably deep, the HUD just seems too busy. I wouldn’t count this one out, but I wouldn’t put money down on it yet, either.

X-factor – **

Fight Night 4 – Release date – June 25th

Fight Night 3 is probably the greatest boxing game of all time, and I think it still will be even after FN 4 releases. Not to say FN 4 looks bad, but what I’ve seen so far has been underwhelming. They’ve removed parrying from the game, which right now looks like the only difference between 3 and 4. Oh and we’re happy to see they finally got George Foreman.

X-factor – **1/2

The WWs May 25th-31st

On DVD:

Flight of the Conchords: Season 2 – ****1/2

A revolutionary show with subtle yet laugh out loud musicomedy. It’s beyond disappointing that we won’t be seeing a season 3.

House: Season 1 – ****

Yes, I realize they just wrapped up season 5, but I now know what I’ve been missing.

The Darjeeling Limited – *****

Another masterpiece from director Wes Anderson. If you’re not familiar with his work, prepare yourself for something completely different.

Gaming:

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames – ***1/2

Now that it can be found for 15 bucks or less it’s a crime not to check it out.

Battlefield: Bad Company – ****

Also cheap as dirt (15 USD), but pure gold.

Music:

Interpol – *****

Doesn’t matter which album, just go listen to them. And if you already do, do it more often. Antics happens to be my favorite album in existence at the moment.

All Shall Perish: Awaken The Dreamers – *****

Raising the bar for thrash metal once again. Heavy and melodic like few others.

Cynic: Traced in Air – ****

These guys sound like a fusion of Coheed & Cambria and Between the Buried & Me.

Punch Out!! Wii Review

“Little Mac Makes His Triumphant Return!”

 

In 1987, “Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!” was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Console. Throughout the years, the game has been recognized by many as one of the most charming, and yet challenging, titles of that generation of gaming. In 1994, Nintendo followed up with “Super Punch-Out!!” on the SNES. Now, after fifteen long years, Nintendo has released “Punch-Out!!” on the Wii. The game revolves around Little Mac, a one-hundred seven pound boxer from the Bronx, who dreams of becoming the World Video Boxing Association’s world champion. Mac will obviously not be able to conquer his foes with brute strength at his size, and so you must guide him with cunning strategy to defeat boxers that hail from all over the world.

…continued in Gaming Reviews

The WWs May 18th-24th

In Theatres:

Star Trek – ***1/2

Nice franchise mutation. Director J.J. Abrams managed to keep the heart of ST while establishing an interesting new cast. 

Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian - **

Great kid flick, mildly enjoyable for everyone else. 

Angels and Demons - ***1/2

Hanks and Mcgregor perform well in a memorable story. 

X-Men Origins: Wolverine – ***

Lacks direction at times, but wholly enjoyable.

I Love You, Man – ***

Not another formulaic movie, man… Luckily, it wasn’t. Uses a few of the same tricks, but felt original.  

Coraline – ***1/2

Crazy and lovable stuff. 

State of Play – ****

Crowe and Mcadams are good, too good. 

Gaming:

Fallout 3 - *****

A flood of expansions have been released recently, all exemplary, and the surgeon general recently released this statment: “If you find that you do not like Fallout 3, consult a physician immediately.” 

City of Heroes – ***1/2

A Mission Architect has been added which allows player-created content. A great game that is defintely worth a look.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine – ****

A fantastic clawterfest. Are claw jokes dead?? They are now.

A Whadido

A Whadido (pronounced wha-di-do) can be shorthand for many possible phrases, but most commonly “what did it do?”. These are our quick reviews, usually pre-empting a full one. Anything recently viewed/played by an editor will be subject to a whadido.