tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71878060868984039412024-03-05T09:53:44.416+01:00Movie reviews, music news, gaming and moreJonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-11506325351092385132021-02-27T07:36:00.014+01:002021-03-05T07:04:05.816+01:00Monster Hunter movie review | action ft. Milla Jovovich, Tony Jaa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-kLLuTVeJb87GE-5cGPanSOfZBvlmKGW8KYLg4xSDVxvKamyZmNGE-iFTtEI-UwGuptcEEfyV-uQXYtSTMI0nHfLeQJ1FjtUkyexZF0SQbcQwfThNscrE1kyW5XXmhX4X5XOjXVFmjk/s1920/monster-hunter-movie-poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-kLLuTVeJb87GE-5cGPanSOfZBvlmKGW8KYLg4xSDVxvKamyZmNGE-iFTtEI-UwGuptcEEfyV-uQXYtSTMI0nHfLeQJ1FjtUkyexZF0SQbcQwfThNscrE1kyW5XXmhX4X5XOjXVFmjk/s16000/monster-hunter-movie-poster.jpg" /></a></div></div><br /><p>Monster Hunter is originally a <b>video game</b> series by Capcom, that originally debuted on the PlayStation 2 back in 2004, with many games released ever since. The series has nog eventually received its movie adaptation with this 2020 title. How does it stack up? Let's find out in this review!</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">No <i>cute</i> animals harmed</h2><p>When it comes to movies based on video games, I usually have a fair bit of experience of the story and gameplay, but Monster Hunter is actually not a franchise I've yet dabbled with much. I know it's a Japanese <b>action-RPG</b> where you roam around in an open world, and hunt different species of animals, ranging from cute and practically defenceless ones to larger, more predatorial buggers. The idea to barge into some poor creature's land and start killing and harvesting them for loots and collectables, always seemed a bit offputting to me, though. That's mainly why I yet haven't been sold on the games.</p><p>Luckily, for us animal lovers, the movie is not about hunting for pleasure (or even for food, for that matter). It's more of a survival thing, where our lead characters are mainly the ones being hunted. And the foes are no cutesies either. Instead, we see giant spiders and other bugs that could have been taken straight out of <b><a href="https://amzn.to/3uJPr81" target="_blank">Starship Troopers</a></b>, along with huge sand crawlers sweeping across the desert from beneath, and other nasty critters. It even goes full-out fantasy with mighty fire-breathing dragons as well.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3od-kQMTZ9M" width="1027" youtube-src-id="3od-kQMTZ9M"></iframe></div><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3bHAg6l"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Check out the full movie on Amazon</span></b></a></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Premise</h2><p>The premise of the movie is that there is some sort of parallel world where giant monsters exist, and people live in tribes as hunters. In an undisclosed location in the desert, some sort of UN security operations take place. In a violent lightning storm, something goes awry and a portal to that aforementioned other world opens. Artemis; the leader of the UN troop, played by <b>Milla Jovovich</b> then meats a nameless hunter from another world, played by Thai actor <b>Tony Jaa</b>. The latter is most known from various martial arts movies, such as <b><a href="https://amzn.to/3pXRUrF" target="_blank">The Protector</a></b> and the <b><a href="https://amzn.to/3b0THYV" target="_blank">Ong Bak</a></b> series. Anyway, out of necessity, the two hotheads reluctantly join forces in their fight for survival in this action-packed monster flick.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Story</h2><p>The above premise is about the only backstory the film offers, before throwing you into the monster-hunting action. This movie is all about action, massive monsters and stunning landscapes that would fit the bill as anyone's favourite <b>Windows desktop wallpaper</b>. If you yearn for more depth, this is simply not the movie for you.</p><h3>Odd clash between realism and fantasy</h3><p>In an attempt to make the movie more appealing towards a broader audience other than a specific niche of gamers, they shoved in Milla's character who's not even in the games and made the movie based around her kicking ass and shooting guns, rather than exploring the actual source material, or the game "lore", if you will. This means people who yet aren't familiar with the games, are still in the dark about what the games are about, while fans of the games will likely feel let down by the departure from, or at least how loosely it's based on, the source material. They've clearly made some big compromises here, and it almost feels like two movies slapped together into one, where neither of the two got developed or explored to my satisfaction.</p><p>Even though it's a popcorn flick, and you probably mainly watch it for some mindless monster action, I feel that the story is a little on the thin side even for this type of movie, especially when compared to the likes of <b><a href="https://amzn.to/3dO6X4Q" target="_blank">Jurassic Park</a></b>. To be fair, Monster Hunter is obviously more rooted in <b>fantasy</b> than it is in <b>sci-fi</b>, but that doesn't mean that nothing going on in the movie needs any sort of reality-anchoring. Especially since the movie tries to be somewhat realistic amongst all the monsters, dragons and talking felines, throwing in some proper UN soldiers and whatnot. </p><p>The way the normal world and what I'm guessing is the "game world", is connected eventually unfolds towards the end, but the whole thing just feels tacked on and dumb, and mostly serves as a segue to the big end battle. </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Characters and interactions</h2><p>The characters don't have a lot of personality to offer either, being about as two-dimensional as the sprites in your typical <b>NES game</b>. The interaction taking place between the main characters that isn't pure action is virtually non-existent. I get that Artemis and "Hunter" come from different realities and that they don't have a common language they can communicate in, but everyone watching this movie will figure out right away that they will <i>have to</i> work together eventually. But they sure take their time to settle their differences and the fight scenes just drag on forever. (Why would they cast a martial artist for one of the leading roles otherwise, right?)</p><p>Throughout all the tussle and quarrel I just couldn't help but to think <i>"you are two people - TWO! Against endless hordes of giant bugs and sh*t. Get a grip already!!" </i></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvu6JLa9YQr1-AVV14aMdHz6xUwoSUc0kLunnb9Ub44UGYfrFG5cvGLlnw7btfe3NPXLXSf4_vObfOL-ynQqkwURGv3sFt655pQfVQ3kL0uiNPyWtBzfVBn5pQtjnEJaCfadaqjzJuN5M/s2617/monster-hunter-artemis-and-hunter.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1202" data-original-width="2617" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvu6JLa9YQr1-AVV14aMdHz6xUwoSUc0kLunnb9Ub44UGYfrFG5cvGLlnw7btfe3NPXLXSf4_vObfOL-ynQqkwURGv3sFt655pQfVQ3kL0uiNPyWtBzfVBn5pQtjnEJaCfadaqjzJuN5M/s16000/monster-hunter-artemis-and-hunter.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artemis and "Hunter" getting to know each other.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>While Jovovich's and Jaa's characters share some lighthearted humorous moments as well, mostly revolving around Hunter's newfound urge for chocolate, they mostly traded punches. It felt a lot like action was shoehorned<b> </b>in where there could be some interesting interactions instead, possibly offering some more moments of emotion and humour that would make the characters more human and likeable. So that was a bit of a wasted opportunity, in my opinion. Forcing action sequences into the story is something to be expected in video games, for the sake of having more playable content. But this is a movie, and I would have liked the people in it to act more like people and less like video game characters. Throughout the movie, I could actually imagine it being a video game, with some cutscenes here and there between the many action scenes.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWxTmSrhPysUtnsHOfgmNm64R8ac18wbhqZrH76LB1EbKbZq-Jy59yG3NJXtXs3zPR3I5UxSPLINDF4IJBAgr5tc899ImWF3SD548RO5Mw_ekdvwM8vsxlvOJidmZVG24Lj5hymc7Httk/s2048/monster-hunter-ron-perlman.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1302" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWxTmSrhPysUtnsHOfgmNm64R8ac18wbhqZrH76LB1EbKbZq-Jy59yG3NJXtXs3zPR3I5UxSPLINDF4IJBAgr5tc899ImWF3SD548RO5Mw_ekdvwM8vsxlvOJidmZVG24Lj5hymc7Httk/s16000/monster-hunter-ron-perlman.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ron Perlman doing an 80's hair metal version of Lion King.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Of the other characters in the film aside from Jovovich and Jaa, only a few are worth mentioning. One of them being somewhat memorable is <b>Ron Perlman</b>'s character, albeit for the wrong reasons. He looks like he's either in a <b><a href="https://amzn.to/3qZzh8f" target="_blank">Lion King</a></b> musical or some 80's hair metal band. He also has a chef serving him food and drinks, who just happens to be a sassy, <b>man-sized cat</b> who in true pirate fashion also has an eye missing. These two oddballs undeniably bring some comic relief to the movie, if only for a brief moment.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Pv0Ys51Rhe8MZlIGwObzYhDFXAwB3mmB9yFYUlZpHcBTaEhEg88H7_YGy5DMo81o0CVuaWYRYAwXUU4SNC5udMs3zJqFldBLjROz3U_tANPMGuP8n1SxNNQemYdGfjVUjlUCXY-RI94/s2048/monster-hunter-catman.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Pv0Ys51Rhe8MZlIGwObzYhDFXAwB3mmB9yFYUlZpHcBTaEhEg88H7_YGy5DMo81o0CVuaWYRYAwXUU4SNC5udMs3zJqFldBLjROz3U_tANPMGuP8n1SxNNQemYdGfjVUjlUCXY-RI94/s16000/monster-hunter-catman.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ron Perlman's chef, proudly serving the whole crew Whiskas on a daily basis.</td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="text-align: left;">Resident Hunter</h2><p>The movie is made by <b>Paul W.S. Anderson</b>, who also brought us the live-action <b><a href="https://amzn.to/3qZq1AZ" target="_blank">Resident Evil movies</a></b>. And it shows. For starters, he again cast his <b>wife</b> Milla Jovovich for a similar role. Watching Monster Hunter also reminded me a lot of <b><a href="https://amzn.to/3kv5yBi" target="_blank">Resident Evil: Extinction</a></b> (the third film in the series, which also happens to be in the desert). And ironically, neither the Resident Evil franchise nor Monster Hunter had Jovovich's characters in them, to begin with. Instead the character "Alice" was added specifically for the Resident Evil <i>movies</i>, as was Artemis, for this Monster Hunter film. Both are odd choices that might raise a few eyebrows among fans of the games.</p><p>From what I've seen from the actual <b>Monster Hunter games</b>, they seem like grand, colourful fantasy adventures. Here we instead get a survival game...ahem <i>movie,</i> mostly taking place in the desert with muted brown tones, along with some mercs and machine guns. Sure haven't seen any of that in any of the screenshots of the games. The whole concept of a fantasy world blending together with the real world is probably also a departure from the games' original story, I would imagine. It's something we get to see quite often with these video game movies. The <b><a href="https://amzn.to/3r3JsbJ" target="_blank">Sonic the Hedgehog</a></b> movie comes to my mind, for instance.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Verdict</h2><p>Monster Hunter is quite obviously a big-budget production, offering great visuals and action. Not sure how fans of the games will react to it, since it seems like the source material has been taken into account rather loosely. I'm sure they'll watch it in any case, out of sheer curiosity. </p><p>For people completely new to the game series, the movie still offers a bit of laid back entertainment without demanding too much from its viewer. If you liked watching Milla Jovovich kick zombie butts in Resident Evil, you'll probably enjoy seeing her take down massive critters in this one. Right now in midst of the pandemic, we aren't exactly spoiled with blockbuster action movies, so Monster Hunter came at a good time. And if a big-budget action with massive monsters sounds appealing, it's indeed worth a watch. Just don't expect too much from the story, and leave your critical thinking at the door.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Movie mentions and recommendations</i></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Monster movies</h2><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TP6mrV1IoGjASsTPxALcrnyeN-VHpl4D8MhbvY9In6CVNTCwJODrEgHlkArMg_sQfwJaZhWZCFCpzuFR309MZ1iNV5Mrlfbh_BhaInDwc1vEmAD17wx3NOymFGvTm5LfXqbp1-BDOjk/s1500/monster-hunter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1216" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TP6mrV1IoGjASsTPxALcrnyeN-VHpl4D8MhbvY9In6CVNTCwJODrEgHlkArMg_sQfwJaZhWZCFCpzuFR309MZ1iNV5Mrlfbh_BhaInDwc1vEmAD17wx3NOymFGvTm5LfXqbp1-BDOjk/s320/monster-hunter.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3bRkJ42" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Monster Hunter</a><br /></b>(4K / Blu-ray / DVD / Stream)<br />Get it in: <a href="https://amzn.to/3bRkJ42" target="_blank">US</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3rvW2kt" target="_blank">CA</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/2PANdYp" target="_blank">UK</a></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_oN7w1EQdrCJ4qlcpGnRRiamU18jVKyJyREGw7D2inlyE-FNAOzZmD7Gijm_vuHiywIYuzrl9DL6QCau4OmtwtmnVIMbKU-EOYCslB6gUu-5Zt9CwVH2NOjiE-duXvHkHfzdQ-0XxyS4/s1500/jurassic-collection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1198" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_oN7w1EQdrCJ4qlcpGnRRiamU18jVKyJyREGw7D2inlyE-FNAOzZmD7Gijm_vuHiywIYuzrl9DL6QCau4OmtwtmnVIMbKU-EOYCslB6gUu-5Zt9CwVH2NOjiE-duXvHkHfzdQ-0XxyS4/s320/jurassic-collection.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3qi6ESy" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank"><b>Jurassic Park/World Collection</b></a><br />(4K / Blu-ray / DVD / Stream)<br />Get in: <a href="https://amzn.to/3eai0FD" target="_blank">US</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3qcS92c" target="_blank">CA</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3e5fqAO" target="_blank">UK</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/2PA9NjU" target="_blank">DE/EU</a></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJbnFDMzFyP5qccDfEOYNYHzQ3IvbmtUBL6H3WyboVxYvblUlkMrJjCFg2eLHcFbAOmypVc7lhPtfFCpWgnPpAxMLrjGEd2QaSdhKPfJyJHpk3snKK_oZ5Lf7ol8irAB9398JJPz33v5c/s1600/love-and-monsters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJbnFDMzFyP5qccDfEOYNYHzQ3IvbmtUBL6H3WyboVxYvblUlkMrJjCFg2eLHcFbAOmypVc7lhPtfFCpWgnPpAxMLrjGEd2QaSdhKPfJyJHpk3snKK_oZ5Lf7ol8irAB9398JJPz33v5c/s320/love-and-monsters.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3uRD5dN" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank"><b>Love and Monsters</b></a><br />(4K / Blu-ray / DVD / Stream)<br />Get in: <a href="https://amzn.to/3rvIc16" target="_blank">US</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3sRCjM2" target="_blank">CA</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/2OpCTBI" target="_blank">UK</a></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTq7k7rDH4cqMea2JBTT1FyLadGma9xN635aUOhUp3C_zArEQ1X2RtOBT3VBY8r-o9_bnbUrdmGIREWJ-bbjPe5jOG3Gco8BarPbvbPLcytjmd1JjF4Z4keURGfaYlyOvnGAotwqZQYyg/s1500/starship-troopers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1216" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTq7k7rDH4cqMea2JBTT1FyLadGma9xN635aUOhUp3C_zArEQ1X2RtOBT3VBY8r-o9_bnbUrdmGIREWJ-bbjPe5jOG3Gco8BarPbvbPLcytjmd1JjF4Z4keURGfaYlyOvnGAotwqZQYyg/s320/starship-troopers.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/2O22IIp" target="_blank"><b>Starship Troopers</b></a><br />(4K / Blu-ray / DVD / Stream)<br />Get in: <a href="https://amzn.to/2O22IIp" target="_blank">US</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3qriBW9" target="_blank">CA</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3e8fyPR" target="_blank">UK</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3qriGZX" target="_blank">DE/EU</a></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvQKhpEhG_FP2KIVXyyRIVTOgU0siopHWSfuYhtLIcB6KmI0qP26E7lfONFKf_tBJXVCeq4SpkNFflf8JN0m2vozRDKqQQ4o9zYf4qYxUuD13p0CiVXmJ_KO8aEbCgvZvpkTOXtlcsx8/s1500/godzilla-king-of-the-monsters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1185" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvQKhpEhG_FP2KIVXyyRIVTOgU0siopHWSfuYhtLIcB6KmI0qP26E7lfONFKf_tBJXVCeq4SpkNFflf8JN0m2vozRDKqQQ4o9zYf4qYxUuD13p0CiVXmJ_KO8aEbCgvZvpkTOXtlcsx8/s320/godzilla-king-of-the-monsters.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3uSKPwe" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank"><b>Godzilla: King of the Monsters</b></a><br />(4K / Blu-ray / DVD / Stream)<br />Get in: <a href="https://amzn.to/3kU8vvK" target="_blank">US</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3kJapza" target="_blank">CA</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3kMkSty" target="_blank">UK</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3ro0MIE" target="_blank">DE/EU</a></td></tr></tbody></table></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbvPhdMmUxamo-qFYKJzH2dzFtAocYyJGXMdg93fEYA90TLusJotKVRAnc5ZQBVeM5-NWJoFX-Pxow-0A1QB2K3ndpWVTioMkzsvUS1JzvN5UpgUpSoA3uR9LiB7QCCaN18fP1dwImGUc/s2048/rampage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1382" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbvPhdMmUxamo-qFYKJzH2dzFtAocYyJGXMdg93fEYA90TLusJotKVRAnc5ZQBVeM5-NWJoFX-Pxow-0A1QB2K3ndpWVTioMkzsvUS1JzvN5UpgUpSoA3uR9LiB7QCCaN18fP1dwImGUc/s320/rampage.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://amzn.to/3sWOWpr" target="_blank">Rampage</a><br /></b>(4K / Blu-ray / 3D / DVD / Str.)<br />Get in: <a href="https://amzn.to/3sWOWpr" target="_blank">US</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/2MLSuv0" target="_blank">CA</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3bimLel" target="_blank">UK</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/30hnJkK" target="_blank">DE/EU</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;">Milla Jovovich </h2><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWRmrnIyBJg-5OsHnMhyphenhyphenfKDrDS2nYJL_APYPV7e9MB08oXT_tZ5bVvjfuMRtoRaDXPiAbYW5_Un1f4zTVCPLExO9-s35LibapV5dm0_UFfXi6zuQa3nJNM8jfr6SNvCz6xIKe72UF9gng/s718/resident-evil-1-6-complete-4k-uhd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="580" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWRmrnIyBJg-5OsHnMhyphenhyphenfKDrDS2nYJL_APYPV7e9MB08oXT_tZ5bVvjfuMRtoRaDXPiAbYW5_Un1f4zTVCPLExO9-s35LibapV5dm0_UFfXi6zuQa3nJNM8jfr6SNvCz6xIKe72UF9gng/s320/resident-evil-1-6-complete-4k-uhd.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3qZq1AZ" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank"><b>Resident Evil - Collection</b></a><br />(4K / Blu-ray / DVD / Stream)<br />Get in: <a href="https://amzn.to/3c0yCNv" target="_blank">US</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3eao9l3" target="_blank">CA</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/2NWBhzQ" target="_blank">UK</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3qeg3dz" target="_blank">DE/EU</a></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzAHkWnJMYu232yiB25ut0LEwhZMIKOBj38_VBjcs-cf6xXRuD5Y7WNhtwE21WeUmAKYBLnIeCW1EHuFTjPWk1OtpArawTwF0uOc-1wc7uJKTtob5OLw7G0vt5FsBXSqJpUPZH6cw4WQ/s1500/the-fifth-element-2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1201" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzAHkWnJMYu232yiB25ut0LEwhZMIKOBj38_VBjcs-cf6xXRuD5Y7WNhtwE21WeUmAKYBLnIeCW1EHuFTjPWk1OtpArawTwF0uOc-1wc7uJKTtob5OLw7G0vt5FsBXSqJpUPZH6cw4WQ/s320/the-fifth-element-2020.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3sTgWu6" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank"><b>The Fifth Element</b></a><br />(4K / Blu-ray / DVD / Stream)<br />Get in: <a href="https://amzn.to/2NVmQvX" target="_blank">US</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3kNt3pA" target="_blank">CA</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3rk4WRT" target="_blank">UK</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/2OpWxO0" target="_blank">DE/EU</a></td></tr></tbody></table></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh59W0yAOkoIZVirxsxxif80mlB4y4rpEdQz-JhCAL8cur806gkehOPaNx2jJOMbonJbcDt9sA6bON2tzv4q98r7fxxkWVx8pCSXsHX_HTrSo2k1GLC6LpRfMzMxcxnhH1PYAHuyi0EqqA/s1500/ultraviolet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1002" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh59W0yAOkoIZVirxsxxif80mlB4y4rpEdQz-JhCAL8cur806gkehOPaNx2jJOMbonJbcDt9sA6bON2tzv4q98r7fxxkWVx8pCSXsHX_HTrSo2k1GLC6LpRfMzMxcxnhH1PYAHuyi0EqqA/s320/ultraviolet.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3sLkkqw" target="_blank"><b>Ultraviolet</b></a><br /></span>(Blu-ray / DVD / Stream)<br />Get in: <a href="https://amzn.to/3sLkkqw" target="_blank">US</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3qiRegK" target="_blank">CA</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3qroR05" target="_blank">UK</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3sPo76d" target="_blank">DE/EU</a></td></tr></tbody></table><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkD53sNgjKLMkn-giOBdP78TnP80jhg5Xwlup58sYFGVpHRu43o4aA5V9obyWr7o8NkTbfEY2_V9b8KLNNsM-o37do_A1I1kQvE3o_0OLzI5lxAnu4Kcp8Eb4SVBAGz1ZaC76_npGQxzU/s1500/faces-in-the-crowd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkD53sNgjKLMkn-giOBdP78TnP80jhg5Xwlup58sYFGVpHRu43o4aA5V9obyWr7o8NkTbfEY2_V9b8KLNNsM-o37do_A1I1kQvE3o_0OLzI5lxAnu4Kcp8Eb4SVBAGz1ZaC76_npGQxzU/s320/faces-in-the-crowd.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3ecuUDc" target="_blank"><b>Faces in the Crowd</b></a><br /></span>(Blu-ray / DVD)<br />Get in: <a href="https://amzn.to/3ecuUDc" target="_blank">US</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3beg8d3" target="_blank">CA</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3bfljcP" target="_blank">UK</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/2MN4axE" target="_blank">DE/EU</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Video game movies</h2><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ZzjiWyIHpOSWI-dK43F-NOQN3UW5AhDOpi1fDg4idnD9zRSDtLBLGyLOj8Y4Hjn9CnuK97xx0GBaqDJfIdyZzYMfA8ZtlhhOL9Qaqdb2OBYLapnUh4i0suVpmyRrewIakOaA7eltJSA/s2048/resident-evil-vendetta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ZzjiWyIHpOSWI-dK43F-NOQN3UW5AhDOpi1fDg4idnD9zRSDtLBLGyLOj8Y4Hjn9CnuK97xx0GBaqDJfIdyZzYMfA8ZtlhhOL9Qaqdb2OBYLapnUh4i0suVpmyRrewIakOaA7eltJSA/s320/resident-evil-vendetta.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3kKA4Yl" target="_blank"><b>Resident Evil - animated films</b></a><br /></span>(4K / Blu-ray / DVD / Stream)<br />Get in: <a href="https://amzn.to/3kKA4Yl" target="_blank">US</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3ebOH5K">CA</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/2OoLxk2" target="_blank">UK</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3ef1Xq3" target="_blank">DE/EU</a></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWDqXft5c7Y-LzsTDIuvmsPWhhqlc6mRygloOP6H5exuv6pCHSFeqkGbDoll3i8ZbDHHLs7cQy_cUCABr96mIn22Meeqigd5nsvkQ2pEHiHuPyrXEjHD6Uw4ecNgwMgILErb7VGFskl48/s1200/sonic-the-hedgehog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWDqXft5c7Y-LzsTDIuvmsPWhhqlc6mRygloOP6H5exuv6pCHSFeqkGbDoll3i8ZbDHHLs7cQy_cUCABr96mIn22Meeqigd5nsvkQ2pEHiHuPyrXEjHD6Uw4ecNgwMgILErb7VGFskl48/s320/sonic-the-hedgehog.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3r3JsbJ" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank"><b>Sonic the Hedgehog</b></a><br />(4K / Blu-ray / DVD / Stream)<br />Get in: <a href="https://amzn.to/3sRQT6w" target="_blank">US</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3qhVQUp" target="_blank">CA</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3kOrcRb" target="_blank">UK</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3kOrjw5" target="_blank">DE/EU</a></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsqzvF9s6lNXPqXJVY8hWL8H8Lx5v9yForbnod8blSdaV6R9ucLXiReNbmyuNp5lprSs4-SKNUmWyga6niBQPegSj5p822bE9yA38Jh8raodYcE-MsZSgXAHAGF920m_rXxl8mgXlLTCQ/s1500/pokemon-detective-pikachu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1187" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsqzvF9s6lNXPqXJVY8hWL8H8Lx5v9yForbnod8blSdaV6R9ucLXiReNbmyuNp5lprSs4-SKNUmWyga6niBQPegSj5p822bE9yA38Jh8raodYcE-MsZSgXAHAGF920m_rXxl8mgXlLTCQ/s320/pokemon-detective-pikachu.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3c1VDiZ" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank"><b>Pokémon: Detective Pikachu</b></a><br />(4K / Blu-ray / DVD / Stream)<br />Get in: <a href="https://amzn.to/3c1VDiZ" target="_blank">US</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3c244uP" target="_blank">CA</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3qfY6eJ" target="_blank">UK</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3uVmohA" target="_blank">DE/EU</a></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjXlt_yW_t9qBtFoGcjo8FtKgwTGZZ_EDKYcgsucp_t8r84Ru0F8sqISj-eFWBjEb7jTGRd0ZnQWY7aXlLzs6d_scWinyj6leuPU3ie2u4gz64beiVwk2dNLDMb_nBDb_tFiTX_7UFO4Q/s1500/tomb-raider-2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1070" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjXlt_yW_t9qBtFoGcjo8FtKgwTGZZ_EDKYcgsucp_t8r84Ru0F8sqISj-eFWBjEb7jTGRd0ZnQWY7aXlLzs6d_scWinyj6leuPU3ie2u4gz64beiVwk2dNLDMb_nBDb_tFiTX_7UFO4Q/s320/tomb-raider-2018.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3sPrHNH" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank"><b>Tomb Raider</b></a><span style="text-align: left;"> (2018)<br /></span>(4K / Blu-ray / 3D / DVD / Str.)<br />Get in: <a href="https://amzn.to/3sPrHNH" target="_blank">US</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3sQELTg" target="_blank">CA</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3uYYWQz" target="_blank">UK</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/2PAk5R4" target="_blank">DE/EU</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_hoRyRbu9MFOZT7JHAt969y8Wm2uD-yrzAUL_nkzguagQfSPI4LuPhG2o6dFGuR4JkYm1WYv7nwsCcnejM7Oe_ObyZVR5DATb324PRV1t-YbraCtfK3qSb8xuAquWIm_rPjRmOGXX4F4/s1500/lara-croft-tomb-raider.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1194" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_hoRyRbu9MFOZT7JHAt969y8Wm2uD-yrzAUL_nkzguagQfSPI4LuPhG2o6dFGuR4JkYm1WYv7nwsCcnejM7Oe_ObyZVR5DATb324PRV1t-YbraCtfK3qSb8xuAquWIm_rPjRmOGXX4F4/s320/lara-croft-tomb-raider.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3bjtHYK" target="_blank"><b>Lara Croft: Tomb Raider</b></a> (2001)<br /></span>(4K / Blu-ray / DVD / Stream)<br />Get in: <a href="https://amzn.to/3bjtHYK" target="_blank">US</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/2O3LQRx" target="_blank">CA</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/30d5Mnk" target="_blank">UK</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/30cPjjl" target="_blank">DE/EU</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Tony Jaa</h2><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo17hHapnoC3lM2hMFhBQYKSHEPEmSQYk8vgWBSInC9y0K_wUKXrkPwvh-6tcyOkdfiFfYA0QC6K4UNoah8uG30Pfw9drKoylUlNyghrGm55E42l-H5zx9l2N18uH0OBloHxAK3JoJyl0/s682/the-protector.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo17hHapnoC3lM2hMFhBQYKSHEPEmSQYk8vgWBSInC9y0K_wUKXrkPwvh-6tcyOkdfiFfYA0QC6K4UNoah8uG30Pfw9drKoylUlNyghrGm55E42l-H5zx9l2N18uH0OBloHxAK3JoJyl0/s320/the-protector.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3pXRUrF" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank"><b>The Protector</b></a><br />(Blu-ray / DVD / Stream)<br />Get in: <a href="https://amzn.to/3qkUDM1" target="_blank">US</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/38cfoTV" target="_blank">CA</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3bfW4a7" target="_blank">UK</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3qjx2vl" target="_blank">DE/EU</a></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJTYFDSqDppQ1BtMv68crFyHzFJX5imKiwSMCIf5c8x3OJwtNbQm9Bt0xGX-KogeM3n5lvThcEAxXyhWBxITzd0BTMoZWMfCzWhS_euueW5088e916Zy5G0PKF6-UBwQMOzZ2eVi0j7rQ/s1500/ong-bak-trilogy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1193" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJTYFDSqDppQ1BtMv68crFyHzFJX5imKiwSMCIf5c8x3OJwtNbQm9Bt0xGX-KogeM3n5lvThcEAxXyhWBxITzd0BTMoZWMfCzWhS_euueW5088e916Zy5G0PKF6-UBwQMOzZ2eVi0j7rQ/s320/ong-bak-trilogy.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://amzn.to/3b0THYV" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Ong Bak Trilogy</a></b><br />(Blu-ray / DVD)<br />Get in: <a href="https://amzn.to/3riLl4B" target="_blank">US</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/38bBBkR" target="_blank">CA</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/30g4JTW" target="_blank">UK</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3kKEeiV" target="_blank">DE/EU</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h2><p><i>As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.</i> </p>Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-87277344519727010272021-02-08T05:25:00.026+01:002021-02-14T19:15:24.801+01:00Bliss (2021) Movie review | sci-fi drama ft. Salma Hayek, Owen Wilson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDSoxoYujDtn5S1dYj6dwCY2OUqwjCsiOkvopBEWwxI_Uxzq-kNuoohBwZJf-tvrahdnHq28bXabqab_uhZgVS_U0lkPy6mcwrn3vEoerK292hCI19Lxmn6VI41I11y2R_Nh5bXyAJN0/s1280/bliss_2021-movie-review-onlythejo.jpg"><img class="full" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDSoxoYujDtn5S1dYj6dwCY2OUqwjCsiOkvopBEWwxI_Uxzq-kNuoohBwZJf-tvrahdnHq28bXabqab_uhZgVS_U0lkPy6mcwrn3vEoerK292hCI19Lxmn6VI41I11y2R_Nh5bXyAJN0/s16000/bliss_2021-movie-review-onlythejo.jpg" /></a></div><p><span class="cat-tag">MOVIES</span> An unfulfilled man (<b>Owen Wilson</b>) and a mysterious woman (<b>Salma Hayek</b>) believe they are living in a simulated reality, but when their newfound "Bliss" world begins to bleed into the "ugly" world they must decide what’s real and where they truly belong.</p><p>Read the full review of this <b>The Matrix</b> inspired sci-fi drama in this post!</p><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="333" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZHtPm8v-yNw" width="100%" youtube-src-id="ZHtPm8v-yNw"></iframe></div><p style="text-align: left;">Official movie trailer.<br /> You can watch the whole film on <a href="https://amzn.to/3rAHKyf" target="_blank">Amazon Prime</a> (<a href="https://amzn.to/36SkiEX" target="_blank">UK link</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/36ReA6k" target="_blank">DE/EU link</a>).</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Plot</h2><p>It is quite hard to explain what the movie is about without spoiling too much of the experience if you yet haven't seen it, but I'll give it a try and only talk loosely about the first 1/4 or so of the movie, which should give you a good idea what to expect from it. </p><p>In Bliss, Owen Wilson plays an office worker named Greg, whose life is starting to fall apart pretty badly. It takes place in a bleak, broken down, depressing city. In a bar across the street from his office, Greg meets a mysterious woman called Isabel, played by Salma Hayek. She tries convincing him that world they are experiencing is just a simulation, where most of its objects and inhabitants aren't even real and can be manipulated with weird telekinesis. She also tells him that in the real world, the two are actually a couple.</p><p>This premise takes the movie off for a mind-bending trip where you don't really know what is real and what isn't. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHHcSfPVNZ_sAr9MQITm36yxJg6xdl-bUHWwLSSuiYAb9PQpNpWbirklq7y-VOWNvvaWiPyyZMAGaEw3Jxay5QxJHye-E3IsC3VnWCxTf5KCk_r1oYHunNAGx_sauXrfa9kmrf7v-lcE/s2048/bliss_2021-onlythejo-02.jpg"><img class="full" data-original-height="1122" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHHcSfPVNZ_sAr9MQITm36yxJg6xdl-bUHWwLSSuiYAb9PQpNpWbirklq7y-VOWNvvaWiPyyZMAGaEw3Jxay5QxJHye-E3IsC3VnWCxTf5KCk_r1oYHunNAGx_sauXrfa9kmrf7v-lcE/s16000/bliss_2021-onlythejo-02.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Boy meets girl...</div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Enter The Matrix</h2><p>The movie makes a couple of nods to The Matrix, where instead of red and blue pills, we get yellow and blu crystals, that affect Wilson and Hayek's characters in different ways. The split between two "realities" are also prevalent here. The Matrix lets you know right away, what is reality and what is simulated. Bliss, on the other hand, leaves you in the dark, confused as to what to believe and not. So the movie is quite ideal for interesting conversations and discussions afterwards. </p><p>It's also a movie you could re-watch and potentially find new things you didn't notice on the first round. Whilst being thought-provoking, it still manages to keep the plot understandable where many other sci-fi movies of this kind, often tend to get a bit too intricate and convoluted to be enjoyed fully. Instead, I actually found this movie highly enjoyable, start to finish and didn't feel like I had to over-think things while watching it. But since the movie does leave you off with a lot of things that are open for one's own interpretation, it really got me intrigued to start analysing more deeply what really went on in the movie and to find out what other people made out of it. </p><p>When a movie manages to stay in your head, full of curiosity and afterthought, something has been done right. These are usually the type of movies I find most rewarding to watching, and Bliss is certainly no exception. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FTLqzRDcokfbKXU0KBBZQxnQrnqEWOu69OTR0ebHDNbZ51L8lYUBTTwiwJawjB_X8NWzIKlD16YByJ8PLI_5XWxpzzH9mVGEsUY9_wb4N5AE9MnZaSJaDEt5iFm98KbmrYMMc1PKZtQ/s1752/bliss_2021-onlythejo-01.jpg"><img class="full" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1752" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FTLqzRDcokfbKXU0KBBZQxnQrnqEWOu69OTR0ebHDNbZ51L8lYUBTTwiwJawjB_X8NWzIKlD16YByJ8PLI_5XWxpzzH9mVGEsUY9_wb4N5AE9MnZaSJaDEt5iFm98KbmrYMMc1PKZtQ/s16000/bliss_2021-onlythejo-01.jpg" /></a><br />Greg is a good artist.</div><p>The differences between the two "realities" are also contrasted well, in terms of photography. The "ugly" world has desaturated, cold colour and a lot of grain, while the "bliss" world has an overall smoother presentation with warmer colours and a lot of sun glare. Classic cinematography and it works well to set the tone of the scenes.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">No action flick</h2><p>While having some common themes with <b>The Matrix</b> and such, Bliss is certainly not an action movie. It's more of a twisted love story, with a bit of conspiracy thriller, and sci-fi elements mixed in. I noticed the film had some pretty mediocre scores online, and while I can't say for sure why that is, I can guess that people perhaps had other expectations. On iMDB, the film is tagged with the genres <b>drama, romance, sci-fi</b>. In that order. It has a lot of the intricacy and though-provoking sensibility we've experienced in the more drama focused episodes of <b>Black Mirror</b>, and if that is your cup of tea, you'll likely be pleased with Bliss. If you're more into breakneck, fast action, the pacing might be a tad slow for you. It kept my fullest attention all along, though, and I enjoyed every minute of it.</p><p>Salma Hayek carries the movie greatly with her interesting, mystic character. It's also nice to see Owen Wilson in something other than the typical comedy roles he's usually cast for. The film gets my fullest recommendation!</p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Watch Bliss</b> on <a href="https://amzn.to/3rAHKyf" target="_blank">Amazon Prime</a> (US) </span></div><div style="text-align: center;">International sites: <a href="https://amzn.to/36SkiEX" target="_blank">UK link</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/36ReA6k" target="_blank">DE/EU link</a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">More mind-bending sci-fi</h3><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3pkEZQn" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></a></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt5V7hDFhaf8hUqnRz0P8E9EZzxkwwa0PfIF2yIIROKsSiIrCa6tqEyc5J6oZpDx7kjwZ1HnZP7EsSVlxmhAcd4i376xlWvxZBmEZ_LEUtlhrvQzzLtubvb99iHUdVh7kOsark2BiEQn4/s2048/the-matrix.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt5V7hDFhaf8hUqnRz0P8E9EZzxkwwa0PfIF2yIIROKsSiIrCa6tqEyc5J6oZpDx7kjwZ1HnZP7EsSVlxmhAcd4i376xlWvxZBmEZ_LEUtlhrvQzzLtubvb99iHUdVh7kOsark2BiEQn4/w240-h320/the-matrix.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div><a href="https://amzn.to/3pkEZQn" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank"><b>The Matrix trilogy</b></a><span style="text-align: left;"><b> </b><br /></span></div><span style="text-align: left;">(4K / BluRay / DVD)</span><br style="text-align: left;" /><a href="https://amzn.to/3qkM7NY" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">UK link</a><span style="text-align: left;"> | </span><a href="https://amzn.to/3rMhelC" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">DE/EU link</a></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnCkCM-thD1_6N07MKNfgtzspFTzA3JQIzdj8lja6RBjbAPScMTUMUEEcR-sSgnQ22GRTdw8KrAzAc5E5-cvIIodce4wQuRtlVI5QLyLO4aEFH22yV7g3pO_DFVjVj6l3SqnKPwh3NXEQ/s1024/tenet.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="691" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnCkCM-thD1_6N07MKNfgtzspFTzA3JQIzdj8lja6RBjbAPScMTUMUEEcR-sSgnQ22GRTdw8KrAzAc5E5-cvIIodce4wQuRtlVI5QLyLO4aEFH22yV7g3pO_DFVjVj6l3SqnKPwh3NXEQ/w216-h320/tenet.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/2OB3hZI" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank"><b>Tenet</b></a><span style="text-align: left;"><b> </b><br />(4K / BluRay / DVD / Stream)</span><br style="text-align: left;" /><span style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://amzn.to/37dG5Hd" target="_blank">UK link</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3jKTjAv" target="_blank">DE/EU link</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0aCgRCLi942n14g5_YGk7KvgsMl-EBQN_iokDZGxcCO5UdPnpKcXms48JiL0KgcVvMOCCFOVddFjUD5qWSl98BnUFPBLXM4qrSxMr9Md6vK7A9eYfognd7pibUBQYE8mlSIFrrgo9_q8/s1037/inception.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1037" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0aCgRCLi942n14g5_YGk7KvgsMl-EBQN_iokDZGxcCO5UdPnpKcXms48JiL0KgcVvMOCCFOVddFjUD5qWSl98BnUFPBLXM4qrSxMr9Md6vK7A9eYfognd7pibUBQYE8mlSIFrrgo9_q8/w216-h320/inception.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/3jOtLSN" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank"><b>Inception</b></a><span style="text-align: left;"><b> </b><br />(4K / BluRay / DVD / Stream)</span><br style="text-align: left;" /><span style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://amzn.to/2N5wYS3" target="_blank">UK link</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/2ZfJ3a4" target="_blank">DE/EU link</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOhkLBBX5Q32C8W_6nyy210nINUMEHZch94YeLwIIwfcJifRQeGhYJDUEEcteG-xZxO51c6UVcnrnB0XoJkAMdSEh6z826uE33KX6acz1nV24l9iGy39RBiAu9kw7vW0P1SMS8DlwgmY/s1080/strange-days.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="719" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOhkLBBX5Q32C8W_6nyy210nINUMEHZch94YeLwIIwfcJifRQeGhYJDUEEcteG-xZxO51c6UVcnrnB0XoJkAMdSEh6z826uE33KX6acz1nV24l9iGy39RBiAu9kw7vW0P1SMS8DlwgmY/s320/strange-days.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://amzn.to/2LPnXw3" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank"><b>Strange Days</b></a><span style="text-align: left;"><b> </b><br />(BluRay / DVD)</span><br style="text-align: left;" /><span style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://amzn.to/2OwH7aN" target="_blank">UK link</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3rRWklj" target="_blank">DE/EU link</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxyK2kpokaPLa0jaoxBFxexrtJ7p2e4wlBDkb-Fn_Mp-Fs6izR0h2ABsn2_ZHKPiB-u5L5MvJz1owUf0PqmSSIDugqP6p9h0rZrEeJPGzGQWiqA4dGlg-lFvvlV305S2BZrhMvCLJYfmw/s2048/mr-nobody.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1383" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxyK2kpokaPLa0jaoxBFxexrtJ7p2e4wlBDkb-Fn_Mp-Fs6izR0h2ABsn2_ZHKPiB-u5L5MvJz1owUf0PqmSSIDugqP6p9h0rZrEeJPGzGQWiqA4dGlg-lFvvlV305S2BZrhMvCLJYfmw/s320/mr-nobody.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://amzn.to/2ZeEEnx" target="_blank">Mr. Nobody</a></b><br />(BluRay / DVD / Stream)<br /><a href="https://amzn.to/2LMwYWu" target="_blank">UK link</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/3ai5H7S" target="_blank">DE/EU link</a></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left; width: 223px;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPygYCSfUNoHBXsbB2Med5KlpyRQ4mDbvgmH_X-qFqnWasFAxKKfmqGXctMxAVHtDUgFpIkRv67GDpucBSlKNjQnq3HNAkfoF6trpmE4QtP0xN_LHm6SqKSPebLYbDb-xog_4DprmK4Go/s1500/eternal-sunshine.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1047" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPygYCSfUNoHBXsbB2Med5KlpyRQ4mDbvgmH_X-qFqnWasFAxKKfmqGXctMxAVHtDUgFpIkRv67GDpucBSlKNjQnq3HNAkfoF6trpmE4QtP0xN_LHm6SqKSPebLYbDb-xog_4DprmK4Go/s320/eternal-sunshine.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://amzn.to/2NmP7Lc" target="_blank">Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind</a></b><br />(BluRay / DVD)<br /><a href="https://amzn.to/3tZGg2D" target="_blank">UK link</a> | <a href="https://amzn.to/37bVlo9" target="_blank">DE/EU link</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p style="clear: both;"></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.</i></p><br />Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-7886384331736023462016-12-31T02:52:00.003+01:002021-02-20T05:42:02.636+01:00Ordinary World - Green Day singer's Hollywood debut - REVIEW<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/2016/12/movie-review-ordinary-world-green-day.html"><img border="0" class="full" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCs3dW3ihaFcwQ0KGxjBS6NtJTyRawhN6o7fkI3qP5sNMYBsRt84mDiGnBfqUkkChoSQCczz5opCvwIHtfo8E4Lfmt7Aq_W3pABbG4X5PweGyC7uYBdBPw2m7-IhSOMmogbrsNySPqck/s1600/ordinary-world-review-onlythejo.jpg" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span class="cat-tag">MOVIES</span> Tonight's movie was none other than one called "Ordinary World". At first, I thought this would be a musical documentary about <b>Duran Duran</b>.</p>
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<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FqIACCH20JU" width="320" youtube-src-id="FqIACCH20JU"></iframe></div><br /><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">But instead, it was a film about growing up, and dealing with decisions in life, essentially. Being a movie about a punk-rocker now turning into a forty year old family, </span><b style="text-align: left;">Billie Joe Armstrong</b><span style="text-align: left;"> of </span><b style="text-align: left;">Green Day</b><span style="text-align: left;"> (who plays the lead role), was obviously a nice fit. I'm not overly busy following Billie's personal life in the tabloids etc, but still being very much an active musician, he obviously not the has-been of a rock star he's portraying in this movie. But he manages to sell the story quite convincingly nonetheless. Especially so, considering it's his first movie ever (as far as I know). And with so little experience, his performance shouldn't leave anyone dissatisfied.</span></p>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJ977Qe_9IWH5WtwjBTawo8VrQmHS6-hKnFqxnOM71oG10e2J1js_ZejWx32HDPoHe0vHK-KfY2ycna181460KoJXWjlq-K-yXIEKBWP9ntSDHxDnHMrsaiQXYYbV54IPyk7-FOpNa8c/s1600/billiejoe.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJ977Qe_9IWH5WtwjBTawo8VrQmHS6-hKnFqxnOM71oG10e2J1js_ZejWx32HDPoHe0vHK-KfY2ycna181460KoJXWjlq-K-yXIEKBWP9ntSDHxDnHMrsaiQXYYbV54IPyk7-FOpNa8c/s640/billiejoe.jpg" width="100%" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Is it just me or is Billie boy actually transforming into Mark Ruffalo?</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><p style="text-align: left;">
There were no real references to Green Day at all in the movie, apart from some songs in the score. The first 5 minutes of the movie is probably as close as you get to anything resembling Green Day, as the film throws you back to 1996, showing some TV interview and live performance with the fictional band <b>L.E.S. Skunks</b>, as Billie's – <i>or "Perry"'s</i> – band were at a high point in their career. Obviously, this coincides fairly well with Green Day's major breakthrough, and has Billie sort of re-imagining his bleach blonde period of the mid 90's in the scene. Billie's obviously not the twitchy, hyper 20 year old he once was, but still kinda funny to see how little the guy's actually aged, over the last 20 years.</p><p style="text-align: left;">
The movie itself was okay. The story was a bit lacklustre though and didn't have much to offer in terms of plot twists or anything that really grabbed me or even made me laugh. Since they even had some funny guys like <b>Fred Armisen</b> and <b>Brian Baumgartner</b> in the cast, that says a lot. <b>Selma Blair</b> is probably the biggest name in the movie as far as traditional acting experience is concerned. But she got surprisingly little screen on-time in this movie, which was almost entirely focused on Billie's character. And without Billie in it, the film would probably be very forgettable. So for anyone unfamiliar with Billie and Green Day, this movie is nothing to write home about, really.</p><p style="text-align: left;">
What if you're a Green Day fan, then? Well, with or without Green Day (or any reference to the band) actually in it, my guess is the fans of the band are gonna see it regardless. Well, at least I did, mostly out of sheer curiosity. I mean, who wouldn't want to see <i>THIS GUY</i>, in a freaking <b>ROM-COM</b> (well...of sorts):</p>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9AkrqfUIVZ4/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9AkrqfUIVZ4?feature=player_embedded" width="290"></iframe>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZV9KzADgkpE/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZV9KzADgkpE?feature=player_embedded" width="290"></iframe>
<br />
<h3>
Movie score: </h3>
<p style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Judging it strictly as a movie, I'd give it a solid:</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeru7cXsoxH7i1Ytt3SzWJowtXcx_ETkSR1Rw3xOf0ODqm0ZEYhyvBGZsJiColnAsLLupXa8gzeAQbmWD5sMuzW42zDFgSqJSmVXeE1nj8ivBhCqA0OaD3lq9DO8sjtmsD_h7vqiBlveo/s1600/104346_subitem_full.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeru7cXsoxH7i1Ytt3SzWJowtXcx_ETkSR1Rw3xOf0ODqm0ZEYhyvBGZsJiColnAsLLupXa8gzeAQbmWD5sMuzW42zDFgSqJSmVXeE1nj8ivBhCqA0OaD3lq9DO8sjtmsD_h7vqiBlveo/s200/104346_subitem_full.jpg" width="161" /></a></div>
<p style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
But for fans and really anyone growing up with the band, it's worth seeing!</p>
<p style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
6.5843541 out of 10</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Happy New Year, everyone!</b></p>
<p style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Cheers,<br />/theJo</p>
<br />Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-37851935965180713622016-04-21T01:18:00.001+02:002021-02-20T05:42:37.966+01:00Wii U unboxing (a.k.a. How to make money off your kids)<p style="text-align: left;">Here's a truly inspirational video! First have your kids work all summer, just so they can work extra as content creators for your YouTube channel! So generous! So thoughtful!</p><p style="text-align: left;">
I mean, those kids must be at least like...six(?) years old. Gotta start pulling their weight at some point, right?</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Gnvo3PwdBS0/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Gnvo3PwdBS0?feature=player_embedded" width="100%"></iframe></div>
<br /><p style="text-align: left;">
Really like that spontaneous, <b>completely unprompted</b> hand gesture the sister makes at 1:40, also! ;)</p><p style="text-align: left;">
(Wait...am I doing "reaction" posts now? Hope I won't get sued by them Fine bros®...)</p>Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-80706204942623527332016-04-02T03:00:00.000+02:002016-04-02T03:32:02.658+02:00Killer Instict on PC - is it really free to play?<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/2016/04/killer-instict-on-pc-is-it-really-free.html"><img border="0" class="full" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOvqhp6yrY5rPFyJ-YZ4xVL0Y8EcpI3jQWFne0DiDBfYiLrQ6TdyjE7I-SRp4zg2nsdS6DlfOJvcAJKNXGy5Ps_RubTonSEBCj7_F2P5T0y06CvW9YNFG0dV79Cac5rDdaS3c8A_AlCLs/s1600/killer-instinct-pc-free-to-play.jpg" /></a><br />
<span class="cat-tag">GAMING</span> <b>Getting my first impression of Killer Instinct, available as a free download in the Microtransactionsoft® Windows 10™ app store. Surprised I could even play the game at all without spending jack squat. However...</b><br />
<b></b><br />
<a name='more'></a>Well, I guess you could technically play the game to a large extent without spending anything. There will only be a single playable character available at a time, however, but it rotates every week to the following guy/gal in the list. Every other character (that's greyed out in the picture below) needs to be <b>purchased</b> in order to unlock it straight away.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIj-eYjElm8j1t562Y83XGUG0HUhuWveFhzgzxAx02sbrY_wc9vBgp9jqLaMmAvEESJ4XvgzLLBZbgj2GFkiPC6icBj4MjZjlO8XGKCqa2owUENbOeO_2rv_F06DQKaWapJLv7B3eEeJw/s1600/killer-instinct_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIj-eYjElm8j1t562Y83XGUG0HUhuWveFhzgzxAx02sbrY_wc9vBgp9jqLaMmAvEESJ4XvgzLLBZbgj2GFkiPC6icBj4MjZjlO8XGKCqa2owUENbOeO_2rv_F06DQKaWapJLv7B3eEeJw/s400/killer-instinct_01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flavour of the week: Sabrewulf</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The only character I'm really interested in trying out myself though, would be Rash from <b>Battletoads</b>... So, I guess I'll take another look at the game in JUST 20 WEEKS from now! Cowabunga...<br />
<br />
<h2>Video Review</h2>
Also be sure to check out GWC's very in-depth <b>video review</b> of the game below:<br />
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<br />Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-60486800578461544532014-04-12T19:35:00.000+02:002014-04-12T19:38:00.534+02:00Noel Gallagher on Alan Partridge - TV Classic!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/2014/04/noel-gallagher-at-alan-partridge-tv.html"><img class="full" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigd01jkBMz52ZD-zL6KDVRX7GRv6Z39f04k0rH2CQNKDAMj0i86gzzG_uRL1xPcWrCwNmmwl8SMRa3UZVyMbk21BP0QU490enSB6o8cWuZathhZOIcEze5tf3oz6-UTSRJIyTXeDPNJas/s1600/oasis-noel-gallagher-at-alan-partridge-onlythejo.jpg" /></a></div>
<span class="cat-tag">TV CLASSIC</span> Everything you ever wanted to know about Noel Gallagher of <b>Oasis</b> unveiled in this comprehensive and penetrating interview, signed by <b>Alan Partridge</b>. From the talk show <i>Knowing Me, Knowing You (Aha?)</i>, recorded at some point in the 1990's. Also features a strapping young lad by the name <b>Simon Pegg</b>, to avail attempting to keep a serious discussion about <b>AIDS</b>. Enjoy, kids!
<br /><br />
<a name='more'></a>
<object height="443" width="590"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/h9RrlXSMkt0?version=3&hl=sv_SE&rel=0"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
<embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/h9RrlXSMkt0?version=3&hl=sv_SE&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="590" height="443" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-48475915039108338222014-02-18T05:01:00.000+01:002014-02-20T19:58:20.921+01:00Continuum continuously blurry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/2014/02/continuum-continuously-blurry.html"><img class="full" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZqj8evkzDw0UoT41DH5GixS_1ESKwIu_4SVycp0YsajS_cfuj9fPN2MvTQcZOBrSfV2evwM1cEpOvcDQgn2DI3drb7Aav4XG3-juaSX4u00-VqVYTja_rhr510JwWOwa5yfPYOJ6WCEg/s1600/continuum-continuously-blurry-612-onlythejo.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>NERD RAGE - GO!</b><br />
<br />
<span class="cat-tag">TV</span> So, I started watching that <b>Continuum</b> show recently (way behind, as per usual). Nice little sci-fi series, I should say! Only problem is, that it's got this really odd image processing going on in most shots. About 80% of the time, the bottom 5th of the screen just gradually fades into a blur. At complete random! What's with that?<br />
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<a name='more'></a><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnOScpHGJCFpyytdl5AkPml0PxyQHjCD5Y9IxA37OUCmmAt_ZhnRDicRJqKYr5iXAYU0qgFL8rHoOzXH0_cGgY5yw4CnfqTEvGKYxn7dXP74-JpFIFUol5FSGlY5wAvMTZiaE7ZTuBjBY/s1600/continuum-blur-filter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnOScpHGJCFpyytdl5AkPml0PxyQHjCD5Y9IxA37OUCmmAt_ZhnRDicRJqKYr5iXAYU0qgFL8rHoOzXH0_cGgY5yw4CnfqTEvGKYxn7dXP74-JpFIFUol5FSGlY5wAvMTZiaE7ZTuBjBY/s1600/continuum-blur-filter.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Nope, there's no need to get your eyes checked. This is what Continuum looks like for the most part.</div>
</td></tr>
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I can totally understand why they would <b>shift focus</b> between objects close by and faraway, for instance in a dialogue between two people at far distance. But here it's used where it makes no sense at all. It's like the production team's just been toying around with filters, like some 13 year old kid that just started using instagram. Adds nothing to the viewing experience, apart from being a nuisance.<br />
<br />
<b>Just look at the pic right below*. </b>Here they've taken it to the extreme. Is this really someone's idea of a natural depth of field? Not quite how a lens work, now is it? What the heck have they been smoking?!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6yXeD2w7ZM5jJRRfNiz_Rk9W-1CAklyrqK9jvXVPKMCdQtCy9z6l1wfHfXJ2JqjGwkIjhwXTE2z3xFiQc1-KdB0VRHn2PitiAyq40E4GHPPNXS8sb13vWABy60CO9BudRJmbpWMIellA/s1600/Continuum-odd-depth-of-field.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6yXeD2w7ZM5jJRRfNiz_Rk9W-1CAklyrqK9jvXVPKMCdQtCy9z6l1wfHfXJ2JqjGwkIjhwXTE2z3xFiQc1-KdB0VRHn2PitiAyq40E4GHPPNXS8sb13vWABy60CO9BudRJmbpWMIellA/s1600/Continuum-odd-depth-of-field.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Continuum - a sci-fi show sporting some rather peculiar special defects...</div>
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</tbody></table>
<br />
And it's like this throughout the whole show, more or less! Have no idea why! And judging by other other comments I've read online, the abnormal use of blur FX doesn't seem to ever come to an end, two whole seasons in, with its third run starting this March (as of 2014).<br />
<br />
If you know what the deal is - let me know, in the comments below!<br />
<br />
<b>/theJo</b><br />
<b>______</b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">(* Not my pic. As it would appear, I wasn't the only one annoyed by this special defect.)</span>Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-20344268020939153712013-10-07T04:57:00.003+02:002014-01-24T08:17:45.410+01:00Beyond: Two Souls - First look (demo review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" class="full" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdbPnX9tmCNZCrr_XYciESYULk3Ja_pVOyye-rd6ZKJoDttOYTC4z_dDBGjmHg-OzG82l-IKTmhTgrEicalWyEjFQLXspecRHcU5vfbHHRjRGcgUfVKBzBwJmP4A4Gv5bv7nsGKDOeCNs/s1600/beyond-two-souls-first-look-onlythejo.jpg" /></div>
<span class="cat-tag">GAMING</span> Took a little break from <b>GTA V</b> to try the new PS3 exclusive <b>Beyond: Two Souls</b> <i>(a.k.a. "that Ellen Page game")</i>. It's the new ambitious release from <b>Quantic Dream</b> - the studio which brought us the cinematic masterpiece <b>Heavy Rain</b>, and it shows!<br />
<a name='more'></a><h2>
Game or interactive movie?</h2>
<b>Beyond: Two Souls</b> has the context sensitive control scheme of the previous game left pretty much as-is. But whereas Heavy Rain was very much about investigating and puzzle solving, Beyond TS seems more like an <b>action-oriented game</b>, and from the short demo covering two scenes from the game (that were taken completely out of context, by the way), I'm not sure how well the control mechanism transfers to this scenario or genre. As impressive it may look and sound, with credible voice acting by <b>Ellen Page</b> and <b>Willem Dafoe</b>, a lot of the time it felt more like an interactive movie than a game. All the action was entirely scripted and the visuals only slowed down, every now and then expecting some kind input from the player. Most of the time it just expects you to angle the right analogue stick in the direction of a punch or kick the protagonist happens to throw against her foes. It also features some button sequences, much like those old <b>quick-time events</b> that you had to suffer through with every boss fight in every action game, back in the mid 00's. No one really enjoyed them then, and I don't see why they would now.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76UEibLwbNmGR4Hz9FAlq-xOz7VnkvY45bDJMWLYAzM_MbLietq-yxVDmXcwNo6Jz4X_E6nAbmbRyvC3vk0s4w4SEcJUy_oGvPzKYp2fTU7Nki83SAxPIrZvDXpVkhe_lz5c6LE3UXz4/s1600/DSC07611.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76UEibLwbNmGR4Hz9FAlq-xOz7VnkvY45bDJMWLYAzM_MbLietq-yxVDmXcwNo6Jz4X_E6nAbmbRyvC3vk0s4w4SEcJUy_oGvPzKYp2fTU7Nki83SAxPIrZvDXpVkhe_lz5c6LE3UXz4/s640/DSC07611.jpg" width="100%" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scene from the latter part of the demo. Ellen Page thembarks on a wet, bruised adventure in the woods. Somewhat reminiscent of the most recent Tomb Raider incarnation.</td></tr>
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<br />
I loved <b>Heavy Rain</b>, and the mature, cinematic quality it brought to the adventure genre. It was a truly engaging film noire kind of thing, and while it wan't all too challenging as far as the game itself went, it was a truly unique experience. It had an very intriguing story with many different outcomes, depending how you played your cards. It was an ambitious and somewhat risky project, but it turned out very nicely, so I sure hope they didn't mess this one up either.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCYFUGrgB2IJUBFKaD5o2X7Q8Ws5VZkY-Q9EQemwcBOHxtJn3Gmp2zmSQOs1u7HNUA0fKBVvZCqNOeNiR3hU0_znqmTXcNn1GldhWva4NULX0uPJ7fXxwumSarPrXVy4cMT_NDVJdm9wA/s1600/uwe-boll-onlythejo.blogspot.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCYFUGrgB2IJUBFKaD5o2X7Q8Ws5VZkY-Q9EQemwcBOHxtJn3Gmp2zmSQOs1u7HNUA0fKBVvZCqNOeNiR3hU0_znqmTXcNn1GldhWva4NULX0uPJ7fXxwumSarPrXVy4cMT_NDVJdm9wA/s200/uwe-boll-onlythejo.blogspot.com.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boll.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Will be interesting to see how the full game turns out. Hope this short demo wasn't entirely indicative of what to expect. But if anything, at least one playthrough will likely be worthwhile, just to experience the cinematic quality of it. A movie adaptation probably wouldn't be too far fetched, as with Heavy Rain, which seems to be in development, according to <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1659335/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IMDb</a>. Let's just hope <b>Uwe Boll</b> doesn't get wind of it.<br />
<br />
The game is scheduled for a US release on the <b>8th of October, 2013</b>. Here in Europe we'll have to wait another day, till October 9th.
<div style="clear:both;"></div>Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-55246949581583538192013-09-15T05:03:00.000+02:002014-01-10T06:00:01.540+01:00Daybreakers - A modern Vampire flick in the veins of UNDERWORLD<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8mTd2STOTKqL389FMwcLS8yl1N8IlncfPv6492yUF51Ty-SpZ-u6-p3fFvnPwMZbw46fkvKNZ0zm4ESi3gwphy0vKe1rkyUCD4-RCaSyh-TBq2WiPj7ZL7wnnwZYWTCg6teoQzB7BwfE/s1600/daybreakers-onlythejo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8mTd2STOTKqL389FMwcLS8yl1N8IlncfPv6492yUF51Ty-SpZ-u6-p3fFvnPwMZbw46fkvKNZ0zm4ESi3gwphy0vKe1rkyUCD4-RCaSyh-TBq2WiPj7ZL7wnnwZYWTCg6teoQzB7BwfE/s400/daybreakers-onlythejo.jpg" height="322" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Will it suck in a good or bad way?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="cat-tag">MOVIE REVIEW</span> I've had this one lying around for a few years, and tonight finally got the thumb out and watched it with no expectations to talk of. I mean, the cover looks kinda dull and all... But it was quite a decent vampire flick, actually.<br />
<br />
Title: <b>Daybreakers</b><br />
Genre: <b>Bitey action thriller</b><br />
Prod. year: <b>2009</b><br />
Starring: <b>Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill, Claudia Karvan, Isabel Lucas</b>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><h2>
Another Underworld?</h2>
It's yet another one of those dark, slick looking, clinical pieces, set in the far, FAAAR future...like 2019... It's a sort of like an <b>Underworld</b> set some <b>28 years later</b> <i>(see what I did there?)</i>, where the vamps have already won the battle against the humans. They don't bother explaining how it came to this, so just accept it and leave all sense of logic on standby for 98 minutes, because it just is what it is.<br />
<br />
Anyway, the few people still left untouched by the vile fanged creatures are now treated as outlaws, hunted down by the police (who are also vampires) in order to quench the citizens continuous thirst for human blood. After years and years of parasiting (or "farming", as they like to call it), off human vessels like there was no tomorrow, the stoopid ass vampires have now finally come to realise there's a new threat to their already prolonged existence.<br />
<h3>
The vamps have won... but already lost</h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyqEGFw-BpLSZPRWWl13DqT4dzNpZZiL1wlwtBOy6bbuYMJLhM-JfkL9KsMqyuuA8Yayd0SPU-jy4zP8nmoJBukkq1xorx2VKNltwlEQYm0sXvBXF1hB5Gdl02jzEI1LDiyNYkvzpZ0dU/s1600/Transvision+Vamp+wendy+james.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Transvision Vamp (look it up, kids!)" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyqEGFw-BpLSZPRWWl13DqT4dzNpZZiL1wlwtBOy6bbuYMJLhM-JfkL9KsMqyuuA8Yayd0SPU-jy4zP8nmoJBukkq1xorx2VKNltwlEQYm0sXvBXF1hB5Gdl02jzEI1LDiyNYkvzpZ0dU/s320/Transvision+Vamp+wendy+james.jpg" height="320" title="Transvision Vamp (look it up, kids!)" width="150" /></a></div>
Feeding off humans to the brink of their extinction, they've been biting themselves in the butt in the process, as they're now eventually running out of food. It's a <b>catch 22</b> kind of thing: They keep feeding - they die. They settle with ketchup instead - they go bonkers first, then die. Or to put it another way, they simply; <i>Can't liiiiiiiiiiiiiiive...............with or withooooooout you</i>, as <b><i>U2</i></b> singer <b>Boner</b> himself would've said.<br />
<br />
Not everyone's as short-minded as their thirsty peers, luckily. The lead role, played by <b>Ethan Hawke</b>, hates being a vampire. Yet he works for a company producing vampire groceries, farmed from the human captives the pigs have dragged in. He strives to develop an artificial substitute, however, and seems to be right on track. Sounds like problem's solved right there, and that could be the end of the movie, but it obviously isn't. It's just the premise of the movie, which I obviously won't spoil for you.<br />
<br />
<table width="320" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwc2KAWbVOch2sZpbYF2khGgwUdgsLXbuLN8RV6SY8mtWgSytCnEralOmXfbHyAJkPqt3wlwXz_OFrPk230s3RNgQqtNgDgQndENDzV8hD1sMvr8ChASjwIqC5Xuj3RCOK2iHJMtzwAfk/s1600/daybreakers-daybreakers-03-03-2010-21-01-2010-5-g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ethan Hawke and Claudia Karvan in Daybreakers" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwc2KAWbVOch2sZpbYF2khGgwUdgsLXbuLN8RV6SY8mtWgSytCnEralOmXfbHyAJkPqt3wlwXz_OFrPk230s3RNgQqtNgDgQndENDzV8hD1sMvr8ChASjwIqC5Xuj3RCOK2iHJMtzwAfk/s320/daybreakers-daybreakers-03-03-2010-21-01-2010-5-g.jpg" height="214" title="Ethan Hawke and Claudia Karvan in Daybreakers" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ethan Hawke and Claudia Karvan in Daybreakers.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Nothing beats <b>Kate Beckinsale</b> in a skintight latex pajamas, obviously <i>(for the unaware: I'm again referring to Underworld)</i>, but the cast is pretty good in this one as well, with <b>Willem Dafoe</b> and <b>Sam Neill</b> both in leading roles. There's also a female protagonist in here, played by Aussie film star <b>Claudia Karvan</b>.<br />
<br />
<b>Daybreakers</b> is well worth a view, in my book, especially if you're into this kind of movies! Although it may not appeal to the more faint of heart, teenyboppin' <b>Twilight</b> and <b>Vampire Diaries</b> fans, however. This is no relationship drama tucked into some emo outfit with glittery white face paint - this is the real deal!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
7.5/10</div>
<br />
/theJo<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<h3>
<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/search/label/movie%20review">More movie reviews</a></h3>
</div>Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-49825210870495021312013-09-09T03:02:00.000+02:002013-09-16T01:24:33.435+02:00BACHELOR GIRL - Where are they now?<object height="332" width="590"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/sStzuKzrshw?version=3&hl=sv_SE&rel=0"></param>
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Honk if you've heard this before.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>
<h1>She walked under a bus, got hit by a train - Where is BACHELOR GIRL now?</h1>
<span class="cat-tag">MUSIC</span> <b>This old 90's classic</b> returned to my conscience the other day, as I heard some other song with a similar harmony, thus reminding me of it. MTV used to play this all the time on in the late 90's. So did the Swedish counterpart ZTV - a youthful network also broadcasting a lot of music videos back then. But rather than resorting to reality TV, ZTV simply went off the air, when mp3's and <b>Spotify</b> made the music video more or less obsolete in the 00's. Anyway, I digress...<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right; width: 200px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9aDtG6ITeWfT5uGeg_lcRgJ7i_PuZWFhFiMnKrOlnUvM5byDsjA3KdgRr5nIWa6vEyPBdgNsT9-U9TQ54eiaqzMEMxJ2JQmnRHhzJcm8dZglDgclfEaOQuyTZcjXIHcxhLNUIXhe_YE/s1600/Bachelor+Girl+-+Waiting+for+the+Day.jpg" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 1998 album that would launch their short lived career.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
Breakthrough and Career Peak</h3>
<b><i>Bachelor Girl</i></b> was an Aussie duo, comprised of producer/composer/all-round musician James Roche, and singer Tania Doko. They obviously got a massive hit with the song <i>Buses and Trains</i>, off their debut album <b>"Waiting for the Day"</b> of 1998, which spurred four more single releases, each of which were met with less and less public interest.<br />
<h3>
Unreleased album and breakup</h3>
The follow-up album <b>"Dysfunctional"</b> of 2002 was fairly successful in their homeland Australia, but not enough to keep the duo from splitting up the year after, with a third LP already recorded, which never saw the light of day. Not until some cuts interestingly enough appeared on a Greatest Hits compilation in 2011. <b>Ironic how unheard songs can be considered "hits," ain't it?</b><br />
<br />
Anyhow, James and Tania briefly reunited Bachelor Girl for a short tour the same year to raise some new interest for the band, promoting their Greatest Hits release. The remaining 11 tracks of the unreleased 3rd LP <b>"Beautifully Wrong"</b> then eventually came out of the drawer, now bearing the sub-title <b>"The Lost Songs"</b>.<br />
<h2>
Where are they now?</h2>
<table align="right" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: auto; text-align: right; width: 231px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrwK26gTc3Ge45G1dmkN23hmJPhJ0HJzvMLDK3sUXec_9i0e3KlgB_4Cj8qxszn499UtBvsrm0bygJczZ884qsTvl2tSI8O0wlU1opDKXSOyl7gTC9shTCcXLuXW3UjAfPiVkdDLjSpQk/s1600/Bachelor_Girl_Loved_Lost_The_Best_of_Bachelor_Girl_Reunion_Tour.v1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrwK26gTc3Ge45G1dmkN23hmJPhJ0HJzvMLDK3sUXec_9i0e3KlgB_4Cj8qxszn499UtBvsrm0bygJczZ884qsTvl2tSI8O0wlU1opDKXSOyl7gTC9shTCcXLuXW3UjAfPiVkdDLjSpQk/s320/Bachelor_Girl_Loved_Lost_The_Best_of_Bachelor_Girl_Reunion_Tour.v1.jpg" width="231" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bachelor Girl, around the time of their reunion of 2011.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Before the brief Bachelor Girl reunion, Tania had already started pursuing her <b>solo career</b>. She made a 6 track <b>mini album</b> called <b>"It's Time"</b> in 2009, working with her former band mate James Roche as a <b>producer</b>. Since then, she has also collaborated with fellow Aussies <b>The Veronicas</b>, as well as with various DJ's, seeing her depart from the usual guitar pop of which she's most recognised, into the icky dance music territory.<br />
<br />
<h3>
As of today, Sept. 2013</h3>
Tania now resides in my home country; little <b>Sweden</b>! According to her website, she now works as a vocal and performance coach for a company based in Stockholm. She only performs at private events at this point.<br />
<br />
Interesting how the cookie crumbles...<br />
<br />
/theJoJonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-8993205253773203532013-04-12T01:51:00.002+02:002013-04-12T18:20:37.947+02:00Fashion Ninja - Chic Ninja Gaiden Chain Wallet<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/2013/04/fashion-ninja-chic-chain-wallet.html"><img border="0" class="full" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtMRA1-UzyiiYHhLJSbEwKYcYwrKKAWzpB3ae21QvqNSgyTKOgFPZnhEMDO9wtyIcpJ09dXBepTAAEWtM5eoKTpyEOm6eu8FB0CmyYgBit_VwqfhL_vhdcVD0yCuWiSfj-nMmMvxBJV7M/s1600/Fashion-Ninja-wallet--onlythejo.blogspot.com.jpg" /></a><br />
<b>Can this third-rate product really be ninja approved?</b><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span class="cat-tag">NINJA ACCESSORIES</span> Howdy, folks, just an insignificant little update for you, and it's somewhat of a pet peeve, actually!<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgynHtb9NQ1xwJst2Fj3FIXQaEQYzY7oLmOXxNSKiivxlLBOXpvQdZHy8Z9TBkjbFEH0ah3sp-5rCtM1Qtty3I_W8LPXO4Fyqr0iamXUJUJpdNFyciUOKq5vHL1RbxczvQzD81HRYseQNw/s1600/ninja-gaiden-2-alice-in.chains-chain-wallets-onlythejo.blogspot.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgynHtb9NQ1xwJst2Fj3FIXQaEQYzY7oLmOXxNSKiivxlLBOXpvQdZHy8Z9TBkjbFEH0ah3sp-5rCtM1Qtty3I_W8LPXO4Fyqr0iamXUJUJpdNFyciUOKq5vHL1RbxczvQzD81HRYseQNw/s320/ninja-gaiden-2-alice-in.chains-chain-wallets-onlythejo.blogspot.com.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>Short story long,</b> I got my new Ninja Gaiden (pronounced "guy-<i>DENN!!</i>", not "gay den") wallet from Amazon today, thinking it'd be a good replacement for my trusty old <i>Alice in Chains</i> cashieeeyr, in need for a healthy retirement fairly soon. It seemed like the same sort of base model to me, only with different print/motif on the sides. But make no mistake, kids, they're not the same at all.<br />
<br />
The "new" one (which is already kind of dated, considering it's <i>Ninja Gaiden II</i> merch) is a lot stiffer. And not just because it's not been worn in yet - it's in a completely different material altogether. I don't think either of them are genuine leather, but my old one at least had a nice, rugged texture to it, and a nice flexible yet sturdy feel to it. </div>
<div>
<h4>
"Keep the change, I've no place to put it"</h4>
</div>
<div>
But what's even worse -- the Ninja wallet doesn't even have a goddamn coin slot! Just for the sake of this stoopid ID card holding, window pocket ding-dong, in its place. Who the hell needs that? The thing already has three card slots, plus four plastic sleeves dedicated for credit cards also. Was the additional room for an eight card, alternatively some photograph, really that important? What's the more fundamental feature of a wallet, anyway? A place to put the change, or a place to put a picture of your adorable chinchilla pup?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhimdtebPJZoprykwHvpaP7mk-gfYrrRn8uTYr23F2ySmPgHR4DtSNY3I6pc-OYXdA9_VvbS2y2mmRlANzriIEs02_0q1QDr2rGY4HiCw6wlJtTdIRicZWKXnVWtFbduMX6CyQsIPHiU08/s1600/fruit-ninja-onlythejo.blogspot.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhimdtebPJZoprykwHvpaP7mk-gfYrrRn8uTYr23F2ySmPgHR4DtSNY3I6pc-OYXdA9_VvbS2y2mmRlANzriIEs02_0q1QDr2rGY4HiCw6wlJtTdIRicZWKXnVWtFbduMX6CyQsIPHiU08/s320/fruit-ninja-onlythejo.blogspot.com.jpg" width="231" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...Neither has this guy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The coin sack omission makes the NGII wallet barely weigh anything, however. That might be a good thing, not slowing your chops down, or impairing your ninja agility too much having a heavy sack o' dough to carry around.<br />
<h4>
My vertict</h4>
Maybe I'll just strip the chain and belt loop off the new one and use those on my old AiC cash keeper for another year. Those were the only parts that were starting to fail on me anyway. It's not like the main chunk of wallet would likely tear apart anytime soon, hopefully.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Ninja Gaiden 2</b> may not the hottest title amongst gamers, by the time of writing being 2013. But it was the <b>cheapest replacement</b> wallet I was able to find on this side of the Atlantic. If you want one yourself (which I highly doubt), here's some places where you can get one:
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001BTTFEG/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21&camp=1406&creative=6394&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B001BTTFEG&adid=0BVV239FV81SAPQ1CNF5&" target="_blank">NINJA GAIDEN II CHAIN WALLET</a> - £4.88 at Amazon UK<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007JVP56M/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=jonzaasprytte-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B007JVP56M&adid=15R0S2ECNP1VA6CJTDY2" target="_blank">NINJA GAIDEN Tri-Fold WALLET w/ Chain</a> - $15.99 at Amazon US<br />
<span id="goog_314142260"></span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001UQYNME/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=jonzaasprytte-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B001UQYNME&adid=1PJW1MB3W5SJX4YT776Q&" target="_blank">Ninja Gaiden: Ninja Gaiden 2 Logo Wallet with Chain</a><span id="goog_314142261"></span> - $14.99 at Amazon US<br />
<br />
Got mine from the UK for less than five quid. Real nice deal, I figured. A tad pricier in the US, oddly enough... That's rarely the case otherwise.<br />
<br />
Ah well, hope you found this half-assed little review helpful. If you did, please like it on Twitter, give it a thumbs sideways on YouTube, a +1½ on <i>Myspace </i>(*snicker* ..Myspace) and a pin in your Headbook!<br />
<br />
Cheers, young ninjas!</div>Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-5308388455898692922013-03-05T01:07:00.000+01:002013-03-05T01:51:34.307+01:00Tomb Raider - Collectors vs. Survival vs. Final Hours Edition<img border="0" class="full" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPeZ0CnCi-ij4DNKu6LVupYsvRW3rS1qqxBXoi6POl_h-uk77Mf6geFqyciM8Udp5O4P2EJPr0zBFsUarkbGea1QBouTlt8C7ReXS__deLlxX96HsjgyVXloNMerwK2Udau0m4VujZ4vQ/s1600/tomb-raider-collectors-edition-onlythejo.blogspot.jpg" />
<span class="cat-tag">GAMING</span> The new <i>Tomb Raider</i> game hits stores tomorrow (March 5th, 2013). Apart from the standard <b><i>n00b Edition</i></b>, it will be available in two exclusive, limited editions; namely the <b>Survival Edition</b>, and the most extravagant <b>Collector's Edition</b>. -- Find out what sets them apart in this entry!<br />
<a name='more'></a><h4>
What's new in 2013's Tomb Raider</h4>
It's been a long wait since the last Tomb Raider instalment <i>Tomb Raider: Underworld</i> hit the store shelves, but now it's finally time for a new, younger, more fragile Lara to strap on the jungle boots and pull on her tight little green tank top and head on with a new (or old, rather?) adventure. The new game of 2013 is meant to be a complete fresh start for the series, and therefore simply bears the title <i>Tomb Raider</i>, plain and simple.<br />
<br />
In a way, this is also the third rendition of the series, where <i>Tomb Raider Anniversary</i> was a direct remake of the PlayStation 1 original of 1996, with modernised graphics and more fluid controls. <i>Tomb Raider</i> of 2013 is instead a <b>completely new game</b>, set place before the events in the previous titles in the series.<br />
<br />
With that formal introduction out of the way, let's take a look at the goodies that come with the game, if you have the extra dough to spare.<br />
<br />
<h1>
Collectors vs Survival vs Final Hours edition</h1>
<h2>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<h2>
Standard Edition</h2>
</div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
If you just want the game itself, the 360/PS3 cheapo editions go for <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009OXBDU0/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21&camp=1406&creative=6394&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B009OXBDU0&adid=09WBEKCA3YF3TZ9SH0WC&" target="_blank">£32 in Europe</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A7QA0XE/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=jonzaasprytte-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B00A7QA0XE&adid=0PQ5FJ2MCTB035805SQ6" target="_blank">$59.99 in the US</a>. The PC version is a tad cheaper, selling at <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009OXBDU0/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21&camp=1406&creative=6394&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B009OXBDU0&adid=09WBEKCA3YF3TZ9SH0WC&" target="_blank">£25</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A7QA0XE/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=jonzaasprytte-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B00A7QA0XE&adid=0PQ5FJ2MCTB035805SQ6" target="_blank">$44.99</a> respectively.</div>
</h2>
<h2>
The Survival Edition</h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirLrPysIWnuKhgN8-oXADCpY_Ix9POM5TYav754dr6Ba0XlRMCtE2McvFhbeX6bc5WkW5ptlR9ujGbl55BCbITel0M6aXjr0bLBXnWZT0sYHHinzYUSTqi4ejmwUqatH9sSNz6wVL8-Yg/s1600/tomb-raider-survival-edition-onlythejo.blogspot.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" class="full" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirLrPysIWnuKhgN8-oXADCpY_Ix9POM5TYav754dr6Ba0XlRMCtE2McvFhbeX6bc5WkW5ptlR9ujGbl55BCbITel0M6aXjr0bLBXnWZT0sYHHinzYUSTqi4ejmwUqatH9sSNz6wVL8-Yg/s640/tomb-raider-survival-edition-onlythejo.blogspot.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
The intermediate step up from the standard edition of the game comes with the following additional goodies:<br />
<ul>
<li>A hard cover art book with fancy sketches, drawings and stuff of that nature - measuring 4.5 by 7.5 inches, or roughly 11.5 by 19 centimetres if you're not an imperialist.</li>
<li>A 4 by 6 inch "survival pouch" with a picture of Lara on it. </li>
<li>A double sided poster with an island map on one side, and something else on the other (box art would be my guess).</li>
<li>The 10 track music score. Not sure whether this comes on a CD, or if it's just a DLC code. The latter seems more common these days, however.</li>
<li>A weapon pack DLC.</li>
<li>And finally, an exclusive packaging to fit all this stuff in.<br />(Yes, it's a ####ing cardboard box!)</li>
</ul>
<div>
In Europe the survival edition currently goes for <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009OXBDU0/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21&camp=1406&creative=6394&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B009OXBDU0&adid=09WBEKCA3YF3TZ9SH0WC&" target="_blank">£49.99 for the 360 and PS3</a>.<br />
The <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009OXBDU0/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21&camp=1406&creative=6394&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B009OXBDU0&adid=09WBEKCA3YF3TZ9SH0WC&" target="_blank">PC version</a> knocks ten quid off, currently selling at <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009OXBDU0/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21&camp=1406&creative=6394&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B009OXBDU0&adid=09WBEKCA3YF3TZ9SH0WC&" target="_blank">£39.99</a>.</div>
<div>
<h2>
The Collectors Edition - the Best</h2>
</div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzTv54QTnlyWHKFsiG-4ZucP1kDtLK3WQLH4IVwOQ-2LPv1m9Itjq4n_9wse36Lo7FqWdZPOHQQOMMIAJok7CtYz8eKLSIZSVze3bFkCUoG6c_p2FQ4VN9qc1D5e5huclCtQU1-ZvV7O4/s1600/tomb-raider-collectors-ed-onlythejo.blogspot.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" class="full" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzTv54QTnlyWHKFsiG-4ZucP1kDtLK3WQLH4IVwOQ-2LPv1m9Itjq4n_9wse36Lo7FqWdZPOHQQOMMIAJok7CtYz8eKLSIZSVze3bFkCUoG6c_p2FQ4VN9qc1D5e5huclCtQU1-ZvV7O4/s640/tomb-raider-collectors-ed-onlythejo.blogspot.jpg" /></a></div>
The most complete Tomb Raider experience comes with the Collector's Edition, which gets you the following loot of highly collectible paraphernalia:<br />
<ul>
<li>Everything included in the Survival Edition <i>(apart from the box)</i>.</li>
<li>An 8 inch (20.3 cm) Lara Croft figurine. Holding a BOW!!!</li>
<li>The package is also delivered in an exclusive "survival tin". <br />(Suppose "cookie jar" didn't have enough of an adventurous ring to it.)</li>
</ul>
<div>
The collector's edition currently goes for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A7QA0XE/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=jonzaasprytte-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B00A7QA0XE&adid=0PQ5FJ2MCTB035805SQ6" target="_blank">$99.99</a> in the US, and <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009OXBDU0/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21&camp=1406&creative=6394&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B009OXBDU0&adid=09WBEKCA3YF3TZ9SH0WC&" target="_blank">£69.99</a> in Europe on Xbox 360 and PS3. </div>
<div>
The PC version was <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009OXBDU0/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21&camp=1406&creative=6394&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B009OXBDU0&adid=09WBEKCA3YF3TZ9SH0WC&" target="_blank">£49.99</a> last time I checked, but seems to be unavailable at the moment.<br />
<h2>
The Final Hours Edition</h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDNohsE6N1IJVSmi04PltPf5n0fCWgHdHpJqp2Y7eTZqBiPGTfHuZbLtHT-VvKvtmRH09Bn9TTALpU3pJjWV4np8B5nO6YrQhQ8C3Uu44zrdOnBRnqVOFfcfONvInLrbdoOK_0cs_9Bg/s1600/tomb-raider-final-hours-edition-onlythejo.blogspot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDNohsE6N1IJVSmi04PltPf5n0fCWgHdHpJqp2Y7eTZqBiPGTfHuZbLtHT-VvKvtmRH09Bn9TTALpU3pJjWV4np8B5nO6YrQhQ8C3Uu44zrdOnBRnqVOFfcfONvInLrbdoOK_0cs_9Bg/s320/tomb-raider-final-hours-edition-onlythejo.blogspot.jpg" width="226" /></a>The Final Hours Edition is a limited release exclusive to the North American market. Only available for those who <b>pre-ordered</b> the game. It comes with the following extras:<br />
<ul>
<li>Exclusive Art Book</li>
<li>In-Game Skin for Lara</li>
<li>Digital copy of Geoff Keighley's, "The Final Hours of Tomb Raider" for the Kindle Fire</li>
<li>An access code for the pre-order Tomb Raider Scavenger Hunt to unlock DLC items and a chance to win prizes</li>
<li>The Shanty Town Multiplayer Map - This ramshackle area features steep climbs, multiple ziplines for quick escapes, and deadly traps to set for your enemies. </li>
</ul>
The price is the same as the standard edition; <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A7QA0XE/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=jonzaasprytte-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B00A7QA0XE&adid=0PQ5FJ2MCTB035805SQ6" target="_blank">$59.99</a>. After the game has hit stores, it will be replaced by the regular release.</div>
<div>
<h2>
Exclusive Tomb Raider controllers</h2>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidBJH4edt9Gt6ymH8cS2RMOnV6kd30jMw2TdFOvgR-hpi9NL-9Hh75USvL9HfSlQPkJkHWq5yPDnwkDTCXDwPeFm7BfpCju7LI4RLCoUx9nNwqvAJjVvJBGumOTQgzg4v6MYZJk3bhhRk/s1600/tomb-raider-controllers-xbox360-ps3-onlythejo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidBJH4edt9Gt6ymH8cS2RMOnV6kd30jMw2TdFOvgR-hpi9NL-9Hh75USvL9HfSlQPkJkHWq5yPDnwkDTCXDwPeFm7BfpCju7LI4RLCoUx9nNwqvAJjVvJBGumOTQgzg4v6MYZJk3bhhRk/s320/tomb-raider-controllers-xbox360-ps3-onlythejo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Not bundled with the game at all, is this distressed, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B19IALK/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=jonzaasprytte-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B00B19IALK&adid=11VTP8RMFTXG9PYQV4D6" target="_blank">red Xbox 360 controller</a>. Hell yeah, I'd sure like a red controller! <i>The bandages, however...</i> Not so much.<br />
<div>
<br />
Not sure why they didn't bother to make another red one for the PS3. Instead they get an <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00B2ZNNM4/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21&camp=1406&creative=6394&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B00B2ZNNM4&adid=1QKF9KG6DC6HP1A1A9DW&" target="_blank">ugly <b>3rd party controller</b></a> that's just in regular black with a cheap sticker on it.<br />
<br />
Was the 360 their main concern, developing this game, or what? Who knows. Let's hope Tomb Raider won't be another unpleasant <b>Skyrim</b> affair for the PS3 users.<br />
<br />
At least Playstation 3 players had the opportunity of getting <b>InFamous 2</b> bundled with a red controller a few years back.<br />
<h2>
Which version to get</h2>
</div>
<div>
What I'm guessing most people are interested in, is the figurine. That is also the only thing that essentially sets the two TR bundles apart. Unless you desperately need a new jar for your biscuits, the figurine itself is the only reason why you'd want to shell out the extra clams for the full Collector's Edition.</div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN70xLg_rnuGhCH1pS0xbxmj5-uf6scaqnLP9QQK4m_93mjFQ2pdoeaqsHhX8EA6HpcHKZvl2ZbZN9KpHEYoixlJ1ntrlZC6arn3qvCcDbirLtk6s7yBVr6JWzWIgTgldjywytLLS9rEE/s1600/batman-lara-figurine-size-comparison-onlythejo.blogspot.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN70xLg_rnuGhCH1pS0xbxmj5-uf6scaqnLP9QQK4m_93mjFQ2pdoeaqsHhX8EA6HpcHKZvl2ZbZN9KpHEYoixlJ1ntrlZC6arn3qvCcDbirLtk6s7yBVr6JWzWIgTgldjywytLLS9rEE/s320/batman-lara-figurine-size-comparison-onlythejo.blogspot.com.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<h4>
Lara > Batman</h4>
</div>
<div>
That said, if you happen to have the collector's edition for the <b>Arkham City</b>, you'll notice that the figurine coming with Tomb Raider will be nearly twice as high as the Batman dito. Even when taking into account the fact that Batman's crouching, while Lara stands upright; the Lara figurine is still significantly bigger. </div>
</div>
<h4>
Xbox 360 vs. PS3 vs. PC - Endless choices</h4>
I'll probably end up with the <b>collector's edition</b> myself. Just haven't decided which system to get it for yet. Xbox 360? Playstation 3? The <b>PC version is cheaper</b> and probably does a better job reproducing our dear grave defiler. But could my rig handle the massive amount of polygons put into this fair lady?<br />
<br />
So now you tell me - which bundle will you get your hands on, and for which platform?<br />
<br />
<b>/theJo</b></div>
</div>
Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-65014846127108521522013-02-21T22:17:00.000+01:002013-02-22T02:01:07.640+01:00FILTER - Dose guitar video<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/2013/02/filter-dose-guitar-video-by-thejo.html"><img border="0" class="full" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGAAYDH01dd_nCvuWiUeSkmakA9XkCOa25kixqNW1w3hzSAIBvTvNRqodmowJ0bFMxxzsurnoJ0QrbWblY46cutejgAinDWa9dBUfv1ZekCKXgZb4y4oZFINkCFYfc56pgqtrdMWrTYmQ/s1600/filter-dose-onlythejo.blogspot.com.jpg" /></a>
<span class="cat-tag">MUSIC</span> Here below is my new video for "Dose" by <b>FIL<i>TER</i></b> on electric guitar. From the debut album "Short Bus" of 1995. Also featuring Pastor Benny Hinn for some comic relief. Enjoy!<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="350" src="http://blip.tv/play/hokpg47zFAA?p=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%" wmode="transparent"></embed><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Lyrics</b>: I believe in something else. Now go bother someone else. Stick your fingers in your book. Take a better second look, you crook. I hate it when you breach my space. And I hate it when you preach your case. And you should go down, down. Save someone else. I think I should warn you. I think I should tell. What you've been doing. It makes you go to hell. I hate it when you preach your case. It makes me wanna stick my dick in your face. And you should go down, down. Save someone else. Can your preacher bring me down? Oh, I don't think so. I hate it when you breach my space. And I hate it when you preach your case. And you should go down, down. Save someone else. And you should go down, down. Save someone else.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Watch my other <a href="http://blip.tv/the-jo">guitar videos</a> on my blip.tv channel:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://blip.tv/the-jo"><span style="font-size: x-large;">blip.tv/the-jo</span></a></div>
Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-26833677841588234092013-02-19T21:25:00.000+01:002014-01-10T06:03:21.620+01:00PS4 & Xbox 720 Not backward compatible? - NO SHIT<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/2013/02/not-backward-compatible-no-used-games.html"><img border="0" class="full" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz3sDdyRKOnjV8A6g9mIUB94SsuKrn-ELlt7ayGiFUeqfplDxEQ8K20Gu3y8zO7gwbW2kBvDKPpO2ZlFj6XWm31jus9yj5FDpu348FbtKYWNidtGf-s4a3kZvQTnp5t11_mJbLkJ9DlA8/s1600/ps4-xbox720-no-used-games-onlythejo.blogspot.jpg" /></a><br />
<span class="cat-tag">GAMING</span> Rumours and speculation regarding the next generation consoles are flooding the gaming press at the moment. Especially since Sony released their mysterious video suggesting something big is about to be announced tomorrow, on the 20th of February, 2013.<br />
<br />
<b>Will the PS4 & Xbox 720 Not be backward compatible? - Will they ban pre-owned games? Will they demanding a constant Internet connection?</b><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h1>
No used games for the PS4 or Xbox 720, huh?</h1>
<table width="320" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpCoZkn5LU50fbC-7E00wzHWYiYaQ1zRfnCk_624xmXj89M4sq8B07wRFh2Vy8HOjrMKch5nUUwOTldH7w7o8kq1VzJci2KWyyzwy9oqHeiKP-Qmj3ZIbm3Nq_yScTot7EtZEOyrdcEUg/s1600/used-video-games-onlythejo.blogspot.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpCoZkn5LU50fbC-7E00wzHWYiYaQ1zRfnCk_624xmXj89M4sq8B07wRFh2Vy8HOjrMKch5nUUwOTldH7w7o8kq1VzJci2KWyyzwy9oqHeiKP-Qmj3ZIbm3Nq_yScTot7EtZEOyrdcEUg/s320/used-video-games-onlythejo.blogspot.com.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Used games sales - soon to be history?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's already been feared that the next Playstation and Xbox incarnations won't accept <b>pre-owned games</b>. How infuriating that may be, it's just simply a natural, inevitable step towards digital distribution. No discs, no second hand games. It's nothing new, really. Services like Netflix and Spotify already conquering the turf of traditional movies and music sales -- as well as piracy, to some extent. No one seems to bother about that.<br />
<br />
And it's already been going on for years in the realm of gaming, where developers deliberately leave a lot of their games' content out, for the sake of DLC. And when you think about it, it's really their only safe way of getting paid for their work these days. Downloadable content is the only part of the game you cannot share with friends, buy second hand, or even duplicate easily. And for a smaller publisher or studio, those extra nickels could as well be decisive whether they'll keep afloat financially.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Requiring constant online connection?</h4>
At the end of the day, them crackers will probably find their way around these imminent obstacles as well. They always do, don't they? Even if they make the games or hardware demand an Internet connection, once the consoles and their games are out, they can be tampered with just the same. And hardware that demands you being constantly monitored will probably be the crackers' highest priority to jailbreak. If there's anything people don't like, it's getting their privacy compromised - unless its on their own initiative.<br />
<br />
<h2>
WHAT? No backwards compatibility either?</h2>
<table width="240" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSVNCMQA2mligZCRHrpsrok7ao-qBxg22431FclGQO3h4Y2KWjPob5YJPPIGUWcVOSdMp8oYhYOlyvgMsHpoQkj9EA4b8jGPCrCF9hHtAcG5GS2rDOswyamdXghyphenhyphen2w-dnhG90NbAhzptM/s1600/nes-game-in-snes-onlythejo.blogspot.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSVNCMQA2mligZCRHrpsrok7ao-qBxg22431FclGQO3h4Y2KWjPob5YJPPIGUWcVOSdMp8oYhYOlyvgMsHpoQkj9EA4b8jGPCrCF9hHtAcG5GS2rDOswyamdXghyphenhyphen2w-dnhG90NbAhzptM/s320/nes-game-in-snes-onlythejo.blogspot.com.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No-one expected this to work, back in the day...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The latest rumour, however, is that the upcoming Playstations and Xboxes won't be backwards compatible with PS3 and Xbox 360. At all, not even in multiplayer games. For instance, PS3 users won't be able to play with their more fortunate friends that have already moved over to their fancy new PS4's. How is this so shocking, though? It's not like PC gamers were ever able to <b>n00b pwns</b> on the Wii in a match of Call of Duty. They're different systems altogether, with games running differently, using different hardware, different online services, different controllers and offering user experiences that are entirely different. Even though their differences are blurring out more and more each generation -- gaming consoles are still very much proprietary hardware, they're not PC's.<br />
<br />
But apart from the social aspect in multiplayer, the next-gen systems are supposedly not able to run any games of the current generation; ie. the PS3 and Xbox 360. The main reason for this would be to keep the manufacturing cost at an acceptable level, so that they can be sold at a competitive price point. Once again, I'm not the slightest surprised. It's not like anyone bought a Super Nintendo, back in the day, expecting to be able to play their old NES games on it? Of course, they used different cartridges and all, but we've seen this happen in recent years also. The PS2 compatibility was slashed from the PS3, and Nintendo eventually went the same road with the Wii, cutting out the GameCube compatibility it originally had. Sure, the Wii U does indeed play the original Wii titles, but not without Nintendo taking one step ahead only to then take two steps back. In its initial production runs, the system was apparently more costly to build than Nintendo had the nerve to demand from its clientele. Thus they actually went negative from console sales alone, only relying on selling games (which they unfortunately didn't have many of).<br />
<br />
<table width="265" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right; width: 280px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1I0tQQwzarP_jLAI6B2tGB1hBLSjLMJ3SGaHW1RB0dpcHnlaBfjTQQXOBU76ImFBYWPTRxHEvdES-7_gGQjyUm2Qx2evB2Kdr1nFSEv1y0C766BQde_wXttK7s2hinHa99SJ4jf8Vu2w/s1600/ps4-controller-prototype-onlythejo.blogspot.com.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1I0tQQwzarP_jLAI6B2tGB1hBLSjLMJ3SGaHW1RB0dpcHnlaBfjTQQXOBU76ImFBYWPTRxHEvdES-7_gGQjyUm2Qx2evB2Kdr1nFSEv1y0C766BQde_wXttK7s2hinHa99SJ4jf8Vu2w/s320/ps4-controller-prototype-onlythejo.blogspot.com.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: right;">The alleged new PS4 controller prototype is apparently your standard Sixaxis, with a touch pad. Sony aren't known for making huge redesigns on their gamepads over the years, so it may as well be legit. Let's just hope they'll add some proper L and R triggers this time...</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
If it ain't broke fix it anyway!</h2>
Some things just need to go, and building a new system based around the old just one doesn't seem like the way to make any new progress and break new ground in terms of technical innovation. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" some might say. Well, fine, then - stick to your PS3's and 360's. No one's gonna stop you. The rest of us have been dying for something new for several years already. But instead, what some people cling on to so desperately, is a technology and a graphical standard that's nearly a decade old. In the rear view mirror, can you imagine people were still dragging on with their old Pong games when they could be playing Mario, Metroid and Zelda?<br />
<br />
Even if something as revolutionary probably won't happen in this forthcoming cycle of consoles, then still -- isn't it time for us to move on from the way we played games in 2005? Can't honestly say that a whole lot has happened since Nintendo brought motion controls to the table. Who will have the balls to something as revolutionary and risky this time around?<br />
<br />
Maybe Sony's got something creative up its sleeve, with their overly hyped new Playstation announcement taking place tomorrow. Either that, or it's just a new Vita with a smaller screen, larger price tag, and no support for used games.<br />
<br />
<b>/theJo</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-57717688280462352892013-01-29T00:19:00.002+01:002014-01-10T06:04:25.628+01:00China Drum - fine 90's UK punk-pop/rock (Green Day, Feeder, Hüsker Dü)<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/2013/01/china-drum-fine-90s-uk-punk-poprock.html"><img border="0" class="full" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkEZA8N9U-420AFbrqGNfTRnXSog83fUQmRK5qNZDX4MP62w2LvFQYnhRMIPCaEUmaCj13Uw6gJAfhIUHmua6VTETuWx2l7WSsXbiu-WApDiaNhZeO2LM5VAlxBYxxMqIgH4fNCWJ7rdk/s1600/china-drum-thejo-recommends2.jpg" /></a>
<br />
<span class="cat-tag">MUSIC</span> Another great 90's band from UK that somehow didn't quite get the recognition they deserved was <b>China Drum</b>. A punk-pop/rock outfit which should please any fan of bands like <b>3 Colours Red</b>, <b>Compulsion</b>, <b>Hüsker Dü</b>, <b>A</b>, <b>Feeder </b>and perhaps <b>The Wildhearts</b>' earlier work. And if those mentioned don't ring any bell either, then perhaps <b>Green Day</b> might?<br />
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Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt having a stroll, sporting a black China Drum tee, in the video for the band's classic hit single "When I Come Around", off their commercial break-through Dookie, of 1994.</div>
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<b>China Drum was on the verge</b> of making it big time, back in the day, touring with <b>Green Day</b> among others. And the American punksters were apparently great fans of their European tour mates themselves. In Green Day's music video for <i>"When I Come Around"</i>, bassist <b>Mike Dirnt</b> could even be noted wearing a China Drum t-shirt.<br />
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The band China Drum later renamed themselves "The Drum", by the name of which they released their third and final album "Diskin" in 2000. And unfortunately they disbanded the year after.<br />
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Check out some of their videos below, and hopefully you'll like what you're hearing!<br />
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<h1>
China Drum - "Barrier"</h1>
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A personal fave. Just imagine seeing something like this on MTV today, crammed in between the <b>Jersey Shore</b> and <b>Teen Mom</b> marathons...<br />
<h2 class="h1">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">China Drum - "Last Chance"</span></h2>
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The boys go full-fledged gangsta in this slightly ska-influenced homage to Tarantino classic <b>Reservoir Dogs</b>.<br />
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China Drum - Can't Stop These Things</h2>
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Great special effects in this one (by 90's indie-budget video standards).<br />
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<h2>
China Drum discography</h2>
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<tr><td><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000002OXJ/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21&camp=1406&creative=6394&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B000002OXJ&adid=1JVYZ8K9EQV6ZXFNNGC5&" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAyKy5mXOA4UPir2hHaHzxPHpsgLgTmJpgyUfJ3QdlxhKyKOgSMDSBWBJpOJXS0nZAGXP0ObOIBWy7Q53mqGJmwTCyAy-e_dylOSoTcx2s_6rzi92d9ePa-ZEnwCyNZJJuWzHv_gnq2_E/s200/china-drum-barrier-ep-onlythejo.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a>
</td><td>Barrier E.P. (1995)<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000002OXJ/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21&camp=1406&creative=6394&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B000002OXJ&adid=1JVYZ8K9EQV6ZXFNNGC5&" target="_blank">CD</a> | MP3<i> (unavailable)</i></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00002482P/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21&camp=1406&creative=6394&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B00002482P&adid=1J1213X3JWTKKWCQ72ZR&" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFz5fhW2J9yPz94-mpQBuuJHEQX5UHs-RsT-mKmwvMwT8bh-BgMH64880-ot635Z-Z2IMv8lA-gDp6TaK9W6QcIdOwM1fen4N6xZYiZdo8jGA5JtEkuEPmzvsPmdqBAXPWIHzca7k4PA/s200/china-drum-goosefair-onlythejo.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a>
</td><td>Goosefair (1996)<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00002482P/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21&camp=1406&creative=6394&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B00002482P&adid=1J1213X3JWTKKWCQ72ZR&" target="_blank">CD</a> | <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0029BA7KQ/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21&camp=1406&creative=6394&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B0029BA7KQ&adid=0689S83SZFNB3AWPFTMD&" target="_blank">MP3</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Self-Made-Maniac-China-Drum/dp/B0000060J7/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeDNw2vMC5wQr5cCNkuHr-Q4Lj7uv5Z_0ZxWWl7cj3ivmG0aR2NH9_S_x1OQ8FDJjDUKJds4JUv7As9h2Lp16dODBDREnV4kablWvIJWw-R0WlSZZ3bygiavtYtoDOmfglDxhjh2a0OcM/s200/china-drum-self-made-maniac-onlythejo.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a>
</td><td>Self-Made Maniac (1997)<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Self-Made-Maniac-China-Drum/dp/B0000060J7/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21" target="_blank">CD</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Self-Made-Maniac-China-Drum/dp/B0000060J7/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21" target="_blank">MP3</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00004SDQ8/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR5HR02ByTOE6SToh9NkXQB0WHDDEk_Ipby4vff9Ibq_gSvnFiaU8hGJSJ1yniCDvLXZELkBFUPhs6yM8bYL_1mB2ETMhrkkpjm3k8KL17sKZ1QjBez58iJIez2oiFceQDjHOkbeTRcJ0/s200/china-drum-the-drum-diskin-onlythejo.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a>
</td><td>Diskin (2001) - Released under the name <i>The Drum</i><br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00004SDQ8/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21" target="_blank">CD</a> | <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00004SDQ8/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21" target="_blank">MP3</a></td></tr>
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Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-50084834334799730272013-01-21T00:19:00.003+01:002013-01-21T01:54:11.783+01:00FILTER 'Short Bus' documentary video<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJIe5tGvAhbmFphx4BckLpwzYX9dP6B0gmKL2YptlOJ6CsUuSAAJeKjfhIFVEQ-4C-zx4TNKQmykzcQCyLHHRITK7DSYIJ980owKJb3ctW5X80gLVWNcgbLRXyHk1RS439UXUhvCnDIo/s1600/Filter-Short-Bus-documentary-onlythejo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJIe5tGvAhbmFphx4BckLpwzYX9dP6B0gmKL2YptlOJ6CsUuSAAJeKjfhIFVEQ-4C-zx4TNKQmykzcQCyLHHRITK7DSYIJ980owKJb3ctW5X80gLVWNcgbLRXyHk1RS439UXUhvCnDIo/s400/Filter-Short-Bus-documentary-onlythejo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="cat-tag">MUSIC</span> Was blasting through some Short Bus era <b>FIL<i>TER</i></b> tunes on the guitar tonight. Later went online for some live footage, but instead stumbled upon this old documentary on the 'tube. Spanning over 4 clips, the documentary features interviews, mixed with live performances and other old junk taped around the same period, centred around the album <b><i>Short Bus</i></b>. Starting out as a duo, this was FILTER frontman Richard Patrick's first album effort after his time with the <b>Nine Inch Nails</b>.<br />
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Apparently this documentary has been taken off the "air" and re-uploaded before, so make sure to watch it as long as it's available...before the damn label, feds, and/or sopa advocates find it and take it off the web (again)...<br />
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<b><a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/2013/01/filter-short-bus-documentary-video.html" target="_blank">Watch the full documentary below!</a></b><br />
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<a name='more'></a><b>Part 1:</b><br />
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<b>Part 2:</b><br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;">Get the album SHORT BUS here: <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000002MX5/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21&camp=1406&creative=6394&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B000002MX5&adid=09QRP7C5JNHQKS8SXS66&" target="_blank">UK/Europe</a> | <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000002MX5/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=jonzaasprytte-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B000002MX5&adid=0CP7HKDAH8VTWTK0VN5V&" target="_blank">US/America</a></b></div>
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<b>Part 3:</b><br />
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<b>Part 4:</b><br />
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<b>End credits</b><br />
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Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-75695517327229714792013-01-14T01:42:00.002+01:002014-02-18T06:17:16.954+01:00Dredd (2012) movie review<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.se/2013/01/dredd-2012-movie-review.html"><img border="0" class="full" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Wux9c5TSylMJ03OTwp_kR4jT4yqrOAQsEQWvG0b6DckuOhEz_XxxqL9cWjBRp0PC_wbuQIj8yo8Ko5Xbz-o4LSgtPm8FIGOJ1zfDxUEO4GWp13uBKpcPIlvxc0MKUdjaCB58u-nG7II/s1600/dredd-review-onlythejo.jpg" title="I Am The Law!" /></a>
<span class="cat-tag">REVIEW</span> Just watched the 2012 reboot of <b>Judge Dredd</b>, simply called "Dredd". And guess what - it's yet another ultraviolent blood fest with very little substance.<br />
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Action / 95 min<br />
Starring: <b>Karl Urban, Lena Headey, Olivia Thirlby</b><br />
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<a name='more'></a><h3>
The movie</h3>
With a back story explained by the narrator in about ten seconds, the film starts off. And it's right into the action, without even bothering to build up any sense of purpose behind all the killing. All we know is there's some sort of drug dealing gang occupying a block in some dystrophic, futuristic metro city, referred to as MegaCity One. And our brutal anti-hero Dredd is sent in to clear up, accompanied by a young female recruit with mind reading capabilities. As soon as they get there, gang bangers and regular, everyday citizens alike - everyone - yes EVERYONE, is out to get them.<br />
<h4>
Gun porn</h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge60D9LEZAmhpRGhIDUV03XzT_-xQNa_3-4SoX1cwEtU_KIoW-D1MN-B666_OHEVjd3BkvJ01p4QcI_c7zHOR7qOE3KPbhx13i4iRNUdVR4N-5T9Q1RldJ1Fnhft_ysZtgE1Y3Rgw5Yjo/s1600/dredd-bullet-time-onlythejo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge60D9LEZAmhpRGhIDUV03XzT_-xQNa_3-4SoX1cwEtU_KIoW-D1MN-B666_OHEVjd3BkvJ01p4QcI_c7zHOR7qOE3KPbhx13i4iRNUdVR4N-5T9Q1RldJ1Fnhft_ysZtgE1Y3Rgw5Yjo/s320/dredd-bullet-time-onlythejo.jpg" height="205" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
This may look like someone's poor work in Photoshop, but it's straight out the movie. Notice how the bullet supposedly travels through the guys cheeks, yet somehow doesn't leave a mark on the poor fella.</div>
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The ultra-thin story aside, "Dredd" is first and foremost a strong visual experience, indulging in slow motion close-ups of faces exploding, blood splashing over camera lenses, and other fun treats in what is usually referred to as "bullet time". An aesthetic that The Matrix had already brought to table, some 14 years ago. Max Payne then brought the blood into it, but that's a different story. My point is, they're not exactly trying to re-invent the wheel here. It's merely an artistic, but also quite gimmicky, use of modern technology.<br />
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<b>Dredd is a character that is hard</b> to sympathise with. Not only because he's completely faceless, he's also extremely 2-dimensional. He shows no emotion, no remorse, he has no history and his sole purpose is in life is to blindly serve "The Law". That's it. In "Dredd", it's instead the female characters that become more likeable. Even the main antagonist; Ma Ma - the leader of the band of drug dealers, played by Lena Headey, even has a bit of a life story that make her wicked ways still appear somewhat understandable.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc8fJMeVqeOTiyzkac4bWkOmoPs_OtHVFeRGxSodUpt4QEb5NLCx_NxoRHGFNkq-z5vTJnuMZq9HvMvxyzmZiovCPWsnVyYaG5bVYJI6hrYudTSJvTxke-7CCj9hr2aw6h5auFZivXHzE/s1600/dredd-lena-headey-onlythejo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc8fJMeVqeOTiyzkac4bWkOmoPs_OtHVFeRGxSodUpt4QEb5NLCx_NxoRHGFNkq-z5vTJnuMZq9HvMvxyzmZiovCPWsnVyYaG5bVYJI6hrYudTSJvTxke-7CCj9hr2aw6h5auFZivXHzE/s320/dredd-lena-headey-onlythejo.jpg" height="199" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: right;">
A badly scuffed up Lena Headey is the main antagonist of Judge Dredd in this adorable little chick-flick.</div>
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<h4>
Rooting for the bad guy</h4>
By the end of the movie, I wasn't quite sure who I was supposed to be rooting for, but it probably wasn't the person the writers had in mind. The ending was supposed to be redeeming and gratifying, evidently. Instead it was just engrossing and perverse.<br />
<h4>
Comparing it to the original</h4>
There's a trend in modern comic book movies to make them more and more grim, dark and moody. Or "serious", as some might say. Dredd is of course no exception, and while <b>Sylvester Stallone</b>'s original <i>Judge Dredd</i> from 1995 had some more or less deliberate humour and ridicule to it, this reboot offers nothing remotely funny, apart from Karl Urban's overly grim facial expression, worn throughout the whole movie.<br />
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This type of movies falls into a category which doesn't need to take itself too seriously. It's based off a comicbook, and it's supposed to be a fun popcorn flick, right? The original, had <b>Rob Schneider</b> in it for some comic relief, but there's nothing of that nature in this modern reboot. Instead, we get a main villain who's a woman showing a lot of inner torment from a lifetime of physical and sexual abuse. And we're supposed to feel good about ourselves, seeing her suffer some more at the end. I can't stress enough how distasteful I find this.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">3/10</span></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoiZrkZmX0uXR0fxyQXcmKA-i4LZHLAaoUPc1ulnFADw0GCw0sBS0iFvT0drmQdPztMCgfQwBFoNyxrouWePWWp54HwZzzcK7kALLeNzLGrtSKl_fgi2eCItqRnLtrQ_K2Y6MsvY1YcBY/s1600/dredd-low-light-performance-bl-onlythejo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoiZrkZmX0uXR0fxyQXcmKA-i4LZHLAaoUPc1ulnFADw0GCw0sBS0iFvT0drmQdPztMCgfQwBFoNyxrouWePWWp54HwZzzcK7kALLeNzLGrtSKl_fgi2eCItqRnLtrQ_K2Y6MsvY1YcBY/s320/dredd-low-light-performance-bl-onlythejo.jpg" height="320" width="251" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
The low-light footage in Dredd leaves much to be desired (click the image above for a closer look).</div>
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<h3>
Visual presentation</h3>
Dredd takes place inside an apartment block, virtually the whole movie throughout. A lot of it is shot in low light, and whatever cameras they used, they clearly aren't up to the task. Obviously a bit of grain is always to be expected for HD material, but here you get a lot of discolouration and lack of detail. Some of the shots look like what you could expect from a regular modern compact camera. While the gimmicky slow motion sequences looks spectacular, the rest of the film isn't nearly as pleasing to watch. And at times, "Dredd" just looks plain out awful.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">6/10</span></b></div>
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<h3>
Audio</h3>
Regardless of what you think of the movie itself, it at least sounds good. The dialogue comes out clearly <i>(Stallone is not in this movie, after all)</i> and sound effects have a lot of weight behind them. The back speakers will also get their money worth, if you have a proper 5.1 setup. The dynamic range is just about right, to me; meaning you'll be able to hear the dialogue properly without going deaf as soon as the bullets start flying. But rest assure, tt's still wide enough to sound really massive when you want it to, making you feel the thumps and vibrations of the many actions scenes of the film.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">8/10</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<h2>
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Get Dredd (2012) and Judge Dredd (1995) on Blu-ray and DVD</span></b></h2>
</div>
<h4>
US/America</h4>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Y_x6jmMl09HPA4y1BF6JFTOg5DfHt_95bcmuGxlms5pyBAof11Wn3y7qPiMhf96BHCJLGHfR2IY74MPAKIWT3Jh07_IzxquHh-kxKacD3E64tRo03uGqh6KiVhr71iDrsvz70tnwri0/s1600/51DBItJ8OiL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" title="Judge Dredd (1995) on Blu-ray disc">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Y_x6jmMl09HPA4y1BF6JFTOg5DfHt_95bcmuGxlms5pyBAof11Wn3y7qPiMhf96BHCJLGHfR2IY74MPAKIWT3Jh07_IzxquHh-kxKacD3E64tRo03uGqh6KiVhr71iDrsvz70tnwri0/s200/51DBItJ8OiL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" height="200" width="140" /></a>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004IDG97S/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=jonzaasprytte-20" target="_blank" title="Judge Dredd (1995) on DVD">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqgLtEgrtdhXeOgZyqxcRMxEj5qGyg45K5byKXpPfdgxKkduPfH92a7XNpH88JRtrg8CIV1CH17zszaXIZLhO1WbjX223vGjUEUgW-Ev48iRBfc6pZfPqebtNpKn8P1lDq7IUrxcwgaac/s200/51HDwN91jML._SX500_.jpg" height="200" width="140" /></a>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009YQJ322/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=jonzaasprytte-20" target="_blank" title="Dredd (2012) on Blu-ray disc">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjksDO9HYaD89ScU1a9iuup3EwAelzGMmu4Dphu0KYT-JpKoYUY2BZ2MDZGZWT4jgFNK6p4_J1c2WKqaUaOHp-ebDJOtSU7BvKqDqnk1jfIsexcQfwxOlu3mixedU2AkRmPQe1CBoAJBKk/s200/51aufvQjGOL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" height="200" width="144" /></a>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ARF92HK/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=jonzaasprytte-20" target="_blank" title="Dredd (2012) on DVD"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEillXhvppMMctIBwybXOFQVezaSEuDsZAyoX0kX-bhtCqRznB4G_1v06kJzr1YDX_z3YLCvIa-V1XyOKUKEQHSyPzc56ZYBj1RTTG-TeG9EaroHUqKe5Jfe45z1ZIHshXuSZ7DQSGdzf2Q/s200/5113Kkt04VL._SX500_.jpg" height="200" width="140" /></a>
<br />
<h4>
UK/Europe</h4>
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008OGHUFK/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21" target="_blank" title="Dredd (2012) on Blu-ray disc"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-vhLGrBuuugNFI6KH73YB0WQGi2g6N8TWb-qiK4PXc82koa25JYnJ0UNNrOJCbIfx9qvV7KAfGuAi01aQw3dLtMzxRPIxugyA5VgFS2eunASQRue-GuQKYeKpVSv6Qtrr2g_lR-vG_I/s1600/dredd-uk-bd.jpg" /></a>
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008OGHR0S/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21" target="_blank" title="Dredd (2012) on DVD"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQTTSiI5Y3FDaRs7tlrmVYMdVAt9p1Byt8rE6A3OsOv6ZaRlOdOTGpQK8xSeQshMnmYQUVQZ0L6lPCcWN1gj0ws4Gm1n1YHP-dRgXvHbL9fue9-zJT_vNzzrPvJaFYrxRlv0sfqdsOQIk/s1600/dredd-uk-dvd.jpg" /></a>
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000059Z3I/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=thejo-21" target="_blank" title="Judge Dredd (1995) on DVD"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-u9LUhcnx50E0SSqNSd6MuWFNKQTodsbjVkikqmaBSkS05MeRhgOplnLIU4ODaQ5efYCN8O5_PzByBR8Et-YM4CxdDwtOm7HRSeAvlfAfG9FRwIeCyZap1j1Ttxj_u0JGdx3TCIFSes/s200/judge-dredd-uk-dvd.jpg" height="200" width="138" /></a>Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-43581434278187879302012-12-11T20:23:00.001+01:002012-12-11T20:33:35.399+01:00Seether - Gasoline guitar video<embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="350" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYOLgxIA?p=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="590" wmode="transparent"></embed><br />
<a name='more'></a><span class="cat-tag">GUITAR VIDEO</span> Time for another guitar video! Here's "Gasoline" - the opening track off South African post-grunge trio SEETHER's Wind-Up debut "Disclaimer". Actually had the pleasure to see this play this song and more in Gothenburg just a few weeks ago.<br />
<br />
This is a multi-track recording for some extra bawls to it, heh, heh!<br />
<b>Tuning: Drop C#</b> (drop-D a half step down)<br />
<br />
<b>Lyrics:</b> V1: Last night I saw that beauty queen / Watched her paint her face on / I wanna be that magazine / That she bases life on / I wanna waste her monthly blood / Wanna get some on my love / Wanna get some gasoline / And burn the house down / CHORUS: She’s got nothing to say / She’s got bills to pay / She’s got no one to hate / Except for me / V2: Last night I saw that beauty queen / Watched her cut her face off / I wanna be that magazine / That she wastes her life on / I wanna waste her monthly blood / Wanna get some on my love / Wanna get some gasoline / And burn the house down / CHORUS / V3: When I saw that beauty queen / watched her paint her face on / I wanna be that magazine / That she wipes her ass on / Wanna waste her monthly blood / wanna get some on my love / wanna get some gasoline / And burn the house down / final CHORUS: She’s got nothing to say / She’s got bills to pay / She’s got no one to hate / Except for me. / She's got nothing to say / She's got bills to pay / She's got no one to hate / Except for me.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Watch my other <a href="http://blip.tv/the-jo">guitar videos</a> on my blip.tv channel:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://blip.tv/the-jo"><span style="font-size: x-large;">blip.tv/the-jo</span></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
Nirvana kicks butt!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://blip.tv/the-jo/seether-gasoline-thejo-guitar-6471982" title="Watch on blip.tv"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-0uMrujsq8PMoclaDSXY3X7bG9wMwN6LucAoybnFJ0-Y4kpY-7WGhxzkI4u3X5R_srYfj9nXO1ESha3WbL521YA7KdlkyAcJMkvlTXQofjm3j41jSZ-MJLa6oLQT8WxXHQ5ZLFbySaQ/s320/thumb29.jpg" alt="Seeter - Gasoline guitar video by theJo" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-1164348480657870542012-10-23T00:27:00.000+02:002012-10-30T00:03:13.553+01:00Getting THERAPY? in Sweden tomorrow night!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/2012/10/seeing-therapy-in-sweden-tomorrow-night.html"><img border="0" class="full" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDrXlf2ZrcIbho8ZRFXCq4tDUHdAJZIwUJf48emavVj-lxvFStLE0H4gnhtro9qRTU9_3Wh36LPGapi5dbBUaOnIEAdrEnXUc3SWboRzAimhqZXx1lXq0h1yf4UKwH1_tYzLJxinYEYMQ/s1600/therapy-tour-2012-onlythejo.jpg" /></a></div>
<span class="cat-tag">CONCERTS</span> Seminal Irish rockers <b>THERAPY?</b> will be paying <b>Sweden</b> a visit for the next 2 nights on their European tour, and I couldn't be happier. Certainly a band I've been eager to see for quite some time now. Apart from hearing old gems as well as some cuts from the latest LP, <i>A Brief Crack of Light</i>, I'd bet a dime there will be a lot of <b>Gibson SG</b>'s, black suits and perhaps a certain <b>Battle...</b><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right; width: 214px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_c96I3dj0QZWOAPEsJzMR0_RV3lmJP6zRnqIK95qoTAYXg4do7S_GIdIWaBpPUyaN2Dt0OkJ9mv_hhp__9SPPKZbcByb9SNFmoAQJJG1Bp6kFhC40MsuEsWwOOpZalRIvfTFwPk8ns5Q/s1600/therapy-cormac-battle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_c96I3dj0QZWOAPEsJzMR0_RV3lmJP6zRnqIK95qoTAYXg4do7S_GIdIWaBpPUyaN2Dt0OkJ9mv_hhp__9SPPKZbcByb9SNFmoAQJJG1Bp6kFhC40MsuEsWwOOpZalRIvfTFwPk8ns5Q/s320/therapy-cormac-battle.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy Cairns (Therapy?) with Cormac Battle, frontman of Kerbdog and Wilt.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Being a big fan of <b>Therapy?</b> as well as <b>Kerbdog </b>and <b>Wilt</b>, it would be a real treat to see Andy and Cormac sharing a stage. They have actually toured in Ireland together this past summer, but that's probably nothing we'll see over here in Scandinavia anytime soon, unfortunately. Kerbdog especially, is very much a national treasure that few (me excluded) outside Ireland and Britain seem to be be familiar with. Definitely check them out if you like some good old 90's rock with a nice edge, that also with some pop sensibility and clever songwriting to it.<br />
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<object height="215" width="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ph9xuNPsS8w?version=3&hl=sv_SE&rel=0"></param>
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<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ph9xuNPsS8w?version=3&hl=sv_SE&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="300" height="215" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>
<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>But anyway, back to Therapy? </b>Seeing this band for the first time, I'm of course hoping on hearing a nice blend of highlights of their 20+ year long career. Rather than (like some bands) play 4 classic songs and 10 cuts off their latest <i>CD</i> (is that what they're called these days?), thus alienating anyone who still hasn't bought/borrowed/stolen/downloaded it. And it seems like their planned set list won't disappoint, knock on wood.<br />
<br />
To give an idea of what to expect, here's a set list of a recent gig, in Dublin, Ireland, on August 25th of 2012:<br />
<ol>
<li>Intro</li>
<li>Isolation
(Joy Division cover)</li>
<li>Nausea</li>
<li>Unbeliever</li>
<li>Before You, With You, After You</li>
<li>Die Laughing</li>
<li>Teethgrinder</li>
<li>Rust</li>
<li>If It Kills Me</li>
<li>Exiles</li>
<li>Living In The Shadow Of A Terrible Thing</li>
<li>Epilepsy</li>
<li>Stories</li>
<li>Potato Junkie</li>
<li>Nowhere</li>
</ol>
What's interesting about it, is how only <b>one tune</b> is from their new 2012 album; namely its first single <i>"Living In The Shadow Of A Terrible Thing"</i>. The lack of new material is nothing that bothers me to much, however, being a lot more familiar with the older stuff. The new album is a bit too much like "modern" metal for my taste, to be frank. I personally prefer the quirky old stuff from <b>Babyteeth</b>, as well as the more punky tunes of <b>Troublegum </b>and <b>High Anxiety.</b><br />
<br />
But what bothers me the more, is the fact that their perhaps most recognised single to date; <b><i>Screamager</i></b>, was omitted. To me that's like seeing <b>Nirvana </b>and don't get any <i>Teen Spirit</i>. Which ironically Kurt and the gang occasionally left out from their gigs back in the day, just to tease.<br />
<br />
In either way, I hope they'll better rehearsed than myself, recording this:<br />
<br />
<br />
<embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYKw7XIA?p=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%" wmode="transparent"></embed>
<br />
And as if that wasn't enough painful to your ears, here's a couple more unrehearsed, half-assed Therapy? covers for your "enjoyment" - played by yours truly:
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<h4>
Dancin' with Manson</h4>
<embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYLX4EYA?p=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%" wmode="transparent"></embed>
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<h4>
Hey Satan - You Rock</h4>
<embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" src="http://blip.tv/play/AYL5shcA?p=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%" wmode="transparent"></embed><br />
<br />
See you tomorrow night!<br />
<br />
Therapy? plays in Gothenburg on the 23rd and in Stockholm the night after; the 24th of October, 2012.<br />
<br />
<i>/theJo</i>Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-82274192548352200962012-10-11T18:04:00.002+02:002012-10-18T06:23:32.879+02:00Avril Lavigne + Chad Kroeger = career suicide?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglv3fizEp8MMfv6wIC4wGul2zEownQBTzmucKeogCEl7NJNAi5GhSZOMEweGbsdlHD0Yjn-x95G4OjKlilmxGttK16SzXzI5gt9BmPU741zllQOo9VgYxLIutWTzMqWPkucdbpEs9ZNTs/s1600/chad_kroeger-avril_lavigne-career-suicide-onlythejo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglv3fizEp8MMfv6wIC4wGul2zEownQBTzmucKeogCEl7NJNAi5GhSZOMEweGbsdlHD0Yjn-x95G4OjKlilmxGttK16SzXzI5gt9BmPU741zllQOo9VgYxLIutWTzMqWPkucdbpEs9ZNTs/s400/chad_kroeger-avril_lavigne-career-suicide-onlythejo.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chad Kroeger and Avril Lavigne</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="cat-tag">"MUSIC"</span> As you've probably heard, <a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.se/2012/10/avril-lavigne-engaged-with-chad-kroeger.html#.UHcDh8UmRv3">Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger are getting married</a>. It'll be interesting to see how the fans of the respective two will react to this in the long run. If they'll react at all. That is perhaps the main question; <b>does anybody really care anymore?</b>
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
<b>Punk princess with all her ideals gone down the drain</b></h2>
<b>I can honestly say that Avril's first two records weren't too bad.</b> The songs at least had some sort of personal meaning to her, which gave them some sort of depth. From then on it went downhill musically. Cheeky kindergarden music, with lyrics with a bunch of cussing mixed in? She also gave up her old punk rebel ideals of not trying too hard to please the eyes, and to keep her clothes on and strictly sell music and not sex, which was very clear about. Almost to the degree of ridicule, bashing on other female musicians of her generation for being too pretty and nice.<br />
<br />
That was then. Now she's got her own perfume and nail polish, makes carefree bubblegum pop muzzak for seven-yearolds and appears half nude in magazines and music videos.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Avril Lavigne - then and now</h2>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://1.gvt0.com/vi/nbi_obyJL6E/0.jpg" height="266" width="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nbi_obyJL6E&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nbi_obyJL6E&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>
Losing Grip, from the album Let Go (2003)</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Here performed live, in tears...</div>
</td><td valign="bottom" width="300"><div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://1.gvt0.com/vi/tQmEd_UeeIk/0.jpg" height="266" width="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tQmEd_UeeIk&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="300" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tQmEd_UeeIk&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
What the Hell, from the album Goodbye Lullaby (2011)</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h2>
<b>Grungy or just sleazy?</b></h2>
<b>I actually found Nickelback interesting too, back in the days of their full-lenght debut <i>The State</i></b>, by which time they were still very much unknown to the masses. The State was more of a <b>post-grunge</b> record than the bland crap they make today, and I actually kinda liked it. It had a nice raw sound to it and didn't appear over-produced as a lot of modern rock records do.<br />
<br />
Then came the big break-through album <b>Silver Side Up</b>, which took them on a more metallic route, but was still pretty decent. On <b>The Long Road</b> which came thereafter, they were getting too big for their own good. They could score chicks to bang more easily, apparently, which lead to Kroeger starting to let his dick take over the songwriting. <i>The Long Road</i> was still bearable for the most part, but after that, the songs just got dumber and dumber, and even less original. So over the <b>last 10 years</b> I honestly haven't given a rat's arse about this band and don't see how they still can make a living off of this nonsense.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Nickelback - then and now</h2>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='300' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/SCSCLB7fYNI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
Breathe, from the album </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
"The State" (2001)</div>
</td><td valign="top" width="300"><br />
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Gotta Be <i>Sumbooow-dee</i>, from some newer record that I'm not familiar with</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
/theJo<br />
<br />
<h3>
See also</h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/2012/10/avril-lavigne-engaged-with-chad-kroeger.html"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI22zj-gjXX8kj3ERQeaHwSGSNWONZRMsqqqK1HaHePg1wE0_wP5wCVeeOcxGX7lstk0a0R-8Nd1LP_jDRx85Gdwcm0qiRO8YETqEGAfU7lNhjlfhxqeoEwYC_753PN2hHmd3al_jY7nA/s320/298987-avril-lavigne-chad-kroeger.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/2012/10/avril-lavigne-engaged-with-chad-kroeger.html">Celebrity Poop: Avril Lavigne engaged with Chad Kroeger of Nickelback</a></div>
Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-77103909023043974242012-10-11T17:40:00.001+02:002014-01-10T06:09:38.072+01:00Celebrity Poop: Avril Lavigne engaged with Chad Kroeger of Nickelback<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-dlzuby1OL1lydqEMtoVBR9MFtr6mGnsk4DnDKXAzfMV3DeXwXb2oqSh7ZPIyerClJoBjUrj1FqaXvpxJeib1V7VQ8Por_af9DaIhYNFr52_pMB_xnaaVeBFl8-Zxk0JmdzKTq7SNftw/s1600/A05Dqo6CIAAz-Dy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-dlzuby1OL1lydqEMtoVBR9MFtr6mGnsk4DnDKXAzfMV3DeXwXb2oqSh7ZPIyerClJoBjUrj1FqaXvpxJeib1V7VQ8Por_af9DaIhYNFr52_pMB_xnaaVeBFl8-Zxk0JmdzKTq7SNftw/s320/A05Dqo6CIAAz-Dy.jpg" width="217" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Avril Kroeger</td></tr>
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<span class="cat-tag">"MUSIC"</span> You've probably heard the news. Avril Lavigne is getting married again. This time to an older "rock" star, namely that sleazy Nickelback fart, Chad Kroeger. The two Canadian "musicians" apparently worked together briefly and "hooked up", as the kids say. After six months of hush-hush, they eventually went public, as the Kroeger dude shelled out a dollar for a ring at a $.95 store, and then asked for his Nickel back.<br />
<br />
One can only imagine their first meeting, though. I can see how the Nickelbloke probably went something like:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">"Hey there, little girl, would you like some candy? I have LOADS of lollies in the back a ma'truck! Hop on, little gal! </span>(</i>queitly:<i> Then Imma schlap ye in the face with ma'dick)<span style="font-size: large;"> - Yiiieeehaaah!"</span></i></b></span> ...Or something equally charming.</div>
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<a name='more'></a>Because as you probably know, Chad Kroeger has a made a career in music by actually letting his <b>penis</b> write most of his band's lyrical content - which he later barfs out in his strained, almost constipated manner. To make an example, here's some of Mr Kroegers charming couplets. These are the words of Mr. Kroeger's penis, known to Nickelback fans as a song called <i>"Figured You Out"</i>:<br />
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<i>I like the freckles on your chest</i><br />
<i>And I like the way you like me best</i><br />
<i>And I like the way you're not impressed</i><br />
<i>While you put me to the test</i><br />
<i><b>I like the white stains on your dress</b>
</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>And I love the way you pass the check</i><br />
<i>And I love the good times that you wreck</i><br />
<i>And I love your lack of self-respect</i><br />
<i>While you passed out on the deck</i><br />
<i><b>I love my hands around your neck</b>
<b><br /></b></i><br />
<b><i>I like your pants around your feet</i></b><br />
<i>And I like the dirt that's on your knees</i><br />
<b><i>And I like the way you still say please</i></b><br />
<b><i>While you're looking up at me</i></b><br />
<i>You're like my favourite damn disease
</i></div>
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<b><i>Lovely psychotic white smile. I give him that much.</i></b></td></tr>
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<b>Interesting enough, though; in previous lyrics he groans:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
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<i><b>Haven't you heard "don't hit a lady"</b></i><br />
<i><b>Kickin' your ass would be a pleasure</b></i><br />
("Never Again")<br />
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So I guess he's become the <i><b>ass</b></i> he once wanted to kick so badly.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtvz8x0r-MM5-m3lwp-8Ifa3lGuAVEilIQeuoIM5Uyz0QxsduFTsg1vwMVii0Xakc9F6rCSnQzrlXcb474hfbwzIkHKIHbFuLjjH3yhsvQcFOy9GZDq1e_Ft3swszxzHJUPBdyrwlr4iQ/s1600/chad-kroeger-anal-bleach-onlythejo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" class="full" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtvz8x0r-MM5-m3lwp-8Ifa3lGuAVEilIQeuoIM5Uyz0QxsduFTsg1vwMVii0Xakc9F6rCSnQzrlXcb474hfbwzIkHKIHbFuLjjH3yhsvQcFOy9GZDq1e_Ft3swszxzHJUPBdyrwlr4iQ/s1600/chad-kroeger-anal-bleach-onlythejo.jpg" /></a><br />
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<i style="background-color: black; color: white;"><b>The Asshole</b></i><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: small;"> - takes one to know one. And Mr. Kroeger is no less than an expert.</span><span style="background-color: black; color: white;">
</span></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>But at the end of the day, when you're "a big rock star", no one cares if you're a rapist. </b><b>It's not like some gullible groupies getting butt-raped and abused would ever have you charged, would they?</b><br />
<br />
For more vomit-inducing, neanderthal lyrics that Chad Kroeger's pulled out of his ass throughout his career as a "song writer", check out <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/perpetua/chad-kroegers-sexiest-lyrics" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this page</a> if you really have to.<br />
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<h4>
Embarrassment to the family</h4>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah, you heard right. HE's embarrassed about HER.</td></tr>
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What's even more disgraceful, however, is how Kroeger has apparently admitted that he's embarrassed about his relationship with Avril Lavigne and hasn't even introduced her to his parents yet. If <i>he's</i> embarrassed, I sure as hell wonder what Lavigne and her parents feel like. First that Derryck Wembley kid from Sum 41, then Chad Nickelback. <b>Who's next - Kid Rock? - Charles Manson?</b><br />
<br />
The smug player Nickelkroeg is, he knows the only way into <b>Avril's pants</b> is through marriage, so I suppose his <b>Mr Kroeger's penis</b> only did what he had to do. But give this a few years and he'll probably move over to someone younger anyway. Like that <b>Miley Cyrus</b> kid, for instance.<br />
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Don't know what the deal is with Avril, though. Does she really have to tie the knot with <b>every dumbass guy she's getting busy with?</b> How old is she anyway - 17? Already divorced once, from that little Whibbely fella of Blink 482 - and now marrying some white trash hillbilly playboy / wannabe rock star who's probably in his late 40's already. Where's such desperation coming from? Sure, he's probably filthy rich, but so is she.<br />
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<b>What do you think? Is the Nickelbag an upgrade or downgrade from Anvil Lasagne's former wife; Derryck Whibbelibelyy of Sum 41?</b><br />
<br />
I would say yes.<br />
<div>
/theJo<br />
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<h3>
See also
</h3>
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.se/2012/10/avril-lavigne-chad-kroeger-career.html"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglv3fizEp8MMfv6wIC4wGul2zEownQBTzmucKeogCEl7NJNAi5GhSZOMEweGbsdlHD0Yjn-x95G4OjKlilmxGttK16SzXzI5gt9BmPU741zllQOo9VgYxLIutWTzMqWPkucdbpEs9ZNTs/s320/chad_kroeger-avril_lavigne-career-suicide-onlythejo.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.se/2012/10/avril-lavigne-chad-kroeger-career.html">Avril Lavigne + Chad Kroeger = career suicide?</a></div>Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-73560785422019412182012-10-05T04:32:00.000+02:002014-01-10T06:11:35.479+01:00Resident Evil 6 - My first impressions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.se/2012/10/resident-evil-6-my-first-impressions.html"><img border="0" class="full" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie-Tl94LKQrQkhDbF6lMXJ8mscZv5A_X2KaoBPHyenI_TwVlo1yBmk2A3i1ocRubgTTwfNoLSkEXjRsk816p7wgMUCiIPGDPNrv4HIFk6vTLK3aS7ltCU8tlE1IcxCxd186TjAY2OtMBQ/s1600/resident-evil-6-TESTED-onlythejo.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span class="cat-tag">GAMING</span> Gave <b>Resident Evil 6</b> its first spin tonight! Here's what I thought of it.<br />
<a name='more'></a>So far I've played through the <b>prelude with Leon</b> as well as the first chapter of <b>Chris Redfield</b>'s campaign. Overall it's very much an action game with very little suspense. Even the <b>zombies</b> are packed with machine guns, blades and other weaponry now, which might act as a turn-off for the hardcore zombie and <b>survival horror</b> fans.<br />
<h4>
Cover system is a bit dodgy...</h4>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">The Xbox 360 version is the one tested. The game is of course also available for PS3 and PC.</td></tr>
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The controls aren't that bad, but the cover system for the shoot-outs (mainly in Redfield's campaign) is not the best. Definitely not as fluid as in modern 3rd person shooters, where you can jump in an out of cover swiftly. In the <b>Xbox 360 version</b> of the game, you need to first hold the <b>left trigger</b> to aim, and then push the '<b>A' button</b> to crouch, while still holding the left trigger. There is no way to blind-shoot either. When not aiming the [right] trigger is used for random melee attacks.<br />
<h4>
...and so are the action buttons and quick-time events...</h4>
<b>Resident Evil 6</b> also comes with a lot of <b>quick-time events</b> that sometimes feels very unnatural and a bit tacked on. The game uses <b>different action buttons</b> for opening doors, jumping off ledges, picking up items etc, respectively, which tends to cause confusion. Don't see why they couldn't have stuck to just one. Instead I repeatedly find myself hitting the wrong button, which just slows the game down as I constantly have to pay attention to what the screen prompts me to push. Nitpicking, perhaps - but still just a tad bit annoying.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWRjC0mzrTRuLxYHYevu8yRenxKqROD6kIoD-2Gtz9IQKgICSyBfzNdb_3r6sgFVOZyNkpmmy5kIWpLsM58i2iNp-2Wn5bQR_c_LfGnGqiZ6Ze1l_2DOfgmAGkatvm0OvLBrTXorFp4JY/s1600/Resident-Evil-6-Leon-onlythejo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWRjC0mzrTRuLxYHYevu8yRenxKqROD6kIoD-2Gtz9IQKgICSyBfzNdb_3r6sgFVOZyNkpmmy5kIWpLsM58i2iNp-2Wn5bQR_c_LfGnGqiZ6Ze1l_2DOfgmAGkatvm0OvLBrTXorFp4JY/s320/Resident-Evil-6-Leon-onlythejo.jpg" height="320" width="283" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Leon and the gang, gathered for some fun in the sun.</td></tr>
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<h4>
...But fun overall!</h4>
Anyhow, I had a lot of fun with the game so far! It's a lot more forgiving than the previous games, as you'll self-heal automatically. You'll also find supplies all over the place. Even the foes you defeated leave goodies behind, so you'll rarely run out of ammo.<br />
<h4>
Great game for newcomers</h4>
While some reviewer only recommended <b>Resident Evil 6</b> for the die-hard fans, I'd beg to differ; if anything, <b>Resident Evil 6</b> should be a great introduction to the franchise to <b>newcomers</b>. Fans of the classic games, on the other hand, might find this a little too forgiving and <b>"casual"</b>. Let's face it: the series has come quite far from its roots by now, approaching the plain action territory more and more (much like the RE movies are).<br />
<br />
It's a pretty nice game, though, if you take it for what it is - a bombastic, action-packed movie with zombies - turned into a game. Anyone hoping to get scared like they did playing the first games, will yet again discover that the series has completely lost its edge in that regard.<br />
<br />
Will be interesting to see what the 3rd campaign holds in store as well. Apparently more of a platforming kind of deal, which sounds quite interesting...<br />
<br />
<h3>
More on <a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/search/label/Resident%20Evil">Resident Evil</a>:</h3>
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<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/2012/10/resident-evil-6-getting-mixed-reviews.html"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMzd_cCj5_k-3lVCJwcnwVaD8LhzYmqhyqqrl8UMP3QoLJCGADM1qqMleXUtsPPJ7qhHbZ_M1qFG0LHgbBVA5E7SDgJi2z-o_C2Cayi6fqHD-LDh9FBuYXIxag8vQQ9agHTQzBong-dU/s320/Resident-Evil-6-reviewed-thejo.jpg" height="175" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/2012/10/resident-evil-6-getting-mixed-reviews.html">Resident Evil 6 getting mixed reviews</a></div>
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<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.se/2012/10/the-problem-with-resident-evil-is.html"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcZ8WsIMM9OPsRMJdLVksY1L7MKvD3zLNLjNgfiL9JLthyphenhyphen3ilZaxP-4cKbnPtMp1wu_3HTOmiQN12IHywVNEh3ARjz6I15FRZsSXp5V9k3-EAFgHV_vhoAGASPztaB1mUnR206c2im06g/s320/my-problem-with-resident-evil-onlythejo.jpg" height="139" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.se/2012/10/the-problem-with-resident-evil-is.html">The problem with Resident Evil is...</a></div>
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Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-28259339550580396812012-10-04T06:10:00.002+02:002012-10-04T20:22:00.164+02:00Bands that Influenced PUSSY RIOT?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.se/2012/10/influences-of-pussy-riot.html"><img alt="Manics, L7 and Feeder influences of Pussy Riot's?" border="0" class="full" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipUnRzFx7esdHdjLsvaoBNYcKWfjlQjae9om4XHEj1b39_yB6_vJLBH39eVliMv5wfjI482D7bWNDVy-SBz_sVZeRHKahUvQsdciRAM2hDpE6pX6AGKzpy2huoFgdvW3RAnB4pIXv7Y_g/s1600/pussy-riot-onlythejo.jpg" title="Manics, L7 and Feeder influences of Pussy Riot's?" /></a></div>
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<span class="cat-tag">MUSIC</span> The other day I wrote about <b><a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.se/2012/09/faith-no-more-support-pussy-riot.html">Faith No More supporting Pussy Riot</a></b>, like many other artists and celebrities have. You might think <b>Pussy Riot</b> is a new thing, as the Russian collective only formed a year ago, in August 2011. But it's quite an old concept, actually! - Keep reading, kids!<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2>
<b>Pussy Riot - LITERALLY</b></h2>
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<i>Ms. Sparks of L7 flashing her goods on British television</i>
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<b>L7</b> was a somewhat successful band coming out of the <b>grunge</b> era. The feminist rockers did pretty wild live shows, usually, with a lot of instrument bashing and that sort of stuff going on at the end of the gigs. In all the commotion on stage, <b>a pair of pants</b> or two could also occasionally slide off, flashing some well-groomed <b>girl beard.</b> Below is L7's scandalous performance of in British television, where singer/guitarist Donita Sparks has a lovely surprise for the unsuspecting viewers up her sleeve (...or pant, rather) that she save for the end. "Pussy Riot" in the most literal sense, if you catch my drift...<br />
<br />
At one point vocalist Donita Sparks even <b>removed her tampon on-stage</b> and threw it into the crowd yelling <i>"Eat my used tampon, f##kers!"</i>. This was no ordinary gig, however. Apparently they were experiencing some technical difficulties, forcing the band to stall their set. The crowd got restless and started throwing mud onto the stage, which clearly enraged the lead singer and guitarist of the band.<br />
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<h2>
Balaclavas in pop music</h2>
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<i>Manics performing "Faster" on TOTP w/ James in a balaclava</i>
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The band Pussy Riot is well known for making balaclavas fashionable in pop culture. This is nothing new either, however. Another classic live performance that shocked Britain, was <b>Manic Street Preachers</b>' appearance on <b>TOTP</b>, in <b>1994</b>. During their darkest period ever as a band, with guitarist and lyricist Richey Edwards in midst of a mental breakdown and at the brink of his disappearance and <b>assumed suicide</b> later that year, the band gets invited to play on national television, in the highly popular and cheerful TV show <i>Top of the Pop</i>. Singer James Dean Bradfield delivered Richey's <b>depressive lyrics</b> wearing a <b>balaclava</b>, in front of hundreds of dancing teenyboppers, completely unaware of what was going on. BBC received no less than <b>25,000 complaints</b> from agitated viewers, caused by this performance alone.<br />
<h4>
Feeder's edgy topless video for "Renegades"</h4>
Fast-forward six years, to 2010 - still a year before <b>Pussy Riot</b> had formed - UK rockers <b>Feeder</b> hires the cover girl of their new album for a very revealing music video. The video tells the story of a young woman who's had it with her dull everyday life as an office rat, and decides to put on a balaclava and raise havoc with a baseball bat.<br />
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Why she had to take every other garment, besides a tiny pair of <b>underpants</b>, off is still very unclear, however. I've never had any doubt in Feeder's capability as musicians and as a band, but this just seems a lot like a cheap publicity stunt to me. Unlike <b>Monster Magnet</b>, Feeder never occurred to me as a band that would sell their stuff with tits and ass. Makes me miss the old days of <b>Polythene</b> even more!<br />
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<h3>
See also:</h3>
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<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.se/2012/09/faith-no-more-support-pussy-riot.html"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8fHrdoyzmu8BfOaZKyil7gLRio-1t-FUQkZi5cg-K2WkaAgWuLIlinggkK1zcfTDJ-8ZYJrN6xMrpXclzc0JntoXCnkDC-9TSFh-A4UBj7O2wJdC58LIQAUyRVO4Vm1BFRrgEU4OijqM/s320/Faith_No_More_goes_Pussy_Riot-onlythejo.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.se/2012/09/faith-no-more-support-pussy-riot.html">Faith No More still cares a lot</a></div>
<br />Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-64049652126111792542012-10-03T06:52:00.001+02:002012-10-05T22:26:37.435+02:00Resident Evil 6 getting mixed reviews<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.se/2012/10/resident-evil-6-getting-mixed-reviews.html"><img alt="Resident Evil 6 reviewed!" border="0" class="full" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMzd_cCj5_k-3lVCJwcnwVaD8LhzYmqhyqqrl8UMP3QoLJCGADM1qqMleXUtsPPJ7qhHbZ_M1qFG0LHgbBVA5E7SDgJi2z-o_C2Cayi6fqHD-LDh9FBuYXIxag8vQQ9agHTQzBong-dU/s1600/Resident-Evil-6-reviewed-thejo.jpg" title="Resident Evil 6 reviewed!" /></a></div>
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<span class="cat-tag">GAMING</span> <b>Resident Evil</b> came out today and it wasn't long until the gaming press started pumping out their reviews. The big four; <b>Gamespot, IGN, Machinima</b> and <b>Revision3</b> all posted their thoughts of the game - just a few minutes apart. I'll give you a brief summary of what came out of these reviews, along with my thoughts about it in this entry! - So keep reading, kids!
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3+ Different campaigns - 7 playable characters</h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8y3BPRyD8jvnd7VHaG3H6bIrRq9KyxzSTpC6XTGSjKv6Xg5hvP6W_5Mf51SVjcrKpg7MidDFeJvnpAflSOzsLxfxyKHyMRoFXb5JIZcZ3BSrTUxKZogo51KMQjG65WdpYVP6UxFESYH8/s1600/resident-evil-6-playable-characters-onlythejo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Resident Evil 6 - Playable characters" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8y3BPRyD8jvnd7VHaG3H6bIrRq9KyxzSTpC6XTGSjKv6Xg5hvP6W_5Mf51SVjcrKpg7MidDFeJvnpAflSOzsLxfxyKHyMRoFXb5JIZcZ3BSrTUxKZogo51KMQjG65WdpYVP6UxFESYH8/s400/resident-evil-6-playable-characters-onlythejo.jpg" title="Playable characters in Resident Evil 6" width="177" /></a>The consensus seems to be that the new <b>Resident Evil</b> is a pretty fun game that will keep you busy for quite a while. It doesn't just have one campaign, but three - and then some! Let me clarify that. The main storyline is separated into <b>three separate campaigns</b>, each with different playable characters and their unique type of gameplay. These range from classic survival horror (<b>Leon</b>'s campaign) as we know it from the earlier games, to a more action oriented, cover-based shooter in <b>Chris Redfield's campaign.</b> The third campaign relies more on running, and has a lot of quick-time events with buttons that need to be pressed at a given time. The fact that you can also <b>switch freely between the three campaigns</b>, should cater for a truly pleasant variety of gameplay. When the three main campaigns are done, a fourth and final stage with <b>Ada Wong</b> be unlocked.<br />
<h4>
Co-op mode with improved AI</h4>
The whole game is ideal for <b>2 player co-op</b>, as there will be two people working together all along, much like in <b>Resident Evil 5</b>. However, even in single player mode, you can now choose to <b>play as the secondary character.</b> Unlike the predecessor, where you were stuck with Chris Redfield as the only playable character. The friend-less players can also look forward to a <b>better AI</b> as a substitute for a human co-player. It's apparently significantly better than in RE5 anyway, for whatever that's worth.
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<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.se/2012/10/the-problem-with-resident-evil-is.html"><img alt="My BIG problem with Resident Evil" border="0" class="full" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcZ8WsIMM9OPsRMJdLVksY1L7MKvD3zLNLjNgfiL9JLthyphenhyphen3ilZaxP-4cKbnPtMp1wu_3HTOmiQN12IHywVNEh3ARjz6I15FRZsSXp5V9k3-EAFgHV_vhoAGASPztaB1mUnR206c2im06g/s1600/my-problem-with-resident-evil-onlythejo.jpg" title="Click to read this entry: My BIG problem with Resident Evil" /></a>
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<h1>
Resident Evil 6 review verdicts</h1>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left; width: 320px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTSNWwkMJpafEZ45Fh7kmyKigSx20OgRssQCU3dj9orZJNlVU-fo2Xxg5RwRsusmiG4z7zt8x235IeTZkBDIoiMB2BQKEvKoOD-s6r6lEKyayC2wSDq4aP07FU1wnvE4YuMx_dVASwFRY/s1600/Resident-Evil-6-resident-evil-32176625-1440-1080.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Resident Evil 6 - Japan release date poster" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTSNWwkMJpafEZ45Fh7kmyKigSx20OgRssQCU3dj9orZJNlVU-fo2Xxg5RwRsusmiG4z7zt8x235IeTZkBDIoiMB2BQKEvKoOD-s6r6lEKyayC2wSDq4aP07FU1wnvE4YuMx_dVASwFRY/s320/Resident-Evil-6-resident-evil-32176625-1440-1080.jpg" title="Resident Evil 6 - Japan release date poster" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Japan gets the game a tad later than Europe and America. Usually it's the other way around...</div>
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I personally find the structure of three intervening storylines with different characters to play with quite appealing. Kind of like three games in one package. The option to play as the secondary character should also add to the replay value, as the two characters occasionally part ways, and do slightly different tasks in the game. I think this is also what Capcom had in mind; <b>creating 3 slightly different experiences, so that everyone hopefully gets pleased. </b><br />
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But even though we're treated with a big game with <b>loads of content</b>, it's not without its flaws, apparently. All four aforementioned reviewers complained about the <b>poor camera</b>, and the <b>cover system</b> used in the shoot-outs was cumbersome and apparently didn't work that well either.<br />
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While <b>IGN</b> and <b>Machinima</b> were generally positive about the game, giving it a <b>7.9</b>, and <b>7.5 out of 10</b> respectively, Gamespot and Rev3Games were not as impressed. <b>Gamespot</b> called it a disappointing, sloppy mess and gave it a <b>4.5 out of 10</b>, while Anthony Carboni of <b>Revision3</b> suggested that everyone except the hardcore fans ought to "<b>skip it</b>".<br />
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<h2>
Conan O'Brien reviews Resident Evil 6</h2>
But as usual, funnyman <b>Conan O'Brien</b> made the most interesting review to watch:
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Don't know what you think, but I find the game worth a test run at least.<br />
<b>Have you played it already? - Let me know what you thought of it in the comments below!</b><br />
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Game on!<br />
/theJo<br />
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<br />
<h3>
More on <a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/search/label/Resident%20Evil">Resident Evil</a>:</h3>
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<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/2012/10/resident-evil-6-my-first-impressions.html"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie-Tl94LKQrQkhDbF6lMXJ8mscZv5A_X2KaoBPHyenI_TwVlo1yBmk2A3i1ocRubgTTwfNoLSkEXjRsk816p7wgMUCiIPGDPNrv4HIFk6vTLK3aS7ltCU8tlE1IcxCxd186TjAY2OtMBQ/s320/resident-evil-6-TESTED-onlythejo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/2012/10/resident-evil-6-my-first-impressions.html">Resident Evil 6 - My first impressions</a></div>
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<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.se/2012/10/the-problem-with-resident-evil-is.html"><img border="0" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcZ8WsIMM9OPsRMJdLVksY1L7MKvD3zLNLjNgfiL9JLthyphenhyphen3ilZaxP-4cKbnPtMp1wu_3HTOmiQN12IHywVNEh3ARjz6I15FRZsSXp5V9k3-EAFgHV_vhoAGASPztaB1mUnR206c2im06g/s320/my-problem-with-resident-evil-onlythejo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.se/2012/10/the-problem-with-resident-evil-is.html">The problem with Resident Evil is...</a></div>
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Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187806086898403941.post-87077829451320627432012-10-03T03:33:00.000+02:002012-10-05T22:27:59.444+02:00The problem with Resident Evil is...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.se/2012/10/the-problem-with-resident-evil-is.html" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" class="full" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2HAErrRmqSUfjbmGnlUJAe_M1uxnXHJOHBI40OK7S2sm59ABLxNqyfgjSftiG_9IuQBdgor2rJ-YSFo3yi1R1tB7YEUoygEFROZ-bqyuTKu4bK_TuAoKDnqWokwKNn07SPacena_jCI/s1600/imgresident-evil-onlythejo.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span class="cat-tag">GAMING</span> Now that <b>Resident Evil 6</b> has just come out, it's time to take a look in the rear view mirror, and the previous games of the series. Here I'm giving my honest opinion of the series up to this point.
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>Resident Evil</b> has always been a franchise that I've enjoyed as a concept. And I've always wanted to like the many games of the series, but have always been put off by its clunky controls and steep difficulty, that comes from just that. Not that a bit of challenge in a video game is a bad thing, but when it's primarily due to the fact that you're being crippled by a sluggish, slow and unintuitive control scheme, it's like the game ties you to a chair and farts you in the FACE. It's just no fun.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: right;">
Crystal Dynamics made Lara Croft quick and nimble in Tomb Raider Legend and onward. Too bad Capcom couldn't do the same with their ensemble of Resident Evil characters...</div>
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The early <b>Tomb Raider</b> games had the same heavy-handed controls, that gave the impression you were handling a 50 ton steamroller, rather than a slender young woman. But unlike the Tomb Raider games, Resident Evil hasn't made too much of an improvement in the how the games handle. Even the previous main game of the series; <b>Resident Evil 5</b>, still had quite a bulky and slow control scheme. Not to mention the <b>3DS</b> instalment which was even slower to control, with just one analogue stick (no I don't believe in STICKS as justifiable gaming accessories).<br />
<h4>
I'm tellin'ya - it ain't fair!</h4>
On top of that, the Resident Evil games usually gives you very <b>scarce resources</b> to defend yourself with. And I know the idea is to create a somewhat realistic feel to it. After all, nobody can carry around 10 different shotguns and 50000 clips of ammo in their <b>PANTS</b>. But considering how your character has the reaction speed of a <b>demented 90 year-old</b>, and how much effort it takes to carefully aim and shoot the brains out of these lifeless bastards, you could definitely use it. Instead, when your ammo's out (typically after taking out your first foe), all you're left with is usually some teeny-tiny excuse of a melee weapon. Good luck stabbing a flood of hungry zombies with wimpy pocket knife, without getting your arm chewed off in the process! The other option is of course to try and outrun your foes (with strong emphasis on the word "try") - <b>like a wuss!</b> It's not that easy, however, when the guy you're trying to control is about as quick as <b>Ozzy Osbourne</b> on a Sunday morning.<br />
<h4>
The great turning point finally came, and then left...</h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLb_qHSiiFI1KY-QzcNO2NoLQghHl2K_8bFVlN5sBsyxCuGRvpm3N-hzW-APdknTL6BdI7jeUK7ysB-wPRxFLcYUxCAiorXOmEqdiCkgIC78txYEZt1PmRtkg-6bKEnPqgAb_kPnSuuzc/s1600/resident-evil-5-onlythejo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLb_qHSiiFI1KY-QzcNO2NoLQghHl2K_8bFVlN5sBsyxCuGRvpm3N-hzW-APdknTL6BdI7jeUK7ysB-wPRxFLcYUxCAiorXOmEqdiCkgIC78txYEZt1PmRtkg-6bKEnPqgAb_kPnSuuzc/s320/resident-evil-5-onlythejo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Hot diggity, that's quite a crowd. What is this - Black Friday?<i> (no pun intended)</i></div>
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Then came <b>Resident Evil 4</b>, which did a vast improvement in terms of playability. Still very challenging, but more fair, as the controls no longer were complete rubbish. The sluggish controls once again became ever so evident in the successor, however. Unlike its predecessors, <b>Resident Evil 5</b> was more of an action-oriented affair, that mainly also took place in <b>broad day light</b>, which made the hard core fans of the survival horror genre lose all their hope for the series. I had no problems with that sort of direction myself. However, action games require fast, fluid handling to keep up to the pace. Much more so than it does in survival horrors, which rely more on suspense and minimal button mashing in the first place. Unfortunately, Resident Evil 5 mixed the genres in the worst possible way. with hoards of enemies that needed to be dealt with quickly, which the sluggish gameplay couldn't match.<br />
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<h1>
Resident Evil 6 and onward</h1>
Now that <b>Resident Evil 6</b> just came out, will it yet prove itself as the king of survival horror, or will it continue its plowed path towards the modern 3rd person shooters?<br />
<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.se/2012/10/resident-evil-6-getting-mixed-reviews.html">Pop over to my next entry, right here on this site to find out!</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.se/2012/10/resident-evil-6-getting-mixed-reviews.html"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMzd_cCj5_k-3lVCJwcnwVaD8LhzYmqhyqqrl8UMP3QoLJCGADM1qqMleXUtsPPJ7qhHbZ_M1qFG0LHgbBVA5E7SDgJi2z-o_C2Cayi6fqHD-LDh9FBuYXIxag8vQQ9agHTQzBong-dU/s400/Resident-Evil-6-reviewed-thejo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
/theJo<br />
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<h3>
More on <a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/search/label/Resident%20Evil">Resident Evil</a>:</h3>
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<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/2012/10/resident-evil-6-my-first-impressions.html"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie-Tl94LKQrQkhDbF6lMXJ8mscZv5A_X2KaoBPHyenI_TwVlo1yBmk2A3i1ocRubgTTwfNoLSkEXjRsk816p7wgMUCiIPGDPNrv4HIFk6vTLK3aS7ltCU8tlE1IcxCxd186TjAY2OtMBQ/s320/resident-evil-6-TESTED-onlythejo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/2012/10/resident-evil-6-my-first-impressions.html">Resident Evil 6 - My first impressions</a></div>
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<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/2012/10/resident-evil-6-getting-mixed-reviews.html"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMzd_cCj5_k-3lVCJwcnwVaD8LhzYmqhyqqrl8UMP3QoLJCGADM1qqMleXUtsPPJ7qhHbZ_M1qFG0LHgbBVA5E7SDgJi2z-o_C2Cayi6fqHD-LDh9FBuYXIxag8vQQ9agHTQzBong-dU/s320/Resident-Evil-6-reviewed-thejo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://onlythejo.blogspot.com/2012/10/resident-evil-6-getting-mixed-reviews.html">Resident Evil 6 getting mixed reviews</a></div>
Jonas theJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752000117178148209noreply@blogger.com