More Than Meets the Funnybone
By bukkhead | August 31, 2007
FILM REVIEW: ‘TRANSFORMERS’
Written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman
Directed by Michael Bay
Rated PG-13
144 mins.
Yes there is more to the Transformers movie than meets the eye. Just accept it. Don’t shy away from the corny line, which has become a cliché; embrace it. That was Michael Bay’s goal, and he succeeded. Unless you go into the movie with pre-conceived notions, you’re going to be pleasantly surprised, I think.
I might have, myself, gone in with some pre-conceived notions if I had paid attention to more trailers. Let me take a page from the Bill O’Reilly book of movie reviews, and tell you that Transformers is, unfortunately, pro-war propaganda film. (Some of you will recall that Bill O’Reilly called The Bourne Ultimatum an anti-CIA anti-America propaganda film. And he was serious). I feel like the “no such thing as bad press” ethos is built into any film that features American soldiers shooting up sand dunes. So if I had known this was going to take up the first part of the movie, I would have passed. I’m glad I didn’t. Read the rest of this entry »
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Still Made With Brominated Vegetable Oil
By bukkhead | August 29, 2007
PRODUCT REVIEW: ‘MOUNTAIN DEW GAMER’S FUEL’
PepsiCo Inc.
24 oz bottles, 16 oz cans
First there was Mountain Dew, way back in 1948. Then there was the internet, and eventually blogs, (before they were called blogs), and a pretty goth girl in 2001 who said she liked the new Code Red. That was enough for me to try it. And then there was Pitch Black in 2004, and I was in love. Then Live Wire (actually 2003, but I didn’t see it until later), which changed my love to lust. Pitch Black disappeared, as summer loves do, and Live Wire stayed, providing me the occasional convenience store or gas-station food-mart booty call.
During all of this, Mountain Dew become sort of the unofficial gamer drink, and its variations were adopted with varying degrees of acceptance. There is no quintessential gamers game, though the various memes flying about would seem to indicate the Halo is as good as any. At least that’s what some marketers would have you believe, and to solidify this more so, the new Dew is called Gamer’s Fuel.
It will only last a short while, like Pitch Black. Gamer’s Fuel and I have met, and we like one another, well enough. There’ll be no summer fling this time, however (my heart will always be Black) and in a 2 am break during an all-nighter, Live Wire will still be what beckons. Nevertheless, I can see some falling head over heels for Gamer’s Fuel. Read the rest of this entry »
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Nick of the Force
By bukkhead | August 19, 2007
FILM REVIEW: ‘HOT FUZZ’
Written by Edgar Wright & Simon Pegg
Directed by Edgar Wright
Rated R
121 mins.
Let’s face it, Hot Fuzz is the sequel to Shaun of the Dead. The characters are different, of course, and the stories are in no way connected. But you’ve got the same actors, writers, director, and editing technique… to go into Hot Fuzz without having seen Shaun of the Dead will mean missing a few things. Read the rest of this entry »
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No Huxley for This Movie
By bukkhead | August 13, 2007
FILM REVIEW: ‘THE DARWIN AWARDS’
Written and Directed by Finn Taylor
Rated R
90 mins.
I don’t know that I much care for the so-called Darwin Awards, which are about alleged acts of stupidity. Most of the stories ring false to me, and sound more like urban legends. Then there’s the snob appeal of it all, that any of us are above these acts—in my mind, the only difference between award recipients, and the rest of us, is that the rest of us have been lucky. Call them the unlucky awards. And this whole notion of people removing themselves from the gene pool: that only works if the person has never had kids, or nephews, or cousins, for that matter. Read the rest of this entry »
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This IS Your Daddy’s Shooter
By bukkhead | August 13, 2007
VIDEO GAME REVIEW: ‘GALAGA.’
Developed by Namco Bandai Games Inc.
Published byMidway.
Platforms: Xbox 360, (Xbox Live Arcade)
Genre: Table-Top Platform
There’s not much I’m going to be able to tell you about Galaga that you don’t already know, unless you’ve never heard of the game at all. And if you’ve never heard of the game, I really don’t see how you’re going to be the sort of person who reads this Blog, much less entries on video games . I just don’t see how any gamer over the age of 20 wouldn’t know about Galaga. The ones under 20 probably don’t care.
But I’ll try anyway, and either ingratiate myself to the sub 20s, or alienate myself further. Galaga has made it’s way to the Xbox 360 Live Arcade, continuing the line of Namco/Midway classics they’ve been doling out, from Joust to the Pac family. This rendition of Galaga doesn’t offer much in the way of enhanced graphics or gameplay features, other than the ability to change the number of lives you begin with, and the rate at which you get new lives. Also, as in other Arcade classics, you can choose to start on an advanced level, once you’ve achieved that level. Finally, in addition to a normal fire button, there’s an auto-fire button which fires again whenever your last shot hits or goes off the screen. Read the rest of this entry »
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In Old Blood
By bukkhead | August 12, 2007
FILM REVIEW: ‘ZODIAC’
Written by James Vanderbilt, based on the books by Robert Graysmith
Directed by David Fincher
Rated R
158 mins.
Zodiac is a long movie. Movies are getting longer, for some reason, trending the way portions sizes have been growing in restaurants. I don’t know if it costs more to make a longer movie—I’m thinking it doesn’t. So when they track the rising cost of movies and food, they should correct for size.
Does this make Zodiac an epic? Maybe. It tracks from the late sixties through the early nineties, though much of the film takes place during Zodiac’s activities in the early seventies. For those who don’t know: a series of grisly murders occurred in California, accompanied by cryptic letters sent to the San Francisco Examiner (and a few other newspapers). The killer called himseld “The Zodiac,” and was never apprehended. Read the rest of this entry »
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Yes, ‘Spider Pig’ Is The Best Part
By bukkhead | August 10, 2007
FILM REVIEW: ‘THE SIMPSONS MOVIE’
Written by James L. Brooks and Matt Groening, et al
Directed by David Silverman
Rated PG
87 mins.
I have to believe that people who have seen The Simpson’s movie come in two varieties: the hard-core fans, and the rest of us. Well, you can add a third, I suppose: the reluctant viewer who knows very little because she eschews mass media and prime-time TV in particular, dragged by her boyfriend who nevertheless falls into that first group. This review is for the people in the second group. The ones in the first group can be spoken too by the real world equivalent of the comic-book guy. Ironically, the third group will also be able to appreciate read his scathing attacks. Read the rest of this entry »
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Veggie Pleasures
By bukkhead | August 9, 2007
RESTAURANT REVIEW: ‘CARMELITA’
Address: 7314 Greenwood Avenue North
Cuisine: Vegetarian-Mediterranean
Chef: Ande Janousek
I wish I could tell you that writing these restaurant reviews is easier for places I’ve been to twice, but who are we kidding? I still have no idea what I’m doing. But at least this time, I can tell you that my two dining experiences at Carmelita where very different, which I think is a plus from a local restaurant. The reasons for going where more or less the same: we were to dine with vegetarians. Read the rest of this entry »
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Fine Dining, Hold the Snob
By bukkhead | August 8, 2007
RESTAURANT REVIEW: ‘EVA’
Address: 2227 N 56th
Cuisine: Inspired Mediterranean
If you’re looking for a very Seattle experience, head to Eva, the sort of place locals go to when they feel like putting on a collared shirt, but not socks. A place that’s nice, trending towards upscale, but doesn’t set unrealistic expectations of “wow” and “are you kidding me?”
I was going to say that Eva is tucked away in the heart of Tangletown, but then again, you can say that for anything that’s located in Tangletown. It’s that kind of neighborhood, named for the way the streets surrounding it are all twisted up, and the easiest way to get there is to get in the general area, then allow yourself to get lost. This is the neighborhood’s charm, and if you decided to then have a donut or a cup of coffee, it would be a rather well-spent Saturday morning. But if you’ve got reservations at a nice restaurant, getting lost might not be an option: try Mapquest, and give yourself extra time. Read the rest of this entry »
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Nothing Good from a Bad Man
By bukkhead | August 7, 2007
FILM REVIEW: ‘THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND’
Written by Peter Morgan and Jeremy Brock. Based on the novel by Giles Foden
Directed by Kevin Macdonald
Rated R
121 mins.
Against my will, I watched The Last King of Scotland last night. Why was it against my will? What have I got against Forrest Whittaker, one of the most important actor-directors of our time?
My theory is that any subject portrayed in a fictional film will be glorified, or at the very least, somewhat justified. I could be the victim of a politicized, even racist press, but I don’t want there to be movies that show the human side if Idi Amin. Not after what I’ve heard of the man. A man who engaged in ethnic cleansing, political genocide, and mass murder. And man who, but for limited resources, would have committed the atrocities of a Hitler. Read the rest of this entry »
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