10
Jul
Posted by vagrantesque in MUBC. Tagged: 3, blast, cast, episode, Man, mega, MUBC, of, podcast, steel, three, ultra. Leave a Comment
Episode 3 of the Mega Ultra Blast Cast (MUBC) is now up! In this episode the three of us spend a lazy Wednesday afternoon discussing all the many wonderful games we have been blessed with of late. We also find time to talk about our thoughts on Man of Steel and three other movies, discuss the merits of Amy Adams, Kristen Stewart and Emma Watson, then introduce a new segment!
If you feel so inclined, download the following file (or just click play), go for a run, take a scenic drive or just curl up on the couch and listen to the irritating opinions of three caffeine-fueled Sydneysiders.
Here it is, direct from Soundcloud:
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https://soundcloud.com/mega-ultra-blast-cast/mega-ultra-blast-cast-03-man
(Follow the link and then click the download tab)
If you like what you hear please share the cast with your friends and like our brand new Facebook page. Enjoy!
9
Jul
Posted by vagrantesque in Movies. Tagged: 2, carell, Despicable, Film, Me, minions, Movie, Review, steve. Leave a Comment
Here’s the second of two quick-fire animated movie reviews!
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Starring: Steve Carrell, Kristen Wiig, Russell Brand
Director: Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud (Despicable Me)
Rating: PG
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What’s not to like about the Despicable Me set-up? The first film was regularly hilarious, unexpectedly heartwarming and packed some impressive visual tricks. It stands as one of my all time favourite animated movies to this day and I’ve seen it quite a few times. So when I heard there would be a sequel directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, the same two people at the helm of the original, needless to say I was pretty excited. While the sequel doesn’t quite live up to the legacy of the first movie, it contains enough laughs and charm to come with a recommendation from yours truly.
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8
Jul
Posted by vagrantesque in Movies. Tagged: Disney, Film, mike, monsters, Movie, pixar, Review, sully, university. Leave a Comment
Unlike last year, I have now somehow managed to see all of the late-June movie releases that I wanted to in 2013, as of a couple of nights ago. Perhaps a little late, but there was a lot of good stuff to see! Two reviews coming right up.
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Starring: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Helen Mirren
Director: Dan Scanlon (Tracy)
Rating: G
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It’s been a long time since the original Monsters Inc, a movie I fondly remember watching in the cinemas as a kid all the way back in 2001. The movie was instrumental in building a quite frankly phenomenal track record for Pixar Animation Studios, a run of form that only grew even more impressive over time until it finally began to lose steam a couple of years ago with Cars 2. The studio became well-known for surprising its audiences by finding clever new ways of tugging at their heartstrings, as well as delivering messages with at least some degree of subtlety. Following last year’s good but unusually by-the-numbers effort Brave, however, there has been somewhat of a backlash against the company. A rather undeserved backlash. Critics and general audiences alike had come to expect a certain sentimental ingredient in their Pixar films and when it stopped coming, their collective sigh of disappointment descended on Hollywood like a grossly overinflated black cloud, particularly after Disney’s Pixar-less Wreck-It Ralph turned out so well last year.
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4
Jul
Posted by vagrantesque in 3DS, Games. Tagged: animal, crossing, gallery, photo, screenshot, town. Leave a Comment
Almost every single day since it launched in Australia on June 15th, I have played some Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
A lot of Animal Crossing: New Leaf, rather.
I really shouldn’t check my Activity Log to find out exactly how many hours. The number may horrify me.
In any case, one of the coolest of many new additions to this latest iteration in the Beetle Animal Crossing franchise is the ability to save a screenshot at any time, which to the best of my knowledge is unique among 3DS games thus far.
So here are some screenshots from my town, Egopolis, because it’s a lot quicker than writing my thoughts on the game in a couple thousand word essay.
This is me. Come to my town. It’ll be fun, I promise.
It rains a bit.
Rockin’ it.
My house and front yard, thanks to the magic of QR code design downloads.
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1
Jul
Posted by vagrantesque in Movies. Tagged: Film, Man, Movie, Nolan, of, Review, snyder, steel, superman. Leave a Comment
Here it is: The latest big and blockbusting effort to make Superman relevant to the masses again. I saw it four days ago.
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Starring: Henry Cavill, Michael Shannon, Amy Adams
Director: Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen)
Rating: M
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Man of Steel was one of my most anticipated films of 2013 and it had been so for a while, despite the fact that I am not a comic book reader and never have been. There were just so many fascinating questions to be answered – could Christopher Nolan‘s influence on the Superman mythos translate into another superlative movie despite the unavoidable need for the inclusion of superpowers? Would General Zod prove a worthy villain in yet another reboot of the character? And how would Zack Snyder‘s post-Sucker Punch direction factor into things? Having seen it now, when all is said and done, it turns out Man of Steel is a rather difficult film to review. Or at least to score. It has been tormenting me for days.
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26
Jun
Posted by vagrantesque in MUBC. Tagged: 2, blast, cast, episode, mega, MUBC, podcast, two, ultra, zombies. Leave a Comment
We did it; we reached our second episode!
Episode 2 of the Mega Ultra Blast Cast (MUBC) features a much shorter run time, better overall audio balance and a lot of zombies!
PLEASE NOTE: This episode contains Spoilers for The Last of Us, but we do give warning when they are about to start. If you have not played the game yet and intend to, when you reach 0:27:15 in the podcast just skip ahead to 1:10:09 . It cuts out most of the runtime but you will be safe from TLOU spoilers then.
If you feel so inclined, download the following file (or just click play), go for a run, take a scenic drive or just curl up on the couch and listen to the irritating opinions of three rather zombified Sydneysiders.
Here it is! It’s up on Soundcloud again.
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https://soundcloud.com/mega-ultra-blast-cast/mega-ultra-blast-cast-02
(Follow the link and then click the download tab)
We are working on getting the cast onto iTunes but we don’t know how long that will take. At the moment we realise it requires some know-how that we do not yet have – and potentially a larger number of episodes. If you like what you hear please share the cast with your friends and like our brand new Facebook page. Enjoy!
26
Jun
Posted by vagrantesque in Games, PS3. Tagged: dog, ellie, joel, last, naughty, of, PS3, Review, us. Leave a Comment
So many zombies on screens at the moment!
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Platform: PS3
Developer: Naughty Dog
Rating: R18+
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I didn’t have a regular case for the game.
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This is it.
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Despite its expansive slate of rock-solid console exclusive franchises, blu-ray disc capabilities, the amazing benefits of Playstation Plus and the otherworldly, standalone magnificence of Journey, The Last of Us is in my opinion the most convincing reason yet, and perhaps ever, to own a Playstation 3. Super developer Naughty Dog have crafted a masterful blend of visuals, sound and affective storytelling that exceeds its highly acclaimed previous efforts thanks to some wonderfully balanced gameplay.
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22
Jun
Posted by vagrantesque in Movies. Tagged: brad, Film, Movie, pitt, Review, war, world, z, zombies. Leave a Comment
Three of my most anticipated films of the year came out this week. Here’s the first of them.
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Starring: Brad Pitt, Mereille Enos, Fana Mokoena
Director: Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Quantum of Solace)
Rating: M
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It’s a wonder Brad Pitt‘s new zombie virus outbreak film World War Z has even come out in cinemas, given its well documented production troubles. The script, adapted from a well received but difficult to film novel trilogy, was almost completely re-written and re-shot along its tumultuous journey to our screens. It was only the determination and stubbornness of Pitt‘s production team that allowed it to scrape through. And at the end of the day I’m glad it did.
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15
Jun
Posted by vagrantesque in 3DS, Games, PS3. Leave a Comment
We are now halfway through this incredible, bountiful month of June and I’ve gotta tell ya, it’s moments like these that make me glad I play videogames.
Within hours I’ll be carefully stalking around corners in tattered clothes I’ve been wearing for weeks, desperately avoiding the gaze of stragglers as I scavenge through an overgrown landscape ravaged by time, stealing what I need to survive without care for the consequences.
Oh, and also playing The Last of Us.
15
Jun
Posted by vagrantesque in Games, PC, PS3, Xbox 360. Tagged: capcom, dontnod, Me, nilin, remember, Review. Leave a Comment
I’m in d-d-d-danger, Pinocchio…
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Platform: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
Developer: DONTNOD
Rating: M
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Yes, that is the Eiffel Tower in the background.
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I won’t forget.
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The general internet consensus on Remember Me hasn’t been too kind. The conveniently pun-tastic line that the game is “forgettable” dominates many sites and forums. However, with some caveats, I beg to differ. The game does have the misfortune of releasing very close to the excellent The Last of Us and, yes, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad game. Remember Me may be a rather flawed videogame experience, but it packs enough memorable moments to be worth a play.
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