Disney Pictures latest movie to hit theaters, John Carter, has been doing poorly at the box office. The film is projected to make roughly $184 million in revenue, making it one of the biggest Hollywood flops of all time. The movie cost $250 million to make and Disney spent another $100 million on advertising. Apparently the advertising didn't work because Disney claims they will be losing $200 million.
The premise of the film centers around the main character, John Carter. He is a Civil War vet who gets transported to Mars where he comes in contact with a strange alien race. He quickly becomes a prisoner only later to escape and meet a beautiful human princess that needs rescuing.
Watching this film felt like watching a remake of a remake that was ripping off another movie's idea. Nothing felt fresh about the content. This story has been told many times before, a studly hero wearing little to no clothing so you can see his perfectly sculpted muscles, getting in lots of intense computer generated fights and still having time to rescue a beautiful woman. The fight scenes were intense and exciting at times but as soon as they ended the dreary pacing returned.
The other problem with this film is that it constantly switches from Disney kid action movie to adult action/romance movie. One minute its a violent action film and then the next moment it's back to the cutesy animated talking aliens. It's almost as if the producers started making a film they would like to see and then reminded themselves that it needs to appeal to kids so they told the editor to scale it back but leave the earlier parts in. It's a socially confused film.
Even reading the synopsis makes it sound lame. At the very least make Carter a WWII vet. I'm surprised John Carter made as much money as it has. Expecting a movie like this to make at least $350 million is like expecting a man with no arms to hit a home run. John Carter was destined for failure before filming even began.
Based on a true story, The Conspirator tells the tale of the people who so famously planned the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Directed by Robert Redford, the film largely focuses on the events of Mary Surratt's arrest and trial after the assassination. As the whole nation turns against her, a reluctant lawyer (James McAvoy) is tasked with defending her innocence and uncovering the real truth.
In history classes across the country, students learn about the assassination of one of this nation's greatest presidents, but they rarely hear the story about those who committed such a terrible act. John Wilkes Booth is synonymous with the assassination plot, but little is known about the story of the other conspirators. "I came across the story of Mary Surratt. I didn't know much about her story and found others didn't as well. This is a story that has largely gone untold in this country's classrooms, and so I felt it was a story that needed to be told," director Robert Redford stated.
Mary Surratt was the owner of a boarding house where a few of the men who conspired to kill President Lincoln stayed for a period of time. After the assassination, Mary was charged with aiding and abetting the plan to assassinate the President. If convicted, she along with the other conspirators would face death by hanging. None of these allegations are true according to Mary, but the country had already made up their minds.
A noble and respected soldier in the Union army, civilian lawyer Mr. Aiken, is tasked with defending her in court. Along with everyone else, he believes that she is "guilty as sin". Attorney General Reverdy Johnson (Tom Wilkenson) tells Aiken that the only way he can take himself off the case is if he can prove to himself that she is completely innocent. As Aiken digs deeper into the life of Mary Surratt and the events surrounding the assassination plot, the evidence continuously leads him in the direction of proving her innocence. He eventually decides to defend her in order to save her life.
Overall, this was a great film. It was produced and directed superbly and featured no major historical inaccuracies. The biggest issue with this film is that you don't entirely know what the focus of the movie is supposed to be. From the title, one would assume it is about the story of Mary Surratt, which it largely is; however, there are parts that shift the focus more towards the other conspirators. Those who carried out the heinous crime aren't shown much importance and treated more as an afterthought throughout much of the second portion of the film. The film should have disclosed more information about the other conspirators as well as the development of the plot to kill President Lincoln.
Throughout the movie, there are flashbacks which give you a glimpse into the events that unfolded prior to the night of the assassination, but not enough information to ever help you form a justified opinion on the matter. The movie never convinces you of Mary Surratt's innocence. It suggests and hints that she is innocent but never really gives you any concrete evidence.
The third issue with this film is that other then the main actors, the acting is quite poor. Accents seem hokey and desperately fake. The supporting actors either try to hard or don't try hard enough. Some seemed bored with their roles or the scene and couldn't wait till they were done. Regardless of some poor acting, the story is excellent. If enjoyed as a history lesson, The Conspirator will not disappoint, but don't come expecting to be highly entertained. The majority of the movie centers around the dull atmosphere of an 1800's courtroom. Take an evening to support a quality independent film and learn more about an important historical event in American history.
For PlayStation 3 owners out there, you may be wondering why you cannot get online. A representative from Sony Entertainment announced in a press release on April 26, 2011 that the PlayStation Network (PSN) has been shut down indefinitely due to an attack from outside the network. The attack occurred on April 19, 2011. Loads of users began reporting to Sony that their PS3's would not sign on to the internet. Upon inquiry into the matter, Sony discovered an intrusion from an outside source. Sony immediately shut down the network. As users came home for their evening online gaming activities, they were greeted with a message informing them that "Network is down due to maintenance". It has been over a week and still the network is not up and running, leaving online gaming and the PlayStation store inaccessible.
Until the recent update from Sony, users were left in the dark as to the cause of the PSN meltdown. According to a CNET.com report, Sony hired an outside network security firm to investigate the extent of the intrusion and the damage caused. They did not want to release any information to the public until the investigation had provided substantial evidence on the matter. After a weeks long investigation, the security firm notified Sony that the PSN had been hacked severely and that over 77 million user's data had been stolen. This means personal information, email address, and even credit card information. Sony is encouraging all PlayStation users who have an online ID to closely monitor credit cards and bank accounts for any unsanctioned transactions.
This attack marks one of the largest network attacks in history. Some suspect the well known hacker group Anonymous to be behind the attack, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet. The hard shut down of the network by Sony has left it in shambles. Sony states on the official PlayStation blog that they are having to completely rebuild the network and that it will be down for at least another week.
Protesters outside Sony Computer Entertainment America headquarters
The wake of this attack has left Sony with a PR nightmare on their hands. The shutdown of the network and comprised security of users personal information has people outraged. Already multiple lawsuits by PlayStation owners have been filed against the company for negligence and violation of privacy agreements. One lawsuit by a man in Alabama claims that Sony should have had proper security measures in place to prevent such an attack and the failure to do so has left him and other users at risk of credit and identity fraud. Senator Richard Blumenthal wrote to Sony Computer Entertainment America President, Jack Tretton, and expressed concern over Sony's reaction time in notifying customers and asked that Sony provide all users with two years of credit services.
Sony could face many multi-million dollar law suits if they are found to have knowingly withheld information from customers as to the severity of the damage caused by the hackers. The negligence lawsuit would be deemed justifiable due to the fact that Sony failed to properly and promptly notify customers that their personal and credit information had been stolen, thus preventing people from taking proper measures to insure their assets.
We could already be seeing the first remnants of the attack taking place. As reported by ABC News, a PlayStation user recently reported that he had over $2000 dollars of charges on his credit card. Like most users, he uses his credit card to pay for down-loadable content and other services on the PSN. Ron Spreckley said, "I logged into my bank account just to check everything was OK and I found out there was some just over $2,000 in charges which I didn't personally accrue."
So what should PSN users do to protect themselves? Canceling credit cards and changing bank accounts is a bit extreme at this point. The threat of having your information stolen is minimal due the magnitude of the information obtained by the hackers. The most important step is to change all passwords that contain the same one used to log into the PSN. Secondly, always monitor bank account activity to insure no one is using your money without your permission.
Once the PlayStation Network is back up running and all lingering after shocks of the meltdown have been quenched, it is estimated Sony could lose $10 to $20 billion. Already Sony has announced it will provide all users with a free 2 week subscription to Hulu Plus, a service that allows PlayStation users to watch television shows on their PS3's. Costumers are calling for Sony to do more to compensate them for the security breach and loss of precious online gaming time by giving a credit for one free game from the PlayStation Store.
The most successful racing game of all time is back. Gran Turismo 5 (also known as Gran Turismo HD) will release exclusively for PlayStation 3 in November 2010. Developed by Polyphony Digital, GT5 brings the world's most realistic and comprehensive driving experience to fans in one of the most highly anticipated games of all time. GT5 features more than 1,000 licensed cars from the world’s top manufacturers and more than 20 tracks with more than 70 variations. The game includes all major forms of racing: normal stock cars, super cars, NASCAR, WRC (World Rally Circuit), and even Pro Kart racing.
Gran Turismo 5 features exciting game play to suit newcomers, automotive enthusiasts, and seasoned gaming fans. GT5 raises the bar forthe franchise with its depth of content and unparalleled visuals that are difficult to distinguish from a real live race. Players can progress and acquire credits through a variety of activities in GT Career Mode or they can explore different tracks and race with friends in Arcade Mode. Additionally for the first time, GT5 will feature an extremely deep online and community feature through the PlayStation Network.
Where Gran Turismo 5 boasts its strengths is in the graphics. All the cars in the game are modeled after their real life counterparts. Selecting the interior view on a Ferrari Italia will warrant a different dashboard and interior design than that of a Ferrari 599. Adding this feature rather than using a generic interior for all vehicles adds to the realism and joy of experiencing what driving the real car would be like. Unfortunately, not all the cars in GT5 allow you to use the interior view. The game separates cars into two categories. Premium cars and standard cars. The majority of the cars in the game are standard cars, which do not have a designed interior. The biggest disappointment was that the Bugatti Veyron was considered a standard car. Were the doors locked and no one had a set of keys when Polyphony Digital was researching it? The Veyron should havebeen a Premium car.
*Update: Polyphony Digital has released an update that now adds interior views for standard cars. However, it is just a generalized interior for all cars.
The environments you race in are breathtaking. From the remote wilderness to historical landmarks such as the Coliseum in Rome, the scenery adds another element of enjoyment to the races. Don't be gawking at the scenery during a race though or you may find your Lamborghini crashing into a wall. Take a couple practice laps if you want to admire the scenery more closely.
Rome, Italy
Within GT Mode (career mode), gamers can partake in a variety of activities. The layout is set up into an organized area known as GT Life. Here future race car drivers can enter a variety of races or improve their driving skills by completing a number of challenges in the License Tests. In order to progress through the career mode, gamers purchase used and new cars from a variety of car manufacturers. Cars are also acquired by winning races.
There are two modes of racing: A-Spec, where you the gamer do the racing, and B-Spec, where you create a driver and coach him through races on his way to becoming an elite driver. B-Spec can be challenging at times since you have to find the balance between a car that your driver is experienced enough to handle and one that will win you the race. Oddly enough, there were times when even though my driver's experience was high he still decided it necessary to take a sharp turn at 100mph and crash into the wall.
There is also a Special Events section that contains a variety of unique events that will give you a break from the sometimes tedious races. As your racing experience increases, various events will be unlocked. The first two sections are unlocked fairly quickly. Once you get to a Level 2 you will have access to Pro Kart racing and a NASCAR drafting tutorial taught by Jeff Gordon. Future unlocks include the Top Gear test track and the AMG High Performance Driving Academy.
Pro Kart racing
Within Arcade Mode, gamers can enter Single Player races, Time Trail, Drift Mode, or a Two-Player race. Time Trial is a great way to practice on a track that may be giving you a hard time. You can drive as many laps as you want and the game will keep track of all your lap times. The best part about Time Trial mode is that every time you do a lap you'll see a "ghost car" following or driving in front of you. The purpose of this is to show you the path your vehicle took as it went around the track while on your fastest lap. This feature gives you real time information on what areas of the track you need to push it to shave time off your lap.
Drift Mode is a blast but more of an after thought as there are no Drift events in career mode. In Drift mode,you drive a section of the track and drift through various sectors. As you enter a corner, a bunch of flags will appear at the top of the screen. As you drift, these flags will fill up and you get points. The faster and moreflashy your drift, the more points you will net. Once you reach the end of the sector, your points will be saved and you will continue drifting in the other sectors until you reach the finish line for a total score.
Realistic mountains that almost seem ski-able
Besides GT Mode, Arcade Mode, and Drift mode, there is a Course Maker that allows you to edit current tracks. This is most useful in creating more Pro Kart tracks for your friends to use in Arcade Mode, since there aren't many of them to start with. The last feature accessed from the main menu is Gran Turismo TV. Here gamers can watch automotive reviews and episodes of car programs from all over the world.
When purchasing Gran Tursimo 5 there are two options. You can either purchase the game for $60 or for $100 you can buy the Gran Turismo Collector's Edition which comes with the game, GT5 gold key chain, model car of a Gran Turismo themed Nissan GTR, and an Apex technical information guide. I highly recommend buying the Collector's Edition solely on the fact of the inclusion of the Apex book. The book contains tips and strategies for driving on the tracks, buyers guide to the automobiles in the game, and tuning information. The information in the Apex book is so detailed that you can actually use it to work on real cars. Now that's cool. There are outside companies that make great accessories to enhance the GT5 experience, such as Logitech's G27 racing wheel and Playseats' Evolution racing chair.
Final conclusion, this is a must play for any serious PS3 gamer. The game offers many exciting elements that will keep you coming back. However, with GT5 being delayed over and over, the game should have been better than it turned out. There are many glitches where cars will get stuck on walls and you just have to restart the race, load times are horrendous, and so is the soundtrack. The music makes you feel you are stuck in an elevator rather than the interior of an expensive race car. However, Polyphony Digital has a feature where you can substitute your own tunes while playing the game. The graphics are incredible and all the cars handle like their real life counterparts, but I just expected a bit more. Especially with the exclusion of Porsche automobiles in the game, part of my soul was left missing as well.
Michael (Elvis) Baskette, who produced Blackbird, the album to which AB III is a follow-up, also produced this album. It is a much more dynamic and progressive album musically and is very dark lyrically; a departure from the optimistic themes on past Alter Bridge records. It is a loose concept album, a first for Alter Bridge, with themes of struggles with faith and believing. It follows an unnamed character who falls away from faith, then struggles through life, and ends with finding a sense of meaning.
Myles Kennedy, lead singer for Alter Bridge, stated that the album "deals with a lot of doubts," and that musically, there are "moments that have that intensity and have that darkness to it." Mark Tremonti said in a later interview, "I think that the album is a reflection of what was going on in our lives and heads at that moment. It's a moody record. Lyrically, our singer Myles Kennedy took it in the direction of his struggles with faith and believing. Not to put words in his mouth, but Myles' father died at a young age and Myles has difficulty believing in anything. There are positive songs on the record as well, but overall the third album has a darker, lyrical tone."
According to a press release posted on Alter Bridge's MySpace page and website, the lyrics on AB III shift away from the themes of "hope and perseverance in the face of adversity" on the first two albums. Kennedy said, "This record is definitely a departure from the last two albums in terms of its subject matter. It touches on the thoughts and emotions of someone who has come to question everything that was once regarded as an absolute truth. It's the realization that everything you once believed in might not exist." The article also states that the album is a concept album about a character "desperately struggling to find their place in a world steeped in doubt and emptiness," but that there are songs that touch on other emotions, such as "Wonderful Life". Kennedy has said that he will be playing more lead guitar on this album. "I'm definitely doing things I haven't done in a long time as a guitar player."
Regarding the recording and mixing of the album, Kennedy stated, “It was done different from Blackbird in the sense that we didn't have as much time to arrange as a band. You know, the parts had been evolving over quite some time. Mark and I are always writing and stockpiling ideas, but as far as sitting with the band and really fleshing those ideas out, we literally had, I think, about six weeks total to get that going before we started working with our producer. And I think it actually worked out well, because it's a very a spontaneous record, and I think with music – with art in general, sometimes if you over-think something it can have a negative effect. ”
In a recent article, Rolling Stone magazine exclaimed, "AB III will be one of 2010's best rock albums with fourteen Billboard top 10 worthy tracks." Alter Bridge's third album will surely not disappoint fans. Although all the tracks on the new album are amazing, some of my personal favorites are "Isolation", "Ghost of Days Gone By", "Wonderful Life" and "Words Darker Then Their Wings". Help support a band who is about what matters: their music and their fans. Give AB III a listen and go purchase the album.
Members of Alter Bridge:
Myles Kennedy: Lead vocals, Guitar
Mark Tremonti: Lead Guitar, Backing vocals
Brian Marshall: Bass Guitar
Scott Phillips: Drums
Track List:
1. Slip to the Void
2. Isolation
3. Ghost of Days Gone By
4. All Hope is Gone
5. Still Remains
6. Make It Right
7. Wonderful Life
8. I Know It Hurts
9. Show Me A Sign
10. Fallout
11. Breathe Again
12. Coeur d'Alene
13. Life Must Go On
14. Words Darker Then Their Wings
Bonus Tracks:
15. Hope
16. Zero
17. Never Born To Follow
Gaming consoles have long been seen as something only males from the ages of 13 to 30 use to waste away hours of their lives. With the introduction of games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band, the common age and gender for people who play video games has changed. People of all ages, both male and female are now enjoying video games.
Sony Computer Entertainment has released the PlayStation Move, designed exclusively for the PlayStation 3. It uses technology similar to the Nintendo Wii to give players a motion gaming experience. The critical device is what Sony calls the PlayStation Eye. Although the eye camera looks like a tradition web cam, it is far more advanced. The camera can take high res photos, video, and can be used for motion capture. The motion gaming technology is housed in the pairing of the motion controller and eye camera. The sphere ball at the end of the controller allows the eye camera to pinpoint the exact motions you are making. Allowing for better accuracy then previously seen on the Nintendo Wii.
When Sony announced they were creating a motion gaming device similar to the Nintendo Wii controllers, many people knocked the PlayStation Move for being a complete copy. Who cares? Sony has taken Nintendo's technology with the Wii and made it better. Nintendo knew they couldn't compete with Sony and Microsoft's gaming machines graphic wise so they decided to develop a completely different gaming experience. Sony has realized that the Nintendo Wii appeals to a demographic of people that the PS3 does not. Once you experience the PlayStation Move, you'll never look at video games the same again. The Move is in a league of its own.
Now that the PlayStation 3 has the capability of the Nintendo Wii coupled with all the other features that were already available, there is no reason for anyone to ever buy or play a Nintendo Wii again. The Wii is an infantile state of motion gaming technology while the PlayStation Move is the grown, mature adult. The PlayStation 3 boasts HD gaming and the capability for 3D gaming as well. Other features include a BluRay player and an the ability to use it as a fully functioning computer for Internet browsing or watching streaming Netflix movies. The Wii has none of these features.
PlayStationMove redefines motion gaming with the most immersive and realistic gaming experience only possible on the PlayStation 3 system. The simple, easy-to-use controller captures a full range of motion giving you ultimate control over how you play the game. With a diverse selection of games and new ones launching all the time, you can enjoy hours of fun with friends and family.
Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) is a CIA agent and highly respected by all, including her boss, Ted Winter. Out of the blue, a Russian spy walks into their offices and offers a vital piece of information: the President of Russia will be assassinated during his forthcoming visit to New York City to attend the funeral of the recently deceased U.S. Vice President. The name of the assassin: Evelyn Salt. Concerned about the safety of her husband, who she cannot contact, she goes on the run. Winter refuses to accept that she is a mole or a double agent but her actions begin to raise doubts. Just who is Evelyn Salt and what is she planning?
As a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt swore an oath to duty, honor and country. Her loyalty will be tested when a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy. Salt goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture. Salt's efforts to prove her innocence only serve to cast doubt on her motives, as the hunt to uncover the truth behind her identity continues and the question remains: "Who is Salt?"
I didn't expect much from this film considering the poor quality of Angelina Jolie's latest movies, but I was pleasantly surprised. The story had me guessing the entire time as to the true identity of Evelyn Salt. As soon as I thought I'd figured out who she was working for, her actions would prove other wise. Is she working for the CIA, the KGB, or herself? The plot is solid and takes you on a thrilling roller coaster ride of suspense. The ending left me thinking two things: "Who is Salt?" and "I hope there's a sequel."
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