James Gunn in Negotiations to Direct Newest Marvel Project “Guardians of the Galaxy”

In one of the many post-Avengers Marvel movies hitting theaters before 2015’s The Avengers 2, it’s possible that James Gunn will join Kenneth Branagh, Joe Johnston, Jon Favreau, and Louis Leterrier as the directors who made all the pre-Avengers movies possible. With Guardians of the GalaxyGunn hopes to introduce a plethora of new characters to the franchise, like Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, with Thanos as a villain, a being audiences were only able to catch a glimpse of at the end of The Avengers.

With a somewhat obscure filmography as a director, Gunn will be another addition to the already unorthodox list of names chosen to direct the films. Gunn is known for writing and directing Slither and Super, while also writing the two live-action Scooby Doo movies as well as the Zack Snyder directed Dawn of the Dead remake. I’m a huge James Gunn fan, and after hearing this and the talks of an Edgar Wright-directed Ant-Man have me thinking that Marvel is going to go in a new direction. Previously considered for the job were Peyton Reed (Yes Man) and Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (Half Nelson, It’s Kind of a Funny Story), but it was Gunn’s ability to blend horror and comedy that landed him the job. Serves him right, too. He’s been doing stuff way smarter and funnier than the traditional studio fare, and I hope his break into the mainstream is a successful one. And yes, I know, I’m not the biggest fan of the Marvel movies. Yes, I’m “that guy” who didn’t like The Avengers. And yes, even the people who claim they love me also call me an asshole on a regular basis due to this. Do I deserve it? Probably. But am I also excited with the new direction Marvel seems to be taking with its films now that it’s owned by Disney (who, surprisingly enough, makes the best action movies these days). [Ed. Note – No they don’t.]  With Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Thor: The Dark World, Iron Man 3, and Nick Fury to hit theaters before The Avengers 2, I’m interested in seeing how this massive story line is extended even further. And by the way, I think the titles for the Captain America and Thor sequels are badass while Iron Man is stuck with a generic number title. What’s up with that? Guardians of the Galaxy is set to release on August 1st, 2014.

Dexter Season 7: Showtime’s First Full Trailer!

Back in mid-July, during CCI, we showed you the first 2 minutes of the season 7 premiere (if you haven’t seen it, click here!). As if that two minutes wasn’t exciting enough, I bring you, friends of the internet, the first full trailer from Showtime!

http://youtu.be/J4GfsaYk-9k

This trailer could not have been better in any way! I have been excited about season 7. I knew that Deb has now seen Dexter kill someone. I was sure, though, that the rest would remain a secret. I was sure that she’d never find out who he really is. And now? I have no idea what is going to happen… and I love it! Also, they used one of my favorite songs of all time “Change” by Deftones. This trailer makes it seem like season 7 is going to be dark. Season 6 made me really miss Dexter’s dark passenger. It appears that they have brought him back.

Breaking Bad: 506 “Buyout” Review

In this sixth episode of Breaking Bad‘s final season, tensions are rising after last week’s episode, which ended with newcomer Todd (Jesse Plemons) killing a kid for the sake of the business. This episode opens with Mike, Walt, and Todd chemically decomposing the kid’s body and his bike, while Jesse waits outside, unable to bear the atrocities taking place. Todd comes out next to him and lights a cigarette as well, complaining about the smell that accompanies the process. Jesse punches Todd square in the face, and the opening credits roll.

It’s decided that Todd will be able to stay on the crew with close supervision, much to the dismay of Jesse who has always advocated for the safety of children, regardless of whether he knew them or not. From there, Mike and Jesse agree that they’re pulling out of the business. The heat on them has the potential to grow exponentially, and their already guilty conscience is getting worse by the minute. Of the 1000 gallons collected, with Mike and Jesse pulling out of the business they’re only able to give up 666 gallons to a former partner that Mike became acquainted with through Gus. The partner says that he wants the blue meth off the market and will only pay for the full 1000 gallons.

Despite hearing about Tony Scott’s death literally ten minutes before this episode aired I was still able to enjoy this episode of Breaking Bad very much. Like most of the previous episodes, this one hits the mark. There’s even an awesome scene with Saul in it! “Buyout” is everything one can want from an episode; all of the cast is given the best of the best material, there are a couple of great surprises, and there’s even a scene that I never thought would EVER happen. Yes, you know what I’m talking about. Walt, Skyler, and Jesse all having dinner together at the White household.

One of the most painfully awkward yet intensely engaging scenes of the entire episode was also the quietest. With almost no words, Skyler is able to reinforce her pure hatred of Walt in a way words can’t express. Jesse tries his best to keep tensions light, but his charm is no match for the burning feud between Walter and his wife. The episode ends with Walt promising Mike a way that he can get his cut of the deal while he gets to keep all the methlyamine to himself. Of course, as with every Breaking Bad episode, I was glued to the tv and when the: “Executive Producer: Vince Gilligan” credit came on-screen, I was about ready to scream at the TV, throw my angered fist in the air and ask “WHYYY?!” to the TV Gods. That, my friends, is quality entertainment at its finest.

5/5 Bears

Know Your Sith! Week Two: Darth Andeddu

Another week and here comes another Sith. Since we went with a Sith Lord from the most recent era of Star Wars lore, I thought this week we could go with one of the more ancient Darths. So don’t let his weird name scare you off, introducing:

DARTH ANDEDDU

 “Knowledge is power and true Sith do not share power.”

Race: Humanoid      Home Planet: Prakith

Claim to fame: Was able to master essence transfer and live for thousands of years.

Moment of Shame: Hiding for a thousand years and dying a few minutes after awakening.

Sith Affiliation: Andeddu stood apart from the other Sith Lords.

Darth Andeddu started out as just a mentioned Sith Lord in the Clone Wars era, the undercover Jedi Quinlan Vos using his lightsaber crystal for a time and his holocron gatekeeper showing up breifly. He became somewhat of a fan favorite, probably because of his silly name and not much information surrounding him. He showed up again in the Legacy Era Comics as Darth Krayt asked Andeddu’s holocron gatekeeper for the secret of essence transfer in order to stop his Yuzzahn Vong affliction from overtaking him.

Darth Andeddu lived thousands of years before the Legacy and Clone Wars eras. He was of the ancient Sith such as Karness Muur, Tulak Hord and Freedon Nadd, dabbling in Sith Sorcery in order to prolong life. The secret of immortality isn’t an uncommon thing with Sith and Andeddu was probably one of the most successful along with Karness Muur whom he developed many of his techniques from. Andeddu was a somewhat paranoid and cowardly Sith Lord, fleeing to his homeworld of Prakith for fear that the other Sith Lords were plotting to overthrow him for his knowledge and secret of sustaining life. He remained on Prakith until his body died and his own personal dark side cult “Malevolence” guarded his tomb until their master could return.

Talk to the hand Bitch!

Eventually Darth Krayt of the One Sith got ahold of Andeddu’s holocron and sent his right hand man Darth Wyyrlok to recover all of Andeddu’s knowledge on Prakith so he had more time to subjugate the galaxy under his rule. Wyyrlok’s quest boiled down to him having to face Andeddu one on one in the flesh after it was revealed that Andeddu’s holocron also held his essence in it and needed to be reunited with his body in order for him to be resurrected. After a pretty awesome yet short fight with Darth Wyyrlok, Andeddu is finally put to bed forever by the horned Sith Lord. Wyyrlok then plunders his remaining knowledge before departing Prakith and leaving Andeddu just as he feared for thousands of years…. dead by the hand of another Sith Lord who wanted his knowledge.

Andeddu may have been a coward, but he definitely had the right idea about survival and staying alive. He started off as menacing when he was finally resurrected and began his duel with Wyyrlok, but he was ultimately a coward as Wyyrlok pointed out before killing him. Definitely a knowledgeable Sith Lord, just not a very brave one.

Aaaaaaaaaand…. that’s Jenga.

Stay tuned next week for another installment of Know Your Sith!

Check out last week’s lucky contestant: Krow Your Sith!

Grizzly Game Review: Sleeping Dogs

Summer is a quiet time for video gamers. With triple-A titles such as Call of Duty and Dishonored not being released until fall, there really isn’t a reason to get excited about summer if you’re a gamer. Of course we have Darksiders 2 which came out earlier this week, but that’s pretty much it.

Or is it?

Sleeping Dogs was also released on Tuesday for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. The game, once went by the name of True Crime: Hong Kong, was under United Front Games’ development before it was dropped by Activision. The publisher of the infamous Call of Duty  franchise decided that doing something different and switching things up are not part of their repertoire, and thus gave up on the title after pooling in a couple of years’ worth of resources and time. Six months after the game’s cancellation, Square Enix purchased the publishing rights to the game. And a year later, the game was released.

So, does the game make you put your dogs to sleep? Wait, that’s a horrible attempt on a pun, like “I’m gonna perform seppuku to express my shame” level of horrible. It doesn’t even make sense. What’s wrong with me?

How about this:
So, will you be playing Sleeping Dogs for a long time? Or will you be watching sleeping dogs online instead?

That’s much better.

Story

The game puts you in the shoes of Wei Shen, a detective working for San Francisco Police Department. He was seconded (or “lent”) to the Hong Kong police to help investigate a triad known as Sun On Yee. Wei was born and raised in Hong Kong for most of his childhood, and has some connections to triad members in the city. These factors make him a seemingly perfect candidate for undercover work in the gang. So, Wei is assigned a handler and his journey on the fine line between black and white begins.

Yea, we have all heard that story before.

Plot-wise, the game is fairly predictable. The characters range from the good-guy-who-turns-out-to-be-the-big-bad to the asshole-who-turns-out-to-be-cool-cat. You know, the usual stuff. Of course, there are also the dialogues practically made out of cheese:

Handler: I’m shutting the operation down because you can’t handle the stress
Wei: You can’t do it now! They see me as one of them. We’re so close!
Handler: That’s what I’m worried about – you’re one of them.

Obviously, we also have the melodramatic sequences in which the protagonist is not sure of his identity. You know, sound bites of characters from both sides of the law playing in the protagonist’s mind as he drives in the rain to confront a major antagonist and sad music about being lost or something like that playing in the background. It’s pretty much a basic requisite for any form of entertainment that involves police working undercover.

Despite of the story’s predictability and cringe-worthiness, I find it, strangely, enjoyable (though not by any means good). How the journey unfolds feels right, and most of the characters are fairly likable. Characters complement each other very well even though they’re molded straight from the cookie cutters of movies or TV shows dealing with Asian gangs. In this case, they picked the right cookie cutters and baked good cookies. They’re nothing mind-blowing, but they are very solid. The story flows well and is satisfying. Like a well-made sponge cake, it is nothing to be excited about, but you’ll eat it. It’s relatively bland compared to other cakes, but at the very least, it will meet your expectations since there aren’t too many things that could go wrong in a sponge cake. In non-food-analogy terms, the game tells an average story. Since the story is pretty easy to execute, and the writers delivered a solid performance, there aren’t too many flaws to be found in the end product. Your low expectations are easily met.

I still don’t understand the title though. Just thinking about it is wrinkling my brain.

(Note: Per TV Tropes. the title is based on the proverb “Let sleeping dogs lie”. It should be interpreted as “leave something alone as it may cause trouble”.  I still don’t get it though. Does that mean the protagonist should have left his past alone? Whatever. I’m done with this.)

7 grizzly paws out of 10.

Gameplay

Throughout the game, you will be completing around 30+ story missions. There aren’t too many varieties among missions. Most of them feature the player getting from point A to point B in a car, kick some asses, chase someone down on foot, and maybe pick up a gun and shoot some people. They’re fun, but not revolutionary. Early story missions introduced side quests. More on that later.

As far gameplay mechanics go, they are pretty well-done. The cars feel grippy, and are fun to drive. The devs did a great job in creating the sense of speed. Driving down the highway has never been more satisfying. Cars have different handlings. You can tell the difference between driving a van and a coupe. I did not like the motorcycles though. Their handling is not agile enough for me to pick them over cars. You can hop from one car to another as you drive, performing a mid-air high jack of sorts. Personally, I didn’t care for this feature. The cars you purchase from merchants are much faster than civilian cars anyways.

The shooting mechanics are so-so. They’re just there because open world games set in modern times need guns. You have a reticle and you shoot people. There are pistols, submachine guns, assault rifles, shotguns and grenade launchers.  That’s pretty much it. They don’t feel all that different. You can get into slow motion if you hit X (on the PS3 controller) as you vault over cover. That’s generally how I eliminate the baddies. Bullet time is somewhat over-powering if you ask me. A skilled player can take out quite a number of hostiles in one use.

The fighting mechanics, however, are other-worldly. Picture Batman: Arkham Asylum’s system on steroids.  Unlike Arkham Asylum, you can grapple your enemies in this game, and you need to hit a different button to counter enemy attacks. You can’t chain up insane combos in this game like you can in Batman, but I would take the melee combat system in this title over the other. Why? The combat in Sleeping Dogs is very fluid and much more brutal. You have the usual melee weapons as well. Most importantly, you can use the environment to your advantage. Grappling your enemy and hauling his ass into the spinning blades of a fan cannot be more satisfying. Or drop a car engine on him if you feel like it. Hell, you can throw him off a building if given a chance. It has the hands down most awesome hand-to-hand combat in open world games.

The parkour style on-foot chases are decent. Basically, you hold down the X button to run, and when the screen prompts you to vault or climb, hit the X button. It’s not Assassin’s creed though, since you can only climb low walls. It’s not like you can get to the top of a 10-storey building by just climbing up the side of said-building.  The pursuits are fun due to the diversity in environments. Running through the crowded night market of Hong Kong chasing after a gangster is pretty mesmerizing.

When it comes to side quests, the game offers a decent amount of those. Obviously, there are the usual street races, which are fun because they’re short and the driving mechanics are great. There are also the random encounters, which are diverse in objectives, though most of them follow a similar structure – the usual get to a certain point, do some stuff, and get paid. You may also pursue a romance if you so desire. Romantic interests appear as contacts on your phone after certain missions. You can invite them out for a date. Afterwards, you’ll receive some sort of reward. Most of them reveal the locations of hidden items on the map. These relationships are incredibly shallow since you won’t be able to contact them anymore after that one date (and in some cases, not see them ever again throughout the story). I have no idea why the devs were bothered enough to include this feature.

Speaking of hidden items, there are different types of those. There are health shrines, which boost 10% of your health for every five you find. You can also look for lock boxes, which grant you a generous sum of cash, or clothing items, or even a firearm. You are also asked to keep an eye out for security cameras. These cameras are located all across town and you’re asked to hack them on location. Hacking them will lead to potential drug busts. There are also statues which you can keep an eye out for during missions. These statues, when brought back to the wushu academy, can give you new fighting abilities. The rewards are immediate and adequate enough for you to actively seek out for them.

The critics are in love with the leveling up. To me, it just seems like a no-brainer. You have the cop XP and the thug XP. The former requires you to drive carefully throughout missions and not harm innocent civilians. The latter asks for you to be brutal towards your foes. (Perform an environment attack for example.) They do not contradict each other. There is the face meter as well, which keeps track of your progress on side missions. The more side missions you complete, the more you progress on your face meter. For each level of face you gain, you will unlock perks such as reduced prices of clothes and cars.

Customization options are limited to clothes. Wearing different sets grant you different perks as well. Some increase your XP and some reduce the price of cars. You can also purchase cars from merchants. They are generally faster than the generic civilian transport. Either case, there is nothing too special about them.

Powerups are available in food stalls. Different types of food grant you different temporary abilities. Consuming a can of energy drink will enhance your melee damage whereas eating a bowl of curry fishballs will increase your rate of health regeneration. They are readily available at all times, even during missions.

In conclusion, the gameplay is fine. It will last you somewhere over 20 hours. There is nothing innovative, but there are also little wrongdoings. The game is just fun to play. The complaint will be the devs were playing it a little too safe.

7.5 grizzly paws out of 10.

Presentation

Presentation is where this title shines. Having spent the first 16 years of my life in Hong Kong (which is a shit hole if you ask me), I am glad to report that Sleeping Dogs is a fairly accurate portrayal of Hong Kong. The game covered only one of three major areas of Hong Kong and only four of eighteen districts. Despite of these shortcomings, you can clearly tell the devs did their research. There is a balanced mix of eastern and western architectures across the city. Each district has a distinct feel to it and is a good representation of its real life counterpart. The narrow roads on the slopes of Central and the neon lights in North Point brought me a sense of nostalgia. Certainly, street vendors selling food do not happen anymore and the back alleys are much cleaner in reality, but there is no complaint from me. As a matter of fact, their inclusion gives the city an early-90’s feel, when nasty alleys and food carts were everywhere.

Complementing the city’s sights are the sounds. There are many interesting dialogues going on between pedestrians and they are surprisingly good reflections of the current Hong Kong culture. Some of the swear words / phrases are surprisingly explicit (which is a plus in my book). Well, I’m sure most of you don’t understand Cantonese, so this may not be a point of interest to you. Either case, I must applaud the devs for putting in all that hard work in making the city feel authentic.

I must also compliment the voice acting in Sleeping Dogs. The devs somehow managed to involve big time Hollywood actors in the project. Names such as James Hong, Will Yun Lee, Lucy Liu, Tom Wilkinson, Kelly Hu, and even our beloved Emma Stone appear on the credits.  They did a fantastic job in giving lives to the characters they were playing. Sadly, the devs have underused many of these talents. Most of them appeared in no more than a couple of missions only to be ditched and forgotten. For any Emma Stone fans out there, she appeared in only two missions and her character was never mentioned again. Anyways, I must also give credit to the rest of the cast – the ones voicing the nobodies on the streets. They were responsible for making the in-game city alive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NzBC2N7yAo

When it comes to soundtrack, the game covered a good number of genres. From Canto pop to Chinese oldies to American hip hop, they have it all. Don’t ask me if I like the Chinese tracks in the game. I listen to English music exclusively. Modern day Canto pop consists of incredibly one-dimensional love songs only. Anyways, the soundtrack doesn’t blow fishes out of water. It’s solid, but it’s also nothing special.

9 grizzly paws out of 10.

With that said…

The game is good. It is nicely executed but lacks in innovation. Without a doubt, it’s much better than its predecessor, True Crime: New York.

7.5 grizzly high fives out of 10

I don’t do round-ups.

Should you buy it?

Not now. As good as the game is, it is not on the level where Square Enix can command 60 bucks. Grand Theft Auto IV was perfection in presentation and Saints Row The Third was creativity at its finest. Certainly, the presentation of Sleeping Dogs is almost on a phenomenal level, but it is not enough to overcome the shortcomings in gameplay.

It’s a good, clean punch but not a knock out.

Rent the game or wait till a price drop (to somewhere under 40 bucks).

Game of Thrones: The King Beyond the Wall is Cast

Well folks, winter is coming, and that means that Game of Thrones will be filming and returning to HBO before you know it. After having cast most of the minor characters thus far, the one I’ve most been wondering about has also finally been cast. I speak of none other than Mance Rayder, the self proclaimed King Beyond the Wall. Mance is a deserter from the Night’s Watch (who kept his head) who went to live with the Free Folk (Wildlings) North of the wall and has now unified them as one… something Lord Commander Mormont and the other brothers of the Night’s Watch have a bit of a problem with.

The character of Mance Rayder to me was a very charismatic one in the third novel of the Song of Ice and Fire. And even though I pictured him being a bit younger than Lord Commander Mormont or Quorin Halfhand, I’m liking the selection of actor they picked to portray the Wildling king. That actor is none other than Ciarán Hinds, star of HBO’s Rome where he played Julius Caesar and many other movies including’;Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Ghost Rider: Spirits of Vengeance and John Carter.

Hinds playing the role of Julius Caesar on HBO’s Rome

Hinds is definitely no light weight and if he can portray Julius Caesar in a TV show then he should have no problem playing the man leading the Wildlings. As I said I didn’t picture Hinds as Mance but he’ll definitely have the presence to do things right. A lot of things have occurred on the show that were slightly different than what I imagined from the book, but for the most part I’ve loved them. I  can’t imagine if they’d left the Battle of Black Water Bay occurring in the day time, it just wouldn’t have looked as epic.

On top of the other casting selections made during Comic Con, it looks as if the cast is pretty much rounded out… at least for the first half of book three. It looks as if they may be breaking the third book up into two seasons since there are still notable characters missing. Diana Rigg has been cast to play Lady Olenna Tyrell, also known ominously as “The Queen of Thorns” in what is one of the more interesting characters in the series. Although she has been cast, the role of Mace Tyrell, the patriach of House Tyrell has not been cast yet.

The soon to be ‘Queen of Thorns’

Other roles that have been cast include Jojen and Meera Reed, Brynden “The Black Fish” Tully, Edmure Tully, Orell, Missandei, Shireen Baratheon, Selyse Baratheon, Beric Dondarrion, Thoros of Myr, Tormund Giantsbane, Qyburn and Anguy. None of the roles I just mentioned are particularly big roles, but alot of the characters are pretty bad ass and I think everyone will enjoy their screen time when it occurs. A lot of us novel readers will notice that a handful of the characters were noticeably absent from season 2 including Edmure Tully and Brynden Tully. Whether this was due to pacing and time constraints who knows, but I’m sure they’ll fit everyone in somehow in the coming season. For a complete list of new cast members, check out this link at Entertainment Weekly and stay tuned for more casting in Game of Thrones season 3!