Saturday, December 26, 2009

Mafia Wars and Punisher Warzone



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Friday, December 18, 2009

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Check out my thoughts on James Cameron's latest. (The second video may contain some spoilers)



Oops Almost Forgot



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Congratulations

Congratulations Little Kuriboh and Spoony on your victories in the Open Web Awards!!

Seriously I love both of your guys' work and you both deserve those awards I know I voted for both of you and often.

Any of you who are fans of mine who don't know who Spoony is well.. how to put it. He reviews shit. I mean like bad movies and video games and stuff like that but he makes it funny. I know there are alot of people who review things in a witty manner, hell I take a crack at it myself with my Outside The Otaku series, but Spoony is on a level all his own. He has a nack for film making and presentation that just works and an opinion in things quite similar to my own. I originally found his work on ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.com and then followed him more closely on his own page SpoonyExperiment.com. His reviews on things like Yor: Hunter From the Future were just amazingly entertaining to me. He just has this style that seems real. I know he's performing a role but it really doesn't feel like it. Not to mention his "Lets Plays" on Phatasmagoria and Final Fantasy VIII are just awesome in that MST3K RiffTrax sort of style that I loved growing up, it all almost feels nostalgic to me really. I really love the guys work and I was even lucky enough to talk to him a couple times on skype (even though he didn't have a microphone and was just typing still an honor) along with some of the other great contributors on TGWTG Sean, Angry Joe and Linkara. All who are awesome in their own right and I feel honored to know and for some even met. Anyway if you read this congrats Spoony.

And if you are a fan of mine and don't know who Little Kuriboh is... I don't know how to finish that statement cause anyone who really likes my work almost has to know him because he started this Abridged phenomenon and now that he's won this award I can say it really has taken on a life all its own.

Really man Congratulations it is an honor and a privilage to have met you and to be able to call you my friend and you deserve this award. You were a mentor for me when I was at probably the lowest point in my life. I was broken I didn't even know if I was going to be able to walk properly for the rest of my life I didn't have much and I was in such a depressive state... Alot of things happened and I just kept sinking but then late one night I saw your series. I laughed my ass off I just marathon moded through all of what you had done then. I loved it and it lead me to find more Abridged Parodies, so I found Berserk and Naruto and then I decided to try one out for myself. I started Yu Yu Hakusho Abridged and people liked it... It gave me a sense of pride and joy that I hadn't felt in so long. Thanks to your inspiration dude... you quite literally may have saved my life, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Sentimental moment aside you truely deserve this Award you are an amazingly funny man both behind the mic and in person. I wish we could have actually started communication under better circumstances but hey somtimes it takes a war to bring people together. Congratulations once again, I look forward to meeting you again at what ever conventions may bring us together ^^v.

So Congratulations LK and Spoony I can't wait to see what you guys come out with next.
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Monday, December 7, 2009

The Good, The Bad, And the Awesome Crap

After my review of "Ninja Assassin" I was asked a decent question. What do I consider a "good" movie. As like I said I consider movies like Tom Yum Goong or Ong Bak to be under the category of "Awesome Crap" even though those are 2 of my favorite movies. See to me there are 3 types of Good movies. There are Films, Good movies, and Awesome Crap.

I tried to put a handle on what exactly "Awesome Crap" was in my review of Ninja Assassin but lets see if I can articulate it a little better. Awesome Crap can be different things to different people but we all have our Awesome Crap movies. Mine are usually in the Martial Arts Action genre but for some it may be horror. An Awesome Crap movie is a movie that has no real point to it other than to get a visceral reaction from the audience. You watch it for the experience of being able to yell "FUCK YEAH" at the screen when something bad ass happens. These are the movies that aren't going to be winning any of the big Academy Awards (technical categories excluded). While good movies will draw someone in with a story and character development Awesome Crap pulls you in with the promise of being bad ass and EXTREEEEEEEEEME. Nobody sat through Kiss of the Dragon wondering if Bridget Fonda was going to get her kid back, people saw that to watch Jet Li wreck some people. In the case of horror fans, Awesome Crap would be basically any Slasher movie or movie in which you watch it to see how creatively people will die (Final Destination, Friday the 13th, Saw etc)

These movies are some good examples of Awesome Crap:
  • Ong Bak
  • Unleashed
  • 300
  • Wanted
  • Forbidden Kingdom
Good movies on the otherhand like I said draw you in with a compelling story, an experience that leaves you feeling like you've been on a journey along side the main characters. Unlike Awesome Crap which you just watch to get that fix of adrenaline, Good movies are just watched to be enjoyed as an experience. You care about the characters you want to see them succeed and you are hurt if they fail. These are the movies that can tug at your heart strings if they try and just bring you along for the ride. They can be epic or they can be short lived but they are a journey. Good movies are all about taste and can be VERY different to different people. For example after my review of Land of the Lost (which I just didn't like) Erika was a little upset with me as I went to see that with her and she really enjoyed it. I don't hold anyone's taste in movies against them I just didn't happen to like it. Another example would be my friend Blake, he really enjoyed New Moon and from what I have seen I just know I won't like it though I intend to see it all later with my other friend Alex if only just to Riff on it. What I'm saying is you know what you like and if my opinion fits yours then I suppose my reviews aren't for nothing.

Then there are Films. Films are pretty universal and they aren't necesarilly always the most compelling things. Where as good movies are meant to be an enjoyable experience a film is a piece of art. Not so much meant to be enjoyed as it is to be appreciated. Not that they can't be enjoyed but when you are watching a film, you know you are watching a film. I try not to be a pompous cinephile about this fact, for that matter I don't own very many movies I would actually put in this category but I do enjoy them and see what they have to offer. Some people don't like them, I know for a fact Vegeta 3986 hates many of them outside of certain Hitchcock films. Casablanca, Citizen Kane, The Godfather, Ben-Hur, Pulp Fiction, Film is a category for me that defies genre as long as it is for the art of cinema. These are movies that become timeless even if they are dated, once a good film is made it is remembered by history. Movies like Star Trek (2009), and The Hangover maybe good but I wouldn't consider them a Film.

On the other end there are Bad movies... now there are many types of bad movies too. There are the forgetable, the stupid, and those that leave you feeling unclean. The latter I reserve almost specifically for Eli Roth films. We all know a bad movie when we see it. It feels like a waste of time and energy to watch it. It's boring, it leaves no emotional effect and you couldn't care less about anything about it. Probably the worst of all the bad movies are the forgetable ones. The movies that you saw in theaters but only remember when you brush past it playing on FX or the Sy Fy chanel or maybe when you're writing a blog on forgetable movies. It's only just now that I'm remembering seeing The Perfect Getaway and 9 each of which I saw less than 6 months ago.

Anyway that's basically how I categorize movies in my mind, that isn't to say that there aren't some crossing of categories it's just one giant venn diagram up there in my head. To finish this off I'll list off a few of my favorite movies as I was also asked about that.

  • Rainman
  • Ong Bak
  • Up
  • Clerks
  • Reservoir Dogs
  • Kiss of the Dragon
  • Tom Yum Goong
  • Rocky I - IV
  • 300
  • Paranormal Activity
  • The Dark Knight
  • Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Movie
  • Monty Python and the Holy Grail
  • Singing in the Rain
  • Batman
  • The Incredibles
  • The Godfather
  • Oldboy
  • The Blues Brothers
  • Pulp Fiction
  • Animal House
  • Kill Bill Vol 1 + 2
  • Grindhouse (the theatrical experience with all the fake trailers on DVD it's pretty blah)
  • Blade 2
  • Casino Royale
  • Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter

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Monday, November 16, 2009

Just an Update

Hey guys it's been a while!

Sorry I've been really busy after getting back from Youmacon (which was awesome!) trying to get caught up on class work and keeping up with friends and family just been kinda hard settling back down into reality again. I have seen a few movies which I plan to review and there's a special advertisement coming for the new TEAM FOUR STAR T-SHIRTS fairly soon. (Today or tomorrow)

Other than that I've seen a few more movies which I'll write and or post proper reviews of once I get the chance.

Also maybe an article on Dragon Age as I've been having alot of fun with that.

This and more later on Lanipwned


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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Nominate so we may dominate

Muwahahahahahaa

ahem Nominate Team Four Star's new YT channel as the Funniest YT Channel for Mashable's 2009 Open Web Awards (trumpet fanfare)

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Movies in review

I recently had the chance to catch Zombie Land, Paranormal Activity , and The Informant between work and school, so thought I'd give my thoughts in this Halloween season review.


The Informant!

I'll start out with The Informant as it obviously isn't a scary movie but I saw it and enjoyed it so I thought I'd give my 2 cents on it anyway. The latest from Steven Soderbergh (Ocean's Eleven series) and Starring Matt Damon. The film felt something between a drama and a comedy. Much like the Ocean's Eleven series (which I enjoyed quite a bit) I felt like I could just sit back and enjoy myself. It's the kind of comedy I like to call Anti-Ferrell, people don't have to be screaming or kicking eachother in the balls or taking their clothes off to make the audience laugh. The humor was very dry at times but not so dry as to leave me dehydrated. All of the humor and enjoyment of this movie is very character driven, mainly by the part of Matt Damon as Mark Whitacre. I don't want to get too far into the plot because there are a few twists and turns that made the story interesting.
The story follows Mark Whitacre, a rising star at the ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) company in Illinois, as he goes from employee to whistle blower for the FBI. ADM and it's top executives (as well as Whitacre himself) had been pricefixing a chemical used in... well alot of things called lysine. Not being used to this sort of thing Mark akwardly fumbles through each of his wire tap sessions including at times trying to fix a clicking recording device while in the room with those he is recording.
The character of Whitacre actually makes this movie most interesting. His inner monologues were always interesting and realistic alot of the times I have found myself thinking alot of things that are along the same lines of what was going through his mind. He's a likable character but the whole time I fould myself asking "can I trust this guy?" because you never know if he is actually lying or not until near the end, even though you are watching the story from his perspective which I found really interesting.
Overall I'd recomend if you haven't seen this film to check it out. Matt Damon delivers another good performance and the movie on the whole was very enjoyable to me. If you have the time and the money to spare check it out I bet it'll be coming to second run theaters really soon so you can catch it at a discount.


Zombieland

I love Zombie movies. I don't know why I do I just do. From the 3 original Romero "Of the Dead" movies (Night Dawn and Day) to Peter Jackson's Brain Dead (Dead Alive) to Edgar Wright's Shaun of the Dead as long as it is a good zombie movie I will like it. Luckily in the case of Zombie Land it IS a good Zombie movie. If I had to describe this movie I'd almost have to say it's Shaun of the Dead in the style of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (movie)
The story follows Jesse Eisenberg (Adventureland, Cursed, The Villiage), who goes by the name Columbus (as his character is from Columbus Ohio), who is traveling alone trying to survive "Zombieland" and get back to Columbus Ohio to see if his family is alright. He has developed a set of Rules to follow to survive in Zombieland. I thought it was really cool the way when he listed off a rule or if one of the rules applied the text would pop up and interact with the background.
Columbus meets up with Woody Harrelson's character Tallahasse. Tallahesse is awesome. Not much else needs to be said other than Tallahasse is a really cool guy he kills zombies and doesn't afraid of anything. Tallahasse doesn't take anything to seriously as long as it isn't affecting him directly, he even Inspired Columbus' 32nd rule Enjoy the Little Things, not to be confused with rule 34 which this movie thankfully avoids (though I will say Emma Stone *Jules from Superbad* is pretty hot). Tallahasse's one mission in this movie is pretty much to get a Twinky. They travel together and come across Emma Stone (Wichita) and Abigail Breslin (Little Rock) who are pretty conniving characters at first but still likable. Their mission eventually becomes getting to "Pacific Playland" a theme park that was rumored to be free of the Zombie outbreak.
I'll say as a comedy this movie is top notch in my book. I haven't laughed so hard since the Hangover (though the Hangover was funnier IMO). They physical comedy was good and even the written character driven comedy was well done. The movie had me pulled in throughout and I actually ended up caring about each of the characters. I didn't want to see any of them get hurt which actually lead to some good tense moments.
I think in general most people would like this movie even at full price. I recommend it highly to any who haven't seen it yet. It's just a nice feel good zombie movie. Plus not only does it have and awesome Celebrity cameo (whom it is I will not mention here but it is an awesome cameo) but it also have probably my favorite opening credits sequence since Watchmen (i really liked that one)

Paranormal Activity

Ok I have talked alot of shit about Horror movies, they are my least favorite genre and it is not because I get scared or hate blood and gore no no that isn't it at all. It is because of how far the genre has fallen. It was around the 80s when characters stopped becoming compelling and interesting and just started turning into fodder. Wasted sacks of meat that everyone in the audience wants to see killed. Movies like the latest in the string of Friday the 13th movies, or the Final Destination, or Rob Zombie's Halloweens or any Eli Roth movie or the Saws you don't care about the characters for the most part, you go to watch people die in horrible ways. Now that isn't to say some of those movies aren't decent it just means they aren't scary. You don't believe the characters and you damn sure don't care if they live or die and for the most part these movies are just there to shoot gore in your face, again not scary just disgusting. That is why Drag Me to Hell was such a breath of fresh air to me, it delivered a character I could care about someone who I wanted to prevail at the end, not to mention it blended fairly tense moments with good old Sam Raimi "Evil Dead" humor. I loved that movie the only problem... again it wasn't very scary.
This is where Paranormal Activity comes in. Not only does it have characters I can like respect and relate to in Micah and Katie but it has got to be the scariest movie I've seen in well over a decade. The best part is it doesn't try to scare you by throwing blood at you or using a CG monster, it uses sound, plays with everything that you can't see while exposing how vulnerable the two main players are. You'd never think the sound of a foot step would be so creepy but trust me the tension builds fast.
The story goes as follows: Micah and Katie are living together and Micah recently bought a camera to capture some of the paranormal activity that he and Katie had been experiencing lately. As the film progresses you learn more about the thing that is haunting them as the thing becomes more and more aggressive. Most of the tension is built up during the night when the camera is set on a tripod at the end of their room and you see what goes on at night while they are asleep. Even that in itself is a psychologically creepy thing. They sleep through a lot of stuff so it makes you wonder "what exactly is going on around me while I'm sleeping?". The whole movie just builds up until the climax right at the end which I am here or there on. I sometimes wonder how it could have been done differently but in the end I think it was a good ending to the movie.
The scares in this movie and tension all come from the atmosphere that just gets built up after you get sucked into the lives of Micah and Katie. It was a very powerful use of the "shot on video" style better than Blair Witch I'd say even though that was pretty much the original and of course much better than movies like Diary of the Dead (sorry George), Quarantine, and Cloverfield (I thought it was pretty good for a monster movie).
If you are looking for an actual scare in theaters this Halloween season I couldn't recommend this movie enough. It's one of those movies that almost needs to be seen in theaters with a bunch of people to be appreciated properly, when you can hear the girl 3 rows back from you hyperventalating you know you got the right crowd.

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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Birthday and Ong Bak 2

Welp, birthday came and passed without fail can now officially say I am 21 years old (and / or one day older than yesterday) WOOOOO. Unfortunately I didn't get nearly enough money to deal with my computer problems so I'm still weighing my options on that front but hey blogging with text isn't so bad. Went out had a nice dinner with my family good food and a good time outside of some of my father's outbursts of headdeskery proportion. I got some nice shirts, a bit of money, a Dave and Busters gift card, and as is custom with my family the standard fare of gag gifts including a pair of Squirrel Underpants

but a nice evening was had and at the end of the day I went back to my mom and bro's place for a bit and watched a movie on demand. This is a movie I have been looking forward to for quite some time.

Ong Bak 2


I loved Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong Tony Jaa is a beast I personally believe he is the next big face in the action martial arts genre like Jet Li or Jackie Chan before him. The man is a masterful gymnast it's like gravity doesn't affect him the same way it does anyone else. And just some of the things the man can do in a shot is amazing. The Chase Scene from Ong Bak was increadable especially when you consider that no wires or special effects were used to augment any of the action in that movie. Also Tom Yum Goong had some of the best fight choreography (group mainly but one on one was good aswell) I have seen in a long while namely the one shot fight scene as Tony Jaa is working his way up a building fighting his way past about 25-50 guys in one continuous 6 minute shot. Anyone who knows something about film making must know how hard a flawless 6 minute shot would be to obtain let alone one with so many variables.

Unfortunately Ong Bak 2 could not live up to either of those films. I had my doubts when I first heard Tony Jaa was going to be directing and choreographing this film himself. The man is an awesome star for these kinds of movies but behind the camera I just wasn't feeling it. All the hard hitting blows and long shots I loved in Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong were replaced with flash cuts and choreography that was showy but not flourished. It just felt like there was no real soul in it. The movie made me feel like I was just watching a series of scenes rather than a film it just felt lifeless.

This could be due to the Story or lack there of. It wasn't until about 40 minutes into the movie when I started to see a real hint of a plot. Basically Tony Jaa is the orphanned son of a noble family in ancient Thialand. He ends up getting picked up by slavers and eventually saved by a group of bandits, he is trained in standard mantage format and then tested and I kid you not, his first test involved running on a herd of Elephants and then smacking the "Alpha Elephant" on the skull to prove his utter superiority... something tells me a scene like that wouldn't have flown in the states. He then becomes the leader of the raiding parties and from that point on for about 20 to 30 minutes it's just a series of raids and fights that just seem to be there for no reason other than to show Tony Jaa and crew wrecking people.

*The Following Paragraph Contains Spoilers Skip Past If You Don't Want Them*

Eventually we learn that his family was killed by another noble while Tony's character (Tien) was sent off to dance school. The Dance school which by the way lead to a series of boring scenes which proved to do nothing but introduce a young girl whom we assume to be some sort of love interest to be shown later on. Tien then leads off on his randomly decided apon quest for revenge. He makes it to the temple or shrine or wherever this guy happens to be living and who is there dancing for him? Why it's the grown up version of the little girl that young Tien had known (WHAT ARE THE ODDS?!). We are treated to a 10 minute sequence of 2 dances one from the girl and then one directly after of a mysterious man in a mysterious mask whom nobody knows who it *cough TIEN cough* excuse me. The following fight scene is decent but accomplishes nothing. Tien then goes back to his bandit camp which is mysteriously empty only to find soldiers and random masked fighters undoubtably hired by the guy he just attempted to kill. He fights through them like they were nothing eventually being injured and facing off against the masked man who killed his father who turns out to be his teacher / bandit captain who raised him (DUN DUN DUNNNN). Then after he kills him the movie just sort of randomly ends with him being captured... no mention of the girl at this point mind you we just assume she's still alive. It all ends with the loosest of loose tie ins to the first movie claiming that Tien was the sacrificial figure that the Ong Bak was based on, even though I'm pretty sure that was supposed to be Buddah.

*Spoilers End*

The last fight scene of the movie was pretty cool looking standard 50 on 1 "I'm the Juggernaut Bitch" fare. I gotta say one of the coolest parts was his use of various weapons. Tony Jaa is no Jackie Chan when it comes to weapons but it was a nice demonstration. And the use of scenery to add to the choreography was nice in this scene although not on par with the EXTREEEME FIGHT SCENE in Tom Yum Goong. Though I will say this scene in Ong Bak 2 did have the best use of an Elephant as a fighting prop that I"ve seen since well... Tom Yum Goong.


Overall I was only dissapointed to the point that the movie just couldn't live up to what I was hoping and the story wasn't really there. It's always nice to see Tony Jaa wreck someone and as a first attempt at directing it could have been much worse. I want to see Tony Jaa in more movies hopefully teaming back up with the director of the original Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong... that reminds me I still need to see Chocolate.


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Sunday, September 27, 2009

New Home for Team Four Star?

Hey guys looks like a dedicated fan of ours has done us a great service and set up a website. Kaiser is currently trying to get in contact with them and we are currently considering making this our possible new home.

So mad props to the person in charge of this site. Check it out all of the episodes and FAQs are up :)

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Toei strikes again.

Well seems FAQ 2 has been pulled from the new Teamfourstar page. I'm not entirely sure what the course of action we are going to take at this point is but posting on YT doesn't seem like it's going to do us any good right now. I will try to keep everyone updated as best I can even if I can't edit any videos on my computer.


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Monday, September 14, 2009

Rest in Peace



RIP
Patrick Swayze

1952-2009

Movies in Review: Gamer, Halloween 2, 9

Well I had wanted to do a V-log about these but hey when my computer gets hungry it's gotta eat and I guess it just happened to have developed a taste for video files -_-, all things considered sound files would have been much worse (i.e. no DBZ Abridged) but it's still kind of a pain in the ass since I can't really do anything right now except try to devise a way to edit away from my computer or get a new one.

But I digress, I caught a bunch of movies and wanted to give everyone my opinion on them and just really REALLY didn't want to have to type it out cause I'm the kind of lazy bastard that just likes to talk.

I saw way more movies than the one's I am reviewing here but like I said, I'm lazy and I'm sure you've heard how good Inglorious Basterds (FUCK YEAH!!!) and District 9 are if you haven't already seen them yet yourselves. Plus some of the movies I've seen just aren't in most theaters anymore so I feel giving my opinion on Ice Age 3(3D effects looked cool if you liked the other 2 you'll like this one really wasn't alot to it loved Simon Peg's character) The Orphan (Haahahahahahahahaha... so many logical problems with this movie I may actually go into it when it comes out on DVD if I remember to) GI Joe (Went in with absolutely no expectations came out having really enjoyed it if only for the nostalgia as it wasn't really a good film. Still much better than Transformers 2.) and why even bother wasting my time talking about The Perfect Getaway (which if you've forgoten it by now you aren't alone I went and saw it and didn't until this moment as I'm running through a list of movies in my head remember I saw it.) I know I just said I wasn't going to talk about them but I figured if I mention them I should give a quick one sentence synopsis of how I feel.

Now to the meat of the matter, here are my feelings on Gamer, Halloween 2, and 9

I love Crank and Crank 2 I'll get that out of the way right now. They were creative funny as hell and packed more action than most movies that I've seen in a long time from an American studio. For those who don't know Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor are the co-directors and co-writers of Crank Crank 2 and Gamer (as well as Pathology *worth a rental* which Erika showed me yesterday oddly enough), and for the most part you can see their flavor in this movie, it just seems a little watered down. That isn't to say there aren't alot of good things in here. I like Gerard Butler as an action hero, 300 and RocknRolla both kicked ass and proove Butler can pull off the Action star. Not that I didn't like him in P.S. I Love you, Ugly Truth or Phantom of the Opera but.. well there's a rule with movies, you have to ask 2 questions: Is Gerard Butler in it? and is he weilding a weapon? If the answers are Yes and No, it's a chick flick. And Micheal C Hall was an awesome villian in this. I really loved the guy in Dexter and hope he has a good career in Hollywood.
As for the movie itself, well it's pretty cookie cutter. The concept has been done before Convicts fight for their freedom the hero is wrongly accused *Cough* Death Race and Running Man among others *Cough*. I'm not aggainst exploring a genre like that, I'm only saying it's been done better and worse. Really that is the downfall of this movie it's medeocre, very middle of the road with only a few things setting it appart from anything else in the action genre. I have to say the only part of this movie I found myself truely truely enjoying was this scene in which Micheal C Hall has lured Gerard Butler back to his lair and commences this creepy marionet like song and dance number with these convicts that are being mind controlled, then mid song they all start fighting Butler and... well it was just an awesome scene and I wouldnt be shocked for a second if that scene was one of the first scenes thought up and any other part of the movie was just built around it. Overall I'd say check this one out at a discount theater or give it a rental when it comes out on DVD, it's worth a watch if you liked Crank but I don't think it's worth full price. Though it may be full price if you ever wanted to see Leonidas break the spine of Peter Petrelli (who in this movie is hillariously named Rick Rape)


Halloween 2

I've said it before I'm not a fan of Rob Zombie's movies but that is mainly because I'm not impressed with American horror movies anymore. They stop being scary when you are rooting for the killer I'm sorry, nobody goes to these kinds of "horror" movies to be scared they go to watch people die, hence: Saw, Friday the 13th, Final Destination etc. are NOT SCARY, you go to these movies to watch nameless faceless bags of meat get gutted, sliced, crushed, electrocuted, burned, drowned, or ground up. You aren't horrified if they die cause you don't care about them and why should you most of them are very stale characters to begin with. I swear the last good American horror movie I saw was Drag Me to Hell and that in itself wasn't entirely scary, but it was good.
Sorry about the tangent I could go on and on about horror movies and it won't change much anyway Halloween 2.
I'll give this to Rob Zombie Halloween 2 is much better than his Halloween 1 and I'm torn between saying that's because he learned a lesson or that it isn't a thing like the original Halloween 2 so I have nothing to bitch about it bastardizing (well maybe not nothing >.>).
I'll get some of the good things out of the way first. The deaths were for the most part grizzly Tyler Mane really looks like he's putting a lot of force into every stab stomp and throw, it just adds to the experience but it doesn't make the movie. I also really actually enjoyed the change to Dr. Loomis in this movie, granted I liked Donald Pleasence's more but I thought this development was interesting even if it lead to a last minute no sense change of heart. I liked the sort of assholish exploitationist he became because it did feel like it was a natural development from where he came from as a character (who looks great for having his skull crushed in the first movie, but that aside).
Like I said the movie didn't really have anything to do with the Halloween 2 of John Carpenter and that is both good and bad. Good because the original Halloween 2 was and still is one of my favorite slasher movies, and bad because this gives Rob Zombie free reign to do what ever he wants in the Halloween universe and... well that isn't for the best. Case in point, he gave Micheal Myers an inner monologue. It wasn't Tyler Mane talking but he still gave Micheal Myers an inner fucking monologue. You don't give someone who is supposed to be a soulless killing machine an inner monologue especially when its embodied by his childhood form, watching Micheal Myers walk around being followed by the spirit of his mother and a kid in a clown costume isn't creepy it's FUCKING RETARDED.
Also you don't show Micheal Myer's face. This may not be as bad as giving him an INNER MONOLOGUE(!!!!) but it still takes away from the fact that he is supposed to be a soulless faceless killing machine who eats dreams and shits out corpses. Essentially in this movie you aren't so much watching Micheal Myers killing people as you are a 7 foot tall Hobo (complete with burly beard and over coat) who's voices in his head are telling him he is Micheal Myers.
On that note why is it that so many stupid rednecks in the movie antagonize the 7 foot tall 300 lbs hobo? I mean I'm no coward but I know there are better things to do with my time that try to get in a fight with a 7 foot tall homeless man.
As for the movie itself it wasn't horrible, it wasn't great... it was just a very standard slasher movie. Nothing really special about it outside of the name Halloween if this were any other movie with any other masked killer with no name or franchise behind it this movie would have been long since forgotten by now. I did see this movie twice once the midnight it premierd when I was working and again with Erika and I have to say if you are set on seeing this movie see it with a friend because it is so much more enjoyable when you can Riff on it with someone. A few of the scenes had way too many jump cuts way too quickly like to the point that I couldn't even tell what was happening or who was being killed or how for that matter. It's like I said though, if not for the franchise and if not for the name Rob Zombie this movie would be very nondescript and easily forgotten, if you are a fan of Halloween and you haven't seen this one yet, well I'd reccomend a discount theater price or waiting for a rental but definitely see it with a friend or 2 if you are going to.


9

I have to say not since War have I seen a movie trailer where I just looked at it and said "YES" but then when the day came for me to see the movie I was severely let down. But where as War failed me because I was hyped for Jet Li and Jason Statham kicking some ass and ultimately fighting eachother and it just turned out so poorly put together, 9 hooked me with the trailer and just dissapointed me with it's utter medeocrity. The world was interesting, the plot was good (if PREDICTABO), the animation was well done, but what was missing? The Characters, I don't know what it was I couldn't find a way to care about any of them. For the life of me I couldn't figure out why I didn't care about them I mean the characters were a little bland yes but they had personalities. Maybe it was the fact that none of them had names and were only identified by number makes them even less human than they already are, cause the voice acting was fine. I don't know. It really just takes me out of a movie when I can't relate to or feel for any character it just makes a movie boring. If you have no sympathy for someone in the film when they lose a friend (let alone a bunch of em ZOMG SPOILERS) I tend to believe it's more a problem with the movie.
Not to mention it was such a dark movie, and I don't mean that because so many characters die, I mean that it is so dimly lit, if you go to see this movie in the mid afternoon on a sunny day, sit through the entire hour 20 mins of it then go right back outside you may go blind my retinas had a really hard time adjusting on the otherside if you go from outside on a bright sunny day to inside that theater mid movie you can't see the damn screen. I don't think there is a single day shot in that thing which is odd cause it looks like the film took place over the period of a little more or less than 2 days (epic I know).
If you only have enough time or money to see one film this fall don't bother with 9 just wait a while for it to hit TV I'm sure nothing will be edited from it and there are just so many better movies that are out and coming out..
LIKE ONG BAK 2 COMING TO US THEATERS OCT 23!!


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Monday, September 7, 2009

Meanwhile

While I figure some things out, enjoy this randomness / mini review of The Final Destination (not worth paying to see IMO unless you really want to see noname actors die) Everyone say Hello to Spnkyhappy again :)



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FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Alright guys here's the problem I've been having recently which may explain the reason I have been lacking content

My PC has served me well and we've been through alot together... unfortunately my outdated companion here has decided to take it upon itself to devour every little video file I try to make any longer than what seems to be 4 minutes long, and mind you this is with any program I try to edit with I became so desperate I even tried using Windows Movie Maker which even compared to Pinnacle is a step down.

I'm doing my best but I can't tell you how much of a Moral killer it is to edit through a scene of something after writing and recording it only to have my computer say "NOM NOM NOM mmmm tasty but needs more lols"

I'm trying to shop around for a new one looking for the best one I can afford and luckily my birthday is coming up in a few weeks but I'll still be hard pressed to scrape together the cash I need. I'll keep you guys updated from here but expect alot more text than usual rather than video until I can get this sorted out.

Peace,

Lanipator




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Friday, August 14, 2009

Awesome fan Tributes

I've seen some awesome remixes and tributes on Youtube but honestly I saw this one today and it just blew me away.

Many thanks and kudos to AinSophAur33 for not only making the video but composing the music and mixing it together. Most epic.



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Hey Guys

I'm sorry if it seems like I'm causing a panic here. I'm not trying to cause mass histeria or a mob mentality here. Just trying to keep everything updated. Honestly at the end of the day it is just a YT account and while it does suck that it is unjustly taken down worst come to worse we build up another or find another site to host. The series is going to continue and we are grateful for everyone's concern and efforts. If we do get the account back then HUZZAH if not then well.. like I said before damn shame but we will rebuild.

Thank you to everyone one of our diehard fans. keep being awesome ^^v

-Lani

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Thursday, August 13, 2009

Nice Support

Gotta love the fans heh.

I knew that the suspension of TeamFourStar was going to cause some commotion but then I noticed this video by Piratekid1111





At first I found it hard to believe but then I searched it myself and I believe I made it to around page 13 before the stream of "Bring Back TFS" videos was interrupted by another.

Thanks for all of your support guys we love you :)

Link to Download said "Bring Back TFS" Video

Special thanks to WeeklyTubeShow whom I believe to be the originator of this video. Correct me if I am wrong :)

LINK


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Wednesday, August 12, 2009

In the meanwhile

Anyone who still wants to get their fix of TFS DBZ Abridged many of our awesome fans have already reuploaded our episodes this guy in particular uploaded all of them and made a play list of all of them just for this event. Thanks CobraCommanderNLD


Play List




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Toei

Well it would appear our culprit has been found. Toei animation.

I just got off the phone with Kaiser he checked his Email and as I had suspected Toei was the one behind this.

I really wish the Japanese companies would see that we are in fact doing them no harm or disservice by making parodies. As it was when TV Tokyo was pulling everything with any shred of Naruto in it. People do not watch a parody or a music video to replace the actual show its self they watch those for the love of the show and because people put alot of hard work and effort into making them. Parodies are protected under the fair use copy right laws. I do find it amusing that our humble little parody got pulled while full episodes of Dragon Ball Z still sit on Youtube without being touched.

I understand where they are coming from I'm sure they don't even look at what they decide to pull a claim on (or if they did they are pretty ass retarded). They just see something with a property they own getting millions of views and not a dime is going to them... well not a tangible dime anyway.

What they fail to understand (and what funimation seems to understand) is that our parodies actually are a form of advertisement a free advertisement that make people interested to see the actual property itself even buy it. I'm not going to be pompous and say "WE WERE DOING THEM A FAVOR" because really they are capable of advertising for them selves and we made these parodies with out any sort of intention we made them to entertain and have fun our selves. We most definitely aren't going to stop making them.

Well that's about all I know so far. We will try to get in contact with Toei and see where that leads as well as update you on the state of DBZA itself as to what we are going to do with it and where we are posting it.

Peace,

-Lani

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Team Four Star

Hell of a night.

Well for the most part yesterday was a good day for me but then I get on my computer late last night and receive a most intriguing message from LittleKuriboh:

[12:58:49 AM] LK says: Hey
[12:59:04 AM] LK says: I'm guessing you're being bombarded with questions regarding the suspension?
[12:59:22 AM] Lando says: which one? (is currently oblivious >.>)
[12:59:29 AM] LK says: TFS' YouTube account... suspended
[12:59:38 AM] LK says: I only just saw
[12:59:54 AM] Lando says: ...wow that's no good
[12:59:57 AM] LK says: Indeed

Really I didn't even know what else to say. The account had only one strike against it and the matter of that fact seemed to be resolved completely with Funimation. So much so to the extent that from reliable soruces we have heard that many people over there actually enjoyed our free little non profit parody. Chris Sabat even promoted us.



Go to 6:08


I haven't been able to get ahold of Kaiser at the moment he would be the one to ask exactly who pulled this on us as it is his Email that was tied to the TeamFourStar account. So at the moment we can only speculate.

Really the real issue here is the guys running Youtube and I guess by extent Google are a bunch of cowards. I mean it makes sense, when you are a multibillion dollar corporation anyone and their mother is going to want a peice of that money one way or another through a lawsuit or something, but that doesn't mean they just have to roll over and get butt-F*cked over every demand a company makes. I still remember all that shit with viacom it was rediculous. What I'm saying is Youtube should give atleast a little big of warning to an account before ripping it down completely hell even give the owner of the account in question a chance to contact the company making the claim.

Though not much can be done right now, I will try to keep you guys updated.

-Lani

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Monday, August 3, 2009

Top 10 Syndicated Anime

For the full 15 read the post below ^^v



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Top 15 Syndicated Anime

Because 10 was only enough for a video

This is a list of my personal top 15 Syndicated Anime meaning they were viewable on TV on Network Television.


15

PokemonEasily the first Anime I ever watched on a regular basis. Pokemon was a great adventure story about a boy who strikes out to make the world his bitch. It is a world where humanity capture animals from the wild place them in cramped spaces and make them fight for their amusement and to prove their superiority to each other... I believe Micheal Vick was put away for a few years for something like that.


14

One Piece

From what I'm told this is the best Shonen anime out today unfortunately the only exposure I had to it was 4kids' desecration of what still looked to be a great series. I still watched it even with the horrible dub and edits and did in fact enjoy it. Were it not for 4kids I'm sure this would be much higher on the list and I may still be watching it today. Unfortunately that is not the case, one of these days I will start watching it again though, once time permits.



13


Death Note
What's that? An anime starring a psycho with a book that can kill people?... and it's intelligently written?... With plot twists I wont see coming a mile away? Looks good to me. The only thing that keeps this show from breaking past the 13 spot on my list is the fact that well... I just plain got bored of it. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed it but my god sometimes it just felt like I was grinding through the episodes just to see how things turned out. Nothing was really making me watch it other than sheer curiosity of the plot. Also if he really didn't want to be caught he may have wanted to make use of that rule in the book that says he can dictate how a person dies i.e. if the guy is in prison "Dude dies at 3:30 via Shank" or just to confuse the shit out of people "Blah blah blah dies by solidified frozen waste dropped from airplane at 5:25" If I had that friggen book I would never be caught..... perhapse that's for the better.


12

Naruto


I'll admit it like most Toonami's ad campaign sucked me in I was pretty god damn Narutarded when it first started showing on Cartoon Network even watching that entire friggen 100 Episodes of Naruto Marathon thing they had. It is a good show I can't say it isn't but my god the pacing just killed it. You could have some pretty action packed episodes sometimes but then there are those GOD DAMN FLASHBACKS. Don't even get me started on the 80 or so episodes of filler, I swear watching this show try to catch up to the manga at this point is like watching a snail crawl after a jet.



11


Fooly Cooly

Easily the most bizzar show on my list but that's why I love it. The first time I watched it I didn't know what to think I enjoyed the hell out of it but was compeletly and utterly confused at the same time. The second time through though I noticed the hidden themes that had elluded me the first time. It was all about the boys journey into becoming a strong willed man (PUBERTY). He struggles to learn who he really is and what compells him to do things the way he does and why he has this black hole in his head. In the end he succeeds where the Eyebrow guy fails and grows into a strong independant man WHO CAN PULL A HUGE DOUBLE NECKED MEGA GUITAR FROM HIS SKULL AND KICK THE SHIT OUT OF GIANT WTF ALIEN THINGS. Yeah it's pretty much the japanese version of The Wonder Years.


Top 10 to be posted soon

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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Transformers

Just got out of watching Transformers 2 thought I'd give a quick review.



PS sorry for the delay on my next Outside the Otaku, my normal desktop's internet is messed up and I can't transfer large files from it and I don't have an external drive on me that can hold the data I need transfered to another computer that has internet to... you know what long story just know it's on it's way @.@

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Saturday, June 20, 2009

Offspring WOOOOO

Just got back from an Offspring concert tonight, good stuff heh. Caught the show with my girlfriend and a friend from work. Got ourselves some floor passes so getting there early enough we made it in just about right in front of the stage.

There were two opening acts Time Again, who's stuff I haven't really heard and ... well they did alright I actually felt kind of bad for the guys, I don't think anyone in the crowd knew who the hell they were nobody was really pumped there was a mild mosh but that was about it. I felt even worse for them when later on in the show when Offspring had taken stage my girlfriend, friend and I were off to the side (more on how we go there later) and the members of Time Again were just standing there like the sad kid who showed up to prom without a date.

The second opening act was Dropkick Murphey's they had an intense set most of which I knew, Flannigan's Ball, Johnny I hardly knew ya, and I'm Shipping up to Boston (many would recognize from the movie The Departed). It was durring this act the crowd started to get riled moshes were a lil more heavy and it was getting a little tougher to keep breathing room for me and my lady.

Wasn't until Offspring hit the stage though that my girlfriend and I knew we had to get out of that crowd. Pushing got a little to much and she could barely stay on her feet I was having trouble as well we moved our way back but ended up in a rather violent mosh. We got a little sepperated and as I fought to get back to her I think I broke some guys ribs... if you are reading this dude... it wasn't me >.>

Ended up helping her into a crowd surf and meeting up with here on the side. The show kicked ass never had more fun getting elbowed in the eye and punched in the face. Offsprings set kicked ass they must have been on stage for about an hour and a half hitting everything from their greatest hits (Come out and play, Pretty Fly For a White Guy, Why Don't You Get a Job , Self Eseteem) and alot from their newest album Rise and Fall Rage and Grace (You're Gonna Go Far Kid, Hammerhead, Alot Like Me, Kristy Are You Doing Ok) The last of which was a very pleasant surprise as it was the first song Erika and I had danced to (I know I'm a sentamentalist and a romantic deal with it >.>).

Afterward we all went down the street to Mickey's Diner and got some much needed food and drink. What a night ^^ now to record and edit more of my next Outside The Otaku video ^^v

(here's a hint Man with a gun in his arm, frequently meets up with a girl with blue hair, tends to be the guy that saves the day at the end of every episode)

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Friday, June 12, 2009

Summer Movies!

Wolverine
Snikt bub snik snikt snikt bub bub snikt



Star Trek



Terminator Salvation




Up



Drag Me To Hell



Land of the Lost



The Hangover



Angels and Demons



Night at the Museum 2



Ghosts of Girlfriends Past




Monsters Vs Aliens





Monday, June 8, 2009

TFS DBZA Ep 10 part 2

Vegeta has become the mighty Oozaru. Now Goku is in for the fight of his life. How long can he avoid the mighty beast's savage attacks? Will backup arrive to save him? What would Yamcha do? Found out this time on Dragonball Z Abridged




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Sunday, June 7, 2009

DNA Ep 9

A few friends from TeamDN asked me to cover for one of their members (DirtyDan) who could no longer continue working with them. As such I have taken over the parts he used to do. I know my interpretations of these characters may not be the best but I give it my all with whatever role I'm doing :)

That being said enjoy Epiosode 9





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Saturday, June 6, 2009

My Blog

So this is it. My own little private page to post all my most private thoughts and share them with the world. Well ok mainly it'll just be random blogs about movies and games and what ever else I may be doing. Hell probably a few updates about what I'm working on for those who watch closely enough.

I'll be embedding all the little vlogs and anything I do on blip or Youtube here so anyone who doesn't want to have to check those sites you know where to go to get into the mind of Lanipator.

For those who enjoy the free entertainment I provide please feel free to donate what ever you wish so that I may continue to do so maybe even with a higher budget :)

All donations are greatly appreciated ^^v