Archive for the Reviews Category

Newer Entries »

Mini-Review: Naglfar – Téras: Ehh…

Posted in Best / Worst, Music, Reviews on April 3, 2012 by slateman

Téras

I first listened to Naglfar in the mid-90s when I heard Enslave The Astral Fortress and later Vittra. Sure, it wasn’t the greatest of albums and the drum beats were rather predictable, but it was pretty friggin’ awesome in 1995. After some changes, I was incredibly satisfied with both Pariah and Harvest. But that was 5 years ago. Téras has been a long time coming and now that it’s here…I’m disappointed.

Téras is a heavy, fast metal record with Wrath’s trademark vocals and on paper, it’s everything I love about music. However, it just doesn’t catch me. The production leaves me a little bothered, with the drums drowning out the guitars on several key points. The songs are not nearly as memorable as the last few records and barring a pair of tracks towards the end, nothing grabs me. I compare this to Kalmah’s For The Revolution. This was the first Kalmah record to not be as good as its predecessor. Ultimately, it’s the weakest in their catalog but it’s still worth a listen, particularly Coward. Unlike that album, I liken Téras to recent albums of Iron Maiden, etc. The album is good enough, but why listen to it when you have better music from the same band?

After the epic awesomeness of the last few albums, I’m disappointed this doesn’t live up. That’s always unfair for bands, particularly after a long hiatus. Sadly, the best thing about this album is that they’re still using the Naglfar logo and never changed that.

Leave A Comment »

SFxT: Thoughts

Posted in Games, Reviews, Street Fighter on March 11, 2012 by slateman

I’m quite enjoying the arcade nature of this game. It’s dumbed down, ala the Marvel versus games, and has all the flash of that series as well. However, it’s a bit more true to the SF world and I love it. The cross combos are fun and spectacular to watch, the roster is huge and rather diverse, and there are plenty of modes to tinker with. It’s taken all the good from the SF4 games and carried it over. The downside is that a lot of it looks familiar.

We should point out that Poison is exactly as I envisioned her to be. Over the top and ridiculous. The fact that the game has a story at all is kinda cool, and the rival battles are somewhat meaningful and fun. While I got this from GameFly, I’ll be sad to send it back. But, with all the DLC planned, a GOTY version would be welcome. I’m still waiting on UMVC3 for that very reason. So glad I didn’t take the plunge for the initial release.

Leave A Comment »

Mini-Review: Paranormal Activity 3: I Liked

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Movies, Reviews on March 2, 2012 by slateman

PA3

Kids - Good or Bad?


I’ll never forget watching the first Paranormal Activity. I heard the hype and IMO, it was something new and different. I don’t care what you or anyone else thought of it. It scared the shit out of me and I loved every second of it. My eyes were glued to the TV. I refused to blink. OMG…so scared.

The sequel was good, relying more on jumps than scares IMO but it was enjoyable. There were a few solid scenes in it. I found the third film to be even better; the final half hour was intense and excellent. If you didn’t care for the first, the next two wouldn’t do much for you, but I ate it all up. I watched in the dark, alone, and it was fantastic.

Spoilers BTW

Sadly, the real magic of the first film was never found again. Much like in most sequels, the additional characters and therefore reduction in each’s development, leaves me caring less about them all. Sure, there aren’t many in PA3, but for the most part, a little girl running around at night is simply not very scary.

However as the movie came to a close, there were a number of memorable scenes. The babysitter scene (wow!), the second Bloody Mary scene (AHH!), the holding-up-by-her-hair scene, then the jumpy kitchen scene (holy shit!). At the grandmother’s house, I figured out she was sketchy, but sat at the edge of my seat waiting to see how that final scene played out. WHERE IS EVERYBODY??? Then those people in the garage? CREEPY! The final moments wouldn’t have been my choice for the epic finale, but I loved it all.

What I don’t love is how reviewers slam a movie like this saying it’s no better than the predecessor (which they gave 1/2 star to as well). I don’t watch horror movies at all anymore. (I grew up on them.) When I do watch a thriller/horror, I want to be creeped out, spooked and frightened. PA3 trumped part 2, wasn’t as good as 1, but was better than most, and that’s enough for me!!!

Leave A Comment »

Mini-Review: Another Earth – I Liked

Posted in Blog, Movies, Reviews on March 2, 2012 by slateman

Another Earth

Another Earth


I don’t typically watch movies of this style nowadays. However, it was a recommendation, and I thought it an interesting concept. It was easy to feel for Rhoda and her situation. I was compelled to watch and felt great curiosity about her relationship with John. I will not make a long-winded review, but I’ll say I loved the ending. Open for specific interpretation; it was a glorious way to see what might have been (or rather, what was). I wasn’t confident it would be as good as it was, but the ending made it all worthwhile.

Not one for everybody. However, if you’re into this type of movie, it’s well worth your time.

Leave A Comment »

Newer Entries »