Blogcritics Author: Mark Kalriess

Xbox 360 Review: Grand Theft Auto IV

Mark Kalriess — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:45:06 EDT

Don't believe the hype.
Grand Theft Auto IV is the latest title in the Grand Theft Auto series and the first to appear on the Xbox 360. Technically it is not the fourth in the series. The game had a tremendous amount of hype building up to its release. The hype ratcheted up even higher upon its release with strong sales and near universal great reviews. In fact a few...

Movie Review: Superhero Movie (Extended Edition)

Mark Kalriess — Tue, 8 Jul 2008 23:16:11 EDT

Dumb but fun.
Superhero Movie is a spoof of the recent superhero movie craze. Its main target is the Spider-Man series, but it also parodies X-Men, The Hulk, The Fantastic Four, and more. The movie's humor is not sophisticated; it is stupid and juvenile. In short, if you do not see the humor in a teenager being humped by all the animals in a test lab then...

The Best Modern Rivalry: Federer vs. Nadal

Mark Kalriess — Sun, 6 Jul 2008 08:41:18 EDT

This year's Wimbledon Final could be an important part of a great rivalry.
There are not many good individual sports rivalries going these days. Team rivalries are still going strong, but not many individual ones come to mind. Tiger Woods is one of the greatest golfers of all time, but he has no one who pushes him consistently. The entire sport of boxing has fallen off, so no one much cares if there are any rivalries...

DVD Review: Frank Sinatra - The Golden Years Collection

Mark Kalriess — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:24:26 EDT

This collection has a few good movies, but is underwhelming overall.
This year is the 10th anniversary of Frank Sinatra's death. Perhaps a bit morbidly this has been seen as a chance to re-release a lot of his material. There have two greatest hits packages released, multiple DVD sets, and even postage stamps. The Golden Years set includes five Warner Bros. movies Frank made between 1955 and 1965. Marriage on...

Music Review: Weezer - Weezer (Red Album)

Mark Kalriess — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 20:48:06 EDT

Weezer takes one step forward and two steps back.
Like many others who attended high school in the 90's, Weezer is one my favorite bands. In fact, I would consider Weezer a part of the soundtrack to my high school years. When Weezer re-introduced themselves in 2001 with the Green Album, I was ecstatic. I went to their comeback tour with practically all of my friends. However, most Weezer fans...

Xbox 360 Review: Bully: Scholarship Edition

Mark Kalriess — Mon, 9 Jun 2008 00:42:34 EDT

A surprisingly addictive game.
Bully is a game from Rockstar Games, who are best known for the Grand Theft Auto series. Bully originally came out on the PlayStation 2; this version is a port of that one. While the game shows its age and its origin, it is surprisingly fun. Instead of playing as an adult criminal, you play as a juvenile delinquent. You play as Jimmy Hopkins, a...

Movie Review: Numb

Mark Kalriess — Thu, 29 May 2008 09:56:50 EDT

A mind-numbingly below average comedy.
Numb is a low budget movie with a surprising cast of stars, including Matthew Perry in the lead and Kevin Pollak and Mary Steenburgen co-starring. The cast is surprising because it is a Canadian production, and truthfully not very good. Perry plays Hudson Milbank, a screenwriter. At the movie's start, he smokes a lot of pot which causes...

Movie Review: Cassandra's Dream

Mark Kalriess — Wed, 28 May 2008 23:47:49 EDT

Allen's London renaissance continues with this taut thriller.
Cassandra's Dream is Woody Allen's third movie in a row set in London, after Match Point and Scoop. It was released in Europe last year and into limited release this January in the U.S. Now Allen fans that missed the movie have a chance to see it with the DVD release. The story focuses on two brothers. Colin Farrell plays Terry, an auto...

Music Review: Frank Sinatra - Nothing But the Best

Mark Kalriess — Mon, 26 May 2008 08:11:07 EDT

The latest in the line of good Frank Sinatra greatest hits compilations.
After Frank Sinatra's successful run with Capitol Records he decided to strike out on his own and start his own label. So, in the late 60's he founded Reprise. Nothing But the Best is a greatest hits collection from Frank's Reprise years.While Sinatra's Capitol songs are the type of songs you hear in musicals and movie soundtracks,...

Nintendo Wii Review: Deca Sports

Mark Kalriess — Thu, 22 May 2008 12:47:35 EDT

One of the worst games available for the Wii.
Deca Sports is yet another mini-game collection for the Wii. This one features ten playable sports with no obvious theme. Summer sports, winter sports, and racing events are included. I am sure that they are not the sports in a decathlon.There are not that many game modes. In multiplayer, you only have the option to play one event once. Then you...