Pads & Panels

Title: One Week

Format: DVD

MPAA Rating: Not Rated

Written and Directed by: Michael McGowan

Starring: Joshua Jackson, Liane Balaban, Campbell Scott

Studio: IFC Films

Film: Rating:

DVD Rating:

Review by: Sarah Kumley

The Film

One Week is a film about schoolteacher Ben Tyler, who upon finding out that he has an aggressive form of cancer decides to drop everything and go west in search of an adventure of a lifetime. Only a few months before the wedding, he leaves his fiancé, Samantha, at home, purchases a motorcycle and takes off. Along the way, Ben meets people that give him some insight into himself and he changes some of them as well. He also has an affinity for oversized roadside sculptures and visits many on his trip, taking snapshots along the way.

What is inspiring about One Week is that Ben is not only moved by the people he encounters, but by the beauty of the world around him as well. This movie makes one think about their own mortality and evaluate if they are living the life they want. If confronted with horrible odds as Ben was, what would someone do with their remaining time? (more…)

Artist: Various

Album Title: Transformers: Dark of the Moon – The Album

Record Label: Reprise Records

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

Just in time for the latest Michael Bay CGI/explosion extravaganza, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Reprise Records released Transformers: Dark of the Moon – The Album, or, as it would be title if being totally honest, Transformers: Songs Maybe Loosely Associated with the Movie. As the back of the case proudly proclaims/admits, “a number of tracks may not be contained in the film.” Either way, they are available now in three formats. (more…)

Title: Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Directed By: Michael Bay

Written by: Ehren Kruger

Starring: Shia LeBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Peter Cullen, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Tyrese Gibson, Patrick Dempsey, Francis McDormand, John Malkovich, Kevin Dunn, Ken Jeong

Studio: Paramount, Hasbro

Rating:

Review by: Matt Peters

There’s no doubt that this installment of Transformers has a lot of making up to do for Revenge of the Fallen. After a strong first outing by Michael Bay, fans were left disappointed with his 2009 follow up. After the horrible characters, terrible acting and lack of a real story, is it possible that this third film in the franchise can be the best so far? (more…)

Artist: Protest the Hero

Album Title: Scurrilous

Label: Vagrant Records

Rating:

Review by: Eric Stuckart

Very much like chugging an energy drink after fiending for a few hours, Scurrilous jumps out of the gate and down the listener’s throat, galloping at a million miles a second and racing through his veins like he’s never really experienced. Alright, perhaps I’m exaggerating just a tiny bit, but this album pretty much kicked my ass all over the place in a way I never really expected. (more…)

Artist: Omar Rodriguez Lopez

Album Title: Telesterion

Label: Rodriguez Lopez Productions

Rating:

Review by: Eric Stuckart

It is pretty well documented that Omar Rodriguez Lopez is both a maniac and a workaholic, musically speaking. In the last decade, give or take, he’s taken part in over 20 recordings, not counting live albums, compilations, one-offs, or his work with The Mars Volta. I’ve theorized that the man simply cannot sit still, and it is possible that he even writes and records in his sleep. (more…)

Title: Louie: The Complete First Season

Format: Blu-ray/DVD 2-Disc Set

Created by: Louis C.K.

Starring: Louis C.K., Hadley Delany, Nick DiPaolo

Studio: FX Network, 20th Century Fox

Season Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

The Season

As FX Network has risen in notoriety with a host of ballsy original programming for cable television, it both got lucky in scoring and helped to make Louis C.K. one of the biggest stars in comedy today. And though his debut season of Louie gets off to a slightly slow start, it quickly becomes a fascinating piece of not only comedy, but a serious expression of controversial ideas on television. And it’s hard not to see it as a sort of perfect blend of what Louis C.K. has to offer in the television format.

Throughout The Complete First Season, Louis C.K. splices together stage spots and sketches, though this reviewer would hesitate to call it all stand-up and sketch comedy. For much of the first season of Louie, the show can be hilariously funny, but it’s not all jokes. Louis C.K. tells some jokes and creates some comedic moments for sure, but he also takes time to develop his thoughts about issues such as the use of homosexual terminology in comedy, being middle aged and a divorced father, religion, dealing with opposing political beliefs, dating, and what it’s like to be a performer and actor. (more…)

Title: All-Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder: Volume 1

Publisher: DC Comics

Writer: Frank Miller

Artist: Jim Lee

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

It’s hard to imagine with this being the first series published under DC Comics’ All-Star banner that the imprint lasted long enough for Grant Morrison to produce the fantastic All-Star Superman. All-Star allows the writers and artists to tell stories with key DC characters outside the general continuity of the DC Universe (or any other continuity DC has going, for that matter). And with creators of the likes of 300, Sin City and Batman: Hush, one would think this would be met with promising results. Jim Lee’s art gets the job done, for sure, but it’s hard to believe Volume 1 of All-Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder was written by the same Frank Miller who produced The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One. (more…)

Title: Rango: The World

Platform: PC

Developer: Funtactix

Rating:

Review by: Sarah Kumley

Rango is a family-friendly movie released earlier this year, about a chameleon who finds himself in an old west town called Dirt. To prolong the fun of the movie, parents and children can also play an online game, Rango: The World, which takes place in Dirt one year after the movie ends. In the game, players walk around the town and talk to different characters to receive missions. Players gain points and can advance their levels by completing these missions. If a player stops in the middle of a mission, the journal keeps track of all the steps needed to complete it.

Players move around the world by clicking on the ground in the direction they want to go. To enter a building or move to the next section of buildings, the player must click on an arrow on the ground. In much the same fashion, to talk to characters throughout Dirt, players click on them and select what they would like to discuss from a list that pops up. Players may also find artifacts along the way. These can be collected by the player but do cause them to lose some energy points, which can be regained later. (more…)

Title: MotorStorm Apocalypse

Platform: PS3

ESRB: T

Publisher: Sony

Developer: Evolution Studios

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

MotorStorm: Apocalypse is a beautiful disaster of a game. It takes the series from its dusty and tropical landscapes to a venue of urban destruction, but plagued with bad timing and a poor story, Apocalypse gets off to a slow start.

While developer Evolution Studios can hardly be blamed for circumstances well outside of their control, Apocalypse’s story of a group of thrill-seekers who flock to a dying city ravaged by an earthquake to race — well, it’s a little hard to experience outside of the context of Japan’s disaster at this point. If that wasn’t working against the game enough, the major hack on PlayStation Network all but stifled the online community of MotorStorm: Apocalypse. Apparently, the only thing worse than the timing of MotorStorm: Apocalypse is its story. (more…)

Title: Cell Bound

Platform: iOS

Publisher: Hothead Games

Developer: Hothead Games

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

Cell Bound is the latest of Hothead Games’ mobile offerings, working to create a new type of match-based puzzling, with an ongoing mode that feels similar to Tetris, but with a brand new premise. Players simply control the rotation of a Petri dish as cell slide in from the sides to the center, threatening to contaminate the surface. They can be eliminated, however, by connecting five of the same color. So players spin to make color combinations with the ever speedier cells coming from all sides (which goes a long way in building tension quickly), trying to prevent them from reaching the outer edges of the dish. It’s a fun premise, offering a fresh take on puzzling, but the cells speed up a bit too fast, and without distinct level progression or depth as with Tetris, Cell Bound ultimately ends up feeling a little shallow, despite its three modes of play. (more…)