Pads & Panels

Title: True Grit

Format: Two-disc Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Written and Directed by: Joel and Ethan Coen

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, Hailee Steinfeld

Studio: Paramount

Film Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

The Film

True Grit is a solid film, but one I feel did not to be made for a number of reasons. The original was one of the most acclaimed John Wayne films around, and it’s a story that seemingly doesn’t need or warrant the Coen Brothers’ unique brand of humor. And ultimately, while I like the movie, I don’t love it.

Jeff Bridges is an acting force in the movie. Matt Damon does some interesting things with his character. And Hailee Steinfeld is absolutely fantastic as Mattie Ross. But it doesn’t all seem to add up in my book. It just amounts to a lot of entertaining parts that don’t really combine to form a fantastic film. (more…)

Game of the Year 2010 – Red Dead Redemption (360/PS3)

Publisher: Rockstar – Developer: Rockstar San Diego

Our Review

I didn’t want to buy into the hype for Red Dead Redemption. Its precursor, Red Dead Revolver, was a decent rental, but forgettable – a go-to title when trying to think of games that time forgot. To associate Red Dead Redemption with it should be a sin. Rockstar could have easily slapped a cowboy-themed skin on Liberty City and called it Grand Theft Horsey, but Rockstar San Deigo did so much more. The studio made a Wild West that was fun to explore on horseback – a desert that was desolate, yet not deserted. (more…)

2010 Holiday Gift Guide – For the Action Gaming Fan…

By P&P Staff

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Call of Duty: Black Ops

(360/PS3/PC/Wii/DS)

Activision’s popular shooter series is back this year with the Treyarch-developed Call of Duty: Black Ops.  If the shooter fan on your list wasn’t already camped out for a midnight release of the game and doesn’t already own it, this one is essential.  A brand-new single-player storyline, as well as new multiplayer levels and the return of the zombie mode from World at War will guarantee plenty of Prestige ranking, zombie killing, multiplayer fun. (more…)

Title: Red Dead Redemption

Platform: 360 (PS3)

ESRB: M

Publisher: Rockstar Games

Developer: Rockstar San Deigo

Rating:

Review by: Kevin Haverty

The Western is a dying genre. Kids aren’t outside playing Cowboys & Indians anymore. Western films have been few and far between, and recent ones haven’t been given wide releases. Unless of course, we count the recent adaption of Jonah Hex, but that crapfest would hurt the case for the Western.

A great reflection of society’s one time love for the Wild West and current disinterest in it could be summed up with Woody’s plight in the Toy Story series. Thankfully Rockstar dug up the Red Dead Revolver franchise and crafted an amazing Western experience with it in Red Dead Redemption. (more…)

Title: The Sixth Gun Issue #1

Publisher: Oni Press

Writer: Cullen Bunn

Artist: Brian Hurtt

Review by: Bill Jones

Upon first hearing the idea for The Sixth Gun at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, I just had to ask its creative team of Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt one question…

“So, it’s kind of like Lord of the Rings then, but with an all-powerful gun instead of one ring to rule them all?”

They couldn’t deny the comparison, but said once people read through the first issue, they would understand that it’s also something entirely different. The Sixth Gun’s description does sound a hell of a lot like an Old Western version of Lord of the Rings, though. The idea is that there was once a series of revolvers created with magical powers. One of those guns, the sixth to be exact, was more powerful than the rest. Now, that gun has resurfaced, and all of the evil forces of the world are uniting in an attempt to acquire it for their devious ends. And the gun itself holds some power over those who wield it. (more…)