Pads & Panels

Title: Vengeance 2011

Format: DVD

Studio: WWE Home Video

Review by: Bill Jones

Vengeance is an exercise in disappointment, with one major saving grace. This is where CM Punk’s original momentum started to taper after he got trapped in a pointless storyline with Triple H, tagging with him here to take on The Miz and R-Truth. Meanwhile, spoiled on the front of the box, Big Show and Mark Henry recycle an old bit in which the ring breaks under there weight. Not too original. But the interesting twist this time around is that the show does not end when Show and Henry break the ring. Instead, John Cena and Alberto Del Rio start their last man standing match for the WWE Championship in the broken ring. But it’s ultimately a cherry on top of a shit sundae. (more…)

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Title: Greatest Rivalries: Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart

Format: Three-Disc DVD Set

Studio: WWE Home Video

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

It’s no secret that WWE Home Video has been unashamedly mining its archives for as many DVD and Blu-ray releases as it can possibly get out on the market. But more often than not lately, the company seems to be hitting its marks when it comes to these releases.

One of the latest and most fantastic is the first in a presumed series titled Greatest Rivalries, this one focusing on the feud between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. Most wrestling fans are readily familiar with the infamous Montreal Screwjob, but before things got to that point, these wrestling superstars had a great feud, and this three-disc DVD collection outlines that feud. (more…)

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Title: Sonic Generations

Platform: 3DS (360, PS3, PC)

ESRB: E

Publisher: Sega

Developer: Team Sonic, CriWare

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

After so many failed attempts to bring Sonic back to his 16-bit prominence, it feels good to be able to write that Team Sonic has finally created a Sonic game worth caring about again, a Sonic game that boils things down to what we used to love so much about the series, a Sonic that we actually enjoy racing left to right across the screen, a Sonic that successfully spans generations and make us love that blue hedgehog again. (more…)

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Title: Night of Champions 2011

Format: DVD

Studio: WWE Home Video

Review by: Bill Jones

Night of Champions saw the derailing of CM Punk’s chance at a real run at the top early on when he locked up with Triple H. It also saw a confusing turn of events with Alberto Del Rio and John Cena, as it relates to the WWE Championship. And then a bunch of other matches that seem very similar to the cards we’ve seen as of late on other pay-per-views. The only real saving grace is the Mark Henry and Randy Orton fight for the World Heavyweight Championship, which sees “Sexual Chocolate” himself finally on top after all these years. (more…)

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Title: Hell in a Cell 2011

Format: DVD

Studio: WWE Home Video

Review by: Bill Jones

Yet another specialty match turned pay-per-view, Hell in a Cell has effectively done its best over the last few years to neuter the danger and appeal that the match once had. This year’s big selling point — the WWE Championship on the line for the first time ever in a triple-threat Hell in the Cell bout, featuring CM Punk, Alberto Del Rio and John Cena. An interesting twist sees Cena locked outside the cell, unable to compete. But ultimately it is a lackluster match, the finale of which serves to show how bad of a place the WWE writing staff was in at the time. The after-match activities don’t help. Mark Henry versus Randy Orton is a much better bout, but still altogether commonplace for something as “brutal” as Hell in a Cell. The undercard is unforgivably weak. (more…)

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12 Things to be Excited About in 2012

By Matt Peters

This year is scheduled to be one of the biggest of note in the world of comics, video games, and all-around geekiness. We here at Pads & Panels would like to give you twelve reasons that 2012 will be awesome. Let’s hope our Mayan overlords don’t return from outer space until we get to experience most of it. Take a look below for some of the highlights:

*WARNING, MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD*

(more…)

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Why (500) Days of Summer is the Geekiest Film You’ve Never Seen or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Get Excited About Spider-Man

By Matt Peters

After much convincing by my friend John Castro, I finally sat down and watched the 2009 movie (500) Days of Summer. I’m not a big fan of romcoms, and I was determined to avoid yet another film that features the typical formula: the guy is a bumbling, macho fool who changes his ways thanks to a strong-willed independent woman who softens her man-hatin’ stance and eventually swoons for the still rough-around-the-edges schlub. Why would I waste my time watching that kid from 3rd Rock from the Sun fall in love with a girl with cartoonishly huge eyes?

Mark Webb directed the film who, at the time, didn’t have much feature-length directing experience under his belt. The movie feels a little like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World without all of the game and comic references in the sense that the characters are very well spoken and have depth beyond what’s immediately shown on the surface. Webb’s directing style, combined with various slapstick elements and a witty script make for a comedic experience that may surprise some viewers. He even went so far as to direct a short to accompany one throwaway line featuring the stars in a Sid & Nancy parody. (more…)

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Title: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Format: Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy

Directed by: Rob Marshall

Written by: Terry Rossio & Ted Elliott

Starring: Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, Ian McShane, Kevin McNally

Studio: Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Walt Disney Pictures

Rating:

Review by: Sarah Jones

If there was ever a pirate who could escape any situation, it would be Captain Jack Sparrow. Although he acts silly, Sparrow seems to stumble into the right situations at the right time to find the treasure or escape capture. However, this movie begins with Sparrow in custody by the English. Of course, he escapes and starts on his journey for the Fountain of Youth aboard Captain Blackbeard’s ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge.

As the new lovely lady in the Pirates’ world, Penelope Cruz features as Blackbeard’s daughter, Angelica, with whom Sparrow once had a romantic relationship with. To add more drama, Blackbeard and crew are not the only ones seeking the fountain. Barbossa, who makes a return from previous movies in the series, and the Spanish are both on the hunt for the fountain for their own reasons. (more…)

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Title: 30 Days of Night: Omnibus Vol. 1

Publisher: IDW

Writers: Steve Niles

Artist: Ben Templesmith

Rating:

Review by: Eric Stuckart

Bleak and sparse, 30 Days of Night is the type of vampire story that should be told more often. Rather than try too hard by showing a lot of flash and overdoing the action, it broods. It breathes its icy black breath on every page. And the pages are dark as they come. It doesn’t have to try; it gets its point across just by being, making it quite the page turner.

In this colllection, the first three stories of the 30 Days saga are included, the self-titled first story, along with sequels Dark Days and Return to Barrow. With the first story, the duo of Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith had something terrifyingly special on their hands. The story is simple. In the quiet Alaskan town of Barrow, a group of vampires comes up with a plan that no vampire has ever tried before. They decide to drop in on the townsfolk during the short period between November 18 and December 17 when the sun doesn’t rise — the titular 30 days of night. Without a sun coming up to make the vampires return to hiding for a month, Barrow becomes a free-for-all, an all-you-can-eat buffet for the vampires. This is the story of how those townsfolk fight back. (more…)

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Title: Super Mario 3D Land

Platform: 3DS

ESRB: E

Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: Nintendo EAD Tokyo

Rating:

Review by: Matt Peters

A Nintendo launch without a Mario game just doesn’t feel right. That may be the reason why the Nintendo 3DS stalled out of the gate. That empty space has now been filled, as Nintendo gives us Super Mario 3D Land. With a few new tricks up his sleeve and his signature hat, Mario’s ready to save the Princess again. Fortunately, this adventure was worth the wait. (more…)

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