Pads & Panels

Title: Super 8

Directed by: J.J. Abrams

Written by: J.J. Abrams

Starring: Joel Courtney, Ryan Lee, Zach Mills, Riley Griffiths, Gabriel Basso, Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning

Studio: Paramount Pictures

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

When Steven Spielberg was in his absolute prime of blockbuster filmmaking, he took children in films like E.T. and Jurassic Park and put them in situations way over their heads, fantastic situations that played on our extraordinary imaginations as children, turning them into realities more bombastic than seemingly anyone else could have ever created.

Others followed suit with the likes of Goonies and Gremlins, creating the classics of a certain generation, movies that with seeming ease tapped into the very core of the childhood experience and turned it into something beyond our wildest dreams. Super 8 (produced by Spielberg), is for all intents and purposes J.J. Abrams’ (Lost, Star Trek) take on a Spielberg classic, and while it may not quite hit the mark, it’s damn entertaining in its attempt. (more…)

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Title: The Resident

Format: Blu-ray

MPAA: R

Directed by: Antti J. Jokinen

Written by: Antti Jokinen, Robert Orr, Erin Cressida Wilson

Starring: Hilary Swank, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lee Pace, Christopher Lee

Studio: Hammer Film Productions

Film Rating:

Blu-ray Rating:

Review by: Eric Stuckart

The Film

There is a very fine line when it comes to suspense dramas. Go too far over that line and the whole thing falls apart for a myriad of reasons. If you have to suspend your disbelief too much, many times the whole affair becomes an exercise in clichés and cheesy dialogue, and you end up laughing at the scenario rather than getting wrapped up in the characters and their problems.

This is the most prevalent issue with The Resident, a direct-to-DVD (and Blu-ray) film starring Hilary Swank as Juliet Devereau, a recently-single doctor who just wants to find a nice, affordable apartment in New York. To her surprise, she thinks she found the perfect loft for an unbelievable price when she meets handsome Max, effortlessly alternating between charismatic and unbelievably creepy, courtesy of Jeffrey Dean Morgan. The loft is beautiful and spacious, and she’s quick to move in. But soon after, she begins to feel like she’s being watched, and paranoia quickly sets in. Is it Max, or is it his equally disturbing grandfather (Christopher Lee)? (more…)

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#8 Alan Wake (360)

Publisher: Microsoft – Developer: Remedy

Our Review

Back in 2005, the same year Microsoft debuted the Xbox 360, Remedy announced Alan Wake was in development. This year, gamers were finally given a chance to visit the world of Bright Falls, and it was well worth the wait. While the game provides a truly suspenseful experience, it has more in common with a season of X-Files than the Silent Hill or Resident Evil series. (more…)

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Title: “The Signal” DLC for Alan Wake

Platform: 360

Publisher: Microsoft

Developer: Remedy

Review by: Bill Jones

“The Signal” picks up right where Alan Wake left fans at the end of the core game. We get a recap of the entire first game in one of those television style “Last time on…” vignettes, and then we find ourselves back in Wake’s shoes, in the first of a two-part “Special.”

Assuming anyone reading this has already played the game (and therefore won’t find this to be a spoiler), the ending of Alan Wake left a lot of questions up in the air, though to be fair the game told us up front it was going to do just that. After Wake’s rewritten ending apparently brought his wife back, but wrote himself out as a matter of balance, fans will want to know what exactly happened to him. “The Signal” doesn’t offer any concrete answers, but it’s dancing around them. (more…)

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Title: Alan Wake

Platform: 360

ESRB: T

Publisher: Microsoft

Developer: Remedy

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

Alan Wake opens with a reference to Stephen King about nightmares existing outside of logic, and a short monologue on horror fiction. The voice is that of the title character, Alan Wake, and he explains that in a horror story, the victim always keeps asking, “Why?” But an answer is rarely ever given, and should not be. Similar the opening scenes of A Serious Man, the point is that gamers should “accept the mystery,” because it’s often these unanswered mysteries are the ones that stay with us the longest. This sets the stage for the first several episodes of Alan Wake.

It should also be noted that as these words pour over the speakers, the video takes gamers swooping through the landscape of the small town of Bright Falls, Wash., and its centerpiece mountains and Cauldron Lake. The opening credits come from the shadows and then dissipate into black smoke. The landscape is on the verge of sunset, and the sky is hazy. This also sets the stage for the first several episodes of Alan Wake. (more…)

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Title: “The Taxidermist” DLC for Heavy Rain

Platform: PS3

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Developer: Quantic Dream

Review by: Bill Jones

Almost everything there was to absolutely love about Heavy Rain is missing from its first “Chronicles” downloadable content, “The Taxidermist.” It follows the game’s investigative journalist, Madison Paige, as she follows up on a lead involving a suspect known as the Taxidermist. He’s not home, so she can choose to explore his house on her own. Of course, he comes home during the investigation, and it culminates in an intense scene. It can be replayed for a total of seven endings, extending the playthrough, but many gamers won’t care. It essentially serves as a deleted scene from the game, but offers nothing back to the story. The smooth controls of the core title are missing, as the confined hallways of the home make it a clusterfuck of shoddy controls where the mistakes are more attributable to poor presentation than gamer fault. As it stands aside from the game, there’s not much of a set-up or closure to the DLC, and thus it loses the emotional resonance of the game somewhere in the mix. All in all, this one was better left on the cutting room floor. (more…)

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Title: Heavy Rain

Platform: PS3

ESRB: M

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Developer: Quantic Dream

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

Heavy Rain is, without question, the most interesting gaming experience I’ve had in years. At every turn, it pushes the boundaries of what we know as a video game…

NOTE: Heavy Rain is a psychological thriller, and has a heavy mystery aspect to its plot. Also, it’s a game geared toward the experience and, in many cases, surprises in its mechanics. I’ve tried to discuss the title in a way that avoids too much in the realm of spoilers, either of story or gameplay, but certain things must be discussed to critique it properly. I’ve marked two points in particular as SPOILER ALERTS. Where they appear, those wishing to experience the game untainted should skip to the next paragraph. (more…)

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