Angry Web

As we get closer to the theatrical release of Paramount’s “Iron Man”, the 5th TV spot hits the air waves to create more anticipation for this predicted Summer smash. You can check out the 5th TV spot HERE.

I received an email last night as part of “The Dark Knight” viral campaign regarding Harvey Dent. Sure enough there were some changes made to ibelieveinharveydent.com. It appears that on April 13 we will have some new video that furthers the viral campaign of Harvey Dent. Head over to the site for more info.

PRESS CONFERENCE TO BE STREAMED LIVE ON SUNDAY APRIL 13TH AT 3:00 PM (EDT).

Harvey Dent realizes that the slanderous and untrue charges trumped up by a mysterious group never seen before in Gotham politics has distracted from the real issues facing Gotham – how to make our city safe again and fight the crime and corruption that is endangering our future. I Believe In Harvey Dent will hold a press conference on Sunday, April 13th at 3:00 pm (EDT) for an important announcement regarding the campaign. The audio of this event will be streamed live on this website.

CLARIFICATION The Gotham Machinists Union has not “withdrawn their endorsement” of Harvey Dent for DA. Their spokesmen clarified that the endorsement has merely been “suspended” for the time being. The Harvey Dent campaign looks forward to the continued support of the Gotham Machinists Union.

DONUT SUPPLIER NEEDED The Harvey Dent campaign lives and breathes off its volunteer crew. Hundreds of Gotham citizens have joined the campaign to change our city. But this week, our donut donor stopped donating donuts to us. And as anyone who has worked on a campaign knows, if the volunteers are the life’s blood of a campaign, then donuts are the life’s blood of the volunteers. If any of you know of a donut donor who would like to get involved in the campaign to take Gotham back, please have them contact the campaign. Thank you.

If you like games that are violent to the point where you need a chainsaw attached to an automatic gun, then you are probably a fan of “Gears of War”. And as most of you know, “Gears of War” is only the beginning of the series with a sequel due out at the end of this year. Well if you can’t wait until the end of this year you can read the “Gears of War 2″ details that have been recently released to tide you off for a while.

Most multiplayer details are under wraps. There is a remake of Gridlock. Step up in technology is obvious. “We hear hints of all sorts of new multiplayer features, from dramatically expanded co-op modes to multiplayer content that takes advantage of Unreal’s new ability to deliver huge numbers of the Locust horde at one time, but confirmed details will have to wait until a later date.”

For more details on the game, including details on the new characters, click HERE.

“Tales from Earthsea” is the newest addition to the Studio Ghibli films, released in Japan on July 29, 2006. It has yet to be released on DVD in the US, but there are of course other, less honorable ways of getting your hands on it. The director of this film, Goro Miyazaki, is actually the son of the famous Ghibli director, Hayao Miyazaki, and definitely follows in his father’s footsteps as a promising animation director.

At the back story of the movie, dragons, not supposed to be visible to mankind, have begun to appear in Earthsea due to a disturbance in the Balance, a sort of force controlling all life in Earthsea. As a result of this disturbance, farmers’ crops are dying, the world is succumbing to greed and deception, wizards and witches are losing their powers (basically the earth is just dying).

The plot of the movie focuses on Arren, Prince of Earthsea, who murders his father, steals his father’s sword, and runs away from home. While running away, Arren is saved by Sparrowhawk, the Archmage of the House of Roke and one of the few wizards who still holds his magical power. As the Archmage, Sparrowhawk is searching for the causes behind the disturbance and weakening of the Balance. Throughout the film, Arren and Sparrowhawk develop a sort of King Arthur and Merlin relationship as Arren is now the rightful King of Earthsea and still requires a lot of guidance with no father figure. On a deeper level, Arren is haunted by a shadow that constantly follows him and one that he cannot control, which was the cause for Arren’s departure from home.

Along his travels, Arren saves a girl named Therru, but because of a complicated meeting, Arren and Therru have a rocky start for a relationship. Eventually, Arren ends up working with Therru on a farm owned by a woman named Tenar, a friend of Sparrowhawk. Arren definitely learns some lessons on the life and I think by starting sort of anew and doing some good old labor, he begins to get new perspective on life.

As the film pushes forward, the audience is introduced to another a dark wizard named Lord Cob with a power still equal to Sparrowhawk’s who seeks revenge against the Archmage for banishing him many years ago. In his search for Sparrowhawk, Lord Cob also becomes aware of Arren, Tenar, and Therru, and the situation easily becomes more complicated when the dark wizard realizes he can use the three to capture Sparrowhawk. At this point, the film really picks up pace, and I’ll leave you to find out what goes down, but I’ll say you won’t be disappointed.

Opinions – this film is based off the fourth volume of the “Earthsea” book series, and it really doesn’t disappoint. The beginning of the film is definitely slow, and you will want to say “woah, what in the world is going on?” But again, trust me, by the end of the film most of the confusion is cleared up. The movie gets pretty deep on the concept of death and immortality and the beauty of life (similar to “Princess Mononoke”), adding even more emotion and depth to the film. The animation is also really similar to “Princess Mononoke,” and there is a good amount of comedic relief (you will see what I mean when you watch the two ladies in the countryside). There isn’t an overuse of magic or a grip of fighting scenes. I think there are like too few action scenes, but I would say when there are action scenes it makes them all the more memorable and cool. I will also say that the relationship or the development of the relationship between Arren and Therru is ‘off.’ It is just weird and a little unrealistic. But, the film is great, so go see it (or download it, or buy a ripped copy, or just be patient and wait ’til the evil Disney company decides to release it in the US [which will be awesome cause Wilem Defoe is the voice of Lord Cob, and when you first see Lord Cob, you will think he is a woman too] whenever that is).

If you like random games such as “Lumines I & II”, the “Katamari” series, “Elebits”, or “Rayman Raving Rabbids”, with awesome cell shading graphics and eccentric, twisted stories, Patapon should be a definite buy for your PSP collection.

You are (by default) a being known as Kami. You command the once great Patapon warriors with four beat commands (move, attack, defend, and miracle callings) in hopes of returning the Patapons to their former glory and of reaching Earthend, home of the mysterious object, IT (I won’t spoil the surprise to the actual object at the end of the game).

The story is so twisted and random that you may just laugh at yourself for buying and playing such a game. Perhaps its just the numerous amounts of weapons and upgrades you will find along the way to kick some Zigaton army ass (the Patapon’s sworn enemy) or the gigantic, mythical creatures. Or, maybe its just the Patapon’s nature to worship you as their Mighty One or their similar resemblance to Lemmings, just not as stupid and the Patapons do not walk aimlessly off cliffs. Either way, whatever subliminal messages the Sony Computer Entertainment Japan developers did to make this game so addicting, they did it well.

Bottom Line – go buy it because it’s worth the money.

A review for the upcoming movie, “The Dark Knight”, has been published online by a Brazilian journalist. It has been translated so ignore the spelling and grammar errors. The translated review can be found HERE, and HERE is a link to the source.

These new ads were created by a Chilean advertising agency so chances are these won’t be circulated outside of South America. Luckily the interwebs make it so people around the world can see them…except maybe in China. Click the images for the larger version.