I've seen a lot of tough movies in my short career as a movie critic, simply the video-game-inspired House of the Dead poses a new challenge. I finger a typical review would do small or no good. You�ve seen the commercials with a cluster of young people firing endless rounds into zombies. Well, that�s the flick, minus DMX�s rapping. Sure, there ar a couple of unornamented breasts here and there, but what you see in those 90-second floater is what�s waiting for you at the multiplex.
There�s nothing of substance to discuss. All I accept is a lot of hatred welling inside of me. So, I figured a timeline would work, that way I canful see what went untimely. I didn�t have a watch on me at the cover, but I figured since time passed so slowly, my estimates are pretty accurate
9:35 p.m.�Credits roll. Clint Howard gets third charge. I already don�t find good.
9:37 p.m.�We�re introduced to five characters, who the narrator informs us, will all be dead at the end of the night. Gee, nice way to maintain suspense.
9:46 p.m.�The five characters -- the narrator isn�t among them -- are off to a rave on an island. Now, I�m non a club kid, just raves aren�t held during the day, are they? And do they commonly have corporate sponsorship? (In this case it�s Sega, the makers of the video game that�s the basis for this motion-picture show.)
9:49 p.m.�J�rgen Prochnow plays the ship�s captain. His key? Captain Kirk.
9:56 p.m.�Zombies seem. In a shameless promotional stunt that continues throughout the flick, random clips of the aforementioned video game appear during near of the attacks. The movie is as close to being a commercial for the damned game without itemization store locations and holiday prices.
10:01 p.m.�Three of the characters meet up with three early characters, including the storyteller. (The pic never gives any of these people a personality, so what incentive do I have to do so?) It is explained that zombies stormed the rave �and killed everyone.� One character shows a picture event of the attack, which is so seamless and steady you would have thought Haskell Wexler was the DP.
10:09 p.m.�In his recap of the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre, my honored colleague Sean O�Connell acutely observed that the cast looked too pumped up and pretty to look scared. House of the Dead is another classical example. Everyone looks like they have a Soloflex and uses it regularly.
10:13 p.m.�Coast guard officer appears. She�s armed to the teeth and even sports a accelerator pedal resembling Tony Montana�s �little friend.� Sure.
10:17 p.m.�Extended scene of coast guard firing round of golf after round of ammunition into zombies, while 1 character fights off zombies underwater. At one pointedness she slashes them with a knife. Character wears skintight outfit; where did she keep the tongue?
10:22 p.m.�Flashback of how the zombies got onto the island, which is known as the Island of Death. Begin thinking virtually weekend plans.
10:28 p.m.--Characters weapon themselves (thanks to Captain Kirk�s stash of illegal firearms) in slow motion. Scene doesn�t work because it�s been used way too much, and is best effective as a way to pump up the audience. We don�t know these characters, we don�t caution about these characters, and so pumpitude is non achieved.
10:30 to 10:38 p.m.�A gunplay scene between the zombies and human beings that makes Tarantino�s sword-fighting scene in Kill Bill look like a masterpiece of refinement and transience. Also find more clich�d shots: the bullet shot in slow motion and at least a xII Matrix-style full point and pivot shots. Jump cuts and jittery redaction dominate the tedium.
10:39 p.m.�How did a group of club kids suddenly become expert gun handlers? [Duh! They play the video game House of the Dead! -Ed.] Why in the engagement scene is one of the zombies wearing what appears to be a brand newfangled set of clothes?
10:42 p.m.�Characters get to the house. Four of them work out.
10:45 p.m.�Characters find a lab, which� You experience what picture game they should make into a movie, Spy Hunter. Man, that was a gravid game; it even had a cool soundtrack. [They are. The Rock is in it. 2005. Mark your calendar. -Ed.]
10:49 p.m.�Another clich�d shooting: Characters spring to guard as an explosion goes off behind them. Shot repeated five minutes later.
10:52 p.m.�Head zombi spirit looks to perform experiments on surviving humans. I am reconsidering my Dad�s advice to learn zephyr conditioning amend.
10:54 p.m.�See 10:49 p.m.
10:56 p.m.�Sword fight between female survivor and principal zombie. Female gets stabbed in chest. Male survivor (the teller) cuts off zombie�s head, who continues to fight. Female sees the struggle, gets up, and squishes the cut off head like it�s an oversized gelatin doughnut. I haven�t really ruined anything. No writer, no matter how talented, could trace this scene properly.
10:59 p.m.�The GNI appears to rescue the characters. At this point, I don�t fifty-fifty care what the GNI is. Tagline for the movie is �You won�t even last the nighttime.� They�re right. I barely lasted the movie�s 90 minutes.
The future--You decide not to buy House of the Dead on DVD, missing the deleted scenes, the two comment tracks, and the featurette "Stacked for Zom-bat: The Sexy Babes of House of the Dead Prepare for Battle!"
Swords sponsored by Sega.
Tuesday, 2 September 2008
House of the Dead
Saturday, 23 August 2008
Sheryl Crow and Rock the Vote Team Up for Voter Registration Drive
Register Your Friends to Vote and Receive a Free Download of Sheryl Crow's
Critically Acclaimed A&M Records Album 'Detours'
WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 -- Sheryl Crow wants you and your
friends to ballot! Nine-time Grammy award winner and internationally
acclaimed singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow has teamed up with Rock the Vote to
get hoi polloi registered to VOTE! The "Sheryl Crow Voter Registration Drive"
kicks turned today. Current members of the Rock the Vote mailing lean will
have access to a dislodge download of her politically-charged song
"Gasoline". You can too log on to
hTTP://www.rockthevote.com/sherylwantsyoutovote to access the free
download. Additionally, the first 50,000 individuals that get three friends
to record to vote will drive a digital copy of her critically acclaimed A&M
Records album "Detours".
"I have been involved with Rock the Vote since its inception and proud
of the work they have done. There are such critical issues facing our
country, from high gas prices to climate change that we need to do more
then just register to vote, we need to get our friends registered too,"
aforementioned Sheryl Crow.
"We ar thrilled to partner with Sheryl Crow to record young voters,"
said Heather Smith, Executive Director, Rock the Vote. "Bringing together
music and politics is core to Rock the Vote's mission. Working with Sheryl,
we tin reach kO'd to her fans and encourage them to register and encourage
their friends, family and co-workers to do the same."
About Sheryl Crow: Since the release of her 1993 multi-platinum album
"Tuesday Night Music Club," Sheryl Crow has become one of the most
successful female singer/songwriters of her generation, having sold more
than 30 million records worldwide. On Detours, her most recent release, she
explores both personal and global issues, touching upon topics such as
relationships, adoption, breast cancer, the war in Iraq, the environment
and Hurricane Katrina. The aptly-named album deals with the things we
intend to do and the interruptions that send us on unexpected paths. In
addition to her medicine, Sheryl is a devoted advocate for many environmental,
health and humanitarian related to causes. Sheryl has been involved with Rock
the Vote for intimately 18 days, as a spokesperson, instrument panel member, and
activist, exploitation her voice and music to hit, inspire, and activate
millions of offspring Americans to have their voice heard in our democratic
march.
About Rock the Vote:
Rock the Vote's commission is to engage and build the political world power of
loretta Young people in order to achieve progressive change in our country. Rock
the Vote uses music, popular culture and new technologies to engage and
incite young people to register and vote in every election. And we give
loretta Young people the tools to identify, teach about, and take legal action on the
issues that affect their lives, and leverage their power in the political
process. Rock the Vote is creative, effective, and controlled by nobody's
agendum but our own -- we tell it like it is and pridefulness ourselves on being a
trusted source for information on politics. We endow the 44 million edward Young
people in America world Health Organization want to step up, claim their voice in the political
process, and change the way politics is done. http://www.RockTheVote.com
More info
Critically Acclaimed A&M Records Album 'Detours'
WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 -- Sheryl Crow wants you and your
friends to ballot! Nine-time Grammy award winner and internationally
acclaimed singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow has teamed up with Rock the Vote to
get hoi polloi registered to VOTE! The "Sheryl Crow Voter Registration Drive"
kicks turned today. Current members of the Rock the Vote mailing lean will
have access to a dislodge download of her politically-charged song
"Gasoline". You can too log on to
hTTP://www.rockthevote.com/sherylwantsyoutovote to access the free
download. Additionally, the first 50,000 individuals that get three friends
to record to vote will drive a digital copy of her critically acclaimed A&M
Records album "Detours".
"I have been involved with Rock the Vote since its inception and proud
of the work they have done. There are such critical issues facing our
country, from high gas prices to climate change that we need to do more
then just register to vote, we need to get our friends registered too,"
aforementioned Sheryl Crow.
"We ar thrilled to partner with Sheryl Crow to record young voters,"
said Heather Smith, Executive Director, Rock the Vote. "Bringing together
music and politics is core to Rock the Vote's mission. Working with Sheryl,
we tin reach kO'd to her fans and encourage them to register and encourage
their friends, family and co-workers to do the same."
About Sheryl Crow: Since the release of her 1993 multi-platinum album
"Tuesday Night Music Club," Sheryl Crow has become one of the most
successful female singer/songwriters of her generation, having sold more
than 30 million records worldwide. On Detours, her most recent release, she
explores both personal and global issues, touching upon topics such as
relationships, adoption, breast cancer, the war in Iraq, the environment
and Hurricane Katrina. The aptly-named album deals with the things we
intend to do and the interruptions that send us on unexpected paths. In
addition to her medicine, Sheryl is a devoted advocate for many environmental,
health and humanitarian related to causes. Sheryl has been involved with Rock
the Vote for intimately 18 days, as a spokesperson, instrument panel member, and
activist, exploitation her voice and music to hit, inspire, and activate
millions of offspring Americans to have their voice heard in our democratic
march.
About Rock the Vote:
Rock the Vote's commission is to engage and build the political world power of
loretta Young people in order to achieve progressive change in our country. Rock
the Vote uses music, popular culture and new technologies to engage and
incite young people to register and vote in every election. And we give
loretta Young people the tools to identify, teach about, and take legal action on the
issues that affect their lives, and leverage their power in the political
process. Rock the Vote is creative, effective, and controlled by nobody's
agendum but our own -- we tell it like it is and pridefulness ourselves on being a
trusted source for information on politics. We endow the 44 million edward Young
people in America world Health Organization want to step up, claim their voice in the political
process, and change the way politics is done. http://www.RockTheVote.com
More info
Wednesday, 6 August 2008
Prayer
Artist: Prayer
Genre(s):
New Age
Discography:
Prayer
Year:
Tracks: 10
A Multi-Cultural Journey Of Spirit
Year:
Tracks: 10
High Fuel Prices Put Brakes on Indie Band Tours
Friday, 27 June 2008
Anne Hathaway's ex arrested on fraud charges
NEW YORK (Reuters) - An Italian businessman famed as the long-time boyfriend of actress Anne Hathaway was arrested on Tuesday on charges of operating a fraudulent real estate scheme that he claimed was linked to the Vatican, U.S. authorities said.
Raffaello Follieri, 29, a globe-trotting multimillionaire living in New York, was charged with conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering in a criminal complaint unsealed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
He appeared in court on Tuesday and was ordered released on an extensive $21 million bail package that included confiscating his passport and restricting his travel to within Manhattan. He did not enter a plea.
Follieri is accused of operating a scheme between 2005 and 2007 in which he led investors to believe that he had close connections with the Vatican that enabled him to buy the Catholic Church's unwanted U.S. real estate properties at a discount, according to U.S. prosecutors.
Follieri and others used the investors' money for expensive clothes and restaurant meals, a $37,000-a-month Manhattan apartment, dog-walking services and other personal expenditures including medical expenses, exotic vacations and privately chartered flights for his girlfriend at the time, according to the complaint. Authorities did not identify the girlfriend.
For the past four years, Follieri had dated Hathaway, who starred in movies "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Get Smart," which was released in the United States last week. The couple were widely reported to have split recently.
A representative of Hathaway did not respond to calls and e-mail seeking comment.
In court, Follieri, dressed casually in jeans, a white shirt and blue pullover, reacted heatedly to U.S. prosecutor Reed Brodsky's arguments he was a flight risk with at least 10 million Euros (about $16 million) in one of several overseas bank accounts, as well as debts of more than $3 million, and had tested positive for opiates.
Raffaello Follieri, 29, a globe-trotting multimillionaire living in New York, was charged with conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering in a criminal complaint unsealed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
He appeared in court on Tuesday and was ordered released on an extensive $21 million bail package that included confiscating his passport and restricting his travel to within Manhattan. He did not enter a plea.
Follieri is accused of operating a scheme between 2005 and 2007 in which he led investors to believe that he had close connections with the Vatican that enabled him to buy the Catholic Church's unwanted U.S. real estate properties at a discount, according to U.S. prosecutors.
Follieri and others used the investors' money for expensive clothes and restaurant meals, a $37,000-a-month Manhattan apartment, dog-walking services and other personal expenditures including medical expenses, exotic vacations and privately chartered flights for his girlfriend at the time, according to the complaint. Authorities did not identify the girlfriend.
For the past four years, Follieri had dated Hathaway, who starred in movies "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Get Smart," which was released in the United States last week. The couple were widely reported to have split recently.
A representative of Hathaway did not respond to calls and e-mail seeking comment.
In court, Follieri, dressed casually in jeans, a white shirt and blue pullover, reacted heatedly to U.S. prosecutor Reed Brodsky's arguments he was a flight risk with at least 10 million Euros (about $16 million) in one of several overseas bank accounts, as well as debts of more than $3 million, and had tested positive for opiates.
Thursday, 19 June 2008
Wednesday, 11 June 2008
Thursday, 5 June 2008
3 major record companies in online music venture with News Corp.'s MySpace
LOS ANGELES - News Corp. [NWS]’s MySpace [website] says it’s launching an online music service as part of a joint venture with three of the largest recording companies. Users will be able to listen to music and watch videos for free and purchase music downloads directly from the Web site.
The popular online hangout said today it is being joined in the venture by Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group Corp.
The fourth largest music company, EMI Group PLC, is not part of the deal.
MySpace did not disclose financial details of its new venture.
Called MySpace Music, the service will generate revenue through music download sales, advertising and sales of concert tickets, merchandise and ringtones.
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