As a fan of the old Banjo-Kazooie platformers form Rare, I was looking forward to hearing about the new game for the 360.

1up has a look at the new game, that has a interesting "create your own vehicle and ride around and shoot stuff" mechanic to it. [link] But is it Banjo anymore? Or is it good they changed things up?

What do you all think?

Just wanted to announce I'm making some short movies for the sequel to a collaboration called "nin10doh!". The first featured old flash friend Richie Zirbies aka "the guy who never sleeps when making a flash movie." Watch it here! [link]

And since I haven't shown anything I'm working on in a long while, here's a screen:



I was going to use art for a long time canceled Pikmin parody [link] , but I decided to update the art. Just like I did with another movie I'm working on. Oops... did I say to much?!

The sequel, titled "$00pah nin10doh!" and lead by Kirbopher15, should be out later this summer.

Outer space exists because it's afraid to be on the same planet with Chuck Norris.

It's true.

I remember seeing Transformers last summer, and there was a trailer for a movie using a handheld camera. Not to interesting... seemed like some standard twenty something romantic comedy movie with a twist. Then the ground shakes, they go outside, and the head of the Statue of Liberty gets thrown toward them. And the only hint we get is the release date of 1.18.08. Interest peaked.

Months later i heard the title "Cloverfield" and asked my friend if it was the same movie. It was. A little odd, but intriguing.

I never saw any of the viral marketing for the film, but from what I could gather there was a great deal of mystery surrounding it. A few weeks before release I also heard the popular rumor that the monster was a mutated whale. (thank goodness that was false.)

So when I went to the theater to see it I was excited to see a giant monster movie from a first person view, and also curious to see what the big secret it.

The good news is it was a exciting movie, but oddly enough there was nothing secretive about it. A giant monster attacks the city, a group of friends are caught in the middle of it's rampage. The name Cloverfield is apparently just a codename, and isn't relevant at all.

But that didn't make it any less interesting. You actually see very little of the creature, but see more and more as the movie progresses. Most of the time its off camera, but the sound work is so great its no less intense. You would think this day and age, you would want to see the creature as much as possible, but it works for Cloverfield. It's not a terribly long movie either, less than 90 minutes.

My biggest criticism is probably the acting, because...well... it seems to much like acting sometimes. It seems to me the way these characters act would work for a more traditional movie, but when tis set up like reality, it seems forced. The plot device of the camera also seems a odd at times as well, because the thing is always running. And despite what I said before about less is more, sometimes you wish the cameraman would turn his head once and awhile so we can see the creature more.

Seeing how its out on DVD now, its kinda hard to see it in theaters, which is defiantly the way to see Cloverfield. I definatly see a future underground classic with this film. But I do wish there was a bit more to it. There's talk of a sequel, and I'm curious about how that's handled. Will it be another shaky cam movie? Or more traditional? Will it divulge more about the creatures origins?

Oh, and during the ending.... pay attention to the horizon.

"Aliens vs Predator: Requiem" was released on DVD, and since i missed reviewing it in theaters, here it is now.

(SPOILERS!)

More action: Check

More bloody deaths: Check

More true to the classic creatures: Check

Interesting characters: Nope.

The second attempt to merge these 2 franchises finds the xemoporphs and space hunter in a small Colorado suburb. Much more to the point this time, we follow a lone Predator Veteran as he travels to earth to clean up all evidence of their little accident. The Preditor/Alien hybrid from the first movie, dubbed the Predalien, sets up a new hive, as the Aliens begin overrunning the town. While not overly in depth, the plot is a fanboy dream of what would happen if Aliens got loose on earth, and how the populace becomes xenomorph food.

So the moments when the Preditor is killing stuff, or the Alien is killing stuff, the movie works pretty well. The major flaw in AvP:R is the humans. Mainly, the teenage love story stuff. The only pay off with is one dies in a pretty cool way. The police scenes aren't bad, but the only standout character is the Army Mother trying to reconnect with her daughter. But even this is hampered by the fact that the daughter is a Newt wanna be. (Even sharing some of the same lines.)

The Predalien is pretty cool, but kinda underused. It's interesting in the fact it only attacks females, and you see the Predator influences in it. (it stands more upright and tears spines out of victims.) The final showdown is fairly underwhemling though.

Like I said before the movie is nearly all fanservice. The Predator is appropriately oldschool and badass, with a wide range of cool weapons and tools. The Alien and Predalien are ruthless as we watch them systematically take over. When they clash it's exciting to watch. And when humans get in the way, expect some blood and exploding heads.

Oddly enough one of the movie's best moments is in it's final 2 minutes, where the AvP series begins to catch up with the classic "Alien." If the same directors are on board for that film, i have faith they'll do it justice.... in their own way anyway.

It's hard not to recommend this for fans of the series. Like it's predecessor it's not a great movie, and arguably not even a very good movie, but you can tell great care went into making it true to the AvP lore. Just ignore the homosapians, look past the silly bits, and enjoy yourself.