Safe House pairs Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds in what is basically a CIA version of Training Day. This isn’t a bad thing but it means that while the movie is quite good it is also quite predictable.

Reynolds is a young, inexperienced CIA agent named Matt Weston, tasked with the job of looking after a safe house in Cape Town, South Africa. His job is shown to be relatively uneventful and that he’s looking for more action. This is obviously the setup for the movie much in the same way that a police officer saying he’s a week away from retirement means he will likely die.

Denzel Washington is ex-CIA agent Tobin Frost who has now become an international criminal as an information trader. As the show goes on we learn that Tobin was one of the best ever agents in the CIA and is something of a legend. Tobin goes into custody and ends up in the safe house that is maintained by Weston.

After an attack on the safe house, it becomes the job of Weston to protect and find a way to take Tobin into custody with the CIA for an unknown reason. Much like in the movie Training Day, the rookie learns from the veteran through a series of mistakes and problems.

The action scenes in the movie are definitely the best parts of the movie. The movie tries to give itself a bit more of a storyline but ends up being not quite as strong as it could have been. The storyline actually takes away from the stronger parts of the movie. There is a love interest for Weston that simply doesn’t really need to be there. It was released the week before Valentine’s Day, so the love interest part may have simply been added to help compete with other movies.

This movie could have been done similar to the Bourne Identity movies and would have been much stronger. Typically you wouldn’t want to have less storyline in a movie but this time it would definitely have improved the movie. It’s understandable that they would attempt to have Reynolds and Washington using their acting skills to their fullest and they definitely try. The two actors do their best to keep the story strong but the storyline itself is relatively weak.

Though most of the movie is relatively predictable it’s still worth checking out. The two actors do their best to keep together the storyline but the action is what keeps the movie together and makes it great.

ED: Yoshi’s 2 Cents is a semi-regular segment on gaming pioneered by FatYoshi.  Every once in a while, there’s a game that slipped your playlist or you simply ran out of time to review upon release.  This is such a case, and since the game was worthy of mention, you get the shorten version or a late review.

Metroid is a series I’ve been enamoured with since I played Super Metroid back in the day. The exploration, power ups, and darker themes always struck a chord with me and I was ecstatic when Metroid: Other M was announced. After having played it to its end however, I have come to the conclusion some Metroid veterans will dislike it, or think it’s simply “good”. Here’s why.

Storytelling. It’s becoming more and more prominent in video games nowadays. When done well, it can liven a game and make it stand above its peers in greatness. When subpar or botched…well… a great game in theory can become bogged down in its own narrative. Other M is unique case in this regard. Nintendo and Team Ninja saw it fit to give an up until now relatively story-less franchise tons of plot. It works in some ways, and comes off terrible in another. Firstly, the game is by far the most linear of the franchise (yes, even more so than Fusion). When a franchise has exploring at its core, the worst thing you can do restrict that freedom.

I can see what Team Ninja/Nintendo was trying to accomplish with the new story elements. Give strong and silent Samus a compelling past, motivation, and humanity that might not otherwise come through. I really do applaud the efforts, however what is shown in the game is less than ideal. To put it bluntly, in every game thus far Samus is portrayed as a lone wolf, alien-killing badass. During Other M, however, she follows commands from her previous CO, Adam Malkovich and works in tandem with a squad of Federation Troopers – an abrupt switch if ever there was one. Throw in Samus being paralyzed in fear by the appearance of a certain boss (whom she has decimated at least twice over by this point) and her reluctance to use any of her abilities unless Adam says so…it really dampens her badass image

The parallels with Fusion continue in Other M, what with the entire game taking place on a large space station, complete with simulated environments and research areas. There are even similar biomes, such as forested, volcanic, desert, etc. The big difference is Other M’s quasi-3D approach to the game. Some areas are strictly 2D, but some are a blend in that there is only one real path for movement, but it twists and turn in a three dimensional space. There are also larger areas for pure 3D movement and exploration, but these are few and far between. This being the case, you may ask yourself how Samus handles in these kinds of environments. The answer is fairly well, but the controls could have used much more time in development.

A prime example of one such thing that would have benefited from more time is the first-person view mode. While you normally hold the Wii-mote crosswise like an old-school controller to play the game, when you point the controller at the screen it will switch view modes. In first person mode, you can’t move and it’s the only way you are able to fire missiles. Again, I can see what Team Ninja had in mind for this, but the execution is somewhat clunky. Thankfully the rest of the controls are fairly fluid and easy to get a hold of.

By now it may seem like the Other M is best purchased from the bargain bin, but there are areas in which the game shines and makes up for some its flaws. The animations during combat, for instance, are fantastic and really showcase what Samus is capable of. As it happens, she can do a lot more than just shoot her arm cannon. When you have damaged an enemy enough, you can pull off a brutal finishing move that will execute (or severely damage) your target in a very flashy maneuver usually involving melee combat. Enemies are likewise very articulated and varied. Some of which provide quite a challenge to defeat.

Another interesting thing to see is some old Metroid enemies make the transition from 2D to 3D. Sidehoppers, Zebesians, and Ki Hunters make a return as do a host of others. Being in a new environment with an extra dimension means new AI routines for them, but the developers pulled it off quite nicely. Bosses take this a step further. There are, of course, new bosses to triumph over with some unique strategies but my main interest was in the redone old bosses. I won’t ruin it with any names, but I was impressed with the new renditions of some big baddies from the past. Especially the one you fight after you technically beat the game.

Though I mentioned the story needs work, the voice actors did put in a remarkable effort with what they were given. Having Samus actually speak was a bold step for Nintendo, and the gamble paid off more or less. Her voice actor did a wonderful job and in my opinion is a good fit for Samus. The biggest error was that the script didn’t seem to mesh with her character.

Dialogue contrivances aside, all the other audio is done well. Creatures hiss and growl as one would expect and sound effects are top notch. The soundtrack is an atmospheric blend of orchestral and electronica that really can set a mood but is not the main draw of any one level. Unlike previous games, Other M’s music isn’t as pronounced and catchy but prefers the more subtle role of accenting the area you are in. No more, no less.

Backtracking is a given in any Metroid game, even in the more linear ones. Since you will be going through areas more than once, it’s a good thing that the graphics are easy on the eyes. The scenery and creatures are well developed if a little on the basic side compared to the previous Metroid game, Metroid Prime: Corruption. With that in mind, the graphical style is more streamlined which allows for better animations, lighting, and frame rate.

Again, seeing old SNES enemies refurbished in 3D with a more advanced graphical engine is simply awesome. It’s worth it to see and explore all you can, because once you do, you’ll be able to access new parts of the space station after you beat the game. For those gunning for 100%, this is a must. All-in-all, the Other M will take some time to complete fully, especially when it come to some head-scratchingly placed missile expansions. So rest assured, you will get a good amount of play out of it.

The bottom line is that Other M tries some new things with the Metroid Franchise and succeeds in some areas, while taking a few missteps in others. No question, it is a good game however I think some more planning and time to work kinks out would have gone a long way.

These are all the must see movies coming up in February. Be sure to check these out and let us know which ones are your favorite.

Safe House       

Opens – Feb. 10

Starring – Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga

It’s safe to say that this action-thriller will be one of the best movies of the young 2012 season. Anything with Denzel Washington is generally a safe bet, factor in Ryan Reynolds in a role that should add some depth beyond his comedic roles, and this movie has all the makings of a hit. With remakes making such a big splash in 2011, it’s nice to big name studios attaching their names to new action flicks.

The Secret World of Arrietty

Opens – Feb.17

Starring – Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Carol Burnett

This looks to be another gem from Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli, and is once again penned by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki (the mastermind behind Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro). The animation in Ghibli’s features is always breathtaking and Arrietty looks to uphold the lofty standards.

Wanderlust

Opens – Feb.24

Starring – Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd, Alan Alda

It’s embarrassing to admit, but everyone seems to have a soft spot for Paul Rudd, the proverbial ‘it’ man for rom-coms. The movie centers around a typical Manhattan couple who decide to forgo stressful city living to experiment with the free-and-easy life of a commune where free love rules. The entire buzz surrounding this film says that this is going to be an adventurous outing for Aniston whose character dabbles with drug use and bi-sexuality. 

While the physical album certainly isn’t dead there are definitely those online taking advantage of the internet and its ability to spread things quickly. The viral quality of the internet allows artists who may not be heard regularly to spread their music to millions instead of the hundreds you would get from the trunk of a car.

Radiohead was one of the first acts that were already famous to figure this out with their 2007 release of “In Rainbows”. The album was released as a pay-what-you-can album initially and it was found that while most people paid nothing it was still a profitable album. The success eventually led to a physical copy being released which went on to sell even more copies.

The idea that being signed to a record company was the most important part of becoming successful was being challenged by releases like “In Rainbows”. Another great example of this is Greg Gillis who is better known as Girl Talk.  

Gillis was a biomedical engineer when he began his musical project of Girl Talk and started releasing his unique mash-ups. His music sits on the line of legal since he uses fair-use to sample unauthorized samples of music to create his songs. Though he has become much more mainstream you are still able to download all of his albums from his website for free or at a pay-what-you-want model. They can be found here.

The mash-up is a genre that has really embraced the internet as a distribution method and this can be seen in the video game releases from artists like Alex Kresovich with his release of Gold’n’Fly. This album takes samples from popular rap songs and puts it to the music tracks from the video game Goldeneye. What comes from it is a fantastic mix of nostalgia and lyrics. The album can be found on Kresovich’s website here and is a free download.

Team Teamwork is another group that takes video game music and releases mash-ups. Some of their best albums are Vinyl Fantasy 7 (A mix of FFVII and hip hop lyrics) and The Ocarina of Rhyme (Pretty obvious, but its Ocarina of Time with hip hop). These are also available from the Team Teamwork website along with their other mixes at a pay-what-you-can model.

Finally another mash-up that made it on our albums of the year list is Wugazi which is a mash-up of Wu-Tang Clan’s 36 Chambers and a mix of Fugazi songs. This album can be found at the Wugazi website.

The internet allows for so many artists to get their music out. While you’ll still find artists selling their albums on the street this definitely helps give exposure to artists that may not otherwise be found. So please let us know what albums you have found online for free so we can continue this trend.

Yesterday was the big day in football as the New York Giants took the Superbowl for a second time from the New England Patriots. For EA’s Madden video game franchise this was also a win as the game predicted the winner in their annual Superbowl prediction.

In the past nine years the football simulation game has correctly predicted seven of the last winners. Madden even came close to picking the correct score at the end with the prediction ending in 27-24 and the actual game ending with a score of 21-17.

Madden also held their annual Madden bowl at the Bud Light Hotel in Indianapolis. This pits current NFL stars against the 2012 draft eligible players. In the end “Tebow Time” came through and virtual Quarterback Drew Brees threw a short touchdown to Tim Tebow, in the wide receiver position, with only ten seconds left in the game.

For those of you looking to check out the yearly offering of Superbowl commercials you can check them out here.

Congratulations to all the New York Giants fans and sorry to the New England Fans. Next year is Tebow time.*

*I hope - Jeff

I’m going to start this review by saying that I’ve not seen one episode of Law and Order. I have no frame of reference of how the characters compare to the show or if the gameplay matches what would be expected. That said, the first few episodes of Law and Order Legacies are a solid play.

With each episode there are two plots; one that spans the episode itself, and one over-arching plot-line that encompasses all the episodes. A single episode’s story follows the formula of investigating a murder then convicting a suspect in court. It may lack the high pace gameplay of something similar like LA Noire, but the different cases and story structure is still intriguing nonetheless. Detective Rey Curtis is the main link in the stories so far, and seems to be the focus of the bigger plot-line. However his story spans years and you will see him as both a young rookie and a seasoned veteran. As such, certain characters will make appearances dependant on if it’s the past or present version of Curtis you are playing as.

Law & Order Legacies matches up with most of Telltales other games in that it is a point and click style affair. The game moves itself along via cut-scenes and will only stop if there is questioning or detective work to be done. The sleuthing portion of an episode puts you in the head of a detective from the series who has to search an area for clues and talk to suspects/witnesses. When searching a scene, all that is needed is to locate and circle things that might pertain to the case.

Questioning people is a little more nuanced but still fairly simple. When an individual answers a question you have to deduce whether they are telling the truth. This is done by remembering past evidence and facts. When a suspect responds you can either say truth or lie (or some variant of that) and then you have to say why. The reason will come up as a multiple choice answer and you have to pick the right one. Answering things right will give you stars while getting them wrong give you strikes. Three strikes and you have to replay the scene.

Getting questions right nets you stars, which are used to determine your overall detective rank for the episode. Your detective rank, as far as I can tell, is purely for completion sake and/or bragging rights. On the other hand, when it comes to prosecuting a suspect in court, being right is essential. Court scenes put you in the shoes of an Attorney or Lawyer. The goal is to get the jury on your side of the case via objecting at the right times, asking the right questions, and knowing what evidence to use and when. It takes a bit getting used to the terminology and timing, but I found myself getting into the experience and wanting to see where each case would take me.

Legacies is not a graphical powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination, but it does what it needs to do competently. The same can be said for the animations and sound work. Character movement is a little on the stiff side, especially when they are interacting with objects but is otherwise serviceable. The voice acting is better and well done, even if the dialogue is a little cheesy. However, I did notice some disconnects between situations and emotions. For instance, a woman was testifying at the stand about her dead husband. Tearful words were expressed with her voice full of sorrow, but a sentence later her voice was deadpan. The effect was jarring to say the least and could have used some more work by the sound editor.

Episodes will last around 2 hours depending on if you try for perfect scores or not. An option to quickly replay scenes and skip dialogue makes it very easy to achieve if that is your goal. While I can’t comment on the accuracy of the characters or similarity to the show, I can say that Law & Order makes a surprisingly decent game. It won’t win any awards, and will probably only appeal to a niche audience, but if you’re looking for a solid crime investigation game, this might be up your alley.

Daniel Radcliffe is in his first post-Harry Potter movie, The Woman in Black. The movie is based on a 1983 thriller novel written by Susan Hill and has been adapted into one of the most successful plays in London’s famous West End. The question that needs to be asked though is if a hit novel and play can be adapted to the big screen.

The story is actually quite deep and the movie does a good job of revealing it slowly throughout the film. There was an element of suspense and a general creepy factor that was built and maintained throughout the film. This creepy feeling was done with two of the creepiest things a movie can use—children and dolls. Personally, dolls creep me out on a good day. The empty stares and realistic features make them an obvious choice for a horror film.

The lighting in the movie helped to build the mood. The movie takes place at some point in the past and it’s made clear by letting the audience know that cars are a luxury. This meant that most of the light was provided by candles or lanterns. Without them, it was done through natural light such as the moon. This meant that there were quite a few dark and shadowy scenes which made the mood feel more realistic.

The sound was exactly what it needed to be: typical horror movie sound with a pulsing bass feeling that you could feel in the floor of the theatre. Not really the type of bass you hear but more one that you feel. It then used the increases in crescendo to let you know that it was definitely time to be afraid. Exactly how a horror thriller should play out.

The unfortunate part about this movie was that despite taking all these steps to give a creepy and foreboding feel, they still used shock to scare the audience. With things popping up and surprising the audience it almost felt like they put them in because they felt they should. The Woman in Black was creepy enough without random screams and shocks.

The acting in the movie was strong but unfortunately Daniel Radcliffe is always going to be Harry Potter. He’s good in the movie but he still feels like Harry Potter and there were times when I expected him to summon his Patronus to get rid of the spirits. This didn’t really take away much from the movie but it was still there. That said Radcliffe still did a great job in building the suspense needed to give a good telling of this story.

There were few other actors that really stood out in the movie but ironically the best supporting actor in the movie, Ciaran Hinds, is also a Harry Potter alumnus. Thankfully Hinds did not seem like his character and put in a stellar performance as a father who had lost his son to possible dark forces.

After all those great things in the movie and a strong build of the story leading up to the end they threw it all away to make it just a little more Hollywood. The ending was extremely disappointing and looking at the ending of the novel and play it’s obvious this was done to give it a little light in an otherwise dark movie.

For the most part this movie was great. A great feeling of suspense that had a few more shock moments than it needed still made for a strong story. The ending is weak but overall it’s worth watching. Hopefully they’ve shot something better as an ending to the DVD.

Guitar god Jack White announced his first solo album and released its first single “Love Interruption”. The single is unmistakably White but surprisingly has no wild guitar. Could this be a more subdued White while all alone?

White is best known for his role in The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather. Playing a different role in all three bands White is an ever present front man and his guitar is unmistakeable. It was his guitar skills that led to his role in the 2008 documentary “It Might Get Loud” alongside Jimmy Page and the Edge.

“I’ve put off making records under my own name for a long time but these songs feel like they could only be presented under my name. These songs were written from scratch, had nothing to do with anyone or anything else but my own expression, my own colors on my own canvas,” says White in a press release announcing the new album “Blunderbuss”.

The new single is available on February 7 from Third Man Records digitally or on a 7” which also features the non-LP B-side “Machine Gun Silhouette”.  “Blunderbuss” will be releases on Third Man/Columbia on April 24.

On January 12, 2012 the International Academy of Web Television (IAWTV) held their first awards show to honor the best in original web television and series production. It was held during the International CES show at the Venetian Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

The IAWTV is a nonprofit organization made up of people involved in the field of web television, web video, and digital entertainment industries. Its purpose is to promote and acknowledge the achievements in the fast growing field of web video.

Shira Lazar and Kevin Pollak present an awardThe awards show was a great event with all of the presenters being members of the IAWTV and most of them being nominees of awards. The event was fun and had quite a bit of humor mixed in with the presentations.

The awards were well done and really showed off all the new and exciting things coming up in web television. With numerous web shows that I personally had never heard of, this show made me excited to check out more from this new media platform.

Jeff Lewis of “The Jeff Lewis 5 minute comedy hour” and “The Guild”The biggest winners of the night were definitely “What’s trending with Shira Lazar” and “The Guild”. “What’s Trending” won five awards and even beat out Hollywood actor Kevin Pollak. “The Guild” also took home five awards including Best Comedy Web Series, Best Writing, Directing and Best Female Performance by Felicia Day.

Jeff Becker and Felicia Day won big with “The Guild”Top Drama went to the web series “RCVR” which has been described as the online version of X-files and looked amazing.

The best awards speeches were definitely given by Felicia Day who is likely the only winner to ever cheer when getting played off early.

Love it or hate it, Nintendo has a large history of games under its belt. Many of its major franchises began on the NES and have since seen success over many generations. This has given them plenty of characters to include in the Super Smash Brothers franchise, and its newest game, Super Smash Brothers Brawl. With more characters, levels, mechanics and online, it is the greatest game in the series so far…with a couple of glaring flaws.

Unlike the two previous two games, Brawl actually makes an attempt at an engaging storyline. The Subspace Emissary leads you through varying locals beating up on strange, otherworldly enemies in order to stop the land from being swallowed up by Subspace. Some levels consist of simply getting from start to finish like a traditional platformer, while others are purely fighting, with boss battles sprinkled through-out. The story is better than what I would normally expect from a fighting game, however it still lacks anything substantial. That said, Nintendo makes an admirable effort to make the single player portion enjoyable. There is even a co-op mode for the campaign if you wish to bring a friend along.

The meat of the series is, and always will be, in the multi-player though. Series veterans will instantly recognize many levels, characters and items however there is a slew of new things to explore and experiment with. An interesting mechanic introduced in Brawl is the Final Smash. Unique to each character, the Final Smash is a “Super Technique” that lets you turn the tables and/or rack some quick kills. How do you earn such a powerful attack? By either breaking a floating Smash Ball that appears randomly in a match or by dying so much that you spawn with one. Some are more useful than others (balancing is never perfect), but a Final Smash should net you at least one free kill.

One thing that hasn’t improved much is the level design. Make no mistake, the graphics, backgrounds and details are fantastic. What I have a problem with is that many of the levels boil down to a series of straight platforms with a fancy background. True, a lot of them have game specific gimmicks (the Chimera in New Pork City, or the lava in Norfair) but you could interchange many of the level designs and, with some exceptions, nothing really stands out as unique. All the levels can still be fun and entertaining, but sometimes I can’t help but think there was more style than substance put into them.

If you happen to be looking for substance however, all other areas of the game have been given much more content. More items, music, options and collectibles are to be found everywhere. Each level has its own playlist of remixed and original songs that relate to the franchise it came from. Not only that, but you can control how often these songs play when you pick the level. A very nice upgrade from Melee to be sure.

Trophies from the Melee are also now accompanied by Stickers, which while being aesthetic, also serve a practical purpose in Adventure Mode. You can actually apply the stickers to your character trophy and gain bonuses depending on what the stickers attributes are. These can range from sword damage to magic damage to hit points to trophy drop rate.

A different kind of trophy makes its debut in the form of Assist Trophies, and they work similar to pokeballs from previous entries, only they summon characters from other Nintendo franchises. Characters like Ray Mk III from Custom Robo, Isaac from Golden Sun, and Little Mac from Punch Out will fight for you if you happen to snag an Assist Trophy. Not only is this a clever way to include characters that might not otherwise make it in a playable form, but it also gives you an introduction to games that you may not have played.

Gameplay elements aside, there are still tons of things to do in Brawl. The aforementioned Adventure Mode is one such thing, but there are also Challenges, Events, and Stadium games to conquer. Some of them are exceedingly difficult and will require all your skills to complete.

Challenges are benchmarks that need to be met with a reward for your efforts. Some are basic, such as playing the game for so long, getting enough kills and so on but some are notoriously difficult, like beating boss battles on hard. If you want to complete them all, you’ll have to play and master every game mode.

Event and Stadium modes are more for high scores then rewards, but they do have certain objectives that parallel with challenges. Events return from melee, and are predetermined scenarios that can be completed solo or with a friend. The Stadium is a mode that lets you play some unconventional (for a fighting game anyway) mini-games, such as break the targets and home run contest. They are fun little diversions and can help unlock some neat things such as music and special stickers.

Finally we come to the well-meaning, but sub-par online mode that Brawl brings to the table. I was able to play a few online matches against people, but the whole experience is severely bogged down by both Friend Codes and lag. While I understand Nintendo’s wish to make online safe for kids (and not end up like Call of Duty or Halo) the Friend Code exchange premise really hampers actually connecting people for a quick match. When I actually did get online, lag was present in just about every match I played in. This really tended to kill the online experience.

A much more polished online feature is the custom map downloads. In Brawl, you can actually create your own stages with a host of platforms and gimmicks provided to you by the game. When you create one you like, you can submit it to the Nintendo Servers. Every day a new user-made level can be downloaded which might end up being one you submitted if it’s picked. It’s a cool feature, however I would like to see the creation options expanded in future titles.