Big words. As GOW has a ridiculously large following. And rightly so as I’ve seen it in action first hand at a buddie’s place. Touted as one of the best reasons to own a 360, looks like us PS3 fanboys have their own run n’ gun exclusive title. The comparisons are justified by that a large exaggerated beefy soldier type runs around in 3rd person with a large exaggerated beefy weapon. The main difference seems to be the setting with a stronger sci-fi fantasy feeling. Check it out for yourself.

The past few posts have been pretty comic-centric, but with Comic-Con come and gone, it’s hard to not get sucked in by the whirlwind. So we’re going to hit the newly released Watchmen Blu-Ray Disc.

I can understand how the movie alienates most of the general populace. It’s definitely one of those movies you have to absorb. To be honest, it flows like you’ve been sitting down reading 12 comic books in a 3-hour sitting. Which I’ve done before, but this can probably make the average moviegoer pretty restless. I was however surprised by how many of my non-comic book friends enjoyed it though.

The Movie Itself

Watchmen is based off of the critically acclaimed graphic novel of the 80’s. It creates a what-if scenario that asks ‘what if superheroes existed?’ and drops them in the middle of the Cold War. It also creates characters that are a pastiche of major heroes. You can pretty much see parallels of Superman, Batman, The Question, The Punisher, Joker and Lex Luthor rolled up in an amalgam of characters.

Thematically the film presents itself confidently and competently. Repercussions of a Superman existing and the intrinsic fears the world would harbor due to that were thought provoking. This paralleled the time’s fear of nuclear war. This nearly single-handedly elevated the comic book medium into a more sophisticated art form.

But the story is still a superhero one, so it needs to have action. Zack Snyder knows how to deliver it and it’s a shame that it can’t be even more prevalent in the film. Visually, it feels like how a comic book movie should be. There are at most a handful of directors on the planet that can make silly Silver Age costumes look like they properly exist in a living, breathing world.

Personally, I thought the music soundtrack was a bit too needle-drop. 90 percent of it was music pulled from the 1980’s. While I actually enjoy the nostalgia of the era, and appreciate the intent, a bit more original scoring would have been better. Used in moderation, the 80’s music could have served as accent pieces rather than constant distractions in this reviewer’s opinion.

Director’s Cut

The new release version is mostly minor tweaks here and there. As the original movie was already gratuitous, there isn’t much more save 1 scene in regards to violence. There are subtle changes that worked in the movie’s favor that tend to be more respectful to the original comic book. The running time is just barely pushed from 2.5 to 3 hours. All said and done I would say this is the version to watch. There is only 1 scene that should have been left out and it involves some thugs talking for a brief two minutes that feels like an eternity because the actors are painfully inept at well, acting. A small blight, but when you’re stretching an already long movie to 3 hours, make sure the extra stuff is all quality.

The Disc

Since this is the blu-ray review, it would be poor form to not mention the technical achievements of the disc. It always seems redundant to praise the picture of a BD because they all look great in hi def. But Watchmen is such an art piece that it’s a shame to not see all the details. Like taking the time to study comic panelwork, appreciating the glory of Watchmen’s visual mastery is worth taking in at full force. Speaking of force, this brings us to the audio. Despite my personal soundtrack preferences, the audio experience is truly impressive. The fight scenes are fast and visceral largely due to each bone-cracking, face-smashing crunch that can be heard throughout the Dolby HD 5.1 mix.

The extras are largely your standard faire with the making-ofs and behind-the-scenes and what not. But the exceptional case is the Maximum Movie Mode, where if you are an extras junkie, you’re to be treated to the holy grail of director’s commentary. Snyder stands with dual screens and expounds upon every facet of production with seamless cutting to full film and Snyder’s exposition.

Closing

The mediocre box office figures obviously do not dictate the quality of film. It does however mean that it’s meant for a select audience. If you liked the movie, the blu-ray director’s cut is the ultimate experience. Some purists have issues with what few liberties Snyder and co. took in the adaptation of the story. As a fan of the material, I believe that if there was a Watchmen movie to be made, I’m glad we have this as an end result. Some may wish to wait for the version this Christmas where they splice in the Black Freighter. While I appreciate the pains to make a an even more faithful edition, I feel it may make watching the Watchmen a cumbersome experience. Personally, I feel that this current version will be the most streamlined in the end. With most BD’s still pushing the $30 line, it was nice to see this one at $20-23 at some popular outlets. This release can proudly stand as a top-tier feature in your blu-ray collection.

Recommendation 8.5/10

Here I sit eating crow and loving it. I’ve made it into a delicacy really. I admit to eating crow because I for the longest time fought the blu-ray revolution. So stubbornly to the fact that I did not redeem my free blu-ray offer that was given when I purchased my PS3. I could have had 3 free movies too. The thought of repurchasing movies that I had already repurchased from VHS was just too heinous a thought. It wasn’t until I upgraded my stereo and experienced true HD lossless sound in my living room did I start drinking the kool-aid. People keep talking about the hi-def picture, and while gorgeous, rarely talk about the sound quality. My best experience came from a viewing of Rambo, that takes full advantage of 7.1 surround, it felt like a war zone. And you can really crank the volume without the peaks getting too hot.

I bring this up because blu-ray sales are up 91 percent (!) this year. This is quite a feat when you consider economic spending has been at a low. Guess you’ve just gotta get Iron Man in HD now matter how high that energy bill is!

For the past few months, gamers have been wildly anticipating the release of FFVII: Advent Children Complete on Blu-Ray. Sure the movie was good, but most are waiting to get their hands on the Final Fantasy XIII demo. That’s what I’m excited for anyway.

For those actually anticipating the release of the blu-ray movie, you should be glad to know that the boxart has been announced (or leaked) and is shown below…

[via: UFFSite]

Never really been a fan of super deluxe premium designer editions. But the state the gaming industry is in currently I suppose I can keep an open mind that they’ve gotta make some extra bucks somehow. And there isn’t a gun pointed to my head to buy the extra-special extra-priced Halo X-Box or this righteous Final Fantasy Advent Children PS3. The silver emblem looks right at home on top of this unit, it’s a 160 gigger and FF7:AC blu-ray is packed with it and it is a marvel of a CG masterpiece. OH yeah also comes with the demo of some JRPG called Final Fantasy 13 or something or other.

If I didn’t already have a PS3, or a copy of Advent Children…well…I’d consider it.

This bundle’s out April 16th in Japan so hold your breath.

First and foremost this is a product made for RE fans. Those that have played through a multitude of Resident Evil games are rewarded with this CG extravaganza tailor made for them. That said, it isn’t too inaccessible for those not exposed to the lore. Secondly, this is for horror/action/zombie fans. It’s also for animation fans. Wall.E, Shrek, The Lion King. This is a cartoon. And one of the best I’d ever had the pleasure to experience.

The story follows the events and characters of Resident Evil 2, where a tragic zombie incident in the town of Raccoon City tested the survival ability of Officer Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield. Like John Mclain from the Die Hard movies, these characters can’t seem to get away from the harrowing experiences that define them.

I’ve restrained from buying any Blu-Ray movies as I simply don’t plan on repurchasing my old collection save a few high effects films. This new release title is a perfect excuse to pick up a Blu-Ray for sure. For some reason, animation, especially CG, benefits the most from hi-def resolution entertainment in this viewer’s eyes. And Degeneration is a visual orgy in HD.

They don’t attempt to go hyper-realistic a la Beowulf. They opt for the characters to be a bit stylized, which I enjoy. But all the faces are different and unique. For instance the 2 main heroines, while both obviously rendered to be attractive, have their own distinct facial structures and features. The attention to detail is staggering.

I, for one, love Resident Evil games, horror, action, zombies and cartoons. So, well, you can imagine a positive review coming form me. All I can say is that if you’re a fan of any combination of these elements check it out! For what it is trying to achieve,
I believe it does it flawlessly.

Final Judgment: 10/10!

So blu-ray it is huh? Around the year 2000 the Playstation 2 launched as next-gen bliss completely integrated with DVD playability. Consumers were basking in the glory of the digital widescreen movie experience from the comfort of their own home. Sony’s new game system not only took gaming to the next level but allowed everyone still clinging to their VHS decks a reason to finally try out a Digital Versatile Disc.

That was my story along with millions of others.

Over the next sequential years the consumer public embraced the dvd format amassing a home movie collection of often times hundreds of titles. For me, having the widescreen versions not experienced since theater viewing was alone worth the price of admission. Along with digital video and sound, maybe someday widescreen televisions would become commonplace and affordable. What a day that would be.

Fast-forward to the climax of the hd-dvd/blu-ray war. Sony wins with a proprietary format and Blu-Ray seems to be the answer to the surge of hi-def technology flooding the electronics market. HD-DVD has been defeated but what about DVD? Are people that embracing with new tech that they can simply dump their thousands spent in dvds? This isn’t like formatting to mp3 or performing simple downloads. We’re talking about complete entertainment library replacements. The benefits for making the transition from VHS to DVD were far heavier than the current DVD to Blu-Ray jump. Consumers have to simply ask themselves, “Is it worth it?”

The highly anticipated PS3 firmware version 2.20 hasn’t been released yet, but enthusiasts are a buzz with all it will contain.

Images are pouring in along with a look at tons of extras for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots scheduled to launch June 12, 2008. Last week Konami announced that some key features had to be removed because the game could not fit on a 50gig Blu-ray disc. This week was the annoucement of a special Limited Edition ‘Steel Green’ PlayStation 3 and matching Dualshock 3 control. There is no SIXAXIS standard controller in this package. So it’s clear to say that MSG 4 will be full rumbling goodness.

It seems that the PS3 is going to have a stellar holiday season. Moms and Dads around the nation are going to be buying their little ones a console for Christmas… but where is the best place to purchase one? Well, if you ask kotaku.com.. they’ll say it’s Dell.

Yes, you just read me right, Dell… the same Dell that makes computers. The package that they’ll be pushing is the new 40GB console with Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray, Startech 6ft HDMI cable (instead of the standard AV cable), and a copy of Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. If you add all that up that is going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $488… but this same package at Dell is only $399.

So keep this in mind when trying to navigate the hoards of Christmas shoppers trying to find a PS3… when you can stay at home and eShop. Nothing says Merry Christmas better than shopping in your boxers.