Aqua Teen Hunger Force - Season 7

Rewatching the Aqua Teen Movie got me interested in regularly watching the series again, something I have haven't done since season 5. I guess I picked a good season to jump back in as it's in this season that the Aqua Teens reach their 100th episode, and it's a pretty good run of episodes for something so late in the series lifespan. The best way to describe this season is really weird. The show has always been pretty damn freaky, but I guess the show's been stepping up the weirdness angle by a ton since I stopped watching. For the most part I have to say that this tactic was a bit hit and miss. The season actually began last year with a somewhat mediocre one-off Christmas episode where a Master Shake decides to cut a rap album and the season resumed in February with a run of decent episodes. The first episode "Rabbot Redux" had a lot of homages to the first episode ever, and at first, I couldn't tell if this was a reboot for the series or just another screwy premise.

Other episodes had the teens visit an island of creepy looking birds to use their eggs for a pinball machine, Carl finding out what his life would have been like if he had a head full of hair, and the guys trying to keep their hands on a giant hamburger until long after it is no longer edible. The 100th episode finale has the teens realize that due to the show's short running time they're only halfway to the hundred half-hour qualification for syndication and then somehow get lost in a Scooby Doo parody. It wasn't too bad of an episode, but I personally think the aforementioned "Rabbot Redux" would have been a better choice for the 100th show, what with its string of fan references. I don't how much longer the show can last at this point, but there's at least one more movie coming anyway. But I guess for now I'll have to go back and watch the other seasons I missed.

Dexter - Season 2

The second season of Dexter just barely fails to reach the quality of the first, what with all of the revelations and such, but they still manage to weave a web of interesting characters and surprising twists. Sadly, I first started watching this show at the end of this season, so I kinda robbed myself of all the extremely intense moments that pop up over the season. While season one's plot seemed like something that would appear later in a series, season two's story seems like it could work as a final story arc. Season two sees another huge serial killer gaining attention in Miami, but this time it's Dexter himself. His graveyard of victims underwater gets discovered by accident, and he has to do everything he can to keep himself in the clear.

There's plenty of other subplots, like Dexter faking a heroin addiction to cover up his true secret and Deb trying to come out of her shell after what happened last season, and most of the supporting cast's roles are expanded and developed a bit. Whereas I found Angel and La Guerta to be pretty non-essential obstacles the first time, much more is shown about their true character, and they actually become somewhat sympathetic. The sole exception is Doakes. His actions rapidly cross the line into being just ridiculous. We're meant to believe that he has, quite literally, been following Dexter every single night for weeks now. Really? He's been portrayed as a smart cop in the past, but Doakes' "investigation" around Dexter is just silly. And his smug, hardass attitude doesn't make him any more bearable. Doakes being so suspicious of Dexter was a compelling idea and it definitely reaches an exciting climax, but its execution needed a bit more work. Kinda went off on a tangent there.

The show's still really about Dexter, and he's still a really great character, funny and resourceful as he has a major identity crisis and learns more about his past. I thought the background stuff revealed near the end of the first run came a little early in the series, saying too much too soon. But they proved that there's still plenty about the character we don't know. I also like how Dexter has to spend a good bulk the season playing defense and trying to manipulate the current crisis. I didn't care too much for the relationship drama Dexter endures, but Lila was a unique, interesting character that resulted from it. I also didn't care that the resolution to the story arc resulted more from him being lucky than smart, but that's not enough to distract from an otherwise excellent season and the first time I saw this it certainly made me interested to see what happens next.

Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful

Something More Beautiful is basically the sequal series/ second season of Mahoromatic. What we have is basically Mahoromatic with more odd characters, more dirty fantasies from the ever-insane Ms. Shikijou and ever more dramatic storylines with comedy sprinkled all over the place. No big surprises there. The animation quality is just about the same as the first season, so I don't think I really need to say anything more about that. The music in the show is also the same, down to the style of the opening theme and ending theme, except that I liked the season 2 opening tune a lot better, and I really don't like the ending theme to this series at all.

The new character, Minawa, isn't the most interesting of characters. She's just too quiet and soft-spoken and has that typical clumsiness that goes with personalities like that, although I will admit that the sheer amount of mayhem her clumsiness results in are rather amusing at times. I'm happier to see that Ryuga is still around, though, having decided to keep his job as a teacher at the school Suguru attend. As the leading representative of the alien organization Saints, his interactions with Mahoro and her panther sidekick Slash amuse me to no end.

To put it shortly, what's here is pretty much the same stuff going on as what went on in season 1, with this new, mysterious human organization taking over where the Saints left off to keep the suspense at the same level. The comedy is pretty much about the same things, but with Minawa's clumsy actions thrown in. The ecchi levels are about the same, lots of boob-shots and nudity of the not-quite-full-frontal variety. However, the ending really threw me for a loop when it arrived. I won't spoil it for you, but I suggest you brace yourself, because it was really jarring and I certainly didn't see it coming. I'm not saying it is bad, but there might be people who won't appreciate it.

Scooby Doo on Zombie Island

Scooby-Doo has had an…interesting lifespan. It started out strong in 1969 with Scooby Doo, Where are you? and continued with through the 80s with a string of shows that got progressively worse as it went along. Then, in 1998, Scooby Doo on Zombie Island came along. And thanks to it being absolutely awesome, the Scooby Doo franchise was revived. The movie takes place several years after the Mystery Inc. gang have gone their separate ways. Now a popular TV show host, Daphne, and her cameraman, Fred, are suddenly feeling nostalgic. They gather their scattered pals, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby Doo, and set forth on a roadtrip for a new segment in Daphne’s show. They’re out to find real ghosts. Their journey eventually leads them to New Orleans, where they learn of a mysterious haunted house on secluded Moon Scar Island. The gang investigates the island and discover many strange happenings. Then zombies burst out of the ground...

The movie takes the franchise in a noticeably darker direction than previous Scooby cartoons. Indeed, this movie seems to have aged with the audience, if you can believe that. The zombies are gruesome and, well, actually kind of scary for something supposedly aimed at little kids. The origin behind the zombies is particularly dark and violent, involving lots of brutal deaths (all shown off-screen, of course). Future Scooby Doo animated movies would “lighten up”, and as such, this remains the darkest and most violent story in Scooby Doo history and, in my personal opinion, the greatest thing the series has ever produced. Even if you never liked Scooby Doo, I think you’d be pretty pleased with this movie. It’s very different from most Scooby material before and after it and it's worth a look.

Pokemon: Soul Silver Version

I've had this since it was released back in March and though I haven't played it in while and haven't finished the true final battle as of now (hey, my team has to be at least at level 80 for that), I've done enough to form an opinion of it. Soul Silver is a remake of the Gold and Silver games released on the Game Boy Color about a decade ago. They're exactly the same as any other Pokemon game: catch some pokemon, battle some pokemon, battle an evil organization, defeat the gym leaders, and take on the league champion. The only thing Soul Silver (and it's original versions) did that no other entry in the series has yet to do was allow you to revisit the location from previous game: in this case Kanto from Pokemon Red and Blue. It's a cool feature that I wish the other games would have utilized. Visiting and battling characters from the previous games and seeing how that world has changed since then added a level of nostalgia and continuity that the newer games sorely lack. Other than that, the only other new things added to this game was some poke'walker toy that I never bothered to use. This is pretty much the strongest game in the series. It managed to take what made the series addictive and squeeze it for all it was worth. There's no doubt that the series had run it course as this is still the same damn game we've been playing for roughly 12 years. There's already a new game on the way that promises to reinvent the series, but we'll just have to wait and see if they can deliver on that statement.

Be Kind Rewind

Be Kind Rewind is an odd uneven film, but I kinda like it. This movie, despite what one might assume based on the actors, trailer, and plot summary, is not all that funny. There were multiple points (mostly towards the end) at which I thought, “I think this would be more interesting if it was actually funny". Clearly, I’m somewhat conflicted as I said that I kinda liked it. The movie runs through a lot of issues — gangs, poverty, ambition, copyright law vs transformative use, business morals, generational differences, stereotypes… I’m not kidding, it’s all in there, and the movie is billed as a comedy. I’m guessing that’s because to distract from all those issues, Jack Black wanders across the screen from time to time dressed in a tinfoil suit...it actually is pretty distracting. The plot finds a New Jersey man caught in a freak power plant accident and becomes magnetized and unwittingly erasing every tape in his friend's neighborhood video store, then they record over the tapes with condensed, low-tech reenacted versions of the movies and those start to become popular.

The idea of people remaking well known movies and renting them out is a fantastic idea andin this film the movie is at its best when they are doing just that. Jerry and Mike use fast talking, ingenuity and imagination to recreate some well known classics and it is an absolute pleasure watching them do so. They use props and costumes that they assemble made from junk that anyone could gather for themselves. The downside is that the story that held all of this together is quite weak. A lot of time is spent on the myth of a local Jazz Legend that really takes focus away from the story and adds an unnecessary mythos to the plot, mainly towards the latter end of the movie and its also why the movie isn't that funny. Mr. Fletcher , the owner of the store, is absent for much of the film, and to be honest his character adds nothing to the story. Like I said, I enjoyed this film, but it certainly had problems with its story. I would recommend this film because the cool parts are worth checking out and although I wasn’t busting a gut laughing – I did enjoy myself.

Chibi Vampire: The Novel 5

I read this one almost immediately after I read the fourth novel, but for whatever reason I forgot to cover it. It's probably because the fifth novel is somewhat similar to fourth. The only difference being that last one featured a guy falling for Karin and this one has a girl falling for Kenta. Once again, as with all of these novels, drama and comedy ensues and it all culminates in life threatening situation that involves all of the story's major players. It's all incredibly addictive and engrossing and though these novels started blending together towards the end, I really enjoyed them. The sixth novel came out a little over a month ago and my friend bought it, so it shouldn't be long before I get my hands on it.

Mahoromatic: Automatic Maiden

Mahoromatic is a fun little anime. Nothing too serious, but at the same time it has it's share of drama & sci-fi action. I started watching it because I've enjoyed what I seen from studio Gainax puts out, so I was sure I'd enjoy it, and also because this is something else my friend randomly lent me. The series begins with Mahoro, finished with her duties as a battle android for a secret organization known as Vespa. She is asked by her superiors an important question that will decide her fate. Will she continue to work for Vespa, or will she leave and live her own life how she chooses? The main reason she is posed with this question is because her life span is about to end in less than 300 days. She decides to leave Vespa and go work for a young boy named Suguru, whose mother passed away shortly after his father died, and he has been raising himself for the last 2 years.

Through my group of friends, I seen bits and pieces of a lot of anime shows are centered around a main character being a maid and Mahoromatic is, in my opinion, easily the best "maid anime" out there (it's also so far the only one I've seen all the way through). Mostly because it doesn't follow the standard of most other maid anime. There is the typical "oh master, let me wash your dishes and cook your dinner" and "please take care of yourself, I'd die if anything were to happen to you", that personifies this genre, but that's not what you'll remember when the show ends. This series is hilarious. It features buckets of ecchi humor, and sexual jokes...lots of sexual jokes. The first half of the series is mostly character introduction, but the story picks up in the last few episodes. The first half of the series is also more comedic, while the latter half becomes more serious and action oriented, almost to point that feels like a slightly different show. This series isn't for everyone, but if your in the mood for a really silly, romantic anime, this one is right up your alley.

Metroid Fusion

Released alongside Metroid Prime, it was expected that more people would prefer this game over the 3D FPS style instalment, but for the most part, more people preferred that while the more linear gameplay of this attracted disapproval. While I love Metroid Prime and its my favorite of the series, Fusion just might be my favorite of the 2D Metroid titles. Metroid Fusion was the fourth game released but currently the most recent game in the series timeline. The story goes that Space bounty hunter Samus Aran contracted an infection from a parasite while exploring the home planet of the metroids, SR388. Pushed to the brink of death, the only way scientists could save her was through metroid tissue recovered from her previous adventures. The procedure worked, although she lost most of her abilities and several pieces of her suit had to be removed. Later on, Samus is dispatched to investigate a disturbance at a space station were the parasite, now known as “X”, is being studied. Upon arriving at the outpost, Samus sees that the parasite has infected and taken control of many of the creatures aboard the station. Her previous exposure to ‘X’ not only allows her to take on the creatures, but absorb the remnants of ‘X’ into her own suit and now she must work to contain the threat.

Despite being eight years since a Metroid game was made and using the aforementioned linear gameplay, I feel that this captures the essence of the older games pretty well. Besides the linearity, obviously. The fact you're told where to go bonds better with me, as although being stuck for days and then finding the solution without anyone's help feels like a great triumph, having no idea what to do or where to even go for weeks or months is just a little too much, so having a computer tell you your objective at least gives you a hint as to what you should do, even if it doesn't tell you that you can roll through some walls that look solid. Everything that makes the other games a joy to work through are on display here: endless power-ups, great boss fights, and great controls. Sure, the linearity doesn't make the game quite as satisfying as completing Super Metroid as it didn't quite bring as much joy as having that "Oh so that's where I was meant to go" feeling. Still an awesome game, though!

Dexter - Season 1

Every year, I watch all the previous seasons of Dexter on dvd to refresh myself for the new one. Dexter is a unique series, though it isn't as clever or edgy as it thinks it's being, but it still stands out as a truly original take on the well-established and well-populated crime television genre. Dexter is a blood spatter expert who works with the police, and at night ritualistically murders criminals who have thus far escaped justice within the system. So, he's kinda like Batman, if Batman went around killing people. Dexter's moral code makes him more likable than if he was just a generic serial killer who killed innocents, but the show doesn't make him out to be a good guy either. The show does a good job of making him sympathetic while making sure we know he's still a disturbed individual who should not be emulated.

The show's not really about serial killing anyway, it's just an aspect of a really good character who helps solve crimes. Michael C. Hall does a great job depicting Dexter, both when Dexter goes through everyday life pretending to be normal and when he's letting his dark side loose. Hall plays the role with the perfect balance of cheerful insincerity and slight disdain for human interaction—believable, but he's never alienating or too creepy. The enthusiasm for the role is evident in every action of Hall's and it makes his character one of the mesmerizing in recent years. He's very funny, as his narration reveals character without being too obvious and adding some sly humor. The supporting cast is varying in quality, but his girlfriend Rita and coworker Angel are both very likable, while the his hard-edged rival Sergeant Doakes is very easy to despise.

The first season's story arc is something I might expect later in a show's lifespan. The plot reveals a lot about Dexter's character and how he became the person he is now. He and the police are working to find the Ice Truck Killer, a serial killer who cuts prostitutes into intricate pieces and leaves them at a scene with no blood. While the cops try to figure it out, they're missing pieces to the puzzle, as the killer leaves clues for Dexter himself. The story arc moves along at a comfortable pace always introducing something else when you're ready for the next twist. There's also some typical relationship problems to work through and the sub-plots for the side characters are entertaining in their right. The season finale does justice to everything they built and ends the season with a very interesting twist that provides some entertainment for the next season. The show really offers up some of the most satisfying crime drama currently on television today.

16 & Pregnant - Season 2

The stories that made up the second season of 16 and Pregnant didn't capture me in the same way the select few season one episode I saw did. Nor did they engage me in the manner that the excellent Teen Mom spin-off did. I'm not completely sure on this, but the concept of this series seemed designed to only run for one or two seasons. The stories told this go round are just too similar to one another and to the stories from last year. Every girl here is either a stupid spoiled brat who thinks that having a baby will not change their lives in the slightest (which makes their struggling with their babies all the more satisfying) or the girls have extremely douchebaggy boyfriends/baby fathers. In most cases the girls seem to be a combination of the two types.

One of the few interesting twists on the formula, was with a girl who was impregnated by her rebound boyfriend and really wanted to get back together with her first boyfriend. But it turns out that her old boyfriend is the douchebag type that most of these girls end up with and the boyfriend she's trying to ditch is the perfect idealistic one that most teenage boys should aspire to be. Its a shame that the rest of the stories couldn't live up to that one. I also can't help but shake this disturbing feeling that some of these girls got pregnant for the sole purpose of being on this show. It's a creepy thought, but some teens now-a-days are dumb enough to do something like that. Anyway, there's been rumors that a second season of Teen Mom is one the way, but it hasn't been noted if its going to follow the same girls from the first season or follow the girls introduced in this show. I hope its the former, cause most of these girls, as was the season as a whole, are just not that interesting to follow up on.

Kick-Ass

I went with some friends to see Kick-Ass last week, and we left with wide grins upon our faces. I assume the “I saw Kick-Ass, it was kick ass!” joke has been done to death by now...so I'll have to find another way to describe my enjoyment of the movie. It’s a little hard to call superhero stories original nowadays, as the “what if superheroes were real?” thing has been done at least twice before within the past two years. Watchmen was just dudes in costumes in a gritty world that also happened to have a diabolical mastermind and a naked blue god involved, while Hancock seemed to be aiming for this vibe until it threw in the superheroine and it became more like some silly magic/fantasy thing going on. Of course, they’re both depressingly serious, so Kick-Ass instead focuses on the light-hearted and bare basics of superheroes: Cheap costumes, crazy characters, and kicking ass. My friends and I have discussed the whole serious-superheroes-versus-silly-superheroes thing before and I guess I can’t deny that I’m a bit more about the silly side of it.

So, yeah, some kid decides to become a superhero by wearing a scuba suit and wielding sticks, and happens to spawn a wave of imitators who, although substantially more badass than him, end up getting him into trouble via proxy, with all manner of gangster dealings going on. There’s some mandatory drama, mostly some mild angst over the hero revealing his identity to his lover, and the dangerous activities Big Daddy and Hit-Girl get up to, particularly when one of the characters dies, but for the most part the movie merely revels in silliness, outrageously brutal violence, and a rather immature love of swearing. I mean, I'm largely immune to and partake in immature swearing, but this one throws cunts and fucks around enough that makes it looks like it’s trying to impress someone. I feel my skills at describing just how joyous this movie was is beyond my writing capabilities. There are people shot in the face with reckless abandon, there is a moustached man doing an Adam West impersonation, and a jetpack is involved. It’s pretty freakin’ glorious, personally.

Donkey Kong Country

There was a lot of hype surrounding Donkey Kong Country when it was first released. The CGI visuals were a cut above what SNES owners were used to at the time and the game seemed to give the Super Nintendo a much needed second wind. Over 15 years later, the graphics are still great but they can't save the game from any criticisms it may receive. It this case the only really complaint I can muster is that, apart from the graphics and despite putting many unique ideas on the table, it still feels like a rather generic platformer. A complaint that I can only really guess comes from my enjoyment of the sequels.

Donkey Kong Country is a side-scrolling platformer like Mario. DK and Diddy can dispatch enemies by rolling through them, pouncing on them, or by tossing barrels at them. Each character has his unique strengths. DK can dispatch larger enemies that Diddy merely bounces off of, while Diddy can jump a little higher. What the game does do differently is that the different things you can do in each level help keep the journey lively. Each stage has its own theme, like swimming underwater, riding in mine carts, or launching your character out of barrel-cannons. There are secret passageways that lead to bonus games where you can earn bananas and balloons(extra lives). In many places, there are crates that contain animals that you can ride and control anything from a rampaging rhino and a bouncing frog to a swimming swordfish and a flying ostrich. Over a decade has passed since this game's original release and although some of the shine has dulled it still manages to be a fun diversion. The first game in the series may not in the same league as Super Mario World, but Donkey Kong Country still ranks as one of the better platformers out there.