 | SUPERHERO MOVIE (a J!-ENT DVD Review) |
October 31, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
“When you see the ‘from the guys who brought you SCARY MOVIE and THE NAKED GUN, you pretty much know what kind of film you’re going to get. So, it’s all about watching these movies with an open mind. Fortunately, among the similar-related movies by these creators, ‘SUPERHERO MOVIE’ is probably the most entertaining of the lot.”
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FILM: SUPERHERO MOVIE
COMPANY: DIMENSION HOME ENTERTAINMENT
DVD INFORMATION: Color, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
RATED: PG 13
DURATION: 82 minutes
PRODUCED BY Robert K. Weiss, David Zucker, Craig Mazin
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Craig Mazin
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein and Mathew Stein
STARRING: Drake Bell, Christopher McDonald, Sara Paxton, Kevin Hart, Brent Spiner, Jeffrey Tambor, Robert Joy, Reginal Hall, Pamela Anderson, Leslie Nielsen, Tracy Morgan and Marion Ross.
THE TRAILER:
Spider-Man, X-Men and the Fantastic Four will never be the same after this outrageously funny spoof of your favorite comic book movies! Drake Bell (Drake & Josh) stars as a nerdy high school student bitten by a genetically-altered dragonfly. He stumbles hilariously through the process of becoming a crime-fighter and as his new powers grow, so do the laughs. Sara Paxton (Aquamarine) and Christopher McDonald (Spy Kids 2) costar as the clueless damsel in distress and the comically intense super villain, along with Pamela Anderson and Leslie Nielsen. Going from superzero to superhero has never been this much fun!
For the week of Halloween 2008, I decided that there will be no horror movie marathon. This week, I will watch the various comedy films that typically feature on the front of the DVD “from the guys who brought you SCARY MOVIE and the NAKED GUN”.
I pretty much know what I’m getting into with these films and know you have to have an open mind because although many scenes will have its funny moments, you can expect your share of really idiotic moments as well.
I know people who can just laugh and know what to expect with these films but some who have never seen these type of films and just feel the wasted their time watching it. So, with that being said, enjoyment of this film depends on your take of these type of movies.
“SUPERHERO MOVIE” is a film that parodies the first “Spider-Man” film, “Fantastic Four”, “X-Men” and “Batman”.
The film revolves around Rick Riker, a nerdy high school teenager who loves his classmate but bullied quite a bit in his school. Things go from bad at worse at a school trip when he accidentally spills a chemical which attracts animals to him and somehow he ends up being bit by a radioactive dragonfly.
Riker develops special powers and next thing you know, the Dragonfly is born.
Marion Ross and Leslie Nielsen play the aunt and uncle of Rick Riker. In true Leslie Nielsen fashion, if you watched the “Naked Gun” films, you know what to expect for his role. Marion Ross of “Happy Days” fame was quite interesting as the aunt who has a major flatulence problem and just can’t stop farting.
Tracy Morgan plays a Professor X type of role, trying to help Riker learn his new powers and show him the school of teens who have powers. Pamela Anderson plays the role of Invisible Woman who has been caught messing around with Professor X by Mrs. Professor X.
One of the highlight scenes is when Riker and the girl of his dreams, Jill Johnson are about to share a kiss but his aunt Lucille (Marion Ross) sleeping right next to them leashes continuous farts that just sound so horrible. Fart jokes can be funny and the manage to include a hilarious gassy scenes in which Jill who really wants to kiss Riker, uses her tampons to put up her nose to avoid smelling the fart. Fart jokes are gross but when done well, you can’t hep but laugh.
Of course, probably the coldest jokes are the ones on physicist Stephen Hawking. The gags on his character featured getting his head accidentally stuck in a beehive and not able to get out of it because of his disability. And of course, using his vocoder device to simulate Hawking screaming profanities. For a film to really make fun of his disability to get some cheap laughs is just very cold.
There are so many gags in this film with those type of gags, some quite funny and some that are just idiotic but I found this film more to the funny side fortunately. But with jokes such as the Stephen Hawking (which there are numerous scenes with this character), I can see many finding it tasteless and some to find it so funny knowing it’s so wrong.
AUDIO & VIDEO:
Truthfully, I wasn’t paying too much attention towards the quality of the film and as for the audio, the film is strictly dialogue. Not much need for special audio effects.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The extended version features the alternate ending, deleted scenes, two featurettes and a theatrical trailer plus a commentary. The regular version only features the alternate ending (which was so dumb, I’m glad they didn’t use it), deleted scenes and the theatrical trailer.
There are three versions of this film on DVD in the US. The regular version which is only 74 minutes long and has only the alternate ending, deleted scenes and theatrical trailer, while the extended version which is 82 minutes long and has the additional commentary track and featurettes. The third version is a Blockbuster exclusive which features additional deleted scenes.
So, far of the movies within this genre and created by the same creators of “SCARY MOVIE” and “NAKED GUN”, of the more recent films, “SUPERHERO MOVIE” was probably the funniest compared to the others. Again, this is comparing to the other related films by the same creators.
There is a lot of funny jokes throughout the film but there are also a good number of idiotic jokes as well.
I enjoyed the superhero film parodies on this film and although there are a few well-known talent who made cameos on this film, I’m just glad many of their segments were quite short. In fact, I’m glad that the film was quite short.
In the end, I definitely didn’t find myself disliking it. I suppose it’s because I enjoyed the superhero parodies on the film and I haven’t seen a film go so far to do a parody based on superhero films in this magnitude.
All in all, a fun film if you come watching with an open mind.
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| A BROKEDOWN MELODY (a J!-ENT Surfing DVD Review) |
October 31, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
“Absolutely beautiful! One of the best surf films to feature awesome cinematography all on 16MM but also a surfing film with substance and just all out enjoyment of surfing not just from popular surfers featured on this film but the people from those countries that embrace the surf life but in their own way. Awesome!”
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FILM: A BROKEDOWN MELODY
DISTRIBUTED BY: Woodshed Films
RATED: NOT RATED
DURATION: 55 minutes EXTRA FEATURES: 45 minutes
DIRECTED BY Chris Malloy
Produced by Emmet Malloy and Tim Lynch
Co-Producer: Kelly Slater
Creative Director: Dusty Lynn
Director of Photography: Dave Homcy
Art Direction: Dave Lively and Chris Malloy
A Film by Chris and Emmet Malloy
THE TRAILER:
A BROKEDOWN MELODY follows swell through South America, Polynesia and Jamaica documenting in 16mm film the surfing of Kelly Slater, Gerry Lopez, Jack Johnson, Mike Todd, Mark Cunningham, C.J. Hobgood, The Wilmots, The Malloys and Rob Machado.
Music from Jack Johnson, Eddy Vedder, Beta Band, Kings of Convenience, Doug Martsch, Kruder and Dorfmeister, Astor Piazzola, Mikey Einziger, Johnny Osbourne, M. Ward, Matt Costa, Culver City Dub Collective, Todd Hanigan, Xocoyotzin Moraza and more.
I remember purchasing this video and just stoked about watching popular surfers such as Kelly Slater to legend Gerry Lopez and also to see singer/surfer Jack Kohnson and many others together in a surfing film. Oh, and my favorite surfer Tom Curren also stars in this film and many others who are not mentioned on the back cover.
Granted, you see many surfers from different surfing companies in various films but this one, rarely are you going to see a surfing film with Kelly Slater, Gerry Lopez, Jack Johnson, Rob Machado and a few others together like this.
But what I enjoyed this film is just the incredible videography that I’ve watched it so many times over the years because it’s not so much about watching these legendary surfers surf, it’s about the environment, the life and embracing the location and the people in the area.
Watching the surf team from Jamaica to these kids using broken boards to surf to the Jamaican Surf Team, that was just so cool to see. Overall, this film was truly a cool surfing experience with one of the coolest visual experiences of a surf film that I’ve seen (and I’ve watched many surfing films).
I don’t know if I would call it a classic but I really enjoyed the film, it wasn’t so much in your face but it was about substance and surfing as a way of life and the people who live in South America, Polynesia and Jamaica. So, all in all, I truly digged “A BROKEDOWN MELODY”.
VIDEO:
For a surfing film, I felt the video on 16mm was just a fantastic way to document this film. The colors looked vibrant and just overall, it had a look that wasn’t to crispy clear, had that edge and noise with some of the dust that you would expect to see. Visually, the colors and overall look were very cool!
AUDIO:
Although this film is more of a surfing/documentary style and a lot of dialogue, the focus on audio is primarily the cool music by Jack Johnson, Eddie Vedder and many other talents. Music definitely gave a great ambience throughout the film.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
This DVD comes with several special features. Extra surf segments is pretty much nearly 27-minutes worth of extra footage. This extra footage are just in par with the actual film, I’m guessing was cut out for pacing reasons but still watching the cut footage is actually better than a lot of stand-alone DVD’s that are twice as long.
For “Moonshine Videos”, you get the music videos for Ben Harper’s “With My Own Two Hands” and “Diamonds on the Inside” and you get the “Taylor” outtakes which is a short segment featuring actor Ben Stiller pretending to talk surf lingo with two guys.
For “Surf Aid International”, pretty much a five minute segment about what the organization is about and how it helps people in other countries that are less fortunate and how they bring doctors to help people affected by malaria. Pretty much focusing on a guy named Dave who is a doctor who was surfing in another country and went to a nearby village to see how he can help people in the village and learned that they really needed his help. He quit his high paying job, sold his house to help the villagers and use low-cost vaccines and education to help the villages.
“A BROKEDOWN MELODY” is just a fantastic film. Not too long and not boring at all. It’s just visually appealing and the various cuts and editing featuring the beautiful waves, the landscapes and the people from that live near the area just enjoying the surf along with the surfers was just incredible to see.
So, pretty much, I felt that I got more for my money with this surfing DVD.
Surfers looking for aerials or big wave surfing, this is not the video you are looking for. For surfers that just want to enjoy surfers like Kelly Slater, Tom Curren, Gerry Lopez, Jack Johnson and others surfing in South America, Polynesia and Jamaica and just enjoy the overall scenery and to hear not just from the surfers about the experience but also the villagers, you don’t really see that in a surfing film.
Definitely worth owning!
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| TV Talk: Thursday Musings – October 30, 2008 – Smallville, Ugly Betty, Real Housewives of Atlanta |
October 31, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
Hi everyone, another TV talk for Thursday, October 30, 2008.
I have to say that there is something crappy going on with the CW in terms of programming in my area. It happened on Tuesday while watching and the video would cut off (no sound or video, just black screen) and all my other channels were working.
So, tried to catch this “Lois and Clark” episode of “Smallville” on the CW and what do you know…for the whole hour….no show. Maybe once I saw the feed comeback for 10 seconds and then it disappeared. So, not sure if this is a national thing but if it’s a local problem, I’m very disappointed.
Fortunately, “Ugly Betty” on ABC was on. In episode 6 for season 3 titled “Ugly Berry”, tthings start to ramp up between the hostility of Betty and her frienemy Kimmie (Lindsey Lohan). In this episode, we get to see Daniel’s (Eric Mabius) plan revealed to take back his family’s company from Willhelmina (Vanessa Williams). But of course, the main storyline of how Betty, Marc and Amanda concoct a plan to get Kimmie fired. Video was from last week’s episode but wanted to show how Betty and Kimmie are just like oil and water.
Caught a replay of the latest episode of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Atlanta”. DeShawn Snow (wife of Cleveland Cavalier’s basketball player Eric Snow) has a charity auction event which doesn’t go quite well. A very good episode but I can tell that the next episode is when the fireworks flare up! Whoah!
Then it was “Gray’s Anatomy” which I had to DVR, wife watched her favorite Food Network show “Ace of Cakes” and later in the night, I ended up watching “Late Night with David Letterman” episodes I missed for the week. You just gotta love the appearances of Regis Philbin on Letterman. The two are friends but their banter with each other is quite fun to watch.
Btw, anyone have that moment where you noticed that you have only so much space left on your DVR and you take too much time to figure out what to delete and what to keep?
Tags: Real Housewives of Atlanta, Smallville, TV Talk, Ugly Betty
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| TV Talk: Wednesday Musings, October 29th – Ghost Hunters, Real Housewives of Atlanta |
October 31, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
On Wednesday, I started off my TV early evening with “Ghost Hunters” on the SCI FI Channel. There is something about this show that I can’t stop it. Pretty much the show is about a group called TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) led by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson that visits haunted establishments and with their high tech equipment, try to see if they can find out if the place is haunted or if there is supernatural activity.
In this new episode (Season 4, episode 22), the team and actor Colin Ferguson from the SCI FI channel show “Eureka” (who joins the team in the search for the supernatural) investigate the USS Hornet which many crewmen feel they have experienced supernatural activity.
Definitely have to give Colin Ferguson some props for actually being a part of this investigation and really into it. Was great to see that!
I also caught more of “The Real Housewives from Atlanta” on Bravo. Yikes! I’ve missed quite a few episodes but I’m guessing unlike Orange County in which the women are friends (or at least friendly to each other), some of the women on these show don’t care for each other. But I’ll probably need to catch up on these shows…but what’s up NBC, put more of the complete Bravo episodes up on hulu.com.
That was pretty much the extent of my TV watching as Wednesday’s TV is dedicated for the wife solely for “Top Model” and “America’s Top Model”.
Tags: Colin Ferguson, Eureka, Ghost Hunters, Real Housewives of Atlanta, TV Talk
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| Did Madonna and A-Rod hook up at Jerry Seinfeld’s home? |
October 31, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
Page Six reported that Madonna and A-Rod rode in two private helicopters enroute to Jerry Seinfeld’s home for a rendezvous in the Hamptons.
According to the report, New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez arrived first and was picked up by Jerry’s wife Jessica Seinfeld. While Madonna, who arrived 40-minutes later was picked up by Jerry. The two have been rumored to be together earlier in the year despite both were married at the time. Both denied the rumors and said they were friends.
Then again, at the same time of the rumors, Madonna said that she and Guy Ritchie were not divorcing and things were fine with their marriage and look what happened there.
BANG! METER: Bang!
Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Jerry Seinfeld, Madonna
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| Halloween Hardcore from Japan! JapanFiles.com’s first Japanese Hardcore compilation CD spotlights girugamesh, Dazzle Vision and more! |
October 31, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
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October 31, 2008 – JapanFiles.com launches its third USA compilation CD this month, titled “Fresh Cuts from Japan – Hardcore.” The latest installment in the “Fresh Cuts” series focuses on the harder-edged artists on the JapanFiles.com catalog, including fan favorites girugamesh, Dazzle Vision, and UNSLOW, plus newcomers like ZODIAQUE and NAMAZ.
Track list:
girugamesh – smash!!
Dazzle Vision – Kuhaku
GAMY – Mosh! Mosh!! Mosh!!!
UNSLOW – Melt Down (alc25)
ensavagement – Deadeyes Open
ANTI ELEMENT – MY WAY
ZODIAQUE – PRIVATE HELL
FURACHI – FRONT
ampcharwar – C4
NAMAZ – Venomous Ensemble
MAD COW – BASTARD
MYPROOF – Your Pain… Is My Pain
Cover artist Thomas A. Szakolczay has worked as a concept artist for Gears of War and Call of Duty video games.
Thomas A. Szakolczay also provided the cover art for JapanFiles.com’s first compilation CD “Fresh Cuts From Japan – Volume 1″ in 2006.
The compilation CD is available at Hot Topic stores nationwide.
More music by each artist is available at JapanFiles.com.
About JAPANFILES.COM:
JapanFiles.com is the largest online service specializing in MP3 sales for Japanese artists, with over 200 indie bands reaching their USA fans – rock, hip-hop, punk, and techno! All downloads are DRM-free and only 99 cents each!
# # #
attachments:
Fresh Cuts From Japan – CD cover
For further information contact:
press @ japanfiles.com
Free press and industry accounts are available to download albums and songs for review.
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JapanFiles.com
The #1 source for online Japanese
Rock / Hip-Hop / Punk/ Techno MP3s!
Website: http://www.japanfiles.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/japanfiles
LiveJournal: http://japanfiles.livejournal.com
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| Southern All Stars fans need to be vigilant TV watchers next week |
October 31, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
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In a recent televiews column by Wm. Penn for the Daily Yomiuri, Penn wrote:
Welcome to the Televiews Halloween party! Grab a costume and join the festivities, but you’ll have to work hard to come up with outfits to outdo all the costumes the denizens of Japan’s TV world have been donning this month.
Leading the Halloween costume parade is quick change artist Aya Ueto, who is modeling dozens and dozens of fashions in Celeb to Binbo Taro (Tuesdays, 9 p.m. Fuji). She plays a poor little rich girl who asks an impoverished widower with three kids to serve as her limo driver and fake fiance.
It’s completely predictable, as is Oh My Girl (Tuesdays, 10 p.m., NTV), the story of child actress An (Riko Yoshida), who models some pretty crazy costumes herself. She has been abandoned by her ambitious actress mother Hinako (You) on the doorstep of her “uncle” Kotaro (Mokomichi Hayami). Hinako and Kotaro are not blood relatives but their late parents’ marriage has made them relatives on paper via the koseki family register. An’s manager (Rosa Kato), Kotaro and a very cute sheepdog all end up moving into An’s luxury apartment creating a de facto family for her.
Both these light-hearted romantic comedies serve to make Tuesdays nights the most relaxing drama night of the week this autumn. Ueto’s sitcom-cum-fashion-statement even managed to debut in the drama ratings top 10.
And wait until you see how they have disguised Takeshi Kitano for his role as Gen. Hideki Tojo in the World War II drama Ano Senso wa Nan Datta noka, which TBS will broadcast this winter. With round spectacles and a little moustache, Kitano really manages to look the part. Still, never did see Kitano looking more serious and subdued than he did last week when he was interviewed about his career for a half hour on CNN’s Talk Asia. Harumi Edo is dressing up as Harumi Edo to star in the Edo Harumi Monogatari (Nov. 7, 7:57-9:49 p.m. Fuji), based on her own autobiographical essay collection. Now, that’s quite a one-woman show.
Next in the costume parade lineup are two rather intelligent new programs masquerading as variety shows. TV Tokyo’s Japan All Stars (Fridays, 8 p.m.) focuses on Japanese distinguishing themselves on the world stage. The catch is that most of them are not that well known at home, where comedy skits and distinctive gags now seem to be the quickest route to national celebrity. The show’s first episode provided an interesting profile of pianist-composer Yuki Kuramoto. Virtually unknown at home, he’s a superstar in South Korea, where many of his compositions serve as background music for hit South Korean dramas.
Tags: Japanese Entertainment News, Televiews, Wm. Penn
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| Red Cliff – Director John Woo takes on China’s greatest literary work and a Western audience |
October 31, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
In a recent article on Daily Yomiuri, Kitagawa Ikuko interviews John Woo in regards to his film “Red Cliff”:
For director John Woo to realize his 18-year dream of filming the 13th-century masterpiece Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he would have to return to Asia. The veteran Chinese director, who was responsible for blockbusters such as M:I-2 and Face/Off, needed the knowledge and insight that only Asian writers and actors could provide. But most importantly, it was necessary for the director to get back into an Asian mindset.
“I had to start from the beginning. When I went to Hollywood, when I made a Hollywood film, I had to fully concentrate on the culture and society, about how people think, so I had to set aside my own culture for a while,” Woo told The Daily Yomiuri during an interview about his new film Red Cliff. This was his first feature filmed in Asia since moving his operations to Hollywood in 1992. “When I go back to Asia, I have to relinquish what I have done in the United States. So I have to start over again and I have to go back to learn the language, the thoughts, culture and everything.”
Although he was initially uneasy and confused, it didn’t take long to realize that filmmaking and working with actors are pretty much the same anywhere.
“No matter whether you are Chinese, Japanese, American…I think we all have the same kind of feelings and same kind of emotions. We have so many things people love, some things we don’t like, we all know the same kind of beauty of life. So when I handle American actors or Chinese actors, Japanese or Korean, it’s pretty much the same for me. So I didn’t have any problem. We just…learn from everyone,” Woo said.
Red Cliff is based on the Battle of Red Cliff, which occurred 1,800 years ago. The real event is detailed in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. During the Han Dynasty, when the story takes place, China was divided into many warring states. The novel focuses on how three kingdoms–Wei, Wu, Shu–emerged through a century of fierce tactical battles.
Shrewd warlord Cao Cao (played in the film by Zhang Fengyi), de facto leader of the Han Empire, wages war on a western state led by Liu Bei (You Yong). Liu Bei has under his command great soldiers such as Guan Yu, Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei, as well as his deft military adviser, Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro). To protect his subjects, Liu Bei sends Zhuge Liang to convince the southern Wu state led by young Sun Quan (Chang Chen) to form an alliance. During the process, Zhuge Liang lures away Wu’s viceroy Zhou Yu (Tony Leung), with whom he becomes friends. The two stand up to Cao Cao.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is still popular throughout Asia in the form of comics and video games, owing much to the distinctive characters of the warriors.
Tags: Chinese Entertainment News, John Woo, Red Cliff
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| manga review: Cat Eyed Boy |
October 31, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
In a recent manga review for the Daily Yomiuri, Tom Baker wrote:
“The story, characters and incidents mentioned in this publication are entirely fictional.” Thank heavens Viz Media decided to make this clear, even if only in tiny print on the copyright pages of the English-language version of Cat Eyed Boy, a collection of horror stories by Kazuo Umezu, a mangaka who is best known for his series The Drifting Classroom.
Just imagine how much more terrifying it would be to see the results of a mad scientist’s attempt at a brain transplant between a man and a leopard if such an event were real. Imagine the chill you would feel if the howling song of the shaggy, one-eyed creatures known as Tsunami Summoners really could bring doom to an entire town. Imagine how your heart would stop at the sight of a severed human leg coming to life and sprouting teeth.
Such are the types of creatures and incidents encountered by the Cat Eyed Boy, the nomadic hero of this series of stories. “Wherever I appear, something frightening happens,” he says, in one of several asides directed at readers.
The frightening events are rarely his fault, but he usually gets blamed for them. This is true even when he tries to help humans who are threatened by monsters. Once the danger passes, the people whom Cat Eyed Boy has saved turn against him.
Driven from town to town, he begins to profess that he does not care about helping humans, but his comments are no more true than Rick Blaine’s declaration in Casablanca that “I stick my neck out for nobody.”
Cat Eyed Boy looks basically human–aside from clawlike nails and enormous feline eyes–but his lineage is a bit murky. In his origin story in Volume 1, we see dozens of grotesque supernatural beings gathering around a mountainside grotto at night to await the prophesied birth of a mighty cat goblin. (The similarities to a Christian nativity scene may not be entirely coincidental.)
Tags: Cat Eyed Boy, Kazuo Umezu, Manga News and Reviews, Tom Baker
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| Grand Theft Auto IV hits Japan |
October 31, 2008 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
Stephen Taylor of the Daily Yomiuri wrote:
It would be easy to write about how much fun the violence and crime is in Grand Theft Auto IV, but that’s not the only aspect of the latest installment of the phenomenonally successful game series, which does make shooting and stealing very engaging.
While many gamers in Japan will have already enjoyed the delights of gratuitously blowing away Liberty City’s law enforcers through imported copies of the game, the official Japanese version was finally released yesterday.
Originally created by Dave Jones, the first GTA game was released in 1997 by Dan and Sam Houser, two brothers based in Scotland who established Rockstar Games, the company responsible for developing most of the series.
On the surface, GTA appears to be based on a simple shoot-’em-up scenario with little or no ethics, with the controversy that surrounds the series in Britain and the United States testimony to its apparent ease at offending public sensibilities on both sides of the Atlantic.
As a complete newcomer to not only the fourth version of the game but the entire concept of GTA, I approached a recent press demonstration of Grand Theft Auto IV with an open mind, though aware of the reputation that preceded the game.
Tags: Grand Theft Auto IV, Stephen Taylor
