The drum kit for the new Rock Band 2 was revealed at E3 and the thing looks massive. As if hitting the 4 drum pads and the bass pedal wasn't hard enough now you have to worry about cymbals? Its a cool idea but I dont think anyone with less than a PhD or the name Travis Barker is gonna be able to figure all of this out. The setlist was also announced for the game and there's some great little jems in it. RATM, SOAD, Alanis, Offspring, Pearl Jam - ALIVE?!!, Social Distortion, Steve Miller, the list goes on. Also Guns N' Roses will be debuting their new single on Rock Band 2 as well. If I was guitar hero and neversoft I'd be shaking in my boots right now. When everything is said and done Rock Band will offer well over 100 songs. This is a great time to be a fan of rythem based games or music in general. Better start saving up. Check out the full setlist here.
the annual gaming convention E3 started yesterday in Los Angeles and Microsoft kicked things off. The biggest announcement for me was that Final Fantasy XIII will be available on launch day for the 360. I was hoping they would announce something for MGS4 but hopefully they will by the end of the year. There was some footage of Gears 2 released which looks really good and the co-op should be more intense than ever with "horde" mode. Microsoft is also updating the live dashboard and giving people the chance to make avatar's similar to the "mii" on nintendo wii. Also for netflix suscribers there was some huge news as you will now be able to access your netflix library on the 360 and stream movies. Sony presents today and Nintendo will present tomorrow so hopefully there will be some bigger announcements made. Here's a more indepth article about the Xbox press conference http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9990830-1.html?tag=cnetfd.mt
Bon Jovi played Central Park tonight for a free show as a All Star week kick off and just having gotten home from it why not write a blog? The show was amazing. I've been wanting to see Bon Jovi live for the past 5 years but the stars hadn't aligned until tonight. The weather was perfect for an outdoor concert. Not too hot or humid and a slight breeze all night. For a crowd of 60,000 the security, police officers, and central park staff did a really good job of keeping things orderly and organized. There was not a lot of walking room on the great lawn but thats to be expected.
The Jovi took the stage at about 8:05 with "Living on a Prayer" and the show didn't lose an ounce of energy for the entire night. This show was billed as "nothing but the hits" and it certainly delivered, the only song I wish they had done that they didn't was "Everyday" which is one of their more catchy, radio friendly tunes that wasn't exactly a giant hit so its understandable that they left it off. The crowd reactions were loudest for "It's My Life", "Blaze of Glory", "Runaway", "Living on a Prayer", "Faith", and the encore "Wanted, Dead or Alive." Jon also gave a very emotional speech about the NYPD, his love of NYC from the days of growing up across the river in NJ, 9/11, and how big it is to play at central park in front of 60,000 - he even joked this was something The Beatles or The Rolling Stones have not done.
Overall a great show and theres still a chance to catch them on this tour as they perform at MSG on monday and tuesday night. Also it was Richie Sambora's birthday today and he performed vocals on "I'll Be There For You" which was phenomenal and got the crowd really into it. A great show by a band that can still deliver. Although I do recommend seeing them by their next tour as the wear and tear on Jon's voice is starting to become a little noticeable. 10/10 show and hopefully there will be more of these at Central Park in the near future, maybe U2 should be next.
PRAYER BAD NAME LOST HIGHWAY BORN TO BE MY BABY RUNAWAY SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD w/ Twist & Shout BLAZE OF GLORY WHOLE LOT OF LEAVIN' IN THESE ARMS WE GOT IT GOIN' ON IT'S MY LIFE I'LL BE THERE FOR YOU - RICHIE VOX HAVE A NICE DAY KEEP THE FAITH WHO SAYS BAD MEDICINE w/ Shout
The new 3g iPhone debuts today. I got to see a line of about 50 people around 7:45 this morning waiting outside the AT&T store at 50th and Park. With a two year contract the 8gb model will cost you $199, the 16gb will cost $299. Finally Apple is making a phone that supports the 3g network something they should have done with the original release but why bother when there's a flock of morons who'll pay a ridiculous amount of money for a phone that became outdated about 2 months after it came out. The email capabilities of a Blackberry are still far superior to the iPhone and its much easier to text message with a full QWERTY keyboard. The iPhone will have much faster internet now though and the ability to play music and use the new app's designed on Apple SDK platform. If you're in the market for a new phone and don't have contract issues than the $199 iPhone is well worth the bang for the buck. If you're in the corporate world and still have a bit of time left on your contract it may be bit better to wait for the Blackberry Bold, which is being named the "iPhone killer" as it has all of the functionality of the iPhone with the enhanced performance of a BlackBerry.
You can order the new 3g iPhone at http://www.apple.com/iphone/
Gotta give Dukies credit on this one, my two favorite things on the planet are coming together....Batman and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. In anticipation for "The Dark Knight" Reese's is releasing these limited edition candy bars in the shape of the bat logo and other batman classics. I'll be stuffing about 15 of these down my pants once they arrive at my local 7-11. I suggest you do the same.
Growing up I have vague memories of the television show "Get Smart" as it was in reruns on TV Land for a little while. While I don't remember the show too well, I do remember that it was funny and a comic spoof of James Bond type movies. Steve Carrell brings the classic show to the big screen for a modern day update. The main character is Maxwell Smart and Carrell plays him as a cross between Detective Clouseau of the Pink Panther series and James Bond. Max is a interpreter for a group called Control who is essentially the good guys. The opposite faction is called Kaos who are based in Russia and are your "quest for world domination" type.
Kaos infiltrates Control's HQ and uncovers the identities of their undercover agents and its soon up to Maxwell Smart to save the world. The plot is very thrown together but obviously in a movie like this you don't focus too much on story anyways. Steve Carrell does a great job as Max Smart bringing a little bit of Michael Scott (The Office) into his role as well as a little bit of his character from 40 Year Old Virgin. Anne Hathaway was surprisingly good as Agent 99 and I think she was a little into her role in the Devil Wears Prada as she was walking around wearing giant white chanel sunglasses and expensive jackets and designer clothes. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays Agent 23 and is your ideal secret agent as the girls love him and the guys want to be him.
Every actor in this movie really plays their parts very well. Alan Arkin does a great job as the chief and even the Great Khali (Dalip Singh) has a pretty big role in the movie as hired mercenary. Also Ken Davitian (Borat) is funny as an evil henchmen. Unfortunately the quality acting just doesn't save a bad plot and too many of the jokes fall flat. There is a dance sequence which gets a few laughs and some of Carrell's throw away lines and reactions got the audience chuckling but overall the film just dropped the ball on too many opportunities for great comedy. There are some things this film does right, such as paying tribute to the old tv show and there's even a cameo by Bill Murray but the cluttered story and twist at the end make it a little hard to follow.
The movie also feels like it runs a little too long as it nearly clocks in at 2 hours. There is some fluff that could have certainly been cut out and the references to Max previously being fat or Agent 99 having an old identity trys to achieve a deeper meaning in the film that just isn't necessary. I don't even know if I could consider it safe for children as there are a few adult oriented jokes. Then again the PG-13 rating has a different meaning than it did 15 years ago. This is a movie you should probably wait for a DVD release on. It's a sub par movie that may keep you mildly entertained for 2 hours, but will not be something for repeat viewings. Dwayne Johnson may extend his acting gig a bit longer as he proves he has a bit more depth than people originally thought. Though Steve Carrell really needs a solid hit to follow up because between this and Evan Almighty, his stock may be plummeting in the modern day world of Apatow comedies.
New one from King of the South T.I. Just another smash hit after another, most consistent rapper in the game. New album drops in September, if you dont know now you know.
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