Web Showcase: Epic Rap Battles of History

One thing that I've been pretty passionate about for a while is web series and web creativity. I'd comfortably say I view around 12 hours or more of web series every week. I watch eight different shows on thatguywiththeglasses.com, I watch pretty much everything the Yogscast produce every day. I'll occasionally see what TotalBiscuit, SeaNanners and Red Letter Media have to offer.

Add to that things like The Guild and Red vs. Blue and you can see that it's something I'm very keen on.

These are just the shows I watch regularly and that are pretty well known. There are probably dozens more shows of equal quality out there, but they are struggling to break through the proverbial glass ceiling. The main problem is that YouTube (where a lot of, if not all, these originated from) is both a blessing and a curse. 

It's fantastic that there is a site like it on the internet where people can upload their creative ideas, whether it's a song, sketch, cartoon or series. However, a lot of the time it takes a great deal of self-promotion, word-of-mouth and luck to break out. This is because to find a real gem on YouTube, you have to wade through endless cat videos and nonsense guff.

So I shall occasionally try and point readers of this blog into the direction of something that is worth their time. 

This week it's Epic Rap Battles of History.

Now this series is by no means underground. In fact the most popular video they've produced so far has 24 million hits. But it isn't extremely well known and I think it deserves some more attention.

Epic Rap Battles of History are just as it says; a series of rap battles between real historical figures and fictional characters. They are created, made and produced by Nice Peter and Lloyd Ahlquist. So far they have done 11 battles and they've ranged from good to genius. 

Now I understand that comedy rap battles, even those including real people and characters, aren't anything new or groundbreaking. But these videos are so well made, from the costumes, to the rhymes and the production that they deserve to be successful.

I shall embed some of my favourite videos below for your convenience. But if you like the looks of them, and want to see them all, including future videos, they will be posted here. If you REALLY REALLY like them and have money (unlike me), you can purchase all the songs on iTunes here.

Enjoy.

Darth Vader vs Hitler- Epic Rap Battles of History 2 

 

Abe Lincoln vs Chuck Norris- Epic Rap Battles of History 3

 

Hulk Hogan & Macho Man vs Kim Jong-il - Epic Rap Battles of History 5

 

Einstein vs Stephen Hawking -Epic Rap Battles of History 7

 

Billy Mays vs Ben Franklin- Epic Rap Battles of History 10

 

Gandalf vs Dumbledore- Epic Rap Battles of History 11

  

By ChoccyR with 1 comment

My Top Ten Films of 2007

Since 2007, at the end of every calendar year, I've made a list of my top ten films from that year. I basically did it for my own amusement to keep a record of what films I loved at that time. I was looking through them again the other day and thought I would share these lists with you over the coming days and weeks. I will also add a few lines about why I enjoyed the film, etc.

So obviously we begin with 2007.

As a quick note, I am by no means a massive cinephile so there are tonnes of films that pass by me every year. These lists have also not been amended later on either. So there will be films I didn't see during the actual calendar year that were not included at the time.

This list is also my true, honest opinion; I'm by no means trying to make some pretentious list full of critically-approved masterpieces. As evidenced by my #10 film...

#10

FRED CLAUS

Two words: Guilty pleasure. 

 Fred Claus for me is an enjoyable Christmas flick, one that I enjoy viewing every December. I'm not really a Vince Vaughn fan (other than Swingers), but the film has a solid supporting cast around him that provide some funny moments. Also it has the usual Christmas schmaltzy message that I totally fall for.

#9

JUNO

Not a lot I can add about Juno, since it was THE breakout of 2007. It's number nine of my list because I don't think it's quite as amazing as some people make out; that being said it's still a very funny, sweet film, with a fantastic indie cast. It also proves that Michael Cera is best when playing a supporting character rather than the lead.

#8

3:10 to Yuma

Or 'Batman vs. Maximus', as I like to call it. 

I love Westerns and there are simply not enough being made in the 21st century. This is a very good remake of the 1957 original. Christian Bale and Russell Crowe are brilliant in their respective roles and if you liked the Coen's True Grit remake, you should definitely check this out.

#7

TRANSFORMERS

I've already spoke a little about this film here.

This is a very solid action film. Yes it was cheesy, yes the dialogue was nonsense, but at least the plot actually made a bit of sense! I've spoke way too much about Transformers recently but I enjoyed this film back then and I still enjoy it now, regardless of what I think of Revenge of the Fallen and Dark of the Moon.

#6

STARDUST

Before anyone starts sniggering, may I remind you that this was based on a Neil Gaiman novel and was directed by Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass/X-Men: First Class). 

So yeah, shut it at the back.

Again, I enjoyed this film. Sure it had problems, but I went into this film not knowing anything about it and came out pleasantly surprised. A very solid cast and a very solid fantasy flick.

#5

RATATOUILLE

This film should be higher.

When I first saw Ratatouille, I liked it and thought it was very good, but it didn't immediately strike that fire with me that most Pixar films do. 

However, I watched this film again at the beginning of the year and fell in love with it. It's visually beautiful, with a fantastic story and that Pixar tone of humour we've all fell in love with. A classic.

#4

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM

My favourite in the trilogy by far. 

It was the best action film of the year by miles. Some of the fights scenes were immense, some of stunts were brilliant. It wrapped up the story perfectly. The series as a whole inspired a new Bond and the new 'realistic' tone most thrillers have started to take (Taken, sort of). 

A great send-off to a consistantly quality trilogy.

#3

ENCHANTED

I loved this film. 

I have no qualms in admitting that at all. I went in with no expectations and came out with a genuine smile on my face. 

Sure it's for kids, but there was enough self-referential humour and great performances that you forgot all that. I am admittedly a sucker for Disney films and this hit all the right notes for me. It had great songs, an interesting twist on the fairytale story, and wonderful performances by Amy Adams and James Marsden.

#2

KNOCKED UP

It was the sleeper hit of the summer and with good reason: It's brilliant.

Judd Apatow's second film after The 40-Year-Old-Virgin hits a realistic tone whilst at the same time keeping in the laughs. 

Looking back now it's not my favourite film within the Apatow brand (I think Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I Love You, Man and Bridesmaids are all better, funnier films), but it was the best comedy in 2007 and still one of the smartest to this day.

#1

ZODIAC

To me, Zodiac is still David Fincher's best movie. 

Whilst The Social Network surpassed expectations, and Se7en is still one of the best psychological thrillers of all time, Zodiac hits all the right spots for me.

Not only is it a thriller set amongst a historical backdrop, it is also a character study. I knew little of the 'Zodiac' killer going into this movie, but coming out all I wanted to do was learn more.

The acting is superb; Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey, Jr. all give terrific performances. 

Some may find this film boring or slow paced, after all it doesn't have an action scene every five minutes and has quite a long running time of 157 minutes. But if you give it time and a chance, you'll find a truly wonderful mystery-thriller, the type not seen much in Hollywood anymore.

My favourite film of 2007.

By ChoccyR with No comments

Transformers: Dark of the Moon Review

*Warning! Major spoilers ahead*

(Note: This is a very long review for me. They usually won't be this long, but I had a lot to say on the matter. Also I saw this film in 2D, hence no comment on the 3D.)

Ok I’m ready to do this. 

I’ve been meaning to write this review for the past few days now, but every time I’ve been ready to start writing, a sudden rage has overcome me. You see just merely thinking back to this movie makes me want to rip out my eyes and crush them with my bare hands. After all, it’s their fault I had to witness this atrocity to modern cinema.

But now I’ve got to get through this. I simply must. There’s probably some Lithuanians constantly pressing refresh, on tenterhooks, waiting for the words of their most coveted blogger (i’m presuming).

So to combat the rage I’m going to feel while writing this review, I’m just going to take a second to get it out my system.

Bear with me.

AAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHYOUGODDAMNMOTHERF***ERMICHAELBAYHOWCOULDYOUPUTMETHROUGHTHISYOUSTUPIDSTUPIDMORONWHYCAN’TYOUDIRECTAFILMPROPERLYDIDYOUEVENREADTHESCRIPT?ISWEARTOGODIFYOUMAKEAFOURTHONEI’MGOINGTOCOMEOVERTHEREANDRIPYOURTONGUEOUTSOYOUCANNEVERDIRECTACRAPPYMOVIELIKETHISEVERAGAINIHATEYOUMICHAELBAYIHATEYOUSHIALABEOUFWHATDIDYOUDOTOJOHNMALKOVICH?IMEANSERIOUSLYWHATWASTHISIHADTOPAYALMOST8POUNDSTOSEESCREWYOUBAYSCREWYOUAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

That should do it. 

Before we get into the film itself, I better give a bit of context on my personal history with the Transformers franchise. 

Growing up I never watched the Transformers cartoon. There was no particular reason for this, I just never saw it. Thinking back, I don’t think I even owned any Transformers toys either. I remember an Action Man, a lot of Batman toys and even some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but never a Transformer. In hindsight, I’m wholly disappointed in my parents.

I’ve also never seen the 1986 animated movie. (Although it’s something I’m meaning to get round too.) So I’m not by any means a fanboy. So I went into the 2007 film, the first in this trilogy, with an open mind. And I enjoyed it very much. Sure it was cheesy in parts but it was a Michael Bay film for christ’s sake, you’d expect nothing less. Nevertheless it was a very solid and very enjoyable action film. 

Then came 2009’s sequel, Revenge of the Fallen, and woah it was bad, really bad. Its been pretty well documented how poor the film was, and all the usual problems you find in reviews (Sam’s parents, Skids & Mudflap, Megan Fox’s acting, poor villain) are the problems I have with the film too.

So I wasn’t expecting Transformers: Dark of the Moon to be good. No, no, I’m not that stupid or naïve. In fact I knew it was going to be bad. But I was just hoping it wasn’t going to be as bad as Revenge of the Fallen. 

How very wrong I was.

To be completely blunt and honest, (and let’s face it you knew where this review was going anyway, so why bother drawing it out any longer) Transformers 3 is easily in the top three worst films I have ever seen in my entire life.

It is terrible.

It is so bad I could probably write a 3000+ word essay on the problems this movie has. Instead I’ll try to compact it as much as possible. In fact to make it slightly easier, and because this is essentially a rant rather than a coherent review, I’ll bulletpoint my thoughts on the movie for you.

• For a start it’s too long. Way too long. The movie clocks in at two hours and forty minutes, and it doesn’t need to be that length at all. There is about an hour and twenty minutes you could easily cut out of it. So much of this movie is filler it almost doesn’t feel like a Transformers movie half the time.

• The opening ten minutes are actually quite good. There’s a prologue that includes a couple of scenes on Cybertron, and a sequence showing an Autobot ship crashing on the moon, and subsequently the US Government using the 1969 moon landing as a cover-up to find out what crashed there. “An interesting start”, I was thinking, "this might be ok". Then BAM! The opening title shot followed by a full HOUR of Shia Labeouf looking for a job. I’m deadly serious. The first act is Sam Witwicky looking for employment. There are hardly any Transformers in the first hour; at least it felt that way. I’m pretty sure Optimus Prime didn’t enter the movie until at least forty minutes in, and even then he was only in that scene for about one minute. 

• I’m not a fan of Shia Labeouf. I didn’t mind him in the first movie to be honest but in this film he is unbearable. Not only does his smug face remind me that there was an Indiana Jones 4, it also reminds me how terrible an actor he is. He spends the entirety of this movie either whining or screaming. He either whines about how amazing he is that he saved the planet twice (ok first film sure, he did destroy Megatron with the All Spark, but in the second film it was Optimus who killed The Fallen and wounded Megatron) or is shouting “Optimus” or “Bumblebee”. It drove me mad. Then if that isn’t bad enough, in the aforementioned first hour, we have the standard ‘Shia Labeouf comedy’ section, and it’s brutal to watch someone with no comedic timing or talent try and draw a laugh. I have yet to see Labeouf justify why he is such a coveted A-lister. I can think of several other actors who would have been far better in this franchise playing that character (Justin Long, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Joel David Moore come to mind).

• The film is boring. The last hour is a massive fight in Chicago between the Autobots and Decepticons, but we already saw a city battle like this in the first movie. It’s too long. The desert fight in Egypt was criticised for being too long and losing focus, but clearly Bay didn’t take that criticism on. Even worse, most of the fight is focused on the humans rather than the Transformers… in a TRANSFORMERS movie.

• The villains suck, again. Everybody in the entire screening saw Sentinel Prime’s betrayal coming. His motives for betraying the Autobots makes no sense whatsoever, and although he does give Optimus quite the fight at the end, there was no real threat that the Autobots would lose. Megatron, you know the coolest villain, is once again a bit-part player in this film. He may as well have not been in it. Even worse, even though the Optimus and Megatron are pretty evenly matched in the cartoon and comics, Optimus once again beats him within thirty seconds.

• Patrick Dempsey. He’s not terrible per-se; it just feels like he’s wondered in from a completely different movie.

• John Malkovich. Oh Jesus, what did they do to John Malkovich? The guy is a fantastic actor, reduced to an extended cameo that adds nothing to the overall plot and isn’t funny. What’s worse, he’s in the film for about a twenty minute period, then leaves and we never see him ever again. Wasted.

• Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. She actually is far from the worst thing in this movie and was more bearable as the lead actress than Megan Fox was in the first two movies. Plus she’s dating Jason Statham, so she gets a pass from me.

• Ken Jeong. For the life of me I cannot remember what his purpose in this movie was? He, like Malkovich, was in this movie for about twenty minutes, and I think his character was there to spout exposition, but the first hour was so terrible I can’t remember what it was. The problem with Ken Jeong is that he is now stuck playing this crazy Asian stereotype that developed from The Hangover. It is annoying and no longer funny. He wasn’t bearable in The Hangover Part II, and this just seals the deal.

• Sam’s Parents. I hate these two so much. They are one of the prime examples of why Bay fails as a director. Kevin Dunn and Julie White are playing characters that have no place in this kind of movie. This is the kind of smothering parent stereotype you’d find in 90’s Nickelodeon shows. To be fair they aren’t in this movie as much as the second, but whenever they turned up I still felt like throttling the person next to me.

• Alan Tudyk. I have no idea why he signed up for this film, I really don’t. His character is an awful gay stereotype, typical for Michael Bay really. At least Tudyk plays the character as best he can to draw laughs. He comes out the film unscathed as far as I’m concerned, purely because the character could have been so much worse than it was.

• The action scenes. This is a summer Hollywood blockbuster and there are barely any action scenes in this movie. Ok, there is the hour long final battle, but before that, there is two action scenes I can remember and both only total about five minutes. There is still the problem of when two Transformers fight; it’s hard to tell what’s going on. This may be just a general problem though rather than Bay specific, and it has improved from the first film.

• The humour. Why is Michael Bay putting humour in this film for children, when the film is a 12A and has several cases where the word ‘shit’ is used? Surely the target audience for a Transformers film is a male aged 16-35. This kind of humour isn’t funny and isn’t necessary. 

• Plot holes and general lack of logic. This could be an entirely separate piece on its own. Put I’ll list just a few I remember from the movie:
  

1.  At the films climax, the Decepticons take over Chicago; they kill about 70% of the people there. The American response? Nothing. Apparently America don’t mind their cities been taken over and won’t respond with force.

2.  Harking back to Megatron, we’re supposed to believe the leader of the Decepticons is willing to play second fiddle to a former-Autobot? Does that sound like Megatron to you?

3.  Starscream’s death. Why could they not cut the rope fast enough? Why did Starscream try to fly and be unable to because of the added weight of Sam and Josh Duhamel?

4.  Why is Shockwave on the posters for this movie when he barely features and offers nothing? There’s fan service and then there’s just putting a character in to offer nothing to the plot.

5.  So the Autobots pretended to get blown up in the rocket, only to then wait two days and wait for the entire destruction of Chicago before deciding to get involved. Thousands of humans have probably died in this time. Its not even like they waited so as to hatch a plan, because they don’t have one when they arrive.

6.  So Sentinel Prime and Megatron had this plan all the way back during the war on Cybertron, and were supposed to meet on earth to hatch it. So what about Megatron’s plans in the first two films? Did he just forget the Ark crashed on the moon?

7.  The Fallen said Optimus was the last prime, even though he wasn’t. The Decepticons also knew about the Ark, and Megatron surely would have known Sentinel was aboard since they were meeting on earth.

8.  There are hundreds of Decepticons on earth in the films climax, and only about eight Autobots. Yet the Autobots absolutely destroy them. There are a couple of Autobot casualties, but even so how was it that the war on Cybertron went on for so long if the Decepticons actively suck at fighting?

Wow, that was longer than I expected. But you can now quite clearly see the problems I have with this movie. Thing is, I’m not a cinema snob by any means; I love a big Hollywood action film. Thor is one the best films I’ve seen this year. But this movie was just so awful; it was insulting to my intelligence.

I also don’t hate Michael Bay as a director. The Rock is one of my favourite films of all time and I enjoyed both Bad Boys films and Armageddon. None of them are outstanding movies but Bay can be a competent director, and he is generally a good action director.

But maybe it’s just me? People ate this movie up, it got critically mauled yet exploded at the box office. There is going to be a fourth one. Maybe I’m missing the point of this film somewhere? All I know is I won’t be seeing any future Transformers films with Bay and Labeouf involved.

Verdict: 

Absolute garbage. I’d call it the nadir of American cinema but I know it can only get worse. Avoid at all costs. 

0/5

By ChoccyR with No comments

Retrospective Pokémon Black & White Review

(This review was originally written back in March 2011.)

Its been over a decade since Pokemon first exploded into popular culture. School lunchtimes consisted of frantically trying to find someone to trade the Pidgey card you had twelve duplicates of. Mornings would involve watching Ash Ketchum make his way through Kanto while you ate your breakfast. Friends and colleagues would battle each other on their Nintendo Game Boys while playing Red & Blue. 

But now in its fifth generation, and with its original audience growing up, can Pokemon Black and White still deliver in a crammed RPG market?

The first thing to note about Pokemon Black and White is that it still has the same essential core gameplay that Red and Blue had way back in 1999. You still start by picking one of three starter Pokemon. You still have to sit through the ‘how to catch Pokemon with a pokeball’ routine; and you still have to battle eight gym leaders in eight different towns to then challenge the Pokemon League to become the champion. It’s all there and it’s oh so familiar.

Yet five generations in, this core gameplay still works. If you’ve never played Pokemon before, the tutorials are there to guide you. If you’re a regular Pokemon player, you know how to start and therefore can focus on the deeper RPG aspects of the game. It’s all there and it’s what continually drives the franchise forward. That said there are still some grating aspects to the game that can infuriate.

For some, Pokemon Black and White won’t be the ultimate leap forward in the series. There are many new aspects to the game, but for those hoping for a major change in the game mechanics, those that beg for a Pokemon MMO for example, may be disappointed. The game also features the same areas that appear in every Pokemon game (a bug Pokemon forest, several caves, and a long, long mountainous region) that veterans to the series will find grinding and frustrating. Whilst it is necessary to have these long areas full of battles and wild Pokemon, do we always need a forest and a cave?

On the other hand the new towns and cities in this game look great. All have their own distinct looks to them culminating in Castelia City, the games version of Lower Manhattan, which features towering skyscrapers, commuters and about five different docks. It’s something truly different and feels really refreshing. The game in general though looks fantastic. The pseudo-3D graphics really show how wonderful sprite graphics can be. It’s bright, colourful, and with the addition of ever-changing in-game seasons, constantly changes up the world around you.

One of the biggest selling points of Pokemon Black and White is that there are 150+ brand new Pokemon inhabiting this region. Some are clearly inspired by previous Pokemon, Woobat for example shares some traits with Zubat from the original games, and some look silly: Vanillite is basically an ice-cream shaped Pokemon. But most feel fresh and new and look really cool. The measure that you can’t import your Pokemon team from previous generations means you have to go exploring for new Pokemon to catch, and it’s always nice to see a new Pokemon you’ve never seen before.

For the first time, the two different versions of the game offer more than slightly different Pokemon in each game. Yes that’s still there, but the aesthetic of the two games are different, Black looking a lot more technological than White’s more natural feel. The Black version also has an exclusive Black City which offers more trainer battles whilst White has the White forest where different Pokemon reside. The games are overall generally the same but it’s a nice touch in making the two versions feel more exclusive.

The story of this game is another great leap forward to the series. Ok, we’re not talking about Metal Gear Solid levels of story depth here, but the overall arc of the game, where Team Plasma lead by the mysterious ‘N’ want to separate people from Pokemon, feels a lot more meaty than the usual tale of taking over the world.

There are plenty of new features and changes to the games as well. In terms of little changes, Pokemarts are now integrated into the Pokemon Centre to make healing and buying a lot simpler. In terms of new features, in-game seasons now change as real-time months pass by (for example, March is autumn in-game, April is winter etc.) This changes how you battle based on the seasons, and means different Pokemon will appear at different times. It’s another nice touch moving on from the day/night cycles of previous generations.

Once you have finally beaten the Pokemon League and become the champion of the Unova region, there is a tonne of post-game content to keep you hooked. Battle arenas in some cities become more accessible, and of course previous generations Pokemon become available. This along with the best multiplayer support yet means Pokemon will be at the forefront of your gaming conscious for some time. 

Verdict:

Overall, Pokemon Black and White are the best games in the series history. It may not break the mold in terms of its gameplay, but it offers enough new content, mixed with the best bits of previous games in the series, to leave you with a deep RPG experience. It’s endlessly playable, totally fun and with a playtime of well over 50 hours, total worth your time, attention and money.

4/5

By ChoccyR with No comments

Retrospective Due Date Review

*Warning, may be spoilers ahead*

(This review was originally written back in February 2011. It was produced for a film website, hence the more formal tone and structure.)

Todd Phillips’ directorial career up until 2009 contained a list of almost comedies. Old school was almost really funny; Starsky & Hutch was almost very good. Road Trip was well, Road Trip. His films were the definition of hit-and-miss.

Then 2009’s The Hangover came along, hit a home run at the box office and instantly became a comedy classic. So in his follow-up feature, Due Date, does Phillip’s continue with the success of The Hangover?

Not exactly.

The fact that Due Date isn’t an official remake of John Hughes’ Plane, Trains & Automobiles is quite surprising. Hollywood’s tendency to remake last generation’s classics has gone into overload in recent years. But whilst Due Date is more a homage to Steve Martins’ classic, the story is pretty much the same.

The odd couple in this case are Peter (Robert Downey Jr) and Ethan (Zach Galifianakis). Both are kicked off a flight after a misunderstanding and decide to drive together across the country to get to Los Angeles. Peter is desperate to get home to see the birth of his first child, Ethan is going to LA to follow his acting dream.

It’s a simple premise that unfortunately turns into a tortuous journey for both the characters and the audience. 

One of the main problems is how schizophrenic Downey Jr’s central character is. Peter for the most part is a jerk with serious anger issues. It’s hard to feel sympathy for a character who spits on a dog and mocks the handicapped. But then (in one of the better scenes in the movie) Peter delivers an emotional monologue on how his Father left him when he was young. 

Following that, we see him threatening to throw Ethan’s dead fathers ashes onto the freeway. In the course of the film Peter goes from angry jerk to doting father to insecure husband. There is no consistency and the audience don’t really engage with the character at all during the running time. The film does its best to show us how irritating Ethan is meant to be, but it’s never enough to justify the unpleasantness Peter bestows upon him.

Galifianakis does ok playing Ethan. It’s a similar performance that we’ve come to expect from him and he delivers some very funny lines and scenes. But they’re far and few between boring set pieces and Peter’s mean antics. The films is only a 99 minute running time but it still feels stretched out. 

By the time the third act finally rolls around, you’ve seen so many pointless scenes and so much nastiness that you don’t care if they make it to LA or not. Appearances from Jamie Foxx, Danny McBride and Juliette Lewis come and go, but they add nothing to the overall film or to the comedy.  

It just all ends up being very frustrating.

Verdict:

Due Date certainly has its funny moments, but you have to sit through a lot of unpleasantness to reach them. If you’re going to see one odd-couple-on-a-road-trip movie today, make it Planes, Trains & Automobiles.

2.5/5

By ChoccyR with No comments

Press Start

Why?

That's probaby what you're thinking right now isn't it?

Your brow is probably furrowed, you may even be scratching your head. You've seen the name of the blog, then you've read the About section, and now your trying to connect the dots. But you have absolutely no idea why a personal blog that focuses primarily on "entertainment" is called The Pearl Station.

Well let me enlighten you.

Naming things is hard. That's what i've discovered. I had two previous blogs back in 2007 and 2008 for a university module. Thinking back I don't remember having so much trouble naming them. Maybe that's because I didn't really care? Who knows. Either way i've spent the last few weeks struggling to come up with a name for this blog. The theme? Piece of cake. The look? Well that only took four hours. But the name, the bloody name, I just couldn't think of.

Eventually I started thinking of a word that would describe this blog. I came up with 'observation'. After all it's a fitting word to describe this blog. As previously stated, this is an entertainment blog. A place I can discuss movies, games, books, TV and whatever pops into my noggin. Entertainment with a personal twist.

With that in mind I started doing what I do best: aimlessly clicking on internet links to go from one location and ending up somewhere I didn't need to be. I call it 'Wikipedia syndrome'. I'll Wikipedia something random like Lionel Messi for example. Half an hour later i'll be reading the filmography of Josh Lucas. Just by clicking and clicking.

So by doing that, and with observation being on the mind. I eventually ended up on Lostpedia. The wiki for TVs Lost. There I found a list of Dharma stations. One of them was called The Pearl. It was the observation station, the one with all the TV monitors.

Name solved.

I am aware i'm a massive geek.

----------------------------------------------------------

So there we have it, first post in the bag. Before I end this I need to apologise in advance for all grammatical errors in this post and all subsequent entries. Commas are my bane and semi-colons are my nemesis.

Also over the next few days there may be some tweaks here and there on the site. That's me fiddling as i'm never satisfied.

I will get the post count rolling though as tomorrow I shall post a retrospective review of Pokemon Black & White I wrote back in April, and a review of Due Date I did in February. I'm publishing them here because they need a home, as they're sitting on my desktop unread, as I wrote them as a bit of writing practise. They'll probably be a bit more formal in tone than most of my others reviews i'll be doing in the future, partly because I want this to be a casual affair. With occasional rage.

In the meantime, take a look around.

Maybe you'd like all new posts to be sent to your e-mail for conveniance? If so, subscribe! Or maybe you'd like to follow me on Twitter? In that case, just click the big button up top. See it? Yup, that one.

I'd really appreciate it!

By ChoccyR with No comments