StuffWeLike

Day Watch, best sequel of the summer so far?

2007 has been called the summer of Sequels, with Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Pirates 3, Spiderman 3, Shrek 3, 28 Weeks Later, Ocean’s Thirteen, Evan Almighty, and so forth. There are more sequels than you can shake a stick at, and few of which have faired as well as the originals did critically. Considering all of this one would be discouraged, right?

Well last week a Russian fantasy movie based on a series of books, somewhat akin to The Lord of the Ring novels, was released. The second movie in the series, Day Watch(or Dnevnoi Dozor in it’s native Russian), continues a year or so after the first movie(Night Watch). While Pirates required you to remember much of the second movie, Day Watch does no such thing. Sure, watching Night Watch will help you understand a bit, but going directly to the theater and seeing Day Watch won’t leave you in the dark completely.

The movie itself is solid, and quite an epic. The story is nicely laid out, not too confusing that you made more sense of Pirates 3, and there wasn’t so much in the movie that it made Spidey 3 seems small. Much of the movie, despite not delving much into the abilities of the Dark and Light ones, shows off a unique look at magic within the movie’s universe. All of this ties greatly with the surprisingly well done visual effects used in the movie.

Each visual effect blends beautifully from faux to real nearly flawlessly without looking fake. Things like a Parrot turning into a human being in a cheesy 80s suit, or a flying crow shifting into a sword wielding magical warrior midflight seem of the norm. While high paced action scenes like a sports car driving along the side of a building, or a rain of small children’s aluminum balls destroying much of Moscow seem to out shine even the biggest budget titles. Surprisingly enough as well the usage of subtitles in the movie is one of the most dynamic additions to the movie. While they can often be a bore with other movies, Fox has used the addition of subtitles to interact with the movie’s actions and scenes in an entertaining easter egg hunt.

Sequels come and go, while some leave a sour aftertaste, but Day Watch just further sweetens the movie franchise. However, as entertaining as the movie is, you might have trouble finding it in theaters. Fox gave it a very limited release, with a mere 2 theaters in my native SoCal showing it. It might be best to wait for the wider release later this month, or even the DVD release.

Paris In Jail: Thank You!

So as we all know this website is not just about video games it is expanding to much much more then just that. As we also know this website is not about breaking news so as much as this is very recent news this is not breaking news. This is however a review site where people will be able to read and share their opinions.

I for one could not be happier with this whole Paris in jail issue, it’s about time. She is serving the rest of her 45 day sentence for violating probation and I for one am relieved.

Thank you Paris for a wonderful day of yelling at the television and a reality check that celebrities ( who really shouldn’t be) are people to.

Now that that’s over, lets put it to rest.

Thank you Paris, it was a good day.

Speeding Wheelchair

Imagine that you’re in a wheelchair and somehow you get pushed by a semitruck going as fast as 50mph! Well imagine no more, it happened. Thankfully the guy in the wheelchair, Ben Carpenter, survived without any harm!

Ben Carpenter

No this wasn’t a jackass stunt. The poor guy wasn’t able to finish crossing the road before the light turned green. Viewers of the incident called 911 and said that the truck driver didn’t see Ben.

Ben’s a celebrity in my book!

Wayside School the TV show

[Update 8/21/08: Click here for our review of Wayside School Season 1]

For those of you who read and have a good memory, I’ve got some interesting news! Remember the Wayside series? Neither do I, but the only book that I vaguely remember is the one about the school falling down… Anyway it’s being turned into a TV series on Nickelodeon.

Before:

Wayside Book

After:

Wayside

Welcome to Wayside, a wacky 30-story grade school where off-the-wall events are an everyday occurrence. The new half-hour animated series that takes school to new heights debuts on Nickelodeon on Monday, June 25 at 12:30 p.m. (ET/PT). The 26-episode series will air regularly on weekdays at 12:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

Based on the best-selling Wayside School book series by Louis Sachar (“Sideways Stories from Wayside School,” “Holes”) and produced by Nelvana, Wayside chronicles the adventures of Mrs. Jewls’ class on the 30th floor as they navigate their way through the ups, ups and ups of grade school. The series is seen through the eyes of Todd, an average “Joe” who is new to Wayside, as he befriends Maurecia, the tough girl who finds it easier to express herself with physical actions rather than words, Dana, the over-emotional over-achiever and Myron, the ineptly ambitious politician in a school that, due to a “slight” miscalculation, was built 30 classrooms on top one another rather than the one floor planned. Their peers include the boy who wears his Halloween elf costume every day, a boy who spends his days upside down and a girl who’s always asleep, in addition to the eccentric faculty and the cows that randomly roam the school.

“Generations of readers have enjoyed Wayside tales from Louis Sachar, and now fans can watch their favorite stories come to life as its first-ever TV series joins Nickelodeon’s hit animation line-up,” said Tom Ascheim, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Nickelodeon Television. “The stories are absurdly funny interpretations of how kids perceive the world around them and the issues they face in their daily lives.”

In the first part of the premiere episode, “Oh, Great Leader,” the students try to throw Wayside’s principal a surprise birthday party. But when Principal Kidswatter mistakenly assumes they are attempting to “overthrow” him, he recruits “new kid” Todd (a.k.a. Agent 344) to spy for him. Todd, feeling a little insecure about his place in Mrs. Jewls’ class, questions his new friends and their wacky ways.

In “Meet the Pets,” the second half of the premiere episode, everyone brings their pet to class and leaves Todd, the only kid in class who doesn’t have one, to watch their animals while they go out for recess. Chaos ensues when the pets escape, but Todd is able to learn a lesson in responsibility – and about himself – when a visit from the past encourages him to take control.

Louis Sachar’s first book, “Sideways Stories >From Wayside School,” was written in 1976. He has since written more than twenty books for young people, including four more in the Wayside School Series, as well as the Newbery award-winning book “Holes.” His books have sold more than 15 million copies world-wide and have been translated into more than 30 languages. He also wrote the screenplay for the movie, Holes. He lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, Carla.