Thursday, July 29, 2010

First 6 months surprises and disappointments

So It's actually late July, almost August, but I thought I'd talk a little about the games, music, sports, and movies that have been a surprise or disappointment from the first 6 months of 2010.

Let's talk sports first.

The blue jays are a serious tease that makes you want to love, THEN HATE them in the run of about 2 weeks. They do it every year, they tear out of the gate and surprise everyone, then hit June and forget how to tie their own laces!!! This year is no different. Challenging for a wild card spot right into June, the "swoon" hit like every other year to the point where they were 2 games under .500 by the allstar break. What happened to Adam Lind and Arron Hill? I'll tell you want, they just showed their true colors. Let's not be TOO negative, as the trade for Escobar is looking good and Jose Bautista (a Pittsburgh cast off) is hitting the lights out, and my personal favorite pitcher, Shaun Marcum, is looking great.

Toronto Blue Jays: Despite some bright spots, a MAJOR disappointment.

The hated Montreal Canadiens are next. I have hated the Canadiens since I was old enough how to push a hockey puck with a stick. But this year, even in my red haze of hatred towards the most storied franchise in North American sport, I managed to jump on the bandwagon and watch them turn in a great effort in the playoffs. They took out Sid the Kid and Alexander the Great in rounds 1 and 2, and fell to a just as nice story team in Philadelphia. During this time, the now Google-able term "Halakian type effort" was coined by the brilliant play of Jaro Halak in net. (Too bad he got traded...)

Montreal Canadiens: Surprise.

Onto music.

A band that started getting itself overplayed here in Newfoundland back in the spring was "Les Respectables" out of Montreal. "Sugar", featuring former Big Sugar lead singer Gordie Johnson, is a guitar THICK song that just oozes coolness out of any speaker it is played on.

(Bad youtube video for Sugar by Les Respectables)

I managed to find me the album and found myself what could be the album of 2010, with every song having a bluesy, southern charm mixed with amazing rock guitar and vocals. It's a must for anyone who loves rock 'n' roll.

Les Respectables: MAJOR surprise. Go team!

Now, onto video games.

I've played a LOT of games this year. Maybe not as much as last year, with those whole "responsibility" and "grown up" things getting in the way, but I've still managed to get my fair share in.

Given that there are so many, I'll list with a quick though.

Surprises:

Wet - It's like a stylish amazing take on the Kill Bill movies. I hated the movies, but LOVED the game.
Bayonetta - Just darned fun to play.
Alpha Protocol- Once you figure it out, it's a grand experience.
Dead Rising - That game that sat on my shelf for far too long, it became an obsession.
Divinity II- A great RPG that was underrated.
Dead to Rights Retribution - A slice of the 80's for a fan of the day makes a GREAT mix.

Disappointments:

Transformers War for Cybertron. - I felt like I was trying to sprint with a tank strapped to my ankles. It was pretty generic for a non transformers fan.
the 3D in Batman Arkham Asylum Game of the Year- After Avatar, why do they still insist on those stupid red/blue 3d glasses? A major disappointment for me.
Final Fantasy 13- Why should people wait 30 hours into a game before it gets good?

Ok, movies.

I haven't seem many movies this year compared to previous years, but let's take a look.

Surprise:
Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus. This is exactly as advertised, it's so terrible, it's laughably entertaining. Debbie Gibson: STOP ACTING.

Disappointment:
Clash of the Titans. With so much promise, people shouldn't be walking out the theatre saying "Meh".

I'd write more but I'm running out of lunchtime. :P More on my next post, whenever it may land.

C

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