Matt's Articles

Hey guys,

The Dark Knight is the vision of Chris Nolan, a brilliant director who has brought the dream of many fans to life. The Dark Knight is Nolan's finest work to date and finally captures the character of Batman the way he should have been seen from the beginning, dark and bleak.

What can I say here? You've all read the reviews, you've all heard about Heath Ledger's death, you've all seen the trailer. But was the Dark Knight really everything it was cracked up to be? Yes. This movie is quite possibly the film that will define our generation. Every 10 years it seems we come by a movie that is known as a mark for that time period, and so the Dark Knight marks ours. The movie itself is a visual masterpiece. Limited CGI with loads of real-world special effects, not to mention characters that not for one minute bore you. One thing we always find in movies is that there are sad scenes that just for the most part interrupt a films progression and take viewers out, but not this film. Even when there was no action currently taking place (which was rare) there was some type of fast paced feeling that didn't take away from the story but kept your eyes glued.

Another unsurprising development is that Batman himself isn't as much of a star as the Joker. We saw what happened in the trailer, but man, this guy is messed up. What will go down as Ledger's finest performance, the Joker is a dark and twisted character that you can fear but at the same time love and want to watch. Ledger brings him to life with tiny little character flaws like his obsessive ability to lick his lips or how he likes to change the story about his scars every time he tells it. Two-Face or Harvey Dent is another interesting character. A constant character throughout, Harvey keeps you interested as Gotham's last hope for normality, but makes an interesting an immediate change towards the end, and then actually carries our story out. Basically the character's make this film, and you immediately understand them.

Going back to visuals, Nolan doesn't like CGI. That being said this movie has some of the most nerve racking scenes I've ever sat through (I jumped a couple times). Things like Two-Face's well...face, is beautiful (in a sick way). The effect is so perfect that for once I forget I'm watching a computer and actually listen to him speak. Another beautiful scene is the car chase towards the end, which if you listen closely, will notice that there is no music, just the beautiful sounds of metal against concrete. Every action sequence is shot so well that they flow right into the next scene without having to transition. My personal favorite being the 18 wheeler flip which marks the first time an 18 wheeler has ever been flipped forward without the use of CGI (that's right, they really flipped it).

Unfortunately I cannot go any deeper without giving more of the film away. If you see one movie this year (besides WALL E), you must make it this one. A killer cast, heart-pounding scenes, beautifully shot, and twisted in the most amazing way. The Dark Knight sets the standard for any super hero movie to come.

Enjoy!

-Matt

Let's face it, guys love girls. In fact, guys love girls so much, those who are lucky enough to have women will still ditch them for a nice computer sit-down. Well that's inevitable, but how do you keep your girlfriend from finding your bookmark folder labeled "sexy town"? These steps will help.

1. Use friends computer.
Ex. "Hey John, listen my network is down, can I use your iPod Touch?"
"Sure, but didn't you already borrow Nick's?"
"Yeah, I guess he didn't like the new background I gave him...or the large amount of white stuff."
"What?"
"Oh I spilled ice cream on it while I was jacking off."

2. Use Magazines
Ex. Instead of purchasing the periodicals at a local news stand or at a Barns & Noble (seriously who buys them there?), get them from that guy in your family who doesn't come to popular events like Christmas, but will oddly show up at your sisters 16th birthday. He's there for two reasons, first, your sister's friends are hot. Second, he needs to get rid of his stash and he knows you have a fire place.

3. Online Clothing Stores
Ex. Why bother screwing up your computer with ton's of spy ware? Just head on over to Victoria's Secret. There are plenty of half naked women, it won't cost you anything, and there are definitely photos of them naked somewhere. American Appearl is another good choice who have actually hired porn stars to model. Plus they always have the occasional photograph that just happened to have the flash on, which also happened to make it through the tank top the girl was wearing (never a bra, never a problem). If the girlfriend asks why her history is full of these sites, you were buying her sexy outfits because your love life needs a refreshing dip in the pool of sexy (use that line exactly).

4. Facebook
Ex. Friend some hot girl you've met once at a party. You get the satisfaction of knowing the girl you're wacking the weasel too (which I hear can be a turn on), and she get's the pleasure of having that bumper sticker about guys jacking off to her pictures finally come true.

5. The End Game
Ex. If all else fails, and for some reason you just can't get your girlfriend to stay out of your bathroom, there is one final thing you can do. Actually have sex with her. Yes I know, "she won't do anything those girls on the internet will." Well that's true, so during the act of consummating, just duck tape a video iPod to her face that's currently playing all the underwater scenes from Into the Blue...Jessica Alba is hot.

Hey guys,

The X-Files has forever been my favorite TV show next to my 90's cartoons, but Mulder and Scully are done fighting the future and now they want to believe. But the new film raises some very important questions, will it continue the good name of Fox and Dana, or is the filing cabinet doomed to the basement of the FBI?

I've watched the trailer for the new X-Files movie multiple times, if not to just try and figure out what the hell I'm looking at. The movie is extremely secretive, like any major film that isn't meant to be "discovered", The X-Files are being kept very much under wraps. While reading the latest article from TV Guide, you can see how much effort went into keeping the just the script from being read. But either way I suppose that's a good thing, the trailer does one thing that many people no longer recognize...it doesn't give the whole movie away. Basically from what I gather the film takes place where Fox Mulder and Dana Scully would be after 6 years apart. They are called in by a new agent played by Amanda Peet to get help on a case they would be experts in, therefore beginning yet another adventure.

So far the plot sounds good, Chris Carter even mentions that this movie can be viewed by anyone and is not just a movie for the fan boys. But let's talk about what could ruin it. For one you have Xzibit, the rapper turned actor whose name I can barely spell, just like I can barely watch him act. At first I thought this was just another movie that was going to cast "famous" people to get attention. But from the screenshots of Xzibit, we can see a clean cut man who looks like he may be able to pull it off. Amanda Peet is another interesting choice, however I don't doubt her acting ability...that much. Let's just say I'd much rather have Agent Doggett along side Scully and Mulder rather than these guys. Another thing we have to look out for is the possibility that hey, maybe the plot does suck. Aliens under ice is what we've taken away so far, but really, can it work? Well Fight The Future was pretty good about balancing aliens and, well, everything else. But a priest, ice, and a short shot of bloody eyes isn't convincing me.

I can only hope that this film does what everyone wants it to, to continue the good name of The X-Files and keep people looking outside their windows at night. This movie has potential as long as Mr. Carter takes it seriously and makes this a overall good movie and not just some money maker shoot em' up. So yeah...just a thought.

Enjoy!

-Matt

Hey guys,

Well Craig and I finally made our way to WALL E on Friday and I've got to say I was more than impressed. Beautiful animation, a hit after hit team, and story that is not only enjoyable, but conveys a very real message. Will WALL E pave the way for more Pixar hits? Most likely.

WALL E was brilliant, there is no other way around it. The story, the animation, the sound design, all things that made me want to hug the 22 year old projectionist. Let's start with the story, an amazing one at that, WALL E takes place 700 years into the future, where a once beautiful planet is now covered in crap. WALL E is a product of Buy N' Large, a company that has ruled over humanity for quite some time. They are responsible for the earth's mess, and leave it in the hands of WALL E units that compact garbage into neat little cubes and stack them to create building size piles. Our WALL E however is the last surviving unit, and after years of doing his job which he could stop at any time, he's developed a personality.

This is how our movie begins, WALL E is doing his duty while learning about the humans that once lived their, collecting things that interest him in his little cooler/backpack, until our next robot pal, EVE stops by. EVE is a current model of Buy N' Large, a robot sent to earth by the humans living in space, to check for plant life, testing to see if earth is ready to be repopulated. EVE is a robot with a personality as well, but one that she doesn't really understand her self. What ensues is a relationship where WALL E teaches EVE the meaning of friendship, oh and they're being hunted, but I can't go into that.

WALL E is surprisingly un-Pixar like. Meaning that for once the main characters do not speak (besides some beeps), they don't have those big Pixar eyes, oh and this story is actually somewhat grounded. In other words, it plays off a future that could not only come to be, but also makes fun of some real problems that the world is going through right now. The references to Buy N' Large (and obvious shot to Wal-Mart), along with the humans who have developed into a world of extreme laziness (never leaving a hovering chair and being extremely fat), not only make you laugh, but make you think.

Another point is WALL E's sound design. Ben Burtt, the man who created over 800 sounds for Star Wars, came out of retirement to create 2,600 unique and new sounds for WALL E. They are needless to say, amazing. In a movie where the two main characters don't really speak, this is an important field, not to mention the expressions that WALL E and EVE give out help it along. Burtt's work is amazing, the sounds seem natural, funny, well basically it makes R2D2 look like another one of those sound producing Hallmark cards.

All in all WALL E was outstanding. The bottom line is whether or not you like robots, whether or not you like Pixar, whether or not you like laughing heavily, WALL E is the movie for you. You have to see it, you just have too. This will go down in history as one of Pixar's best films, and I really don't know how they plan to follow it up, I hope it's not with that "Bolt" movie they advertised before it because I will see it, but damn, Miley Cyrus? Can someone stop giving her money please? Anyway, Pixar has once again hit gold, and the inter gooey part of my heart.

Enjoy!

-Matt

Hey guys,

I was searching the web as I always do for something interesting, after all watching How It's Made can only last so long. I then stumbled (like regular stumbling, not the site) onto the Wii Spray. A college student is pushing Nintendo's tech to the edge with this reimagining of how the console can work.

The Wii Spray was created by Martin Lihs, a student at Bauhaus-University. He is a design major and wanted to take the Wii console to the next level. Well it's obvious the console can do more than a normal gaming system. It's easy to pick up controls coupled with it's easy to pick up games make it a console you want to...well, pick up. The Wii Spray operates through a computer using Adobe Flash and what's called WiiFlashSever. It allows the computer to see the hacked WiiMote as a mouse and therefore allows you to paint on a monitor as if it was MS Paint let's say.

The device is extremely cool looking, almost as if it could be marketed now, though no plans currently exist for it. His next version also plans to implement different colors, caps, and other cool features. Images created can also be saved and uploaded for editing and many other uses. Realistically this could be used as an actual video game to being a graphic designers best friend (I know it would make my Photoshop work flow easier). Either way Martin is planing on redesigning it and using it in his final thesis to allow his classmates to make a virtual wall with all their signatures.

Pictures

To check out more about this invention head on over to www.wiispray.com.

Enjoy!

-Matt