The Venture Brothers: Handsome Ransom

I am happy to see this show get back to its roots. You seriously could not ask for a better episode than the one from this week. I love Brock Sampson's character in this show, but you didn't need him at all to make this story so unbelievably funny.

To start off, Rusty was back in this episode, and he was as funny as I had hoped he would be. Since he was barely in the season premiere, I was hoping he'd have a bigger role in the next episode. Another one of my favorite characters was back in this episode: The Monarch, who is the perfect arch-nemesis for Dr. Venture. They are both so unbelievably incompetent that they compliment each other very nicely. This episode starts off with the Venture boys getting captured again by the Monarch who is trying to negotiate a ransom with Dr. Venture. What was funny that the Monarch was asking for money this time, which caught everyone off guard. Then Venture tries bartering off some old equipment, Hank sides with the Monarch to not be stiff with money, Dr. Venture telling the Monarch to keep Hank, and everyone finally negotiating a transaction location. This scene couldn't have worked any better. Everyone was hilarious and it is scenes like this that make Venture Brothers the funniest show on Adult Swim. I was happy to see Sergeant Hatred being just as funny as he was in the premiere, with the sort of incompetence that fits right into the Venture family. The transaction scene was also fantastic, which ended with the Monarch kicking Venture in the balls and stealing his forged money.

This episode was also great cause it included the voice of Kevin Conroy, who has done the voice for every Batman series since the early 90's. I was in typical nerd worship when I heard his voice in this episode, but his character was nothing like Batman. Though he was a superhero, he was a very fruity superhero who uses radiated light to attack his enemies. So anyone who gets attacked by him ends up with a sunburn. What was amusing about this character was his latent homosexual and pedophiliac tendencies when he recruited Hank to be his "Wonder Boy" after the Monarch killed the original Wonder Boy in a drunken stupor. You could see his character being an obvious reference to Batman, what with the butler and the secret lair.

I also thought the new Number 21 is awesome. I think it's funny that he became this huge, ripped and badass henchman after 24 was killed. What is amusing is that he still is a nice guy when he paid a cab driver rather than killing him like the Monarch ordered. He has become a nice asset to the Monarch, now that he can kick people's asses. The episode basically ended with the Monarch failing to re-capture Hank, and Hank leaves the superhero to go back with Dr. Venture. They give a little homage to Batman at the end of the episode, which was a funny way to end it.

This episode was fantastic, and really had everything you could want out of this show. This is one episode I could watch again and again, and I suggest you do the same.

I'm giving this episode a 9.8

If I could have any voice, it would be Kevin Conroy's. ...... or Ian McShane's.

South Park: W.T.F.

South Park had a good couple of episodes to start their Fall run, but their third episode, titled W.T.F., really lacked the quality the first 2 had. I knew it was a matter of time before South Park took a jab at the WWE, and since I used to watch wrestling, I was excited to see what they would do. I know wrestling has a lot of acting involved, so I figured they'd make that their focus.

So the episode focused on how the boys, after seeing a WWE show, decide to put on their own wrestling show. This attracts the attention of all the stereotypical rednecks that the WWE does. Say what you want about the WWE, but they sell out shows every week. I love that they brought back the "Took our jobs!" line that I loved so much. Other than that line, the episode wasn't that good. Their wrestling event became more of a Broadway play by the end. I thought the fact that the event had intermissions and the audience were drinking wine during it was a funny little addition. The making fun of real wrestling was also an interesting commentary.

Other than those few points, this episode really lacked the comedy that made previous episodes so great. They tried so hard to make fun of wrestling that they forgot to make it really funny in the process. There really isn't much else to say beyond that.

This episode gets a 6.5

And yes real wrestling is totally gay.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on Blu Ray

Well, it took forever, but I finally saw Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen tonight. I didn't get a chance to see it in theaters, because every movie reviewer on the planet hated it and my friends didn't want to see it. I wasn't going to be THAT guy that goes to movies alone. So it took months, but I finally rented the movie on Blu Ray, because Blu Ray is the future and I love it.

Let me start off by saying that I was always a big fan of the series. I have the original animated movie on DVD, and I watched the original cartoon, Beast Wars, and the other shows when I was a kid. When the first Transformers movie came out a few years back, I didn't mind it. I thought it was a very entertaining movie and did the original series justice. Some people loved it, others hated it. Whatever, everyone is entitled to their opinions. However, let me just say that as an aspiring computer animator, these movies are amazing. The first movie was a little intense with the special effects, but the second movie wasn't as overwhelming for some reason. The animation and graphics in this movie were incredible and really left me amazed. I know the amount of time it took to make the graphics and animation, so it is really impressive.

When it comes to this movie, I was very entertained. That does not make it a good movie, it merely makes it an entertaining movie. There are good movies like Gran Torino and the Curious Case of Brad Pitt that are meant to convey emotions and make you connect with the movie. Then there are entertaining movies that are meant to keep you distracted with special effects and explosions and leave you going "that was kickass." Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was the latter. It left me insanely entertained from beginning to end and I thought it was awesome. Movie critics don't appreciate these kinds of movies. They want acting and a compelling plot, not giant robots fights of good vs. evil. That's why reviewers gave this movie shit ratings. If you want emotions and acting, go watch some Jennifer Aniston movie. If you want to be entertained for 2 and a half hours, watch Transformers.

The premise of the story is that Sam is the child of destiny to help bring an end to the war between Autobots and Decepticons. The Decepticons come back with force and try to start some ancient machine to destroy the sun. The one thing I noticed right off the bat with this movie is the addition of new Transformers and the increase in dialogue of these characters. The first movie was much more about the human characters and their interactions. The sequel had more involvement with robots than it did humans. This is not saying it is bad thing. I was hoping there were be newer Transformers and make it more interesting, and for the most part, there were. I really liked the "old Transformer" that was brought back to life, and I liked the premise that they were on Earth for thousands of years. Many movies have had the premise that aliens helped humans build their societies, so it was interesting to see how it played in the Transformers universe. As far as the premise of Optimus dying and being brought back to life to destroy the enemy made more sense than you know. In one of the Transformers shows from years back, there was a story that had the exact same premise. Optimus dies, and the Matrix brought him back to life, so I can't really hate the story.

As far as the human actors go, they were ok. I love John Torturro, so I was glad to see him back in this movie. As for Shia LeBouf's character, the whole idea of him being this destiny child was a little farfetched, but he had to be the center of the story somehow. His was acting was the same as it normally was, decent but not great. Megan Fox had to just stand there and look hot and she would do her job. Her acting isn't as good as any other actress, but she is hot, so I guess it works out. The parents parts in these movie seemed a little out of place. They were good for a few chuckles in the beginning of the movie, but it didn't really seem to fit with everything else. As far as Sam's roommate in the movie was concerned, he was completely unnecessary. He was the comic relief and that's all he was good for. He really didn't need to be in as much of the story as he was. He could have been in the beginning for a few reaction shots and then he could have been done away with. He was the same as those "Twin Autobots," who were really not necessary at all. Plus Tom Kenny, the voice of Spongebob, also did voices for a couple of characters in this movie, which turned the characters into really silly ones. His voice is really obvious, so I really couldn't take the movie seriously when those characters were on.

Let me just say that this movie was really cheesy, but that's honestly what I expected. Transformers was never really was supposed to be this high-quality movie like The Dark Knight. Characters and series like Batman are much more complex and go into a much more emotional and psychological level than the Transformers series. Transformers were always just about looking cool and fighting each other. That's it. Keep that in mind when you watch this movie.

As far as the dvd quality goes, it was good. The video is breathtaking in Blu Ray and the audio matches that. Everyone really should start using Blu Ray, because it is amazing. The really wasn't much in terms of Extras here. All that was there was a commentary from Michael Bay and a few other people that I really didn't care enough to listen the whole way through. Michael Bay really isn't the most interesting director, so it didn't seem worth it to be honest. He's good at blowing shit up, but I didn't really want to hear how he did it. I'm assuming the 2-Disc Special Edition DVD has all the good stuff, but I would have liked to see maybe one other extra on here, like a behind the scenes thing. Just something else to make it seem this DVD was worth it. Oh well...

This DVD was decent. The movie was good, and the video and audio were top notch. The extras were lacking, so I'm not sure this Blu Ray is worth the 30 dollars you would ultimately pay for it. If I were you, I'd spend the few extra dollars and get the Special Edition, because I've heard there are a lot of kickass extras on there.

I'm going to give this dvd an 8.2

The 2-Disc Special Edition gets a 9.2

This is, of course, if you like this sort of thing. If not, then enjoy watching The Proposal.

Wii Fit Plus

I think it's time I put a game review under my belt as well, and today's review is Wii Fit Plus, the highly anticipated sequel to one of Nintendo's highest profile games. For those who live in caves with no TV or internet, the Wii Fit is the exercise video game put out by Nintendo to help encourage more active lifestyles. I own the original Wii Fit, so I had to try out the new game.

To start off, Wii Fit Plus takes all of the information from the original Wii Fit and easily places everything into the new game, which is very convenient. There are a number of new features here. It is the same traditional menu as the original game, but with two new sections: Training Plus and My Wii Fit Plus.

The training Plus section offers a variety of new balance and aerobic games to play. Some are just advanced versions of original activities, and some are new to the scene. Many of these are very fun and energetic. My personal favorites are the golf swing practice, the snowball fight, the rhythm kung fu, the obstacle course, and the basic run plus. As you can see, these are just a few of the new training plus games you can play, and all over the offer a way to be active as well as play games. The most important thing with this is: you sweat. With some one these activities, you well legitimately break a sweat and be exercising. Imagine that shit!

The other new are is the My Wii Fit Plus section. This is a great section for people who are looking for a Wii Fit Workout that adheres to their needs. The menu here has many areas you can go to, the first being Wii Fit Plus Routines. Here you can chose a variety of 5-10 minute workouts that target specific areas of your body, like posture or trimming down your stomach or your arms. These different workouts combine strength training, aerobics and balance games that are meant to work out the part of the body the exercise corresponds to. This is a nice new feature. The My Routine section allows you to set up a list of yoga and strength training exercises that you can follow. The My favorites section shows the activities you most frequently play, the ones you played that day, and the ones you rarely use. I'm not sure if this is supposed to encourage you to do the ones you never do, but I get the idea. On the left there are 4 tabs, the first of which is calorie check. Finally, the game shows you how many calories you burn in a workout! Not only that, but it shows you common foods or drinks and number of calories it equates to. This is probably the most helpful new feature in the game. It also shows you your fit credits for the day and how they calculate the amount of calories you've burned. Finally, I can see that I burned 3 calories while I played a balance game! That, is sarcasm, but it's more helpful to see how many calories you burn on a run or on any of the strength training exercises. Plus the Wii Fit is always there with a helpful tip for you.

A couple other new features for this game allow you to give your baby(?) or dog(?) a workout plan as well. Why anyone would need or use this feature is beyond me, and it's not really necessary. If you got a fat baby or a fat dog, just let it run around and stop feeding it so much. Problem solved. The last new feature is much more useful. It allows multiple players to join in on an activity, which is generally what these types of games are meant for.

I know this game isn't for everyone. I know some people prefer not to exercise, and that's why they play video games. My friend Greg's shoulders are too broad and he can't fit on the balance board when he tries to do push ups. I know people don't want their video games telling them their fat, because the irony is just too much to handle. This game is meant to reach out to the people that normally wouldn't play video games, and that's why Nintendo made some serious cash money on the first Wii Fit, and they will most likely keep raking in the money on this game too. I will say this though. This is a great game for out of shape people who wish to start being more active. You sweat with this game. If you do the long distance run in this game, you bet your ass you will feel it afterwards. However, I'm not saying you're going to get in insane shape if you only do Wii Fit. A combo of Wii Fit and doing some jogging or going to the gym will get in some serious fucking shape. Is it worth it if you have to pay 99 dollars to get the wii fit board along with it? If you stick to the program, yes. Is it worth it if you already have the balance board. Absolutely. If you're looking to get in serious shape, go to a gym and don't waste your money. If you want to have fun while breaking a sweat, this is a solid game.

I'm giving it an 8.7

Now after a good sweat, I'm going to sit on my ass and play some Call of Duty.

Cartel: Cycles

I think it's about time we got away from TV shows for a second and do something else. How about music? Good? Good. For the first music review I'm doing Cartel's new album called Cycles. This is the third album for the pop/punk band and I have to say, it's another decent effort for the band. Keep in mind that this style of music is not for everyone. In fact, if you don't like punk to begin with, you will hate this. Now that we're past that, let's move on.

Cycles is a solid album, not a great one, but it's okay. It has the same folly that their other albums: a lot of their songs starts to sound similar. That doesn't mean it's a bad thing. A good song played back slightly different can make for another good song. Just ask Nickelback, they have at least 3 songs that follow the same formula. I will say this about Cartel, their music is catchy. The intro track "Let's go" is very good, addicting and a great energetic track to start. The drums and the beats behind the singer make for a very likable combo. There are tracks on here that have a good combo of addicting lyrics and good instrumentals. The second track entitled "The Perfect Mistake" follows this formula very well. They have their share of slow songs, but I couldn't really get into them. Maybe it's just my personal tastes, but just couldn't get into more than half the album. This will definitely appeal to the teenage/female pop/punk-loving crowds that Cartel attracts. The tracks I would recommend listening to are as follows:

Let's Go

The Perfect Mistake

Conventional Friend

Three songs really isn't that much for an 11-track album, but the album itself is okay. I'm going to try and be as non-biased as I can be when it comes to music reviews.

This album gets a 6.5. Keep in mind I'm not doing a 6.5 saying it's the equivalent of a D. I'm saying it's a 6.5 because it's a little better than average, which I consider is a 5.

This music beats the loud latin rap that is being blasted upstairs right now, so I'll take it.

How I Met Your Mother: Duel Citizenship

How I Met Your Mother has been solid this season, especially with the whole Barney-Robin arch, and this week's episode was a good one. In this story, Robin is conflicted about either being Canadian or becoming and American citizen, while Ted and Marshall (with Lilly) head out to visit an old pizza place the visited in college.

The whole Canadian angle of Robin has been good for many laughs since the show started, and again it was funny here. Barney's constant belittling of Canada was very funny, especially the scene in the Tim Horton's in Toronto, and I'll get to that. I liked how Barney was teaching Robin to be an ignorant American, and I thought the description of curling was hilarious. This sequence really amplified Barney's ability to not really care about anything beyond himself and occasionally his few close friends. It makes me wonder if Robin will be able to handle Barney's personality for that long, or if Barney will change in the future (I sure as hell hope not, Barney's the man). The scene in the Tim Horton's in Toronto was great. Robin being confused about her identity was a pivotal part in the story. We have always seen Robin act very Canadian in the show, but In Canada she's viewed as American. It was a nice conflict, and it was nice to see Barney literally "stand up" for Robin. Barney's mockery of Canada and their money in this scene was fantastic as well. I thought the way this story wrapped up was nice as well, with Robin getting duel citizenship. However, I wondered why she didn't do this in the beginning? Seemed like the logical choice to me.

The other story line in this episode was Ted and Marshall living their college days again when they go on a road trip to Chicago. It was nice to see Marshall and Ted interacting again because they haven't had a story together in awhile. In typical Marshal fashion, he bring Lilly along since they have become a single entity in recent episodes (Marshy or Lillall I call it). Marshall really hasn't been as crazy or as standout as he used to be, so I was hoping to get more from him than I did. Also, Lilly on this road trip made me really want to haaate her, with the constant bathroom trips and the audio book. I liked the way how Ted Marshall made up after their fight, using the audio book as an illustration of their problems. Ted really has become the fifth wheel in this season now that Robin and Barney are together, so it was nice to see that being pointed out. Lastly, the parts involving the Tantrum drink were classic HIMYM and were all very funny.

This was a good episode and fits in a long line of classics. I give it a 9.2

I'm going to go do some push ups now. TANTRUM!!!

South Park: Butters' Bottom Bitch

On to the next South Park episode, called Butters' Bottom Bitch. This episode was great as far as I'm concerned. This was classic Butters and that is all you really need to make for a solid episode of South Park. You don't even need Cartman or any of the other characters if Butters is in his top form. The premise for this episode was Butters finally gets to kiss a girl because she charges 5 dollars for one behind the school. This gives Butters the idea of starting a Kissing Company, where he basically becomes a pimp and gets some of the money when boys at school pay for kisses. At the same time, one police officer goes to extreme measures to try and get rid of prostitution in South Park.

This episode becomes great when Butters actually turns into and starts acting like a pimp. His interactions with the other pimps at the Pimp Convention was great, especially when the pimps give him advice. When Butters starts talking and has the mannerisms of a pimp is comedy gold. Especially when he justifies his business to Kyle, like saying that "all boys pay for kisses eventually" by "listening to their mother fucking problems." I laugh just thinking about it. Also, the making fun of Acorn was a funny cultural reference that SP does so well.

As for the whole undercover cop thing, it was a little much, even for me. The whole doing the sex acts before he arrests the people was funny at first, but then it goes out of control. Him crapping out the "evidence" was nasty, but I'm not surprised at the lengths this show will go. Aside from how far the show went with the undercover cop, this episode was excellent. This was the classic Butters we have come to love.

This episode gets a 9.0

I'm gonna try calling my girlfriend my bottom bitch and see how far that gets me. Probably a breakup and a punch in the balls.