CliqueClack

DuckTales: Remastered is a fantastic blast from the past

I don’t usually review video games, although I’ve certainly played more than my share. Probably it’s because, in the scale of entertainment, video games rank lower priority-wise from movies, television, and books in terms of what I choose to spend my time on first. When I was a kid, I played all the time — in those days, my first video game system was the Nintendo Entertainment System — the NES — and I played the hell out of Super Mario Bros and Final Fantasy. I didn’t have that many games, so replay value was pretty crucial. But sometimes I was able to borrow a friend’s game, and sometimes one of those games would really stick with you. One of those games was DuckTales.

DuckTales the video game was from Capcom (a video game company also known for the Street Fighter and Mega Man games) and based on the late ’80s/early ’90s Disney cartoon show of the same name. I also watched that show quite a lot, which was loosely based on older Uncle Scrooge comics by Carl Barks, and it was awesome. It was a perfect timeless adventure cartoon that still holds up today. It was so successful that Disney was able to produce a lot of other animated shows. As for the game, it wasn’t easy, but then again most of those older Nintendo games were meant to be challenging … giving you that crucial bang for your buck, as they say. And to be honest, it’s far more satisfying to beat a hard game than it is to beat a simple one; can’t beat that adrenaline rush. The NES game was fun and addictive, with a decent  — for a video game adaptation — connection to the show about Scrooge pogo-jumping on his cane (an ingenious gimmick) through five unique stages to find legendary treasure. And that music. Some of the greatest video game music of all time, with a particular emphasis on the Moon theme, which is bizarre, haunting, and beautiful (listen to the original). So you might say this remake has a lot to live up to. But does it deliver?

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Star Trek: The Art of Juan Ortiz is wallpaper-worthy

I wouldn’t at all call myself a big Star Trek fan. Mostly this is because I just never really got into the original series, and I think only loving The Next Generation — and not getting into the Original Series — does not qualify one to say they are a “Trekkie.” I am, though, a sucker for canon, and really appreciate the continuity within the universe.

Though I never really cared for the first series, Star Trek: The Art of Juan Ortiz makes me appreciate the episodes more than I had when I saw them. It’s really beautiful.

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Are the new Harry Potter movies telling the right story?

We all knew it was inevitable, right? Warner Brothers announced today, as a part new agreement to extend their relationship with the franchise, that they would be producing a new series of films set in the Harry Potter universe. The series will mark the first time that J.K. Rowling, the series’ creator will take on the screenwriting duties directly. But the series, based on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, will be less familiar to audiences than they will expect.

The new films, according to Rowling, will “not [be] a prequel or sequel to the ‘Potter’ series.” They will instead follow Newt Scamander, the “author” of Fantastic Beasts and will be set about 70 years before the events of the existing novels and film franchise. The universe Rowling created is ripe with more stories, but I’m not sure that this is the way she and Warner Brothers should look to expand.

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What does the Breaking Bad prequel spin-off mean for Saul Goodman now?

AMC and Sony Pictures Television confirmed today that they have reached a licensing agreement for a spinoff of Breaking Bad, with a working title that fits quite well (and is probably of little surprise to anyone): Better Call Saul. The press release states: “Plans call for Saul to be a one-hour prequel that will focus on the evolution of the popular Saul Goodman character before he ever became Walter White’s lawyer.”

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Sons of Anarchy – The blond boy who changes Charming

Sons of Anarchy has never been a show that’s pulled any punches when it’s come to violence. Gun running, murder, IRA enemies, drugs — there has been no shortage of action and bloodshed over the first five seasons. The season premiere, however, sends the series down a completely different path, with a horrific act of violence that is sure to change both the makeup of Charming and SAMCRO forever.

It’s easy to ignore the beautiful little blond boy in an episode packed with Otto getting violently raped in prison, Tara brutally beating a fellow inmate, Lila getting tortured, Tig murdering a dirtbag and Jax cheating with a madame, but by the end of the episode, the boy clearly shows that ignoring him is a mistake.

With his blonde hair and omni-present notebook, it’s easy to see him as a stand-in for Jax as a child, or even Jax’s children in the future, reading the thoughts he so painstakingly records for them. The boy seems quiet, innocent and introspective.

Adore makes sex boring

I’m a big fan of Dreama Walker, she of the Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23 fame. When I heard she’d taken part in Compliance, it was a flick I had to see. Walker played the victim of a manipulative sexual assault engineered by someone pretending to be a police officer. It was so disturbing I couldn’t finish watching. I wish Adore had been just a bit more uncomfortable so that I could have bailed on it just like I did Compliance.

Adore follows the story of two best friends Lil and Roz (Naomi Watts and Robin Wright) who become intimate with each other’s sons Tom and Ian (James Frencheville and Xavier Samuel). The narrative skips through time, following the relationship between the two families through three generations. The story weaves in and out of their lives, exploring the complexity of their interpersonal dynamics. Continue reading 'Adore makes sex boring' »

The Grandmaster is like a beautiful puzzle with more than few pieces missing

Ip Man (or Yip Man, depending on your spelling preference of Chinese) was a fascinating historical figure. Born in the late 19th century in southern China, he became well known for popularizing globally the martial arts school of Wing Chun and also being the teacher of Bruce Lee, someone a few people might remember. But his own life was interesting, as he was a policeman much of his life, fought against the Communist party, and likely had an opium addiction later in life. Naturally, any movie made in China would never include his issues with the Party, like the film Ip Man (and Ip Man 2) starring Donnie Yen, which were highly stylized and fictionalized versions of Ip Man’s life. The movie tended to focus more on the Japanese invaders during WW2 as horrific villains (which to be fair … they kind of were) and were ultimately highly nationalistic. Still, the movies were fun and decent martial arts flicks. This movie isn’t really that sort of thing.

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The Crazy Ones – How the hell did I not know about this show?

As I was hunkering down for the Buffalo/New England NFL game this afternoon (I won’t divert this post into a sports one; I promise), an ad on CBS came up for a show I’d never heard of until today: The Crazy Ones. No big deal — networks have done this before, waiting until the last moment to publicize a show, most likely because it’s a sure stinker. And then … sometimes they screw it up.

Tell me: can a show that STARS Robin Williams AND Sarah Michelle Gellar really warrant this little publicity? Is it because they think its cast will support the show well enough that “publicity be damned!” and they’ll get the ratings anyway?The show can’t really suck already, can it?

I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t heard of the show until today, at least amongst those at CliqueClack HQ. That … probably doesn’t make us look so hot for a TV-related site, huh?

(Edit: It appears this ad has been running for a while, and all it took for me to see it was to watch CBS. Well, that explains it.)

Win free tickets to see Battle of the Year in Maryland, DC or Virginia

This contest is closed. Please follow us @CliqueClack on Twitter for updates on contests, news and reviews!

CliqueClack has partnered with Sony Pictures and Allied Integrated Marketing to give readers in Maryland, DC and Virginia a chance attend an advance screening of the new movie Battle of the Year. Battle of the Year is the Olympics of break dancing, a tournament held every year that attracts all the best teams from around the world, but the Americans haven’t won in fifteen years. Los Angeles Hip Hop mogul and former B-Boy Dante wants to put the country that started the Sport back on top. He enlists his hard-luck friend Blake, who was a championship basketball coach, to coach his team. Armed with the theory that the right coach can make any team champions, they assemble a Dream Team of all the best b-boys across the country. With only three months until Battle of the Year, Blake has to use every tactic he knows to get twelve talented individuals to come together as a team if they’re going to bring the Trophy back to America where it started. Inspired by the actual world championship held yearly in France. The movie stars Josh Holloway, Laz Alonso, Josh Peck, Caity Lotz and Chris Brown as Rooster.

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Win passes to an advance screening of The Family in Baltimore or DC

This contest is now closed. Follow @CliqueClack on Twitter for updates on contests, news and reviews!

CliqueClack has partnered with Relativity Media and Allied Integrated Marketing to offer readers in the Baltimore and DC areas a chance to see the new Luc Besson film The Family before its general release. The Family is a dark action-comedy about a mob boss and his family who are relocated to a small town in France under the Witness Protection Program, except they can’t help trying to handle their problems the “family” way. Chaos ensues as their old Mafia friends track them down to settle old scores. The Family stars Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfieffer, Dianna Agron, John D’Leo and Tommy Lee Jones.

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