My First Video Game Tournament

by mjmontgo

While pretty much every person knows about the existence of video games, there are many aspects of the gaming community that people tend to be less familiar with. One of these elements is the competitive scene surrounding many games. Some games (like Call of Duty’s multiplayer) become widely played “e-sports”, which are just like regular sports except with less physical activity and more “yo mama” jokes. In particular, fighting games such as Street Fighter and Tekken have a very competitive fanbase, and tournaments are often held with large cash prizes for the winner.

This is a picture from the tournament I attended.

Over the holiday season, I was lucky enough to get to participate in one such tournament. The idea to sign up for the tournament was my brother’s idea (he is much more tuned in to the fighting game tournament scene than I am), so I just signed up to tag along and see the sights, despite not really being good at fighting games. The tournament was being held at a local place in my area, Our Playz, and hosted by the awesome David Simpson.

During the day, there were tournaments for several games including Super Street Fighter 4 and Soul Calibur IV. My brother and I signed up for the Dead or Alive 5 tournament, as it’s the game my brother is most serious about and the only one I know how to play reasonably well. The rules of the tournament were that you had to win 2 out of 3 battles to move up the tournament ladder. If you lost, you were placed in the loser’s bracket. Once the winner’s bracket finished competing, the loser’s bracket would play. If you won the loser’s bracket, you then got a second chance to challenge the winner of the winner’s bracket. The winner of that match takes home the prize. I realize that seems confusing. If it makes you feel any better, I was confused at first, as well.

Some of the command inputs in this game are insane.

My brother chose to play as super-ninja and star of the Ninja Gaidan series, Ryu Hayabusa. When competing online, my brother always plays that character (also known in the fighting game community as “maining”), and has learned his tactics and moveset well. I, on the other hand, don’t main any particular character, so I just had to decide off-hand who would be the strongest fighter to choose. I ended up choosing Helena. Why, you ask? Well, she’s beautiful, French and ridiculously badass (basically my dream date), plus her Pi Gua Quan fighting style is fast and effective.

Shockingly, I was able to defeat my first opponent, despite the close battle. However, my luck did not hold and on my second opponent I was defeated and sent to the loser’s bracket. This is when I made my most fatal mistake. Instead of using Helena to fight my final battle, I decided to trade her out for Brad Wong, an alcoholic hobo that uses the fighting style made famous by Jackie Chan in the 1978 film “Drunken Master.” Needless to say, it didn’t go well, and I was quickly eliminated from the tournament.

I traded this…. for this. Pretty sure I lost my man card that day.

Ultimately, that didn’t matter much to me (I never really thought I stood much of a chance), I still had a ton of fun getting to play at the tournament. What surprised me was how nice and friendly everyone there was. I’d heard horror stories about how rude and obnoxious competitive gamers could be, but at this tournament even the most competitive players were excellent sports. After every match, my opponent would shake my hand and say, “good game”, and it really made me feel comfortable and at home in the setting, despite being a noob who had no idea what was going on the majority of the time.

If you’re one of those gamers who’s never heard of the fighting game tournament scene or just hasn’t had any interest in checking it out, I would recommend you at least give it shot. Mind you, I wouldn’t go signing up for the massive, 10k prize tournaments straight off the bat. Instead, look for a local place that is holding a smaller tournament and come give it a try. At the least, you’ll meet some great new people who share your love of gaming, and at best, you may take home some hard earned cash.

-Michael Montgomery

P.S. If you live in the San Diego area, you should check out Our Playz located at El Camino Real, Oceanside, CA 92054 and meet some awesome people!

15 Movies That Peaked In Their Opening 15 Minutes

by iconmatthew1

You ever wonder why some bad movies still managed to hook you right in despite being so awful? Ever wonder why some movies are thought of as classics even though they may not have the greatest ending? The opening. There are some good, average, bad and just flat out awful movies that have tremendous openings. Again let me reiterate making this list does NOT mean the movie is bad or even disappointing. All I’m saying is that it’s best scene is in the first 15 minutes. There is nothing wrong with that, as you will see many of these movies are films that you may love and that I myself adore. As always I only include movies I’ve actually seen. There are also slight spoilers included since I’m describing opening segments of films. Now let’s get things started on some of the best starters in cinema history.

Honorable Mention. The Kingdom – “The Kingdom” was a 2007 movie I actually saw in theaters. Starring Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman. The film is decent enough, some good gun battles and a nice stylistic approach throughout. However the movie is at it’s best during it’s opening sequence. Designed by Pic Agency; led by Jarik Van Sluijs and Julio Ferrario “The Kingdom” has an impressive opening title sequence. You can watch it here. That explains the history of U.S./Saudi Arabia relations and why the country became infinitely more important after the 9/11 attacks. The opening segment also comes with a very surprising attack as well, and from there the movie can never seem to top it’s previous efforts. Peter Berg does a good job throughout but the only thing that has stuck with me from this film 5 years later is the opening title sequence. Hey at least that’s something memorable.

“Wreck-It Ralph” Trailer Causes Excitement

by iconmatthew1

Disney Studios is releasing another 3D animated film outside of the Pixar moniker. Their latest installment is “Wreck-it Ralph” which follows the tale of Ralph a video game villain who outside the confines of the game is actually just a normal nice guy doing his job for people’s entertainment. One day Ralph gets tired of his life as a bad guy, he wishes to become a good guy and thus leaves his game to become a hero in another one. But leaving his game sets off a chain reaction event that could lead to dangerous consequences for him and his new found friends.

After watching the trailer for this new film I gotta admit I’m kind of excited to see this, and apparently I’m not the only one. Social media, and other movie related websites have been abuzz about this trailer, in fact I’ve heard more people talking about “Wreck-it Ralph” this week than  have Disney/Pixar’s “Brave” which will be released this summer. “Wreck-it Ralph” will be released November 2nd, 2012. What seems to have people talking is the fact that real video game characters from Nintendo, Capcom, Sega and others will be featured in the movie. And to me that is what makes this movie, yes they have plenty of fake video game titles to add to the originality of the movie and also make it more accessible for folks who don’t play actual video games, but having real licensed characters in the mix adds another level nobody has seen before. Disney seems to be getting a lot better with their non-Pixar 3D titles. I much enjoyed “Tangled” and this looks to be another winner for the studio. Ralph will be voiced by the hilarious John C. Reilly other voices in the film include: Jack McBrayer (“30 Rock”), Jane Lynch (“40 year old virgin”, “Glee”) and Sarah Silverman (“School of Rock”, “The Sarah Silverman Show”). If you haven’t had a chance to watch the trailer yet check it out below, and also see the slideshow featuring screenshots from the movie.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Dead Space 3 Trailer Drops

by iconmatthew1

Looks like a mix between Hoth and Baltimore.

The 1st ever trailer for the highly anticipated “Dead Space 3” crash landed on the internet a few days ago. I of course being a big fan of the video game franchise decided to check it out. There is no actual gameplay footage to be found in the trailer instead it uses a minimalist animation style to tell the story of an unknown man whom comes face to face with the evil necromorphs. There is a marker on this planet and all literal Hell is about to break loose.

You can of course watch the trailer for yourself at the bottom of this post, I am interested in seeing what comes of this game. I consider the 1st two games masterpieces of video game media and so I must admit having high hopes for this new installment. A lot of fans are worried that Issac Clarke the main protagonist will not be in this game. I find that highly unlikely especially considering that the latest Dead Space is rumored to be introducing co-op play. I don’t know how wise that is, the isolation of the previous games gave it that eerie feel. You felt alone and with people around you constantly you may not feel the same way. Then again movies can be scary even when multiple people are in the same room together so I’m not going to pass judgment. What I do know is that I’m excited to hack, slash and shoot some more necromorphs as soon as this game goes for sale.

Trailer for “The Great Gatsby” debuts online

by iconmatthew1

Tobey McGuire and Carey Mulligan in “The Great Gatsby” DiCaprio and Edgerton in the background.

Warner Brothers studio is getting an early jump on hyping up their awards season film “The Great Gatsby” based off the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel of the same name, the book is widely considered to be one of the best (if not the best) books of all time. I personally have read the book and seen that 1975 version of the film starring Robert Redford which I quite liked. The book is a masterpiece, I wouldn’t personally categorize it as the best and it wouldn’t make my top 15 list of favorite books but it is well written and the source material is ripe for a movie adaptation.

At the helm for the film is Baz Luhrmann (“Romeo and Juliet”, “Moulin Rouge”) he is known for his very stylized directorial work sometimes it works like in the aforementioned films and sometimes it falls flat (see “Australia” or don’t see it rather.) But the man has talent and at the very least his films look pretty and are intricate. Gatsby looks to be no different the trailer already displays the unique visual style that I personally did not expect to see. “The Great Gatsby” is a book so thinking of it as such a visual medium is almost odd, but if handled correctly this could help bring the book to life like never before. Baz can do it, he certainly has the cast to complete a real Oscar contender.

Upcoming Guests of “The Final Cut” August 4th – 25th

by iconmatthew1

August is a big month for “The Final Cut” and now that this wild summer is starting to simmer down and regularly scheduled shows are beginning to air I felt it was time again to let all the fans of “The Final Cut” know some of the guests that would be coming their way. Hey, I’m just doing my part to end the heat wave with all these cool guests! See for yourself….

Al Greeze, August 4th Noon EST/9amPST

August 4th – Documentary filmmaker Al Greeze will be on the show to talk about his latest feature “Frustrated” in which Greeze traveled to Brazil to investigate the legitimacy of an “Essence” magazine article which claimed African-American men were abandoning African-American women to move to Brazil. Was this claim true? Was it fair to say black men were abandoning women of the black community for Brazilian women? What is really going on in South America? Greeze will discuss his documentary and also talk about his upcoming film titled “The Cost of Saying I Do” which examines economics and finances in the marriage structure. Al Greeze will be on the show August 4th currently slated for Noon Eastern/9am Pacific time.

Why “Beyond Good & Evil” should be a movie

by iconmatthew1

In 2004 I played what remains one of my favorite and for my money one of  the greatest video games of all time. It is called “Beyond Good and Evil.” Man was this game something else! Developed and published by Ubisoft the game could be found anywhere you ever so pleased. It was available for all the top platforms at the time; Playstation 2, Xbox, Gamecube and the PC. It was released internationally and there were even a few prime time tv spots. But the marketing of the game was a little flat, people didn’t know what the game was about or weren’t pressed enough to care and so this title ended up in the bargain bin fairly quick. Which was a plus for me in my poor high school days as I was able to buy the game for just $15. This is all besides the point, what is important is that “Beyond Good and Evil” offered me one of the most enjoyable video game experiences ever.

Most people agree with me. Though the game was not a success financially, critics and just about everyone who played it loved and admired the game. It dared to be different in a sense, especially with its concept and it remains one of the best storylines ever translated for a console. In my humble opinion few games since this one have been able to match it’s rich dialogue, engaging plot, fun characters, beautiful scenery, soundtrack and or creative blend of gameplay. (This is of course on video game standards I’m not saying Gene Wilder wrote the script I’m just saying its good.) Well the good word of mouth seems to have served the intended franchise well as there are plans to make a sequel. So you may be asking why I feel “Beyond Good and Evil” should be a major motion picture.

The Real Angry Birds

by iconmatthew1

Matthew Michael-Thomas Smith

Matthew Michael-Thomas Smith is a man I’ve had the chance to work with on several occasions and so when I was asked to play a bit role in one of his latest sketches I was more than happy to help. Smith is a filmmaker who used to work with me on “The Randumb Show” now that I’m becoming a producer of this show I am sad that Smith has graduated. But Smith’s comedy sketches will live on with his new youtube channel  TheBeastMODE5150. He’s already uploaded a few of his sketches featuring the talents of Bobby Forestal, Sean Waters and myself among others. Be sure to give it a look, and to subscribe if you like what you see. You can also join his newly created facebook fan page by clicking here. Good luck to Mr. Smith he is a funny man and one of the few people I know who owns not one but TWO Angry Birds t-shirts.

BlockLuster: Space Jam

by iconmatthew1

First let me start off by saying I feel that “Space Jam” is an American classic….in the loosest sense of the term. I mean its a movie that stars Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny. If that doesn’t yell box office hit you aren’t fit to be a producer in Hollywood or even be an intern for one. Its described on wikipedia as being a cult classic for kids who grew up in the 90’s and I must agree. I remember how big this movie was when it came out and how during the Monday where everyone talked about their weekend at my elementary school basically every kid told the same story about going to see “Space Jam.”

If you didn’t live in the 90’s you probably are my youngest reader on this blog. If you somehow don’t know the plot of Space Jam the best way to describe this is this alternate reality which is used as a vehicle to explain what caused Michael Jordan to return to basketball after becoming a professional baseball player. The Looney Tunes are being threatened by aliens to be captured and sent into space to be the entertainment at some wacky intergalactic amusement park. Through cartoon trickery they are able to convince the aliens that it is within the rules to be forced to play them in a game of basketball to decide whether they must be enslaved or not. If only the African slaves had this strategy up their sleeve, we all know white men can’t jump. (No offense to my Caucasian readers.) After the basketball game is set the aliens steal the talents of pro NBA players (where they got this ability is never explained, and it doesn’t really matter.) The Tunes desperate not to be enslaved enlist the help of the greatest basketball of all time (No its not John Stockton) and bring Michael Jordan who is currently retired from basketball to play baseball into the cartoon world. From here Jordan helps the Tunes learn how to play competitive basketball so they can take down the aliens now named The Monstars. (Get it?)

Alright so I LOVED this movie when it came out, and to some extent I still do love it, I mean its nostalgic for me. And in the end it really is a fine family film. But this does not mean there aren’t some major issues with it. Even with its over the top plot the movie still is very strange and just odd. For example Michael Jordan lives in some middle class house in the suburbs in the movie. With probably nothing more than a simple ADT security system to protect him. This is Michael Jordan, the real Jordan lives on like a mansion estate to downsize him to this home is just lying to kids. You can’t be the greatest basketball player in the world and live next to the Smiths. Unless its Will and Jada Smith.

Larry Bird and Bill Murray

Also there is an odd mix between the intelligences and realism in this picture. For example Bill Murray seems to be playing a character version of himself like many of the NBA players but at the same time there seems to be no continuity on what makes sense. Warner Brother producers and actors seem to be aware that cartoon characters really exist in their own world but basketball greats who hang out with them seem to be totally unaware of this reality. Larry Bird hangs out with Bill all the time but doesn’t know that Daffy Duck is a real living creature? Is there like some sort of secret pact that actors and people in the movie industry have to make before they sign on to do an animated film? Also why in the beginning of “Space Jam” do you go into what is apparently the real world’s version of outer space and see animated aliens? Are all outer space aliens animated? And nobody seems particularly worried besides Wayne Knight’s character that Michael Jordan has just been sucked down a golf hole right in front of their eyes. I don’t play a lot of golf but I’m pretty sure that doesn’t happen usually. Then again maybe pro-golfers know that if you have the right connections you can get sucked into a golf hole and end up in Looney Tunes land. (Tiger Woods used it to have a sex romp with Jessica Rabbit) And plumbers know you can be transported to the mushroom kingdom through pipes, or through actual mushrooms. And I’m sure Elmer Fudd knows that if you dig deep enough in Looney Tunes land you can land in Middle Earth.

Also nobody in Jordan’s family seems too worried that he’s gone missing all of a sudden. The movie takes place over a few days why is okay that Jordan has been gone from his wife and kids this long? Nobody seems to question it in his family. Is Michael Jordan known to just disappear for days on end? His wife deosn’t get suspicious when he doesn’t come home? Isn’t he a pro baseball player? Doesn’t he have to show up to practice or something? The worst part is nobody in this movie except Jordan seems to have much of a problem accepting cartoons are real. Especially not his kids. To add a cherry to this bent reality when an animated space ship lands in the middle of the baseball field at the end of the movie the headline is “Michael Jordan is back!” shouldn’t it be “OMG! Aliens ARE REAL!” His wife seems to not care Jordan has been gone for a few days but has somehow managed to take her kids to the game to see him play. I know it was the 90’s but I’m pretty sure Jordan had enough loose change to afford a cell phone for he and his wife. She never once called him to check on him? Hate to say it, but this has all the classic signs of a loveless marriage. Or maybe she’s just upset that her multi-millionaire husband bought her a 18” TV and its not even plasma.

Jordan takes on The Monstars

One of the best segments of the film actually is the NBA players who’ve had their talent stolen trying everything from medicine to magic to get their talent back. It’d be scary for me to wake up unable to write, so I understand their pain and its really funny to see them struggle without one of the major things that defines a human being. Plus Charles Barkley’s “It wasn’t a dream! It really happened!” Is one of the funniest lines in movie history and I secretly had my fingers crossed someone in “Inception” would make a reference to the line somehow. But sadly we don’t live in a perfect world. Still one of the things you have to read into with this film is the fact that the Monstars stole the talent from some of the best NBA players of all time making up basically an All-Star team. Are you telling me that Michael Jordan with the help of cartoons who’ve trained for maybe at the most two days can really defeat in essence the greatest NBA players of the 90’s? Not to mention Wayne Knight managed to get a shot in on them too. How does that make Patrick Ewing feel? To be fair though at the end Michael Jordan does cheat.

And yes what a segue into possibly one of the most visible blunders of this film: the classic last 10 seconds of the game scene. In what I honestly think even when put against movies that went in slow motion for the the 10 second countdown the longest 10 seconds in movie history takes place. I literally was counting the last time I saw this movie and the final 10 seconds of the basketball game in “Space Jam” excluding Jordan’s slow motion dunk, which really isn’t in slow motion as the characters watching Jordan aren’t in slow motion lasts well over 45 seconds. In the cartoon world do the final 10 seconds always just run slow?

Space Jam videogame amazingly not on par with “Shaq-Fu”

Okay so enough with the ripping on “Space Jam” because in the end its just a family movie and honestly nobody seems to make movies like this anymore. I’m not sure if its a good or bad thing but one its a thing for sure. You have to give some credit to Jordan he and Wayne Knight were basically acting in front of a green screen with tape on the ground to mark where Bugs Bunny was the entire film. He’s not a professionally trained actor and he does a good enough job. Oh and if you are wondering why the music for this movie is so cool its because it was done by the great James Newton Howard.

For me “Space Jam” is an American cult classic, its not really a movie you can defend and watching it as an adult I think regardless of all the flaws there is still enough of that subtle mature humor to appreciate. (Did Bugs and Lola get it on in the middle of the basketball court?) So if its been a few years since you’ve last seen “Space Jam” give it another glance it will bring back memories of your childhood if you grew up in the 90’s and will leave you with this warm bubbly feeling. Not to mention you’ll be humming “Fly like an eagle” in your head all day. If you want one more kick of nostalgia below you can watch the opening of “Space Jam” which regardless if you like this movie or not must admit is a great transition into the opening credits.

Hugo Weaving to play Red Skull in Captain America Movie

by iconmatthew1

Hugo Weaving (Rudy, Lord of the Rings, Transformers) is going to play the evil Red Skull in the upcoming Captain America movie. Several news outlets have been confirming this all week. Weaving of course is probably best known for playing the iconic Agent Smith in the Matrix franchise.

Hugo Weaving probably thinking about something

I like this choice, Weaving has always been a strong actor and he really knows how to play bad.  While I’m not super excited for the actual Captain America movie quite yet I am interested in the casting of the film.

I can remember as a kid playing the Avengers video game on Sega and how at the end of it all we had to face off against Red Skull in a co-op modeled game. Me and my brother had so much fun beating the game over and over again. One cool twist with Red Skull at the end of the game was that he turned into some giant freakish red monster. Totally caught me and my brother off guard and it was so cool to see.

Not sure if Red Skull in the first installment (assuming there will be others) will turn into this monster but I’d like to see it. Comic book fans may disagree with me, but hardcore comic book fans never seem to be happy anyway. Good luck Mr. Weaving.

UPDATE: Wanna see my review of “Captain America”? Click here.

Red Skull as shown in this oil painting that I’m guessing hangs in his house.