Alright in part 1 I talked about Bionic Commando and Fallout 3. In part 2 I will talk about Sucker Punch's latest game inFAMOUS and the PSP's God of War: Chains of Olympus. Enjoy.
inFAMOUS (PS3)
So I just got my PS3 about a month ago. I had only one game for it at the time, Far Cry 2. Now that game didn't hit me like I wanted. There was something about it that I just didn't like. So after spending a couple of hours on that, I picked up inFAMOUS. I heard good things about it on the site and from what I've seen it looked good. I popped it in and started playing. I was very impressed, the game starts off pretty fast. Right from the beginning it starts off with a bang, quite literally. Cole gets a package and it blows up giving him powers, electrical powers. From there the game lets you do pretty much what you want. Granted you have limited powers and there is very little electricity to use around the city. Once they do give you new powers and you start to gain electricity around the city the game really shines. They give you tons of things to do though most of the missions are quite repetitive. The game can get very hard I thought. Near the end at least, they throw a lot of guys at you at a time. But one way the game makes up for it is it gives you almost unlimited electricity.
The game also has a rather unique art style. They put a comic like style on all the buildings, and the colors resemble a comic feel. Cole looks great climbing on walls, and gliding through the air. It's very satisfying to just running around on rooftops and railroads. The story with this game doesn't disappoint. It mainly is told through your cell phone with people calling you, but the more important moments are told through very nice comic style cut scenes. Like most games out lately you have a moral system. And this plays into how people think about you and treat you. If you are good people will actually start to repair things and the city will start to look nicer. It's the opposite if you are bad. One of my favorite moments is when you can choose what posters you want to be placed. You can choose a good Cole poster or a bad Cole. So why is inFAMOUS one of the best games I have played this year? Because it offers up a great atmosphere that really makes you feel for the city. All the characters are great, and it has some serious decision making that can really make you think. inFAMOUS is a great game, with one of best story endings I have seen yet.
God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP)
I got my PSP about a week before I got my PS3. And at the time of getting it I didn't have any system to play games on. So I got a couple of games. Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters, Patapon, and God of War. Now I played the hell out of God of War. I beat it in maybe 3 days. That was mainly because I played it almost every day. I was a pretty big fan of the first God of War game, so that's why I picked this up. Ready at Dawn developed this, not the original developers, but they did a hell of a job on this. They did a good job capturing the God of War feel that made the PS2 games such a big hit. First off you play Kratos as you'd expect and Morpheus causes the Sun to fall, so go to try to bring it back or else the world will fall into darkness. Kind of a cheesy story, but it is told very well. The game sends you to a couple of different places, but you'll spend most if not all of your time in Hades.
The controls in the game work very well. Probably the best you can get a PSP's controls. Hitting combos is as easy as you'd think and the game gives you some great weapons to beat up people with. Though the one thing I didn't like about the first God of War makes its way on the Chains of Olympus. That is the crazy amount of enemies they send your way. Now don't get me wrong it's fun to fight a lot of guys, Ready at Dawn does a good job at making it satisfying and fun to snap people in half. But I find it annoying how they will give you two or three hard enemies at you at a time. Then throw even more at you again. I just don't like that. But overall that's just a very small problem I had. The game also looks great for a PSP game. Everything in the game is very detailed. Think of a early PS2 game, that's what it looks like. Why is God of War: Chains of Olympus one of the best games I have played this year? Because it gives you some great fighting and a very good and at times, emotional story.
In part 3 I will talk about No More Heroes and Battlefield: Bad Company.
Alright, you all know I know what year it is. But I have done some serious gaming this year. Here in Indiana we've had a pretty shitty summer. It's been cloudy, raining almost everyday etc. So I have been inside most of the time playing games. I have played a good amount of games this year so I decided to make a list. A list of the best games I have played this year. Now, there will be some games on here that are from a couple of years ago. This is a list for any game I have played this year, this is not a "Best game of 2009 thus far" kind of blog. There will be games from '06, '07 etc. Here we go, part 1.
Bionic Commando
GRIN isn't the most well known developer out there, yet Capcom trusted them with the new Bionic Commando game. I never got to play the first one, but that didn't stop me from playing the new installment. The game is beautiful. The buildings look pretty good and there is a very nice selective blur. Character models look fantastic and Nathan looks very good when flying through the air. The biggest surprise to me has to be the melee in this game. Now, I know the game wasn't met to melee focused but I thought it worked great. It was very satisfying to run up to a guy and punch him right in the face. Though at times the controls got buggy and didn't respond all to well. That didn't happen to often enough for me to think any of it. The story of the game isn't something to jump about. It has it's moments, but GRIN really wanted you to focus on swinging. That's really what it comes down to. If you like to just have fun, like swinging and things like that, you'll love this game. But if you're expecting a epic story line, well look elsewhere. Though that being said, the game does pick up on the story near the end and it has a nice twist. The voice acting was very surprising. Mainly because Mike Patton of Faith No More does the voice of Nathan. When I first heard that before I got the game I thought that was a dumb ass idea. I have to say, he doesn't do a bad job at all.
GRIN has made a great game here. Though I can see it being over looked. I feel this is a game that you either like it or you don't. GRIN missed some opportunity with the swinging. They made it to linear. You would think with having that ability they would have let you go anywhere, sadly this didn't happen. Now this is one of the best games I have played this year because. It was exactly what I wanted. A great looking game, with a decent story and great voice acting. Now go out and get this game if you haven't already. I saw it at Gamestop for $20 new. Go buy it and do GRIN a much needed favor.
Fallout 3
Yes this game came out in 2008, and that's when I bought it. I beat it with in a couple of weeks and enjoyed the hell out of it. Almost right after beating it I went to play it again and do all the side stuff I missed. I did that in about January and played once more up until about May of this year. I loved this game. The atmosphere of this game is pretty good, it's nothing like Far Cry 2 but still. The create a character ability goes pretty deep. I made myself, and amazingly a ginger can save the world. The game has a wide amount of characters you can meet. You can find a town full of cannibals and a town full of kids, great stuff. You can switch between 1st and 3rd person to shoot. I like the 3rd person I won't lie. I only did it when I walked around. It really helps you see the area around you and helps you find enemies better I think. Though the character animations are pretty shitty. The first time I played through this game I had no problems. And before that all I heard was how buggy the game was. It wasn't until the mid way through my second play through when I noticed some of the glitches. Random things fell from the sky, people go stuck into walls and doors, lines filled the screen. It was a awkward site. I don't think that glitches should define a game. Yes it had it's problems, but who cares. The game was so big it had to have problems. You could have put the best development team together and I don't think they could make a glitch free game. It happens. I love the glitches in the game, they gave me a good laugh, and all I had to do was walk on after seeing it.
So why is this game one of the best I have played this year? Because Bethesda made one of the best game experiences to date. I just enjoyed walking around the waste, not doing any missions just walking. Listening to the games awesome music and listening to what Three Dog had to say about me. To me that is something special
In Part 2 I'm going to talk about inFAMOUS and God of War: Chains of Olympus.
I hope you enjoyed this blog. Feel free to list the best games you have played this year.
Ok, I know most of you know I enjoy bowling. Here soon i'm getting yet another new ball. I'm excited. I need a ball that doesn't have as much hook so that I can easily play
There's my sweet new ball i'm getting. It smells like cherry :) See video below.dry lanes better. Lately I have been practicing and really increased my rev rate. So I have been hooking it more. So when I go to places like with wood lanes that cause more hook, I can just turn to this ball. So any way on to what the blog is really about. Since my bowling league started a couple of weeks ago, I have been doing badly. I have been bowling in the 150s and 160s. For me that is awful, I shoot usually 190s to 220s. So as you can see i'm way down. So I have spent a great deal of time practicing. Though, I only have to pay 25cents to bowl so I can bowl a great deal with just a couple of bucks. Two weeks ago I went and practiced for 2hrs. I completely changed the way I threw my ball. I took styles from my to favorite bowlers (one of them you can see in my little picture), though my back swing isn't that high. So I had a average of 176, that's ok, but not what I wanted. After practicing I shot 214, 209 and 219 in the next league day and it raised my avg to 183. So i'm getting it where I want.
Though "Team Champion" as we are called arn't doing to well as a team. I'm bowling with a fellow teammate from our high school team, and he is struggling. His dad who is the coach has been watching us and we often practice together. But we are in like last, we suck.
Thanks for reading yet another boring as bowling blog (well boring for you, I love writting them). -Trevor
Oh and I felt like putting some of my favorite bowling videos up to, i'm sure you guys will love them (sarcasm) haha.
The new ball i'm getting.
Favorite Bowlers/Icons for me. (Tommy Jones, Michael Fagan).
I have no Idea what to think of this: Show being featured- HBO's Hung
Ok ok this is not a porno. Hung is a show on HBO, it debuted a couple of weeks ago. I don't normally watch HBO for it's tv shows. Most of them never interest me. Mainly
Hello, my name is Ray.the thing that got me to want to watch it was that Thomas Jane is in it. Yes, that is the guy who was in The Punisher (the good one). He is by far one of my favorite actors. I have seen a good amount of his movies.
Now this seems like a weird role for Thomas Jane. He plays a very very flawed character. If you look at his the majority of his roles he plays a hard ass guy who can save the day. In this he plays a divorced teacher/coach named Ray Decker. In the pilot it explains the back story of his life. How his wife left him for a doctor because he "Saves lives". How his kids came to live with him instead of his mother. How he as a lawyer for a neighbor who is constantly calling him out for things that are wrong with his house. His house then catches on fire. Now this is were the story starts. Rick doesn't have insurance, so he can't affored to fix up his house. He now has to stay in a tent in his yard. This is were his kids go to live with their mom who is played by Anne Heche (Six Days, Seven Nights).
He is broke, homeless and lonely. He then goes to a class on how to get easy money. There he meets up with a old fling, Tanya. They have sex later. He leaves which doesn't please Tanya. So she says why doesn't me make a career with his (to be clean) Hungness. So at the next class the speaker asks them to pick what they are best at and role with and try to make it into a career. Now we get into the title. Ray decides to be a male excort. And Tanya suggests for her to be his pimp. I'll stop there so that I do not ruin the rest of it.
So on to the biggest part of the show, it's acting. I personally didn't expact the show to be this well acted. Thomas Jane is excellent and Jane Adams (who plays Tanya) also does a fantastic job. They work off of one another perfectly. It's a shame thought that they don't really interact until the end of the episode. The one down note of the show it the way it plays itself. It's a very dark comedy. Kind of like how Observe and Report was. You don't know if you should laugh or not. That's where the show takes a hit. I don't think the writters knew if they wanted that line to be funny or to be taken seriously. But it's only the pilot so it has time to improve.
If your looking to watch a good show on Sunday nights I say go for this. Though if your not a fan of dark humor you might want to think twice. Because this show doesn't go light on it.
Pros: -Great Acting -Shows how desperate people can be in this day and age
I have no idea what to think of this. Video being featured- Yellow Series
**So, I have had a lot of free time on my hands in these late nights. So I decided to review Youtube videos. Yeah I know, it's a pretty dumb idea. But I want to give it a try. So to my Giant Bomb friends. Let me know what you think. I'm not going to post this one into the forum because I feel like it will be bashed for being spam or advertising. So please comment on what you think. If you don't like it let me know, I'll try to make it better.
So my first video is by Marriland. Pretty much all he posts on Youtube is Pokemon videos. They are usually of him playing them. But the first time I saw this being advertised on my Youtube homepage I knew I had to watch it. Pokemon to me was epic. I was like 8 at the time so pretty much everything was awesome. I do remember though how much fun I had with these games. I think Marriland really does do a good job showing the game. The quality of the videos are just as good as any Giant Bomb video. He explains his moves well, and really shows the strategy of the Pokemon franchise something that I think has lost it's way. Never have I heard the franchise being praised for it's strategy.
These videos have a Endurance Run type feel. Which is pretty much what it is. I don't know if Giant Bomb is well enough known to start calling things Endurance Run copies. But I would totally call it that. Just to give you a idea heres the first video in the series.
So yeah. I must say I like these videos. The guy has maybe a weird sence of humor, but it gives a light feeling to the videos. If your a BIG fan of Pokemon I say go for it. Watch all of them, because they are very well made. Even I think someone who doesn't like Pokemon could get into these videos.
Pros: -Great Video Quality -Pretty Entertaining -Great for fans of the franchise
Cons: -It could be boring for none fans -His humor can be rather bad at times
Note. If this goes well, my next review will be of the HBO show Hung.
First off, I hope that you all had a good 4th of July. Doing nothing stupid I hope. Haha. My 4th of July sucked balls. I had to go to a wedding, my cousins wedding. I passed out last night while watching A Scanner Darkly. So I was dead tired when I woke up. I woke up around 11. My sister (who is my cousins bridesmade in the wedding) told me we had to be there A.S.A.P so we could help get ready. Fuck, I had to throw some clothes on and grab the ones I was going to wear to the wedding. So I got there, half asleep and helped get some things ready.
So I went back to the house where the groom and his groomsmen were at and chilled there for 4 hours. I don't know where most of you are from, but it rained here in Northeastern Indiana. So for the most part of the wedding it rained. I had to video tape it in the rain grr. It was a mild rain I guess, so I got pretty wet. It did that all day. In fact, it's 11p.m here, and it's still raining. Most of the firework stuff got delayed until tomorrow.
So me, my sister and her boyfriend decided to make a sparkler bomb. We couldn't find any electrical tape in the house, so we tried to use some regular tape. Though it didn't make a big boom, dear god did it make a flash. That thing burst into flames, quite awesome. Though disappointed, we headed to Wal-mart to get some electrical tape. They were sold out. So we headed home, heads down in shame and just played with sparklers for the rest of the night. Fucking awesome right. I hope the rest of you had a good one though.
I was on GRIN's website today, and I found this pretty cool articale on how they became game developers. It gave me a new look on the guys. And despite the fact that they havn't put out top sellers lately, they are slowly to become one of my favorite developers. Enjoy.
Once upon a time, in the year of Divine Grace 1979, a Stork delivered baby Ulf Andersson to Huddinge Forest. In the rough and unforgiving landscape Ulf quickly grew to become a formidable fighter.
Together with his brother Bo Andersson they formed a proud alliance that would many years later go down into history as “The Greatest Co-Op of Man”.
One day Ulf stumbled upon the legendary Floppy in the Stone. The item was said to bless whomever with eternal inspiration, save they managed to pull the Floppy from the stone and reboot the system. Albeit still very young, Ulf grabbed the Floppy and pulled it out effortlessly. He was the Chosen One.
With his new insight Ulf sat down to meditate. His profound mind gave birth to many wonders, one of which was Shaderium Pixelaris – The Pixel Shader. And it was good.
Through the combined powers of creativity and leadership the Brothers Andersson gathered their forces to roam the Lands of Game Development. This was the beginning of an era later known as “The Reign of GRIN”. GRIN's relentless onslaught claim many game development victories even into the present day. It is truly a golden era.
But not all was hard work for Ulf Andersson. In the fair Princess Stina he found love, and she became his blessed companion.
More victories were claimed and more allies joined Ulf - Champion of Creativity. Sweetest of Ulf’s all sidekicks was Isabella The Great And Yet Very Small.
Ulf had claimed many victories in his life. He had crossed The Desert of Dried Out Ideas. He had slain countless Champions Of The Mind Of Artistic Void. And as always the greatest opponent was Shadow Ulf – his own ambition to always push the envelope and be better.
Bright and clear was his Blessed Genius and much did Ulf learn in the game developing craft. His ideas were original and his reasoning was solid. There are rumours of a day when he will write down his legacy for the rest of humanity to study: Ulf Andersson’s Ten Commodore-Ments.
Thirty years has he blessed the world with his presence. Thirty years of glorious thinking and brilliant ideas. Thirty years of brainstorming, crunching and creation. But the reign is far from over...
I'm guessing by now most of you know (or atleast the ones that read what I post) I like bowling. It's my passion. I grew up around it. My dad has worked at our local bowling center for about 30 years now. He is extremely well know in the community because of that. Ever since I can remember, I have been in that place bowling. Now I work there. I started about two years ago. In this blog I want to express my love for this sport, explain how it is played, and hell maybe get some of you to get into the sport.
I started bowling when I was 8. I didn't take it serious until four years ago. Obviously my dad bowls. He's my coach. It also pays off that he is one of the best bowlers in the city so that always helps. He has taught me everything he knows. I also have another coach, my high school coach. I've never had someone trust me as much as him with bowling. One of my happiest moments while bowling was last season and he took me out of a match to try a different lineup. We got killed that game, and my coach came up to me and said, "I'm never taking you out again". That made me really happy.
Now I want to clear up some stereotypes the sport has. I'm sorry but most of what you think bowling is, is not true at all. We don't wear clown shoes, we don't wear button up shirts etc. I two pairs of $230 bowling shoes, they are very nice, not clown looking at all. The sport is also not easy. Well for me it is rather easy, but even I struggle. I average around 190. I spend three to four days a week practicing. I bowl anywhere from 4-10 games when practicing. With doing that, my average has jumped 30 pins in four years. The reason I say the sport is hard is because you don't see your biggest obsticale, the oil. With other sports you know how to adjust, you can see what the obsticale is. You can't see oil on the lane. You don't know if the oil is heavy down lane or in the front part of the lane. When bowling you also have to take into account if anyone has bowled on your par of lanes on that day. Lanes go through transition. Which is the breaking down of a lane. Oil will be carried up from the front part of the lane to the back. Which makes your ball hook early up front, or have trouble on the back part of the lane. Theres two ways to combat your ball hooking early, you can either pick up your speed and keep the same line or move your feet a couple of boards and keep the same line. If your ball isn't hooking due to transition you will want to put more hand in your ball to put more revs on it and slow it down a touch. Or switch to a more aggressive bowling ball. I like to own a ball for every type of condition.
So thats the challenge of oil breaking down. Now there is another challenge. Every place you go, the lane conditions are going to be different. I have not been to a bowling center where they played the same as another. There are different types of lanes. You'll see wood or synthetic lanes. Synthetic is kind of taking over wood now a days. The difference between the two is:
Wood surface: Since it's wood and there is nothing covering over it, you'll get a lot more friction off the lane. So when you are on this kind of lane you want to use a less aggressive bowling ball, or you can use a aggressive ball but pick up your speed and use less hand.
Synthetic surface: On synthetic lanes there is a chemical over it to protect it from the ball hitting the lane. That causes less friction between the ball and the lane. So you'll want to use a aggressive bowling on these lanes.
You'll have to adjust your game depending on what kind of surface the house has.
The difference in bowling balls. Since bowling started the ball has changed a great deal. It started as rubber, then to urathane and now to reactive resin. The difference in the three are easy to explain. Basicly rubber and urathane are the same, they don't hook as much as reactive resin. Reactive resin was put into the sport about 20 years ago. Its a chemical that allows a ball to hook more. When you have a low end ball, or a cheap ball, it usually just has less chemical in it.
Those are basicly the things I wanted to say about the sport. It's not easy. It's probably the most mental sport you can play There are more things I could get into, like when to use a 3 step approach when to use a 4 step approach and so on. But that will take up to much of your time and i'm sure your probably bored.
One last thing, I'll give some info on myself with my bowling. I like to throw Storm equipment, they are great stuff. Storm puts a scent on their bowling balls. It's odd but I love it. Here are my equipment:
Bowling Balls:
Storm- Virtual Gravity...$250
Storm- Hy- Road...$180
Storm- Diablo...$180
Storm- Attitude Shift...$250
Shoes:
Dexter- SST 8 B1899-1 (weird name i know)...$230
I have more stuff, but I don't want to post all of them. To give you an idea of what I have, all my equipment equals $2000. I'm also the best bowler in my school. Last two years I have finished in the Top 10 in our conference tournaments. I got 4th last year and got a medal. But seriously, I love this sport, I wish more people would do it. I understand that most of you probably think this is a dumb blog, and I understand that. Please don't post negative things on here. If you want to discuss then do, I encourage it. Also if there are any bowlers out there, speak up. I'd love to hear from you.
Oh and heres a video of my bowling. My friend Jason is shooting it.
For most of you who dont know, and im guessing most of you, bowling is done professionally. It started in the 50's and aired on NBC under the title Championship Bowling. In 1958 Eddie Elias pushed efforts to make it a full time tour. In the ABC (American Bowling Congress) tournament, he gave a proposal for the tour. At that tournament there were pioneers of the sport. If you are a fan of bowling you would know these men, Dick Weber (future hall of famer), Don Johnson (future hall of famer), Carmen Salvino (future hall of famer) among other future hall of famers heard his proposal. They all donated money to his cause. Thus stared the PBA (Professional Bowlers Association). Thats pretty much how it started in a nut shell.
It has changed a great deal since then. When it first started there was only a couple of events, now they have twenty. Though it has had its down years. Personally i think the late 90's early 2000's where bad. They used gold pins in that time, which made them heavier. That caused for a good about of low scoring. Though i also felt the talent was down in those years. Also in that time, the PBA was bought by a former Microsoft executive, Mike Slade, and the PBA HQ was moved to Seattle (where its still located). In 2000s the PBA was going through a hard times and almost was lost forever. Today, its holding up very well. Some excellent talent has emurged.
To be a Hall of Famer in the PBA you need the following:
Win a minimum of 10 PBA Tour titles
Win a minimum of five PBA Tour titles, including two majors, and been a PBA member for at least 20 years
Thats it. Though it might make the sport look bad. It makes it seem like its easy. Though a bowler has to be so focused in order to win. Bowling probably more mental then any sport, golf is right behind it. You have to read the lanes on ever throw, it changes after each one, so each shot is different. You cant see the oil on the lane, so you have to use your eyes to watch how your ball reacts. Each week there is a new pattern of oil on the lanes, so each week you have to change your game in order to win. Thats very hard to do. And im proud to say that i have bowled a 209 on a professional pattern. Theres a total of about 80 in the hall of fame.
Today there are five different oil patterns. They are:
Chameleon- Its 40ft of oil, a bowling lane is 60ft long. It makes you play the outside part of the lane, due to heavy oil in the middle
Cheetah- Its 36ft of oil. Players usually hook like hell on this pattern, due to the very dry outside part of the lane.
Scorpion- Its 42ft of oil. Players usually play straight on this pattern. There is a good amount of oil down lane.
Shark- Its 44fr of oil. Players have to play the inside part of the lane. There is to much oil on the outside part of the lane.
Viper- Its 38ft of oil. Players will play many different parts of the lane due to its equal oil.
Bowling has its major championships just like any other sport. They are:
USBC Masters
Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open (Lumber Liquidators is the title sponser right now, it changes as the sponser changes)
PBA World Championship
H&R Block Tournament of Champions
PBA 2009-2010 Season Preview:
This is the schedule of this season. It starts in August, so this might change by then:
Rookie of the Year: Jason Belmonte. Hes good. You all have probably heard of him, hes been on the news like crazy. He throws it two handed and puts a shit load of revs on the ball. He has already won one event. He won it last year. Im looking for him to break through this year. I might not like how he is becoming the face of the sport just because he throws the ball weird, but he does have talent.
Player(s) to Watch: Bill O'Neill and Michael Fagan. They both are great talents, but neither have won. Last season they both made a good amount of shows, but didnt win. Im looking for them to both have a great year and hopefully get their first titles.
Player of the Year: Tommy Jones. Tommy has struggled lately. The last couple of years his numbers have been down. Though, this year im looking for him to break that bad streak. After all, he is only 31 and is already is eligable for the hall of fame. He has 12 victories and 2 majors. He is also one of three bowlers to win player of the year and rookie of the year. Im expecting big things from him. He is also my favorite bowler, and idle.
Here is my prodictions for the four majors:
USBC Masters: Wes Malott Wes won player of the year last year. He won it by being the most versatile bowler on tour. He did well on every pattern last year. So if anyone can win this title it has to be Big Nasty. He can play straight if he needs to, or play the big hook. Granted he hasnt made a TV show for the Masters before, but i think this will be his year.
U.S Open:Chris Barnes Though i really am not a fan of his, Chris is one of the best bowlers on tour. He can play any part of the lane and he can read a lane better then anyone else. He made the it to the finals last year, so im looking for him to play well this year.
PBA World Championship: Norm Duke I say Norm goes for the repeat. He won it last year. He is also probably one of the best in major championships. He set a record for most majors won in a row. Though someone like Pete Weber or Sean Rash might come and take it from him. I look for Norm to win the $50,000 regardless.
H&R Block Tournament of Champions: Tommy Jones Tommy won this tournament a couple of years ago. When he won it, he was coming off of a neck injury and had a avg around 260. He was on fire. I look for him to do that again this year also, though he didnt make the final last year.
Im hoping to go the the U.S Open since its in Indiana this year.
I like killing flies. The movie i bet no ones heard of. Its a documentry by Matt Mahurin. It follows Kenny Shopsin and his family as they work in the famous Shopsins resturant in New York. I saw it on IFC this week and i was shocked really.
doin workThere really isnt much of a story since its a documentry. But like i said in the intro, it follows Kenny Shopsin as he cooks, tells stories and pretty much drops the f-bomb every five minutes. It does kinda go off a little from just talking about the history of the place and how he works, to him struggleing over weather to move to a bigger location or not. Which i guess you could call the story.
Now, the camera in this movie is shot by hand. I like that, it makes it feel natural. Matt Mahurin is behind the camera. Though, the Shopsins resturant is in a small space. So the camera is often right in the peoples faces or close to it. Also since its a one man filming crew, Mahurin has to provide the audio also. So you often see his hand holding a small microphone to the peoples face so that you can hear them. Yes its awkward at first, but thats kinda the appeal i liked about the movie.
Like i just said, there is a good amount of appeal. Everyone in this movie (besides the Shopsins) is a customer. They interview them, and this is the best part of the movie i think. Each person tells a story of the place. Also, for being shot by hand, this movie looks fantastic.
There's this sence of humor i cant explain about the movie. Kenny is funny as shit, but i dont know if i should laugh or not. To try to explain, heres a video from the movie of him talking about how people are shit:
Despite it being a awkward sence of humor, it adds a great deal of charm to the movie. Kenny might be my new favorite character in any movie. He has so much personality. In the movie he tells stories of how he treats his customers. They way he treats some of them just to inforce a rule is insane. He wont seat a group above four, even if the place is empty. You cant come in just to order coffee. He tells customers to fuck off. Ok, im from indiana and never been to new york. So i dont know if this is normal of new yorkers to do. But from what i have seen, he is a fantastic chef, he has 900 recipes hes made up. Hes written a book on that. The man has my respect.
So overall, this is a fantastic documentary. Though it does have some problems, like the close ups on the faces i didnt like so much. Also, they have a still image on the screen and there is talking over it, its a tad awkward. Though those small problems aside, this is a movie with an outstanding family who yes, have family problems.
Log in to comment