All posts by Kev Brock

I'm a musician, singer/songwriter, blogger, writer, poet, bodybuilder, movie lover, music lover, video gamer, history/political buff, conservative/republican, etc. I like to do a lot of things.
Videogame news

Game Review: Heavy Rain ****SPOILERS****

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So I finished the game, “Heavy Rain” already. Well, sort of. Why, “sort of”? Because there are multiple endings to the game, not just one. People accused this game of being an interactive movie, but after playing the game, it is more than just an interactive movie. You play through the 4 characters, Madison Paige, Ethan Mars, Norman Jayden and Scott Shelby. Like I said before, it’s almost like a role playing game where you have to make careful decisions on things.

In this game, you have to watch out what you say through the characters. You also have a choice if you want any of the characters to survive or die. If one of the main characters dies, the ending of the game will be different. When I played the game, I let Norman Jayden die by mistake, I killed him off in the junk yard scene by accident…because during the scene, all these control buttons appear on the screen, making you do stuff so he can survive. Well I hit the wrong buttons more than enough times which is why I made him die ’cause the buttons came on the screen so quick. I let Scott, Madison, and Ethan survive though. You can even have a choice if you want Shaun Mars (Ethan’s son) to live or to die in the game.

The two most important people you want to stay alive is Ethan and Shaun of course, the rest of the characters you can either let die if you want so it can be a happy ending with Ethan and Shaun. If you let Ethan and Shaun die in the game, it won’t be a very happy ending. So yeah, there’s more than one ending to the game.

I won’t explain the endings…but I will say who the Origami serial killer is below with a spoiler warning. It didn’t surprise me who the killer was, I knew who it was since the beggining of the game, it was easy to figure out who it was.

The Origami killer is………………………

**********************************************************SPOILER***************************************

Scott Shelby, the private eye detective.

*****************************END SPOILER****************************************************************************

I’ll play the game again down the road, for a different ending, but not right now. I think I want to move on to a different game. I think I’ll start playing “Bayonetta” next tomorrow. Even though “Heavy Rain” was a very short game, I’m sure there will be a sequel. “Heavy Rain” was a brilliant game. It’s definitely one of my favorite games in my collection.

Kev

movies

Thought: About all this Mel Gibson drama…

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I have been following all this Mel Gibson stuff in the news, and it doesn’t surprise me. When he got pulled over for DUI, when he did that rant about Jews, that was a sign to come that Mel is not a very nice guy in reality.

Now you know what it might be like to work with Mel on a movie when he’s on the director’s chair. Can you picture in your head when Mel tells an actor to do something, if the actor makes a mistake or said his lines wrong, I’m sure Mel gets pissed at that too.

Mel to actor: “Ok, in this scene, I want you to walk over there, say your lines in the script and that’s it.” Actor does what Mel says but messes up a few words in the speech. Mel screaming through megaphone, “THAT’S NOT HOW YOU FUCKING DO IT! YOU MESS UP AGAIN, I’M GOING TO FIRE YOUR ASS ON THE SPOT, NOW GET IT RIGHT!!!”

Yep, I bet Mel treats his film crew the same way, abuses them with hate speech. Keep in mind that in Hollywood, not everyone is friendly as you think. Everyone is different. Some actors/directors can be friendly, some can be assholes, etc. You know the deal. So for those who are hurt and offended over Mel’s temper tantrum’s, don’t be. This is nothing new, he’s probably been this way his whole life. I always hear stories that he was never a friendly guy at all.

Kev

movies, music

Report: New Joaquin Phoenix film, “I’m Not Here” to hit theaters Sept. 10th!!!

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Joaquin Phoenix’s documentary about his rap career will hit theaters Sept 10th, and the film is titled, “I’m Not Here”. Magnolia Films scored the rights to release it.

I’m sure we will see a trailer very soon, probably around August, a teaser trailer for this film will hit the web.

This film sounds interesting. I’m certainly am looking forward to seeing it. Anything with Joaquin Phoenix in it, is gold.

More on it here:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38246570/ns/today-entertainment/

Kev

music

Cool Video: “Weird Al” Yankovic performs intimate acoustic gig on NPR radio…

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“Weird Al” Yankovic played a short acoustic gig in the NPR radio station and it was recorded on video. I’m a big “Weird Al” fan. I’ve only seen him perform live once at the Palace Theater years back, but this is Weird Al’s best performing. His singing is really good just doing acoustic.

I would like to see Al and just his accordian alone though. Not sure why he didn’t bring his accordian to these performances.

Enjoy these. Al’s singing is better without the electric band, in my opinion. He shows his passion in his singing in these performances.

Kev

movies

Report: Edward Norton himself, finally speaks out about his feud with Marvel studios…

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Edward Norton the man himself, went to his facebook page to write a statement for his fans. He thanks his fans for their support and he admits that he is sad that he will no longer play the Hulk. He says he loves the character and “The Incredible Hulk” film, he was really looking forward to playing on “The Avengers” movie.

Read what Ed has to say here:

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2010/07/13/2010-07-13_edward_norton_releases_statement_about_marvels_avengers_hulk_snub_on_facebook.html

Marvel, bunch of ego driven assholes. They don’t care about their cast. All Marvel cares about is money. I don’t think any other actor to take over the Hulk role will be as successful. Ed helped make “The Incredible Hulk” movie get millions in box office.

Fuck MARVEL! Ed’s a great actor, he’ll have better film projects up ahead of him.

Maybe Ed will get on a superhero movie for DC Comics? Could Ed Norton get a role for Chris Nolan’s “Batman” and “Superman” flicks? That be sweet!

Kev

movies

Thought: How did Roman Polanski get himself free in Switzerland? Money and power…

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So the not so surprising news announced yesterday that Roman Polanski will not be extradited to the US. How is this possible? Well, I’m 100% positive that Roman payed Switzerland millions or even billions of dollars just so he won’t get extradited and to help get him free. His fame is part of how he has done it, money and power is another reason. It’s insane that this guy thinks he did nothing wrong, he’s delusional for sure.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2010/07/12/2010-07-12_film_director_roman_polanski_will_not_be_extradited_to_us_switzerland.html

Kev

Local music

Q&A with the Brock: Ill Funk Ensemble

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I have came up with a cool idea for my blog site. Each month, I will do a Q&A session interview with a different local band. This month, I will start off with a Q&A session interview with Albany local rap and R&B band, Ill Funk Ensemble. They are a five piece band that is fronted by, Jermaine Wells, who is a local rapper, and he is also an actor. This band does a mix of both covers and originals at their live gigs. They are fun, entertaining, and you can dance to their music. So if you go check out a show of theirs, be sure to bring your dancing shoes!

Q&A with Ill Funk Ensemble:

  • When did the band first form?
    Ill Funk formed in 2005 with the idea to create a live hip-hop R&B experience in the Albany area.
  • How did you guys find each other to form a band?
    BJ hand-selected the members of the band because of their combination of professionalism, musical ability, and positive personalities.
  • What made you want to start a rap/hip hop/R&B band?
    It’s a genre we love and is underserved in the area.
  • You guys do a mix of originals and covers both, who does the writing for the originals? Does Jermaine do all the writing or all of you guys write together?
    The originals came from Jermaine and BJ writing the outline of the song- chord progression, lyrics, flow- and then they present the songs to the band to create the whole sound.
  • You just released a brand new song called, “Summertime”. What inspired you to write that and what is the song about?
    Our best moments have occurred in the summer, and we’re pretty sure people relate well with the subject.
  • Got any crazy road stories to share?
    We plead the 5th Amendment.
  • What other local Capital District bands do you support around here?
    We’re big fans of The Getdown, Soul Session, The Hillbilly Horns, and IMI, but there are loads of others we respect and enjoy performing with!
  • Since you released, “Summertime”, does that mean you got a new album in the works? When do you expect the new album to be released?
    Right now, we’re focused on getting Catching Wreck to be the biggest album that it can be.  We’ve received a number of great reviews from media types and fans alike, so we’re running with that for the time being.  Jermaine and BJ are always full of ideas, so the next album won’t be far off!
  • How did you learn to rap and how long have you been rapping for?
    Jermaine Wells: I started writing poetry at 5 and rhyming at that point. I have always been a writer and a fan on rap.
  • Who are some of your favorite rap artists of all time?
    Jermaine Wells:  I am a fan of Jay-Z, Big Pun, Nas, Biggie and Pac and others but these are my favorites.
  • Do you like Eminem at all? What do you think of his new album, “Recovery” if you’ve heard it yet?
    Jermaine Wells: I have alot of respect for Eminem. What I like most about him is his ability to create what he feels freely. I have not heard the Recovery yet.
  • What do you like to do in your free time other than music?
    Jermaine Wells: Other then music, I write books, stories, etc. I also volunteer and help youth.
  • Do you like any other type of music other than rap and R&B? Do you like rock n’ roll or other genres?
    Jermaine Wells: I am a fan of good music. So I do listen to many genre’s of music.
  • On your website, it said, you are also an actor, do you want to be a movie star one day or is your main focus is on music?
    Jermaine Wells: The plan is to do movies and TV in conjunction with the music. I started acting before doing music.

I would like to thank the band for this opportunity in working on this Q&A for this blog.

If you would like to learn more about Ill Funk Ensemble check out these links:

Official website: http://www.illfunk.com/

Official Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jermaine-Wells-The-Ill-Funk-Ensemble/28912977566

Booking contact: booking@illfunk.com

Kev

WWE news

Thought: Where has Triple H been? How come he hasn’t been on RAW in months?

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Triple H, aka The Game of WWE has been taking another long hiatus from performing on TV. So where is he you may ask? Why, he’s been backstage at all RAW shows after all this time! So in reality, Mr. Paul Levesque hasn’t gone anywhere! What does Triple H do backstage? Well since he is a very valuable employee to WWE, he hangs out backstage to help out with the writing team. He’ll help suggest storylines and matches for RAW shows. Plus, I’m sure Hunter helps out with other wrestlers backstage in the locker room.

Triple H isn’t really injured, it’s a storyline injury that he got from Randy Orton. The reason Triple H isn’t on TV at this point, is because he isn’t needed at this time. With the Nexus stable (former NXT guys with a name change of their group) taking over WWE, the fans would know that Triple H would be able to take down the Nexus easily with no problems. The writing team didn’t want Triple H to take down the Nexus right away, so it isn’t a good time to have Triple H around when the Nexus angle is just starting to get some heat and going strong. If Triple H came back early, it would destroy the whole Nexus angle which won’t be good. WWE wants to play with the Nexus vs. WWE storyline for a while, when the right time comes, Triple H will jump in to help fight off the Nexus. I imagine will help promote a huge ppv which will be Summerslam.

I’m sure Triple H, will be back soon. I don’t think he’s the RAW Anonymous GM though, never know, he could be. I’m sure Triple H will return sometime a few weeks before Summerslam. I’m not worried about Triple H coming back this early. He needs to take time off, so the Nexus can play their angle with out Triple H overshadowing them. This might possibly set up a huge Triple H vs. Wade Barrett match.

Looking forward to tonight’s RAW. I got back to watching again ’cause I’m loving the Nexus storyline. It’s good stuff. Finally WWE brought something good this time.

Kev

movies

BREAKING NEWS: Ed Norton is no longer starring the Incredible Hulk ever again…

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Marvel Studios President, Kevin Fiege, announced that Ed Norton will not play The Incredible Hulk in the “Avengers” or any other type of Hulk movie ever again. Fiege claims that the reason they fired Ed Norton they needed an actor that has the creativity and the collaborative spirit of other cast members. They want a team player that is able to work with other cast members in the film. In other words to keep it simple, Marvel plans to go for a new direction for the Hulk character and they feel Ed no longer fits.

Read Fiege’s statement here:

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/2008-12-6-motion-captured/posts/exclusive-marvel-confirms-they-will-hire-new-hulk-for-avengers

Ed Norton immediately fired back by having his attorney hit back at Marvel with an angry rant, Ed’s lawyer claims Ed was all up for the “Avengers” movie and it was something he was looking forward to.

http://www.hitfix.com/articles/2010-7-11-exclusive-edward-norton-s-agent-responds-to-marvel-ceo-s-statement?m=k

I’m totally on Ed’s side. I thought Ed made a perfect Bruce Banner. Ed was like a young Billy Bixby. I thought Ed’s “Incredible Hulk” movie was fantastic. I LOVED IT!  It was definitely better than the Ang Lee/Eric Bana version.

Besides, Marvel movies suck anyway. Marvel only made like a few good superhero movies. Movies I liked that Marvel has done:  “The Punisher” (Thomas Jane version), “X-Men” (the first one only), “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (it was actually a fun movie), but that’s about it.

Watch out Marvel, I smell a big lawsuit coming by Edward Norton!

Kev

Videogame news

Thought: “Heavy Rain” is the most impressive game I’ve ever played, it’s absolutely amazing!!!

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So after finishing “Bioshock 2”, I finally decided to start the game “Heavy Rain” next. Which I already started a few days ago, I played a lot of this game before work today. The game “Heavy Rain” got a lot of negative critique, but in my opinion, I think this is one of the best games I’ve ever played on the PS3 so far. People accused this game of being a boring interactive movie. I would have to agree and disagree both on that. While it is an interactive movie, it’s actually a game too. It’s almost like a role playing game. You have to make careful decisions in this game or bad things will happen ahead if you make the wrong decision.

In this game you don’t just play one character. You play 4 different characters throughout the game. You play, Ethan Mars, Madison Paige, FBI agent Norman Jayden, and Det. Scott Shelby. I like all the characters but I think that Norman Jayden guy is a badass character, and I think he deserves his own game as a spinoff. The game tells the story of an architect, Ethan Mars, who has a family, he learns about the Origami serial killer. The Origami serial killer is actually a child killer and of course, the game’s mission is to hunt down the killer.

You can play the characters while the movie is still going which is cool. The game has quite a bit of nudity too. The best part is that you can actually play Madison Paige naked while she’s taking a shower. The game shows the privates and everything. After playing this game for a while, it got me thinking, “No wonder so many want David Fincher to direct this live action movie, the game is pretty close to the movie, “Se7en”.

So far, I’m impressed with the game. Probably the best game in my collection. It should be a live action movie. I think David Fincher is a perfect choice of a director if they can get him for it…but who would play the characters in the live action version?

The Ethan Mars role, I think David Duchovny might be perfect for that character. What about Norman Jayden? When I looked at Norman in the game, he looked almost exactly like Mark Wahlberg, so Marky Mark would be my pick. For Madison Paige, a young actress would be better for her, in the picture above is Madison, so who does she reminds you of? She looks a little more like Jennifer Connelly or Famke Janssen. As for Scott Shelby, Robert Deniro might be good for him. So there’s my casting pick for the live action version.

The live action version is in the works, they just haven’t confirmed a director yet, so hopefully it will be Fincher.

I just started the game, so I don’t know who the Origami killer is yet, but I do have a feeling it’s one of those main 4 characters though. I think the gameplay is very cool, unique and different. You can actually play in a movie, that’s what’s so cool about it. Games haven’t done that before. Most importantly I just love the story ’cause I love serial killer fiction.

Kev