Mortal Kombat

        The newest installment of the Mortal Kombat  franchise is so much more then a revival of the series. The classic fighting formula is back with the reintroduction of the 2D fighting plane, but there are plenty of new features that certainly give this game the edge as the best MK game to date. The fighter roster it self is stacked, focusing on characters from the first three MK games, the line up is as follows; Baraka, Cyrax, Ermac, Jade, Jax, Johnny Cage, Kabal, Kano, Kitana, Kung Lao, Liu Kang, Mileena, Nightwolf, Noob Saibot, Quan Chi, Raiden     Reptile, Scorpion, Sektor, Shang Tsung, Sheeva, Sindel, Smoke, Sonya, Stryker, Sub-Zero, Cyber Sub-Zero as well as the appearance of Goro, Kintaro and Shao Kahn as unplayable boss fights, and of course the PS3 exclusive charter, Kratos.
         Each character is far more unique then previous installments, each individual character possessing there own fighting styles and stances, fatalities, special moves and victory poses. The game play has returned to its classic 2D plane with new controls that seem to be adapted from other fighting franchises such as tekken, where each bottom is in control of a corresponding individual limb. One new feature included in this game is the addition the "super meter" which is filled by chaining together combos, taking damage and a few other elements of the game play. The super meter consists of three levels, the first level if used allows the player to deliver a stronger, amped up specialty move. The second gives the player a chance to stop powerfully incoming combos from landing and the third level if filled allows a player to execute an insane new game play combo called "X-Ray Move"

        This is by far one of the coolest innovations I have seen in a fighting game and gives the player more amplitude to preform combos because of this reward. Each Character has their own special x-ray moves all which have a devastating effect on your opponent.
     Of course I could not write a review on Mortal Kombat with out commenting on the defining element of the series, the fatalities. Every character now has two of their very own finishing moves, along with some environmental fatalities that coincide with certain levels. They are plentiful, brutal and the best NetherrRalm has come up with so far. It was also a welcome sight to see the babalities make a return.      

     The game includes various modes including the story mode, which shows greater plot depth then previous games, online mode, tag team mode and the challenge tower. All of these factors attribute to the game being a must own for any Mortal Kombat fan of frightening genre enthusiast. This game gets five out five blenders. 

Ghostface, Royal Princes and Fast Cars

        Scream4 has gotten many mixed reviews but in my opinion this meta horror who-done-it slasher flick was a breath of fresh air not only for horror films but the movie going experience as is. Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arguette all return to there roles along with a new generation cast, which includes Emma Roberts as Sidney Prescotts cousin and Hayden Panettiere as her best friend Kirby Reed.
         Its been fifteen years since the Woodsboro massacre and on this anniversary two students are hacked and slashed by a new Ghostface. Sidney Prescott returns to town the very next day on the final stop of her best selling books tour. Of course it soon becomes very public knowledge that a new killer has emerged and so it seems Ghostface has returned to Woodsborro, but the question is who? I'm not going to post any spoilers but the ending and revelation is half the reason I was impressed with this film, along with the great and best scream opening there has been. This new decade, new rules Scream film balances well with a nostalgic presences of the first film. I give it two thumbs up and worth your theater buck for true horror genre fans.

  

       Your Highness is the latest film from the masterminds behind Pineapple Express as well as Role Models. James Franco and Danny McBride play bothers Fabious and Thadeous in this once upon a time fairy tail of knights, magic, and outlandish humor. The plot revolves around Fabious and his soon to to wife Belladona, played by the lovely Zoe Deschanel, however the wedding day does not go quite as played when an evil sorcerer, Leezar, kidnaps Belladonna and imprisons her with the intention of taking her virginity on the night the two moons converge, which will rebirth him into a dragoon with the ability to conquer Thadeous and Fabious's fathers kingdom. The two brother set out on a quest to rescue the fair maiden and thwart Leezar's evil scheme.
        The majority of critics gave this film a bad rating, Roger Ebert and Peter Travers gave the film 1/4 stars with Peter saying that nothing about the film worked. Some problems that many have had with the film was its weak script and vulgar witless humor which did not do justice to the idea of the movie being a spoof of the fantasy genre. The trailers may make this film seem like a stoner fantasy cross breed of Monty Pythons Holy Grail and Animal House humor but it does not live up to how good it was made out to be. In the end you have a great comedic cast thrown in to the realm of knights, kings and sorcerers. The humor is not for every one, so i recommend this to fans of Danny McBride and other raunchy comedy's, other then that I would pass on this film and save your theater bucks.      

     FastFive reunites the furious crew in this latest installment of this street racing, fast paced, action franchise. Brian O'Conner and Dom Toretto are at it again, however there most recent job takes an unexpected turn and the two are soon framed for the murder of several DEA agents. Heightened measures are soon taken by the US government to apprehend this notorious criminals with DSS agent Luke Hobbs spear heading the task force in charge of  capturing Brain and Dom. Over the top action.
     This film has gotten a lot of positive praise with many stating that this is the best film out of the entire series. Fast5 puts Vin and the Rock are back in there natural element, which is a hard hitting loud action flick, not to say there aren't any problems with the movie, many criticize the acting and dialogue as the component of the film that the budget obvious did not cover. However when people go to movies like this they are not expecting or looking for a academy award winning performance, there looking for entertainment and Fast5 delivers. This is a must see for any testosterone action enthusiasts and is worth you theater buck.