The Complete Asylum #5 - Sharknado (2013)

Plot

 (from imdb.com)

When a freak hurricane swamps Los Angeles, nature's deadliest killer rules sea, land, and air as thousands of sharks terrorize the waterlogged populace.

Review

 The summer sensation of 2013, Sharknado is Asylum just going all in. Everything is so ridiculous you can’t help but enjoy it. You only have to hear the premise to know this. The cast is filled with has beens which are exactly what Asylum movies need. Ian Ziering, Tara Reid and others round up this “all-star” cast. The CGI, as always is awful, but at least in this movie they try a little bit harder and it looks better then most Asylum movies. 

But lets not kid ourselves, the reason we’re here is to see some shark violence. The kills range from really good to just terrible. Some are pretty cool to see despite the bad CGI. Other are the typical badly edited typical Asylum shit. At least it seems like the Asylum is on the road to a better future.

Worst Scene 

The scene that everyone has seen on YouTube. The famous part when Ian Ziering jumps into a shark’s mouth with a chainsaw and comes out the other side. It is both the best and worse scene in the movie. The gross stupidity of it is only matched by it’s brilliance.

Lawsuit Potential?

Non-existent. Although every shark movie has been a rip-off of Jaws in some way, there is nothing here that can be directly traced to one movie. It seems that despite their best efforts, The Asylum have actually come up with something kind of original. Good job, now they are going to run this idea to the ground under it is barely recognizable.

Score: 6/10

You can't see me

Most of WWE 2K14 is finished. It was actually easier then I expected. Most of it is really simple grinding. The hardest stuff is beating the Undertaker. I've managed to do it once, but the other achievement is to do it about a dozen times. The other one is to defend the streak by being 50 guys in a row. They to get really tough around 30, I think the highest I've gotten to was 35. I'll keep trying but sadly I'll never get the full 1000 because of stupid online achievements.

WWE 2K14

 You can't let down your guard - 30G - Land a Catch or Catapult Finisher (Single Player)

 Hall of pain - 20G - Defeat a total of 10 opponents by K.O. (Single player)

 Invincible man - 50G - Win at least 20 matches on Hard difficulty or higher in Universe or play mode (Single player)



Excuse me ! - 15G - WWE Universe - Establish a rivalry

 The Big Red Monster - 20G - Eliminate 11 opponents with the same Superstar in a single Royal Rumble match (Single player)



Epic Match - 50G - Defeat the Streak -Kick out of a Pin from Undertaker 5 times in a single match

 Legend Killer - 30G - Defeat the Streak - Defeat Undertaker 

 Feed me more ! - 50G - Win at least 50 matches on Hard difficulty or higher in Universe or Play Mode (Single player)

The Complete Asylum #4 - The DaVinci Treasure (2006)

Plot

 (from imdb.com)

An anthropologist must unlock the code hidden in the works of Leonardo Da Vinci in order to find the greatest treasure ever, one that could change Christianity forever. 

Review

 What happens when you try to make a globetrotting adventure movie with no budget? You get the DaVinci Treasure. This movie is the Asylums attempt at knocking off the DaVinci Code. Instead of Tom Hanks, we get C. Thomas Howell. Hardly a suitable replacement but we’ll do what we can. I’d try to explain what the plot was but that would be a waste of time. Basically it’s the same as any adventure movie; good guys are looking for treasure and bad guys are trying to get it. 

            This movie has a problem that Asylum movies should not have; there are a lot of boring parts where nothing happens. There’s talk about treasures and what not but really who cares. There are some scenes with a car chase and a helicopter chase which are typical of the Asylum. Luckily there is some Lance Henriksen in this movie. He’s not in it very much, but every time he’s there things pick up.

Worst Scene 

At one point C. Thomas Howell has to decrypt an ancient document with some glasses that DaVinci created. Once he puts them on, he starts to see shapes moving and all sorts of other crazy shit happens. Somehow these glasses give out LSD vision to whoever wears them.

Lawsuit Potential?

Hard to tell. While it is clearly a rip off of The DaVinci Code, the only things it steals is the plot structure, which has been done in a million other movies, and the legend of DaVinci. I don’t believe they can be sued for this. Unless the relatives of Leonardo DaVinci want to sue for defamation of their family legacy (which I wouldn’t disagree with) this movie should be safe.

Score: 4/10

36 days and...over

It's over, the achievement streak has concluded at 36 days. It was a fun run and I smashed my personal best. But I was hoping to make something special and unbreakable and that just wasn't the case. Maybe somewhere down the line I'll try to break it.

In the last week I've only played some WWE 2K14. Finished up 30 years of Wrestlemania and now I'm going to clean up any other achievements I can clean up. I should be able to get most of them but there's a few I won't be able. No way I'm paying 10$ so that I play online just one achievement. The beat the streak stuff is tough too (Undertaker is one tough SOB). I'll clean up the easier stuff and then go from there. Once I'm done getting all I can I may go on to play some of the older WWE games and clear as many cheevos as I can there too.

WWE 2K14

 Ruthless Agression - 15G - Complete chapter 4 in 30 Years of Wrestlemania

 The Universe Era - 15G - Complete chapter 5 in 30 Years of Wrestlemania




Wrestlemania! - 30G - Complete all historical objectives in 30 Years of Wrestlemania



The Demon of Death Valley - 40G - Defend the Streak - Defeat 30 Superstars in a single match

 A Superstar is born - 15G - WWE Universe - Win a match using a Custom Superstar (Single player)



Mr. Money in the Bank - 30G - WWE Universe - Win Money in the Bank using a Custom Superstar (Single player)



A once in a lifetime event - 40G - WWE Universe - Complete a Wrestlemania match using a Custom Superstar (Single player)



History is created! - 15G - WWE Universe - Cash in Money in the Bank and win using a Custom Superstar (Single player)

TV Reviews #4 - Deadwood Season 3 (2006)

           This is it, the final season of Deadwood. Last season was frustrating for much of its time. Season 3 is a step ahead. The annoying speaking style is toned down. Whilst it is still present, it does not happen nearly as much. But the fact that it is still around, even less frequently, is a bad mark on the show. 

            The main plot of the season centers on George Hearst. He is a millionaire industrialist who comes to Deadwood in order to buy up all of the gold claims and add to his considerable wealth. He also has no problems with intimidation and murder to get what he needs. His activities cause the citizens of Deadwood to unite against him. It is a nice touch to the show where many of the town folk would often conspire against each other.

            The final season finds itself a consistent plot to work with that improves over the past ones that often felt disjointed and without direction. However the season ends when there was clearly an intention to continue the series that just never happened. Just as the show starts to get interesting, it ends.

            Deadwood as series showed us how you need to be careful with historic dramas. While there is a desire to get an authentic feel for the time, the viewer’s interest has to be intact otherwise, as this series showed, it will get cancelled. Cut down on the period language and instead focus on the story. Deadwood got the memo but too late to save itself.

Score: 6/10