Forward Unto...New Website!

Hello there fans,

Well the day you've been eagerly anticipating is finally here, and most impressively, a day early!

Your favorite entertainment blog/podcast is finally consolidated in one fancy new home. From this moment on you can find PAUSED! in all its glory on our new site:

www.pausedreviews.com

Yes, you read right. No more .blogspot or .weebly or .anything, we finally own our domain and have put all that is PAUSED! in one convenient place. This will require one small inconvenience on your part. Since we will no longer be posting on this blog site (this being our last post ever on blogspot actually), you will have to re-subscribe to the blog on our new page to continue to receive an email alert when we've written a new blog post.

We will still continue to send out links to our posts on Twitter and Facebook, however for those of you not using those social sites, we highly recommend subscribing.

As I mentioned before, this new site will be built out in stages over the course of the next few months. Here is what you can expect to see:

Stage 1: Available Now!

• The Blog and Podcast episodes located on one, convenient site www.pausedreviews.com
• All new look/design
• Working Contact page on site

Stage 2: Coming Soon (1-2 weeks)

• About PAUSED! page on site
• Contests page outlining active monthly contests, prizes, and polls. Complete with web-generated forms for easy submittals!

Stage 3: Down the Line (1-2 months)

• Podcast hosted on iTunes for convenient listening and downloading on all your iTunes-ready mobile devices. Fear not, all episodes will still be posted in our archive. (This may take less time, all dependent on how long it takes to get approval)
• Donation page on site. So fans can help support their favorite blog/podcast and help keep us running!

Stage 4: Down the Road (6-10 months)

• PAUSED! Store, where fans can purchase PAUSED! gear to sport out and about and show your support for the greatest blog/podcast in history...ever!

Thank you to all our fans who have stuck with us through 3 different sites, 18 ways to reach us, and 29 places to track your favorite blog. This is all for you! To our new listeners, we hope you enjoy all the new changes, and the many more to come!

Catch you all on the flip side!

- Franc, Pol and Dre

Meet the Croods...Not Your Average Family

Hello Everyone,

What makes a family special? Is it their relationship with one another? Is it that they listen to each other? Most likely its the special bond that each and every family member has with each other; love.

If you haven't seen the movie, The Croods, you should at least take your little one (child) to go watch it. Their hasn't been a "real kid movie", in a while. One that is innocent, funny and produces a simple message. That every family has problems, but when the going gets tough its the special bond between families that allows them to achieve the impossible...such as surviving the shifting of the continents.

The Croods, are a family of cave people. They have their issues, but it allows them to survive the danger's of their world (our world, just millions of years ago). As with most great kids movies, this film has the perfect blend of jokes for both adults and wee ones. So you and your kid will be equally entertained.

I don't want to ruin the movie for anyone who hasn't seen it, but the Croods have to learn to adapt to their new environment when their cave gets destroyed by the shifting of the tectonic plates. They meet a more evolved human who teaches them that strength isn't the only way to solve problems. That thinking outside the box and creating ideas can do more good than smashing things. The Croods, make a few animals friends along the way and get to learn more about themselves then they could have imagined.

This is a wonderful movie for families. You could say that it is DVD buyable. The only downside to this movie is one of the characters voice over. I don't mean to be picky but I just didn't feel like Nicholas Cage was the right choice as the voice of the father. Personally, i just didn't really feel  his voice expressed the types of emotions that were required. At times, I was a little caught of guard that he was the acting voice. But that was the only downside

My movie rating is 7 out 10. The message was the clear, the animation was very well done and their was alot of comedy mixed in with adventure. Overall a good movie.

As always, feel free to comment here, or email us at pausedreviews@gmail.com, or message us on Facebook and Twitter.

-Dre

Ghosts Were Never Meant To Be Friendly

Welcome All who were lied to as a child by your parents that ghosts were just really nice blankets. If you haven't already heard or seen any of the promotions. Then I congratulate you (*golf clap*).

Yes, it is true, the giant in the first-person shooter genre has revealed the next installment in their record-breaking franchise, Call of Duty: GHOSTS (slated to release 11/05/13).

There is such a tight grip on this game that nothing else has been released. Accept for the trailer; giving us a background on what cultures used their masks for. Some of the masks were very impressive. But so far their are no details on weapons, maps or specifics on characters. Except that it may be a game that can be likened to Halo: ODST. We can only wait for the reveal on May 21st, 2013 to see more details unfold.

The only real "hint" of information that has been released, is that Call of Duty: GHOSTS will be running on a next-generation system. I'm only guessing that more things will go "boom" and will have more interactive environments.

If you have seen on the Xbox 360 they are taking pre-orders (WAIT!). With the pre-order you are given a silenced sub-machine gun that has fancy camouflage and a poster! Now who doesn't want a poster to cover up the hole you and your friend made while jumping on a tred-mill going full speed?

To recap, nothing is being released. We all have to wait until May 21st. So before you pre-order, be smart this game could just be like Halo: ODST, where the campaign is a bit different but the multiplayer is the same as before. Finally, for those who like to live longer than five seconds after spawning (coming back to life) than try out Battlefield 3 and don't waste your time. You want to enjoy a game that you play and not get upset/angry over people that "spray and pray" until they hit something.

Email, Facebook and Twitter if you have any questions or comments and please send all hate mail to Pol; he loves that stuff and thanks again for reading.

-Dre 

New Release Tuesday! 5/7/13

Hey there kids! It's that time of the week again...New Release Tuesday! There a few titles out this week that I am super excited to check out. So without further adieu, here is the breakdown:

Jack Reacher and Mama are two movies that I really wanted to check out in theaters, but was just never able to get a chance to see. Jack Reacher got a 7.0 from IMDB, which let's be honest with ourselves, is pretty good for a Tom Cruise movie. Personally, I love Cruise, and pretty much any movie he's ever been in. I mean, you have to respect any actor that can make NASCAR look awesome. Mama got a 6.4, but again, not bad for a horror flick, and Guillermo del Torro is amazing. He'll lay some duds from time to time (yea, I'm talking to you Hellboy), but if you give him a chance, he may just Pan's Labyrinth you.

I think I'll pass on Safe Haven (6.3 IMDB). Truthfully, I think Julianne Hough is one of America's worst actors. To the point where she may one day have a Paused! scale named after her. Also, I've had it with Nicholas Sparks. I'll give him The Notebook, it was pretty great and fairly original. But now, I'm done. I mean how many times can one man write the same book, and an even better question, how many times can movie studios buy the same rights to a movie? If there is one thing I could care less about than paperback romance novels, its movies based on paperback romance novels. At least those have the decency to give us some dirty sex scenes.

I honestly don't know much about The Oranges, but it looks like it has some great people in it. However, with a 5.7 on IMDB, I may approach this one with caution. Finally, the 7th and final season of the greatest comedy in TV history, 30 Rock. What can I say about this show, that hasn't already been said about electricity, cheese, cows, America and the rest of the universe's greatest inventions. I've already ordered my copy and will be adding it to the shelf with it's 6 older brothers (seasons 1-6, in case that analogy passed you by).

Here are the rest of the titles releasing today:

• The Fringe: The Complete 5th Season (8.5 IMDB)
• Flashpoint: The 5th Season (7.0 IMDB)
• Private Practice: The Complete 6th Season (5.9 IMDB)
• Rookie Blue: The Complete 3rd Season (6.9 IMDB)
• Royal Pains: Season 4 (6.8 IMDB)

Thanks for reading, and let us know you opinions on any of this week's titles. As always, you can comment here, email us at pausedreviews@gmail.com, or message us on Facebook or Twitter.

Enjoy!

Franc

Every Knight has it's Dawn...

So Dre and I were talking last night and he asked if there were any games I was looking forward to. With the announcement of Call of Duty's upcoming installment entitled Ghosts, Dre was pretty much off the wall excited about what's coming around the bend. (Side note: Keep and eye out for Dre's post about Call of Duty: Ghosts, coming at you soon).

Since I tend to be the resident "movie guy" on our team, people can often forget that I do also enjoy a good game. As many of you already know, I also enjoy pretty much anything Batman. So as you can imagine, when those two things come together, I must excuse myself from the room, breathe deeply into a paper bag, and change my pants.

Now that I have calmed down a bit, I figured I would share my glee with you, our loyal, and borderline obsessed with us fans. Much like the game itself, let us begin...from the beginning...

A New Dawn Rises: Origins

Here is the basic premise of Batman: Arkham Origins. This prequel to the brilliant Arkham series takes us back several years before the events of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. We are introduced to a young, and inexperienced Batman, scanning the streets of Gotham on Christmas Eve. The Black Mask has put out a bounty on the Dark Knight's head, and all the low-lifes from the pages of the DC Universe are Gotham bound to collect. 

Batman must now fight to outsmart and defeat the endless stream of thugs and elite assassins who are out to collect on his head, as well as the corrupt cops in the GCPD who are eager to kill him and sell his body to the highest bidder. At the same time, the world's greatest detective must discover why the Black Mask is out for his head, and prove to those cops who remain on the side of good, that he fights for them, and for Gotham City. 

The reigns for this latest installment of the Arkham franchise have been turned over to Warner Bros. Games Montreal. The new WB team takes over the mantle from Rocksteady after 2 highly successful efforts. While Rocksteady was involved with helping WBGM learn the engine that powers the free flowing fighting, dark and gritty environments and overall bad-assery that defines the Arkham series, and that we all have grown to love. Rocksteady has said that they have full faith in WBGM and are glad to see the new team make this latest game their own.

Pros and Cons to a Prequel

Of course with any new installment to a franchise, you have inherent cons. The biggest of which has to be the question, "Will the game live up to it's predecessors?" This is especially true here, as we are dealing with a complete changing of the guard as well. However, as we all saw when 343 Industries picked up the flag that is Halo from Bungie, that's not always a bad thing.

Right off the bat, there are some really great things that we can think of that will come from having an Arkham prequel. First, it opens the gates to introducing new characters, and adding some meat to those we already know. Allow me to explain what I mean. When we begin with Arkham Asylum, we are thrown into a world in which Batman has existed for some time. Through his experiences as Batman he has forged friendships and enemies, and we come into the story several steps behind the curve, and spend the rest of the game playing catch up, learning how these ties were formed. We have also been limited with who we are introduced to. The casual fan may only be familiar with the starting line-up of the Rogues Gallery. Therefore, we are limited to enemies like Poison Ivy, Bane, Harley Quinn and of course, The Joker. This is no longer the case.

Lt. Branden

The Black Mask

Deathstroke

With the franchise now taking a look backwards, we can now be introduced to great new characters and villians that otherwise might be excluded from the game. We can see Batman face off against such greats as The Black Mask and Deathstroke, and we can watch as these rivalries are formed in "real time" as we see them through the eyes of the Dark Knight himself. 

On that same line of thought, we can also delve deeper into how other relationships are formed. How the corruption of Commissioner Loeb and his right hand man, Lt. Branden, will lead to their downfall, opening the way for the one-and-only Commissioner Gordon. How bonds were formed, and enemies made can be better explained, and frankly, I couldn't be more excited to see how they do this, and how casual fans will react to the new faces that I've loved for so long!

What's New? The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

As with any new game or film in development, rumors run rampant. Batman: Arkham Origins is no exception. Here are some facts and rumors that have peaked our interest.

1. Fact: Prequel Brings Youth to Batman

                                                                                    

Fans will be introduced to a new, young, and vastly inexperienced Batman. While game developers ensure us this is not a "true origin" story, we are seeing Batman in his early years. With that comes some new struggles we'll have to face. In the other Arkham games, we play as a Batman who is a well oiled machine. Fighting abilities, detective skills, and strong moral code are all finely honed. In this new game...not so much. Developers tell us of a Batman who, "...is going to make mistakes, but never makes the same mistake twice". A scene from the demo shows Batman questioning a thug, and not knowing the limitations of mere mortals, takes things a bit too far. These are the "growing pains" that we will experience as we work through the game as this young Batman.

2. Rumored: What's in a Name...and for That Matter, a Voice?

Batman The Animated Series

Kevin Conroy

It is rumored that the great Kevin Conroy will not voice the Caped Crusader in WBGM's latest Arkham effort. Kevin Conroy gave voice to Batman in the amazing animated series of the early '90's, as well as in several animated films, and in the first two Arkham games, and the latest DC release Injustice: Gods Among Us. Rumors are flying that WBGM may not enlist the voice of Batman for this prequel, in an effort to depict a young, just starting out, Bruce Wayne. It is rumored that they will go with a new, no name, actor to voice the Knight in Origins.

3. Rumored: Why Fight AI, When You Can Fight Friends!

Game developers have hinted that there may be a multiplayer element to Batman: Arkham Origins. Not much is known about, a) whether or not this is true, or b) what a multiplay facet to the game will entail. However, leaks mention playing as some of Jokers thugs attempting to thwart the Dark Knight. Rumors about playable and customizable multiplayer characters such as Bane, Deathstroke, and others have also been heard from little birds. 

We'll see if any of this actually comes to fruition. However, even in rumor form, it's a bit exciting, and what a great way for Warner Bros. Games Montreal to step out of the shadow of Rocksteady.

Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this, and I hope it gets you as pumped as I am. Honestly, I can't wait to get on the Box and go to work in the actual streets of Gotham (this being the first game in the franchise that actually takes place in Gotham City) and own some new villians. Also, the idea of how incredible the game will look, with the grittiness and bleakness that is Batman/Gotham, set to a Christmas theme. Even in what we've seen in the screenshots, it looks amazing!

Definitely look out for this game, slated to hit shelves on October 25, 2013!

As always, send us your thoughts, let us know what you think, share your fears/concerns and or excitement with us! You can always comment here, or email us at pausedreviews@gmail.com, or message us on Facebook and Twitter. 

Thanks for reading!

- Franc

Silver Linings gets the Silver medal...at best

This movie is the definition of over-hyped. Let's just open with that. I was so excited to watch this movie, and honestly, I blame myself. I should've known better. The only movie to ever be this hyped, and live up to it, was The Dark Knight, and this is clearly not The Dark Knight.

As Pol would say, "give me the dessert first", so I'll start with the one, redeeming quality of this film, great acting. Everyone in this movie did an amazing job. Especially Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro. De Niro's role in this film was the one thing that was undersold. De Niro plays Cooper's father in the film who suffers from severe OCD with a dash of Bipolar. His character in the film has gone undiagnosed his whole life, and he plays it beautifully. You totally believe this man was high functioning enough that no one would have picked up on it, but at home, where he's totally himself, his mental issues are clear as day. So well done, and De Niro in a way you've never seen him before.

Jennifer Lawrence deserved every bit of that Oscar for her role as Tiffany, Pat's (Cooper) counterpart/love interest. She plays crazy like she wrote the book on crazy. Unlike her fellow female Oscar winner, Anne Hathaway, Lawrence truly deserved the win. Hathaway essentially won for being in Les Mis for 4 minutes and singing one great song. I'm pretty sure Adele had already taken home that award for her song, Skyfall. Lawrence on the other hand steals the screen for 2 hours and hits you on every level.

Finally, Bradley Cooper, also does an incredible job in this film. Like De Niro, he plays a character you've never seen him play before, and he sells it beautifully. He has a few moments that are just laugh out loud funny, and his dynamic with his "friend" played by Chris Tucker, really leaves you wishing that was a larger part of the film. Cooper really shows you his range in this one, and makes you believe in life after hangovers.

With that said, on to the not so good. While this movie was incredibly acted, literally everyone in the movie played the same role. It is 2 hours of watching 8-10 people in various rooms, being off their balls bonkers. It's funny at first, but very soon becomes tiresome, and annoying. The story never takes you very far, it's all very predictable, and as great as the characters can be at times, I never found myself relating to, or really feeling invested in any of them.

The movie also just seemed to drag on. Mainly because every scene was identical to the last. Personally, I found this film to be a disappointment, primarily due to how much everyone built it up. I'm not sure if XBox Video has a different cut of the film, but we must not have been watching the same movie.

I give this move a 6.25 on the Paul Bettany Scale, and every bit of that is thanks to De Niro and Lawrence. Personally, I would not have recommended this movie to anyone. By the end it leaves you feeling let down, and a bit crazy. Kind of like Requiem for a Dream did, except without the desire to jump off a bridge.

I say, don't waste your time on this one, do some pushups instead and watch a plant grow for 2 hours.

Let us know what you think, if you agree or disagree. We'd love to hear your thoughts. As always you can comment here, email us at pausedreviews@gmail.com, or message us on Facebook or Twitter.

Thanks for reading!

- Franc

Episode 4 is up and ready!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Episode 4, is now posted and ready for you on the podcast archive. I must apologize for a minor inconvenience however. As we are working to improve our site, it seems we are experiencing a problem with the audio player.

However, fear not. If you simply click on the download file link for today's episode, it will play in your browser. Or, as always, you can of course download it to play later on your favorite mobile devices.

Thank you for your patience as we work through all the bugs, but in the mean time, enjoy today's episode!

http://pausedreviews.weebly.com/podcast-archive.html

Thanks for listening!

- Franc, Pol and Dre

So Many Changes...So Little Time...

Hey all,
I just wanted to send out a quick post to let you all know the status of all the changes that are happening with us here at Paused!

So now that the big move is finally complete, you'll begin to see things that we have in the works, coming to fruition, to help make the blog and the podcasts easier to access, and more enjoyable. So, without further adieu, here is what you can look forward to in the months to come.

1. Shorter Episodes
We will be transitioning to shorter episodes, starting with this Wednesday's podcast. Essentially, we will no longer have a 1 hour "full episode". Instead, all of our episodes will be "MiniCast" length, roughly 20 - 25 minutes. We hope this will result in better quality shows, that will also be easier to listen to on the go. We know that not everyone has time to sit and listen to a show for an hour, so you've spoken, we've listened.

2. New Website
We will be working hard over the next few months to totally revamp our site. We will go with a lighter look so that reading our blog posts is easy and eye friendly. We will also be adding in images, contest news, videos, and more to make the site more engaging and entertaining, since after all, entertainment is what we are all about!

3. Consolidation
It can be a huge pain to have to go to a million sites to follow your favoritest movie/game reviewers. So, we will be combining the blog and the site (including the Podcast Archive) to one all-inclusive, easy to navigate website! This is one of our top priorities, so we hope to launch this in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

4. iTunes
As we have mentioned before, we are working towards being hosted on iTunes shortly. With the new changes to the site and everything else, this will be put on hold for just a few more weeks. Once we get the sites consolidated, we will then continue with getting us up on iTunes. Then, you'll be able to subscribe easily so all our latest episodes will download automatically into your library for easy and seamless transfer onto all your mobile devices!

All of this is really exciting for us here and Paused! and we hope you're excited too. Our goal is to provide you with news and reviews of movies and games, however, it is first and foremost to entertain you, our fans! You are why we do this, so please don't ever hesitate to shoot us an email, or a message, or a carrier lion, letting us know how we can better do that. We are all ears!

Thanks for listening, and we will of course keep you posted on our progress, and let you know as things happen.

- Franc

New Release Tuesday! 4/30/13

Well Ladies and Gents, it's that time again, New Release Tuesday!

Here is what releases today on DVD and Bluray and their IMDB ratings:

• Silver Linings Playbook (8.0)
• Broken City (6.1)
• The Details (6.1)
• The Guilt Trip (5.6)
• Not Fade Away (5.9)
• The Wicked (3.5)

Today seems to be a pretty strong day for new releases. There are a few in this class that I am actually pretty excited to see. 

Of course, we will be taking a look at Silver Linings Playbook. With all the buzz around this film, and all the oscar recognition, this is one you clearly need to check out. At the very least, to see if all the talk is legit, or simply just talk. I'm sure Pol wont fight me on this one, as he and J-Law have a long running, top secret love affair. It is so secret in fact, that not even Jennifer knows anything about it. I'll probably take some time later today to check this one out, so keep eyes out for my blog post about this one.

Broken City is another one that had peaked my interest. Classic plot line, of corrupt/dangerous/power crazed politician meets bad-ass/renegade cop/horrible actor Mark Wahlberg. This one at least seems to be Mark doing what he does best, very little talking, lots of threatening, and then, following up on those threats in a glorious and biblical fashion. Oh, and fun bit of trivia for you, Wahlberg (who I believe is the producer on this one) actually offered the role to Michael Fassbender (300, X-Men: First Class, Inglorious Basterds) but he turned it down, forcing Wahlberg to play the part himself. While I do love Fassbender in pretty much anything he does, I think this worked out for the best, as this is Wahlberg's bread and butter kind of role.

The rest are ones that seem interesting enough, and I may take a look at if I have time later in the week, with the exception of The Wicked, that just looks terrible. However, The Details, looks like a star-studded cast with potential. The Guilt Trip is another that could go either way. Seth Rogen seems to be just hit or miss, and when he misses, he misses huge. He's basically the Tony Romo of cinema, but unlike Romo or the cowboys, it makes be a little sad when he just takes a giant Green Hornet-esque dump in a movie, since I do actually like the guy. 

Anyways, as always, let us know what you think, if you've seen these films, give us your thoughts. You can reach us on Facebook and Twitter, you can comment here, or of course, email us at pausedreviews@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy this week's releases!

- Franc

"Dear Lord, please let me live until June 14th..."

This has been my prayer these past few nights, and now, after having watched the new trailer for Man of Steel, I will continue this prayer with renewed vigor.

There are few movies, nay, few things in my life as a whole, that I have looked forward to more than the release of this film. I dare you, our fans and loyal readers, to name any movie, ever, that has been more highly anticipated, more built up, or has set the bar of expectation so high.

This trailer certainly doesn't help. This film will go down as one of the greatest cinematic achievements of all time, or will be remembered as the greatest disappointment in movie history. With a cast like this, and a trailer that provides a glimpse of beautiful cinematography, incredible acting, and a perfectly sculpted script, no film has ever had so much to deliver.

Check out the new trailer here, and I dare you to tell me I'm wrong.

I will be there on opening night, fighting the traffic and the crowds, with pregnant wife in tow. I hope and pray that years from now, when I watch it with my soon-to-be born son, I can turn to him and say, "Gabriel, my darling son and heir to my name...you were there, you were there."

I will end with this final thought. Though I am probably the biggest Batman fan you will ever meet, I have been adamantly opposed to the idea of a Justice League run of films. However, if DC can pull off this film, with Bale and company willing and able to join Cavil, I am open to seeing where they can take it.

Of course, we'll have to see how they can handle of few of the other "questionable" members of the League and their films. However, a door that was locked and sealed in my eyes, would now have a peep hole where we can see what might come knocking.

Anyways, check it out, share your thoughts in comments here, or by email, or on our Facebook page.

New Release Tuesday 4/16/13...on Wednesday...oops

Hi everyone,

So sorry that I am a day late with this post, but here are this week's new DVD/Bluray releases!

Honestly, I can keep this one very, very short. Go out today, if you haven't already, and buy Django Unchained. It is incredible and another slam dunk for Quentin Tarantino. Waltz, Foxx and DiCaprio are amazing in this film. Go out, buy it, you won't regret it.

I haven't seen the others, and don't really have any desire to, so again, buy these at your own risk.

Happy new release Wednesday to all, and I promise I'll get this post out on time next week. lol


- Franc

This month's MiniCast is up!

Hey kids,

That time has come. It's the third Wednesday of the month, and you all know what that means...it's MiniCast day!

This month's MiniCast is all about the cinema of the far east. We give you our top picks for Anime, TV and Film. Give it a listen, then give them a watch and let us know what you think.

You can stream or download this and all of our episodes from our Podcast Archive.

Also, let us know if you agree or disagree with our picks, or if you have favorites of your own you'd like to share, we are always eager for new recommendations and would love to take a look at some of your favorites!

As always you can reach us by Email, Facebook, and Twitter. Or simply shoot us a comment on our post.

Thanks so much for listening, and keep an eye out for more great posts, contests, and next month's full episode coming soon!


- Franc, Pol and Dre

Don't Mess with The Best

Hey Everyone hope you are all doing well, because I am fantastic after having watched Olympus has Fallen. This film nails it, and the action speaks louder than words. Do yourself a favor, watch it, its that simple.

Olympus has Fallen brings an interesting perspective towards real events that are occurring around the world. If you don't know, I'm talking about North Korea. The baddies in this film are North Koreans, which is different because its usually the Russians, or some extremist group from the Middle East who want to put a damper in the United States daily routine of being awesome.

Secondly, the plot makes you think; could this really happen? Could these movie scenes really occur in the Nation's Capital. If you have seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about. Just the way things were planned throughout the movie brings you to the realization that maybe this could happen. What can we do to stop these things from happening? Apparently the answer is simply, Gerald Butler.

Thirdly, as I mentioned before, the action is just fantastic. Its just like the movie, "Taken", no nonsense or silly questions being asked. Things just become dead. Their are scenes in this movie that make you cringe and applaud Gerald Butler in what he does best, looking like a bad ass and destroying people. While the film is mostly all action, the writers/director did a nice job inserting some great moments that really help to humanize the characters, to keep them relatable.

This movie does an amazing job of showing that the United States does not bend for anyone. We are fighters, from the secret service men/women, to our soldiers, all the way to the Secretary of Defense. We do not give up; we will fight to the end and will find a way to win. This film will leave you with a pride for our great nation, that frankly, I didn't expect to get out of an action film.

So with that, remember, "Friends don't let friends watch G.I. Joe: Retalliation". Be a good friend, go out and watch, Olympus has Fallen, I promise you won't regret it.

If you have any comments you can reach us at our Email, or hit us up on Facebook. Franc, Pol and I would like to hear your thoughts on this movie.

This is Dre, saying.....U.S.A! U.S.A! U.S.A!

Is this the end, or the beginning? Xbox reveal date pushed back to May.

Check out the article from Metro here

Xbox announces that they are pushing back the big reveal of their next gen console to May 21, 2013. This is nearly a full month later than the original reveal date originally slated for later this month. They haven't given a reason for this delay, and frankly, I don't really care. What I do care about however, is some of the rumored changes coming down the pipe for the Microsoft answer to Sony's call.

First, it has been said that the new console will not be backwards compatible with the Xbox 360. Wait...what?! This is a huge let down if it turns out to be the case. Being able to trade in the older model, and still be able to play your favorite titles on the next gen has always been a huge selling point for Microsoft in the war against PlayStation. I can only imagine they will give the same reasoning as Sony did, that the tech will be far more advanced in the new gen, so it cannot play the old tech games.

This is absurd to me. I am a graphic designer by trade. You're telling me that Adobe Systems can figure out a way to release new, and more advanced design software every few years, that I can still use to open and manipulate files created in older versions, but I can't play 360 games on the next Box? You're saying that I can buy a Bluray player, and still watch DVD's on it in upscaled quality, but I can't play Halo 4 on the next Box?

This reasoning didn't sell me when Sony pitched it a few weeks ago, and it certainly won't fly with you Microsoft! Their answer to this problem is that they are releasing a $99 version of the 360 so you can use it to continue to play your favorite games. Hahahahaha. I have seen some insane ideas when it comes to milking people out of every drop of cash, I mean, I do live in the age of Apple. But really? Can you imagine if Apple said that "the iPhone 5 isn't going to be compatible with iTunes, but don't worry, we'll be releasing a $99 iPod that you can use to listen to all your music." Even they aren't this ridiculous. You better get it together Microsoft, and fast!

If all this wasn't enough, this whole rumored "Always On, Always Connected" design for the new console has also raised the price tag up to a nice round $500. But again, don't worry, they'll still be releasing a $300 model, as long as you fork over the cash for a subscription. Honestly, I don't know what's going on over there in Xbox land, but I don't like it. I understand that this is simply falling in line with the mark that the PlayStation 4 has already set. But since when does that make it ok? Xbox, you always stood apart, why stop now. I'd love for you to get rid of the whole Xbox Live subscription, but why does that have to raise the cost? It didn't for Sony. And yes, by all means, up the tech and make the new games look incredible, but why does that mean I can't play old games?

We are the nation that put a man on the moon, that defeated evil in not one, but two World Wars, we told England to taste it and owned the then greatest military power with squirrel guns and sticks, and you are telling me, that we can do all this, but I have to play games on 2 different consoles? And to do that I have to shell out $500 bones for the new and another $100 for the old? What war did we loose America?

I have been a loyal Xbox man since the first gen console met Halo, please, show me what my loyalty has bought me, don't screw us now.

Send us your thoughts to our email, message us on Facebook, or comment here. We'd love to know what you, our fans, think of all this.


-Franc

New Release Tuesday is hours away! 4/9/13

Hey there all,

Tomorrow is usually the second greatest day of the week...New Release Tuesday! Not so much this week however. Here is a look at what's coming out tomorrow, I'll give you a hint...nothing...nothing is coming out tomorrow.

This week, like the rest of April, will be a doo-doo week for new releases. However, don't let that discourage you too much, because the second half has some gems to deliver yet, but I digress. Here is a list of what is coming out this week:

• Hyde Park on Hudson
• The Sorcerer and the White Snake
• Bad Kids go to Hell
• Late Bloomers
• The Kitchen
• Boss: Season 2
• Merlin: The Complete Fifth Season

The only one of these lumps of coal that I've seen is, Bad Kids go to Hell. My brother and I were up one night and looking for something to watch. As you all know, horror is our hands-down favorite genre. So as we were cycling through the offerings on XBox Video, we stumbled across this. We had never seen it, and it was obviously a "D" movie at best, but we were in the mood for something campy and fun. Had I known what I was about to bear witness to, I would have literally done anything else.

Please, I implore you, do not watch this film. Shaving yourself from head to toe, then covering your entire, newly shaved body in chunky peanut butter (which ever brand you prefer), then dressing yourself as pirate and jumping into a large aquarium while listening to Meatloaf's "I Would Do Anything" would be a far better use of your time.

I would not dare to insult Paul Bettany or Scott Stewart by even giving this movie a rating on their scale. If you were in this movie, or had anything to do with it's making, you should be ashamed of yourself, and I hope you live forever with this guilt.

As for the other releases this month, none really sound very interesting or appealing, so I won't be watching any of them. If you choose to however, just know that you do so at your own risk.

Stay tuned however, as I said before, next week we begin to see light at the end of the tunnel of the crapfest that has been April's movie releases.

Thanks for reading!

- Franc

Episode 3: The Games Episode, is up and ready!

Hey there loyal listeners,

Our next episode, "The Games Episode", is posted and ready to satisfy your Paused! craving.

Click Here to get to our Podcast Archive or use the link in the side bar to the right.

Hope you like it, and be thinking about this month's question!


- Franc, Pol and Dre

MiniCast 3: Remakes, Up and Ready!

Hey there listeners!

Our third MiniCast is posted and ready to satisfy your auditory needs! This month's MiniCast ran a bit long, but look at it this way, you basically get a bonus full episode!

Listen here:
http://pausedreviews.weebly.com/

Remember to send us your answers to our questions:

Which of your favorite, classic movies would you like to see remade?

Who would you want to see star in it?

We'll read our favorites on next month's podcast episode. The names of everyone who responds, will be entered into our prize raffle. We'll draw a name at the end of the episode, and that lucky listener, gets a prize from your friends here at Paused!

You have to submit, to win, so send us your responses to our email, or message us on Facebook or through the Podcast Archive.

Thanks for listening, and enjoy the episode!

- Franc, Pol and Dre

Food for Thought: Where Have All the Writers Gone?

Hello my friends of the interwebs,

So there I was, doing a little research for our next MiniCast, looking up movie info and such. Then, all of a sudden, I saw it. I went through your classic signs of loss and mourning, sadness, anger, denial, then anger again, that slowly, yet steadily built to a fiery rage. As I stared at my screen I asked myself, "how can this be?", "who is responsible for this?" and of course a simple, "why...why" as a single tear fell down my cheek.

What, you ask, could be the cause of such masculine and primal emotions? By all means see for yourselves. I give you the films releasing in the year 2013:

• G.I. Joe: Retaliation
• Scary Movie 5
• Iron Man 3
• Star Trek Into Darkness
• Fast & The Furious 6
• The Hangover Part III
• Monsters University
• Kick-Ass 2
• Despicable Me 2
• Grown Ups 2
• The Wolverine
• The Smurfs 2
• Red 2
• 300: Rise of an Empire
• Percy Jackson: Sea Monsters
• Insidious Chapter 2
• Riddick
• Machete Kills
• Thor: The Dark World
• Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
• Paranormal Activity V
• The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
• Anchorman 2
• Carrie
• The Lone Ranger
• Man of Steel
• The Great Gatsby
• Great Expectations
• Evil Dead
• Robocop

Can you see the pattern? Literally every movie releasing this year is either a sequel, or a remake. Now I agree, there are a handful on this list that even I am excited about. I am not trying to imply that remakes or even sequels are, generally speaking, evil. However, to have so many in a calendar year is simply unacceptable.

If we think about it, who is really to blame? The studios, the apparently absent and unoriginal writers, Andreas Music? Surprisingly enough, none of the above. After mulling this around in my mind grapes for a while I realized, it was me. I was to blame. I am the one who year in and year out not only stands for more sequels and remakes, but pays to see them, and my dear friends, I am ashamed. So I stand before you now, and proudly say,

"Hello, my name is Franc, and I am a sequelholic!"

Join me wont you? Don't just sit there quietly while the studios cash their checks, laughing all the way, because they just made bank feeding you yet another Scary Movie when we all know those haven't been remotely entertaining since the first. I mean, how did we get 5 of these?

Again, I don't want to preach against sequels or remakes as a whole. I mean, if we had given up on Rocky after the producers crapped Mr. T out into our cereal, we would never have gotten to see Rocky IV. Without sequels, The Dark Knight trilogy never happens, and I die sad and enraged that a truly epic Batman franchise never saw the light of day. Without remakes, we are all robbed of such gems as Let Me In, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Dredd, and Star Trek. 

All I ask, is let's not just lemming our way into the theater because some studio flashes a familiar face we once loved on the screen. Yes, I loved Gladiator and it made gajillions of dollars when it came out. But should we soil it's memory with some retelling or forced remake? The answer is no.

So this summer, go see the ones you truly want to see, because you can't live without it. Leave the rest be. Let's show these studios that we wont follow blindly, but instead force them to entertain us with new stories, new characters and new ideas. Let's bring originality back to the silver screen, cause from where I'm sitting, it's not looking so silver anymore, it's looking a solid French-Canadian bronze at best.

End Game - Final Battlefield 3 DLC

I Ride on Two Wheels, Do You?

Battlefield 3 is coming out with their final DLC, "End Game" on March 12, 2013. If, and only if you are a Premium member. For those who are not don't worry its still going to come out two weeks later for you. No biggie ( you just made a grave mistake not being a Premium Member...shame on you)

Anyways, "End Game" will bring 4 new maps to Battlefield 3. That brings the total to approximately 10 playable maps. The download will also allow you to use two new vehicles, the motorcycle and a mobile anti-air humvee. Plus you will have two new types of game modes. 1) Capture the flag and 2) Air Superiority, which is just air-to-air combat; no other vehicles, just airplanes. Finally, you will also get to earn new dog tags and camo for your soldier.

Unfortunately, you only get one new weapon. Don't want to ruin it. So you are just going to have to play "End Game" when it comes out March 12 (or two weeks later, if you're not awesome).

Let me know what you think. My gamertag is GERMAN328, on the xbox360, message me if you want to play.

As always, email us and check us out on Facebook.

See you on the battlefield.

-Dre

New Release Tuesday! 3/12/13

New Release Tuesday is back on the blog!

We are so sorry that our posts have fallen by the wayside, however, we are here to assure you that they are back, and better than ever! Starting first, with new releases this week.

Tomorrow is actually a fairly big day for DVD/Blu-Ray, with big blockbuster heavy hitters like Life of Pi, Hitchcock, and Rise of the Guardians.

While I haven't seen any of these titles yet, I know my wife has been hounding me to watch Life of Pi with her, so we'll be sitting down to watch that one in the next day or two. It's being billed as the next Avatar and is apparently supposed to be pretty amazing, and visually stunning. I'll have to do a blog review of this one for you guys after I watch it this week. So look out for that.

Next is Hitchcock. Again, while I haven't seen it, it is my understanding that this movie focuses on the relationship between Alfred Hitchcock and his wife, during the making of Psycho. Apparently she had a pretty important role in how the film was written and visualized. I'll probably rent this one and check it out before committing to the purchase, as I've heard mixed reviews. However, anything with Helen Mirren and Anthony Hopkins, you know it's just got to be good.

Rounding out the top releases this week are Rise of the Guardians and Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Apart. The first, is the latest release from Dreamworks. A nice family film, just in time for Easter. Finally, the Cirque movie. I'm actually secretly excited for this one. I went to see Cirque live several years ago, and I was in total awe. I'm curious to see how it translates to the screen. While I am sure it can not even come close to comparing to the live events, amazing is amazing, so we'll see.

Finally, as always, I leave you with the complete list of all the other titles releasing this week. Thanks for reading, and be sure to email us, or shoot us a message on Facebook letting us know if you've seen any of these flicks and what your thoughts were, we'd love to share them on our podcasts!


- Franc


Other Releases for 3/12/13

• Smashed
• Sound City
• This Must be the Place
• Kumare
• You've Been Trumped
• The First Time
• Grave Encounters 2
• In Their Skin
• Storage 24
• Law & Order: Criminal Intent: The Final Year
• The Mob Doctor: The Complete Series

Heart of the Swarm!!

We are 5 short days away people from the release of the game that will change history as we know it.

Am I going a little bit too far in saying that?

Nope!

Looks like Los Angeles is already hit by the Zerg!!!

Episode 2 has arrived!

Hello all!

Yes it's true, the day has come. Our second, full episode is up and ready for your eager ear holes!

This month we dive into our top 5 horror movies of all time, and we wrap up Dead Space 3. Oh, and as always, The Wrap Up, where we discuss listener suggestions and upcoming events and releases.

You can get to our Podcast Archive here, or by using the link to the right.

Thank you all for listening, and keep an eye out for some great blog posts coming up this month, as well as more MiniCasts!

Stay tuned.

Franc, Pol and Dre

MiniCast 2: Friday Night at the Movies - Snitch/Dark Skies

Hey folks, our next MiniCast is up and ready for your ears! This past Friday, the three of us went to see Snitch and Dark Skies on opening night. Check out the MiniCast to hear our thoughts on the films, and if they are worth your time and money.

Check out the episode here:

http://pausedreviews.weebly.com/

Or use the link to the right.

Let us know what you think on Facebook, via email, or by messaging us through the contact page on our Podcast Archive.

Thanks for listening, and we hope you enjoy the podcast!

Franc, Pol and Dre

First MiniCast Episode! Entitled, France

Hey there fans and loyal listeners!

Check out our first MiniCast, entitled France. You can listen/download the episode on the Podcast Archive.

Just in case, the link is:

http://pausedreviews.weebly.com/

Hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed recording!

- Franc


P.S. Here are the showtimes:

Friday, February 22nd @ Worldgate 9 Theater in Herndon, VA

Snitch: 5:10pm
Dark Skies: 9:50pm

And yes, if you join us and are the first to call out our names, you will win the prize mentioned in the MiniCast! Hope to see you there!

An Epic Ending

 

Let me start off by saying three words...We Want More! Seriously, if the game developers are reading this post. My hat, my kidney (only need one to live, its a fact) goes to you. Dead Space 3 is amazing. Yes, I was scared. Yes, I had nightmares. Yes, I screamed. But if that doesn't give you the excitement to finish a level and try to find out what's ahead than it just shouldn't be created.

This game just engulfs you in, spits you out and begs you for more. Gaming wise three key items you will need; A) alot of ammo, B) alot of med kits and finally C) a very powerful gun. Just upgrade everything about it. Because you will need, oh yes you will.You think you safe in a 3 x 3 closet. No, its a lie things just come out of nowhere and you stomp, shoot, and stomp some more. Like I said before the stomping never gets old. You will also need some hot/ice packs for your left pointer finger. You will need that flashlight, you will use that flashlight and you will thank that oh bright flashlight.

Most games that have came out since 2012 have had two discs, right? One for multiplayer and one for updates and/or campaign, whoopie. Well Dead Space 3 does come with two discs, but it is ALL campaign. The story line is ridiculous, challenging and fun. At one point I just wanted to find things to shoot because it was so much fun. But with two campaign discs you will spend more than ten hours of game play.

But back to the game play, its not a button smasher game. Like Dante's Inferno or a fast paced third person shooter like Gears of War. Dead Space 3 urges you to take your time. You want to take things slow when approaching corners and long hallways. Within the game their will be puzzles, codes that will take time to solve; if you've played Batman: Arkham Asylum or Arkham city you know what I'm talking about. But that just adds more to excitement. To compare its being in those Nicholas Cage National Treasure movies where, you are given clues and you have to solve them to solve the riddle. Within the game you can always change out your gun or customize it. If you find enough spare parts you can buy a gun, but it will take time.

The story line picks off right from Dead Space 2. If you haven't played Dead Space or Dead Space 2 don't worry the game developers will bring you up to speed. If you are worried about not reaching the checkpoint(s). You can save at any point you wish and start from there when you load your game.As Pol mentioned the world the game developers created is just fantastic and the game does give you a sense of awareness of "being out there".

If you wear a headset, don't. You just hear things you wish you hadn't heard. The "creatures" move around in the game and pop out of nowhere. Also, don't adjust the brightness of the game it will ruin most of the "surprises" that the game offers and lay await.

I haven't yet played the co-op campaign. But I can say and be assured that if co-op is the same as single player campaign than it will be epic.For my review, I give this game a 9 out 10. Its exciting, challenging, interacting and you just don't get bored of playing it. The best part is that their is more smashing.

So, gamers let PausedReviews know what you like and dislike about Dead Space 3. You can email us at PausedReviews@gmail.com, like us on Facebook at PausedReviews or send us some tweets on twitter.

Either way PausedReviews and myself appreciate you for reading and following along.

Thanks for reading.

-Dre