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