20 Movie Challenge - Day 8

I love taking part in a 'tweet challenge' over on Twitter! Here's what I have been taking part in:

20 films that had an impact on you, for the next 20 days. Only post a pic. No film title or comment. #20MovieChallenge

Keep checking back to see all 20 of my choices, right here on the blog!

Day 8 

The Saddest Songs in Disney & Pixar Movies

Disney and Pixar are known for their emotional moments in film, and often these moments are connected by a song. Fresh off the heels of Coco's Best Original Song Oscar win for 'Remember Me', it got me thinking about the saddest songs in Disney and Pixar films, so join me as I count down what, in my opinion, are the saddest, sweetest musical moments.

'Remember Me': Coco

This song had me bawling my eyes out in the cinema. Remember Me crops up several times in Coco, but it's the final version sung by Miguel and his grandmother in the movie that got myself, and practically everyone else in the cinema, shedding a tear. 

Coco is a film that resonates with so many of us. It introduces children to the idea of love, loss, and the concept of death in such a heartwarming, appropriate way.

Metal Gear Solid Movie Announced

Metal Gear Solid will be getting a film, it has been revealed.

Announced at the 25th Metal Gear anniversary celebration, the film will be released by Columbia/Sony Pictures. Avi Arad will also be reportedly producing the film, who some of you may remember as the producer of Spider-man, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk.

No further details have been released as of yet, although apparently the film will be very close to the games.

How do you feel about this news? Voice your opinions in the comments section!

Question/Answer Time!: No.1

I've decided to start a new post every Monday where I ask you, my readers, a question. The idea is to generate a bit of a conversation in the comment section between all of you. Feel free to give this first one an answer!

Question

Uncharted is currently in production for the big screen. What game would you like to see as a film next?

Leave your answers in the comment section below, and check back next Monday for another question!

Need For Speed Film In The Works

Move over The Fast and the Furious...there's a contender on it's way. Dreamworks Studios have acquired the film rights for EA's racing franchise, Need for Speed. 


Director Scott Waugh is rumoured to be in talks about the film, whilst George and John Gatins are penning the script. According to the press release, the film will be "rooted in tradition of the great car culture films of the 70s while being extremely faithful to the spirit of the video game franchise."


The film starts shooting early next year, and is due for a release sometime in 2014. Now we all know how video game to film adaptations can be pretty rubbish (I'm looking at YOU Resident Evil, House of the Dead, and so on...) but could this break the mould? Only time will tell I guess.

Watch The Wreck-It Ralph Trailer!

Many of you have probably already seen this by now, but if you've got a spare few minutes, then definitely check out the trailer for Disney's Wreck-It Ralph. 


Wreck-It Ralph tells the story Ralph, a Donkey Kong style game character that gets fed up of playing through the same game for the past 30 years. Soon enough he is jumping through a number of games, and meeting plenty of familiar game faces along the way. 


Check out the trailer below. You'll notice several familiar characters, including Bowser from Super Mario, Zangief from Street Fighter, and Clyde from Pac-Man amongst others. There's also some witty nods towards characters, such as a Samus style space chick voiced by Glee's Jane Lynch. 


Wreck-It Ralph will be released on the 15th February 2013. 

Bowser, Dr. Eggman & Zangief Feature in Disney Movie

Screens have emerged on the internet from the latest animated Disney film, Wreck-It-Ralph that show Bowser, Zangief and Dr. Eggman will make an appearance in the film.


Wreck-It-Ralph is about a video game villain who releases an enemy from a first person shooter. You can check out the screens below, which were provided by My Nintendo News. 

Review: The King of Kong

Having previously seen Chasing Ghosts, a documentary about a group of gamers who have broken video game records, I finally got to check out The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters today. I thank my month's trial of Netflix on my Xbox 360 for that one. Anyway, on to the review.

Seth Gordon's documentary The King of Kong follows Steve Wiebe, a family man who becomes addicted to the idea of breaking the world record for the arcade classic, Donkey Kong. Billy Mitchell has held the world record for over 20 years, and the film covers Steve's attempts to make it to number one. The idea of watching others play video games may seem boring for some, but The King of Kong manages to convey the competitive side of it, rather interestingly too. 


Not only does The King of Kong follow the exploits of Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe, arguably the two best Donkey Kong players in America, but it also focuses on the Twin Galaxies organisation and those associated with it. For those unaware, the film quickly establishes that Twin Galaxies is the organisation that serves as the official referee and scorekeeper in the gaming world.


The film touches on how this seemingly innocent passion for gaming can quickly turn into an unhealthy obsession, which the two main competitors, Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe, both suffer from (Mitchell on a much larger scale than Wiebe).

The film begins with the introduction of Steve Wiebe. Judging from brief facts about his past, Wiebe is a rather talented man who cannot handle his failure to succeed within his own personal ambitions. Finding himself unemployed suddenly, Wiebe is left with a great deal of free time, which he spent earning his Donkey Kong record from his garage. 


Mitchell, being the egotistical man that he is painted to be, of course isn't happy that he's been replaced as the Donkey Kong poster boy after more than two decades, so a bit of controversy ensues over Wiebe's home-set record, and Wiebe is then challenged to embark on a 3,000 mile journey to re-claim his title on a public machine. 


Whether the claims that Mitchell's part in this documentary has been heavily edited or not is not that important. What we do gather from watching The King of Kong, if you are inclined to believe this depiction (which, gathered from Chasing Ghosts, I am) is that Mitchell is not only a egotistical, overly competitive and snide man, but he's also a bit of a coward. It is rather frustrating seeing Mitchell refuse a live Donkey Kong showdown against Wiebe every time, until eventually, we end the film on the realisation that such a showdown will never materialise. Mitchell shows his cowardice by contradicting his claim that records can only be genuinely accepted "live" in a public setting by failing to show up to Funspot, and submitting a dodgy copy of his score set at home. After slating Wiebe for setting a record at home, then going ahead and doing this himself, it just seems a little hard to actually like this man.

Perhaps just as odious as Mitchell is his right hand man, and phone-spy, the weedy Brian Kuh, who rather blatantly shows his dislike of Steve Wiebe and his record breaking ambition in a pathetic, "sore loser" fashion. 


Not only does the film show the frustrating but fascinating look at the competitive American wannabe gaming record breakers, but it also fraught with some moments of high-strung tension. The prime example of this would be the moment when Wiebe and Mitchell finally meet, after Mitchell finally makes an appearance at Funspot (and no, he doesn't play whilst he's there either). It's an awkward moment where Mitchell refuses to acknowledge that Wiebe is even there, but tries to distract him from his session. The scene is brief, ending with Mitchell sneaking away without uttering even a simple "hello" to his rival.


The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is an insightful and engrossing look into the competitive world of gaming. Seth Gordon has successfully portrayed Wiebe as a down-on-his luck family man who you cannot help but root for right until the ending. On the opposite end, Gordon has presented us with Mitchell, who, you guessed it, we can't help but dislike. It's a great battle between good and bad, which will hold the attention of even those who do not dabble in video gaming. In short, it's an underdog story, and a damn good one at that. 

Beauty & the Beast Handheld Game (1991)

I remember much of my years spent in Primary School playing through countless Tiger Electronic Handheld games with friends. Whether it be peering over the shoulder of a friend as they frantically button bash, or have a crowd of kids peering over my shoulders as I make my way through a (most of the time) Disney adventure.


Sharing this memory has reminded me of Beauty & The Beast, the Tiger Electronic LCD game based on the Disney film of the same name. Released in 1991, this handheld is a brief game that sees players sneaking Belle into the Beast's castle (whilst dodging out of the way of the Beast whenever he made a sudden appearance).

At the time I thought this game was amazing (in hindsight I imagine this was mainly due to my obsession with the film rather than the game itself). I recall the music, the beeping sound effects whenever the Beast makes an appearance, and the black and white characters that remained faithful to those in the film.


Yes, the game play is repetitive. After all, the majority of the game involves guiding Belle left and right down a series of paths (whilst pressing the dodge button when the Beast comes a-prowling), but there is a certain amount of charm brought to the proceedings. Whilst the graphics are very basic, with just the odd piece of scenery highlighted here and there (this is an LCD game remember), the characters presented in this handheld game look exactly like the characters in the Disney animation, and the settings are also familiar. 

The game play slightly changes at the end when (spoilers ahead!) we play as the Beast. As the Beast, players will get to repeatedly press the "magic" button to defeat the antagonist, Gaston. Believe me, this hurts your hand by the end, and is the only challenging part of the entire game. If your fingers start to tire, and you slow the pace, Beast inevitably dies, leaving a short animation of Gaston claiming Belle as his wife, whilst the Beast depressingly lies at their feet. I remember finding this part incredibly intense as a child, as the speed in which you have to press the magic button is very fast. Or perhaps it wasn't that fast, and it was just how I remember it as a child...


Whilst this may not be the most amazing game in the world, Beauty & The Beast by Tiger Electronics is a somewhat faithful adaptation of some of the scenes in the Disney animated film. However, as it is so brief, we unfortunately miss key scenes, such as the spectacular "Be Our Guest" number with the enchanted teapots, pans and a whole host of other items.


There is no denying that the game was clearly aimed at girls. The pink and purple colouring of the plastic outer-casing confirms this already, but the advertising at the time only further proved this:

Like them or loathe them, there is no denying that so many people have fond memories of these LCD handheld games by Tiger Electronics. Me included. 

Ace Attorney Film Trailer Released

Another video game to film adaptation is on it's way. This time around, it's Nintendo's popular hand-held courtroom-based Ace Attorney series. 


The film is based on the first game in the series- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, and places the cartoon game characters into a feature length, live-action format. Whilst there is no translation provided on the trailer, it's clear to see that the characters crazy hairdos are present. Phoenix Wright's nemesis Miles Edgeworth wins the best hair award here.


The film will be released in Japan on the 11th February. There has been no word on whether this will gain a western translation though as of yet.

What do you think of the trailer? Would you like to see the Ace Attorney film translated? Leave your comments below!

Assassins Creed Film & Ezio in Soul Calibur!

Today is a great day in news terms for Assassins Creed fans. 


Assassins Creed: The Movie?

The popular series, which sees fans playing as either assassins Altair or Ezio has constantly been met with plenty of critical praise. Sales have been high on each format the games have been released to, so it was only a matter of time before an Assassins Creed film was in the works.


Xbox360 Achievements reported that Sony Pictures have acquired the rights to create films based upon Ubisoft's Assassins Creed series. Thankfully, Ubisoft have decided to create the film themselves, with Sony Pictures only handling the production and distribution on Assassins Creed.


A Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell film are also reportedly in the making, under the helm of Ubisoft once again. No more details have been confirmed on the film as of yet, but this announcement proves for exciting news nonetheless. Let's just hope it does not fall into the trap of becoming a bad video game to film adaptation, like so many before it.

Ezio Confirmed in Soul Calibur V


It may have been rumoured a few days ago, but Namco Bandai and Ubisoft have officially confirmed that Ezio, the protagonist from Assassins Creed II onwards will be making a guest appearance in the upcoming Soul Calibur V.


Fans will be able to see Ezio weld his famous hidden blade, Roman Longsword, Stiletto, crossbow and hidden gun in combat against a whole host of Soul Calibur characters. 


 "The entrance of Assassins Creed into the Soul Calibur universe is a historic meeting of two of the most revered and influential game series," says Olivier Comte, Senior VP at Namco Bandai (via Xbox360 Achievements).

Via Xbox360 Achievements.org

A trailer announcing Ezio's appearance has been released, which you can watch below.

Soul Calibur V will be released in Europe on the 3rd February 2012.