Originally a blog encompassing a variety of media types such as music, animation, and web culture, there is now a renewed focus on video games. The team has expanded beyond just myself and includes passionate gamers and media connoisseurs that will cover console, PC, Mac, and mobile gaming. You will still see other media articles from time to time, but media spec will be the place for getting your video game fix both current and classic.
Expect some growing pains along the way as we work out all the kinks, but look forward to some exciting times ahead. Expect to see some introductory posts from the other media spec members sometime soon as we get this ball rolling.
You may have noticed a lack of posts in the last month or so. I have been re-evaluating the blog and my overall intentions and goals for it. In attempts to get media spec more focused, content will shift towards video game content and away from other topics. All previous posts in music, animation, or other general topics will still be available, but video games will be the main theme. Topics will cover both PC and console gaming, including all major consoles and handhelds. The current layout is a temporary transitional look until the blog is fully relaunched.
If you want to contribute to the blog with your general ideas, improved layout, or become a contributing writer, e-mail me at redskyy@mediaspecblog.com vocalizing your interest and what you can bring to the site. I hope to have the new media spec up by the new year, so keep a look out.
Cheers, Redskyy
UPDATE (12/13/08): The relaunch of media spec is still on target for January 2009 with a new expanded writing team and tons of exciting new content. Please pardon our dust as the layout is getting ironed out in preparation. Watch this space for more details!
The release of Dragonball is still about five months away, but the hype and criticism continues to mount. After the promotional trailer was leaked, it was received with mixed reviews. The highly touted special effects have yet to be added to the trailer or movie, but it looks like they are already scheduling for additional filming. They have been scouting for males between the ages of 20-70 and fluent in Nepalese or Tibetan. The official trailer has been delayed to December 12th, 2008, possibly to coincide with The Day The Earth Stood Still. The movie is still slated to hit Japan on March 13, 2009 with a North American release soon to follow on April 10. The above footage shows a short teaser clip from a Japanese TV program called NHK, briefly displaying the dragonball and Goku's gi.
Ain't It Cool News reader Don reports having supposedly viewed an early release of the movie before special effects and score. His writing style and lack of sources doesn't lend him much credibility, but they are interesting looks into what the movie could turn out. You can click the link for the full story, but here are some interesting tidbits. Just as a warning, there is a bit of cursing present.
Action - I wasn't expecting the action scenes to be as awesome as they were. Simply put the best thing about this movie. The last action scene of Goku vs. Picollo are simply amazing and when picollo takes out his huge fucking ass sword with weird rectangle shape tablet attached it at the tip of sword and slamming it on goku was fucking awesome. Lot of blowing shit up, super cool flying scenes, awesome ki blasts. This fight scene was around 13-15 minutes long. There are other small action scenes that are fun and entertaining with slo mo but nowhere as good as the picollo vs. goku scene.
Justin Chatwin as Goku. This guy surprised me a lot. I really didn't like him when they casted him as goku but he did a damn good job in the acting department and he nailed the KAMEHAMEHA line.
Story - Dragonball fans will be dissapointed with some of the changes they have made with stories and characters etc. Krillin isn't in the movie, Tien isn't in the movie too. High school setting for the first 22-23 minutes was so not needed but ah well typical hollywood garbage of adding bullshit like that.
Chow Yun Fat as Master Roshi - I was dissapointed with this. I wanted the fucking perverted roshi who fucking grabs breasts and asses like in the anime but alas all of that is fucking gone. Also he acted like Mr. Kesuke Miyagi. You know what I mean. The lines he spoke were fine but I felt he was uncomfortable in the movie. Very dissapointed.
It's hard to discern if this review is authentic or not, as many of these points could be easily made up. It sounds like they're trying to keep the spirit of Dragonball while modernizing the story and keeping it relevant to Hollywood standards. A big focus seems to be on the action, so hopefully it will maintain that high energy while still feeling like a DB fight. Some of the things he points out sounds a bit superficial, but he does seem to be a Dragonball fan.
Overall, it's still too early to tell how the movie will turn out. It hasn't exactly been receiving positive press, but maybe this review is an indication that it won't be a complete disaster. The reception the film receives both Japan and North America should be very interesting to see.Read more...
Before viewing the above leaked trailer, let me preface it with a few comments. This leaked trailer was created strictly for a brand licensing expo and potential Licensing & Merchandising partners, so it mostly just introduces the look, style, characters, and other elements of the movie way before special effects and CGI have been integrated. Things like music clearances and talent approvals have not been pursued yet, and you can immediately tell this leaked trailer was made for general, informative purposes. The official trailer will feature more action, energy, and visual effects that many have expected to help portray the feel of the Dragonball series. With that said, some of my previous comments about the movie seem to hold some weight while they take things in an interesting direction.
Goku is played by Justin Chatwin, mostly known for his role as Robbie in War of the Worlds.
This trailer doesn't answer many of the questions people have, but it is one of the first solid looks at the treatment and style outside of leaked set pictures. The questionable changes remain intact, like Goku's (Justin Chatwin) ethnicity, him starting out in high school, and the more serious atmosphere. One of the first things I gained from the trailer was the tone and attitude director James Wong was trying to achieve. While the original Dragonball series was lighthearted and had a distinct Asian style, the movie goes in the opposite direction. The trailer comes off as serious and very Americanized. I was hoping for something along the lines of producer Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle instead of a modern day version of the Jackie Chan/Jet Li team-up flick, Forbidden Kingdom. The setting doesn't sit well with me, especially with scenes that show a little too much of its modern day trappings. Perhaps the CGI effects can help with blending the ancient and futuristic environments, but the atmosphere doesn't feel quite right. Since Master Roshi (Chow Yun-Fat) received a large spotlight, that helped show the changes made to the character. While his perverted nature may not sit well with families, he appears far too serious and a little too young for the role. The look of Lord Piccolo is an interesting take, but I will reserve judgment until there is a full image of him.
Lord Piccolo is played by James Marsters, who appeared as the evil Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.
It is evident which audience they are trying to appeal to with this movie. Many DB fans will watch it regardless of its quality, but it will be a harder sell to non-fans. The Dragonball series has gained a somewhat poor reputation in the US for its drawn out storylines, long fight scenes, and at times, lack of substance. Many had generalized anime as being just like Dragonball Z. Although DB is more of a comedy/adventure and much different than its successor, it was probably wise for them to take a mainstream standpoint with the movie. The music score has been a controversial subject with DBZ's localization, but the film score is looking positive. Composer Brian Tyler (Rambo, Eagle Eye) is apparently a big fan of the series and looks to capture the sweeping, epic, fantasy feel of the original anime and of Wong's adaptation. The official teaser trailer was supposed to premiere alongside Max Payne on October 17th, but has since been pushed back to later this year to allow for more editing and special effects.
There are still a lot of unknown details, but dbthemovie.com is a great source for cast and crew information, news, and an informative FAQ. With the movie releasing in North America on April 10, 2009, there is still over six months to finalize and polish. The internet community has been very vocal in its opinion of the Dragonball movie, but perhaps they can pull out a few surprises in this first iteration of their planned trilogy.Read more...
The winner of the DEWmocracy Mountain Dew contest has already been crowned and Voltage took the top spot over Supernova and Revolution. To usher in the new flavor, they're holding a contest at DEWmocracyVoltage.com to allow people to submit their own ideas with accompanying images or video on the best way to introduce the new flavor to the masses. The winner will win a trip for two to see the kick-off event live while two runner-ups will win a year's supply of Mountain Dew. The contest runs until October 14th, and a panel of judges will grade submissions based on originality, creativity, and relevancy to the Mountain Dew brand. The chosen kick-off event will take place when Voltage officially hits the market between December 2008 and January 2009. While all of this fanfare surrounding the product launch sounds like a little much, it's a great way to maintain excitement about the brand and elevate Voltage above their numerous limited edition flavors.
Dolly B's idea includes a New Year's style party in Times Square with a Voltage bottle taking place of the ball and AC/DC performing "High Voltage" as the theme song.
The contest officially launched on September 17th, but I have seen very little promotion or hype about it. Since voting ended, it seems like they haven't done much press to announce Voltage's win and upcoming introduction to market. The idea of allowing consumers to pick the kick-off event is fun, but ideas thus far either sound a little weak or very generic. Given the image and background of Mountain Dew, the winner will most likely include some sort of huge launch party with live bands, extreme sports, and celebrity endorsements. Browsing through the submissions, the list was fairly short. While there were a handful of "featured" ideas, there were hardly any others to be found. Browsing by state had very little to offer, but the contest only did just start. Although video submissions are encouraged, many of the ideas simply show a picture with their idea. Hopefully the volume of ideas increases before the contest ends.
When Mountain Dew originally announced a forthcoming contest to help introduce Voltage to the people, I was expecting it be more than a simple picture/video submission with description. I like that the contest is open-ended, which leaves much potential without restriction. The lack of promotion is a little worrying, with only a small volume of submissions viewable on the site more than a week after launching. But with two weeks still left to go, there's still plenty of time for fun and unique kick-off event ideas.
