SOMEWHERE, JOE THEISMAN IS CRYING

Brutal. Plain and simple. You wanted to look away, but it was like a car accident. You couldn't do it. Joe Theisman's leg was bent at a 45 degree angle in a place where the leg is not supposed to bend. Lawrence Taylor, the man who revolutionized the linebacker position, snapped Joe Theisman's leg in two for all the world to see.

This play was a microcosm of the intensity and ruthlessness that this man, this defensive god, played the game with. Every play, every game, the original L.T. dominated the game like no other before him had.

L.T. had to retire at some point though, like all football greats. As time passed, the NFL became the "No Fun League" as hard hits and flashy moves have almost all been banned with threats of fines and suspensions from men in suits who have no idea about the smell of freshly cut grass on a Sunday afternoon or the sound of pads clashing as these modern-day warriors battle for the entertainment of millions.

L.T., like many, did not like the direction the NFL had been going. Some have come out and criticized the league in statements. Some players simply ignore the fines and suspensions and play the game the way it is supposed to be played. L.T. took a more creative approach.

Along with the arcade style genii at Midway Games, I present to you Blitz: The League 2.

Okay, so that was a little overly dramatic. Basically, Lawrence Taylor and Midway Games have put out a sequel to the original Blitz: The League. This game is everything you love about football with none of the restrictions. I am talking about smash-mouthed, hard-edged, no holds barred football where you are breaking people, like L.T. broke Joe Theisman, on every other play. Unsportsmanlike conduct is encouraged. In fact, it is all but necessary if you want to win and, by all means, dance as much as you want in the end zone.

This is one of the most fun gaming experiences I have had in a long time. Unlike the sports simulation games, this incorporates the one thing that is always missing: a story. Blitz 2 offers an in-depth story mode that plays out across three seasons that makes you care not only about the franchise like in sports sims, but your players as well. Every player and franchise has a unique history that makes you feel as if you're rooting for a real team and this is a league that would blow the "No Fun League" out of the water.

Aside from the story mode, there is a great online mode with few people backing out because unlike in the NFL, this game can swing back and forth with each snap of the ball. Also, if you have some friends over for beers or what not, there are some great vs. modes aside from standard exhibition game. One mode has every tackle force a fumble. Another gives you bonus points for injuring opposing players. These bonus modes bring the level of competition to all new heights.

Overall, this game has it all. Great gameplay, engrossing plot, superb voice acting; you can't go wrong with this game if you like football. I wish they could come out with a Blitz: The League every year so I wouldn't have to get my football fix from the tired Madden franchise when there isn't a Blitz option. If you don't get this game, L.T. will have to make sure you end up like Joe Theisman.

Ratings are based on a system of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 10.0: I don't give 10s a lot for sports games in terms of visuals. Usually graphics are sacrificed to fit in all the playbooks, rosters, stadiums, etc. This game, though, is one of the most beautiful games I've seen in a long time. The weather effects are AMAZING. You look forward to playing in cold weather stadiums just to see how real the snow is. Add in how realistic the players look and I can't give anything less.

Audio: 9.5: Voice acting is crucial in games and this game delivers in almost every aspect. Jay Mohr nails the greasy, sleazy agent and Frank Caliendo is hysterical as a Madden-esqe color commentator. Add in Lawrence Taylor re-voicing hard hitting linebacker Quentin Sands and almost all the voice acting was spectacular. The only thing I took away from was that I felt the play by play commentator became tiring and little too quickly and so I had to dock it from the game's score. Aside from that minor critique, music, SFX, and voice acting are all top notch.

Plot/Plot Development: 9.0: Usually, this is N/A, but this game actually has a story mode and it is phenomenal. The biggest critique for it is that it only lasts through three seasons. I would love to see a more expansive story mode that is a little more open ended, but considering it is the first major sports franchise to even think of incorporating story lines, it is forgivable.

Gameplay: 9.5: Smooth all around. No lag or glitches to speak of. I did notice a couple of minor things with the guys being carted off the field with injuries, but aside from that, there is nothing. This game plays beautifully and considering all the things going on with it, that is an amazing accomplishment.

Replay Value: 8.5: Online mode kicks butt and the bonus modes are great for when you have your boys over to chill. I have to dock points because there really isn't a lot to bring you back to replay the story mode and it is a little shorter than I like. Still though, lots of fun and lots of bonus modes will keep this disc warm in your machine.

Overall (not an average): 9.5: This was one of the best gaming experiences I've had in a while. I did not want to put the controller down on more than one occasion. The only major knock I have is that it is relatively short and I want to break more people like L.T. broke Joe Theisman. There is nothing holding you back now from smashing people's faces in as Blitz: The League 2 is currently out for XBOX 360 and PS3.

-Ray Carsillo

NO PRIDE, NO GLORY

I had the opportunity to catch an advanced screening of New Line Cinema’s Pride and Glory. It seems every year or so, Hollywood feels it necessary to come out with a dark, gritty, cop drama. Some are triumphs of the medium and hold your attention to the very last second. Others make you want to smash a beer bottle over the head of the director as you check your watch every ten minutes counting down to about when the movie will finally wrap up. Pride and Glory is, unfortunately, more the latter than the former.

Four New York City cops are dead after a routine drug bust goes horribly wrong. With a confirmed cop-killer on the loose, the NYPD rallies to form a task force with the sole purpose of finding and hunting down this thug.

The man to lead this force is Detective Ray Tierney (Edward Norton), as assigned by the Chief of Detectives, his father, Francis (Jon Voight). Ray reluctantly takes the case as the men who were shot down served directly under his brother, Francis Jr. (Noah Emmerich), and alongside his brother-in-law, Jimmy (Colin Farrell), and feels they have more reason than he does to get involved.

Regardless, Ray takes the case. As Ray delves deeper into the evidence, he begins to realize the clues are pointing to the unthinkable: there was an inside man on the force who tipped off the drug dealers and, even more shockingly, his brother and brother-in-law might have had something to do with it. As the questions mount, Ray and his family must choose between their loyalty to the force and their loyalty to each other…

With a star-studded cast and a premise that sounds enticing, you expect so much more from this film and end up looking for excuses to leave the theatre when it fails to deliver. The characters are poorly fleshed out with many random scenes thrown into the movie futilely attempting to add depth to characters that are lacking it from the opening credits. These extra scenes make this movie 45 minutes longer than it should be and have you looking at your watch more often than at the screen (Thank god for the glow in the dark feature).

Add in a back story that all the characters know, but never explained properly to the audience, and you end up with a convoluted, disjointed story, that is barely watchable. Instead of trying to make one solid 90 minute movie, the parallel plot lines make it seem like they made two 60 minute movies and spliced them together so it could be released in the theatres.

The only saving grace of the movie is that there are a handful of really intense scenes where you catch yourself on the edge of your seat. The acting is great, the dialogue is memorable, and they draw out emotion from you like a movie should. It is such a shame that these scenes are so few and far between the rest of the refuse that constitutes this film.

I will also say that the actors did what they could with the lackluster script. Asking Colin Farrell to play an Irish cop isn’t much of a stretch though and this movie makes itself Noah Emmerich’s eighth role as a police officer. Jon Voight is a pro and been playing these fatherly figures for years now and Edward Norton is part of the Hollywood A-list so anything that has “drama” in the category will work to his talents. The only thing they did right with this movie was get people who are comfortable with these kinds of roles, but there was nothing they could do with this horrible piece.

Instead of Pride and Glory, this movie should be called Shame and Failure. This is a sorry, failed attempt at a Departed rip-off. Pride and Glory gets a 1.5 out of 5. If you are a glutton for 2 hours and 5 minutes of boredom, it will be in theatres everywhere October 24th, 2008.

-Ray Carsillo

ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE

City of Ember is an adventure film about survival and the ability of the human spirit to rise above adversity. For generations, the people of the City of Ember have flourished in a breathtakingly beautiful world of glittering light, miles below the surface of the earth. Built as the last refuge for humanity and powered by a massive generator, the people begin to fear for their safety as the generator begins to fail as unbeknownst to them, it was only meant to last 200 years. Now as the lights of Ember begin to flicker and fade, the hope for its citizens lie in the form of Lina Mayfleet (Saorise Ronan) and Doon Harrow (Harry Treadway) as they race against time to unravel a centuries old puzzle and lead their people to safety.

Along the way Lina and Doon must find the inspiration and support from those close to them, such as Doon’s father, Loris (Tim Robbins), to overcome the constricting laws of Ember and its corrupt Mayor Cole (Bill Murray) in a race to solve the mysteries of their glorious city before it’s too late.

Visually, this was one of the best movies I’ve seen in a while. The costumes helped spark your imagination and the entire city was constructed on a massive soundstage in Belfast, Ireland, to help immerse the actors and stress how important the character of the city is to the dynamic of the film.

“When you walk in and there’s a street in an underground city that is 55ft-60ft high with tunnels underneath it, there’s decaying doors and windows and bricks built as a street and concrete and plaster for the walls and real doors and real glass windows and beautiful design work too. The emblems of the city built into the streets and the fountains and the fountains work. It’s not hard to say you’re a part of the society when it’s right there. You walk into work and its right there, it’s so simple. The costumes as well. The best costumes I’ve ever worn. They exceed any other film, by far. Ruth Meyers, the costume designer, is a genius,” commented Bill Murray at a press conference in New York City.

The relationship between Lina and Doon, the two heroes of the story, is great as well. Their stark contrast in character is enjoyable as the driving force for the movie and helps support the overall message.

“It’s more about the spirit of humanity that finds a way to survive under the direst of circumstances. The thing that really got me about this movie was that it had that great kind of dynamic with the two young people and that you have to be strong enough to have hope when others have lost it and if you believe in it enough, anything is possible,” said Tim Robbins when asked about the story’s message.

The biggest problem I had with the movie is that they simply tried to cram too much into 95 minutes and this led to a lack of overall character development. It also restricted the playing out of the conflict between Lina, Doon, and the forces in Ember trying to prevent them from reaching their goal and this took a little away from the overall enjoyment of the movie.

Still, though, City of Ember is a solid film for the whole family, which is hard to find at a time of the year more synonymous with ghouls and goblins. Enough action to keep the adults entertained and the two young protagonists will help inspire any youngster to what they can do if they believe in something enough and are willing to go as far as necessary to follow it through.

City of Ember comes out nationwide October 10th.

-3 out of 5 stars

-Ray Carsillo

OFFENSE WINS GAMES, DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Here is a short season preview for the New York Rangers. I felt a little obliged to write this since I am a diehard Rangers fan and I do work for the radio home of the Rangers so it only made sense.

The New York Rangers hope that the old adage above holds true for their 2008-2009 NHL season. With the loss of forwards Sean Avery, Jaromir Jagr, Martin Straka, and, most likely, Brendan Shanahan, the Rangers hope that a bolstered defense and the energy of the young guns they are using to replace these wily veteran scorers will be the right mix to take them the distance in the NHL Playoffs this year.

The acquisition of veteran defensemen Wade Redden and Dmitri Kalinin will only strengthen the 4th best defense in the NHL, which was spearheaded last year by Vezina finalist goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. The hard hitting Kalinin will be a great influence on youngsters Dan Girardi and Marc Staal and help in their continued development and Redden will help bolster the power play roster by allowing Michal Rozsival a break by coming in as the second unit’s offensive defenseman. The Rangers are hinging a lot of hope on their adding Redden to a power play that was only 22nd in the league last year.

They especially need the power play to pick it up considering they are losing a lot of offense with Jagr and Straka leaving for Europe, and Shanahan still weighing his options, and they were still only 25th in the league last year. Adding veteran sniper Markus Nasland will make up some of the loss, but Chris Drury and Scott Gomez will be expected to pick up most of the slack and they will have to if the Rangers are to do anything this year.

Youngster Brandon Dubinsky looks like he learned a lot from his year with Jagr though as he has started the preseason on fire. You only hope that Naslund’s influence can help focus Dubinsky’s youthful energy. If this is the case, Brandon could stun a lot of people as he continues to develop into a star in this league. Also, expect Petr Prucha to make up for his sophomore slump and have a breakout year, especially since he is expected to play every night now that the Rangers have lost some depth at forward.

The Rangers are also adding a lot of players with question marks looming over their heads. The biggest one is Nikolai Zherdev who has the potential to be a big time goal scorer in this league, but seems to lose focus in a moment’s notice. Coach Tom Renney will not tolerate a lack of focus from Zherdev; he is expected to be playing on the top line and the Rangers will need him to have a big year. It’s a lot of pressure on the young man’s shoulders, but it might be just what he needs to get into shape. Pressure can turn coal into diamonds or grind it to dust, and what pressure is there when you play for Columbus? We’ll find out what he’s really made of this year in New York.

The Rangers have the base elements of a really good team. They have scorers, penalty killers, a strong check line, and a Vezina caliber goalie. They have defensemen that can score and forwards that can defend. So where will the Rangers end up? If everything gels as is expected, then they should improve on last year’s awful offense and maintain their defense. If this happens then the Rangers have the potential to threaten Pittsburgh for the Eastern Conference title. If it doesn’t happen, then, unfortunately, we Garden faithful are used to waiting another year for a chance at the cup.

There’s always the Knicks, right? Oh…Wait…Umm…Nevermind…Let’s go Rangers!!!

-Ray Carsillo