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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 24, 2007)
6 Art^^ntertainment Clackamas Print Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2007 ‘Release’ is no ‘Catch! Tayo Stalnaker A&E Editor I’m phoning in this week’s D-Pad because I got kind of busy. Before anyone puts on their “hate mail’’ hat, this is out of a blog post over Winter Break, and it’s still pretty relevant. We ’ll have some fresh content next week. I think 1 figured out why everybody on the news is accusing Nintendo of design ing a faulty strap for the Wii controller Golf. For those who haven’t heard about this, last month got rough for Nintendo after almost every national news outlet started crying “recall” while reports started coming in about peo ple losing control of their controllers (heh) and send ing them through windows and TV sets. 1 suppose anybody who realized the very full (and very American) potential ito mess up something this simple knew that when Nintendo put out a control ler designed to be swung around the room, this sort of thing would happen ... then I got a chance to play withone. Internet Photo I , The Wii console comes with a game called “Wii Sports,” which is a collec tion of very simple, sports- related games designed to show off the Wii’s innova tive (and addicting) new control scheme. In baseball, the controller is swung like a bat. In Tennis, the controller detects forehand, backhand, and even slice. There’s also Bowling, Boxing and the new bane of my existence: Wii Golf. The idea is as simple as the game of golf would suggest: swing arm. hit ball in hole, repeat. The problem is that the controller uses a combination ofBlue-Tooth® technology and infrared triangulation to detect the controller’s exact position in the room and, more impor tantly, on the TV. When the controller is pointed at the ground like a golf club, how ever, that infrared half of the equation disappears, leaving the controller’s sensitiv ity with something to be desired. The result is a wild and accurately frustrating re production of what it looks like when I play “real” golf. I suppose, for some to consider this a “real” review, I’d have to say something like “Wii Sports is ‘free’ and worth every penny,” but my actual point isn’t whether or not it’s worth playing ... of course it is! The awesome ness of the Wii hardware alone makes it a worthwhile experience even if the game does suck. The only thing I might add (and getting back to my original point) is that people should really stop trying to blame Nintendo tor a faulty controller strap, because thedpadtotgmaiLcom now that I've seen the frus tration of Wii Golfi I know how those expensive TV’s are really being broken. With a great cast and an Academy Award winning screenwriter, Catch & Release should’ve been the romantic comedy-drama of the year. Unfortunately, it failed at almost everything. The film opened with Gray Wheeler (Jennifer Garner) in tears over her fiancd’s unfortunate death during his bachelor party. No, he didn’t suffocate from a stripper’s heaving breasts smothering his face or too much blow (which would’ve been awe some). Instead, he pulled a Sony Bono while skiing in Colorado. Wheeler moves in with her ex-fiancd’s three best friends, and all the tired cliche’s pres ent in almost every romantic comedy that Hollywood pulls out of its superficial anus are thrust upon the audience and don’t end until after the cred its stop rolling (yes, even the credits are unoriginal). First, there’s Dennis (Sam Jaeger). He’s the sensitive guy who’s been in love with his best friend’s girl since day one. Then there’s the “bad influence” childhood friend, Fritz (Timothy Olyphant), who’s despised by the girl friend. And, of course, there’s the lovable, witty, fat geek named Sam (Kevin Smith), who everyone is friends with so that they don’t seemjto shallow. Guess which log Wheeler ends up spooning Hint: Not the fat guy. I Speaking of heroin, Juliet! Lewis (Natural Born Killen From Dust Til Dawn) stars! the slutty, oblivious-to-evet thing “other woman.’’ wj Wheeler knows nothing abo until she hears incriminatii voice-messages on herle fiance’s cell phone. She lat finds out that (gasp!) hea had a kid with this woman.] I honestly can’t believe th all of this overdone filth cai from screenwriter Susanj Grant, who was nominate!! an Academy Award with 1 script for Erin BrockovicM be fair, this was Grant’s diri torial debut, so I’ll cut hei little slack. All that aside, there wt two saving graces to this fill One was Kevin Smith (y the Kevin Smith). Smith stl this movie. He was the oi character that I actually cai about and wanted to hear 1 His irreverent dialogue ■ hilarious and was the oH thing that kept me in my M instead of beating my H j on a trashcan outside Piofl Place. I Oh, the other great about the movie? It free, advanced scred which meant I didn’t ha sit through “The Twend really don’t give a crap w on TNT, and neither si anyone else. ——- Concert Calendar River Road House Milwaukie 2/2 Berbati’s Pan 1/24 Brian O’Dell Band Sarah Angela & A Bad Influence 9:30 p.m. all ages The Buzzmasters (fromCCC!) 8 p.m. 21+ Roseland Theater 1/25 Sop he Lux The Sort-Ofs Silverhawk 9:30p.m all ages 1/24 Papa Roach It Dies Today Auralust 8 p.m. all ages 1/26 Sauce Policy Cellar Door Another Cynthia 9:30p.m. all ages 1/26 Keller Williams 9 p.m. all ages 1/28 Coco Montoya Ward Stroud Band 6:30 p.m. 21+ 1/27 Childlike Empress Brokaw Dirty O 9:30 p.m. all ages 1/28 The Game 8:30 p.m. all ages Dante’s 1/29 Keane Rocco Deluca 8 p.m. all ages 1/24 Broken Teeth Prima Donna Titans of Oblivion 9. p.m. 21+ Unplanned Pregnane You Deserve to KNO) 1/25 Viva Voce The Village Green Caves 9p.m. 21+ ...Are you really pregnant? ...Have you explored all your option ..Are all your questions answered? Crystal Ballroom 1/25 G-Love and Special Sauce Matt Costa 8p.m. all ages 1/26 Earl Greyhound Blue Skies for Black Hearts Go Fever 9 p.m. 21+ 1/25 Mad Professor with PanAfricanist Dr. Israel, Xact Change Hi Fi 8 p.m. 21+ » Rose Garden The Avert Brothers 7 p.m. all ages 1/25 George Straight Ronnie Mil sap 7:30 p.m. 1/28 Menomena 10:45 p.m. all ages Nurse Consultations. Pregnancy! Ultrasound to Verify if Intrauterine Pregnancy is Via „______ Respectful. Confide« PRC) MILMMtlklE 14419 SE McLoughlin Blvd Milwaukie 97222 Information compiled by Tayo Stalnaker W Will Hoge 7 p.m. 21+ All Services Fre Convenient Hours No Appointment! Necessary 503.659.3336 Pregnancy Resource Centers I»’ www.prcofportlam Beaverton • Gresham • Tigard • Lloyd Center • Milwaukie • SE /’»I V «
