THROWBACK!!!: RESIDENT EVIL 3: NEMESIS

It's been almost 12 years since Resident Evil 3: Nemesis hit shelves everywhere. While I personally wasn't in to Resident Evil at the time, I still appreciate the game for what it is. When I was younger, I wasn't really into video games, therefore I knew absolutely nothing about Resident Evil. In the last 5 years I've discovered it and I am now one of the series' biggest fans, no seriously, I am the biggest, I'm really over-weight(Jk)! But seriously, I am. I love the series, and my absolute favorite game in the series is Nemesis. 2012 will bring us three new Resident Evil games and two Resident Evil movies (One CGI and one where Paul W.S. Ander-butt screws up the story.) So in honor of the original survivor horror game series, I thought I'd share my thoughts on NEMESIS.

Now, first off let me say, this game is confusing, well, not so much the game as the timeline of the game. Resident Evil 3 takes place on September 28, 1998, two months after the first Resident Evil game, and 24 hours before Resident Evil 2 begins. The game follows Jill Valentine as she tries to escape the zombie infested Raccoon City after the T-Virus outbreak caused by the evil pharmaceutical company Umbrella. The second half of the game takes place two days after Resident Evil 2. Zombies aren't the only thing Miss Valentine has to face. The most horrifying and persistent monster in the Resident Evil series(In my opinion.), the Nemesis is after Jill, and it won't stop until she's dead.


This game is my all time favorite! It's not just because my favorite video game character(Jill) is the star of the show, it's also because that this game is truly scary. You're wondering around a city crawling with the walking dead and you never know when your BFF, Nemesis, is going to pop out trying to blow your head off with a rocket launcher! While Lickers don't join the party this time around, Hunters make a comeback toward the end and Brain Suckers are thrown in for added fun! Not to mention a worm-like creature called Gravedigger trying to eff you up in the sewers! YAY!!!

Jill has a new partner in this game by the name of Carlos Oliveira, but he pales in comparison to the epic Chris Redfield. At one point Jill has to bitch-slap Carlos to keep him on task, he just sucks. I would have much rather Chris come back to rescue Jill and help her through the hellish city, but at the same time, I feel that would have taken away from Jill's story. This game shows how tough and badass Jill is. She didn't need a knight in shining armor to ride up on his white horse to save her. This is why I love Resident Evil. This game series is all about the ladies. It has created strong, powerful women who aren't affraid to get their hands dirty or get blood on their shoes. They get shit done and look good while doing it.

To me Resident Evil 3 is more than just a survival horror game. It also has deeper meaning. It's revealed at the beginning of the game, that Jill and other surviving S.T.A.R.S. members have tried to warn the the inhabitants of Raccoon City about the illegal Bio-weapon research that Umbrella was doing. Unfortunately, the all powerful and influencing Umbrella has the people of the city swayed. No one dared to oppose them and they listened blindly to what was told to them. While Chris, Barry and Rebecca(Jill's teammates), leave to investigate other Umbrella operations, Jill stays in Raccoon City to investigate further and join them later. I believe Jill also stayed to try and warn the citizens of Raccoon City one last time. They refused to listen.

In many ways, the citizens of Raccoon City were already zombies. They were easily manipulated by the media and whatever they were told. They refused to question authority, and unfortunately it lead to their doom. Jill being stuck in the city, in a way, is no different to her being in the city before the outbreak. She's still around mindless zombies and dangerous situations, they're just more literal. Now she's trapped and she has to get out, but this time it'll be much harder than it would have been.

I know people trash this game these days, bitching about how bad the graphics are and how cheesy the dialog is, but this game was made in 1999 for God's sake! Give this game a little respect for what it was at the time of it's release! I wasn't even into gaming at the time, but I can still respect this game and many others for what they are and when they were made.

For more information on this game and Resident Evil in general, visit the links below! Love ya bye!

The Official Site

The Wiki Page

Buy it Here!

It's been WAAAY too long!

Sorry! But I will have a few posts up very soon! Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Muah!
-Dustin

LOST: Time to Let Go

Last night was the series finale of one of the most talked about and watched shows of the 21st century, LOST. I've been watching the show since it's premiere and have grown very attached to the characters. I laughed with (and sometime at) Hurley, I went back and forth between hate and love with Sawyer, I cried when Shannon died and felt hopeless and conflicted with Jack. I have spent 6 years with these characters and loved every minute of it up to the end.

The ending of LOST is synonymous with bittersweet. Yes, the characters all got what they wanted, but there was a catch. Throughout this last season there have been two realities happening at the same time. The reality where we have seen the characters off the Island has been nothing but a world they have created for each other, so they could find each other again.

Throughout the last half of the season, Desmond made it his personal mission to get all of his Island peeps together and to 'remember' what happened. Most of them, if not all, were completely reluctant to remember, but when they did. it was like something snapped and they knew what they had to do. They had to 'go' or 'leave'. I thought what they were talking about was going back to the freaking Island! I was gonna be pissed if they ended up on the Island and we would be left wondering if everything was going to start over again or what.

No, they weren't talking about going back to the Island, they were talking about moving on, leaving the make-believe place they were in for something real. In the reality they created, each of them got to fulfill their needs or got to accomplish something they weren't able to do in life.

Sawyer became a cop, in stark contrast to what he was, to seek justice for others due to his unjust treatment in life. Becoming a cop was almost like making up for all the bad he had done.

Kate's scenario was no different. She was still a fugitive on the run, but hope still glimmers for Kate. She took sympathy on Claire, a young pregnant girl who was confused and lonely. She put herself at risk for being caught again to help Claire out.

Hurley did what he always has done best, take care of other people, this time through multiple act of charity.

Jin and Sun lived in a reality where they were victims instead of Jin becoming a mafia man for Sun's father. They were good and pure in this reality.

Sayid became a loving uncle and cherished family member in his reality, but still felt shame over his past.

Desmond was successful and slick in the reality, but had nobody. He had Penny's father's approval, but not Penny. His life was far easier without her, but he realized that he didn't want it that way.

John was a broken man who had no hope. Much unlike the John we came to know in the beginning.

Finally there's Jack. My favorite scenario. He invented a reality where he was a single father. In his mind her created a son so he could be the father that he always wanted his father to be. It's touching and heartbreaking when Jack begins to realize that all that he knows isn't real. The part when I really began to bawl was when Kate and Jack were in the car, even thinking about it now make me tear up a little, and Kate tells him that they are all waiting for him whenever he's ready to leave.

Jack's finally coming to terms with his own death in the 'fake' reallity and coming to terms with himself dying in the real reality is heartbreaking but amazing at the same time. He enters a chapel where all of the people who were originally lost with him on the Island were there waiting for him. Even Shannon and Boone! I was so excited to see Shannon and Sayid together again, but I digress. They were waiting for him to let go, let go of all his battered dreams and conflictions. And he did.

Some people didn't understand the ending, but I can only explain it how I understood it. Thats what the creators wanted, they wanted you to figure it out for yourself. I think that everyone on the show died, but f course not at the same time. They all died and created a reality where they could find each other and touch each other again so they could move on to heaven or paradise, whatever you want to think.

Major questions were left unanswered, but in the long run the viewer needs to be left to know that it's not important to the story. What it's about is the people. These people who had nothing found each other and learned to live together not die alone. In the end they were together and thats how it should have been.

It was touching and heartfelt. All in all I think the series finale of LOST was a love letter to the fans. The fans who have been there with these extrodinary characters through their tears and triumph.

I hope all of these talented actors get a chance to do more roles, I wish them nothing but the best.

There's nothing left to say. It's time to let go.

My Favorite Face Creams (Non SPF Edition)

Hey peeps! I've been inspired lately by beauty brands! I'm doing several projects in school centering around them so I thought I'd blog about my favorite face creams. I'm a skin care junkie! I've used every brand you can think of so I consider myself a skin care connoisseur. Here are some face creams I love and continue to fall back on. These are great to use at night time or during the day, only if you layer a sunscreen over it or under it. Now I'm not claiming to be an expert, nor has any of these brands paid me to say good things about their stuff, I'm just providing my honest opinion. I know how it is when you're out there shopping for skin care and how overwhelming it can be. I'm just giving you a few options that have worked for me.

Lancome - Aqua Fusion

Beautiful packaging and beautiful smell! I think you're pretty much paying for the fragrance in this product because it's quite amazing. It's a blue gel-cream that soaks into skin quickly and hydrates immediately. This is a great face cream to use during the summer, it might be a little too light for winter unless you have oily/combo skin. I will say this; if you have super sensitive skin, STAY BACK. This is highly fragranced and canirritate skin. Otherwise give it a whirl!

For more info visit:

http://www.lancome-usa.com/

Benefit - Dear John

I remember when Benefit came out with this face cream and I was dead set against buying it. I was a teenager and refused to use any kind of 'cream' on my skin in fear of breaking out.

Anything that didn't say "oil free" I was against. Little did I know at the time, a little oil is actually good for your skin and can balance you out. That's just what Dear John does. I know looking at Benefit you might not think 'skin care' but this face cream is worth a shot. It doesn't have a strong smell and its not to thick to too light. I know some people who have acne who use this because it balances their skin out beautifully and actually helped clear it up. It also makes redness less obvious with extracts like marsh mellow root and vitamin e.

For more info visit:

http://sephora.com/

Philosophy - Hope in a Jar

I really don't understand why Hope in a Jar still has such a rancid, chemical smell. Maybe I'm over exaggerating, but it's pretty bad. Hope in a Jar is the best selling face cream in the US right now, so you would think they would have found some way to make it more pleasant smelling. Besides the smell the cream is FANTASTIC! It exfoliates, moisturizes and just gives your skin an all around glow. Great for all skin types, except for super sensitive.

For more info visit:

http://sephora.com/

Bobbi Brown - Hydrating Face Cream

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of this face cream is EXPENSIVE. It's $50, but its a great face cream. It is thick, so those with oily skin beware! It has a slight hint of coconut smell which is very pleasant. Overall its anice moisturizer but slut around with some of the other alternatives before you marry this one.

For more info visit:

http://www.bobbibrowncosmetics.com/

Clinique - Moisture Surge

Clinique is probably my favorite beauty brand EVA!!! This moisterizer does it all. It has great water-binding agents in it along with skin friendly antioxidants. I hope they never change it! Like Aqua Fusion, Moisture Surge is a gel/cream that soaks in. I feel so luxurious when I use it. All of Clinique's moisturizers are great, you can't go wrong. I just prefer this one.

For more info visit:

http://www.clinique.com/

MD Forte - Replenish Hydrating Cream

I'm not sure I can say that it's my favorite moisterizer, but it's pretty damn close. The texture is completely unique, unlike anything I've ever felt. It's packed with antioxidants and water binding agents to keep your skin smooth all day. I stopped using it because it was so damn hard to find! I don't shop online much and it seemed that was the only place I could get it. But I digress, this cream is amazing for any skin type, it's just one of those things you have to try to believe. If you don't try anything else on this list, this is the one you need to try. I'm sure you could call the company and get samples or something. TRY IT!!!

For more info visit:

http://www.dermstore.com/

So much for that...

Well, things got CRAZY at Christmas and New Year so I didn't have a chance to continue my movie watching! Sorry! However I will continue blogging and let you know when I'll be doing another one.

2nd Movie: Orphan

Esther leaves the orphanage with her new victims, I mean parents.

Okay peeps, my second film in my Christmas Movie Madness Marathon (I just named it that!). The movie I watched this time was Orphan.

Ladies and gentlemen... we have a creepa

Without even reading the back of the DVD box, or the synopsis on IMDB, you can pretty much tell what you're in for before popping it in. It's the oldest story in the world, family adopts kid, kid isn't who they seem to be, parent begins suspecting something is off leading to a huge, nail-biting finale. Maybe that isn't the oldest story in the world but close.

Esther joins her new family

John and Kate Coleman(Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Farminga) are a married couple looking to adopt a child after the loss of their unborn baby. While visiting an orphanage, John and Kate are charmed by a little girl named Esther(Isabelle Fuhrman). They adopt her and bring her home to join their family, but Esther is not who she seems or who she claims to be. Soon all the problems in John and Kate's marriage that were once resolved resurface and horrible and chilling incidents begin to occur whenever Esther is around. Kate begins to suspect that the perfect little girl she adopted, might be dangerous, now she must figure out who Esther is and where she came from before her whole family is swallowed up in her deceit.

Yeah... I hate it when psycho little girls are watching me.

Orphan was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, the director of one of my favorite horror films, House of Wax. But don't let that fool you. Orphan is not a horror film. For some it might be, but it's more of a thriller/intense drama. Those who are looking for a good scare will be very disappointed with Orphan.

And to think, when I was a kid I was scared of monsters under the bed! No kids, it's your adopted siblings you should fear.

The movie itself is beautiful to look at. The snow covered surroundings, the muted color scheme and distinct camera angles makes this film pleasing to the eye. There are also several running themes in the movie. For one, reflections and mirrored surfaces are huge in this film and it's identity. The characters themselves are all facing trials in their lives, and fighting to keep their lives stable. The characters are trying to figure out who they are and where their lives are going and the mirrored surfaces reflects this beautifully, because only when they face themselves, face the truth can they overcome the evil in their lives.

What the hell has that little bitch done now!?!?

As for the acting, it's great! Peter Sarsgaard is pitch-perfect in this part. As for Vera Farmiga, I was a little disappointed at first that they chose her for the role, but she really stood up and took control of her character. At first I kept re-casting her in my head, someone like Jennifer Esposito, Elisabeth Shue or Sarah Michelle Gellar, but she really stepped up. Isabelle Fuhrman did beautifully as the psycho kid. She kept me loving to hate her! She disturbed me but at the same time showed a great innocence to me.

Is she listening? Yeah, I think she's listening.

The other children actors were absolute stars too! Aryana Engineer and Jimmy Bennett shine in their roles as the siblings of Esther. They are going to be huge one of these days, mark my words.

Aryana Engineer is creeped by her new sibling.

Another thing I noticed about this movie is how crafted it was. The characters would do something bad, or do something that would set off alarms with the audience before something horrible happens. A promiscuous woman flirts with John before Esther pushes a little girl off a slide, A nun reaches for her cigarettes before her ultimate downfall, a little boy hides a porno magazine under a tree house floor board where Esther would soon hide the evidence of one of her dreadful crimes. It's all very set up to give the audience an inkling to whats to come.

Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Farmiga in Orphan. No smartass comment for this pic!

All in all the movie is awesome. The ending will sideswipe you! You'll never see it coming. I guessed up until the ending and I was still wrong!!! The secret of Esther is disturbing and will rattle you to the core. So check it out for a good thrill, but don't expect too many scares.

There's something wrong with Esther...

1st Movie: The Ugly Truth

Awesome graphic design for The Ugly Truth.

Romantic comedies for the last several years have been extremely careful. I haven't seen one that has portrayed a realistic human relationship that has gotten across as well as The Ugly Truth has. They've all been so safe, showing a perfect ending where the lady always gets her knight and shinging armor and live happily ever after. It always ends perfect, but hey, thats the way the audience likes it right? Well... yes and know. I remember as a kid watching Pretty Woman, Sleepless in Seattle and all those other chick/romantic movies that made you feel warm and fuzzy at the end and everything turend out perfect. We love it when there's a happy ending and the guy gets the girl and its all happy-go-lucky, but at the same time, we know it's just Hollywood. This movie has a way to do that, but at the same time make us not want to barf all over ourselves because of all the mushy, gushy loveingness in it.

Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler prove their chemistry is anything but ugly.

The Ugly Truth stars the delightful Katherine Heigl as an uptight female producer, Abby, who's TV morning news show is in trouble. The station then brings in an outrageous, straight-talker, Mike, who tells the ugly truth, or his version of it about men, women and relationships. He is a hit with everyone on the show and the audience except for Abby. Abby then meets a handsome doctor who meets all the guidelines of her idea of a perfect man. Abby makes a deal with Mike, if he can get her the man of her dreams then she'll work with him to make the show as successful as possible, but if he can't, then he has to quit.

This movie is crud, harsh, unforgiving and completely outrageous. It crosses the line sooo many times, and I honestly wasn't expecting it to be this insane!!!!! And I relished every minute of it!!! It was an awesome movie and all the actors really brought there A game. Gerard Butler is hilarious and Katherine Heigl is a breath of freah air as always.

The movie has many shocking statements and moments in it. My favorite part is when she wears vibrating underwear at a dinner meeting with TV executives and begins to have an orgasim. I love it so much and it made me love Katherine Heigl as an actress even more than I already did.

The scene that even gave me good vibrations!

And yes, it does have a typical Hollywood, romantic ending, but not the kind that makes you want to blow your brains out. It's real and touching. There's nothing phony about it in one of the ending scenes she asks him "You're in love with me. Why?" he then says "Beaths the shit out of me, but I am." It's real and it's ugly, it's the ugly truth! Hey maybe thats why they named the movie the way they did!!! But seriously, go get it, rent it, just see it. It's sure to put a smile on your face and make you go "OMG! Did he really just say that?"