You may have noticed on the right a bunch of lists of current movies, television and music I've been listening to. Scroll down a bit further and check it out if you haven't already. It's a little thing I'm doing since I haven't done any big "Hit List" reviews in a while. Here's a little "Best Of The Best" where I do a short little review on those things lately that I've really enjoyed.
Children of Men - this film is amazing. Alfonso Cuaron has been one of my favorite directors ever since I saw his 2001 film, Y Tu Mama Tambien. You may not be familiar with his name, but I'm willing to bet you've seen his work already, 2004's Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban, which many consider the best of the Potter films so far.
This film takes place in the year 2027 when for untold reasons, humans can no longer procreate, with the last baby being born 17 years prior. It follows our main character played by Clive Owen who finds a pregnant woman who may be holding the fate of humankind in her belly.
This is a grim film that was absolutely unsettling to watch, but don't take that as a negative. This film is an effective drama with a few action sequences, but it worked more as a thriller to me. There were several scenes in this film that absolutely had me on the edge of my seat. The handheld camera that takes us in the middle of the action with very little breaks and cuts help provide that unsettling nature, making this film all the more powerful. This is a moving experience that you will not soon forget.
Hot Fuzz - on the opposite end of the spectrum here is a film that is an absolute joy to watch. Like Shaun of the Dead, this film spoofs but also loves the films it references, except this time we substitute Zombies with Bruckheimer Action flicks. What is especially funny about this film is that while it spends the bulk of it making fun of those cheesy Hollywood movies, it turns into what it's making fun of by the end. But it works because the characters are funny and likable, and it's always done with tongue firmly in cheek. There is one moment is this film that is so funny that I couldn't stop laughing for a good 10 minutes. About the only bad thing I can say is that this film could have been trimmed of some 10-20 minutes. That said, I am eagerly anticipating the forthcoming DVD.
Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright are the new Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. Raimi now helms one of the biggest film franchises ever, Spider-Man, after humble beginnings with the Evil Dead series. I envision that in the future their cult status will grow to mainstream status, something along the line of Wright directing a Bond pic in the future.
Marie Antoinette - I was very apprehensive of this film because the reviews were so polarized, either very good or very bad. But the writer/director Sofia Coppola has directed two very good recent films, The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation, two films I enjoyed greatly, especially Lost in Translation, so I had to give Marie Antoinette a shot. Like those films, this film is similar in that it follows the main female character(s) as they live their lives. Marie Antoinette is not the usual controversial figure she is usually portrayed as (perhaps unfairly so), but here she is presented as your typical teenage girl as she becomes a woman. A word about the music - great. Some people may hate how a period film is scored with a modern soundtrack, but I love how it really evoked what the director wanted to portray, and plus it's just a blast to listen to. This may not be the an accurate portrayal of Marie Antoinette, but it is certainly a very enjoyable film.
Super Paper Mario (Wii) - the latest installment of the Mario RPG/Paper Mario series further proves my "great first party nintendo games" theory, as it is one of the best Wii games released so far. Originally developed for the Gamecube, they moved this to the Wii without making it seem like a quick port. The controls are well done and the story is involving and funny. However, unlike previous Paper Mario games, this game does not involve turn based battles, but real time battles similar to that of a regular Mario platformer. I kind of didn't like this at first, but by the end I was used to it.
The main selling point of this game is the ability to switch from 2D mode into 3D, providing a whole new dimension to the game (I love me some cliches). And it really is great, a certain 2D portion becomes a whole new area when you go into 3D, which is essential to moving forward in the story and to find secrets.
Qualms: No replay value, I wish it had a Hard mode or something, because this game was just way too easy, I honestly couldn't die if I tried. TOO MUCH READING!!! This is a problem of many Nintendo games, which feature no speech and all text. In addition, the first 20-30 minutes feature you doing nothing but watching - not cool. I hate games that do this, a quick intro is fine, but please don't make us wait so long to play the freaking game!
Casino Royale - The most enjoyable Bond in ages. Gone is all that silly rubbish that made the series so stale and not too enjoyable. It's back to basics, serious and nitty-gritty. Kind of like the Bourne series (which has passed the popularity of the Bond flicks lately). Pierce Brosnan was a good Bond, but I honestly didn't care for the his last two Bond films. They all had their enjoyable bits, but they were all by-the-numbers and followed the same formula. Here, we see Daniel Craig in his first days as a double agent, and he really is fantastic. Looking forward to the next installments, and let's hope they keep it dark and dirty without all the BS that has dragged down the series.
Justice League Unlimited: The Complete Second Season - The final season of Bruce Timm's DC Animated Universe goes out with a bang. Unlimited was no doubt my favorite of all the animated series, which is saying something, because I loved it all. It had some great stories, great voice acting, big surprises, revelations, everything, epic action sequences, it had it all. Of note, is quite possibly my favorite single episode of all the DC animated shows, The Great Brain Robbery. Flash and Luthor switch bodies, hilarity ensues, 'nuff said.
Stranger Than Fiction - this is one of those sleeper films that you never expect, but end up enjoying the heck out of. While Will Ferrell can make me laugh until it hurts, sometimes he's a bit much. This is not your typical whacked-out crazy Will Ferrell comedy but instead a sweet romantic comedy that shows that not only can Ferrell make us laugh, but he can act!
Queen: A Night at the Opera - this is Queen at its best. This is the one with Bohemian Rhapsody, recently and frequently voted as the greatest song of all-time, a sentiment that I would not argue. But this is not a one-song album, it's not one of those "great single, the rest is filler" type albums. What really makes this album great, is that the rest of the songs are great too! Personal Faves besides Bohemian Rhapsody: You're My Best Friend, Love of My Life.
I can say without hesitation that if Freddie Mercury were still alive today, Queen would no doubt be my favorite band, and that's including Nine Inch Nails (Sorry Trent, although I'm sure he'll agree too). Just imagine how crazy-awesome it would be to see Freddie and Trent duet "Get Down Make Love".
Explosions in the Sky: All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone - EITS's newest album is fan-freaking-tastic. I love it so much; they have in a very short time become one of my absolute favorite bands. Like I said about their previous album sometime last year, this is all about putting it on, closing your eyes and being transported to a new place. While the title may be melancholic and somber, the music is quite uplifting and inspirational.
Favorite Tracks: Welcome, Ghosts; It's Natural To Be Afraid
Monday, April 30, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Actual Things Said By Eric So
In celebration of The King of Sing getting his own karaoke blog, I've decided to compile this list of actual things he has said.
To Me regarding China Visa Applications: "nationality canadian..even though ur chinese." Apparently there's no difference between nationality and ethnicity.
Regarding cell phone usage over the Pacific Ocean: "It's roaming right?" Yes, apparently all phone companies now install cell phone towers in the middle of nowhere.
About Eating Green TicTacs like candy to support his Dallas Stars: "They're not green!" (looks at packaging, flavour = WinterGREEN).
On what he would rather win: $1,000 cash or a brand new $30,000 Car "Cash, 'cause it's cash, right?" But the car can be sold for.....ahh never mind.
On the longest Canuck game ever: "Was it regular season or playoffs?" Because those marathon regular season games don't end after a five minute overtime and shootout.
As Jason and I berate Phil on not joining us (Me, Jason and Eric) to watch a hockey game: Eric asks "Are you guys talking about me?" Jason: "Well you're here aren't you??" Not everything is about you Eric, you egotistical bastard.
On Peter getting baptised: "Are you happy for him?" No Eric, we hate that Peter is happy and found religion.
Not so much said, but not said: After dinner at a nice restaurant, we usually like to split the bill. So we leave it to Eric to figure out how much we each owe. Big mistake as it takes half an hour for him not to figure it out. For some reason, we ended up miles short of the proper price. It was also a birthday dinner of sorts for a few of us, so we would be treated right? Wrong. Mr. Calculator forgets to include GST for the whole thing. So in the end, we had to pay for our birthday dinners and wasted a good half hour in doing so!
It's ok Eric, it was an honest mistake, not like you work for an accounting firm or anything....oh, wait....
To Me regarding China Visa Applications: "nationality canadian..even though ur chinese." Apparently there's no difference between nationality and ethnicity.
Regarding cell phone usage over the Pacific Ocean: "It's roaming right?" Yes, apparently all phone companies now install cell phone towers in the middle of nowhere.
About Eating Green TicTacs like candy to support his Dallas Stars: "They're not green!" (looks at packaging, flavour = WinterGREEN).
On what he would rather win: $1,000 cash or a brand new $30,000 Car "Cash, 'cause it's cash, right?" But the car can be sold for.....ahh never mind.
On the longest Canuck game ever: "Was it regular season or playoffs?" Because those marathon regular season games don't end after a five minute overtime and shootout.
As Jason and I berate Phil on not joining us (Me, Jason and Eric) to watch a hockey game: Eric asks "Are you guys talking about me?" Jason: "Well you're here aren't you??" Not everything is about you Eric, you egotistical bastard.
On Peter getting baptised: "Are you happy for him?" No Eric, we hate that Peter is happy and found religion.
Not so much said, but not said: After dinner at a nice restaurant, we usually like to split the bill. So we leave it to Eric to figure out how much we each owe. Big mistake as it takes half an hour for him not to figure it out. For some reason, we ended up miles short of the proper price. It was also a birthday dinner of sorts for a few of us, so we would be treated right? Wrong. Mr. Calculator forgets to include GST for the whole thing. So in the end, we had to pay for our birthday dinners and wasted a good half hour in doing so!
It's ok Eric, it was an honest mistake, not like you work for an accounting firm or anything....oh, wait....
The King of Sing Gets His Own Blog
The Eric So Karaoke Internet Phenomenon has become so big that this blog simply cannot contain it by itself anymore. So with that in mind, please visit and bookmark the new Eric "King of Sing" So Karaoke Blog. From now on, all Eric So (henceforth known as "The King of Sing") Karaoke related news and videos will be posted there, because YOU, the general public, demanded it dammit!
Stay tuned here for my usual ramblings and whatnots.
Stay tuned here for my usual ramblings and whatnots.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
My Top Ten Favorite Gamecube Games
The Gamecube came out of the last generation of Video Games on the bottom end versus the Xbox and Playstation 2. It had its faults, but certainly had its share of plusses. I will say this about Nintendo, and having owned more consoles by them than any other company, their consoles are worth owning even if they were the only ones that made the games, which was almost the case for the Gamecube actually. Their franchises, from Mario to Zelda to Metroid make their consoles must own by themselves alone.
So inspired by ScrewAttack's Farewell to Nintendo's Gamecube, I give you My Personal Top Ten Favorite Gamecube Games:
10. Bomberman Generation - the ultimate party game. You don't mess with the classics, and thats what they did with Bomberman 64, turning everybody's favorite party game into a complete mess by bringing it into the 3D realm. But they learned from their mistake and just gave us classic Bomberman, pure and simple.
9. Soul Calibur II - great fighting game, with great graphics. Sure it was released on the other systems too, but each one had an extra character exclusive to that system. Gamecube had the best - Link.
8. Burnout 2: Point of Impact - My very first taste of Burnout, and I've been hooked ever since. So good, I bought this twice, first on PS2, then again on Gamecube. It looked slightly better, and the same tight controls, but gave us double the crash junctions, the best part of the game itself.
7. Super Monkey Ball 2 - great game where you had to get a monkey in a ball (hence the name) through a certain level with many obstacles. The twist? You didn't move the monkey in the ball, you moved the level itself. Add in some great mini games that were party favorites (Monkey Bowling anyone??) and you've got a great game.
6. Tales of Symphonia - following the disappointing Final Fantasy X, I was getting pretty tired of those Japanese style RPGs with their stale turn-based combat systems and random battles. But this game was different, you could avoid or take battles at your own whim, but with its different real-time combat system, you actually wanted to do the battles! Now you could blow through this game's main story in about 40-50 hours, but this game had so much else to do that I doubled that, and spent 80+ great hours with this game.
5. Metroid Prime - like everybody else alive, I was skeptical when I heard Nintendo was taking their Metroid franchise into the 3D arena with a first person shooter. Now back then, I was more of a PC gamer, so for a FPS, a mouse and keyboard was a necessity, whereas a controller was the complete opposite. Not to mention Japan has typically shunned first person shooters. Nintendo had the intelligence to employ the Texas based Retro Studios to make this for them. Texas is of course, home of many of the great FPS developers (id, 3D Realms, Raven, etc.). This game had everything going against it. But how wrong I was, and how wrong many of us were. This game was absolutely balls to the walls. The graphics were phenomenal, the controls were very well done, the levels large and expansive with many areas to explore, and despite the move from 2D to 3D, kept much of what made everyone love the older Metroids in the first place. I bet not even Nintendo themselves thought that this would be as good as it turned out to be.
4. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year-Old Door - Well placed among their Mario franchise, but deviating from the standard platforming by adding RPG elements and turn based battles. The gameplay was very refined, giving you extra boosts if you did things a certain way, such as certain button presses at the right time. Finding out those perfect timings and trying to replicate them each time was half the fun. And not only was Mario battling, but you had a half dozen teammates there to help you, each with their own unique set of actions and even more of those timed button presses. It was over too quick for my liking, but that's because I had such a great time.
3. Mario Kart: Double Dash - I love this game. Adding in two riders to one kart really gave this franchise an innovative new twist. It had some great maps, and was best played with others. Looking forward to see what Nintendo has up its sleeve for the Wii installment. Nothing's been said so far, but you know it's coming.
2. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - it is unfortunate that many overlooked this game because of its cartoonish graphics. Those who didn't were rewarded with a game that fit into Zelda canon nicely, serving as a prequel to all previous Zelda games and telling us the whole backstory of the great Zelda universe. I absolutely loved the cel shaded art story of this film. Stylistically, it helped convey emotion and gave more depth to the story. One of the problems of 3D graphics even today is its inability to realistically portray emotion in human faces. It just never looks right, no matter how powerful the hardware you have because we know that it's not real. The art style in Wind Waker sidestepped this by using celshading, and not going for the realistic look. Add in one of the greatest end boss fights of all time and you have one of the best Gamecube games ever. I like Twilight Princess very much, but am disappointed that they forgoed the cel shaded style, fortunately they are using it in their DS game, The Phantom Hourglass, so all is not lost.
1. Metroid Prime 2 - Metroid Prime was amazing. A complete classic in every way, but this game was even better. It improved every single aspect of the first game, the graphics were even better (probably the best of any Gamecube game), the storytelling was more refined, and it was tough as all hell, but not in an annoying way. It's one of those games where you beat a certain part or boss and you really feel a sense of accomplishment. The first Metroid Prime was a successful hit, swaying all naysayers and universal praise across the board. While Metroid Prime 2 was a hit, it didn't come close to the first as it had the unfortunate circumstance to be released alongside Halo 2 for the Xbox, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the PS2. Ouch. It didn't stand a chance against those juggernauts. If you have a Gamecube or Wii, and haven't played this, then you owe it to yourself. It's one of the greatest gaming experiences I've ever had, and I am eagerly anticipating the upcoming third installment.
Honorable Mentions:
Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat - one of the few games that used that neat little Bongo accessory. I usually hate games that require accessories (save Guitar Hero), but I got this for cheap so the price was right. And you know what? It's innovative, but most of all, it's fun.
Pac-Man Vs. - this neat little gem was packaged with Pac Man World 2 (an unspectacular but competent platformer), and it was all about Multiplayer. It required a Game Boy Advance and the GC to GA cable, but it was worth it for this. Take classic Pac Man, but this time, instead of fighting computer A.I. ghosts, humans become the ghosts. More fun than it had any right to be.
Best Gamecube Game I Haven't Played:
Resident Evil 4 - I'm not really a fan of horror games, and the Resident Evil franchise has kinda been running on autopilot, but the universal acclaim for this title even from those who dislike the franchise put it over the top. I've had this game for a while but haven't played it just yet....soon enough though, soon enough.
Most Disappointing Gamecube Games:
Super Mario Sunshine - Mario 64 is one of the greatest games of all time, bar none. This game isn't bad by any means, it was good, but for a Mario game, good isn't good enough. It just had a very lame story, even for Mario standards, and the controls were not precise enough for a game that needs precise control. People say this game is hard, but I don't think that's by design, it's because of that horrible camera. How many times would you screw up and lose progress because you missed a jump because the camera screwed up and you jumped to a position relative to the new camera angle? Horrible, just horrible. I couldn't stand to finish this game.
Mario Party Franchise - did we really need 4 installments of this game for the Gamecube? If it wasn't getting tired by #4 (the first Gamecube iteration), it certainly was by #7 (the last iteration). It was still fun in small spurts, but the slow and boring gameplay had me itching for the WarioWare series, which was much more fast-paced and frenetic, and most important of all, fun! Each game was essentially the same just with new minigames, all of which are hit or miss, usually miss. Among a game's 70 or so minigames, there were usually just a handful worth replaying. Here's hoping they give us something new and fresh for Mario Party 8 on the Wii. They better.
So inspired by ScrewAttack's Farewell to Nintendo's Gamecube, I give you My Personal Top Ten Favorite Gamecube Games:
10. Bomberman Generation - the ultimate party game. You don't mess with the classics, and thats what they did with Bomberman 64, turning everybody's favorite party game into a complete mess by bringing it into the 3D realm. But they learned from their mistake and just gave us classic Bomberman, pure and simple.
9. Soul Calibur II - great fighting game, with great graphics. Sure it was released on the other systems too, but each one had an extra character exclusive to that system. Gamecube had the best - Link.
8. Burnout 2: Point of Impact - My very first taste of Burnout, and I've been hooked ever since. So good, I bought this twice, first on PS2, then again on Gamecube. It looked slightly better, and the same tight controls, but gave us double the crash junctions, the best part of the game itself.
7. Super Monkey Ball 2 - great game where you had to get a monkey in a ball (hence the name) through a certain level with many obstacles. The twist? You didn't move the monkey in the ball, you moved the level itself. Add in some great mini games that were party favorites (Monkey Bowling anyone??) and you've got a great game.
6. Tales of Symphonia - following the disappointing Final Fantasy X, I was getting pretty tired of those Japanese style RPGs with their stale turn-based combat systems and random battles. But this game was different, you could avoid or take battles at your own whim, but with its different real-time combat system, you actually wanted to do the battles! Now you could blow through this game's main story in about 40-50 hours, but this game had so much else to do that I doubled that, and spent 80+ great hours with this game.
5. Metroid Prime - like everybody else alive, I was skeptical when I heard Nintendo was taking their Metroid franchise into the 3D arena with a first person shooter. Now back then, I was more of a PC gamer, so for a FPS, a mouse and keyboard was a necessity, whereas a controller was the complete opposite. Not to mention Japan has typically shunned first person shooters. Nintendo had the intelligence to employ the Texas based Retro Studios to make this for them. Texas is of course, home of many of the great FPS developers (id, 3D Realms, Raven, etc.). This game had everything going against it. But how wrong I was, and how wrong many of us were. This game was absolutely balls to the walls. The graphics were phenomenal, the controls were very well done, the levels large and expansive with many areas to explore, and despite the move from 2D to 3D, kept much of what made everyone love the older Metroids in the first place. I bet not even Nintendo themselves thought that this would be as good as it turned out to be.
4. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year-Old Door - Well placed among their Mario franchise, but deviating from the standard platforming by adding RPG elements and turn based battles. The gameplay was very refined, giving you extra boosts if you did things a certain way, such as certain button presses at the right time. Finding out those perfect timings and trying to replicate them each time was half the fun. And not only was Mario battling, but you had a half dozen teammates there to help you, each with their own unique set of actions and even more of those timed button presses. It was over too quick for my liking, but that's because I had such a great time.
3. Mario Kart: Double Dash - I love this game. Adding in two riders to one kart really gave this franchise an innovative new twist. It had some great maps, and was best played with others. Looking forward to see what Nintendo has up its sleeve for the Wii installment. Nothing's been said so far, but you know it's coming.
2. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - it is unfortunate that many overlooked this game because of its cartoonish graphics. Those who didn't were rewarded with a game that fit into Zelda canon nicely, serving as a prequel to all previous Zelda games and telling us the whole backstory of the great Zelda universe. I absolutely loved the cel shaded art story of this film. Stylistically, it helped convey emotion and gave more depth to the story. One of the problems of 3D graphics even today is its inability to realistically portray emotion in human faces. It just never looks right, no matter how powerful the hardware you have because we know that it's not real. The art style in Wind Waker sidestepped this by using celshading, and not going for the realistic look. Add in one of the greatest end boss fights of all time and you have one of the best Gamecube games ever. I like Twilight Princess very much, but am disappointed that they forgoed the cel shaded style, fortunately they are using it in their DS game, The Phantom Hourglass, so all is not lost.
1. Metroid Prime 2 - Metroid Prime was amazing. A complete classic in every way, but this game was even better. It improved every single aspect of the first game, the graphics were even better (probably the best of any Gamecube game), the storytelling was more refined, and it was tough as all hell, but not in an annoying way. It's one of those games where you beat a certain part or boss and you really feel a sense of accomplishment. The first Metroid Prime was a successful hit, swaying all naysayers and universal praise across the board. While Metroid Prime 2 was a hit, it didn't come close to the first as it had the unfortunate circumstance to be released alongside Halo 2 for the Xbox, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the PS2. Ouch. It didn't stand a chance against those juggernauts. If you have a Gamecube or Wii, and haven't played this, then you owe it to yourself. It's one of the greatest gaming experiences I've ever had, and I am eagerly anticipating the upcoming third installment.
Honorable Mentions:
Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat - one of the few games that used that neat little Bongo accessory. I usually hate games that require accessories (save Guitar Hero), but I got this for cheap so the price was right. And you know what? It's innovative, but most of all, it's fun.
Pac-Man Vs. - this neat little gem was packaged with Pac Man World 2 (an unspectacular but competent platformer), and it was all about Multiplayer. It required a Game Boy Advance and the GC to GA cable, but it was worth it for this. Take classic Pac Man, but this time, instead of fighting computer A.I. ghosts, humans become the ghosts. More fun than it had any right to be.
Best Gamecube Game I Haven't Played:
Resident Evil 4 - I'm not really a fan of horror games, and the Resident Evil franchise has kinda been running on autopilot, but the universal acclaim for this title even from those who dislike the franchise put it over the top. I've had this game for a while but haven't played it just yet....soon enough though, soon enough.
Most Disappointing Gamecube Games:
Super Mario Sunshine - Mario 64 is one of the greatest games of all time, bar none. This game isn't bad by any means, it was good, but for a Mario game, good isn't good enough. It just had a very lame story, even for Mario standards, and the controls were not precise enough for a game that needs precise control. People say this game is hard, but I don't think that's by design, it's because of that horrible camera. How many times would you screw up and lose progress because you missed a jump because the camera screwed up and you jumped to a position relative to the new camera angle? Horrible, just horrible. I couldn't stand to finish this game.
Mario Party Franchise - did we really need 4 installments of this game for the Gamecube? If it wasn't getting tired by #4 (the first Gamecube iteration), it certainly was by #7 (the last iteration). It was still fun in small spurts, but the slow and boring gameplay had me itching for the WarioWare series, which was much more fast-paced and frenetic, and most important of all, fun! Each game was essentially the same just with new minigames, all of which are hit or miss, usually miss. Among a game's 70 or so minigames, there were usually just a handful worth replaying. Here's hoping they give us something new and fresh for Mario Party 8 on the Wii. They better.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
The Best Time of the Year
It's the best time of the year, why? Summer's close? Nope. School's Out? Nope. All good reasons for being a good time of the year, but not the best. The real reason? Hockey playoffs. Specifically the first round. Turn on the TV and we get at least a few games every day for 2 weeks. And it's not just regular hockey. It's playoff hockey for the biggest prize in all of hockey -- The Stanley Cup. So you know everyone's giving it their all. And with playoff hockey comes the most exciting part of all exciting parts -- Sudden Death Overtime. First team to score wins, doesn't get more nailbiting than that. You don't score, you keep playing until you do. No matter how long it takes.
So finally I get to go to my first playoff game, game 1 of the first round, the Vancouver Canucks vs. the Dallas Stars. Two evenly matched teams who split their season series all with identical scores of 2-1. Both defensive minded teams with little scoring and great goalies. We all expected a close game, but not like this. The atmosphere is incredible, and as cool as it looks on TV, you have to be there live to experience just how cool a visual it is to see an entire arena waving towels. TOWEL POWER! I even joked that a playoff game between these two teams could cause the game to go into multiple overtimes, little did I know....
Longest Canucks game in history, 6th longest in NHL history. I'm gonna skip the entire regulation except to say that the Canucks blew a 4-2 lead in the third period. Let's jump straight to the intermission after overtime period #3, where the equivalent of 2 full games had passed. I needed water but didn't wanna pay an arm and a leg for it. I can hold out (for now). Overtime period #4, less than 2 minutes less, preparing for Overtime #5, and about to give up that arm and leg for some bottled water. But alas, we score just short of entering period #8.
I gotta say though, as much as I love sudden death overtime and these superlong games, they gotta find a way to shorten them, like with a shootout or 4 on 4 in OT. They gotta do that for the players, it's just too much for them. It's just not fair for them to play that much in one night, and have to do it again in a couple days. They all played their hearts and muscles out, but you could tell that they were all on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. I was getting tired watching, I can't imagine how it was to actually play that long.
Luongo made 72 saves, and while he may have let in a couple "soft" ones, he made the ones that counted, and always gave us a chance to win. He was named First Star, and it was well deserved. We were badly outplayed for much of the game, and were badly outshot, but upon learning that we lost 2 key forwards and were basically rolling 3 lines for almost the entire overtime periods, it made much more sense. We weren't badly outplayed, we were outmanned.
First playoff game, and what a game it was. It was almost two and a half games for the price of one, so I definately got my money's worth. I can now say that I was in the building during the longest Canucks game in history. It was a game the Canucks should've won outright in regulation, but it was not to be. Fortunately, we got the win anyways, eventually. Ok, time for bed, I need it.
So finally I get to go to my first playoff game, game 1 of the first round, the Vancouver Canucks vs. the Dallas Stars. Two evenly matched teams who split their season series all with identical scores of 2-1. Both defensive minded teams with little scoring and great goalies. We all expected a close game, but not like this. The atmosphere is incredible, and as cool as it looks on TV, you have to be there live to experience just how cool a visual it is to see an entire arena waving towels. TOWEL POWER! I even joked that a playoff game between these two teams could cause the game to go into multiple overtimes, little did I know....
Longest Canucks game in history, 6th longest in NHL history. I'm gonna skip the entire regulation except to say that the Canucks blew a 4-2 lead in the third period. Let's jump straight to the intermission after overtime period #3, where the equivalent of 2 full games had passed. I needed water but didn't wanna pay an arm and a leg for it. I can hold out (for now). Overtime period #4, less than 2 minutes less, preparing for Overtime #5, and about to give up that arm and leg for some bottled water. But alas, we score just short of entering period #8.
I gotta say though, as much as I love sudden death overtime and these superlong games, they gotta find a way to shorten them, like with a shootout or 4 on 4 in OT. They gotta do that for the players, it's just too much for them. It's just not fair for them to play that much in one night, and have to do it again in a couple days. They all played their hearts and muscles out, but you could tell that they were all on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. I was getting tired watching, I can't imagine how it was to actually play that long.
Luongo made 72 saves, and while he may have let in a couple "soft" ones, he made the ones that counted, and always gave us a chance to win. He was named First Star, and it was well deserved. We were badly outplayed for much of the game, and were badly outshot, but upon learning that we lost 2 key forwards and were basically rolling 3 lines for almost the entire overtime periods, it made much more sense. We weren't badly outplayed, we were outmanned.
First playoff game, and what a game it was. It was almost two and a half games for the price of one, so I definately got my money's worth. I can now say that I was in the building during the longest Canucks game in history. It was a game the Canucks should've won outright in regulation, but it was not to be. Fortunately, we got the win anyways, eventually. Ok, time for bed, I need it.
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