TMNT Turtles in Time Re-Shelled- A 3 Minute Review by Charlie U.

Yay, video game review.

Do you remember Turtles in time for Super Nintendo and the Arcade? If you are old enough to remember now imagine the arcade game with PlayStation 2-esk graphics. For those who do not remember (or are too young) Turtles in time was a 2D side-scrolling beat'em up game (my favorite video game genre :-)). In the game you are able to select from each of the four turtles and you beat up on an endless amount of foot soldiers, and goons, until the end of a stage where you fight a boss, and ultimately the Turtle's arch enemy, Shredder. Now this game is a "Re-shelled" version of the ARCADE game, meaning less bosses, bad guys, levels, and the watering down of the jump kick, and no back flips. Some may feel that's fine, because that means its a true remake of the game, however I view it as an easy way to speed up a video game process, and make money with less effort. The Difference's between the original arcade version, and the re-shelled version is graphics. The game gets a graphic "upgrade" (now in 3D) which makes it look like a game that was released 7 years ago instead of the original 17, not good and could have been better. Besides that everything is identical. Unfortunately this hinders the game, because it can be beaten easily in one sit in, therefore killings its replay value. The game does supposed on-line play, but that's never as fun as playing with a group beside you (which luckily you can). "New" options are a survival mode, which is the same as the arcade mode just with one life, there is also a quick play mode where you can play a stage you have already completed, neither of these ad legit replay value to the game.

Overall, I would tell everyone to IGNORE IT. If you own the original, simply just replay it. If you are new to TMNT, and have Xbox Live then I would suggest getting TMNT Arcade 1989, it is half the price of this game and has similar features. If you do not own an Xbox360 or you can't handle pixelated goodness, then pick up one of the newer TMNT beat'em ups (with arguably better graphics) for PS2/Xbox, which you could also probably get for a fraction of this price of this game.

Hod Rod- A 3 minute review by Charlie U.

Usually I don't mess movie with reviews so bare with me. I apologize if it is not up to par with the other movie reviews up here....Hot Rod is a 2007 comedy that stars Andy Samberg, probably most known as a cast member on SNL, and a member of the Lonely Island. Without giving much away (not that there is much to give away), the movie is about a young stuntman (Samberg), and his crew attempting to raise money to help the stunt-man's father get surgery. The story itself, like most of the gags in the movie, are basic and pointless. The humor in the movie is mostly dumb humor, and at times feels like a really long skit from the Lonely Island (which makes sense considering it was directed by the same person). If stupidity and dumb humor are not your forte, then i would avoid the movie. However, if you have the ability to "turn off your brain" sort to speak (which i did) there is a good chance you will enjoy the movie, especially considering its relatively short running time. The movie mostly delivers quiet laughs, though there was a part or two where i laughed out loud.

Overall, I would recommend you WATCH IT, but ONLY IF YOU CAN SHUT OFF YOUR BRAIN. Borrow it from a friend or catch it on cable/satellite/fios because while I may have enjoyed it, the cast of the movie (most notable, Will Arnett) have been a lot funnier.