Review Wednesday Number 1

So the very first review Wednesday of the blog! I almost missed it due to some work issues but hopefully you'll enjoy some of these.

A majority of this weeks reviews will be internet based distractions so feel free to check them out at your leisure.

Lets get started!!!

1)

I promised myself that the honourable first post needed to be dedicated to the phenomenal “Shoes” music video by Kelly (aka. Liam Sullivan).

If you watch the full version you have the fortune (or misfortune) of meeting Kelly and her mad family of which 3 out of 4 characters are played by the same person. A great way to introduce all the characters who, if you continue the series, you’ll get to know quite well.

The start of the music video portion of this appears quite weak but as it progresses the catchy lyrics, oddness and funny scenes get better making this a must watch!

Links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCF3ywukQYA&feature=PlayList&p=75668CBD6A342880&index=0 - Shoes (full version)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HjIljJd-o0&feature=PlayList&p=75668CBD6A342880&index=17 - Shoes (music video only)

http://www.liamshow.com/videos.html - creator homepage

Run time: 4 minutes (full version) or 2:53 (music video version)
Distraction rating: I’m giving this a 4 ½ out of 5
Work distraction: NSFW unless you use headphones – the swearing might be too much for your boss/colleagues/customers to handle.

2)

For my second attempt at this I’m going for something just a bit longer lasting and for some of you not very enjoyable. [Insert sarcastic sex joke here]

This week I’ll be covering Naruto Central, a resource for online versions of the Naruto anime and manga which are put up a day or two after they’ve been released in Japan and translated into English.

Though anime isn’t for everyone I would recommend giving this a try as it is a great way to see if you like something before going out and buying it. (I have to say that this site was the reason my pay isn’t reaching as far, I really shouldn’t buy so much manga!)

I’m more of a fan of the manga than the anime as though the anime is quite faithful to the original manga the amount of filler episodes and needlessly extended fights/chases in the faithful episodes really does put me off watching at times.

The basic plot (without revealing too much hopefully) is the life of Naruto as he leaves his education behind to become a powerful ninja in a world that has a mix of technology and mysticism. Demons, fights, magic, good vs. evil – all of this and more can be found throughout the series.

Time spent: Days or months depending on how addicted you become.
Distraction rating: This has to be a 3 out of 5 as though the manga is fantastic, the anime is ok apart from the points mentioned above and this might not be to everyone’s taste.
Work distraction: Safe for work though I don’t know how much you’d be able to get done if you get addicted.

Link:

http://www.narutocentral.com/?p=media/manga_chapters

3)

Hopefully you’ll come to notice that I like to provide some variety within my suggestions/reviews (well as much as I can, there are limits) and so for this post I bring you a webcomic!

Shortpacked is designed by David Willis and follows the odd lives of the workers at a store called Shortpacked ruled over by a dictatorial boss known as Galasso. The art initially starts off in black and white but eventually changes to colour, the story itself becomes stranger as it progresses and the style improves greatly.

As well as telling the stories of the regular cast it also delves into some strange asides (again quite geeky) including Transformers and Batman to name but a couple (though they do appear to be the most popular topics).

Again this may not be to everyone’s taste as it is quite geeky but the ‘cast’ itself is quite diverse and they squeeze in an American president so I guess it would count as being somewhat educational whilst still remaining mindnumbingly distraction worthy.

Time spent: Days can be spent here whittling your time away.
Distraction rating: 3 ½ out of 5, not everyone’s as geeky as me.
Work distraction: Safe for work I should imagine. Maybe a few sexual references.

Link:

http://www.shortpacked.com/

4)

If you enjoy computer games or you enjoy an immense amount of sarcasm (or both) then hopefully you’ll enjoy the hilarious video reviews by the infamous Zero Punctuation.

The cartoon style of the whole thing is a great method to get the point across whilst also allowing for some visual gags that just can’t be done in live action.

This one definitely will not be safe for work as there is a rather large amount of swearing and concepts that your employers should not hear/see coming from your computer so its probably best to watch it at home when you are trying to distract from house work.

Zero Punctuation gets updated every Wednesday so be sure to check the next episode out as well as the back catalogue.

Time spent: Minutes per episode, less than a day to get through all together.
Distraction rating: 3 as though its good you can’t watch it at work.
Work distraction: Really NSFW.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation

5)

It’s Blitz, the latest offering from New Yorkers the Yeah Yeah Yeahs brings back some of the rock edge of the first album with the more mellowed out songs of their last album and merges them together with the electronic edge featured throughout.

So far my favourites have to be Heads Will Roll, Dragon Queen and Hysteric but the whole album can be enjoyed from beginning to end without stopping or skipping; a definite must buy album.

Enjoyment rating: A full 5 stars!

6)

Has anyone else ever felt slightly abused like a coffee machine in an office? No? Oh well Shakira, never mind, get back in your closet until the next full moon.

With that out of the way back to the review. Is it bad of me to like this song? Though it is quite cheesy the music itself is quite fun and upbeat and Shakira sounds as good as ever! The lyrics at times aren’t exactly classic worthy but I can think of far worse lyrics out there (yes Cheryl Cole I do mean your awful attempt at a solo song) and she has to get credit for fitting in lycanthropy.

Overall not great but really enjoyable anyway.

Enjoyment rating: 3 1/2 stars.


So there we go, thats the end of the first review Wednesday, now lets just hope I can make the post for Gossip Friday!