Green Lantern: Emerald Knights Review

Released in conjunction with the big screen release of Green Lantern, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights is a direct to DVD animated feature. It's similar to Warner's direct to DVD release of Batman: Gotham Knight (2008) was to The Dark Knight.(2008) Both movies are a compilation of short stories.

Green Lantern: Emerald Knights starts out with the discovery that Krona, an evil alien from the anti-matter universe is using the sun of Oa, the home of the Guardians of the Universe and the Green Lantern Corps, to launch attacks against it. You see the Guardians have established the cosmic police force, the Green Lantern Corps, to enforce justice through out the universe. The Guardians recall virtually all the Green Lantern to Oa to defend the planet.

Rookie Arisia (Elisabeth Moss) is taken under the wing of human Green Lantern Hal Jordan. (Nathan Fillion) Being recently drafted into service, she knows very little of the history of the Green Lantern. So while the Green Lanterns gather to confront Krona, he tells her the stories of various Green Lanterns. It's these flashbacks that make up the movie.

There are five flashbacks. I found three of them compelling. These three range from the tale of the first Green Lantern to the story of Laira to a tale about Abin Sur, the predecessor for Hal Jordan. The first Green Lantern known as Avra tells the story of how a scribe became a Green Lantern. It talks about the need for a cosmic police force to prevent evil beings from preying upon the weak. It's an inspiring tale about the power of will to overcome one's obstacles. Laira's story is about her having to confront her father who is leading a rogue attack on his enemies. Confronting her father has a Shakespearean vibe to it. It's an emotionally deep tragedy. Abin Sur's tale is about his fight with Atrocitus. Atrocitus for tells the betrayal of the Corps by Abin Sur's friend, Sinestro. Abin Sur must confront how much he believes in destiny.

All five stories are epic in scale. There's much action here. And battles between armies and Green Lanterns are well produced. The planets, and aliens are cool looking. The animation mixes CGI 3D and 2D very well. Unlike Batman: Gotham Knights, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights has a unity of animation style. The artists don't veer to deep anime from 3D CGI. It all looks great on the screen. And the unity of animation styles helps tie all the tales together.

Kudos to directors Christopher Berkely, Lauren Montgomery, Jay Oliva and voice director Andrea Romano for combining six stories with different writers for a cohesive narrative. It all feels organic. And while there maybe too much action, it doesn't overwhelm the drama of the situation. I appreciate that this film explains the genesis of the Green Lantern Corps. By doing so, one gets a feel for the heroic nature of the Corps. That's something missing from the live action movie starring Ryan Reynolds.

The voice acting is top notch. Three performances stand out. Elisabeth Moss gives her character, Arisia, the proper fresh off the bus feeling. Arnold Vosloo, on the other hand plays a veteran Green Lantern in Abin Sur, one who completed many missions. Whereas Nathan Fillion as Hal Jordan surprisingly comes off as a father type figure.

Green Lantern: Emerald Knights is heroic and epic. It's better than its companion live action film. The grade is A.

St. Louis Cardinals Are Little Bitches, Part 10

Thanks to 1530 Homer's Lance McAlister and Mo Egger for posting these articles on their blogs. In this article, St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa whines about the Milwaukee Brewer's TV color man for comments said during last night's game. He seems to take offense of the color man calling the beaning of Brewers Ryan Braun as bush league. Memo to Tony LaRussa. Hitting Ryan Braun was bush league. And if you Mr. La Russa ordered it, you're a bush leaguer.

The second article is from a Brewers Blog. It details La Russa's history of being the biggest little bitch in baseball. Here it is. The Cardinals take their lead from their manager. That's why they're the "little bitches."

St. Louis Cardinals Are Little Bitches, Part 9

The Milwaukee Brewers are learning about how the St. Louis Cardinals are little bitches. Part 8 of this series covered the Cardinals whining about the lighting around home plate and the Cardinals allegation that the Brewers were stealing signs.

Last night, the Cardinals were in full "little bitch" mode. With no outs in the seventh, Brewers reliever Takashi Saito hit Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols in the wrist to load the bases. Now, folks at the time the Brewers were leading by one run. It makes no sense to hit Pujols. Pitching inside is part of the game. Of course the Cardinals know as the "little bitches" whined about it in two ways. Cardinals Jason Motte plunked Brewers All Star Ryan Braun with a 97 mph fastball in the next half inning. It was clearly intentional as stated by Brewers Jonathan Lucroy. Then at the end of the game, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa whined by saying, "The ball that they tried to throw on Pujols was aimed right where they aimed it. Did they try to hit him? No. But there’s a small window there.” Then he said something stupid, "Do you know how many bones you have in the hands and the face? That’s where those pitches are. And Braun, we were trying to pitch him in, too, it’s just a little stinger. I don’t want to even hear about Braun getting a little pop in the back when we almost lose (Pujols) in several ways.”

Okay, Tony La Russa, I'm sorry. Pitching inside is part of the game. That means you get under the hands of the hitter. Yeah, it's dangerous because you may hit the batter or leave too much of it over the plate. And those pitches over the plate get deposited over the left field fence by Mr. Pujols. So you try to keep the ball under his hands. And popping Braun with a 97 mph fastball is not a "little stinger." Does this whining sound familiar? Yeah, the Cardinals bitched when Cincinnati Reds closer Francisco Cordero hit Pujols in May.

Is there anymore to the Cardinals whining? Yeah. In the tenth, Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina got into an argument with the home plate umpire, Rob Drake, after getting called out on a third strike. Molina was so incensed that he bumped the umpire and may have spit on him. Now remember Molina was catcher who started last year's big fight with the Cincinnati Reds Brandon Phillips. Here's the story about last night's Cardinals-Brewers game.

The Cardinals have whined about the Colorado Rockies, the Cincinati Reds, Houston Astros Carlos Lee, and now the Milwaukee Brewers. Yes, baseball fans if you didn't know already, the St. Louis Cardinals are little bitches.

St. Louis Cardinals Are Little Bitches, Part 8

In our ongoing series detailing the whining little bitches known as the St. Louis Cardinals, here's more proof. The Cardinals complained that the Milwaukee Brewers were playing around with the lights to make it darker when they were batting. They also accused the Brewers of stealing signs. Here's the story.

Last year I posted this Denver Post article. I also detailed the Cardinals bellyaches about the Cincinnati Reds. Now the whole league is enduring the Little Bitches aka The St. Louis Cardinals.

Mass Effect 2: Arrival, "Last Stand" Achievement Tips

To get the Arrival DLC's "Last Stand" Achievement for Mass Effect 2, you must withstand five waves of attackers while "defending" Object Rho. These bad guys include flamethrowing Pyros and Engineers. What you have to do is stay alive until the power bar at the right fills up. Here's how I got the achievement.

1. Are you Insane? Don't try to get this on the Insanity Difficulty Level. That's because it's insane. Don't torture yourself. I got the achievement on Normal.

2. Don't move right away. When the mission starts. you are hunkered down. Enemies are to your left and a soldier is to your right. Kill the guy on your right without delay. Stay under cover and don't move. Why? All the bad guys will come from your left. Now if you move, they will flank you. But staying where you started, the enemies won't move to your right. Take a look at the video below and note the bad guys flanking him. That doesn't happen if you stay put.

3. Pyros first. When Pyros show up, nail them first. Their flamethrowers will wreck your day.

4. Move when the YMIR Mech comes close. You will hear the steps of the YMIR Mech. Don't panic. It will be on the opposite side of the artifact. When this thing comes into sight, get ready to move. So run and seek cover. Use your weapons to take it down. Eventually, the power bar fills up and you get the achievement.

Here's how another guy got the achievement. Note how he gets flanked when he moved from the original position.

Mass Effect 2: Arrival Tips For Insanity Difficulty Setting

Why play Mass Effect 2: Arrival on Insanity? For the challenge. So, here are tips for playing Arrival on the Inanity difficulty setting. Remember to review my general tips for playing Mass Effect 2 on Insanity. This is not a complete walkthrough but will cover the most difficult areas. If you want a walkthrough, check this one out from Mass Effect 2 Wiki.

1. Make Slam your extra power. That will become apparent at the last section of the mission.

2. Save your game often.

3. Fools rush in. Don't rush into rooms. A lot of times you should seek cover next to the door. Let the enemies run around and pick them off. If you need to, retreat and lure bad guys to you under cover. And remember that all enemies have shields now.

4. Take out pyros first. These guys will try to flank you. And on Arrival, they're faster. A pyro's flamethrower will ruin your day. So when they appear, give them special attention.

5. Tips for hack the terminal. Before you enter the room with Dr. Kenson, save your game. Okay rescue her, get the credits in the room and take out the guard that comes to attack you. Head downstairs to the elevator room.

When you enter the room, you come under attack from four guards. Take cover and take them down. Kenson has two powers. They are Overload and Incinerate. Use her powers. As you move forward, doors open up and more guards appear. Again seek cover. Take out these guys. Okay, once they're down, take a breath. Because you won't be able to save your game until you reach Kenson's base.

To start the next part of the mission, you must activate the terminal. Kenson comes over and will hack it to bring down the elevator. Now there's a vestibule outside of the terminal that has a turned over table you can use for cover. Kenson tells you to hold the fort but she can't help you. Enemies come from the left in waves of three. They have shields. And they make a beeline for Kenson. They will shoot at you as they approach. So be careful.

I first seek cover behind a wall in the vestibule. I try to take down the shields of the guards but eventually they will be on top of you. I move back to the hall where Kenson is and take cover. This causes the guards to seek cover behind the fallen table. Okay, here's the order. As soon as you defeat these first three, Kenson tells you that you need to close the door from where they entered. Guards in waves of three will continue to enter until you shut the door. But there will be only three at one time. This is what I do. I kill two guards and weaken the third significantly. I then run to the door's controls, the weakened guard heads for Kenson. If you're fast enough you can get to the controls and shut it before other guards appear. If guards appear, there will be only two but it will be difficult to keep Kenson alive while you're putting down the two new guards. Regardless, get to the controls and shut the door. Head back to Kenson to kill the guards that are moving on her.

Now a group of guards now appear from the right. Stay under cover of the vestibule's walls. They don't advance so pick them off. After they've been defeated. Another group comes from the elevator. You might want to take out the sniper rifle. Once you're finished with these guys Kenson moves to the elevator. Take a breath. Collect ammo clips and then head onto the elevator.

Now you head up a floor with the shuttle. Remember fools rush in. You're immediately under fire. Get under cover and start taking out the guards on this floor. Use Kenson and be careful. Once you've defeated all the bad guys, destroy the locks on the door. You can use your power of Slam on them. Get in the shuttle and escape to Kenson's base. Once you get there, you can save your game.

6. Object Rho. No need for tips here. You can't survive the attack. And if you're looking for the "Last Stand" achievement, you would be insane to do this on um, Insanity. Get the achievement on a lower difficulty level like Normal.

7. The Final Battle. You're on the surface. The asteroid is heading toward the Alpha Relay. Strong "winds" are swirling above you. There's a crate in front of you but don't run there. Go to the right and take cover behind the wall of crates. Why? The guards won't flank you. They take cover in positions in front of you.

Now here's where the Slam power is worth its weight in gold. Use your assault rifle to rip down the guards shields. Now use Slam on unshielded bad guys. It throws them high in the air and the "winds" sweep him up and away. Instant kill.

Finally, there's only a YMIR Mech between you and the communications control. Use the crates for cover. And don't get careless. Remember once you get the Mech down to its shields, you can use Slam. It won't throw the Mech up but it will freeze and damage it. Eventually you destroy the Mech. Get to the communications control and call the Normandy. That's it. Enjoy the cutscenes.

Mass Effect 2: Arrival DLC Review

Arrival is the last DLC for Mass Effect 2. It's a short mission that a good player will get through in a few hours. In Arrival, you get a mission from Admiral Hackett to rescue Dr. Amanda Kenson. She's being held captive by Batarians on Aratoht. Hackett asks you to go alone because he fears a squad will alert the Batarians and they will kill Kenson.

You land on Aratoht. You break out Kenson. She tells you why she was captured by the Batarians. You travel to her base which is on an asteroid. The purpose of the base? Delay the Reaper invasion which is coming through a Mass Effect relay by crashing the asteroid into the relay.

One third of the mission is stealth. That's unusual for Mass Effect. It requires you to see where the Batarians are looking to avoid them. The other unusual thing is that you control a mech. That's not a big deal. The rest of the game is combat.

Some have said this mission is essential for the Reaper storyline. That's not correct. Look, we know the Reapers are coming. That's the plot of the upcoming Mass Effect 3. Destroying a Mass Effect Relay only delays the Reapers. So you don't really need this DLC. But the question is whether it's fun. There's nothing new in terms of combat. Still, it's fun as you battle Batarians and possessed humans. The few hours of entertainment are worth the 560 points and right now if you are a Gold member, it's only 280 credits. The Arrival DLC is short but fun mission. The grade is B.