Tag Archive: interview


Man vs. Machine. vs. Mutant

Filed under: Audio — Leave a comment
April 18, 2010

Originally published: April, 24, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and Lundberg.me

Hundreds of years in the future, the wars of man will unearth an unholy relic that could spell the doom of the human race. At least that is according to the new Sci-Fi Action movie Mutant Chronicles.

The political boundaries of the world in Mutant Chronicles have merged over the centuries into four main industrial super powers, two in the east, one in central/western Europe, and the Americas. A thousand years before, an evil alien device that turned humans into nearly unstoppable humanoid zombie killing machines (say that five times fast) had crash-landed on the planet and only by the different peoples banding together was the machine banished far below the earth and sealed away.

As the four feuding super powers continue to struggle over control of the planet, the seal has been broken and only an elite force, composed of representatives from all over the world, can silence this ancient evil once again.

The movie stars Tom Jane as Major Mitch Hunter, one of the leaders of the group selected to attempt to infiltrate the abominable alien machine, and Ron Perlman as Brother Samuel, the head of the religious group entrusted to uphold the legacy of the original collective that sealed away the alien device.

I had a chance to catch up with Ron Perlman about this movie, several of his past roles, the future of the Hellboy series, and much, much more.


CLICK HERE – to listen to my interview with one of the greatest character actors out there, Ron Perlman.

I felt this movie had such great potential, but fell short in the end. It was like a combination of The Punisher and Resident Evil with even less writing and even more generic action sequences. The story is loosely based off an old-school pen and paper RPG (Role-Playing Game); like Dungeons and Dragons, but with Necro-Mutants and automatic rifles. Mutant Chronicles had the source material to deliver a solid action experience, but poor writing and character development left you wanting more from the experience.

The acting, at least, was solid from everyone involved. Tom Jane basically reprised his Punisher role in this as a solider-of-fortune so it wasn’t a stretch for him to succeed in it. Ron Perlman is one of the most underrated character actors out there and did a phenomenal job playing another great one to add to the long list he’s compiled over the years (some of which we spoke about in our interview above). The supporting cast did well in the few moments they were called on to rise up and take a scene including a short scene with John Malkovich as a political figure during the beginning of the Necro-Mutant invasion.

This isn’t a bad movie, but it isn’t a great one either. There were a lot of spots that dragged on with too many gaps in the plot, which is typical when taking a plot from an old-school RPG if you don’t take it upon yourself to fix these holes with additional writing. I walked away with seeing enough action and enough sci-fi, but I still needed something else from the plot to make it feel complete.

It also felt like the movie couldn’t decide if it was going to concentrate on the action, the sci-fi, or the zombie aspects a lot of the time and this tug-of-war keeps you from becoming totally immersed in the fantasy.

The movie is an hour and 51 minutes and you have to figure that if they could have tightened up the movie to somewhere around the hour and a half mark and wrote a couple more minutes of really concise dialogue then it might have flowed in a way that would have left a better feeling in my gut when I left the theatre.

Mutant Chronicles gets 2 out of 5 for Ron Perlman dominating his role as usual and some average action sequences.

-Ray Carsillo

Tags: , , , , ,
Comment

The Hardcore Legend

Filed under: Audio — Leave a comment

Originally Published: April 17, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

When you think of hardcore wrestling, there are only a couple of men that shoot to the forefront of everyone’s minds. One of those men is Mick Foley.

Mick has had a long and illustrious wrestling career from being the King of the Death Matches in Japan to a 3-time WWE Champion and has a chance to add TNA Heavyweight Champion to his list of accomplishments this Sunday in Philadelphia at TNA’s Lockdown.

Mick will take on “The Icon” Sting in “Six Sides of Steel”, TNA’s take on the steel cage match, at TNA’s most hardcore Pay-Per-View of the year, Lockdown. So, if you can’t get down to Philadelphia to see the show live, you can order it through your local cable provider to see Mick Foley in a match he helped put on the map.

In my interview with Mick, I asked what his thoughts were going into the steel cage once again at this stage of his career. We also chatted about getting snubbed from WWE’s Legends of Wrestlemania video game, his decision to come to TNA Wrestling, and the possibility of being in TNA’s next video game, TNA Impact 2, due out later this year.


CLICK HERE – to listen to my interview with The Hardcore Legend, Mick Foley.

Tags: , , , , ,
Comment

How Sweet It Is

Filed under: Audio — Leave a comment

Originally Published: April 6, 2009, for 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and Lundberg.me

After two months of waiting through a sports drought, baseball season is finally starting. With it comes the smell of freshly cut green grass, warmer weather, and the feeling of rebirth that accompanies the game and the changing of the seasons. I recently had the opportunity to screen a movie that played on this theme of rebirth through baseball: Sugar.

Sugar was a 2008 Official Selection of both the Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals. It is the fictional story about Miguel “Sugar” Santos. Miguel is a Dominican league pitcher who gets signed by a fictional major league team and the struggles he faces in the minor league farm system as he chases after his dreams.

I had a chance to talk with the man who plays Sugar in the film, Algenis Perez Soto, and we discussed everything from his training to become a pitcher for the movie to the difficulty of playing such a complex, emotional, role on film.


CLICK HERE – to listen to my interview with the star of Sugar, Algenis Perez Soto.

The movie opens up on a baseball field where Sugar is pitching in the Dominican League where he is dominating. After the game, we follow Sugar to his home in a small village in the Dominican Republic where we find out that Sugar lost his father at an early age and is the main provider now for his mother, grandmother, younger sister and brother, and helps maintain the two room shack they survive in.

As the movie unfolds, Sugar ends up being signed to a small contract for the Kansas City Monarchs after a grueling tryout session. He is soon on his way to Iowa to join the Class-A affiliate of the Monarchs as a highly touted pitching prospect. He meets his teammates and quickly learns they are also his competition. He realizes, after speaking with older friends on the team, that not many prospects ever make it out of the minor leagues. Thus, the stage of self-discovery is set for Sugar to find out what sacrifice will truly mean if his dreams are to become reality and for him to find happiness.

What many people misunderstand about this movie is that this is not a movie about the process of how major league teams scout foreign players or how they can be treated once they arrive to the states. It is a story about one man’s unique struggles; the game of baseball is simply the vehicle for his journey.

What I loved about this movie is that it did not have the typical Hollywood ending-in-a-can that you all too often see with these fictional accounts. It had a sense of realism to see this man struggle, fail, pick himself up, and, in his mind, still succeed and find a semblance of happiness.

Sugar is a well-told story about the maturation of a young man and the pursuit of his dreams which forces him to leave everything he knows behind. It then chronicles his journey as the trials he face change his dream into something he wouldn’t have recognized at the start of his travels. It shows how time can change a person’s course in life and that in the end, being happy and satisfied with one’s self is all the matters.

This movie shows that not everyone who comes from the Dominican Republic ends up as Sammy Sosa or Pedro Martinez. For several scenes in the movie, real people who came from Latin America to chase a dream of playing baseball were introduced and it was revealed towards the end of the movie that many of them ended up doing something else, but they all cherished their memories playing for the minor league affiliates of the Padres, Mariners, Yankees, and many other baseball teams. It was a touching scene that gave credibility to this fictional account and reminds us that even though they may have failed at baseball, they are still people.

The only problem I really had with the movie was that it seemed difficult to follow Sugar’s thought patterns at times. The movie had a habit of showing Sugar doing things, but not always showing his reasons until well after he made his decisions and acted out on them. This made it a bit difficult to follow his character development and since the story revolves solely around that, I have to dock points from it.

When all is said and done, Sugar is the compelling coming-of-age story of a young Dominican man as he deals with problems many of us in the United States do not have to worry about (a language barrier, extreme poverty) through the game of baseball and how he finds himself in the end after being lost in this foreign land.

Sugar is out now in New York and L.A. and runs at 1 hour and 54 minutes.

Sugar gets 3.5 out of 5.

-Ray Carsillo

Tags: , , , , ,
Comment

A Slobberknocker to Remember

Filed under: Audio — Leave a comment

Originally Published: April 3, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com), ESPNVideoGames.com, and Lundberg.me

It’s that time of year again: Flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, 250-pound men are hitting each other with steel chairs and baseball bats covered in barbed-wire…

That’s right, it’s time for Wrestlemania! Wrestlemania has grown over the years into an event that encompasses an entire weekend and the days leading up to the event, almost like the Super Bowl. The WWE Hall of Fame ceremonies are always the night before and with Friday Night Smackdown, ECW on Tuesdays, and Monday Night Raw, the buildup is almost as big as the Pay-Per-View itself.

This year is extra special because it is the 25th Anniversary and in that vein the WWE has released a new video game titled Legends of Wrestlemania. This game takes 38 of the greatest WWE wrestlers to ever grace the squared-circle and allows you to pick your favorites as you re-enact the greatest matches of all-time.

Before we even get into how great this game is, though, I had a chance to catch up with the voice of the WWE, “Good Ol’ J.R.”, Jim Ross, and talk to him about this year’s Wrestlemania matches, Hall of Fame class, and the video game itself.


CLICK HERE – to listen to my interview with the voice of the WWE, Jim Ross.

Now, like I said above, Legends of Wrestlemania is amazing. Unlike other wrestling games that struggle to find a storyline or to immerse you in the action, this one is all set in that regard because the storylines were used 10-25 years ago and show they stand the test of time in terms of immersion because everyone remembers where they were when Hogan body slammed Andre at Wrestlemania III, when Bret Hart won back the WWE Championship against Yokozuna at Wrestlemania X, or when Stone Cold stunned the Rock twice at Wrestlemania XV. And if you forgot (shame on you!), there is a short 2-3 minute montage highlighting the development of the rivalry between the opponents before each match which can be reviewed anytime you like in the movie gallery. The opportunity to play through “Relive” mode for these great matches is one of the key selling points of the game and if you are a fan of wrestling then you don’t need much more than that.

But wait! There’s more! Along with the “Relive” mode for all those great matches, there are also “Rewrite”, “Redefine”, and “Legend Killer” modes. “Rewrite” mode has you take on the role of the loser of some of the greatest matches in Wrestlemania history and has you complete objectives to “rewrite” history like Junkyard Dog vs. Greg “The Hammer” Valentine in Wrestlemania I for the Intercontinental Championship.

“Redefine” mode adds new stipulations to classic matches from Wrestlemania lore like turning the Undertaker vs. King Kong Bundy in Wrestlemania XI into a No Disqualification Match or Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka vs. Rick “Ravishing” Rude at Wrestlemania VI into a Steel Cage Match. It’s a great way for the game to introduce different match dynamics, from climbing ladders and steel cages to throwing your opponent around the arena for some hardcore action, without forcing you to sit through a tedious tutorial; or reading what should be an instruction booklet, but what looks more like an instruction novel.

Then there is the “Legend Killer” mode, which has you use the expansive “Create a Wrestler” feature and put your fictional wrestler up to the test as he takes on a random stable of legends in 10-man gauntlet matches. If you win all the 10-man gauntlet matches, you can also test your mettle by taking on the ultimate gauntlet match, a 38-man gauntlet comprised of the entire roster of Legends of Wrestlemania.

There were only a couple of things I found this game lacking. Some really great legends were excluded and the fact that there are no special unlockable wrestlers also takes away from the time you can spend playing the game. No “Macho Man” Randy Savage, “Mankind” Mick Foley, or George “The Animal” Steele is a real disappointment.

There were also no female wrestlers in the game. Being a geek who watches wrestling, one of the major drawing factors is the divas in the WWE (sex, violence, and humor sells what can I say?). I understand that there weren’t as many lady wrestlers as there were guys 25 years ago, it’s just the way the business was, but a handful in their primes might’ve been a nice touch.

Another problem was that the A.I. is beyond simple. I would run through gauntlet matches with nary a punch being landed on me. Only a handful of the objective based “rewrite” matches gave me any difficulty and even then it only took the second or third try before victory was again within my grasp.

Aside from a lackluster A.I. and dearth of wrestler choices, this game delivers everywhere else. Gameplay was as solid as it can be for a wrestling game, with only a minimum of physics problems and glitches (wrestlers falling through one another when missing a clothesline, for example). The attack/counter system is easy to pick up and the new “chain” attack system for certain grapples is a true test of reflexes where you have to punch in button combos to execute moves or counters. When playing in the standard-equipped multiplayer mode, this is a great safety mechanism to prevent relentless friends or online opponents from bashing you into submission.

Graphics were solid for a wrestling game and the audio was as good as could be, with “Good Ol’ J.R.” and Jerry “the King” Lawler doing ringside commentary, and with original entrance themes as the soundtrack for the game. Authentic entrances are always nice to see and having ones like the movable mini-ring to escort the wrestlers through the crowd at Wrestlemania III with accurate character graphics introducing each wrestler was a great touch and shows the meticulous detail that went into this game to make it feel like you were watching the moments live all over again.

Another nice detail is that wrestlers who traditionally had managers, also have them in the game and they make certain matches even more difficult. It isn’t easy trying to avoid Mr. Fuji’s white powder AND wrestle Yokozuna; or how about Bobby “the Brain” Heenan jumping onto the ring apron, when you wrestle Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, distracting you just enough for Valentine to apply the Figure-Four Leg Lock. Jimmy Hart isn’t a picnic when you wrestle Honky Tonk Man either and Paul Bearer wielding that damn golden urn is especially a nuisance when wrestling the Undertaker.

This game delivers for the most part on every front you would want from a game highlighting the greatest matches in wrestling history. The few minor complaints aside, if you are a fan of wrestling or are just getting into it and need a history lesson, then this is a must-have game.

Ratings are based on a system of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.

Graphics: 7.5: This has the standard graphics for a wrestling game on this generation of consoles. The only real unique effect is that when you make someone bleed, the blood will usually stain the mat like in real life, which has been a complaint for years. Still though, audience members look only good in the distance, for when you get close shots of them in an entrance or a match that ends up around different parts of the arena, they look like polygon zombies. That’ll shock you back to reality.

Audio: 8.5: All the original entrance themes for the wrestling roster serve as the soundtrack (I forgot how much I loved “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes’ theme). Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler is a great touch as the legendary ringside commentators for the WWE, but their limited phrase track begins to get tiresome quickly and is a major factor for me taking points away.

Plot/Plot Development: 5.0: There isn’t an original plot to the game, but that is also part of the appeal. If you picked this game up, it is because you most likely remember the storylines and matches when they happened live and you want to be a part of those historic moments. Still, the plots and development were great on weekly TV 20+ years ago, a 2-3 minute montage fills in the necessary gaps, but doesn’t give all the details you would want as a wrestling fan, and for that the score has to suffer.

Gameplay: 8.0: A sub-par A.I. takes key points away from the greatness of the game. The physics system has a couple of glitches, but that is to be expected with most wrestling games considering the complexity of many maneuvers and this game is fairly smooth compared with those that have come before.

Replay Value: 6.5: After beating all the gauntlets and individual matches and their variations, this game doesn’t have a real lasting appeal. It has a standard multiplayer mode with online capabilities that you can get in any wrestling game. It barely gets a passing score.


Overall (not an average): 7.5: This is a game devoted to the hardcore wrestling fan and that is all. It does not pull any punches by trying to deviate towards any other audience and it is that single-minded focus that makes it so great and yet so flawed. Only the lack of a broad appeal takes it down a notch. The bottom line is: If you’re a wrestling fan, this is a must have.

Legends of Wrestlemania is out now for the PS3 and XBOX360.

-Ray Carsillo

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Prepare for Punishment

Filed under: Audio — Leave a comment

Originally Published: March 13, 2009, for Collider.com and 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

The original anti-hero, the Punisher blasted his way into the comic culture in 1974 in Amazing Spider-Man #129. Since then, he’s left his skull print all over pop culture by inspiring several comic titles, countless merchandising items, and three seperate movies.

I had a chance to catch up with the latest man to don the white skull, Ray Stevenson (HBO’S Rome), as Punisher: Warzone is about to hit store shelves everywhere on DVD and blu-ray on March 17th, 2009.


CLICK HERE – to listen to my interview with the star of Punsiher: Warzone, Ray Stevenson.

Tags: , , , ,
Comment

Halo Wars!

Filed under: Video — Leave a comment

Originally Published: January 21, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

Ray Carsillo with Graeme Devine, Lead Story Writer for Halo Wars
Video by Jared Bodden

The name of the game says it all. Halo Wars is a prequel in the canon of Halo, but some would consider it a look forward for the series in terms of its grand war-like scale. Halo Wars turns the Halo series on its head by taking it out of the 1st person shooter perspective and pulling the camera way back to a satellite view and turning it into a Real-Time Strategy game.

Now, initial reactions when this game was revealed were a chorus of moans and groans because, traditionally, it is impossible to have any good RTS on a console and people were afraid of what it would do to the Halo series. In terms of problems, many times in console RTS games it is hard to manage and find your resources, difficult to choose units and the glitches with troop movement are enough to make you throw your controller through the TV. I had a chance to play an early make of the game and it seems that most of these problems have been corrected.

Managing resources is a breeze because all the resources have been streamlined into one resource that is produced right next your base. Basically, the construction that manages your resources is a helipad and you are constantly getting supplies from your mother ship sent to your base of operations planet-side. Finding and managing resources, taken care of.

Choosing groups of troops and commanding them has also been streamlined. By pressing the A button, you can either choose unit by unit, or if you hold it, the cursor turns into a larger paintbrush type tool that will select troops highlighted by this large circular cursor. This method simplifies making groups of troops to the point that you’ll be sending scouting parties, making flanking maneuvers, and leaving no man behind in barely any time at all.

The gameplay is smooth and crisp and the story has been reworked repeatedly to sit well with all those hardcore Halo fan-boys. I also have found something that might compete with the Gears of War Lancer Chainsaw Rifle fun-level; running over a platoon of Covenant ground troops with a squadron of Warthog vehicles. Their screams of fear and pain followed by a satisfying *squish* may be my new guilty gaming pleasure.

Also, for you die-hard Halo fans, wrap your heads around this. You enjoy controlling one Spartan in Master Chief. Think about controlling an entire platoon. Let the geek-gasms commence. (I know, there is still only one Master Chief, though)

This game could pave the way for the RTS genre to finally find a foothold on consoles. It solves the traditional problems that come with an RTS on a console and has the backing of the powerhouse Halo franchise. It’s easy to just pick up and start playing and once you start playing, you don’t want to stop. I had to have the controller forcible ripped from my hands once my time with the demo was up and I spent three days in a dark room going through painful Halo Wars withdrawal involving the sounds of muted screams of Covenant troops and flashes of images of Warthogs and dropships. And, of course, a Master Chief with a rotating head.

I soon won’t be the only one addicted because Microsoft announced a couple of weeks ago at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show that a downloadable demo for Halo Wars will be available on February 5, 2009, via XBOX Live. If you can’t wait for the downloadable demo, then take a look at the video above where I had a chance to sit down with Graeme Devine, Lead Story Writer for Halo Wars, and take a look at some awesome in-game gameplay and cinemas and hear from the source how the plot unfolds. Be sure to check back here when the game comes out for a full review, but early impressions have me saying that Halo Wars looks like one of the first must-haves of the year, and if you want a little more than a demo, look for it on store shelves March 3, 2009.

-Ray Carsillo

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Comment

The Patron Saint of Video Game Journalism

Filed under: Audio — Leave a comment

Originally Published: December 11, 2008, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

A while back, I had a chance to sit down with one of the founding fathers of video game journalism, Geoff Keighley. Geoff and I talked about how he got his start in the business and what direction he feels the video game industry is heading in on many different fronts.

Geoff is currently the host of GameTrailers TV on Spike, a weekly look at the best games coming out for all the systems, and was recently promoted to Spike’s Executive in Charge of Video Game Publisher Relations. As well as these responsibilities, Geoff is also the Executive Producer of Spike’s Video Game Awards.

The 2008 Video Game Awards air LIVE on Spike TV, this coming Sunday, December 14th, at 9PM EST. The awards show is being hosted this year by Jack Black with such musical acts as the All-American Rejects and 50 Cent. I will be there on-site for the awards and will be sure to report back to all you fine folks on this year’s results.


CLICK HERE – to listen to my interview with Geoff Keighley, host of SpikeTV’s GameTrailers TV.

Tags: , , , , ,
Comment

Trouble in Paradise

Filed under: Audio — Leave a comment

Originally published: November 7, 2008, on Collider.com and 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com)

I had a chance to catch up with Eileen Walsh, who plays Breda in the new independent movie, Eden. The movie follows a married couple in a picturesque Irish town as they prepare for their 10th wedding anniversary. Breda is determined that the milestone will re-ignite the lost passion in their marriage. Billy, on the other hand, has developed an obsession with Imelda Egan, a pretty, but unobtainable, local young thing and has convinced himself that the coming weekend will see them become lovers under the eyes of the entire town. As the date draws closer, Billy’s behavior becomes more and more chaotic, while Breda’s frustrations crystallize and find more mature, high-risk expression.


CLICK HERE – to listen to my interview with Eileen Walsh.

I also had a chance to catch up with Eugene O’ Brien, the writer, and Declan Ricks, the director, of Eden and came away with the impression that this movie is a drama that speaks to basic human emotion. Fear, wanting, denial, and the movie will play with your heart strings till the very end. You’ll go from hating Billy one instant, to rooting for him the next, and you’ll have your roller coaster of emotions with Breda as well as both actors did fantastic jobs . Eden comes out today in New York and L.A.


CLICK HERE – to listen to Part 1 of my interview with Eugene O’ Brien and Declan Ricks.


CLICK HERE – to listen to Part 2 of my interview with Eugene O’ Brien and Declan Ricks.

-Ray Carsillo

Tags: , , , ,
Comment

Samoan Submission Machine

Filed under: Audio — Leave a comment

Originally Published: September, 30, 2008, on 1050ESPN.com (Now ESPNNewYork.com)

Now stepping into the Geek Stuff Arena is the TNA World Heavyweight Champion, the Samoan Submission Machine, SAMOA JOE! I had a chance to sit down and talk with Joe and try to bring out the big man’s inner geek a little. We talk about the new TNA Impact video game and his participation in the Game of Fame on XBOX 360, his upcoming title defense against “The Icon” Sting at Bound For Glory in Chicago on October 12th, only available on Pay-Per-View, and much, much more.

Click here – To Listen to my interview with TNA World Heavyweight Champion Samoa Joe.

Tags: , , , , ,
Comment