Month: July 2012 (Page 11 of 15)

Movies and Poker: Celebrating a Legendary Card Game with Four Entertaining Films

July 9, 2012 / Bullz-Eye Staff

Both movies and poker have been mainstays in home entertainment for decades. If you are planning a night filled with poker games along with your friends, what could be better than watching a great poker flick while playing? There are several wonderful movies that involve this legendary card sport, but some classics are listed below. The next time you plan a poker game with your friends, try incorporating one of these titles into the night; if your friends love poker, they are sure to enjoy them.

Rounders

This 1998 film helped to turbocharge the poker craze. Here’s an overview from our review:

“Rounders” offers an inside look at the world of high-stakes gambling through the eyes of Mike McDermott (Matt Damon), a New York City law student with a natural talent for a good hand and the ability to read virtually any opponent. After dropping $30,000 one night to local poker thug Teddy KGB (John Malkovich), Mike turns away from the game forever to focus on his studies, much to the approval of his girlfriend Jo (Gretchen Mol). Working a dead-end job to pay off his school loans, Mike remains clean for nine months until his best friend Worm (Edward Norton) is released from prison with a giant gambling debt to his name. When Mike takes a stake in the debt, putting his own head on the chopping block, he must return to the card table and play the game better than he ever has before in order to meet Teddy KGB’s 48-hour payment deadline.

The poker scenes are excellent in this film, which focuses on the psychology of the game as much as the game itself. If you can’t read people, you’ll never be a great poker player.

A Big Hand for a Little Lady

In this film, Mary is the wife of a poker player who puts their entire family wealth on the line for a large poker tournament. She does not approve, but gets put into a tight situation. When Meredity (Mary’s husband) suffers from a heart attack, she steps in to play in his place. This movie is a masterpiece in poker related drama, which might strike the interest of female players.

Maverick

In this film you meet a character named Maverick, who is on a journey to compete in a large poker tournament. However, he lacks the necessary funds to pay for the entry fee. He knows he has a solid chance at winning, but must raise $3,000 before the tournament. He starts by trying to recover old debts, but this quickly turns into a nightmare. He finds himself being pursued, as certain people are out to stop him from competing. He is continuously betrayed and rivaled, so this comedy doubles over as a drama. It has several twists in the plot, making it a wonderful post-game flick. The main character in this movie is Mel Gibson, and it was released in the 1990’s.

The Cincinnati Kid

This is an older film; a classic in the poker world starring Steve McQueen as “The Kid.” Most diehard poker fans have seen this movie, due to its suspenseful climax. The Kid is an ambitious poker player that wants to try his hand at a game with a renowned poker player; who just happens to come into town. During the showdown, cheating makes for an interesting twist, but does not exactly affect the outcome. During the course of the movie, The Kid loses nearly everything, including his girlfriend. This classic poker flick will have experienced poker players on the edge of their seats, especially if they have yet to see it.

Entertainment, Movies

Maverick Movies poker Rounders The Cincinnati Kid

App of The Week: Jar on a Bar

July 8, 2012 / Matt Byrd

Compatible With:
iPhone 3GS
iPhone 4
iPhone 4S
iPod touch (3rd Gen)
iPod touch (4th Gen)
iPad

*Requires iOS 4.0 or greater

Price: $0.99 (Buy it here)

There’s really nothing original to “Jar on a Bar.” Aesthetically, it immediately brings to mind “Angry Birds,” and the basic concept is so dated that they used to call it “Jenga.” But that doesn’t matter, because for a mere 99 cents, you get one of the most addictive puzzlers to come to the app market in some time, originality be damned.

Let me backtrack a bit and explain. “Jar on a Bar” stars a fish in a bowl trapped precariously atop a ready to fall stack of pallets, glass, and other increasingly nefarious obstacles. Your job is simple: Get that fish to the ground and back into the water without breaking the bowl, all while trying to spill as little of the water in it as possible for bonus points. Sounds simple, right? Well, as you can imagine, as the game progresses through its 60 plus levels, things keep getting more and more complicated, until the point that this game of “Jenga” becomes a real mind-twister.

I mentioned “Angry Birds” earlier, and that’s because at its core, the game’s main concept of removing various obstacles to reach your goal is highly reminiscent of that classic app. However, “Jar on a Bar” is more about manipulation than destruction. Its well implemented physics system accounts for everything from weight to momentum, and forces you to master it before you can make any progress in the later stages. You may have to push a block to a certain point to gain just the right leverage, or momentarily put the fish in danger in order to set up the right move correctly. You not only have to consider your next step at all times, but the next several after that as well. It creates just the right combination of on your feet decisions and long term strategy that makes the best puzzle games so memorable, and executes it very well. There is also an in-app store but, while it does feature some cool objects, overall it doesn’t add much to the core gameplay of “Jar on a Bar.” The good news is it doesn’t have to, and it far from hinders the experience.

I could be wrong on this, but I don’t expect “Jar on a Bar” to take over the world like some of the games that inspired it have. However, the 99 cent asking price is a steal, turning this into a must-buy for anyone that has half an interest in puzzle games. Quite simply, it is one of the best and most addictive new puzzlers, and overall app games, I’ve come across in a while, and it is a more than deserving app of the week.

Gadgets, Game Reviews, Games

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Sunday Reading: Cool Cars and Savages

July 8, 2012 / Bullz-Eye Staff

Oliver Stone’s new movie is a solid film, as Jason Zingale explains:

It’s been a while since Oliver Stone directed a movie that was actually worth caring about; you’d probably have to go as far back as “Nixon” to find the last instance, although I have a soft spot for “Any Given Sunday.” But while his latest effort doesn’t represent a complete return to form for the filmmaker, it’s pretty evocative of his celebrated work from the late ’80s and ’90s. Based on the Don Wilson bestselling novel of the same name, “Savages” is Stone’s best movie in years – not exactly the slam-bam action thriller that it’s being advertised as, but still a mostly enjoyable film anchored by a great cast.

In another summer dominated by superhero flicks, it’s always nice to have other options. That said, Jason liked “The Amazing Spider-Man,” and like everyone else, he’s looking forward to the new Batman flick among the July movie releases.

Meanwhile, our string of cool car reviews continues. Check out our first drive impressions of the new Hyundai Veloster Turbo that we drove through the winding canyon roads surrounding San Diego. This new Veloster has some balls and it’s a great value as well. We also reviewed the BMW 650i convertible, a super-luxury vehicle for those of you who appreciate the finer things.

Guest columnist John Lavallo gave us a great article and video about breaking up on Facebook. This one is hilarious.

Remember those old variety shows that used to be summer replacements when we were kids. OK, this may not apply to our younger readers, but Will Harris looks back on some of his favorites.

If you’re looking to get in shape, you should be reading Mike Furci regularly. This week he has another great Q&A with readers, one of which lost 52 pounds using Mike’s advice! Every Monday we update our Fitness blog which often looks back on Mike’s articles.

Bob Westal’s drink this week is the sweet Palmetto.

Entertainment

articles on the web movie reviews reading for guys reading for men Social media Sunday Reading

STREET by 50 headphones

July 7, 2012 / Bullz-Eye Staff

We tested out one of 50 Cent’s new SMS Audio headphones – the STREET by 50 over-ear headphones. As you can see from the photos we posted along with the video below, these headphones look very slick and they’re also durable. 50 Cent demonstrates in the video how you can twist the headphones without worrying about breaking them. We tried the same thing and they held up nicely.

With the new styles the headphone designs are getting bigger and these are no exception. Yet they aren’t too heavy and the extra padding makes them very comfortable. The headphones are equipped to deliver crisp clean sound and enhanced bass and we were very happy with the sound quality. The STREET model comes in black and the bright blue version pictured here. You’ll definitely make a fashion statement with these headphones.

The headphones also come in wireless versions so check those out as well.

Gadgets, Lifestyle

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Drink of the Week: The Palmetto (Sweet Farewell to OC Version)

July 6, 2012 / Bob Westal

There are, it appears, several Palmettos. All versions contain rum and vermouth in some proportion. However, some contain light rum and dry vermouth; some contain dark rum and sweet vermouth; some contain dark or aged rum and dry vermouth. Today, as I ready for the big move of Drink of the Week Central from Orange County, California to make the San Fernando Valley my home, we’ll be taking the sweet with the bitter on this light cocktail classic. One of these days, I’ll get around to one of the drier versions.

Today’s drink, by the way, comes courtesy of by far my favorite OC watering hole and grubbery, the outstanding Memphis, with two equally terrific locations in Costa Mesa and downtown Santa Ana. At the latter spot, you might see the occasional political or journalistic notable enjoying remarkably good booze and grub at a reasonable price — well, much more so during happy hour, which is when I was honored to enjoy this drink made by a soon to be departing barkeep whose name I failed to write down. He made a mean drink, whoever he was.

The Palmetto (sweet version)

2 ounces dark rum
1 ounce sweet vermouth
2 dashes orange bitters
Orange twist (garnish)

Combine rum, vermouth, and bitters in cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. Shake and pour into our old best friend in the world, a chilled cocktail glass. Sip and plan your next big move.

***
Now, if you really want to do this one up right, you should do as they at Memphis (the restaurant, not the city). Start with Zaya Grand Reserva Rum, a brand I admit is new to me. For your vermouth, you’ll want Carpano Antica, which really just might be the king of sweet vermouths and is delicious all on its own. This will render you a really amazing beverage.

However, I’m a cheapskate. Moreover, I had some booze to get rid of before my move. So, I used the remainder of my very decent Whalers dark rum and was forced — forced, I tell you — to buy a new bottle of Martini & Rossi red on the quick but also fortunately on the cheap. (BevMo taketh away my beloved red Noilly Pratt and they giveth a great price of $4.99 a bottle for the Martini.) When I put together my el cheapo version, the result was just fine, if considerably short of the delightful grandeur of the bottle I enjoyed on ____’s last night on the job.

Feel free to put together your own version based on what you’ve got sitting around…or invest in the Zaya Grand and Carpano. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

And now we come to the end of an era. When next you’ll be reading this here blog, I’ll have moved some 50 miles north to a place that Mr. Bing Crosby rhapsodized about long before I — let alone you — was even born. See you on the other side.