Author: Jason Zingale (Page 97 of 112)

Product Review: Adidas adiZero F50 TRX FG Cleats

June 19, 2012 /

Adidas adiZero F50 TRX FG Cleats

With Euro 2012 in full swing, you’ve likely spotted some of the cool gear that the world’s biggest names have been showcasing at the tournament. Although the newest adiZero F50 has been out for a while now, they remain one of the most popular shoes in the game, worn by the likes of England’s Ashley Young, Spain’s David Silva and Portugal’s Nani. I was recently sent a pair of adiZero F50s in the Euro 2012 colorway for review, and as someone who’s always been more of a Nike guy when it comes to my soccer cleats, Adidas has really won me over with the latest incarnation of their signature line.

The first thing that you’ll notice about the new adiZero F50 (apart from the bright neon colorway) is how incredibly lightweight they are. Weighing in at a mere 5.8 ounces, these are some of the lightest cleats on the market. Using a SPRINTSKIN single-layer synthetic upper and SPRINTFRAME bottom, Adidas has created an almost feather-light boot that has a snug, glove-like fit but still offers the stability that you need. Additionally, the SPRINTWEB on the inside provides great support for making quick cuts, while the TRAXION FG outsole ensures maximum grip and acceleration on firm ground fields.

Because of how thin and lightweight the synthetic material is, however, there’s very little standing between your foot and the ball. Though that creates a much better touch as a result, it comes at the cost of the protection you’d get from wearing a thicker or leather shoe. It’s a compromise that will differ from player to player, but if you’re the kind of person that favors speed over protection, you really can’t go wrong with the adiZero F50. They’re not quite as light as advertised when using the thicker comfort insoles that are provided or adding the optional miCoach chip, but so much thought has clearly gone into the smart and stylish design that it’s easy to see why they’re so incredibly popular.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the F50 also happens to be the official shoe of three-time Player of the Year Lionel Messi, who absolutely lit up La Liga this year with 50 goals and a record-breaking 73 goals in all club competitions. More recently, Messi lit up the soccer world yet again, but this time as the focus of a massive digital protection in New York City in support of the new adiZero F50 and the Argentina vs. Brazil friendly, where he coincidentally bagged another hat trick. Check out footage from the campaign below.

The Adidas adiZero F50 TRX is available in a variety of colorways at soccer specialty stores and www.shopadidas.com, and in conjunction with our review, we’re giving away a pair to one lucky reader. Click here to enter for your chance to win, and be sure to include which size you’d prefer in the box marked “Additional Information.” Also, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates on all of our latest giveaways.

Gear, Sports, Stuff to Buy

Blu Tuesday: Slackers, Hippies and More

June 19, 2012 /

Another week, another great selection of Blu-rays. It’s too bad that every month isn’t as prolific as this, because it would sure make my job a whole lot easier. Although there are a few missing titles as usual (like the awful found footage comedy “Project X,” the inspirational drama “Big Miracle,” and the latest seasons of the FX comedies “Louie” and “Wilfred”), you’re not really missing anything. And on that note, let’s get started.

“Jeff, Who Lives at Home”

The so-called mumblecore movement is an interesting approach to filmmaking, because a director never really knows what kind of movie he’s going to end up with until it’s completely finished; which is probably why the Duplass brothers’ latest film is so different from what most people expected. Though it certainly had the right ingredients for a great comedy, “Jeff, Who Lives at Home” is instead a surprisingly heartfelt and meditative dramedy about the importance of family and finding one’s place in the world. It may not be as funny as advertised, but thanks to some naturalistic performances by sitcom stars Jason Segel and Ed Helms (both of whom prove perfectly adept at drama), the film still works, albeit on a whole different level. Mark and Jay Duplass have always been more interested in getting good performances out of their actors than the story, and that’s never been more evident than it is here, because without their core cast, “Jeff, Who Lives at Home” would be an absolute bore.

Blu-ray Highlight: Believe it or not, Paramount’s Blu-ray release has no bonus material whatsoever. I’m not sure how that happened, but it’s a disappointment nonetheless.

“Wanderlust”

I’ve never really understood the appeal of the David Wain-directed cult classic “Wet Hot American Summer,” so it’s no surprise that I didn’t like his latest comedy, because it feels like a more grown-up version of that film. Of course, just because the characters are more mature doesn’t mean that the humor isn’t still juvenile, and unless you’re a fan of Wain’s previous work, you probably won’t find much to laugh at here. Most of the supporting cast is wasted playing broad stereotypes that are weird just for the sake of being weird, while the script falls back on the same hippie clichés that we’ve seen many times before. Justin Theroux is one of the few actors who doesn’t completely embarrass himself as the alpha hippie who takes a liking to Jennifer Aniston’s closeted free spirit, and Paul Rudd has a few moments of improv genius, but it’s not enough. Though the film shows some promise early on, “Wanderlust” stalls out almost as soon as Rudd and Aniston’s characters arrive at the commune, and once Wain backs himself into that corner, it’s a lost cause.

Blu-ray Highlight: The making-of featurette “God Afton!” does a pretty good job of balancing the generic EPK-style material (like a breakdown of all the major characters and actors) with more detailed bits on things like Joe Lo Truglio’s prosthetic penis, turning Justin Theroux into a master guitarist, and the many stunts involved in the film.

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Entertainment, Movies

Blu Tuesday: Spider-Man Redux, Crazy Cage and Chaplin

June 12, 2012 /

Following last week’s windfall of new releases, I’m happy to report that the rest of June looks just as bright, with a number of noteworthy Blu-rays arriving in stores today. In addition to the titles featured below, there are several other releases that I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention, including the new “Sherlock Holmes” sequel, the eighth and final season of “Entourage,” and Criterion editions of Hal Ashby’s “Harold and Maude” and Danny Boyle’s “Shallow Grave.” Those would have made for a pretty killer column on their own, but due to what has become a standard complaint around these parts, they weren’t sent to me for review. Nevertheless, it speaks volumes of the quality of this week’s Blu-rays that I was still able to conjure up three more titles worth talking about.

“Spider-Man Trilogy”

I’m not exactly sure why Sony would want to remind moviegoers about the original “Spider-Man” trilogy when the studio is only weeks away from rebooting the lucrative superhero franchise, but if you never got around to buying the films on Blu-ray, it’s as good a time as any to get them now. Granted, the cover art for all three movies is an appalling Photoshop hack job that shows just how little work went into these re-releases, but it’s what’s inside that really counts. Though “X-Men” was the first movie to revitalize the comic book genre, Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” films are what turned it into Hollywood’s obsession. Though the legacy of Raimi’s trilogy may have been marred a bit by the tepid reaction to the third installment (although for the record, I actually liked it quite a bit), it still contains some of the best superhero movies to date, especially the well-received sequel featuring Alfred Molina as classic Spidey villain Doc Ock. And no matter how amazing Mark Webb’s reboot may turn out to be, it wouldn’t have been possible without the spectacular trilogy that came before it.

Blu-ray Highlight: Fans will be happy to learn that the bonus material for “Spider-Man” and “Spider-Man 2” has been reinstated on their respective discs (unlike their Blu-ray debuts), even if “Spider-Man 3” was shortchanged in the process. Although it’s hard to pick just one highlight from the treasure trove of special features, the 12-part “Spider-Man 2” documentary “Making the Amazing” is an incredibly in-depth look at the amount of work that went into making the film. If you’re not a big fan of production featurettes, however, the numerous audio commentaries that appear on each disc are also great.

“Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance”

Mark Steven Johnson’s 2007 attempt to bring Ghost Rider to the big screen didn’t turn out particularly well, and although many believed that would be the last we’d ever see of Marvel’s B-list antihero, Sony decided to give the character another shot with this equally shoddy reboot by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. Though the directing duo behind the “Crank” films seemed like a natural fit to take on such a bizarre character, “Spirit of Vengeance” is only slightly better than the first movie. One of the few things they do get right is the scenes with Ghost Rider, emphasizing his demonic nature by making him as frightening and intimidating as possible, but he’s used far too sparingly. And unfortunately, that’s where the magic ends, because the rest of the film makes many of the same mistakes as its predecessors, with plenty of bad dialogue, poor attempts at humor, and a laughably bad performance by Johnny Whitworth. Neveldine and Taylor’s version at least seems to have been made more with fans of the comic in mind, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s still bad.

Blu-ray Highlight: In addition to an excellent six-part documentary that runs the entire gamut of production – from location shooting in Romania, to Nicolas Cage’s (creepy) performance capture of the Ghost Rider, to special effects and more – the Blu-ray also includes a feature similar to Warner Bros.’ Maximum Movie Mode where directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor dissect the film (sometimes pausing it to discuss certain scenes in more detail) with the help of behind-the-scenes footage. Both extras are definitely worth your time, even if it means having to watch the movie more than once.

“The Gold Rush”

Call me crazy, but I’ve never quite understood why Charlie Chaplin’s “The Gold Rush” was considered to be a cinematic masterpiece. Although there’s a lot to love about the movie – particularly the first 30 minutes in the cabin with the Tramp, Big Jim and Black Larsen – the second half is incredibly uneven. The gags that do work are still hilarious to this day, however, and it’s no doubt the memory of those iconic scenes that has led people to hold the film in such high regard. From eating a boiled leather shoe, to getting caught in the middle of a crosswind, to the dancing dinner roll routine, “The Gold Rush” contains some of Chaplin’s best movie moments. Unfortunately, the film’s dramatic beats only get in the way of its comic genius, while the big finale in the teetering cabin isn’t nearly as funny as some of the earlier scenes, like the bit where Chaplin tries to avoid the barrel of a shotgun, or when Big Jim imagines the Tramp as a giant chicken. It’s definitely one of those movies that you need to see at least once in your life, but it’s hardly the definitive Chaplin picture.

Blu-ray Highlight: There’s some really great bonus material included on the disc, but the standout extra is “Presenting ‘The Gold Rush’,” a 16-minute featurette about the film’s long history that covers its initial theatrical release, Charlie Chaplin’s reworked 1942 sound version, and the various re-releases throughout the years, including the restoration of the 1925 original completed by David Gill and Kevin Brownlow in 1993.

Entertainment, Movies

Blu Tuesday: Con Games, Aliens and More

June 5, 2012 /

I’m lucky if there’s a few good Blu-ray releases worth considering for my column each week, let alone actually sent by the studios to review, but that’s definitely not the case with this week’s impressive haul. While I didn’t get copies of “John Carter,” “Breaking Bad: Season Four,” or many of the Universal and Disney catalog titles released, there was still plenty to choose from to make this edition of Blu Tuesday one of the best yet.

“The Sting”

It’s been a while since the last time I sat down to watch “The Sting,” but it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the movie still holds up remarkably well, especially now that it’s been digitally remastered as part of Universal’s 100th Anniversary Collector’s Series. Director George Roy Hill’s second collaboration with Robert Redford and Paul Newman epitomizes everything that made the 1970s such an amazing and transitional period for American cinema, beginning with David S. Ward’s Oscar-winning screenplay. While Hill does a great job making sense of the elaborate plot, and Redford and Newman replicate their wonderful chemistry from “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” the film wouldn’t be such a timeless classic if it wasn’t for Ward’s smart and unpredictable script. From Newman’s poker showdown with Robert Shaw, to the climactic finale involving nearly every character in the story, there are so many memorable moments that it’s no wonder why “The Sting” remains as beloved today as when it was first released. It’s arguably the definitive con movie, and one that deserves a place in every film lover’s collection.

Blu-ray Highlight: Although it’s appeared on previous editions, “The Art of the Sting” is an excellent three-part retrospective that features interviews with Robert Redford, Paul Newman and other cast and crew as they reflect back on making the film, including the choice to use ragtime music for the score, cast chemistry and anecdotes from the set.

“Falling Skies: The Complete First Season”

Science fiction has enjoyed a renaissance of sorts on television in recent years, thanks in large part to the advances made in technology. Unfortunately, many of the major networks haven’t had a lot of luck with the genre, which is why the idea of a smaller fish like TNT dipping its toes into the sci-fi pool sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. Perhaps best described as a mix between “War of the Worlds” and “The Walking Dead,” the show strikes a good balance between the action sequences and the human drama that occurs within the Resistance, even if the writing and acting aren’t necessarily of the highest quality. It’s obvious from the first episode that “Falling Skies” is working with a limited budget, but while the special effects are only slightly better than your average SyFy made-for-TV movie, they’re never a crutch to the series. Granted, it probably won’t blow you away, but for sci-fi fans still mourning the loss of shows like “V,” it’s a pretty decent substitute.

Blu-ray Highlight: If you’re looking for a more in-depth conversation about specific episodes, then the included audio commentaries (five in all, featuring producer Greg Beeman, actor Noah Wyle and writer Mark Verheidan) are the way to go, but I enjoyed the footage of the “Falling Skies” panel from last year’s San Diego Comic-Con a little more. Though the panel isn’t available in its entirety, it features most of the cast (as well as a few of the producers) discussing the first season in a much broader capacity.

“Safe House”

If I’m being completely honest, I don’t really remember “Safe House” all that well, but that’s part of the problem. Despite starring two of the most charismatic actors in the industry in Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds, the movie is pretty forgettable. The actors do the best they can with the material that they’ve been given, but despite some small changes to the formula, the film is just another run-of-the-mill action thriller with hardly a surprising moment throughout. One of the few things that does work in the film is the setting. In addition to boasting a variety of unique locations (like the newly built soccer stadium), Cape Town, South Africa is a fresh and exotic locale that Hollywood hasn’t filmed to death. There’s also a really great action sequence with Reynolds and “The Killing” star Joel Kinneman (who previously worked with director Daniel Espinosa on the Swedish hit “Snabba Cash”) that will likely go down as one of the best fight scenes of the year, but for a movie packed with this much talent, there should have been a lot more highlights than that.

Blu-ray Highlight: There really isn’t a standout special feature on Universal’s two-disc release, but there are still a few good extras worth checking out, including a short but sweet making-of featurette that covers a range of topics like the script, casting and production; an in-depth look at the film’s fight choreography; and a featurette on ex-CIA operative Luis Falcon III’s assistance in making the movie as accurate as possible.

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Entertainment, Movies

Coming Soon: A Moviegoer’s Guide to June

May 29, 2012 /

With the exception of Marvel’s “The Avengers” (which not only lived up to expectations, but is also currently destroying the competition at the box office), last month wasn’t exactly the greatest start to the summer season. Thankfully, June looks like it’s going to fare a little better, with a return by director Ridley Scott to the genre that made his name, the latest from animation giants Pixar, and even some good old schlock in the form of Abraham Lincoln versus vampires. It’s hardly the type of blockbuster month we’re used to, but there’s enough variety and promise among these films that it doesn’t matter.

“SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN”

Who: Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron and Sam Claflin
What: A twist on the classic fairy tale where the Huntsman ordered to kill Snow White winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen.
When: June 1st
Why: First-time director Rupert Sanders’ coming out party looks mighty impressive from a visual standpoint, and I’d like to believe that a cast of this caliber (from the three leads down to the seven dwarfs) wouldn’t have signed on to the project if the script wasn’t good. The idea of adapting the popular story into a fantasy action film is certainly an inspired one, as it not only broadens audience appeal, but allows for the introduction of newer elements as well. I’m a bit surprised that Universal hasn’t revealed more of the aforementioned dwarfs in the marketing campaign, but while they’ll likely play a bigger part in the movie, it’s quite refreshing not to have every single detail ruined in advance.

“PROMETHEUS”

Who: Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, Michael Fassbender and Charlize Theron
What: A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind, leading them to a distant world where they must fight to save the future of the human race.
When: June 8th
Why: Whether or not “Prometheus” has anything to do with the original “Alien” (and at this point, I don’t think even Ridley Scott knows for certain), it’s shaping up to be one of the coolest movies of the year, despite my concerns that it’ll pull a “John Carter” at the box office. The trailers have done an excellent job of whetting our appetites while still remaining fairly elusive about what the hell is going on, and from the footage I’ve seen, it’s obvious that the film shares many of the same visual and tonal cues with the 1979 sci-fi horror classic. Though Noomi Rapace has a lot to prove in her first Hollywood leading role, Scott has smartly surrounded her with enough talent that she’s under no real pressure to carry the movie on her own. With that said, however, she certainly looks the part of an Ellen Ripley substitute, and that’s something worth getting excited about.

“SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED”

Who: Aubrey Plaza, Jake Johnson, Mark Duplass and Karan Soni
What: Three magazine employees head out on an assignment to interview a guy who placed a classified ad seeking a companion for time travel.
When: June 8th
Why: I had the good fortune of seeing the Sundance hit at SXSW earlier this year, and I can’t say enough great things about it. Based on a real-life classified ad that became an Internet meme, “Safety Not Guaranteed” is a magical film about the human spirit whose charm is difficult to ignore. The character-driven dramedy is an amalgamation of everything that’s great about indie filmmaking – from its hugely original script, to the quirky characters, to the incredibly honest and funny performances by its cast. But the one thing that it does better than anything else is create a cinematic experience that’s rich in both comedy and emotion. A lot of movies have tried to juggle the two in the past, but “Safety Not Guaranteed” is one of those rare few that pull it off almost effortlessly.

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Entertainment, Movies, Videos

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