Category: Features

Posted on: September 12, 2009 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers – The Bear

Stephen Kellogg goes a little more country on his latest album, but that is far from being a bad thing. Songs like “A (With Love)” and “Satisfied Man” could have come straight out of Nashville’s Music Row, rather than from the mic of Massachusetts’ native Stephen Kellogg.

Posted on: September 9, 2009 Posted by: Jay NeuFutur Comments: 0

Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares: Season Two (DVD Set)

Gordon Ramsay has had an international presence over the course of the last few years, especially considering the success of the American version. Acorn has ensured that the British (original) version of the show is not something that will be lost to all time, and has put out the second series of the show. There are not too many features here in this DVD set beyond the biography of Ramsay…

Posted on: September 9, 2009 Posted by: Jay NeuFutur Comments: 0

Marker Man Adventures (Nintendo DS)

Marker Man Adventures is a title the uses well all aspects of the Nintendo DS. This means that over the course of 170 distinct levels, Marker Man has to take tremendous steps to ensure that eir dog Doodles is returned safely. To do that, players have to create through the use of the stylus different lines, machines, and other tools to bring the two together. The animation of the characters…

Posted on: September 8, 2009 Posted by: Jay NeuFutur Comments: 0

Sunshine Cleaning (DVD)

Sunshine Cleaning will be one of those movies that garners a wide cult following in the years after it was released. This is due to the fact that a star-studded cast, which includes Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, and Amy Adams, bond together to make a cogent and coherent film. Rose (Adams) and Norah (Blunt) are crime-scene cleaners attempting to make a name for themselves, as well as giving some sort…

Posted on: September 8, 2009 Posted by: Jay NeuFutur Comments: 0

Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days (Sony PSP)

For those individuals that have intimately familiarized themselves with this Disgaea series, Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days is a revamped version of 2006’s Disgaea title (for the Playstation 2). Storyline-wise, it is followed up by Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice (released last year for the Playstation 3). However, for those individuals that have already played the Playstation 2 version of the game, NIS America has added a tremendous amount of…

Posted on: September 7, 2009 Posted by: Jay NeuFutur Comments: 3

Ty Ku Sake (30 Proof)

Whether it be at the local sushi buffet or some of the more upscale Japanese establishments that we here at NeuFutur have been to in the last few years, we have made it a point to check out the sake menus. It was quite a pleasant surprise then to received the Ty Kyu Sake for review a few weeks back, so much so in fact that we had to get…

Posted on: September 4, 2009 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Blur – Midlife: A Beginner’s Guide to Blur (CD)

It’s easy to forget just how long Blur has been around. Thanks to the handy timeline tucked inside the liner notes of the anthology Midlife: A Beginner’s Guide to Blur, you realize that they started before the EU was officially established, before the Soviet Union broke up and just one month after the Internet was opened to the public. The 25 tracks that make up the release – a collection…

Posted on: September 4, 2009 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

The Stone Roses: The Stone Roses 20th Anniversary (2CD/1 DVD Deluxe Edition)

You’d be forgiven for taking the Stone Roses for granted a bit. They only had one remarkable album (their self-titled debut) and it was released in 1989, at the beginning of alternative rock’s heyday, forcing them to compete with everyone from Depeche Mode to Nirvana. But thanks to Legacy Records, the Manchester-based band gets another shot. Because of the infectious, if a bit mopey single “I Wanna to Be Adored,”…

Posted on: September 2, 2009 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Smile Smile – Blue Roses (CD)

Despite only having two members, the folk-inspired indie pop duo Smile Smile – comprised of Ryan Hamilton and Jencey Hirunrusme – manage to make some fairly expansive songs on their debut. Blue Roses, originally released in 2006 and re-released this summer, is remarkable in its simplicity.

Posted on: September 1, 2009 Posted by: Jay NeuFutur Comments: 0

Wolfenstein (Xbox 360)

Wolfenstein was one of the first video games that I remember playing for the computer that was any bit fun (so, titles like the Oregon Trail are exempt). It is not surprising that I was eagerly anticipating the next release in the line, this 2009 release by Activision. The title is based off the same software that both Doom 3 and Quake 4 were couched in, ensuring some form of…

Posted on: September 1, 2009 Posted by: Jay NeuFutur Comments: 0

Buffalo Trace Whiskey (90 Proof)

We here at NeuFutur have had the chance of going through a number of different whiskies over the course of the time that we have had the alcohol review section active. Buffalo Trace is the newest of this spirit sent over, and what will immediately hit potential purchasers is the more classic, cowboy-themed feel to the bottle. The rich copper color of the spirit offsets the beige of the label…

Posted on: August 26, 2009 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Doug Gillard – Call From Restricted (CD)

As sometime guitarist for Dayton’s favorite sons Guided By Voices and Robert Pollard’s post-break-up solo work, Doug Gillard delivered album after album of satisfying jangly lo-fi pop. On Call From Restricted, his own latest solo effort, Gillard delivers more the of that familiar jangly guitar pop, but with impressively accessible vocals.

Posted on: August 26, 2009 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Mad Men: Season Two (DVD)

You’d be hard pressed to find any characters as cool as the suit-sportin’, booze-swillin’ ad men (and women) that populate AMC’s incredibly original series Mad Men. The second season, just released on DVD, followed through on all the promises set out in the debut.

Posted on: August 24, 2009 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Seven Mile Beach by Tom Gilling (Book)

Australian novelist Tom Gilling may not be that well known outside of his native Australia, but if his latest book is any indication he surely should be. The surprisingly funny mystery/thriller Seven Mile Beach is far more interesting than any of the last few Grisham and Patterson tomes lining the book shelves.

Posted on: August 22, 2009 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

The Hooters – Both Sides Live (CD)

A live album by a band that’s been missing from radio for a good two decades is usually a bad sign. A gimmicky half acoustic, half plugged in record is even more ominous. But Philadelphia’s once-favorite sons have managed to pull of the difficult, putting out a nostalgia record that is just as good, if not better than anything they have done before. The first disc was recorded live in…

Posted on: August 22, 2009 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

Vanilla Ride by Joe R. Lansdale (Book)

There are certain liberties authors are granted. Only David Mamet can get away with stringing together seemingly unrelated explicatives into believable dialogue the way he does; only Stephen King can make Maine seem like the third circle of Hell; and only Joe Lansdale, Texas born and bred, can get away with the often goofy quotes his duo Hap Collins and Leonard Pine spout off on just about every other page…

Posted on: August 20, 2009 Posted by: John B. Moore Comments: 0

The Silent Years – Let Go (CD)

The only really disappointing thing about Let Go, The Silent Year’s latest EP is the length. At six songs, the band’s latest is an appropriate follow up to last year’s decent full length The Globe, managing to eclipse those songs both musically and lyrically. The group delivers unpretentious indie pop in the vein of What Made Milwaukee Famous and Vampire Weekend (without the goofy prep school kid attitude). The album…

Posted on: August 19, 2009 Posted by: Jay NeuFutur Comments: 0

Gosling’s Black Seal (80 Proof)

With each different bottle of the stuff we get, I feel that we here at NeuFutur find a new variety of rum. This time, Gosling (Castle Brands) has provided us with a black rum, which I personally thought was significantly different than dark rum. Turns out, it’s just another term for that version of the spirit.

Posted on: August 18, 2009 Posted by: Jay NeuFutur Comments: 0

Cristen Grey and the Moving Dunes – 10,000 Things (CD)

“So Much Better” is a song that ties together rock and alternative music in a way that touches upon the work of Edwyn McCain, The Eagles, and even early (“A Boy Named Goo”-era Goo Goo Dolls). The production of “So Much Better” is important due to the openness that it allows. Each instrument is able to shine, while there is a warmth to the compositions here that will make it…