Editorial: "Rising Star" Week 6 Predictions

Hi, I'm the Whatsoever Critic. I review just about anything.

MORE PREDICTIONS FOR RISING STAR?! Yeah!

So, here's the line-up that they gave us at the end of last night's (7/20/14) performance:
Joshua Peavy vs. Karen Hornsby
Dana Williams vs. Audrey Kate Geiger
Shameia Crawford vs. Unselfish
Morgan Higgins vs. Maneepat Molloy

So, who do you think I will be going for this time around?

Joshua Peavy vs. Karen Hornsby

This had to be a hard one.
You may remember Joshua Peavy as the very first performer to kick off the season of Rising Star. Yeah, he gave us a great performance and all. But as far as inspiration goes, I think Karen Hornsby sells it.
Karen, after hearing her story about her disabled daughter, America just had to see her succeed in this competition. What we saw in her was not only inspiration, but also determination. I feel that she will use all of those things to her advantage.

My prediction: KAREN HORNSBY

Dana Williams vs. Audrey Kate Geiger

This was... the second easiest one to predict, of all four pairings.
Well, both girls gave us good performances. But, by far, Dana Williams felt much more promising.
Dana gave us a good rendition to a Rihanna song, which wasn't an easy task for her or anyone else that sang those kind of songs in the competition. And boy, did she give America satisfaction.
Audrey, on the other hand, gave us a good performance. However, I wasn't feeling the same way I felt with Dana's performance. I just wasn't feeling it. So I had to put my faith in Dana.

My prediction: DANA WILLIAMS

Shameia Crawford vs. Unselfish

This one, by far, was the easiest one to predict, of all four pairings.
First of all, Unselfish, the four-guy group, failed to raise the wall in their performance. The majority of the viewers in the audience and at home most likely voted "no" to this boy band. So, seeing them go up against Shameia Crawford, who was the first West-Coast save in Rising Star history, was a shocker, because I (and maybe some others in America) all thought that those guys were eliminated from the competition.
-I guess the show wanted more ratings and decided to bring them back.
-Or maybe Unselfish was some kind of "fan favorite," or viewers begged the show to put them back into the show. Who knows?
But I'm still standing by my prediction.

My prediction: SHAMEIA CRAWFORD

Morgan Higgins vs. Maneepat Molloy

This was hard. Why? Because both girls had some kind of inspiration on them.
However, I fell in love with Maneepat's voice more than Morgan's. I mean, don't get me wrong: Morgan is a great singer, but I was leaning more towards Maneepat.
Maneepat reminded me of several opera singers and/or singers that were pretty close to that like Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, and Renee Fleming. It was that great- that big of a deal.

My prediction: MANEEPAT MOLLOY

And now, as before, I will make my proclamations, based on the accuracy of my predictions.
-Note: I decided not to count the West-Coast saves, because... I don't know- I sure as hell couldn't predict that.
-Note (continued): My predictions will be going towards what has been aired on live TV (again, not counting the West Coast save, because we have to wait until the next day to get the full result, which is entirely pointless when you think about it, because the show promised us "instant results").

1 If all four predictions are right, I'll pick two of the things to do from this list.
2. If 3 out of 4 are right, I'll do a review on the Penguins of Madagascar: Dr. Blowhole Returns... Again!game (Nintendo DS version).
3. If 2 out of 4 are right, I'll do a review on the Barney In Concert video.
4. If 1 out of 4 are right, I'll tell another story via vlog.
5. If all four predictions are wrong, then I'll do a review on Madeline: Lost In Paris.

Whatsoever Critic
Source: Rising Star

Courtesy: Ken Warwick & Nicole Yaron/DCP Keshet

Editorial: "Rising Star" Week 5 Prediction Results Are In!

Hi, I'm the Whatsoever Critic. I review just about anything.

Now I'm starting to get the gist of what's going on on Rising Star.

Now, the performers that didn't beat their opponents in their pair-up would be saved if they had the highest West Coast score (a.k.a. the West Coast save). In this week's case (7/20/14), of the three singers that weren't successful in beating their opponents' percentage scores, Sonnet Simmons had the highest West Coast score, resulting in her being saved and moving to the next round.
However, for my predictions, I was predicting who would advance to the next round on live TV. So, let's see how I did.

Adam James vs. Austin French

My prediction: Austin French
Who really won?: AUSTIN FRENCH

I felt pretty good about this one. I mean, granted, both Adam and Austin gave us great performances. However, I knew that Austin was the better pick, because of his confidence in his performance. I'm not saying that Adam wasn't good enough for this round, because he was. I just felt that Austin would have more to offer at the table.

April Lockhart vs. Sonnet Simmons

My prediction: Sonnet Simmons
Who really won?: APRIL LOCKHART(?)

I had to put a question mark at the end of this one. On the show, it was said that April Lockhart was able to beat Sonnet Simmons. However, the next day, we learn that Sonnet was saved by the West Coast- she had the highest West Coast score.
However, for this one, I'm just going to accept the fact that I was probably wrong on this prediction.

Macy Kate vs. Gabrielle Nicole

My prediction: Macy Kate
Who really won?: MACY KATE

This one was super easy. Gabrielle Nicole was definitely no match for Macy Kate, because Macy, by far, was awesome.
-Macy has the Youtube videos to prove it.
It was obvious that Macy Kate was going to win this round- hands down, no comparison.

So, to be fair, I'm going to accept that 2 out of 3 of my predictions were right. This means, that I will have to tell you another story via vlog, which is in the making as we speak, and should be ready before next Sunday.

Whatsoever Critic
Source: Rising Star

Courtesy: Ken Warwick & Nicole Yaron/DCP Keshet

Editorial Update on Week 4 Predictions for "Rising Star"

Hi, I'm the Whatsoever Critic. I review just about anything.

I was on vacation in South Texas, and I was reading about Rising Star.

I keep reading and see that Lisa Punch got saved by the West Coast.
-Yep. Nothing like the West-Coast saves.
Now, for the predictions, I had put my prediction towards Lisa Punch, but accepted that I was wrong, because Alice J. Lee was claimed the winner of that round. But it wasn't until days later that I learn that the West Coast had saved Lisa Punch from elimination. So, was I really right?
Well, it's kinda too late to say that I was 2 out of 3 predictions right and do whatever I was gonna do if I got that amount right, because I already gave you what I would do if I got 1 out 3 right: which was a story via vlog.

So, Whatsoever Critic, what have we learned today?
Well...
1. I would have to wait until a few days later to make sure that my predictions were right or wrong, because of the ever-present possibility of another West-Coast save.
2. After waiting a few days, hold my end of my proclamations that I had made for each possibility, so that it would seem fair both for me and my readers.

So, right now, I'm watching Rising Star. So, I'm gonna watch and see if any of my predictions are right or wrong.

Whatsoever Critic
Source: Rising Star

Courtesy: Ken Warwick & Nicole Yaron/DCP Keshet

"LarryBoy and the Bad Apple" Video Game Review (Gameboy Advance Version)

Hi, I'm the Whatsoever Critic. I review just about anything.

That's right! I'm going to review a game based on one of my all-time favorite LarryBoy movies: LarryBoy and the Bad Apple. I know there are two versions of the game: one for the Gameboy Advance, and one for Playstation 2. Since I didn't have a Playstation, I had to settle for the Gameboy version.

How is it? Um... The graphics aren't as good as the ones in the Playstation version. The game has everything to do with the movie, but had to change the premise for the sake of making the story playable as a game. 

Now, I haven't played this game in years. But I'm pretty good at relearning video game strategies and content. So let's get started!

Opening (Title Screen/Main Menu)

So the video game starts with the movie's title card.

-Here, it's pretty subtle. It has the movie's likeness. But that's not what concerned me.

Not only does the title card greet you, but also the music.

-Sure, it's the tune from the song "Rock On, LarryBoy," but listen to how it's being played. It kinda sounds like video game music of the 80s and 90s. Trying to sound retro?

Start of Game Play:

So we get some dialogue at the beginning of the game...

-(pause) Yeah, instead of having voice-acting, we get dialogue boxes with profile pics of the characters.

Anyway, in the first level, you spend the majority of it learning the controls, which is tolerable.

-(pause) By the way, LarryBoy is a size of a bean in this game? Why not make some bigger? But don't worry; the PS2 version makes up for that.

-And henchmen characters that are new and... NOT from the movie. Was Curly the Worm too complicated to make as an opponent that our hero would encounter in this game?

Anyway, most of what you'll be doing in each level is climbing up and down ladders, moving levers, jumping onto moving platforms, and avoiding bad guys.

-First of all, the bad guys in this game are a piece of work. One example is the onions. The dang onions! If you happen to run into these guys, they would literally slow LarryBoy down momentarily (and they even show you, in a time gauge, how long you're infected by the bad guy's spell, until you're back to normal). This is really bad when you find yourself cornered by a wall or something, so it would be difficult to escape an onion attack.

Another example is the chili peppers. If you run into these guys, it would reverse the operation of the control momentarily. In other words, the left control on the Gameboy would momentarily act as the right control, and visa versa; the up control would momentarily work as the down control, and visa versa... Confusing, right? So stay away from the chili peppers.

But the game makes up for it by throwing in silver LarryBoy booster-thingys that you would find during gameplay, which would give you immunity for a short period of time.

-Second, there's a time limit in each level (excluding the piano bonus levels). 

Why does there have to be a time limit when there are opponents that would overwhelm you with either the slowing down and the reversal of controls? And look at how much time they give you in each level! Three minutes? You have to complete the level in under three minutes? But that's okay. They make up for that by tossing time boosters every now and then during gameplay.

At the end of each level, you have LarryBoy collect a green ticket.

-Not that the tickets mean anything in this game, except that collecting them allows you to advance to the next level. Who designed it like that? Why not replace ticket-collecting with walking through portals? Going through portals was one of the coolest things from the movie!

Scenarios:

There are a total of 5 scenarios (worlds) in this game, based on the character that the Bad Apple decides to tempt: a construction site, a funhouse, inside a video game controller, a hotel, and the chocolate room.

-Why do I get the feeling that only 3 out of the 5 scenarios listed are related to the movie more so than the other two? 

(The construction site and the hotel scenarios are NOT related to the movie.)

-And for that matter, Junior Asparagus and Bob the Tomato have temptations? (Sarcasm: Yeah, remember THOSE from the movie?) And they both range from playing basketball obsessively to ordering room service (food) obsessively.

Near the end of each world, you have to rush to the rescue to save the tempted from temptation (Bad Apple) by dodging traps and playing boss battles that are no different than the classic air-hockey-like game that is basically... an air-hockey-like game. 

I'm not kidding. That's what to expect in each boss battle, is the same format with the same mission (saving someone from the bad guy).

So how is the game? Well... I really want to try my hand on the PS2 version. 

I mean, I'll always go back to the Gameboy version. However, as far as graphics and story go, I think the PS2 version looks more promising: with the beautiful 3D-animated graphics, the out-of-this-world scenarios, and the use of voice-acting, which is really impressive.

...

Now, if only I had a PS2 and a copy of the PS2 version of this video game... That would be something.

Whatsoever Critic

Source: LarryBoy and the Bad Apple video game (Gameboy Advance version)

Courtesy: Crave Entertainment