There are two things I enjoy the most when it comes to the arts: movies and video games. Whether it's sitting in front of the TV, watching a great film with the controller in my hand, or sitting in front of the television, playing a great game with the controller in my hand, anything that involves entertainment and the ability to be seated runs right down my alley. However, the same could not be said for when the two attempt to mix.

For some odd reason, video games and movies don't go well together. Period. I couldn't tell you off the top of my head one good movie that was ever based off a video game. Which is sad when you think about it, because they have all the sources they need to develop the movie in the game itself, including plot, characters, scenery, etc. All the director has to do is not make it look incredibly stupid.

And yet they can't even seem to do that right.

I remember the first big movie to be based off a video game that I saw was Super Mario Bros. As a kid, I thought it was awesome, although I'll admit I was highly disappointed with how stupid some of the characters ended up. But as the years went by, the movies kept getting worse. For instance, the next big offspring of the genre was Street Fighter, which was so awful that just having to see Jean Claude Van Damme ruin everyone's favorite character made me want to gouge both my eyes out.

The only glimmer of hope we ever had was Mortal Kombat. Released in 1995, when I was at the ripe age of nine, this movie was video game heaven. They got all the characters to look just like their video game counterparts, had cool fight scenes, and even topped it off with one of the greatest theme songs ever invented. I mean, who doesn't hear "Mortal Kombat!" and start nodding their head to the techno beat?

Then Hollywood made the sequel. We all know how that one goes.

Since then we've had one disaster after another. You had the travesty of Wing Commander, the classic Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, and who could forget Angelina Jolie's amazing acting ability in both Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.

Why is this so hard? Why is it that game creators like Square Enix or Team Ninja can pull out amazing video games with intricate storylines and extremely deep characters, but movie studios that shell out millions of dollars more can't even hire a good writer or some decent actors to bring these stories to the big screen?

Obviously some may argue about the trouble that exists in determining how to imagine something generally presented in pixilated animation (video games) onto a screen using real people and props (movies), but if they've been able to do the same thing from books — which might I remind you are just lines of text — I can't see video games being that much more difficult.

Recently, I caught a viewing of Dead or Alive, which is the latest video game to movie adaptation, and needless to say, it only helped to further prove I'm right. Not only was the storyline nonexistent and the dialogue annoying, but the fight scenes were horrible, and that was the basis of the whole film!

What scares me is that Hollywood doesn't show any signs of stopping this insanity. Now if there was only a pause button for that ...