11 Apr 2008
It seems like bad form to criticize a man’s peak performance so closely after his death. I didn’t plan it that way; the disc was already on its way back to Netflix when the news hit. And I know if I don’t write down my thoughts now I’ll have promptly forgot them a month from now. So, um, sorry for the bad timing?
Bun Hur is a widely recognized classic. It won like a bajillion Academy Awards in 1960 (more specifically, 14), including Best Actor for Mr. Heston. But let me tell you, it has not aged well. The legendary chariot scene holds up, but the rest is… meh. The characters are paper thin, Charlton Heston is the super cheese, the naval combat scene is laughably bad, and the whole thing is long and pretentious. The only reason to watch Ben Hur is to check it off your list of “movies I’m supposed to see for historical significance.” But your time is really better spent doing anything else.
The film labels itself as “a tale of the Christ.” It’s not; it’s a tale of revenge, with a bit of Jesus bolted on after the real climax of the movie. For part of the movie I thought they were going to handle the Christ thing well. I seemed like they were going to subtly interweave the story of Jesus with Ben Hur’s story to give more context to both. It could have been really thoughtful and classy. But all that goes out the window when Jesus’ death is met with stormy weather and instantly healed lepers across the land. The whole thing would have been much more interesting if there was a chance Biblical connection that was a side note in the life of Jesus (healing lepers ‘n stuff) but huge for Ben Hur. But this is not a movie of subtlety. It’s a big mess of dress up (how do those Romans get their whites so white?) and play acting. Skip it.
04 Apr 2008
Apparently I’m going against the grain in saying that Magnolia didn’t rock my world. It’s not that I didn’t like it; I enjoyed it very much, actually. But it’s fatally flawed.
High expectations always ruin movies, so I generally try to go in with as blank of a slate as possible. But Magnolia breaks this by establishing expectations in the first few minutes of the film. It tells a couple of stories of coincidence, where all the pieces fall together in some sort of sublime harmony. The feature that follows is supposed to be another such tale, but it’s not. It’s a great story, but it in no way fits into the pattern of the first couple vignettes. This breaks the entire experience. For the entirety of the film I was ready for some grand connection which never happened. The movie set my expectations and failed to meet them.
If I could ignore what the movie told me it would be about, It’d be much happier. But disappointment is hard to overcome. Which is too bad, because it really is an exceptionally well told story. The many storylines are all interesting, and the way in which they are stitched together is truly masterful. The emotion from one story stays with you as you transition to the next story, and it tints it every so appropriately. It’s as if the threads are finishing each other’s sentences. From a storytelling perspective it’s amazing, but of course that is a separate thing from the storylines being naturally connected. See, I really can’t get over it. Those initial vignettes were charming, but they’re out of place and in the end cripple the potential of this brilliant film.
Expectations are dangerous, but let me try to use their power for good. Watch this movie, but don’t expect it to go anywhere transcendent. The movie will tell you differently, but don’t listen to it. It lies!
30 Mar 2008
Played on Xbox360
Back in December I was harsh to Guitar Hero III, but with good reason. By the time I was trying to write down my thoughts on Guitar Hero I had already started playing Rock Band. And Rock Band blows Guitar Hero out of the water.
Let me put it this way. There’s actually a PS2 version of Rock Band. It has the core gameplay, but lacks the online multiplayer, deep character customization, world tour mode, and downloadable content. You know what that sounds like to me? Guitar Hero… but with more instruments. I’m sure it’s still plenty of fun (and I’m glad that a similar version is making its way to the Wii), but that feature set really impressed upon me how far ahead Rock Band really is.
The full Rock Band kit costs a pretty penny, it’s true. But I think that even if you were only to play Rock Band with a guitar it’d still be a better value than Guitar Hero. The tracks aren’t all guitar showpieces, and the upper echelon of difficulty isn’t as ridiculous as Guitar Hero III. But the things surrounding the core guitar gameplay are way better. Your character may not be as flamboyant as the premades in Guitar Hero III, but you’ll have a deeper connection with them through your fine level personal touches. The stages may not be as grandiose as Guitar Hero’s, but the band members move more believably and the action is shot in a way that actually responds to the music. The fretwork may be less furious, but that’s because you’re not barraged with awful metal songs. Songs in Rock Band are better on average because they have to be well rounded in order to be enjoyed by a group. And if you don’t like them, go hit up the weekly downloadable tracks and customize the track list to your liking. And if you do eventually tire of just playing the guitar, you can try out the vocal career with that headset that came with your Xbox. Even without getting the drums that’s still a ton more game for your $60.
I’m not sure why I’m so stuck on defensively comparing Rock Band to Guitar Hero. Guitar Hero is fun, and it’s awesome that it’s become a cultural phenomenon. I’ll still totally rent the Guitar Hero expansions that come out. But I’m pretty sure the Guitar Hero franchise is going nowhere.
Enough of my negativity… let’s talk Rock Band.
Rock Band is the ultimate party game. Because there are three different types of instruments, pretty much anyone can find something that appeals to them. Eventually you’ll get sick of strumming or whatever, but change up your instrument and it’s blue skies again. Add some DLC so that the song list doesn’t get repetitive and you’ve got hours and hours of fun.
I do wish there was a better way to teach people on the fly, because in a party setting you’ll get people rotating in that need some hand holding before they can survive on easy. If they take down the band they’ll get frustrated and/or embarrassed and quit. The game needs a “Don’t boo off my aunt” setting. Or some sort of mode that shows “here’s what you did, and here’s what you were supposed to be doing…”
You can go all night just playing song after song, but there’s also a World Tour story mode. In it you go around world playing gigs to earn fans, fame, and money. It’s a cool idea, and it was really fun at first. But after a while you get stuck with lots of lengthy gigs and songs you don’t want to play. If there were shorter set lists or more customization options this would be a great party mode with a sense of progress.
Something I really appreciate about Rock Band is that it’s reasonable about achievements and unlockables. I jumped right into Expert guitar in the solo mode but got stuck on the very last song (which is fun right until it gets completely obnoxious at 90%). Were this Guitar Hero, I’d be screwed and have to start over from the beginning on Hard. But in Rock Band I was able to drop the difficulty and finish off just that tier, which gave me credit for Hard, Medium, and Easy. Thank you Rock Band, for not being a dick.
Now that they’ve patched in an integrated music store, I’m not sure what more I want from Rock Band. I’d like to see the World Tour mode go online and get more variety. And of course more songs is always nice, but I’m pretty happy with the steady flow of a la carte tracks. A free play mode on drums would be fun. I also wouldn’t mind a return of some of the stats added in Guitar Hero 2, where you could see what parts you needed to work on. But overall I’m totally content. I’ve been playing Rock Band pretty steadily for the last four months and I’m nowhere near bored with it.
Rock Band will change how you listen to music (so will playing an instrument, but Rock Band is much more accessible). You’ll find yourself listening to the different parts of a song and thinking about how awesome it would be to play. Your idly drumming fingers will develop form and purpose. You’ll love some songs you used to hate and hate some songs you used to love. You’ll sign internet petitions to get The Darkness added to the DLC. You’ll wonder when the manager of Led Zeppelin’s digital content will get their head out of their ass. You’ll wear eye liner to work and tell people that you’re in a band. You’ll start snorting lines of coke off of hookers and… okay, maybe not all of that will happen. Your mileage may vary. But it’s a damned fine game, no doubt.
30 Mar 2008
I’d like to say that monster movies traditionally had a sophisticated sense of suspense and restraint, and that the modern CG movie has ruined that. But let’s be honest, monster movies have always been extremely dependent on special effects (even before the computer got involved), and they’ve always been about as sophisticated as a steaming pile of poo. However I do think that modern moviemaking technology has led to showing off the monsters too often and too early. The movie makers are no longer worried about you noticing that it’s just a Dude In A Suit, so they justify ramming their overly glossy 3D animation down your throat.
Enter Cloverfield, modern monster movie brought to us by Lost’s J. J. Abrams. And you know what? It’s good.
The twist to Cloverfield is that the entire film is experienced through a camcorder held by one of the characters. As a viewer you’re never yanked from that single storyline. And, more importantly, you’re never granted a viewpoint beyond what the characters would experience. It’s very immersive, if sometimes a bit nauseating due to the shaky camera work. The result is that the moments when the monster is obscured seem contextually appropriate. It’s the result of panicked amateur camerawork, not an arbitrary restriction in an otherwise cinematic wide-angle production.
Cloverfield has all the ingredients of a good monster flick: a cool monster, lots of mystery and suspense, and key characters dying left and right. Which is important, because as far as I’m concerned It’s just not a real monster movie if everyone survives intact. Seriously, no happy endings allowed. I’ll accept bittersweet, like when the survivors struggle between feelings of both victory and loss. That’s fine. But if the entire cast is all alive and well (covered in soot, grime, and blood, of course), then that’s just not good enough. I demand a sacrifice!
17 Mar 2008
It’s time again to filled you in on what I’ve been playing.
Tabula Rasa
As was probably clear from my review, I’ve really been enjoying this MMO. The aesthetics, which I had criticized, got more interesting when I finally got off-planet. It’s still nowhere near as consistently inspired as WoW, but it’s a bit better. I’m very close to the next class split, which will mean that I can finally get my flamethrower. Believe me, I am stoked to flame some fools, but even if it’s not as awesome as it is in my head I can always flip over to one of my clones and experiment with a different class branch. The game has gotten a little more grindy as I’ve approached level 30, but it still moves along way faster than any other MMO.
There was a bit of news a month ago that NCSoft would be making a console MMO. And I think that there’s a good chance that could be a port of Tabula Rasa. I’ve never played an MMO so apt for console play; the interface would be a no brainer to map to a controller. It’s true that there are other challenges in bringing an online persistent game to the consoles, but most people write off the possibility of a console MMO because of the interface, and Tabula Rasa wouldn’t have that problem.
Lord of the Rings Online
Actually, I’m not playing LotRO. I officially canceled my subscription last week. LotRO was always a bit on the slow side, but after playing Tabula Rasa I just couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t even power through one more level to make a clean 40. So I decided to call it quits. I’m not sure if the recently announced expansion will be enough to lure me back. I totally want to explore Moria, but I don’t know if that’ll be enough. I’ve already written about what I think is wrong with the game, but don’t be surprised if you see more posts as I examine it further, even if I’m no longer playing it.
Rock Band
It’s amazing that I haven’t posted a review of Rock Band yet. But I usually only write about a game when I’m done with it… and I’m still playing a ton of Rock Band after all these months. The weekly DLC has definitely help keep it fresh. With so many tracks and so many ways to perform them, this game ain’t going anywhere anytime soon. But yes, I will get off my duff and post a proper review.
Smash Bros Brawl
I played the crap out of Smash Bros Melee on the Gamecube, which firmly planted Brawl as one of my most anticipated Wii titles. It hasn’t disappointed me yet. That’s not to say that it’s exceeded any expectations - it’s met them precisely. Basically it’s exactly like Melee except with a couple more small features. It’s more of the same, so if you loved Melee you’ll love Brawl.
DS
I haven’t used my DS in months. When work was crazy I got into the habit of working on my laptop on the bus instead of playing. Unfortunately the habit stayed even after things calmed down. I’ll probably have to pick up something like Phantom Hourglass to get my motivated again, because Portrait of Ruin wasn’t cutting it.
Pile of Shame
Here are the games that somehow got pushed to the side and I haven’t given the attention they deserve:
There was certainly a long period of there being no high quality Wii titles. But it seems that when they finally did come out I wasn’t ready for them.
Review Backlog
Given the large list of AAA titles from last fall, I’m a little behind on my reviews. Here’s the list of games that are pending a write-up: