tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40925777533332383692024-03-13T19:19:50.356-07:00HighBrow-LowBrowLukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-18426710388570922262014-03-11T08:05:00.002-07:002014-03-11T08:07:11.951-07:00An interview with the creators of Jack Ryan: Shadow RecruitIn January, I got to sit down with the producers of spy thriller Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and David Barron. Lorenzo has worked on hundreds of movies, and is based known for working on the Transformers, and David is best known for working on the Harry Potter franchise. The interview starts at 2:28 <br />
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<a href="http://flickingmyth.podomatic.com/entry/2014-01-22T14_55_12-08_00" target="_blank">Click here to listen to the interview</a><br />
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<iframe height='85' width='440' frameborder='0' marginheight='0' marginwidth='0' scrolling='no' src='http://flickingmyth.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2014-01-22T14_55_12-08_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Fflickingmyth.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2014-01-22T14_55_12-08_00%3Fcolor%3D43bee7%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26width%3D300%26height%3D85%26objembed%3D0' allowfullscreen></iframe>LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-6617086418501804552014-02-12T17:44:00.000-08:002014-02-12T17:44:00.165-08:00Look back: V for Vendetta, by Alan Moore (1982)<head><title>Look back: V for Vendetta</title>
<META NAME="Description" CONTENT="A review of the classic dystopian graphic novel from Alan Moore"></head>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">A retrospective graphic novel review</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><em>V for Vendetta</em>, created by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, is one of the best (if not the best) pieces from the late British comic-book industry, and stacks up as one of the high points in Moore's career.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSfUutKa_tu-Zkfbtd5IumGmw_uG5NXaIqNlUqRDzP2-7s0PRTzEZRN7e397uCMdXf1uSbxE4eO243l_AI-g24sUbnCfPJJBdjeaa0FYoU74TcngVZ6n3UFItUi0V-x7D_-9PUsdZ8AFVJ/s1600/v_vendetta_comic_290x438.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSfUutKa_tu-Zkfbtd5IumGmw_uG5NXaIqNlUqRDzP2-7s0PRTzEZRN7e397uCMdXf1uSbxE4eO243l_AI-g24sUbnCfPJJBdjeaa0FYoU74TcngVZ6n3UFItUi0V-x7D_-9PUsdZ8AFVJ/s1600/v_vendetta_comic_290x438.jpg" height="400" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLCjYTdz_xTBbemYfpu0wg6KEdvAjEM_slypTNOygxFECBgt-yOjminIAMiS9_tg6PzCPeNvMtKfdx_5jbzAvg1XMOvmvOIMmAyJ8Z29zETFuboAHzGYaiMKUBFyaQ1kUy_BSwFqrBgYM/s400/v_vendetta_comic_290x438.jpg">https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLCjYTdz_xTBbemYfpu0wg6KEdvAjEM_slypTNOygxFECBgt-yOjminIAMiS9_tg6PzCPeNvMtKfdx_5jbzAvg1XMOvmvOIMmAyJ8Z29zETFuboAHzGYaiMKUBFyaQ1kUy_BSwFqrBgYM/s400/v_vendetta_comic_290x438.jpg</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Advantages:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> Brilliantly drawn, engaging,
intellectual, a true piece of British literature<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Disadvantages:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> Not as "inviting" to
the reader as other works by Moore, such as Watchmen, so requires more effort<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> Britain used to produce
a great deal of sequential art, but now most comics and graphic novels in Britain are produced in
the US or are from East Asia. British creators now often have to break into the main
publishing houses in America, namely DC and Marvel. While 2000AD and children's comics are still produced in Britain, they do not match the output (or market
value) of the US comic industry. <em>V for Vendetta</em> is truly a British comic, in that it depicts
British society (of the 80's, but nonetheless) with very British
characteristics and settings. <br />
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Other reviews have listed the history of the publishing of this novel, as it
passed between two different anthology comics. When it was re-printed, the
black and white drawings were coloured in, and this is what is collected in the edition
published by Vertigo. While the colour is very good in some places (such as the
psychadelic colours in the Night, and highlighting the difference betweens
dreams and reality) I would love to have seen the original, non-coloured
format; the stark black and white offsetting the moral grey depicted in the
story. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGhv8AkMkmhaHd6FkUkVp2o_p3xd4LxIpBU8nTXQyyHstT9RmpohRkZ9M9kxX3pNlVvzQFSaxUKQVdrhCAfag25ZJQ6tvbmbMiqfMCYKq5LeyUbTsa9uNTU-eNb3fPkHb0fM_H0D3Jjp6r/s1600/V-for-Vendetta.jpg">https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGhv8AkMkmhaHd6FkUkVp2o_p3xd4LxIpBU8nTXQyyHstT9RmpohRkZ9M9kxX3pNlVvzQFSaxUKQVdrhCAfag25ZJQ6tvbmbMiqfMCYKq5LeyUbTsa9uNTU-eNb3fPkHb0fM_H0D3Jjp6r/s1600/V-for-Vendetta.jpg</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><em>V for Vendetta</em> is so brilliant and so recommendable for a number of reasons. It
is a piece of dystopian literature, looking at how British Thatcherism could
have developed into a fascistic regime following nuclear war. This theme is
more relevant then ever today, as the spectre of war and fascism still hang
heavily within Britain today. Its exploration of Fascist doctrine and Big
Brother-style oppressive tactics are well conveyed through the combination of
dialogue and imagery that only the comic format can truly deliver. It is also a
love letter to Moore's beloved Anarchist theory, and how Anarchy can be used to fight
oppressive government regimes. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha-VuDZtt1aJ7D3ZsL81vZ4K5-JJzsYPEApUSTj0mUhdUs-UahT7mOk5PWEhRCuRkxwwBKB1fY_hwwKINTYqSbTElXpTcGLZnd6O7OSc9pLraNEoDUQdDG2TC46nxPnybfTQlc-bCp3M8V/s1600/V_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha-VuDZtt1aJ7D3ZsL81vZ4K5-JJzsYPEApUSTj0mUhdUs-UahT7mOk5PWEhRCuRkxwwBKB1fY_hwwKINTYqSbTElXpTcGLZnd6O7OSc9pLraNEoDUQdDG2TC46nxPnybfTQlc-bCp3M8V/s1600/V_001.jpg" height="320" width="165" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Sadly, while the central character ruminates and
expounds the virutes of Anarchy, the novel ends at the point Anarchy is
achieved. We are not shown the consequences or results of this change in order;
"Anarchy wears two faces; both creator and destroyer" says V, but
how it acts as creator, and what it creates, apart from destruction, is not shown. <br />
<br />
Many would argue that the central character is the enigmatic V, a super-hero,
an anti-hero and a terrorist all rolled into one, dressed as Guy Fawkes but
acting like Robin Hood as portrayed by Errol Flynn. But V is simply a catalyst,
a plot device. His actions cause a spiral of events that affects every other
character in the book. The book is at its most interesting when it depicts
these various smaller figures, such as the despot slowly losing his mind and
his various agents in the system locked in a political power struggle. The book
portrays how this oppressive regime impacts upon marriages, upon civilians,
upon psyches and how criminals and the two-faced use the situation to their
advantage. Like the great pieces of dystopian literature, it explores all areas
of the society. <br />
<br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The novel asks strong questions of the reader, especially how would you act?
Many in the centre of the political system are not there because they are evil,
but because they are trying to survive. V murders many innocents and destroys
historical monuments in London, in order to free its citizen; is that just?
The book is filled with questions and morally grey characters. Mr Finch is
a detective for the government and is the one who kills our "hero", but is he then the
villain? No, because he is doing what he believes is right in the name of
justice. <br />
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This is a challenging piece of work. There are some inconsistencies and problems as
it was one of Alan Moore's first works before he truly crafted his art (which
can be seen in Watchmen and Swamp Thing) but it is a fantastically well told story, both
evocative and emotive, exploring two conflicting ideologies in enga</span>ging depth.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Summary:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> Highly recommended. a deep
thoughtful story about society and Britain</span></div>
LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-71178412519471232302014-02-07T12:00:00.000-08:002014-02-07T12:00:00.957-08:00Spider-Man: Web of Shadows part 5 - ConclusionTo conclude Spider-Man week, I'll give my final thoughts on the middling-to-poor game, <em>Spider-Man: Web of Shadows </em>by looking at the controls and overall presentation.<br />
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Web of Shadows incorporates a lot of motion based controls. It has to. It's a Wii game. The problem is, these motions are very similar, and you may end up executing the wrong attack just from a subtle movement of the nunchuk. For instance, to lock onto an opponent (which is essential due to the dodgy camera) you flick the nunchuk down. To change costumes, you flick the nunchuk left or right. While locking onto an enemy, you may end up changing your costume, or half way through your combo, you'll change costume, breaking your planned attack strategy. Furthermore, Web-striking and Web-swinging use very similar motions, so you may try to web strike an opponent and end up swinging into the distance, wasting time and losing your hit combo counter. Very frustrating. <br />
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The game also features quick-time events, but these are few and far between, so be prepared for them, but they aren't too hard anyway. <br />
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Apart from this however, the controls are pretty fluid and easy to pick up, and because its an easy game, you'll be forgiven for the occasional mistake. <br />
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The presentation is another matter. The menu screens are fairly basic, and the type is very small, meaning you may squint or need to move closer to the screen just to read what is there, unless you have a fairly large TV. <br />
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Do you remember instruction manuals? Games seem to have stopped using them altogether now, and Web of Shadows is the last game I remember that came with a manual, but the presentation of it was terrible! This really annoyed me, as it was the first time I had come across such a poor instruction manual. As a kid, after I had bought a new game, I would read the instruction manual in the car or on the bus home, to psych myself up for playing the game. The manual that comes with Web of Shadows is bland, contains no in-game shots and, worst of all, contains inaccurate controls. The combinations listed do not match those in the game. For instance, how to do <em>Special moves</em> or to dodge. <br />
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<h4>
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Conclusion:</span> </h4>
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A satisfying, yet flawed, addition to a long series of Spider-man games, which will delight hard-core fans and appeal to the uninitiated. Its an easy game, but that means you can just kick back and enjoy swinging around the large city beating down on criminals and monsters, but don't expect anything great.LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-29543177552854753002014-02-06T12:00:00.000-08:002014-02-06T12:00:01.233-08:00Spider-Man: Web of Shadows part 4 - GameplayI do wonder if I've laid out this series of article in the right order. I've talked about the story, look and presentation, and only now getting round to the <em>Gameplay</em> of a <em>videogame</em>! Maybe this writing thing isn't for me.<br />
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The gameplay is a mixed bag. As mentioned, there is a big assortment of opponents to fight, and you fight them on the ground, in the air, or on the sides of buildings, and there are unique attack sequences for each of these three phases and within that, unique combos for each suit. For instance, the Black Suit is very powerful fighting on the ground, as it is stronger and attacks with symbiotic tentacles and tendrils, however, its air attacks are limited. The Red Suit is fairly slow on the ground and doesn't look impressive, however, a quick uppercut, and once in the air, the red suit can unleash an arsenal of punches and kicks that bring him close to the enemy and then knock them all the way down the street. <br />
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The variety of attacks is very large and the moves are very satisfying, such as the Black Suit's "Beatdown" to the Red Suit's "Windmill" attack. However, the coolest, most used attack is the webstrike (even though it will snap your wrists). Flick the remote to one side, and spidey will jump into the air and yank himself towards an enemy. Flick the remote or press a button at the right time, and spidey will deliver a devasting hit. This attack can be chained, so that you bounce from opponent to opponent, whether in the air or on the ground and do lots of damage. It takes some practise to get the timing right (and the tutorial where you perfect this timing will have you pulling your hair out) but the attack is just visually satisfying and is an attack that feels very... "Spider-Man-esque" shall we say. As game critic Yahtzee Croshaw mentions in his review of the game, it basically makes all the other attacks useless:<br />
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The game also includes a "hit counter" so you can see how long a combo of uninterrupted attacks you can chain together. This is pretty awesome, and it isn't that hard to reach into the 100+ combo. You feel like a real superhero being able to chain together a long combination without getting hit once, and you can challenge yourself to try and get as many hits as possible. To help with this, enemies won't evaporate (they haven't died of course, as this is a kid's game) until you stop hitting them, so you can continue a combination on a downed opponent for another 10 or so hits until you get bored. <br />
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This huge variety of attack combinations and move lists is very important, as it makes up for one of the games big flaws. The game is repetitive. So... so... repetitive. You attack bad guys, and you will not stop attacking bad guys. Beat up bad guys in one street, swing away and then come back, and a new set of bad guys will have spawned. The missions in the game consist of "beat X number of bad guys" followed by "beat XX number of same bad guys." Seriously. It's the same thing over and over. Rinse and bloody repeat. <br />
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And do you know why there are so many of the same bad guys? To lengthen the game, because it is essentially a very easy game. Apart from boss fights, there is little chance you will die. Your health regenerates very quickly, the attacks of the grunts only removes a sliver of health, while your attacks remove big chunks. In some ways, I was happy with this. I mean, you're Spider-Man! You shouldn't get killed by basic grunts! The fact that you don't die will make you feel more like a badass superhero, instead of dieing and having to repeat a section.<br />
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But despite that rather positive outlook, it's hard not to say the game play is poor. Compared to the combat system in the Batman: Arkham games, which can be punishing but still gives the player the sense that they are an unstoppable superhero, this Spider-Man game is woefully lackingLukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-77694291218623972802014-02-05T12:00:00.000-08:002014-02-05T12:00:00.656-08:00Spider-Man: Web of Shadows part 3 - SoundAn important part of many games, that is often overlooked, is the use of sound. Let's explore the use of sound in a rubbish 2008 Spidey game.<br />
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<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/oPuyM_CbMvM/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/oPuyM_CbMvM&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/oPuyM_CbMvM&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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Apart from the dialogue in the cut scenes, the in-game dialogue (when Spidey speaks to various characters) was pretty good. The characters sound how you might imagine in the comics. Luke Cage's dialogue is deep and street-savvy, while Kingpin's voice is brooding, cruel and calculating. Spider-Man's voice actor is pretty good as well, with the whiny, nerdy edge, similar to that of Tobey Maguire's voice for the character. <br />
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Having said that, another gripe I have with the game is the total lack of Peter Parker. We never see the civilian side to Spider-man's life. There is no running around the office of the Daily Bugle as Pete, talking to J. Jonah Jameson or Joe "Robbie" Robertson, like there was in the Spider-Man 2 game. I felt this was a shame, as it detracts from one of Spider-Man's appealing qualities; his humanity and struggle to maintain a (super)work/(normal)life balance, which I think are what has made him such a popular comic book character. <br />
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Moving on, the music in the game is really good. The orchestral score, which can be heard fully at the menu screen (and the beginning of the above video) provides a sense of gravitas that fits the epic nature of the storyline. Tense and darker music is heard during important scenes, especially when in the Black Suit. When missions are completed, a victorious fanfare is played that simply makes you feel good. <br />
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The ingame sounds, such as the yells of enemies, punches and grunts are all handled fine. But the best of all is the classic "THWIP" of Spidey's webshooters. It's cathartic and engrossing, and care was clearly put into making this an awesome sound. <br />
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To web-swing, the player flicks the Wiimote down (like Spidey would flick his wrist down) and a thwip is heard from the speaker in the Wiimote (like Spidey would hear the thwip from the webshooter on his wrist). This was just so cool, as its a great way to add to the immersion of the game and lets the player "feel" like they are Spider-Man! </div>
LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-54148267945123800532014-02-04T12:00:00.000-08:002014-02-04T12:00:01.375-08:00Spider-Man: Web of Shadows part 2 - GraphicsWelcome back, True Believers!<br />
<br />
I've always wanted to say that.<br />
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Lets continue this breakdown of the 2008 Spider-Man game by examining the graphics of the game. <br />
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If you owned a Wii, then you know that it lacks the processing and graphical power of the bigger consoles. Once you accept this fact, Web of Shadows still looks really good! The whole city of New York is being processed and streamed, so there is no lag or loading screens as you swing from one end of the city to the other, although textures would often pop-in awkwardly. <br />
<br />
The city is huge. Swinging from one end of Manhatten Island to the other will take a good five minutes, and that doesn't include site-seeing. Not only that, but the city morphs as the game progresses. As the invasion gets worse, more rubble appears on the streets and black symbiotic tendrils appear between buildings, which builds a sense of tension as things get worse. In addition, the transformation is seamless and gradual, rather then sudden and jerky. <br />
<br />
The developers have done a great deal of fan-service. Readers of Marvel will see characters and locations from all across the comics, from Moon Knight and Luke Cage, to the Baxter Building and Stark Tower (with the Sentry's watchtower on top, and I didn't find that until a few hours into the game). <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDdM4xK30k3XyEgxqRF2fQ2ogH8kT0Oi4F6kjmNfyJrfAGhHGtti7VfdM1vN1utj73O3b9Ac4S6mjgb0ihdS2xkhadVdAWqkWM86tsMWQIHfOeTEuXgi6zPeeUcTKHD5ZxkprDUWx6Jh_/s1600/Spider-Man-Web-of-Shadows3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDdM4xK30k3XyEgxqRF2fQ2ogH8kT0Oi4F6kjmNfyJrfAGhHGtti7VfdM1vN1utj73O3b9Ac4S6mjgb0ihdS2xkhadVdAWqkWM86tsMWQIHfOeTEuXgi6zPeeUcTKHD5ZxkprDUWx6Jh_/s1600/Spider-Man-Web-of-Shadows3.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The freaking WOLVERINE is in this game!<br />
<a href="http://www.the-nextlevel.com/media/ps3/spider-man-web-of-shadows/Spider-Man-Web-of-Shadows3.jpg">http://www.the-nextlevel.com/media/ps3/spider-man-web-of-shadows/Spider-Man-Web-of-Shadows3.jpg</a></td></tr>
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<br />
<br />
<br />
However, the city itself does look dull. There is a big variety in buildings and locations, but they are all of a dull steel or rock colour. They don't gleam in the sun as one may expect and Spider-man isn't refelcted as he crawls over the windows of a Skyscraper. There are few citizens in the streets and <br />
while there are lots of cars (which the Black Suit can throw) they are dull and lifeless, simply stopping when spiderman appears. <br />
<br />
This same statement applies to the villains. Although there are a huge assortment of foes and henchmen to fight in the game, they all look roughly the same, with very little model detail. For instance, its hard to tell the difference between the grey symbiote which dies to one punch and the greyish-white symbiote which has powerful attacks and lots of health, until you've already been punched or bitten. <br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ45kEoz_LkUc2kMDBG8ePmAw9o_jThIJTAX9GgeDQXmqjz6MrHhyphenhyphenEFqizuDKikU3LHaAWKSkmQgMYPcWGVsQlkyvntC9bphUJ1YQRz8CwnjorC2FDjVOuO7WZzj0RCEOgtFZN20Oukpal/s1600/spider_man_web_of_shadows_445822040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ45kEoz_LkUc2kMDBG8ePmAw9o_jThIJTAX9GgeDQXmqjz6MrHhyphenhyphenEFqizuDKikU3LHaAWKSkmQgMYPcWGVsQlkyvntC9bphUJ1YQRz8CwnjorC2FDjVOuO7WZzj0RCEOgtFZN20Oukpal/s1600/spider_man_web_of_shadows_445822040.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh great, more boring looking mooks<br />
<a href="http://gotps3.ru/files/_images/spider_man_web_of_shadows_445822040.jpg">http://gotps3.ru/files/_images/spider_man_web_of_shadows_445822040.jpg</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
On the other hand, Spider-Man himself looks awesome. Both suits are highly detailed and variations are thrown into how Spidey jumps and twists and falls through the air as he web swings and zips across town. You can also unlock variations on the suits as you play through the game. For instance, I spent most of the game in Ben Reilly's more visually interesting Spidey suit, but there is also the Armoured Spidey and Spider-Man 2099 suits to try on. <br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilGF3BKm-kVyYxTK4CUB5fEhFKEVLn8ff8fibAMKrm4C78v0AC43iRp-hJXSJ5I70pffEtDTAQuTdd4xPqI6_XUMExGG0xSNg1sOdWM62IXC3Ko8BjAZeMR_1oBUnwUrImZ8567v-kqlmz/s1600/the.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDdM4xK30k3XyEgxqRF2fQ2ogH8kT0Oi4F6kjmNfyJrfAGhHGtti7VfdM1vN1utj73O3b9Ac4S6mjgb0ihdS2xkhadVdAWqkWM86tsMWQIHfOeTEuXgi6zPeeUcTKHD5ZxkprDUWx6Jh_/s1600/Spider-Man-Web-of-Shadows3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDsZe-vTvrfPhiLSKi5RiJQ_oF_RjXD5Q5izq_n0px7t-q3NqBXcCDjP2fjDeDlTV2IFPmMxLBD2nrxTIr7MJWbVVu3SSeO58DGio8P-Fdn-UiFOGXJqmrtg-6fwJguSZDLwcGerkmVXvq/s1600/spider-man-web-of-shadows-20080930094922636.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDsZe-vTvrfPhiLSKi5RiJQ_oF_RjXD5Q5izq_n0px7t-q3NqBXcCDjP2fjDeDlTV2IFPmMxLBD2nrxTIr7MJWbVVu3SSeO58DGio8P-Fdn-UiFOGXJqmrtg-6fwJguSZDLwcGerkmVXvq/s1600/spider-man-web-of-shadows-20080930094922636.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out that ass. Peachy and shiny<br />
<a href="http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/914/914608/spider-man-web-of-shadows-20080930094922636.jpg">http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/914/914608/spider-man-web-of-shadows-20080930094922636.jpg</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Yet, there is one big problem with the Wii version. The basic game graphics were decreased to aid the Wii's processing power, and the game is better off as a result. However, the same was not done for the in-game movies and cut-scenes. Perhaps it was just my copy, but these lagged, took some time to load and, worst of all, the sounds and dialogue were out of synch, distorted, and couldn't even be heard, ruining any immersion or understanding of the games plot. For instance, when Electro appears, the sounds was so distorted that i had no idea why he was so upset or aggressive, and the boss fight became just another arbitrary battle. <br />
<br />
More next time. Same Spider-time, same Spider-blogLukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-20667781740231724472014-02-03T12:00:00.000-08:002014-02-03T12:00:00.554-08:00Spider-Man: Web of Shadows part 1<head><title>Analysing Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, part 1</title></head>
This week on Highbrow-Lowbrow is Spider-Man week. Spider-Man was my all-time favourite character as a kid all the way up to me late teens, right up until the writers messed with the character and backstory beyond all recognition, and around the time the Marvel Studios movies showed me how awesome character like Iron Man and Captain America are. So, why is this Spider-Man week? Just because.<br />
<br />
One of my favourite bloggers, <a href="http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/" target="_blank">Shamus Young</a>, often writes in-depth reviews of videogames, analysing the story and critiquing each aspect of the game, and they are a joy to read.<br />
<br />
Inspired, Spider-Man week is going to be celebrated with a week-long ridiculously in-depth review of the 2008 Spider-Man game, <em>Web of Shadows</em>. It wasn't a great game, but I devoted a note inconsiderable chunk of time to the game, and thought I'd share my thoughts on the game, which developed into a 3,000 word thesis on the bloody thing.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><em>Spider-Man: Web of Shadows </em>was released in 2008 by publishers Activision, who also published the <em>Spider-Man: The Movie</em> game tie-ins, as well as <em>Spider-Man: Friend or Foe</em>, and the DS and PS1 Spider-Man games. After roughly a dozen iterations, Activision is still making mistakes that prevent this games from becoming true classics, the closest to perfection being <em>Spider-Man 2: The Movie: The Game</em> <br />
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Per...fection....<br />
<br />
<em>Web of Shado</em>ws returns to the open world format introduced to the series in <em>Spider-Man 2</em>, but is more closely related to <em>Spider-Man 3</em> as one of the games big selling points is the ability to choose between the Classic Red-suit spidey or the Symbiotic Black Suit. <br />
<br />
<em>Web of Shadows</em> begins with New York devasted, as S.H.I.E.L.D. troopers, superheroes and supervillains fight an invasion of alien symbiotes, the creatures that once gave our hero Spidey enhanced powers, until it bonded with Eddie Brock, creating the infamous villain Venom and later Carnage. <br />
<br />
Anyway, after a short tutorial where the player, as Spider-Man, battles symbiotes, Spidey is knocked out and has a flashback to a few days before the invasion. The game begins fully from this point with Spidey half-way through a battle with his nemesis Venom, when suddenly, part of Venom's symbiote jumps across and attaches itself to our hero. Now, with a choice of two suits and two different play styles, Spider-Man must swing around New York, saving its citizens and discover the truth behind the Invasion. <br />
<br />
Exciting huh? <br />
<br />
Well, we should hope so, as the game developers made a big point about how this was an "original" storyline, and was not tied to any previous comic or movie tale. The game developers also stressed the moral choice system of the game, with multiple cut scenes and endings, based on being "Good" and using the Red-suit, or being "Bad" and using the Black-suit. <br />
<br />
Cynics will claim that having these two branching paths of "Good" and "Evil" <br />
simply force the player to complete the game a second time to see the alternative endings. Non-cynics should probably say the same thing... <br />
<br />
The Wii version is basically exactly the same as the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions, except for a slight graphical step-down (more on this later) and executing attacks on the other consoles will be easier (and less harmful to ones wrists) and the game itself is fun, enjoyable and certainly addictive. I certainly keep coming back to it and lose hours at a time by playing the game. Yet it still has significant problems which detract from the experience, some specific to the Wii version and other problems shared by all three versions.<br />
<br />
To be continued...tomorrow!LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-35996707971516449512014-01-18T18:36:00.002-08:002014-01-20T17:52:46.911-08:00Why The Big Lebowski is the funniest film ever<head><title>Why The Big Lebowski is the funniest film ever</title></head><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://365thingsaustin.com/wp-content/uploads/the-big-lebowski.jpg" height="320" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="224" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: <a href="http://365thingsaustin.com/wp-content/uploads/the-big-lebowski.jpg">http://365thingsaustin.com/wp-content/uploads/the-big-lebowski.jpg</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="color: #cc0000;">100 word reviews:</span></h3>
<br />
<h4>
The Big Lebowski, 1998</h4>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My favourite film is The Big Lebowski, by the Coen brothers,
simply because it is one of the funniest films I’ve ever seen. The Coen’s create
comedy in every scene, by juxtaposing bizarre situations and dream-like visuals
with nonchalant but hilarious dialogue, and the whole artifice is held together
by the iconic character of Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski (played to perfection by Jeff
Bridges). It’s an excellent parody of detective mysteries and the early 90’s
culture, with a wonderful design and soundtrack. This is a rare kind of film that
is rewarding on every viewing. </span>LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-33439763612075804682014-01-15T16:14:00.000-08:002014-01-19T12:07:56.199-08:00Look Back: Watchmen, by Alan Moore (1986)<head><title>Look Back: Watchmen, by Alan Moore (1986)</title></head><h3>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">A retrospective graphic novel review</span></h3>
Does this seminal comic/graphic novel require introduction. I don't think it does, it is now so ubiquitous to the general comic-book reading, film-going audience. Even if people don't always like it.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dpuPyftomWo/T_JNpN1v9ZI/AAAAAAAAM-8/7ONSFApHoO0/s1600/Watchmen_Graphic_Novel_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dpuPyftomWo/T_JNpN1v9ZI/AAAAAAAAM-8/7ONSFApHoO0/s320/Watchmen_Graphic_Novel_cover.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Source: <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dpuPyftomWo/T_JNpN1v9ZI/AAAAAAAAM-8/7ONSFApHoO0/s1600/Watchmen_Graphic_Novel_cover.jpg">http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dpuPyftomWo/T_JNpN1v9ZI/AAAAAAAAM-8/7ONSFApHoO0/s1600/Watchmen_Graphic_Novel_cover.jpg</a></span><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<b></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b>Advantages:</b> Engaging story and characters. A profound graphic novel
with depths to analyse.<br />
<br />
<b>Disadvantages:</b> Perhaps a little slow-paced for some. Art is dated by
today's standards.<br />
<br />
"Watchmen" is a series of 12 issues published during 1986, and
later collected into a single volume. It was written by Alan Moore and drawn by
Dave Gibbons. Both are very prolific British creators. Moore especially, as a
large number of his graphic novels have been adapted into (generally bad)
Hollywood movies. "Watchmen" itself is seen as one of the greatest
graphic novels and revolutionised elements of the comic book industry, and many
comics have since tried to emulate its dark nature. In some ways, it was an
attempt by Moore to prove that Graphic Novels/Comics could be more substantial,
perhaps better, than movies and books. Watchmen was said to be
"un-filmable" due to its dense, specific structure and content. Zack
Snyder's 2009 release in some ways vindicates this statement, although I
believe that his film is an excellent film. <br />
<br />
Synopsis: In 1985, superheroes have been made illegal, except those employed by
the government or working illegally. As the Cold War approaches Nuclear
destruction, the investigation of a murdered adventurer may hold the key to
saving the world....or will it? <br />
<br />
I could not recommend this Graphic Novel more (and it IS a graphic novel and
not simply a "trade paperback"). It can be argued that it is a novel
in its own right, as it is a powerful piece of literature that will effect you
emotionally at certain points. Although the artwork is dated by today's
standards, it fits the story well and is still very good, with great use of
colours, and the strict layout of 3x3 panels creates a strange, yet cinematic,
effect. Its clever, controlled structure, is one of its most notable and
remarkable features. This structure was taken to its extreme in issue 5,
"fearful symmetry", where the layout of each page is symmetrical, and
its effect is fascinating. Gibbons used it to provide a sense of
"authority" and perhaps this reflects the authority of certain
characters, such as Ozymandias and Dr. Manhattan, or the authority of the
political figures controlling the nuclear bombs? <br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">From top right, clockwise: The Comedian, Ozymandias, Night Owl II, Rorschach, <br />Captain Metropolis, Silk Spectre II, Dr. Manhattan </span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Source: <a href="http://www.hoodedutilitarian.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/watchmen-graphic-novel.jpg">http://www.hoodedutilitarian.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/watchmen-graphic-novel.jpg</a></span><br />
<br />
<br />
The reader is also left to make up their own decisions about events. Did
Ozymandias do the right thing? Will Rorschach's (pronounced Raw Shack) journal
be discovered? Personally, I answer No and Yes to those questions, but Moore's
aim is to question where the reader's morality lies. Does one side with the
morally absolute, yet mentally unstable Rorschach, or with the utilitarian,
altruistic, yet ultimately homicidal Ozymandias? <br />
<br />
This extends into one of Watchmen's other notable features. "The Tales of
the Black Freighter" is a piece of metafiction; a
"comic-within-a-comic", a "story-within-a-story". It is
designed to reflect or as a foil to the actions in the main story. It provides
a parallel to the plot, and, although Moore states that is specifically refers
to the "villain" Ozymandias, it can relate to Rorschach's death and
Dr. Manhattan's self-exile. Ultimately any interpretation could be the correct
one, but the way you interpret it reflects your own opinions and feelings about
these characters and the moral questions at the heart of the story. <br />
<br />
The way Moore gives each character their flaws is fascinating. Even the perfect
human, Adrian Veidt, seems detached and aloof, perhaps bored, during his
lengthy monologue. The fall of Dr. Manhattan, a man with ultimate power that
does ultimately corrupt, leaving him with little emotion and having lost nearly
all empathy. <br />
<br />
The use of symbolism is effective. I cannot understand the meaning of some of it,
but it is a novel that deserves to be read more than once. Moore has created memorable
characters, such as Rorschach, the ultimate street vigilante, as a logical extreme of the Batman style of superhero. Certain sections
contain relatively little dialogue, and are read too fast, and there is room
for more action, but the lack of sound effects and speech bubbles have a
surprising effect, making these fight scenes more realistic and visceral.
Looking at comics today, the impact left by Watchmen is clear. <br />
<br />
All in all, a great read, with so many touches that bind it all together. It is
visually engaging and hard to tear your eyes away from. Littered with
references and symbolism which one must track down, it is ultimately very
satisfying. Read it before you buy the movie, and if you've already seen the
movie, buy this classic in order to gain a deeper and more profound
understanding of the Watchmen universe, that, in many ways, was too complex to
be put on the screen.<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b> It exemplifies all that is good and great about the comic
book medium.LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-32768633370095898552014-01-08T12:00:00.000-08:002014-01-08T12:00:00.728-08:00Look Back: Deadly Creatures (Wii , 2009)<h3>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">A retrospective videogame review</span></h3>
<h4>
Developed by Rainbow Studios, published by THQ</h4>
Deadly Creatures is a third party title for the Wii. A lot has ben written
about supporting Third Parties in computer games, as these are the studios that
take more creative risks with gameplay or premises. Rainbow Studios, part of
THQ, took a big creative risk with Deadly Creatures, and it, mostly, paid off. <br />
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<br />
<a name='more'></a>Deadly Creatures is a brawler and adventure game. You control a tarantula and a
scorpion in alternating levels, exploring a vast desert landscape, while
fighting other insects and pests, from small beetles, to rats, lizards, and
even bigger, deadlier creatures... <br />
<br />
What little story that is present in the game is quite good and told in an
interesting manner. Two rednecks (voiced by acting heavyweights Billy Bob
Thornton and Dennis Hopper) are looking for buried treasure in the desert.
While you travel through a level, occasionally you will hear the pair walking
overhead and talking, and this approach is cinematic and very immersive.
<br />
<br />
The game is at its best when it just lets you explore the world from the
perspective of a bug. Some highlights include an upturned car and crawling
through an occupied coffin which you leave by crawling through a skull. I found
these touches fantastic and something as simple as a bike becomes bizarre and
amazing at such a colossal scale. The game does well to hide its very linear level
design, by having your path twist around itself as you explore the different
areas. By adding collectibles, in the form of crickets and grubs, the
exploration becomes rewarding and this was my favourite part of the game. <br />
<br />
The two protagonists, if we can call them such, are actually very well
characterized, through their movement and gameplay style. The scorpion is like
a tank, big and strong, but slow and pondering and very defensive, while the
tarantula, being much weaker and more timid of the world, has to rely on speed
and agility, while using tricks and stealth to defeat enemies. These creatures
also move incredibly realistically and, as someone with a mild fear of spiders,
can be very intimidating and creepy. A female friend could play for no more than a
few minutes, due to how realistically the spider moved. <br />
<br />
However, if exploring is one half of the game, the other is the fighting, and
this part I really hated. If you like challenging games, then this may be for
you, as the bugs and creatures you face are not pushovers. They all have
similar attacks to you and a lot of health. Each confrontation is a life or
death moment. I played the game on Easy, simple because i was fed up of having
my arse handed to me, and wanted to enjoy the dark, brooding atmosphere. The
reason I kept losing these fights is simple; the controls suck. The lag between
pressing a button and the movement is big and irritating, and the controls
rely a lot on waggling and motion controls, which the game doesn't always
register. The controls should have been tightened, but they weren't and this
lets the game down. <br />
<br />
The game also overuses quick time events. One particular
sequence involved twelve (repeat TWELVE!!) moves. That's ridiculous! And if you
get one wrong, you don't start at the beginning, you start about five minutes
earlier, and have to walk all the way back to the damn section! Sorry for venting,
but the developers used quick time events as a cheap and easy way to extend
game play and try to add variety, but it is transparently lazy and frustratingly poor game design. <br />
<br />
The graphics are good, but the game contains lots of glitches (notice I avoided
saying bugs? I'm classy like that) Creatures hover in mid air, the camera can get lodged onto
terrain, you yourself can get stuck in the scenery, and its frustrating and
flow breaking when it happens. <br />
<br />
In conclusion, despite my complaints, this game is worth experiencing. Its
original, even if it doesn't quite work, and the levels and environments are
really well designed and imaginative. Some parts of the game really have to be
seen to be believed.<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b> Try it, its worth it, and its more original and interesting
then Killzone 2 or whatever.LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-76163634677146327412014-01-02T12:00:00.000-08:002014-01-02T12:00:01.151-08:00Look back: De Blob (Wii, 2008)
<br />
<h3 class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">A retrospective videogame review</span></h3>
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
Developed by Blue Tongue studios</h4>
<em>de Blob</em> is a deceptively simple game. At first glance, it appears to be a game designed for children, with its cartoon graphics and humour and simplistic gameplay based, of all things, matching colours. But beneath that is a deep subtext examining the effects oppression, governmental controls, imperialism and censorship upon a society consisting of Liberal values... not that the games target audience of the "3+" will quite appreciate this. <br />
<b></b><br />
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<br />
<b></b><a name='more'></a><b>Advantages:</b> brilliant music, bursting with colour and imaginative
characters, funny slapstick humour<br />
<br />
<b>Disadvantages:</b> controls, tests your patience, not very casual<br />
<br />
<br />
The story revolves around the city of Raydia, a land filled with colours and
where citizens spend their time in museums, playing music and sports, writing
and painting art. However, an invading alien army, the Inkies led by Comrade
Black (notice the allusion?). They drain Raydia of all its colours, institute a
police state and oppress the citizens by, literally, clamping them in metal
suits. <br />
<br />
The city's only hope is "the colour underground" a group of radical
artists and revolutionaries, who are, at the start of the game, quite useless,
until the game's protagonist, Blob emerges from the jungle to save them all. <br />
<br />
You basically play a bizarre cross between the Hulk, Tarzan, Picasso and Che
Guervara, fighting the Inkies by swining around the city, bouncing off walls
and covering the city in paint. Note, our protagonist mass murders the Inky
race, literally squashing them and causing them to burst. Imagine if the inkies
left blood and bone, instead of puddle of ink, i don't think this game qould
have kept its rating. <br />
<br />
The highlights of the game are its allusions to the Fascist and Communist
regimes, and its rewarding game system. Each level starts with a grey world,
with a grey sky and no music. As you repaint the world, different instruments
play and the sky clear, so that by the end of the level, life reutrns to the
city along with an inspiring score. The game contains absolutely brilliant jazz
and funk music, perfectly portraying the left-wing, freedom loving, pacifisctic
socity that you try to save. <br />
<br />
It is also a game for completionists with around ten awards offered each level
for completing certain tasks, such as speed runs, painting every tree and
freeing every citizen. It is challenging, in fact, almost impossible to get all
awards in one playthrough of level, so the game offers replayability. <br />
<br />
However, it is marred by several issues. The most major is the control system.
Blob jumps by swinging the Wiimote. And pretty much all the game involves
constant jumping, which leaves you with an incredible sore wrist. This would be
an incredibly easy game, if not for an often unresponsive control scheme, which
can create immense frustration, when you fail a level bacause the game didn't
register your jump. <br />
<br />
On top of this, each level is massive with a sprawling cityscape, but don't
expect a sandbox style game. The game is heavily railroaded, so if you want to
go to an earlier section of a level, have fun walking all the way back. But the
size of each level means it takes roughly 40 minutes to an hour to complete a
level, depending on how much perfection you're going for, but even speed
running later levels will mean 20 minutes straight of basic, repetitve
gameplay. This problem could of been resolved with the means of in-game save
points, but these aren't here. Instead you have to complete a whole level in
one go, which requires a big investment of time. For a casual game, that is not
very casual. <br />
<br />
Overall, this is a game bursting with imagination, characters and originiality,
that many other games fail to offer. Its premise of repainting a city in as
many colours as possible, directly challenges and lampoons the current gaming
landscape, where the only colour is rusty brown or hollow grey. Yet it is
hampered by a frustrating control system, which cannot be customised and
lengthy levels offering no breaks.<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b> strongly recommended for anyone who wants light-hearted
entertainment, as well as true originality.<br />
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LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-58798424542205698722013-12-25T12:00:00.000-08:002013-12-25T12:00:00.618-08:00Look back - Serious Sam: the Next Encounter (PS2)<br />
<h3>
<span style="color: #cc0000;">A retrospective videogame review</span></h3>
Serious Sam; the Next Encounter was made available for the ps2 and gamecube.
It was made by Climax studios, not Croteam, who made the original PC version.
The differences are notable. Climax's version seems slightly more cartoony and
the comedy isn't quite as good, although Sam "serious" Stone is still
quiter the quip master. In addition, the reduced memory and output capacity of
the console, means that many of the levels are smaller or more contained. When
the levels do become larger, the game becomes prone to freezing or crashing.
But despite these differences and flaws, it still maintains the Serious Sam
feel. <br />
<br />
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<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
The Serious Sam games are fairly brilliant. They have a real retro feel to
them, with the objective usual "go here, kill everything" with
emphasis on everything and being able to carry dozens of over the top, yet
effective weaponry. Its like Doom revamped, or a politically correct Duke
Nukem. <br />
The game throws you through various well designed and creative levels and areas.
The three main regions are Rome, China and Atlantis, with various enemies
themed to these areas. <br />
<br />
Like all serious sam games, the game excels at set-pieces. Big set ups where
hoardes of ridiculous monsters spawn in and the game can be very challenging, but
fair and balanced at the same time. <br />
<br />
Next Encounter has a few features that seperates it from the other games, but
improve the IP as a whole. Levels are accessed through a level screen, meaning
you can replay levels you enjoyed and play them at different difficulties. It
also means that if you find a section really challenging, you can change to a
lower difficulty in order to advance. I liked this, as the game 2nd big boss, a
Hydra was insanely hard on Normal, but i could progress by switching to an easy
mode. While previous SS games featured a scoring system, its was pretty
peripheral and meaningless, except for making you feel bad when you realized
you missed a secret. In Next Encounter,the score is tied into the game: the
more kills you chain together, the more points you get, and if you reach a
chain of twenty, you enter a rampage mode, which has kickass music, as well as
vamping up your guns and speed. Also, the game uses a medal system, based on
your score, number of kills, secrets and time. Its a challenge to get bronze,
let alone gold on some levels. Also, putting in the effort to get medals is
rewarding, as by obtaining gold medals, "lost levels" are unlocked. <br />
<br />
This "lost levels" are ridiculously fun. They don't tie into the
story exactly, but are usually designed around a gimmick or idea that couldn't
be used in the main game. For instance, one level features a massive praetorian
camp, which you need to break into using a vehicle, then enter close combat in
the alleys between tents, before long range fighting with cannon shooting
elephants (did i mention this game is really, really weird). <br />
<br />
It doesn't feel as fresh, as polished or as challenging as the PC original, and
certainly has worse graphics, but its inventive and fun and zany. A big thumbs
up<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b> There's actually too much to say about the game. its great,
and its got decent multiplayer<br />
<br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-17422422320126674232013-12-18T12:00:00.000-08:002013-12-18T12:00:00.845-08:00Look back - Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (PS2, 2003)<h3 class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">A retrospective videogame review</span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, is a platformer for the PS2. The gameplay revolved around gravity-defying, Parkour-style, free-running platforming, allowing you to run along and up walls, in rder to climb high up and avoid murderous traps. Due to the likelihood of dieing repeatedly, time-reversing mechanics where introduced via the "dagger of time." The game also involved sword-fighting with sand zombies in a huge arabian palace, and it is, simply one of the best games ever made. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><strong>Advantages:</strong> Story, characters, visuals, fluid and brilliant platforming<br />
<br />
<b>Disadvantages:</b> Poor combat that feels dull and repetitive<br />
<br />
The story revloves around the Prince (his name is never revealed) who
accidently unleashed the "sands of time" from a magic hourglass,
which has transformed everyone in a huge palace into a villain. The prince
tries to do this, despite oppoesition from the sinister Vizier, who wants to
use the hourglass and its magic to achieve total power. The story is presented
very much like "Laurence of Arabia," Our prince even has a Errol
Flynn-esque British accent. The story is brilliantly told through dialogue
between characters, narration from the prince, and soliloques from the princes
mind. The prince is a complex character, who grows throughout the story, along
with his growing love for Princess Farah. <br />
<br />
But in video games, a story welltold is nothing without engaging gameplay (and
vice-versa). Thankfully, the platforming sections of the game are fantastic. They
are experimental, huge in scale and complex, but the free-running gives you a
strong sense of freedom, making the platforming very engaging. While the
platforming itself is challengin, it is helped by tight, simple controls. the
Prince's acrobats are accomplished just the joystick and two buttons.
Minimising the potential inputs makes the game more immersive, and thus
enjoyable, and the time powers mean that failure is not frustrating, as you can
zip right back to the instant before you screwed up. <br />
<br />
However, to balance the fantastic platforming is the boring and repetitive
sword-fighting. You fight lots of different enemies, but they all look and feel
the same, and most of them are dealt with in exactly the same way. The counter
attacks are too fiddly and loose, as its impossible to get the timing, which
leaves you with basic sword swipes or bouncing off walls. Its very dull and you
just want to get through it quickly so you can enjoy more platforming and
story. Although to be fair, voulting over enemies is quite fun and looks
brilliant, due to the fantastic camera. <br />
<br />
Camera controls make or break a platformer. Actually, a bad camera can ruin any
game. It was one of the main problems I had with Madworld. In PoP, the camera
is brilliant. You can have the camera as tight or as far away as you want, and
you can switch to a landscape view, to get a sense of scale and where you need
to go. During fights, the camera knows to stay where you can see enemies,
before switching to a cinematic closeup when you pull off a finished or a cool
looking movie. Its one of the few things that improved the combat. <br />
<br />
I loved this game, and it is a shame it took me seven years to get round to
playing it. Don't wait any longer, experience it for yourself.<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b> A must play. Absolutely brilliant.LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-18811464119530044392012-07-31T03:15:00.002-07:002012-07-31T03:15:55.541-07:00What I've Been Watching: Southland (2009)<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
A month ago, I picked up Season 1 and 2 of NBC cop drama<b style="color: red;">
Southland</b> from Amazon. I’d seen snippets from a random episode late one night on
Channel 4 which seemed good, and the fact it starred Ben McKenzie (whom I’m a
big fan of from his performance as Ryan on <b style="color: red;">The
O.C.</b>), made me decide to get it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Originally aired April 2009, the show is about the Los
Angeles police force, and the show follows patrol officers as well as
detectives from the gangs and homicide divisions. Having now watched the first
season, which consists of seven episodes, I thought I would share some thoughts
on it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<br /></div>
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Firstly, it’s a great show. Not as good as HBO’s <b style="color: red;">The Wire</b>,
but I honestly think it’s almost as good. Where <b style="color: red;">The Wire</b> focuses on arching
stories, such as the first season which focuses on busting a drug dealing
operation, <b style="color: red;">Southland</b> is more like a soap opera, as it focuses more on the lives of
the characters and less on story, and is much more, well, episodic, in that its
stories are fairly self-contained.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The acting is phenomenal, with stand-out performances from
McKenzie as a young rookie with a troubled private life, Michael Cudlitz (<b style="color: red;">Band of Brothers</b>) as McKenzie’s mentor
with a troubled private life and Regina King (<b style="color: red;">The Boondocks</b>) as strong, independent detective with a, you guessed
it, troubled private life. The rest of the ensemble cast give great, memorable
performances, leading you to empathise and care for their characters. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.eurweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/regina_king2010-southland-med-wide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://cdn.eurweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/regina_king2010-southland-med-wide.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Regina kicks all the arse as Detective Lydia Adams</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The writing is strong, especially in regard to the
main characters and their interactions, although the plot of each episode can
tend to be a little contrived, convoluted or conveniently wrapped up. It’s a
cop show, so of course there’s car chases, fist fights and shoot-outs, and
these are all effective and exciting. It’s often at its best during the quieter
moment, such as the conversations between Cudlitz and McKenzie. Some of the
funniest moments are when the pair deals with “crap calls” from oblivious members
of the public.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It does have some problems. Due to having such a large cast,
the show struggles to balance every character. While it wants to show us the problems
in a couple’s relationship, it is only able to communicate this with a ten
second shot. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.tvfanatic.com/images/gallery/cooper-and-sherman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://static.tvfanatic.com/images/gallery/cooper-and-sherman.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">McKenzie and Cudlitz as officers Sherman and Cooper</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This theme of tension permeates the show. Various detectives
feel frustration with LA society, from the uneven wealth distribution between
the social classes, to the lack of funding for the police, to the unfeeling,
unsympathetic actions of the government bureaucracy. This tension is paralleled
in their private lives; fathers are estranged from their children, husbands
from their wives. One of the most compelling characters, Cudlitz’s Officer John
Cooper, embodies this theme: his back-pain mimics his emotional pain of his
past and his frustration with dealing with crime in LA.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the weakest aspects of the show is how it deals with
the criminal element of LA. In <b style="color: red;">The Wire</b>,
the narrative follows the lives of the criminals, humanising them, giving them
depth and character. You might not like them, but you understand them. <b style="color: red;">Southland</b> only follows the police, so
criminals always feel like the other, an opponent that needs to be taken down.
The fact that the oft caricatured criminals in the show are uniformly Black or Latino
creates an unfortunate sense of racial unease. The show tries to alleviate this
by having a Black female cop (King) as a prominent character, a Latino
detective, and a black chief of police, but it isn’t enough.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Overall, it is a great show, a real surprise. If you’ve already
watched <b style="color: red;">The Wire</b>, then I’d highly
recommend giving it a try.</div>LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-46144679001963214482012-07-04T11:25:00.002-07:002014-01-19T12:08:44.721-08:00The art of John Romita Jr.<head><title>The art of John Romita Jr.</title><head>For a recent job application, I was asked to write a 200 word critique of an artist. Having never critiqued art, the work of an artist or styles of art, I thought I'd take a punt on something abit more left-field.<br /><br />
So I talked about one of my favourite comic-book artists of all time, John Romita Jr.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgerjf3c-jTlqQ7epsnXNiIPbz0zVSiKDxl8VwrsQOCxuAL0k9p20y0_eWDijviDh0sS_XRQ2VvLkOj6z6Pt4MIdl9x4h1DhTZWeNIDLBr6_ACyc743Ed7dPqF-4U3Pr_e-yklrN_9DqqZi/s1600/spidey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgerjf3c-jTlqQ7epsnXNiIPbz0zVSiKDxl8VwrsQOCxuAL0k9p20y0_eWDijviDh0sS_XRQ2VvLkOj6z6Pt4MIdl9x4h1DhTZWeNIDLBr6_ACyc743Ed7dPqF-4U3Pr_e-yklrN_9DqqZi/s320/spidey.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Comic book artist John Romita Jr. followed his father into
the industry in the 1970s, where he has principally worked as a penciller for
Marvel. Since then, Romita’s talent and reputation has grown and had a huge
impact on the comic book medium.</div>
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<br /></div>
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His prolific work with Marvel has included influential runs
on popular characters including <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Spider-Man
</i>and<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> The Avengers</i>, as well as
drawing critically and commercially successful series, such as 2006’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Eternals,</i> 2007’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">World War Hulk, </i>and most recently his
work on the controversial <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kick-ass</i>.
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exaggerated pencilling of Lenil Yu bears some resemblance to Romita’s work.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I believe a key element of Romita’s popularity and success is
his unique style, which straddles a line between realism and cartoonish
surrealism. His heavy, angular lines belie a talent for drawing fluid, dynamic
poses and action sequences, whilst allowing him to exaggerate facial
expressions to create defined and relatable characters. He has a cinematic eye
for body positions and angles that effectively communicate tension and energy
to the reader, and his designs are instantly recognizable and truly memorable. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Truly, he is one of the masters of sequential
art.</div>
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<br /></div>
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If you happen to know anything about art, how is this as a short piece of art criticism? If you have any advice to offer on how to critique artwork, please drop me an email... </div>
<br />LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-44931015738098921182012-06-18T06:31:00.004-07:002012-06-18T06:32:24.256-07:00Look Back: Metroid Prime: Echoes (Wii)Hey, d'you remember when I wrote about <a href="http://highbrow-lowbrow.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/look-back-metroid-prime-wii.html">Metroid Prime</a>, the first game in the Prime trilogy released for the Gamecube/Wii? Well here's an article about the 2004 follow-up from Retro Studios, Metroid Prime: Echoes<br />
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<b>Advantages:</b> Everything that made Prime great.<br />
<b>Disadvantages:</b> Not as good as Prime<br />
The sequel to Metroid Prime, one my personal favourite games ever, is a
mixed bag. <br />
<br />
Echoes continues the story of Samus Aran, the bounty hunter, in her fight
against the space pirates and the mysterious chemical, Phazon. In Echoes, Aran
explores a planet hit by a Phazon comet, causing reality on the planet to split
in two, one a world of light, the other a world of dark. When Aran arrives, the
world of dark, with its sinister Ing, is about to consume the planet, and
unleash havoc on the universe. <br />
<br />
Echoes continues Prime's brilliant focus on exploration, with its immersive
environment, with some improvements. Combat is more varied and more intense,
while still being enjoyable. The game is larger, so there is more to explore
and unlock, with some challenging puzzles. The idea of two realities is well
implemented, each being similar, yet with striking, and sinister differences.
The mechanic of changing things in one zone to affect the other is well
implemented. <br />
<br />
However, there were some significant dips in quality over the two installments.
For instance, while the game is larger, the four main game areas don't feel as
unique and as individual as they did in the first game, and the layout of each
feels disjointed and awkward, unlike the first game. Inthe first game, the
world was split into fire, earth, ice and ruins and each was strongly realized.
In echoes, the world is split into desert, swamp, techno and... more desert
basically. oh wat, there is the dark region for each as well, which is
basically the same, but purple... <br />
<br />
Its such a shame, because it isn't as visually satisfying a the first game, and
due to the nature of the game, you will be going through all these regions
multiple times, in order to back track and explore whenever you gain new
abilities. This was okay in the first game, when each zone was fascinating to
explore, but that level of... life, i suppose, is not here, making exploration
sometimes a chore. <br />
<br />
In addition, in the first game, scanning (one of my favourite parts of the
game) was done by looking for orange tablets attached to walls. These could be
hard to see, but looked interesting and fitted into the games aethetic. In
echoes, the system is simplified: a scannable object is now covered in a block
colour, either green, red or blue, depening on its importance, whethere its an
enemy, or if you've already scanned it. Its so simplistic as to be dull. While
the colouring and graphics are brilliant, they are spoilt when green paint is
poured all over it. I felt this was a step in the wrong direction for the game.
<br />
<br />
Although I am criticizing the game, I invested over a week playing it solidly,
trying to complete the game, to find out the story and absorb the atmosphere
and because It is a fantastic game. I loved it. Not as much as Prime, but it is
still so much stronger then other games out there, in terms of immersion,
visuals and story. If you played Prime, then you've got to play this. But, it
sadly isn't as good as Prime. Also, i wouldn't recommend playing them out of
order. Prime, Echoes and Corruption are a tight group of games, they are a
trilogy, and are more rewarding when experienced as such. It woul be like
watching "two towers" before "Fellowship of the ring", you
just can't do it.<br />
<br />
<b>Summary:</b> Simply a great game. Must play<br />
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<br /></div>LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-89950307091854052252012-06-13T09:45:00.001-07:002012-06-13T09:45:17.680-07:00Flickering Myth ArchiveHere is a <a href="http://www.flickeringmyth.com/search/label/Luke%20Graham">link</a> to my profile at the brilliant film website <a href="http://www.flickeringmyth.com/">Flickering Myth</a>. This is a way for anyone who visits the blog to see a list of articles I have written for the site, which includes:<br /><br />- an episode by episode review of E4's Don't Trust the B**** in Apartment 23 (which I really liked)<br />
- a pessimistic review of The Amazing Spider-Man trailer (which I'm probably wrong on)<br />
- an optimistic review of the Rock of Ages trailer (which I was quite likely wrong on)<br />
- a favourable review of Blackthorn<br />
- an unfavourable review of Battleship<br />
- a kind review of Ricky Gervais' Derek<br />
<br />LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-41785774157168739662012-06-13T08:41:00.003-07:002012-06-13T08:41:17.562-07:00Thor (2011)Speaking of The Avengers, here's a review I wrote about Thor way back in June 2011:<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Thor</i> does so much
right. In a nutshell, it’s about a Space Viking and his magic hammer exiled to
earth after arguing with God. How do you sell that to adult audiences?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Employ Kenneth Branagh. He performs an
amazing balancing act between action, comedy and drama, with a strong vision of
the world he creates. </div>
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Visually, this film is perfect; the aesthetic of the city of
Asgard and of the costumes are stunning, with a brilliant colour palette (check
out Thor’s vivid red cloak). The style borrows heavily from the original comics
of Jack Kirby, as well as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Lord of the
Rings</i>, and this is evident particularly in the monsters’ designs and the
narration of the first act, helping the audience believe the film’s mythology.
Once the story gains momentum, Branagh’s Shakespearean background influences
the dramatic scenes between Thor and Loki and their father Odin. These scenes
could have been hammy and underwhelming, but the direction and powerful acting
from Hiddleston and Hopkins makes these the best parts of the film. </div>
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The rest of the story is serviceable. Once Thor is on Earth,
the tone shifts to comedy, and the humour is brilliant but it hides problems.
Hemsworth plays Thor well: he’s charismatic and brave, providing great beefcake
for the ladies, but it’s hardly demanding. Portman phones in her performance as
Jane Foster, a scientist doing generic, undefined “science.” The dilemma
driving the film is Thor’s personal growth, as he must change from arrogant
warrior to humble leader. We see the before and after, but the actual process
is not clear. It's very dodgy pacing, and I honestly feel this is the least complex and most "kid-friendly" of the Marvel movies so far.</div>
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Despite these gripes, what was important for this film was to get
things RIGHT. It could have been ridiculous and silly. Instead, we have story
and action that is good, not great, but is RIGHT for this film and this franchise.</div>
<br /><span id="goog_2065623785"></span><span id="goog_2065623786"></span>LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-21667500893524161222012-06-12T15:25:00.003-07:002012-06-12T15:26:22.421-07:00A Marvel Movie retrospective: why were the other films important?<br />
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You know what was awesome? The Avengers:</div>
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You've probably seen the film by now. It is, after all, the third highest grossing film of all time. But many people probably didn't see the other Marvel films, so lets take a quick retrospective of the series, to see how the other films set up the characters and stories for what, I believe, is the most fun film of the year. </div>
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Iron Man (2008)</div>
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This was the first
film produced by Marvel Studios itself. During the previous decades, they had
sold the films rights for their characters to various studios, who produced
features of variable quality (Spiderman and X-Men being the better examples,
with Elektra and Ghost Rider being the worst offenders). Iron Man proved to be
a huge success and showed that Marvel Studios was confident enough to take
risks: for instance, casting Robert Downey Jr. (who at this point was only
known for his substance abuse and roles in small semi-independent movies) as a
leading man in a summer blockbuster and letting director Jon Favreau create a
film that at many points feels like an improvised art-house comedy about Ayn
Rand’s Objectivism. While it only had a few action scenes, it was packed with
fun and excitement. </div>
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Iron Man showed that
Marvel Studios understood how to make a good superhero movie: get the right
cast, place emphasis on the characters and write a good story that pays respect
to the original comics, with plenty of nods towards continuity and future
stories, and you’ll reap the benefits.<br />
<br />
The Incredible Hulk (2008)</div>
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This was the least successful of the Marvel movies, only just managing to gross
more than its budget. Hulk suffered for two reasons: first, because people had
not enjoyed Ang Lee’s 2005 Hulk movie, audiences were not keen to take another
risk on the green goliath, and second, it came out the same year as Iron Man. </div>
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While this film had good action scenes, it was a little too melodramatic, and
not as fun or as exciting as Iron Man. Comparing Mark Ruffalo to Ed Norton, you can see that Ed just didn't bring much charisma and likeabilty to the role of Bruce Banner, especially when Mark Ruffalo brought so much sensitivity and humour to his depiction. On the other hand, Tim Roth is fantastic in this movie as Emil Blomsky, and I still love watching this movie.</div>
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On the other hand,
it seeded some of the ideas for Captain America and introduced a possible plot
for The Avengers. Overall, by making references to SHIELD and having a cameo
with Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, it showed that an average movie could be made
far more interesting by being part of a larger universe. Marvel’s experiment in
continuity driven cinema was working.</div>
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Iron Man 2 (2010)<br /> </div>
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Marvel’s most financially successful movie (until the Avengers), with a gross
of over $600 million, is also its least well-told movie. While it had more
exciting set-pieces and a better villain than the first movie, its plot is
pretty incoherent: there’s a lot of telling and not enough showing, and it is
severely hampered by the need to set up characters and story elements for not
one but three movies (Thor, The Avengers and the next Iron Man). It was such a
difficult experience that Jon Favreau refused to direct Iron Man 3, due to the
difficulties of working with Marvel’s producers.</div>
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In addition, the story just isn't that great. Tony Stark spends a great deal of time moping around and being depressed (which is fair enough considering he was dying) but it's also not very heroic.<br />
But the key thing about the film was towards the end, when Iron Man and War
Machine team up to fight the bad guys. On the one hand it sets up that Tony, while great in a fight, isn't quite an expert on battle strategy, hence turning to Rhodey and asking for his advice: this sets up why, in the Avengers, Iron Man lets Captain America lead the team and listens to his battle strategy, rather than trying to take control. </div>
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And more importantly, this was testing how to film multiple
heroes fighting together on screen, and it worked. It. Was. Awesome.<br />
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Captain America and Thor (2011)<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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The last two movies
to set up the Avengers prove to be the most divisive. Both were pretty
successful (both grossing more than $300 million), but those who liked one
tended to dislike the other. I like them in different ways. Thor had the bigger
challenge of introducing aliens, magic and fantasy to what had so far been a
sci-fi based franchise. It’s the most “kid-friendly” of the bunch, and has some
great Shakespearean moments crafted by director Kenneth Branagh, while also
introducing the brilliant Tom Hiddleston as villain Loki. On the other hand,
Captain America is the better-made movie, with a tight plot (that shows more
than it tells) and fantastic action, with some of the best hand-to-hand
fighting I’ve seen in any movie that doesn’t star Jason Statham or was made in
Asia. Captain America attempts to invoke the spirit of 1940s serials, just like
Indiana Jones, and is all the better for it.<br />
<br />
This series of movies introduced all the characters and plot points needed for
the Avengers, allowing it to focus on crafting the funniest, most action-packed
and, in my opinion, best comic book movie ever made. </div>LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-19551394696786116702012-05-07T05:59:00.001-07:002012-05-07T05:59:11.797-07:00Amazing Spider-Man<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So I recently wrote an article detailing my thoughts on the new trailer for this summer's Spider-Man reboot over on Flickering Myth<a href="http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2012/05/thoughts-on-amazing-spider-man-trailer.html"> available here</a></div>
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<br /><br />Part of me is still really excited. I remember liking the first teaser trailer, Garfield and Ifans are both awesome, and the action in this trailer, especially the fights between Spidey and the Lizard that will take place in the sewer and on the ceiling of what looks like a school, look absolutely great. <br /><br />But I'm bored with the super-serious, dark and gritty tone, and while re-interpreting a character is fine, making one of my all-time favourite comic book character him into a whining, moping jerk just doesn't seem like a good idea...<br />
<br />LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-84444283330393150232012-04-15T10:55:00.003-07:002012-04-15T10:55:57.239-07:00Cabin in the Woods (spoiler-free) Review<br />
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Having just seen <b style="color: #cc0000;"><u>Cabin in the Woods</u></b>, I knew I had to convince my friends, StrawMatt and StrawMark, to go see it. But how could I convince them to see it within spoiling any of the story. It is, after all, a film literally driven by and about plot twists. The less you know about it before going seeing it, the more enjoyable and surprising it will be. Even the trailer and movie-stills currently released contain key spoilers, but it is so much interesting than that, as I tried to explain to my friends:</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Me: </span> Guys, guys! You have to go Cabin in the Woods!</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">StrawMatt: </span> Why?</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Me:</span> Because it’s really, REALLY good.</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">StrawMark: </span> I dunno...</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Me: </span> No, go SEE it!</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">StrawMatt:</span> But why?! Movies are reaaaaaaaaally expensive. I need a good reason to open my wallet. What’s it about?</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Me: </span> You really like to whinge don’t you StrawMatt? Would you like some cheese with your whine? Dick.</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">StrawMark: </span> Isn’t Cabin in the Woods the horror movie about a bunch of kids in a cabin? Lame, so many films have that set up.</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Me: </span>Look, I know that’s what it LOOKS like, but it’s so much more than that. It’s takes that premise and then goes somewhere really cool with it! It’s really surprising and full of plot twists, so I can’t tell you WHY it’s so clever and original without spoiling it! Look... do you like horror movies?</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">StrawMark: </span> Love ‘em. They’re full of cool, scary stuff.</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">StrawMatt:</span> Loath ‘em. They’re really formulaic, the people always do stupid things and I don’t like all the gore.</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Me: </span> Perfect! The film takes the horror genre and turns it on its head. StrawMark, you’ll like it because it has all the things that make Horror movies good. You’ll get all the references and what it’s trying to do. StrawMatt, it is pretty gory and you won’t get some of the references, but it’s very clever and also has a lot of action and jokes.</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">StrawMatt:</span> Turn it on its head? Jokes? Is it a parody like Scary Movie?</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">StrawMark: </span> Cool, Scary Movie is awesome!</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Me: </span> No, Scary Movie is not awesome. It is rubbish. Cabin is much better because the comedy is much funnier and more intelligent and it’s still a really good horror. It’s written by Joss Whedon, the guy behind awesome stuff like Serenity, Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so you know that it’s very film-literate and has great dialogue and characters.</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">StrawMatt: </span> Well, I’m not really a fan of Whedon. I think his attempt to create “snappy, hip” dialogue really cringy. Just because you make pop-culture references doesn’t make you cool.</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Me: </span> Some people just can’t be happy StrawMatt. Look I think he’s great and most people’s criticisms of Whedon are ridiculous. I mean, do you NOT like good movies and TV shows?</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">StrawMark:</span> Who’s in it?</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Me:</span> Well, I can’t tell you the full cast, because that would again spoil it, but there are a couple of great, recognisable actors in it. I can tell you that Chris Helmsworth off Thor is in it.</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">StrawMatt: </span> Ooh, does he get his shirt off? I, erm, have a friend who has a crush on him.</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Me: </span> Sadly not. It’s a horror film, so let’s just say it panders more to men, but that’s part of the joke. Also, there is this guy called Fran Kranz who I haven’t seen before but his performance is really brilliant and hilarious.</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">StrawMatt:</span> Okay I guess I’ll give it a try.</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Me: </span> Fantastic!</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">StrawMark: </span> Hmmm, think I’ll leave it.</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Me: </span> StrawMark I will PUNCH you in the FACE!</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">StrawMark:</span> Fine I’ll go, stop shouting!</div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Me: </span> Excellent.</div>LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-6468794942384266492012-04-13T02:52:00.001-07:002012-04-13T02:53:39.085-07:00Derek - TV show reviewNo matter what people think of Ricky Gervais (arrogant arsehole or brilliant comic) he certainly provokes discussion. Last night's new show Derek led to an intense twitter-debate between myself and some friends about the merits of the Show, Gervais and the meaning and intent of certain words.<br />
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I think Gervais made something good last night, although maybe thats just because I really enjoyed the last 5-10 minutes. On the other hand, Gervais kind of "shot his load" with that last five minutes: it's unlikely that another episode would reach that same height of effective, emotional drama:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2012/04/tv-review-ricky-gervais-derek.html">My review on Flickering Myth</a>LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-90338383384984415742012-04-11T02:50:00.001-07:002012-04-13T02:55:26.272-07:00Battleship: 2012So last night, I went to a preview screening for the new film Battleships at the Empire in leicester square. It was a prrety bizarre experience. As the line shuffled into the lobby, complimentary beer and wine was available and bags of popcorn were left on every seat inside the huge auditorium where the screening took place. I suggested to my friend that the company putting on the screenin were trying to suck up to the audience, hoping that the audience would be inebriated from booze or hyper from sugar and wouldn't notice any problems with the film.<br />
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I think people did notice. there was a lot of tittering during the moments of the film when it tried to be at its most serious. It was kind of like watching a 5 year old trying to act like an adult: adorable and silly.<br />
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I think as I get older, I want film running times to be shorter. Maybe it's because I want to do as much as I can with what little time I have available as I move along this mortal coil, or some shit like that. Either way, at 131 mins, Battleships is a loooooooooooooong movie.<br />
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For more of my thoughts on the film, check out my <a href="http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2012/04/movie-review-battleship-2012.html">Battleship review on the brilliant Flickering Myth</a>LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-67924787333927225122012-03-18T17:25:00.001-07:002012-03-18T17:40:46.965-07:00Highbrow/Lowbrow: John Carter<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b><u><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: inherit;">John Carter</span></u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">Director: Andrew Stanton</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">Cast: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">12A, 132mins</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">Set in the late 1800s, John
Carter (Kitsch), a veteran of the American Civil War, stumbles into a cave and
is transported to the middle of another civil war on Mars, this time between
the technologically advanced Redskins, with the tribal Tharks (green,
four-armed ten foot tall aliens) stuck in the middle. The change in gravity
gives Carter super-strength and agility, and he becomes a valuable war asset.
Sadly, that’s about as intelligible as the plot gets. Fighting ensues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://1.gvt0.com/vi/6Rf55GTEZ_E/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6Rf55GTEZ_E&fs=1&source=uds" />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">THE HIGHBROW</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #e06666;">John Carter</span> is the most expensive
B-movie you’ve already seen. I’m not kidding. The images and story hooks
reminded me of Star Wars, Avatar and Stargate, and the movie feels like an
old-school pulp action flick such as Sinbad or Conan. There is an obvious reason
for this: the original novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs, from which the film was
adapted, was written 100 years ago, and had a massive impact on the landscape
of Sci-fi and Fantasy, and its influence can be observed through decades of
books and films, including those mentioned above. For film history buffs, this
is an important film and, overall, is a good film.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">However, it suffers from
problems. The otherwise simple plot is rather badly told. Too much information
is thrown at the audience too often, and due to the abundance of strange alien
names and poor plot structure, parts of the narrative are almost unintelligible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkEW0jaEn0Ukt6uY_CaIpKIIL_mbOYFbqDb5RVY03if8goGfNj2qVblIOSkBvELifAnxsKLoVwKahi4IvNRfIPB9-qadCmLscxaAACIAdNWUNUFvDuPO_rZ0sEw9AvaUangRMGJUgUrWv/s1600/what.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkEW0jaEn0Ukt6uY_CaIpKIIL_mbOYFbqDb5RVY03if8goGfNj2qVblIOSkBvELifAnxsKLoVwKahi4IvNRfIPB9-qadCmLscxaAACIAdNWUNUFvDuPO_rZ0sEw9AvaUangRMGJUgUrWv/s320/what.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wait, that city walks? Who's attacking who now? What?? </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">What about the characters? Collins
is a revelation in the role of the Princess of Mars. She is one of the
strongest female characters I have seen in a long time, because she actually
has a character. She has some flaws: Given the option between marrying the evil
Dominic West or letting him destroy her city she (rather selfishly) runs away!
She lies to Carter, twice, in order to manipulate him! But we still route
for her, because she is stubborn, driven by her strong motivations. Through
making mistakes, recognising and accepting those mistakes, and growing from
them, she experiences a genuine character arc, and is the best thing about this
film.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9BBxXRwLW6bydE-dhBrhM3ddKaL7k6Ch88wQk0Nz1nx8GHNJhe4xRMbp4HACgLyXK4ZpvL_isRrpGzUsA8b9U1a4I4lKloq6Poarw-QhUn5pYOZ7AkfIEpeux7oqfHx70PDDH1sE1XKvp/s1600/john+carter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9BBxXRwLW6bydE-dhBrhM3ddKaL7k6Ch88wQk0Nz1nx8GHNJhe4xRMbp4HACgLyXK4ZpvL_isRrpGzUsA8b9U1a4I4lKloq6Poarw-QhUn5pYOZ7AkfIEpeux7oqfHx70PDDH1sE1XKvp/s400/john+carter.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pictured: a dick "Come at me Bro!"</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">Unfortunately, Carter
himself is one of the worst things about the film. Kitsch no pathos or energy
to the role, and Carter is written as a stubborn, selfish idiot, who gets his
companions into serious, life-threatening danger, without a thought, and who
only starts to care about the conflict on Mars when he realizes that he is
attracted to Collins. The fact that, at the end of the movie, he implores
another character (one who is ostensibly a representation of the audience) to
find a cause worth fighting for, is a rather hollow message considering his
cause was, well, a desire to get laid. Carter is inherently unlikable.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">It also leads to a darker element
to the picture. Carter, given the opportunity to explore this strange new environment
and culture, spends most of his time like a petulant child, more interested in
getting back to his precious cave of gold. When he does decide to take a side,
he bases his decision purely on which one has the prettier girl. It is also telling
that Carter, a soldier, never thinks to try and find a diplomatic solution to
the conflict on Mars. Nope, fighting is the only solution, and Carter is
nothing more than a weapon to these people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">The movie also has little to say
about the nature of war: for instance, this film could be used to ask to ask whether conflict is a
natural phenomenon amongst societies, regardless of species or culture. It also
misses an opportunity to draw a parallel between the conflict on Mars and those
depicted at the beginning of the film, namely the American Civil War or the
fighting between the US army and the Native Americans, and it is a missed opportunity
to inform the audience about some interesting pieces of history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">THE LOWBROW<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">This movie looks amazing. I love
the design: the set, costume and monster designs are exquisite
(the animation for the Tharks far exceeds the quality set by the Na’vi in Avatar) and
Andrew Stanton (director of Pixar classics Finding Nemo and Wall-E) builds a
vibrant, fascinating alien world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfvkVDbobxj3RrS2Q0feDiTUBhPnqQDstByItqpacQfrGRJko8Y0EA2RD9dTk6EHOHZL8QURU7Xnzd7ff77sNeBKRWUyxRogyiH0r4wfn32Ek_-AppoH5g3HMxe5lKuELblJOWh2Hkq1z0/s1600/carter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfvkVDbobxj3RrS2Q0feDiTUBhPnqQDstByItqpacQfrGRJko8Y0EA2RD9dTk6EHOHZL8QURU7Xnzd7ff77sNeBKRWUyxRogyiH0r4wfn32Ek_-AppoH5g3HMxe5lKuELblJOWh2Hkq1z0/s1600/carter.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Hahaha, we're burning so much money that could go to charity..."</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">Parts of the movie are genuinely funny, with humour coming from the characters, but also from some of
the performances. Dominic West and Mark Strong ham it up as the villains, James
Purefoy and Bryan Cranston have fun with their cameos, and Willem Defoe puts in
a brilliant voice performance as leader of the Tharks. As mentioned, Collins is
a great actor, but is also smoking hot, and Kitsch has a very muscular body, so
it’s no bad thing watching these two attractive people interact in skimpy
outfits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5fr4uRqcbRKNMAuKO8BbTaSOOONQP-1upUxwH86IsZfezl0n6HOCaAIhh6hBSgbRQeqWCbDRd3JNPjHNWpMRXLByECTT-4L_GoC5gej2fSxRsJFjW2WrqLGu_-FYkBilUphARbWZYbYv/s1600/collins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5fr4uRqcbRKNMAuKO8BbTaSOOONQP-1upUxwH86IsZfezl0n6HOCaAIhh6hBSgbRQeqWCbDRd3JNPjHNWpMRXLByECTT-4L_GoC5gej2fSxRsJFjW2WrqLGu_-FYkBilUphARbWZYbYv/s400/collins.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh.. oh my, I, er, have to cross my legs for a minute...</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">The action (the main draw of the
film) was good, but could have been improved. While some of the set pieces are
impressive, the fight scenes that seemed to have the most potential, namely
Carter battling an army of Tharks and a one-to-one fight with a Thark leader,
are wasted through, first, intercutting it with depressing images designed to
give Carter a tragic back-story, and second, well, just cutting it very short
and having no confidence in it. I have a feeling Stanton was worried by his inexperience
of filming live-action action scenes, as most of the fight scenes towards the
beginning of the movie were confusing and badly choreographed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">OVERALL<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
Here’s a rather petty complaint that has been nagging at me. The narrative of
this film covers almost twenty years of Carter’s life, but, despite that 250
million dollar budget, they couldn’t spare any money to make him look a little
older when it was appropriate? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_W-xqJjBLMO0u-yaCiUXn6c3iXKsI703vw988EYZuh2LoAOc7AXsGnDBBH2XBwUpDF6Ju1EB1CdI7VT9Uu2XMfBlbDH-bg7sbg-RO1A0mSon2SXFiZuSA09LsM7IAt1aepkBt8xeu5Ek/s1600/carter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_W-xqJjBLMO0u-yaCiUXn6c3iXKsI703vw988EYZuh2LoAOc7AXsGnDBBH2XBwUpDF6Ju1EB1CdI7VT9Uu2XMfBlbDH-bg7sbg-RO1A0mSon2SXFiZuSA09LsM7IAt1aepkBt8xeu5Ek/s1600/carter.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">John Carter. Age: anywhere between 20 and 45, apparently</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">It just strikes me as lazy and,
perhaps, unconfident. That is what lets this movie down. Had the film just been
about Collins or the fascinating Tharks, I would have loved this. Instead, it
is barely satisfactory. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<o:p><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: inherit;">Rating: 2/5</span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<o:p><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: inherit;">Highbrow: 25% - 75% :Lowbrow</span></o:p></div>LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4092577753333238369.post-43466582203462179192012-03-12T15:56:00.000-07:002012-03-12T15:56:49.940-07:00Look Back: Metroid Prime (Wii)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<i style="color: #e06666;">Metroid Prime</i>, originally released in 2002 for the Gamecube, was
re-released as part of the 2009 Prime Trilogy pack, combining all three
games. This great value package updated the first two installments with the innovative
motion controls utilised in <i style="color: #e06666;">Corruption</i>, along with improved graphics. Three years on, I still think it is the best game I have ever played.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/kLfkkSD15zQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<a name='more'></a>I had not played the original Gamecube version, nor had I ever played a Metroid
game before, so this was my first exposure to the universe of the bounty
hunter, Samus Aran. I was instantly enthralled by the games smooth controls,
immersive story and amazing visuals. <br /><br />
STORY:<br />
We first join Samus, the intrepid bounty hunter, as she explores a damaged vessel belonging to the
Space Pirates. These Pirates (who look nothing like the Long John Silver kind ,
nor the Somalian kind, of pirate) are technologically advanced and are the
scurges of the galaxy. They also destroyed Samus' homeworld and parents, so the
girl has a pretty big grudge to bear. Within the vessel, Samus finds evidence that the
Pirates have discovered a new weapon and have revived Ridley, their leader, who Samus had destroyed in an earlier game. She pursues Ridley onto the nearby
planet of Tallon IV, which has been devastated by Phazon, a
mutagenic substance the pirates are mining. Samus must destroy the pirate
operation and save the dying planet. <br />
<br />
Perhaps not an original story, but the way it is told is wholly refreshing. There is no spoken dialogue and few cut scenes. Samus must discover what is happening herself, rather than being told and does so through exploration, such as scanning the hieroglyphs of the Chozo or hacking the logs of
the Pirates. You spend most of the game with your scan visor activated, exploring
the world to find this lore that provides clues for where to go and what to do.
This scan visor also tells you about the various monsters you encounter but
also about the peaceful organisms of Tallon IV. This information is well
written, and does an excellent job at world-building. Retro Studios have designed a full,
living, breathing world, and let you explore it freely. While progress is linear, you can visit regions freely and in a non-linear fashion.
Spending the time to research and discover all these nuggets of information is rewarding. You care
about the plight of the Chozo, as their downfall is revealed in bits and
pieces. This extra information makes this games so immersive. <br />
<br />
GAMEPLAY: <br />
Metroid games are designed as a massive fetch quest. You explore this world
for devices that will grant you access to new areas. Without these devices,
progress is impossible. You also search for maguffins that improve your offensive
capability (new weapons, missile expansions and life expansion). Collecting
these items are difficult, but entertaining. From impressive and challenging
boss fights, to solving puzzlies. Despite being an FPS (which was an original move for the
Metroid franchise, and many were skeptical about it before release), Metroid is also a
competant platformer with jumping challenges and Morph Ball tracks. <br />
<br />
The gameplay never grows stale; one moment you are in a tense gun battle
against alien monsters, the next you are carefully traversing platforms while
your skill at control is tested, the next you are solving puzzles to obtain
gear. Metroid Prime tests your mind, as well as your trigger finger. <br />
<br />
CONTROLS <br />
On the Wii, the remote controls your targeting reticule and your view, while the
nunchuk controls lateral movement. The rest of the buttons are used for the key
tasks of jumping, shooting and locking on. Retro provided extensive control
customisation, such as turning speed, and you can customise to your hearts content.
Turning and targeting feels smooth and Metroid is one of the few good FPSs I've enjoyed on
the Wii. I prefer the free aiming approach, as it feels more natural and
challenging. <br />
<br />
VISUALS: <br />
The visuals and graphics are stellar. The four zones you travel through are
very distinct, filled with imaginative flora and fauna. The visuals are used to create immersion, which makes
this game so good. While the HUD is standard, with health meter, radar and
minimap, you also see the edges of Samus's helmet, when you emerge from water,
droplets run down your visor, explosions cause samus' hand to cover your face,
bright flashes reflect Samus' face in the visor, certain attacks create static
in your vision. All these simple touches are just so immersive, they make you
feel that you are in this suit, and are this person. <br />
<br />
DOWNSIDES: <br />
The game has one or two flaws. Being a fetch quest, you end up going back and
forth across areas. You backtrack countless times, to pick up gear that you now
have access to or missed earlier. To access the final region of the game, you
have to collect twelve keys scattered across the map, causing you to search
high and low, back and forth, for any little clue, and to be honest, this gets
dull, especially if you are in a rush to experience new content. To make this
worse, enemies respawn when you leave a room, meaning to go back you will have
to fight through more and more monsters, which slows your progress. Although,
to be fair, this back-tracking is a problem for any explorative type game, and
if the monsters did not respawn, than this back tracking would be even duller. <br />
<br />
Because of this back-tracking, you have to carefully plan your route, in order
to save time. To do this you need to study the map, and some times the map is
un-readable, especially the Tundra region, as trying to move the map around
cause you to flick between higher and lower layers. It takes almost as long to
navigate the map as it does to navigate the world itself. <br />
<br />
CONCLUSION: <br />
However, these drawbacks detract little from the overall experience. It
combines moments of high tension with calmer moments, and these are
communicated with amazing music and sounds. The controls are engaging, the way
the story is told is compelling, the gameplay is immersive and on top of that
there is so much content. Prime took me 17 hours to complete, and I only
completed 86% of the game, as I missed a few key scans and couldn't find some
gear. Speed playthroughs still take 7 hours. This is a great game for OCD players
who like to collect everything and provides hours of entertainment. This game
is amazing.<br />
<br />LukeGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556686972613757626noreply@blogger.com0