Reservation Road

Now here's a pretty plain movie. I bought and watched it with no expectations at all, but nothing about it surprised me, either pleasantly or otherwise. The gist is simple and even a bit boring. Mark Ruffalo kills Joaquin Phoenix's son in an accidental hit-and-run. Phoenix's wife Jennifer Connelly is saddened, but Phoenix is more enraged. He vows to find his son's killer and hold him accountable. Phoenix even hires a lawyer who turns out to be - surprise! - Ruffalo himself. Their lives become more and more intertwined and by the end of the second act, wouldn't you know it, Phoenix has put together all the clues and come to the realization that Ruffalo himself is the guilty party. I won't "spoil" the ending, but I will lament that there's just about zero payoff and no ironic or dramatic shift in the tension whatsoever. All things considered, there was just too much about this movie that felt a little off. It felt like a Coen Brothers flick without the wit and dark humor of the Coen Brothers. It felt like a perfect Sean Penn movie without the talents of Sean Penn. Everything from the screenplay to the performances to the production value just seemed a little too amateurish for me to consider this a decent movie. I'll call it a 5 and move on with my life and my backlog.

Friday Night Lights: Season 2

In Season 2, the show Friday Night Lights finds itself in an interesting situation: How do you top the previous season? I mean, FNL has been plagued by rumors of cancellation for its entire five-year run, as far as I can tell, which led to the writers pulling out all the stops in the first season and culminating in the ultimate goal, the Dillon Panthers winning the state championship, right off the bat. So what to do in season 2? None of the main characters have left yet, so it's hard to make a "we lost a great player so nobody believes in us this year" type of storyline. What would make an interesting ultimate fate for the Dillon Panthers' 2007 season? Unfortunately, the viewer doesn't get to find out until season 3, as this season got cut short by the writer's strike. That fucking writer's strike. Anyway, the thing to focus on here is the story arcs- how well did they work? The first thing I need to get out of the way is the murder plot. Mild-mannered Landry kills a guy. This is the biggest criticism of the show, and perhaps the lowest point of all five seasons. I mean, the show works so great because the problems all feel like real problems people actually face in a small town- the anti-O.C. in a way. But murder? It really didn't mesh well with the rest of the plot. As the story goes on and Landry drags more people into it, my eyes were a-rolling, but thankfully the resolution works in more than a "thank God that's over" sense- the final scenes about it were handled very well in my opinion and really showed off Jesse Plemons' acting chops. It also gets him together with Tyra, and those two are so adorable that I'm okay with the whole thing now. Last year's main character Matt Saracen just kind of floated along for the most part this season- he's the undisputed QB1, so no issues for him on the field really. He deals with some interesting relationships off the field that all end horribly, resulting in his best moment of the season getting shitfaced with bad-boy Tim Riggins. Oh, boy. Riggins had himself a season. Faking his religion, a trek down to Mexico, moving in with nearly everybody in town, and the line of the season talking to a potential Julie-rapist- "I will end you" just beating "It's Wendesday, I always take Wednesdays off." Awesome. Smash provides some interesting insight on how a poor but gifted star athlete approaches going to college, but it's the short storyline late in the season where he deals with a racist where he really shines. I'm still impressed with the show's remaining focus on Jason Street, the former star quarterback who became a paraplegic in the series premier. It would have been easy to just move on to all the other characters and not deal with the at-times depressing storyline, but Scott Porter plays the character very well and I was continually impressed by his storylines. Lyla Garrity kinda becomes a flatter character this season, inexplicably becoming a hardcore Christian, but later in the season when you find out why she did this in the first place she at least shows some range. Her father, Buddy, had a redemption season and actually becomes a guy you root for- unthinkable in season 1. He sorta adopts a troubled youth for the sake of the football team, but despite his motivations I really liked the dynamic between the two. Unfortunately in season 3 this troubled youth simply disappears and is never spoken of again. All of this, and I haven't even mentioned the glue of the whole series, Coach and his family. Coach Taylor starts off the season with his new college job at TMU, but obviously he's gotta come back- what kind of show would it be without him? Another running theme throughout the season is the new baby Gracie, and how it strains the relationship between Julie and her mother. Gallagan kept telling me what a bitch Julie was this season, but doesn't that make sense for the story? I mean, she's a teenager who suddenly feels like her parents are paying no attention to her, that's just what's going to happen. Anyway, I'm sure most of you stopped paying attention a while ago because you have no idea who these characters are or why you should care, so I'll leave you with this. Friday Night Lights is a drama that works on its realistic depictions of life in a small town where high school football is king. The acting, writing, and especially the music are all top-notch and make this a great show that I'd recommend even to people who don't care for television dramas. I should note that this praise is coming from what's considered the show's weakest season, so it's only going to get better from here.

Harms Way

The good news is that this game was free and only took twenty minutes to "beat." The bad news is most other things about it. The premise here is actually kind of cool. Four cars race around a track and the first to complete three laps wins. Meanwhile, human-operated turrets skirt the perimeter of the map, shooting at the vehicles to impede them. The idea is that every vehicle has a gunner teammate and together their goal is for the vehicle to win the race. An interesting twist on a tried and true genre, I supposed. But the racing aspect was executed in such a piss-poor manner that it nearly ruined the game for me; only when I played the role of the shooter did I have any fun at all. Whenever I had to drive around, I was frustrated by a number of things: poor handling, an innate inability to avoid or evade or defend against turret fire, and a horribly ineffective overhead map display. The game isn't necessarily flawed or broken, but at least if it had been I would have been able to laugh at it. Instead, fifteen minutes of racing felt like an hour's worth of wasted time. But playing as the turret was pretty fun. When I finally got the opportunity to do so, I actually smiled for the first time since booting up the game. There's just a small but undeniable sense of satisfaction derived from sniping a car from across the level through the windshield (an instant kill) or blowing out a car's tires (for a substantial handicap). It was as the shooter, too, when I really began to rack up achievements. Now, there is a co-op mode in which the driver can pick up upgrades for the turret man. I haven't played this yet (and may never do so) but it does sound like what could easily be the game's best feature. If anyone else out there has any interest at all (remember, this game is free and takes fifteen minutes to "beat") then by all means let me know you want to tag team it up. Otherwise, I doubt I'll ever touch this free download again.

Maus I

It seems kind of silly to blog about my reaction to what is only the first half of Art Spiegelman's Maus, but I'm a pretty "by the book" type of guy when it comes to my backlog, and although I happen to own both halves of Maus, I also happen to own them in the form of two physically separate books. In case you hadn't heard, Maus is a highly acclaimed graphic novel about the Holocaust. When Sweeney posted about Persepolis the other week, it reminded me that I've always been meaning to get around to reading Maus. This first part takes us from the rise of the Nazi party in Germany up through the beginning of Hitler's Final Solution. At the risk of sounding disrespectful, I'll say that I wasn't quite as blown away as I expected and hoped to be. There were a few gut-punching scenes and drawings, to be sure, but ultimately I didn't feel the same level of woe and sorrow that I experienced while, say, watching Schindler's List. And I'm only talking about the early parts of Schindler's List that parallel the first half of Maus. Both stories showed me the graphic brutality and relentless disregard for human life associated with the liquidation of the ghettos in Poland. Both tales showed me grieving parents and children, husbands and wives, being torn out of each other's arms knowing they'd never meet again. But it just didn't feel nearly as raw and harrowing in Maus I as it did in Schindler's List. My theory for this is that Maus, as you probably know, uses a unique gimmick in which all Jews are anthropomorphized mice and all Germans are anthropomorphized cats. And it just felt a lot less sadistic and more natural, to me, for cats to be killing mice. I know the cats-and-mice theme was chosen for such a reason, but I'm not sure if it's having the desired effect on me, at least so far. Granted, everything I've read so far has only been a warm-up for Maus II: Shit Hits the Fan, which I expect to be very little aside from cruel and merciless slaughter from cover to cover. For that reason, I can't say that Maus I disappointed me yet. But I can say that I'm hoping for a lot more despair in Maus II. (Man, that sentence sounded awful, like I'm into historical fiction torture porn or something. Sorry, everyone. But you know what I mean.)

(500) Days of Summer

This movie had a fair share of buzz surrounding it for much of 2009, and although I'm a year or so late to the party, I'm glad I finally chose to attend. I like unique and interesting movies. There's nothing wrong with a formulaic and generic film when it's well made (see Taken), but when a movie does something unique or interesting, it is a movie you will probably remember more than many others. And for this reason, I enjoyed and will always remember (500) Days of Summer. To start with, you can't even really describe it using genres and phrases. It's got romance in it, and is funny, but is by no means a romantic comedy. It's sort of a coming-of-age tale. It's inspirational, in a way, but for the most part not "feel-good." It felt very realistic. And yet it also felt pretty artsy at times. Director Marc Webb has even tried to refer to it as "a pop song in movie form," hence the parenthesis in the title. It's smart but doesn't seem smugly aware of how smart it is. It's not cynical even though it almost feels like it should be. In a nutshell, the movie is about a boy who falls for a girl and their ensuing (500-day) relationship. We're treated to various snippets from the relationship presented in a nonlinear (but mostly chronological) fashion, allowing us to see more and more pieces of the big picture as the movie goes along. But it's never a puzzle, and it's never presented as one. The relationship, in fact, seems just as standard and mundane as any year-long failed relationship in which one party is pushing the other toward a deeper relationship and the other wants to keep things slow and casual. Again, the whole thing just felt very real and honest. I found it very easy to relate to one character, and I'm sure most people who have ever been "heartbroken" related just as easily. But never once did I feel sorrow or pity for the character in the wake of the break-up, because I knew (and the film more or less expected me to know) that things would turn out just fine after a little bit of time and self-reflection. I dug the whole thing. I think there's something for everyone in (500) Days of Summer, and when I say that I don't mean that it will appeal to various niches for various reasons; I mean that the same main theme of the movie should really resonate pretty well with most people. I don't usually rate movies, but I'd easily give (500) Days of Summer an eight or a nine - pretty sound and flawless in succeeding at what it has set out to do, but still just a tier below "all time amazing movie" status. For a true ten (in my opinion, of course) in a thematically similar vein, please check out Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Now that's an interesting, unique, and beautiful movie.

Juliet, Naked

This past fall, Ben Folds release a new album entitled Lonely Avenue. Not to delve too much into it, but the album sucked. Well, the music sucked. The lyrics, however, were... interesting. And why was this? Well, Mr. Folds tried out a little experiment on his newest album where he collaborated with a writer to construct the lyrics while he designed the music. The writer? Nick Hornby. Celebrated author with several of his novels already adapted to the big screen (High Fidelity, About a Boy) and an Academy Award nomination for his screenplay An Education. Anyways, despite Folds’ terrible album - seriously man, lay off the damn synthesizers - I was inspired to check out some of his writing after being delighted by his whimsical words. So what better place to start when exploring a new author then begin reading their newest work.

After finishing this novel, all I have to say is that I hope his earlier work can stand up a little better. Let me start by breaking down the premise. The story unfolds in two directions. On one hand we have this pathetic, unmarried British couple who have been together for 15 years pretty much because it was the path of least resistance for the both of them. The man, Duncan, is a community college professor who teaches some bullshit television studies class while pursuing his obsession over this washed-up, retired 80’s American rocker by writing countless blogs about him on his website. The woman, Annie, is a clerk at the local museum that sounds smaller and less impressive than even Westford’s. (Oh you haven’t been? Trust me, you’re not missing much.) So there’s their story, then there is the one about the washed-up American rocker - Tucker Crowe. Twenty years passed without a single song written, a handful of failed marriages, and a trove of forgotten kids, Crowe silently lives out his depressing life letting fans like Duncan spins tales and myths about his past, present, and future that are all more impressive than the truth of his life. Anyways, the story develops when Duncan gets his hands on an acoustic version of Crowe’s most acclaimed album, Juliet, appropriately titled - ah, you guessed it - Juliet, Naked. He thinks it’s the greatest thing ever. Annie disagrees and post on his website for the first time ever stating her opinion. Crowe, seemingly with nothing better to do, reads Annie’s post that this album is a piece of shit and decides to come out of seclusion and e-mails her. I don’t want to waste too much more time discussing this, but I’m sure you already see what’s coming. Duncan cheats on Annie with a fellow teacher. They break-up. Annie invites Tucker out to the good old UK where they finally meet and...

Well, if you’re really interested in finding out all the events that unfold in the ending you can pick up the book yourself. But to make things simple, none of the characters really change. Let me just break it down with some quick SPOILERS! It’s depressing really. Tucker has the chance to reunite and heal the relationships he has with all of his estranged children, but decides that boat has already sailed and gives up. Duncan and Annie never get back together, but Annie does manage to sleep with Tucker for one night where she pretends to use protection in the attempt to actually get knocked up. Does she? I don’t know, nothings really said on the matter. By the end though she comes to the conclusion that she’s going to move to the US - possibly. (On a side note: Like that would be a fucking good idea on her part. Is she going to show up on his doorstep and surprise him with another horrid child for him to ignore? That would set his depression so far over the edge I’m sure he would run to the nearest gun shop and blow his brains out.) I suppose the saddest part about the ending is the fact that Crowe never gets back to writing music. It’s only thing I wanted to happen. What a let down.

You know, when I think it over it wasn’t necessarily the ending that I found so unsatisfying. It was the fact that Hornby seemed to have crammed it all in within the last 50 pages or so. You have this long, extensive build-up, then BOOM! It’s over. Like trying to finish that term paper with only a few more minutes left before class, it’s rushed and fails to appease my hunger for a proper ending.

But, hey, you can judge it for yourself if you’re ever curious enough to read it.

I will say this though. This was my first stab at reading more “romantic” literature and - at times - it wasn’t all that bad. Somewhat introspective even, despite the bleak review. I think I’ll give Hornby one more go to see if he’s more successful in his earlier work.

Doritos Crash Course

When my girlfriend and I decided to move in together, we agreed that we should take her Xbox 360 (120 GB) instead of mine (12 GB). Because Xbox allows you to re-download previously purchased games and content, we knew it'd be easy enough for me to recover all of my old Xbox Live Arcade games and DLC. And it has been, so far, except for one small issue. Dash of Destruction, an XBLA game I downloaded for free and beat at least two years ago, has been taken down from the Xbox Live marketplace. In other words, is is essentially and totally irrecoverable. The same is true for the two or three WiiWare games I've previously downloaded since we're also using my girlfriend's Wii. (Mine belongs to my sisters in addition to myself, and although they never really play it, it's been easy enough to just take Marissa's.) Anyway, since these digitally downloaded games are no longer actually in my possession, I once again worry about the natural discrepancy that will arise in the near future between the concept of "ownership" and the next big format change for movies, books, and games alike (which are all clearly heading in a digital direction). Perhaps my affection (some would call it an obsession) for "owning" a collection of books, movies, and games - rather than renting or borrowing - will be forced into oblivion by changing times. So it goes. But then, by truly mastering my backlog and experiencing everything that these games, movies, and books have to offer, I'm only enhancing my own "mental" collection, so to speak; digitally downloaded or not, the content in the items in my backlog is what I'm striving to absorb. Anyway, I'm certainly rambling and lamenting now, and I'll get on to my point. The silver lining of my search for Dash of Destruction is that I found another free game courtesy of Doritos in Doritos Crash Course. (Actually, I found and downloaded yet another free Doritos game, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.) Crash Course is basically just Wipeout (or MXC) turned into a video game. It's a time trial based platformer that could theoretically be completed in half an hour but took me more like ninety minutes. Easy, clean, and simple. I recommend it to anyone with an Xbox, mostly because it's free but also because, frankly, it's pretty enjoyably absurd.

The I.T. Crowd: Series 4

I’m going to try and do this month right. There’s a lot of material that I’ve finished - or am near finishing - but have yet to post. It’s time to get off my ass, only to get back on it again, and do some blogging. Let the it be known that I will make the shortest month of the year the most productive.

Ah, British humor. You truly are hit-or-miss. And if you all have paid attention to my previous post about this delightful little romp you would have already known that this is an absolute hit! The humor builds throughout the seasons (ugh... sorry, series) crescendoing into an ultimate riot by the end of this volume. I could spend a great deal of time flushing out the characters and the sticky dilemmas they all get themselves in, but why bother. Even though I recommend this show in my last post about it, I highly doubt any of you have checked it out.

Have you? I didn’t think so.

So I’ll leave all the interesting little tit-bits of entertainment for you guys to discover for your own. Note: I’m not saying that this guy beats “Arrested Development” or, say, “Seinfeld” - those are absolute sit-com classics. Can’t be touched. But if you find yourself stuck at home in another snowstorm with nothing else to do, then why not pop it on. It’s on Netflix mother-fucker!

As for me. I’m going to bundle up my sandals and swim trunks in preparation for that arduous journey to the beach in this brutal 70 degree, sunny weather.

Taken

First of all, I want to thank Keith for giving me his duplicate copy of this movie a month ago for basically no reason. So kind and generous of you, Keith! Second of all, wow. This was a fucking awesome movie. Liam Neeson's character more or less matched Denzel Washington's from Man On Fire when it came to being a retired professional badass in search of a kidnapped young girl. But unlike Man On Fire, Taken doesn't take an hour to get the ball rolling. It just sets up the barebones backstory and within like ten minutes becomes nothing but action. I can't say that Taken was one of the greatest movies I've ever seen, because it's "only" a straightforward action flick. However, it manages to do what it sets out to do, which is nothing more than entertain you for a solid ninety minutes. I totally recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good thrill.

January 2011 Recap

So that was a pretty productive month for Back-Blogged. We logged 41 items collectively, tying us for third-best month ever with August '09 behind April '10 (50) and January '10 (48). It was the first time we've exceeded 30 posts since August '10. It was the first month in which each member made multiple posts since there were only four members of the blog. And we did all of this despite having some extremely busy months. Marissa and I found, furnished, and moved into a new apartment. Sweeney began a new job and had plenty of traveling and paperwork to do. Keith's job had him entering "busy" season, and even in non-busy season Keith was working like fifty or sixty hours a week. And I'm sure Webber, Brian, and Trevor had stuff going on too.

For my own part, I read two books, watched four seasons of television, saw thirteen movies, and beat a pair of video games. I still had several acquisitions, however, reducing my overall progress to ten on the month. I'm sure that will change going forward, though; in my new place, I can't even find space for the contents of my backlog. When it comes to specific goals, I went three for four, failing to beat (or even touch) Ico. Damn. Last month I said my 2011 goal was to halve my backlog totals, an effort that would require me to achieve a net progress of eighty-five between 12/31/10 and 12/31/11. That's seven per month. So I am indeed on pace to halve my backlog totals by 2012, not taking into consideration the varied lengths of different projects, of course.

February is a short month and so I will try to keep my specific goals light:

• The Boondocks: Season 3
• Firefly
• Maus I
• Maus II
• UmJammer Lammy
• Ico

That's two TV seasons, two graphic novels (or at least two separate parts of the same graphic novel which I'll be treating as two separate items), and two video games. Look, if I can't beat Ico this month, it probably means I should just post a gray-scale image of its cover with a big old "Failed" stamp across the cover art. Except that I would never do that. Ahem. Anyway, what are everyone else's goals for Black History Month?