Hey, remember when I was reading through all of Jose Saramago's books because of an impulse purchase from several years ago? Sure, I haven't read anything of his since this past March, but I'm actually closing in on the end of this giant Kindle e-book- yes, all of these novels are one e-book that's several thousand pages long! While the books' level of quality have varied wildly, I knew going into this one, Death With Interruptions that I'd probably like it. In a random country that's probably Portugal, on New Years' Day, death simply stops happening. All those who were close to death just kinda hang on by a thread, but never getting better or worse. Saramago avoids the more grim questions that might arise (I don't know, what would happen if someone was beheaded or something?) and focuses more on the effects of death's sudden ending on various organizations. Funeral homes go out of business. A healthcare crisis appears to be on its way. Politicians struggle to explain what the hell is going on. Christian leaders find one of their central tenets (Jesus's death and resurrection) stripped of all its meaning. Eventually people figure out a loophole in the madness that allows people to die, but since it's kinda tantamount to "murder" even during the crisis, a sort of black-market death mafia is formed. It's all pretty cool to read about, but similar to Seeing and All the Names Saramago completely switches gears halfway through- the concept of death becomes a character, a woman named death (lower-case!), who apologizes to the country for taking a leave of absence, promises to kill people again, and offers to send out notes forewarning people of their upcoming demise this time. Understandably, this just starts a whole new crisis as people panic like crazy from getting their notes from death. Then the book's focus is switched again, as the country's crisis is largely ignored afterwards, when death starts receiving notes back, marked Return to Sender, from a man who just won't die. She visits him, while invisible, because she's death, falls in love, and debates whether to kill the guy or not. Does she? You'll just have to read and find out! Seriously though, this was a weird one but it's a subject that's perfect for Saramago- weird, unexplained crisis shows up out of nowhere. There's only a novel and a short story left in this collection, and then Cain if I feel like picking that one up, but I'd say Death with Interruptions ranks among Saramago's better novels.
I've only ever heard amazing things about this series. I see why everyone loves this show. I merely like it. Definitely worth the time investment. However, I found each of the three episodes at 1.5 hours to be rather long. I would prefer a more standard 40 minute format in which one mystery was focused on at a time. But anyway, Cumberbatch and Freeman are pretty great as a duo and the stories are always intriguing. I like a good mystery. Season 1 ended on a big cliff hanger and I would have been pissed if I had to wait two years to see the conclusion. Also, I'm pretty sure the above picture of Martin Freeman looks nothing like him.
I got the first episode of this "season" for free so I figured it was time to give it a shot. Two things I know about this game: The story deserves all the hype it has gotten and the gameplay was not meant for XBOX 360. It's a point and click adventure and using joysticks to point and click can be frustrating, especially in situations in which you have only a split second to get your cursor on a zombie. I found myself frustrated more than I was hoping to be for a story that I was really enjoying. However, based on the frustrating gameplay, my hope is one day to watch someone else play the last four episodes of this season rather than having to deal with it again. Or, when I one day get a Vita again, I will play it with a touch screen. I guess I should be more specific with the game play. It's a combination of using your cursor to click on items with which you can interact and choosing what to say or do to the other characters. Despite my displeasure with the gameplay, I will say that the choices you make in this game really feel important, no matter how simple. Whether I am choosing to be a bit more secretive with my answer to a question from some other survivor or I'm choosing between two characters to help, I weighed all my choices in my head. Unlike Zelda, in which the dialogue you choose makes no difference, it's clear that this dialogue choice does matter. And it better, because this is pretty much the only trick this game has. Anyway, the story is SO strong that it might be worth a look, but you won't get an ounce of joy out of the gameplay.
This is simply to pad our numbers. This is a kids' movie about a bear who decides to buck the trend of hibernating so he can stay up to experience Christmas. In Bearville, it is taboo to even talk about Christmas because no bear wants to think about how much awesomeness they are missing. Theodore Edward Bear aka Ted E. Bear works at the honey factory and has a love interest named Pat E. Bear who is obsessed with Astrology. She continually dresses him down verbally, claiming that he could be a very successful businessbear if he just put his mind to it. "Typical Pisces," she is often heard rumbling. Anyway, he loses his job because he talks about Christmas too much and then attempts to buy a ticket to Christmas. He doesn't quite get the concept. I won't spoil the ending, but it was bear-able! One step closer to 400! Merry Christmas!
Trevor and Sween both had kind things to say about this show a few years ago and I really liked Chris O'Dowd in Family Tree earlier this year. It was only a matter of time for me, really.
Unlike Trevor or Sween, I'll be posting this series one season at a time. Each season is only six episodes long and each of those episodes is twenty-something minutes in length, so these posts should be pretty brief and just may come flying at you at a rate of like one per day.
I'll save most of my thoughts for the fourth season's post. For now, suffice it to say that the first season didn't quite live up to the hype but also that I'm already two episodes deep into the second season and they're my favorite two episodes thus far. This really does seem like a show that just kept getting better with age. Anyway, I'll see you soon enough with Season 2, I'm sure.
Ah Season 4. Big shift from Season 3. With most students from Seasons 1-3 finally graduating last season, I was skeptical of this new cast. But, for the most part, I like this cast better. For everyone's benefit, the best characters (and worst students) stuck around for season 4. Tim Riggins and Matt Saracen are still wasting their lives in Dillon, despite being taught all the life-lessons in the world by the greatest coach, both on and off the field, anyone has ever had the pleasure of having. Somehow Landry was a freshman season 1 so now he's on the football team. Julie is still annoying as hell. Still, I love this show and hate that there is only one season left to get through. Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can't Lose.
I have a very bad habit of not blogging shows I've watched until weeks after watching. I'm currently on Season 5 of Friday Night Lights and the show has lived up to the hype for me. Some parts of this season annoy me, like Tyra's whole arc for the most part, but it was better than season 2 and set up what might be my favorite season to date, season 4. If there's one thing this show does better than any other show, it's change and changes come in this season. Thankfully, there is a whole lot less Jason Street, who is always fighting neck and neck with Lyla as my least favorite character. I really need to stress how incredible Kyle Chandler is in his role. That guy can flat out play a coach. Connie Britton is a great character as well, but she's no Coach Taylor. I was pleased to see the Smash Williams was around in the beginning of the season, but I was hoping to get a little more with him before he moved on to greener pastures. Tim Riggins continued his dominance as far as best characters go. Anyway, this post was mostly necessitated by Steve's plee for 400 posts. I like having numerical goals.
What I'm about to start here is something... something downright dangerous. With the sixth installment of the Resident Evil series slated to come out next year, I'm going to take a trip down memory lane and watch the whole franchise until I'm caught up.
Enjoy the trailer... this is going to be fun!
Featuring new music by Slipknot?! Take my money now!
In all fairness, this bad movie isn't all that "bad". (Quick side note: What's the correct way to use a period in that sentence when I'm finishing with quotations to emphasis a word -- not to actually quoting something or someone? Asked Sweeney this a while back. He said he's partial to always leaving punctuation inside the quotations. Me? Makes sense to leave it outside in these types of cases. I know consistency rules over all, but what's everyone else's take? OK... moving on!)
So this film really isn't all that terrible (especially when you know where the series is headed). I mean, Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 32%... so it is a "bad" movie, but I at least found some fun elements to it. The opening, for instance, was creepy as all hell. Deep underground Raccoon City is the Umbrella Corporation's secret laboratory called the Hive. In the opening scene, an unknown thief steals the vaccine for the T-virus while releasing the T-virus itself into the ventilation system. The super-computer controlling the whole complex, the Red Queen, puts the place under lockdown and kills all of the innocent employees in the process. It's a really creepy/violent opening and does a great job at planting all of the enemies our heroes will have to face later on. Unfortunately, none of that is going to help how wacky and confusing the story is going to become.
Cut to the hero of the franchise, Alice -- played by the always gorgeous Milla Jovovich. She wakes up in a mansion after having collapsed in the shower, and -- hold on -- she has amnesia. It doesn't take long before the Umbrella Corp's own Seal Team Six shows up and snags Alice. Surprise! Turns out this mansion is actually a security post and entry point to the Hive and this team has been sent to figure out what happened to the station and deactivate the Red Queen computer system that has apparently gone rogue. Oh, and they also bumped into two other dudes in the mansion that are also suffering from amnesia -- is this a soap opera? -- that join the search party because... fuck it! The more the merrier, right? No need to keep random people with no combat training on the surface in custody. Let's just bring them down into this highly secretive research station that's been compromised like it's no big deal.
Well, to make a long story short, they make it into the Hive and deactivate the computers -- but not before the Red Queen uses the security systems to kill of half of the team. Once the security systems are down, the zombies come out. Then it becomes a race to get out of the Hive and back to the surface before the zombies can take a bite out of them.
During the whole ordeal Alice regains her memory piece by piece. Apparently she's a security guard for the Umbrella Corp. with special combat training and the thief that started this whole shit show is her co-bodyguard (one of the dudes found unconscious in the mansion at the beginning). The way the film reveals all this information is a little frustrating. I had to double-check with Wikipedia to make sense of the plot because the flashbacks used to convey people recovering from their amnesia was difficult to follow. Oh! And the amnesia! That's later revealed to be caused by the Red Queen. When the computers were locking down the compound, they also release amnesia causing gases into the mansion; hence why the three people found in the security house had no clue what was going on. But, let's just go back to why the fuck the security system releases amnesia-gas to begin with? I wonder if there's a term that's the opposite to deus ex machina. Inside of a problem in a story magically corrected, how about there's a problem that's magically (and unnecessarily) started. Those are my feelings on everyone getting doped up at the start of the film. Just a cheap way help get everyone back down into the Hive willingly.
The film ends with only two survivors making it back to the surface (the mansion), Alice and the other (good) amnesia dude who was actually there find his sister who worked at the Hive. By the way, no mention of how or why he knew about the mansion as a security station and access point to the Hive. Also, if the mansion is a security station (and judging from all the guns and death lasers that are seen in the Hive) why the hell wasn't it equipped to stop some stranger with no security clearance from walking in through the front doors? All that aside, the two make it to the surface only to be greeted by a bunch of Umbrella goons in contamination suits that carry them away. The other good guy, Matt (I believe his name is), has been infected with the T-virus. So, before he's escorted away we hear one of the goons explain that "he's to be taken to the nemesis project." (Oooh... What's that mean?) And Alice gets carted off somewhere else.
In all, the movie is actually kind of fun to watch, but aside from the zombies and mutant creatures, it's not really a suspenseful horror film. It's more of a dark action/horror. Lots of gun fights over heavy metal/techno music. Slow motion kung-fu moves. They also make sure to have at least two scenes where Milla Jovovich is (somewhat) naked -- much less she fights zombies throughout the whole film in a scant red dress. I mean, it's a movie for 14-year-old boys (despite the R-rating) who are familiar with the games.
Speaking of the games... how does it fair against the original subject matter? I have no clue. The only two games I've played in the Resident Evil franchise is Zero and Four (with the fourth being the only one I've actually beaten). So when I say I have no how this compare to the source material, I mean it. The only thing I can say for sure, is that this movie does not convey the suspense and subtleties of a survivor-horror game. It would have been more exciting if there were fewer characters and less over-the-top shootouts and kung-fu fights. But, then again, that might have not been a 14-year-old's type of shoot-em-up horror film.
Then there's this ending...
What will the next film hold? Well, it's clear that the virus has made it to the surface and it's clear Alice is going to continue to kick ass and take names.
By the way, this film and the next are both available on Netflix for those to enjoy!
A big thank you to everyone for convincing me to make this purchase. Yes, I went out and snagged a 3DS XL over Thanksgiving weekend. But not just any 3DS XL, mind you... the Zelda edition one -- it comes with a copy of of the latest game in the franchise, A Link Between Words.
What a great game, and, yet, what a short game. This game is modeled after Zelda's SNES title, A Link to the Past. Basically, it's the same map, but the story is set at some point in the future from the previous game. It's also pretty much the same gameplay as its predecessor in that first you go to the sanctuary then to the castle, see Zelda get kidnapped; then you go get the three pendants that allow you to get the Master Sword; then you go to seven more temples in the alternate world until you can face and defeat Ganon (yes, he's the villain once again). Let's be honest. The Zelda games have never been that innovative. Same tools. Same number of temples. Same villains. Same heroes. This game does offer offer one brand new feature: the 2D mode. Link accidentally gains the ability to become a living painting and travel along walls. There's some fun puzzles that incorporate this new element well. Nothing amazing, but it's fun.
There are two things I will praise this game highly for. One is the item system. No longer do you need to slowly accumulate weapons as you bounce from one temple to the next. No. Now, you have a friend who will rent/sell you the majority of Link's tools as soon as you need them. Renting them is far cheaper then purchasing them, but if you die with a rented item, you lose it when the game is restarted. However, it was so easy to accumulate rupees in this game that I was able to purchase all the items and then some only halfway through the game. Still, giving players the opportunity to pick up items really early on also allows them the freedom to tackle any temple they want. This means you can progress through the game however you like. It also means you can snag up some challenging heart pieces early on, rather then waiting until you have that extended hookshot or magic rod which you would normally uncover in the last few temples.
The other thing I'll praise this game for is the soundtrack. Seriously, wear headphones when playing this game. Although there's a lot about 3DS that I like, its speakers are terrible. And with a soundtrack as well designed as this one, you'll really want to savor the wide variety of different tracks they've scored. It will make the game epic as shit especially when you cross over into the dark world.
The last thing I'll address is just that this game was so damn quick and easy. Yes, I had fun, but it was over before I knew it. And when I mean over, I mean the only thing left for me to uncover in the game was two more heart pieces and an upgrade for the butterfly net that I can't imagine ever being useful. I had all the bottles, all the item upgrades, and was one full heart short from perfect health. On top of all that, I had six thousand rupees just sitting around in my wallet with nothing to spend them on. It's not like I put a shit ton of time in to earn all these perks either. I would say I probably put in less than 20 hours, but I'm not really sure. (I was locked at home sick while playing this game. So, time kind of became non-existent.)
Definitely grab this game if you have access to a 3DS. It's fun and a great installment to the series. Just be aware that the game might be over before you know it.
If I've had a "thing" here on Back-Blogged these last few months, it's been watching seasons of TV shows. This makes ten straight without a single movie or book. Wow!
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is a bit long in the tooth now, but at one point in time I thought it was the funniest show on TV. The weird thing is that I can't really differentiate the early seasons from the recent seasons with any clear cut sense of tone or style. I think the show has slowly and surely grown more outlandish and less plausible, and its characters' quirks far more specific and extreme, but I can't really say that any of the episodes I just watched couldn't have been Season 3 or 4 episodes, for example. Because it's so episodic in nature, without a single story arc I can recall in nine whole years, Always Sunny is tough to judge in season chunks, and is much easier to look at on an episode-by-episode basis. But since I'm not going to break down all ten episodes this season, lets just suffice it to say that they were all pretty solid efforts and none of them really stood out. Maybe that's boring, but fortunately, this show isn't. And like just about everything else, it's better when viewed in large chunks instead of in weekly twenty-two minute installments.
