New Watchmen Teaser Poster

I am a huge fan of Watchmen and am really excited about the movie coming out. All the footage I have seen looks great even some of the early posters looked liked it belonged. However the new official teaser poster has been released and I am not a fan.

It looks very bland and considering the fact that its revealing on the most climatic scene in the book and I'm sure in the movie it all looks rather stale. Not to mention the tagline on the poster is god awful. I know it fits the ending theme of the book but on the poster its out of place and conveys poorly on the message its trying to communicate. I'm just disappointed.

"Once you realize what a joke everything is, being the Comedian is the only thing that makes sense." -The Comedian

Censorship's Gone Wild!

Kevin Smith has his moments but I've never been an avid fan of his outside of Clerks and his stance against the MPAA and censorship in America. "Zack and Miri make a Porno" is Smith's latest outing and a film I am looking forward to, mostly because the concept itself seems really interesting. In the film Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks are best friends who decide to make a porno when they are running out of cash. The rest of the film is filled with great character actors and comedians that will fill the film with a strong supporting cast.

The problem though is the ridiculous censorship of this film. First up is the poster fiasco that the MPAA had taken down in the US. The poster depicts Seth Rogen and Elizebeth Banks on the poster and at the bottom of the poster you can see the top of the opposing characters head. Each character is fully clothed and nothing can be deducted from the poster unless you know exactly what's going on. Well in response Smith submitted a poster that passively aggressively protested the decision by having the new poster have nothing but stick figures.

However just today it was announced by CNN that around fifteen newspapers, several tv stations, and several cable channels are refusing to run adds for the film simply because the word "porno" is in the title of the film. Also there have been complaints about posters in Philadelphia at bus stops and now those posters are being taken down.

I am sick and tired of these uber conservative, uneducated, cum drinkers complaining about shit that doesn't matter because they believe that the word porno will ruin their pitiful, sad minds. The movie is fucking rated R, its not NC-17 and it sure as hell isn't unrated and being shown on Skinamax at about one in the morning. These idiots really think that what they believe is exactly what everyone else should believe and have to rain down their shit stained superiority complexes onto the majority of people that don't give a shit. Things like this just make me sad.

"The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen." ~Tommy Smothers

To Trek or not to Trek. That is the question.

Since I was a kid I have been a trekkie. I watched Star Trek: The Next Generation years before I ever saw a single Star Wars film. Not to mention I've been an avid watcher of Deep Space Nine and Voyager, but fuck that Enterprise shit. I don't want to see fucking Scott Bakula unless he's leaping from life to life, striving to right what once went wrong, and hoping with each leap will be the leap home.

Anyway's lately Star Trek has gone underground ever since Enterprise went off the air and since the late Eighties a Star Trek tv show or film has not been in production until now. A little while ago production started on the new Star Trek film helmed by Lost creator J.J. Abrams. I don't like that little snot but I am excited about the new film which is accomplishing the trendy reboot fashion statement that is so ever popular with movie studios nowadays.

Also there is the Star Trek MMO coming out by Cryptic Studio's. When I first heard about this game I wasn't really excited because it was being headed by another studio but when Cryptic took over my Trek senses went on Red alert.

I'm just happy that a franchise I love is being reentered into pop culture and in good hands at that.

"Eaten any good books lately?" -Q (to Worf)

Don Cheadle: War Machine

Well the big news of the day in at leas my world is the fact that Don Cheadle has been signed on to play War Machine in the next Iron Man film. A role that was held by Terrance Howard in the last film in which I thought he played the role perfectly.

The first Iron Man film was a lot of fun to watch and did a good job in setting up the Avengers film and Terrance Howard made a great James Rhodes. He looked like a military man and someone that could eventually fill one of the Stark armours which of course was hinted at in the first film. On top of the Favreau has already said that War Machine would play a bigger part in the next film. Which brings up the question why change the actors?

Don Cheadle is undeniable a great actor and is one of those human activists that I don't mind so much unlike Tim Robbins, but can he be War Machine. Cheadle has never looked like a military man to me and doesn't have the stature that the character Rhodes has in nearly all of his incarnations. I just don't like the fact their changing actors in the middle of two films that are anchoring the Marvel movie studio's.

The Growing DC Universe

As always there an ass load of of comic book movies coming out. With the Marvel studios putting together an Avengers film Warner Brothers are trying to retaliate with its DC license and creating a slew of films riding on the coattails of the recent Batman film. Thankfully they have abandoned the JLA film which produced nothing but awful sounding rumours. But they are making some movies now in production that sound a lot more interesting which confounds me.

First up is the new Green Lantern film which needs to be fun and have a load of action. If it isn't fun and action packed audiences just won't care because Green Lantern, although well known in the DC Universe, isn't that well known to general audiences. So far the news has been good, evidently they are using the Hal Jordan incarnation and they have plans on having huge space battles and so forth. Link. Now to play Hal Jordan you have to get a semi identifiable face mixed with good actor and I can't argue with the choice of Ryan Gosling as Hal Jordan.

Second up is the very ambitious "Super Max." The films main character is Green Arrow who is sent to a prison filled with supervillians and attempts to escape. This film just seems that its way to high concept for the "play it safe" movie studio's.

Now nothing has been mentioned a new Flash movie and Nolan has nearly gone into hiding and no information on the next Batman has been released no matter what anyone has heard. Its nice to see these films taking chances and trying to be closer to the source material and coming out of the DC camp its very refreshing since the Marvel studio's could get the next couple of films disastrously wrong. Marvel is pushing their films out to quickly and it could restrict the creativeness of the people involved.

"I think I feel a Jackson Pollack coming on." -Kyrten from Red Dwarf

South Park: Nuking the Fridge?

Well the new season of South Park opened last night and I have to say the episode wasn't that great but still relevant with its commentary on the failure that was the new Indiana Jones film that came out a while ago. Even though we are all trying to forget that film I think its important to have some one championing the fact that not enough people stand up and fight against stupidity.

I was not a fan of the first couple of seasons of South Park however when they turned and started talking about issues in our world I really began watching. Right now I believe that South Park is by far one of the best satire's of our age. No topic is off limits and at times Matt Stone and Trey Parker have had to deal with some of their episodes being taken off the air because people refuse to look at themselves with a critical eye.

However what's interesting is that most satires make specific points and take one side at the end of the day and South Park doesn't do that in the tradition sense. Instead they take both sides and show how ridiculous each of them are. The most recent example is the past episode that came on last night. Yes George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg have essentially raped everything that is Indiana Jones but does everyone have to keep crying about it. In the end what Matt and Trey are trying to say through each episode they make is that yes some things suck but stop throwing five year old temper tantrums about it.

And it makes me sad that people have been turned off by that. A lot of people that originally liked the show now avoid it at all costs. They just don't like the fact that the show has become satirical instead of just being ass and fart jokes. However I do believe that South Park will be looked back upon as one of the best modern satires of the 21st century.

"Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, Cocksucker, Motherfucker, and Tits" - George Carlin

Evolution of the Music Simulator

A few years ago I decided to pick up Guitar Hero. At the time I was watching E3 and they were showing a demo of Guitar Hero 2 and I was really interested. The very next day I picked up the first game for the PS2 and immediately fell in love with the franchise. Naturally I researched who made the game and the publishers and was curious on how the series would evolve. This was a game genre that I had not been exposed to and didn't really know existed and if done correctly could really change how people viewed music and more importantly viewed gaming as a social event instead of games just being viewed as a toy created for nerds.

Harmonix's first foray into the music genre was Amplitude and Frequency which honestly I don't consider "music simulators." They felt more like games that were trying to accomplish something more and now looking back I think those goals have now been achieved and it was nice having these games as the biases, the foundation, of what was to come.

First up was the very limited but the Godfather of music games in North America, Guitar Hero, which opened the floodgates to the world that we know today. However it did not contain a single master track even though some of them were decent but most got in the way and were just bad. One interesting aspect of the game was the inclusion of multiplayer. The reason this is interesting because the game completely lacks any options, modes, and has no ingenuity in the multiplayer whatsoever. This multiplayer mode consisted of someone playing a few notes and then the other person playing the second bit of notes and so forth from there.

Just around a year later Guitar Hero 2 arrived on a white horse of Amesomeness, with a fucking capital A. The song list was a lot of fun even though only a couple of songs had a master recordings in the game. However the co-op was a lot of fun since bass was finally playable in co-op and reinforced the social aspect of the game. My friends and I played countless hours of GH2 either trying to beat each others high scores or playing co-op. And it seemed we weren't alone, the word started spreading. More people were playing the game and telling others about it.

Activision then became greedy and decided they new best. Naturally Harmonix became pissed and the two companies split creating a rivalry that is far from over. Activision took the GH franchise and gave it to Neversoft a company that will do everything that Activision tells them too. This match made in hell birthed GH3. GH3 added a lot of elements that turned this series into more of a game than an experience of playing music which is what made everyone fall in love with the series to begin with. Examples would be the addition of boss battles and silly inclusions into the multiplayer, like invisible notes or the lefty switch which had more in common with a Twisted Metal game then a music game that allowed you to experience the music that you were playing. Not to mention that the difficulty skyrocketed due to the addition notes that didn't even exist in the songs themselves.

One thing out of this there was some good. Harmonix had been learning from their own mistakes and understood what music games could be. Music has always been a form of self express, music is a social interaction and even if you are playing fake instruments its the fact that you are sharing the experience makes it all the more meaningful. This is precisely what Rock Band accomplishes. The first Rock Band focused heavily on the fact that you are playing together and playing by yourself it isn't that much fun. Mostly this is due to the fact the song choice is focused on everyone playing together and not just playing one instrument.

Music games are still transforming and right now I'm playing Rock Band 2 as if I stop I'll be raped by the hobgoblins that live in my 360. What I am scared of though is the fact that Activision is going to flood the market with Guitar Hero products that if anyone even sees another plastic guitar they'll hurl vomit so hard they'll end up on Venus. I haven't played Guitar Hero World Tour so I'll reserve judgement until I do but if Activision's business plans and Guitar Hero On Tour and 3 are any sign I don't think World Tour will be that great not to mention that I don't really like the set list.

In the end I just hope that Harmonix will be able to continue their evolution of the music genre after Harmonix makes everyone sick of it.

Development Arrested

I recently finished watching all three season's of the show Arrested Development. I know its been off the air and that I'm really late to the game but I have to say I really really love this show. But what I love about this show is not just the humor but for its commentary on television, censorship, and the modern family dynamic.

The first season has most of my favorite episodes and the second season follows up nicely. It wasn't until the third season did they know that they were being canceled and decided to go all out with the show. The story lines became increasingly insane where as the first and second season was much more character based.

But what really got me was the way the show was very aware of itself without over stating that fact. I think its that the narrator contributes so much and acts as another character in the show. Every once and a while the characters make references to being on a TV show or something of that nature but the narrator out right talks to the audience and gives us the answers to questions that the characters don't know about. The narrator gives us insight into the show without the characters looking at the screen and winking all the time.

This pretty much turned into a love fest but I don't really give a shit. If you haven't checked out the show all the episodes are up on Hulu.

Spore: The Sum of its Parts?

Everyone right now is throwing a fit over the DRM issues on Spore, and has become a huge talking about amongst gaming journalists and bloggers. But I don't really care that much about it because its just pandering between the people who want money and the people that don't want to spend it. And yes I am referencing Penny Arcade.

No, I want to talk about the game of Spore itself. Now I do understand every one's complaints. Most of the stages are very simplistic and aren't very compelling in of themselves. The only stage that is actually interesting is the space stage but even then its very repetitive which isn't good when your the longest stage in the game. All in all Spore is nothing more than an elaborate game of Play-Doh.

However I don't think the game is any of those things but the conglomerate of all of those aspects. The game may be split up in separate stages and the creation tools do seem slightly separate from the rest of the game but I viewed it was one huge game. Everything I've read about people's reaction to Spore is the fact they view each part as if it were a separate game. When I play the game I viewed each part more like a level instead of a separate game.

Perception is relative and I think that is the main difference between the people that enjoy the game and those that don't. That's not saying not liking the game is bad and this is more of a blanket statement on most games out there. Different people enjoy games for different reasons and Spore brings that to the forefront with its unique structure.

"Steve Holt!" - Steve Holt from Arrested Development

The New Bond Song: Shitty or just wait a while?

Being a massive Bond fan I always try to keep up with all the news that I can about any new James Bond film. And with the recent installment of Bond having been so good I'm really excited about the upcoming film "Quantum of Solace."

Besides the title not being that great everything else that I have heard and read about Quantum is right on the money until recently. As always there is a huge deal about how writes and plays the song for the opening title sequence of the Bond Films. Well after a long time of everyone thinking Amy Whinehouse was going to do the song, which isn't a bad idea, the official song has finally arrived sung by Alicia Keys and Jack White.

That's right Mr. Indie singer himself Jack White. Now I don't have any problem with Alicia Keys because her voice is well suited to match any of the great Bond songs of the past. But mixed with Jack White's nails on chalk board voice it just didn't work for me. The song itself is fine using new guitar riffs mixed in with classic horns which is a great throw back to the older songs.

Now the music video for the song has just been released and I have to say that its warmed up to me a little more. Now Casino Royale's "You Know my Name" by Chris Cornell I was not fond of either, even when the music video came out I was not thrilled until I saw the opening credits for the film. But this time the music video has warmed up to me so as long as the visuals for sequence are good I'm sure the song will fit in well.

http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--201553123

"Fighting for peace, is like screwing for virginity." -George Carlin

Indigo Prophecy: Falling short

I listen to a lot of podcasts and one of them is 1upFM, which has a great segment called backlog. In the segment they discuss older games that few people played but were highly acclaimed by not just game critics but also by the few people that played them. The first two games were Shadow of the Colossus and then Pyschonauts. The most recent one they've tackled is Indigo Prophecy which I was happy enough to find in a local store for seven bucks, so I said why not. The final discussion on 1upFM has already taken place and I have yet to listen to it but I thought I would weigh in here.

Honestly I think Indigo Prophecy was ahead of its time but as a game its not very well structured. The game starts off as a very intriguing detective story were you play the detectives as well as the fugitive. However it devolves into a cheesy cliche sci fi story that has no real emotional impact. Which is really sad because I really cared for all of the characters and was interested in what they were going to do and how they would evolve. But halfway through the game after a couple of mysteries are exposed those feelings are torn asunder and I couldn't care less.

This is a game however and that's why it makes me sad that the story couldn't keep up with the game play. As far as I know the dialogue system in this game is what Mass Effect was trying to achieve but came years earlier and the way you interact with the environment is way ahead of anything that came out at that time. From that era most games had shiny keys that would unlock the next door to the next area. But in Indigo Prophecy the objects and interaction with the environment doesn't feel forced but very organic as if I was existing in this world. I have never played a game that made me feel so immersed when I'm going around looking for clues or out maneuvering someone during a conversation scene. Its the action scenes that are the weak point of the game. Instead of giving you control over the character you are forced to play an elaborate game of Simon Say's to get through the cinematic sequences that are the action set pieces of the game. All I'm saying is that I always felt very removed from these parts.

What makes this game very unique however is the role that the player takes. In nearly all games you either play a god character or the actual main character. In Indigo Prophecy however you play the director. At times you are god, maneuvering the characters like pieces on a chess board, and at other times you control the characters themselves. It's only during the action set pieces that the player has to sit back and let the game just play itself.

All in all I really enjoyed the game which made me sad when it decided to take a left turn into a really bad SciFi original movie.


"A severed foot is the ultimate stocking stuffer." - Mitch Hedburg

He's a Fucking Werewolf!!

I just watched episode 4 for True Blood and if Sam isn't a fucking werewolf I'm going to shoot myself. Seriously he just spent a two minute scene sniffing the victims sheets. I'm just going crazy I want to know if they did werewolfs right.

Russell Crowe: So badass he plays the Hero AND the Villian!

For years I have been a huge Ridley Scott fan and right now he's been teaming up with Russell Crowe to make a lot of movies. The first time they worked together was on Gladiator and that movie was just plain fucking awesome. And right now Scott is in a pattern where he makes smaller films in between epic films. For example he made Matchstick Men in between Kingdom of Heaven and Gladiator. Well Scott has a spy film coming out called Body of Lies and has announced that his next film has been green lit which happens to be Robin Hood.

Now Russell Crowe has always been rumoured to play either Robin Hood or the Sheriff of Nottingham. I was never surprised by this news because I can see him playing either roles and being great but some disturbing news has been confirmed today.

Mr. Crowe will be playing Robin Hood AND the Sheriff of Nottingham. I don't know how to handle this news. In the hands of a lesser director I would glaze over this news but a "I don't really care anymore" feeling. However this is Ridley Scott we are talking about here and if anyone can pull this off and make it awesome it would be him. The problem is that sometimes directors get this great idea on how to utilize an actor and don't really think whether it helps the film or not, and this has me worried. It could turn out great and I have really high hopes but this has the stink of disaster written all over it.

Spike Lee: Racism and Film

Well Spike Lee has a new "joint" coming out named "Miracle at St. Anna" and I'll probable catch it. However I am by no means a fan of Mr. Lee. The only film I have enjoyed of his was Inside Man by far the most mainstream and watered down version of Spike Lee that there is.

But what really gets me is his film "Do the Right Thing." I don't understand why people like it so much and feel that it tackles racism at a very unique angle. I don't think that at all. Movies are made to tell a story whether plot or character based, but "Do the Right Thing" does nothing for me but shove Spike Lee's message down my throat so hard I feel like I'm choking on an ostrich egg. For example there is the sequence in which all the characters in the film look at the camera and spew out racial profanities. After I watched that sequence all I could think was "Yeah, so. Congratulations people don't like each other and found interesting ways to express it." Never in the film did I feel that any of the characters really felt the way the acted as or understood what it meant to be a racist.

Of course this is just a small little rant on a film I believe is full of problems and is way overhyped by the indie crowd that think Spike Lee is the next Orson Welles. In the end I think Spike Lee is full of himself and if anyone is racist its him. Just look up the argument he tried to have with Clint Eastwood for no apparent reason.

"Dexter": I'm Hyped but scared.

For years I have been hearing about a show called "Dexter" which told the story of a man that killed murders. I was intriged however the show was on Showtime and so I passed it over thinking that I would never get to see it.

However recently I got Netflix and on Netflix you can watch movies and TV shows instantly on your computer so I gave the first season of Dexter a try. Jesus Christ I love this show. It hits all the right beats with me and I enjoy the characters so much. Though the first season was amazing the second season blew it out of the water. I am totally hooked which brings up my concerns for the new season.

The new season officially starts this sunday, however I've already seen the pilote and although great it shows some bad signs. The season premiere episode for the last two season's have been roller coaster rides unto themselves and presented an interesting concept that would carry throught the rest of the season.

Since the season hasn't really started I won't spoil it but I do have to say there was nothing in the season opener that feels like it could carry the rest of the season. I'm still interested in what will happen in what was presented however neither of them are like the other serial killer in season 1 or Dexter's victims being discovered in season 2. I'm still watching and hopefully episode 2 will bring something to the table.

"Chuck": The Poor Man's Spy

Well television sweeps are full steam ahead and I've been trying to keep up with everything I can. By October I will be following at least a dozen shows from Dexter on Showtime(a personal fav of mine) all the way to the new "Knight Rider(the first episode was very cringe worthy). Most other shows like "Always Sunny in Philly" and "The Daily Show" people are already keeping up with but one show that doesn't seem to be on anyone's radar that I know of is the show "Chuck."

Chuck is now in its second season after a long break over the summer and I caught some of the episodes last season when the Sci Fi channel started airing the show. I enjoyed it in parts, I liked the concept of an average joe having to deal with a couple of super spies in a real world situation. Watching super spies having to deal with mundane jobs that are boring, slow is inherently funny for me to watch.

I also feel that Chuck reacts naturally in the situations he's in. When ever there is a gun fight or a group of terrorists come storming in Chuck reacts like most people would, scared shitless. Sure he says jokes but in the same way Spiderman does. The jokes makes being scared ok.

Anyway's the show is ok if you don't mind the slapstick humor sometimes and I'm going to keep watching the show now since I have a steady source of getting the episodes. Thank god for hulu.com.

2001: A Space Odyssey vs. There will be Blood Part 1

Both of these films have been highly regarded in consensus and there is no doubt that each of these films contribute heavily to the film knowledge base. Not only are these great films but the similiarities between these films are undeniable.

Structure is an important part of creating a coherent film that tells an interesting story. Both films open with creation. The creation of man is laid before us with a tribe of early man being taught how to use tools by a large monolith. In contrast Daniel Plainview already arrives on screen in full form and seems to be searching for his own monolith. Both segements are completely wordless and tell the story with pure visuals, which adds to the impact of these acts. In both films these opening scenes are the structure to all else that is built. Plainview uses oil from then on to establish power as does the apes that use the tools they discovered to retake the watering hole establishing the fact that the human race will on continue to conquer all that is in their way.

Perhaps I'm looking to into things but I do see alot of similiarties between the films and will continue this arguement later.

Critics: The Biggest Assholes

Honestly I'm getting sick of these self-righteous assholes who think they can stamp their approval or disapproval on anything and deem that law. Anyone now days can purchase a domain name and say their a reviewer but I'm really talking about actual journalists that have stepped up and declared that this is art because they said so. Its not really left up to the audience whether it is art or not.

What I'm talking about specifically is all the commotion around Braid. I've played Braid and I love it and will continue to play it. For me it is a work of art but I don't need fifty people to tell me that I don't have a choice in the matter. If its a piece of shit I'm going to think its a piece of shit and shouldn't be looked down on because I don't agree with these critics that have labeled it as some thing else.

This argument works both ways as well. If I think something is a piece of art and no one else does, well screw them I think its a piece of art but I'm not going to sit there and tell them that they are a lesser person for not thinking like me. And I'm not just talking about videogame critics but movie critics and anyone who thinks they can analyze something and get two people to listen to them.

However this pretentiousness has not yet flooded into the video game industry as of yet. And hopefully these guardians of our media will not allow this to happen to them. Right now videogame reviewers are either boring step by step robots or rabid fanboys who have been unwittenly given a forum to present their biased ideas to the masses.

Mostly this is due to the technology that we call the internet. Never before have two mediums been so intertwined as videogames and the internet. Both formats feed off each other where as movies, print media , and television have remained separate from each for the most part. Recently we see television trying to integrate with the internet a little more but still this is baby steps compared to videogames.

However its with movie critics that these sins are amplified. The mindless analyzation of film that goes into the efforts of some of these critics is amazing. Just the other day I was listening to the /film podcast when they had a guest on that was arguing the fact that WallE promotes date rape and because of that the film is bad and manipulative.

Now I can understand analyzing a film past what the filmmaker originally put in the film. There is a subconscience element to that but if your just digging for the sake of finding something in a film to make yourself feel smarter that's just sad. By all means do not take things at face value but if your trying to create something out of nothing than just stop by all means. Your doing more harm than good.

Perhaps its because film has been around for so long. We as a society have moved on from just saying films are good or bad. Instead we need messages and feelings and hope from our films. But to ruin those films by overthinking is irresponsible.

The Benefits of being in Tropic Thunder

I enjoyed Tropic Thunder very much. And the film community has been a little split on the merits of the film. Either way a lot has been said about Tom Cruises performance. Everyone can some what agree that he was very funny in the film and I agree with that myself. However I keep hearing that this performance could possible save his career that has been spiraling downwards.

Honestly I like a lot of Tom Cruise films, I think he's a lot of fun to what on film. I didn't really enjoy MI:3 but Minority Report and War of the Worlds were a lot of fun. His career has been going downwards not because of the quality of his films but because of his belief in his religion Scientology. The arguement against Scientology is another article but due to his involvement with that religion he has been forcing it onto other people and personally attacking everyone that disagreed with him.

When you go around calling everyone an idiot and that they should convert to your way of thinking its going to rub people the wrong way. No one really wants to work with him, he literally got fired from an entire studio and is only making films out of the studio that he owns. Not to mention he is firing people that has worked for him for decades.

Public opinion is not being kind to Tom Cruise and with what he stands for and represents I am not kind to him either. Right now he is standing for everything I disagree with in our society. But does this film save him. No way in hell. He has a lot more to prove, Tropic Thunder is only a stepping stone showing everyone that he doesn't take himself to seriously. Right now Tom Cruise is a dick and needs to grow up. All Tropic Thunder has done is show us that maybe he's trying to redeem himself. Time will only tell.

Monty Python: Films vs TV

For years I've watched the television series and the films produced by the British comedy troop Monty Python. And most fans of them enjoy the series just as much as the films but I seem to be on a different side. I'm not a fan of the series but I enjoy the films. Maybe because of the eradicate nature of the series, jumping from one skit to the next without any cohesiveness. I have the same complaints about SNL and MadTV which are very much the same in concept.

However when it comes to the Monty Python films I'm laughing my ass off. Of course there is The Holy Grail but its The Meaning of Life that I find even more relevant to this argument. Like the TV series The Meaning of Life is nothing more than a series of skits looking closely at some of lives important moments and general experiences that we all share.

Naturally one can say that I like the films more based primarily on the fact that the films follow a story or theme that I can easily latch onto. This is probable true but I think it runs deeper than that. For me it seems that the films are much more reflective on human theme's and concepts. They just aren't tied together by a plot line but by what they are trying to say. This is why I've mentioned The Meaning of Life. Throughout the film Monty Python points out the ridiculousness of religion, childbirth, obesity, corporations, the military, and just basic human concepts like happiness, self righteousness, and sex. And all of this is bound together by a simple question, "What is the meaning of Life?"

And essentially they do answer that question unlike most media that simply brushes over it as a great unknown that doesn't matter in the end. But the film states that it does matter in its closing minutes by stating exactly what the meaning of life is.

"Well that was the film, and now here is the meaning of life. Well its nothing very special. Try and be nice to people. Avoid eating fat. Read a good book every now and then. Get some walking in. And try to live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations."

Really I don't know a better response to the question, "What is the meaning of life?"

Hangin' Out

The first three posts here are from my blog on Destructoid and I just copy and pasted them here. I'll eventually get to posting other things that aren't just videogame related. More later.

Wii will ruin everything!!

"Wii will change everything."

This was the motto of nintendo when they released the name of their new console. The Wii blew onto the scene with a mix of cheers and boo's. Some hated the name and other praised it for being a "Revolution."

I have to admit when I first heard of Nintendo's little box I was skeptical. Mainly because I didn't think Nintendo was in its right mind when they came up with the name of their new console. But I kept my feelings in check. I've always loved Nintendo, they were the ones that gave me some the first games I ever played on the NES. But still I'm one of those people that sits back and waits for the right moment to make a major purchase. I didn't bother getting a 360 until Dead Rising came out and my PS2 was purchased mainly because I wanted to watch the Matrix on dvd.

However Nintendo has dropped the ball again. The Wii has become a sess pool of bad games. It seems that only Nintendo is allowed to make good games for the system and they'll do that whenever the fuck they feel like it. And that's the thing, they don't even need to make games for the Wii anymore. You can't find the damn things on shelves, middle aged mothers everywhere are buying them faster then they can be made. But why? Because there looking for a great gaming platform? Because they want to bring the family together? Or because little Timmy won't stop screaming until he gets a Wiimote in his hands and practices jacking off to High School Musical 3: The Game?

Now I'm not against casual gaming, hell anyone that has played solitare on their computer could be considered as a casual gamer. I'm all for more people playing games, I think it unifies us and takes away this negative stigma towards gaming that's been creeping around in the minds of these ill informed parents. But at least make these games good and appealing. Boom Blox is one of the few games that can achieve this. The rest of the crap is non sensical waggling that doesn't promote good gaming.

What's worse is that Nintendo doesn't care. They couldn't give a shit because they are making money which is the only thing that matters. Once upon a time I believed Nintendo did care back in the NES, SNES, N64, and even the GameCube days but they don't anymore. Now they have opened the doors for Microsoft and Sony to follow suit in producing crap video games and selling them to a target demograph that doesn't know any better.

Right now it isn't that bad but it is going to get worse unless something drastic happens. And personally I think that drastic action will happen with the next gen of consoles. What they will be I don't know. What games they will have is anyone's guess. But the matter of the fact is that everyone will be marketing to this uneducated demograph resulting is bad games, destroying the gaming world as we know it. The hardcore gamer is now the minority we no longer matter.
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The Space Between Era's

Right now the shift to digital media's is very apparent. Movie's are being shot with digital camera's. Your fav TV shows can now be seen anywhere on the internets. Even comic's can be found online with the most recent example being the digital version of the Watchmen on itunes. And as we all know the shift of hard copy video games to digital distribution.

One shift that is occurring right now is video game journalism. As a kid and throughout my life EGM has always been my main source of information of the gaming world. I'm sure I'm not alone when their issue with FF7 on the cover will be a day we won't soon forget. Each month I would pick up their thick, funny, informative issue with a lot of anticipation.

Even when I started checking my news on the sites like this I still enjoyed my monthly issue of extra insight and always got a good laugh from their captions on screenshots, Seanbaby's articles, the Hsu and Chan comic, and the ingeniously written reader response section. However things have changed and not for the better.

The first sign of EGM's downfall was the redesign of the the magazine. Don't get me wrong the redesign was needed but it always gave me a suspicious feeling. Then Ziff Davis, the publishing company in charge of EGM, declared bankruptcy which nearly confirmed my suspicions. That event I believe started a avalanche of events, first being the resignation of the backbone of EGM Dan Shoe. But it was the most recent issue that I have decided to cancel my subscription of this once great magazine. Not only was the issue extremely light on content that really said anything but there are only seven reviews with only one reviewer attached four of those reviews. Ontop of that the Hsu and Chan comic just issued its last comic, even though the comic hasn't been funny for quite some time it was still a reminder that EGM is still EGM. Not to mention two page interview with Itagaki that had no relevance on anything.

Now what does that mean "still EGM?" By all accounts EGM is the only magazine out there that can even be taken seriously. GameInformer to me is a sell out mag that will take bribes for high reviews. And any magazine that has a major company in its title is a biased report to begin with. I'm not going to believe anything Nintendo Power or Playstation magazine or OXM have to say. EGM has always been the staple of what game journalism should be. You may disagree with them but you can't say they pull their punches. EGM has always been unbiased in my opinion and ask the hard questions to people who think their just doing a fluff piece.

I'm just sad that I'm seeing a magazine that always held up a standard for everyone else being slowly and quietly whittled away to nothing. I know most of that team are a part of the 1up network and that's all good and fine, but the symbol that was EGM is disappearing and when its gone it will be the passing of an era in video gaming.

The Dark Knight Videogame: Necassary?

Let's face it we're all nerds and all of us have seen the Dark Knight in movie theatre's about three times now. But has anybody really been saying, "Hey! Where's the video game for this? "
To my knowlegde there has been no nerd outcry for the video game version of this film. And as we all know most of the time they aren't very good. Batman Begins was a great batman film and a game was included in the marketing package at the time but the game was panned over as bad just as most game tie ins are. Do I need to mention Enter the Matrix?

Just today I was passing over a ton of articles and came across this one on Yahoo Movies asking were the game tie in for the Dark Knight was. Evidently they could have made even more money, around 100 million, in addition to a record breaking millions that the Dark Knight has already made.

At this point I'm sure that the studio is scrambling to get a game out since the film surpassed all expectations of how much money they would make. But my point is that we don't need movie/game tie ins for every major release. Lego Batman I'm sure will do well but the movie doesn't benefit from it and the game has nearly nothing in common with its darker brother.

In the end movie's should be made with the idea that a audience member will sit down and enjoy a movie. It's not a commercial for someone to go out and purchase the game. The same goes for games, they should be made for someone to enjoy with a controller in hand and not be a commercial. If you're going to make a game do so for the sake of the game and not for taking away more money from some poor mothers pocket book because its only these twelve and younger kids that are buying these games to begin with.
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