District 9

District 9 is one of the best movies I've seen this year and one of the best sci-fi movies I've seen EVER. Bold? Maybe. But I stand by it. The creative vision in this movie is simply remarkable. It's a superbly realized film that captures the audience at the onset and carries them through a distressing but prodigious narrative.

Story/Writing

The writing and the story here are two different entities but fuse together to create a movie that is truly compelling at every turn. The story, when stripped of fantastical context, isn't anything that has never been done before. I won't ruin it, but suffice it to say, the idea of apartheid and derelict persecution isn't novel to cinema. Nor is the idea of the evil mega-corporation, that will do whatever it takes for profit. That's not to say these themes don't create an engaging environment, far from it, it's just not these aspects that jumps out. What does stand out is how the writing absorbs these ideas and creates an inspiring and incredibly woven tale. At the beginning of the film, the protagonist, along with some other characters, are being interviewed, documentary style. The pacing is slow but meaningful here and sets up the ambiance that the rest of the movie will rely on. As District 9 progresses, the developments lead to some startling and interesting revelations. What matters most here is that the characters are driving the story. Wikus Van De Merwe is an extremely human character put through such extraordinary circumstances, that he is forced to evolve, both emotionally and physically. On top of that, the audience is led to sympathize with the alien captives, for many reasons, and this attachment creates a strong sense of urgency in the narrative. The motivations for each character are potent and convincing. By the end of the film, the violence has been turned all the way up and the intensity is palpable. Yet, at no point, does this transition seem awkward or clumsy. The pacing is smooth and logical, so the viewer doesn't get the feeling of being distanced at any point. The story is marvelous from start to finish.

Acting/Cast

In District 9, Neil doesn't use a single A-list actor. At no point does this hinder the movie. As a matter of fact, I think it greatly enhanced it. The main character, Wikus Van De Merwe, is played by Sharlto Copley, and the performance is simply mesmerizing. That's right. Mesmerizing. He is sincerely so believable. In every shot, in every scene, he is exactly what the film demands of him. Innocent, terrified, angry, despondent and fierce. If you can imagine it, he successfully, and very effectively, conveys all of these emotions throughout the film. On top of that, Neil did a wonderful job with the character transformation, in all arenas. The rest of the cast plays rather small parts in comparison but all are expertly performed and equally as believable. Not since Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, has a CG character (or characters) evoked so much emotion. I genuinely felt both sorrow and pity, even anger at times, towards the aliens (Prawns). The two main aliens, one of which is comically (IMO) named Christopher Johnson are a testament to this. Their story and the relationship they have are tangible and the audience is forced to sympathize.

Cinematography/Camera/Sound

Top-fucking-notch. A word of warning though: a lot of the film has the 'shaky camera' style shooting to it and this could result in some motion sickness. The shots and angles here are excellent. The CG and graphics are stunning, especially when considering the budget being worked with. The ever present mothership in the sky, it's towering and formidable presence are richly felt and masterfully integrated. The effects are a sci-fi fan's wet dream. Neil has clearly played his share of video games and seen his share of sci-fi films. The alien weaponry is... well... awesome. From the unique sounds, to the colors and ultimate effect of the projectiles, to the ridiculously cool robots involved, the action is stellar and absolutely original. Now allow me to quickly digress. The technology interfaces the aliens use? BADASS. Think Minority Report on steroids. The luminance and interaction are really cool to watch and it's obvious that some time was put into their development. Even cooler still, is watching as Wikus adapts. Again, I won't ruin it, but I'll say this: motherfuckers a'splode. A lot.

In summary, go see this movie. Like right now. Get off your ass and do it. This is one of those movies that will likely garner a variety of reactions, for a lot of reasons. There's a lot of hype (like this ridiculous review, for example) and it's an intense and uncomfortable film at times. Others simply won't like the foreign feel of the film. Fine, whatever. Those assholes can go watch G.I. Joe. But give it a chance. Allow it to be what it's supposed to be. This movie isn't redefining science fiction, but it is most certainly shoving it in the right direction.

Overall Score (out of 10): 9.4

Maybe Some Structure...

Hmmm, in the future, I think I'll tackle review type posts with a little more structure. Maybe try dividing it into meaningful sections like 'Graphics, Sound, Gameplay, etc.' For movies, it might be something like 'Camera Work/Cinematography, Writing, Acting, etc', just try to separate it by topics that people actually refer to when they talk about a movie. Not really sure yet. So I guess it'll be more like every review publication EVER. But hey, it makes sense and it's not broke so...

Rainbow Six: Vegas 2

We'll begin with Rainbow Six Vegas 2. Since I have Gamefly (amazing), reviews like this will be fairly steady and will usually be for the PS3, unless otherwise noted. If you played the first Rainbow Six Vegas, then you're in for a lot of the same stuff in the second iteration. That being said, this is a good thing. The series uses a common element found in shooters these days: a cover system. Games vary tremendously in their utilization of this system and I'd say that R6 is one of the better ones. The biggest reason for this is that the context of the game seems particularly suited for this type of gameplay. R6 isn't about open map combat and large locales flooded with enemies of all types; it's about close quarter firefights, sometimes interspersed with stealth-oriented missions where silent, quick kills are more rewarded than charging in guns-a-blazing. So in this context, hiding behind a pillar, slot machine, or planter, popping out to fire off some well placed shots is more satisfying and appropriate IMO. This is just a more visceral experience.

The story is honestly nothing to write home about. It's not terrible but it's not very inspiring. The gameplay and action will keep you coming back here, not the compelling drama. Additionally, some elements of the story require the player to understand characters from the first game. Not much, mind you, and certainly not enough to stave you off if you haven't played the first one, but it's there. Moving onto the graphics. This is one of those games where I was never really impressed or disappointed by the graphics. The character models are weak compared to say, Gears of War, but they're not the worst. The lighting is the strong suit here and the different types of imaging add to this. Overall, things look good enough but this isn't the title to pop in when you wanna show off your new plasma.

Now sound. I think some players underestimate the effect of sound on a game, but I consider it to be of vital importance. R6 is a bit of a mixed bag. First of all, the gun sounds are good; great even. The guns all differ in how they sound, both loud and with the silencer on. This is a huge plus because this game relies on the immersion of semi-realistic cues, both in the feeling and sound of the game. Too many shooters have sub-par gun sounds and that instantly ruins an important facet of a... well, shooter. Other parts of the game also sound great, like the explosions, flashbangs and movement of your team. That being said, other elements aren't so impressive. The music is a bit lackluster and repetitive. I did like that the music typically matched the mood and pace of the game. If some shit just went down, then it's crescendo-ahoy. If something dramatic happens, cue the John Williams horns. Other than that though, the music doesn't stand out. Another aspect that bothered me was the way the vocals were mixed. Unless you have a great 5.1 or better sound system, be prepared to wonder what the hell is being said half of the game. Whether it's the loud music, the drone of helicopter rotors or machine-gun fire, the vocals are often drowned out and muffled, to the point of being inaudible. Since this isn't the most story-driven game out there, it's not gonna completely break the experience but it's definitely annoying.

As for replay value, there's a lot here. The game utilizes an XP system, both in Single and Multi player. I enjoyed this aspect, since it gives the impression of constant progress. If your teammates get a kill, you still get a point. There is, however, a distinct advantage to your getting your own damn hands dirty. There are 3 different areas you can accumulate additional points in: Sharpshooting, CQB (Close Quarters Combat) and Assault. Different kinds of kills offer different points. For instance, shooting a guy climbing down a rope across the building will net you a Sharpshooter point in addition to your XP point. Sneaking up on a dude and putting a shotgun in his asshole and pulling the trigger will net you an Assault point. As you progress and gain these points, you unlock different weapons or items, typically associated with that focus (i.e. Sharpshooting = Sniper Rifles, CQB = Light Machine Guns). Of course, there is the other, much darker side to this type of system and it is admittedly a big problem. The fact that the player MUST play through any given amount of times or participate in tons of online games just to unlock weapons, clothes and items presents a problem. It means that a lot of the cool gear is available to you until you've put in a nearly egregious amount of time into the game. Not really cool. Additionally, I don't play Multiplayer since I'm not really a fan of being pwned by some 12 year-old British dickwad, but I imagine not having certain kinds of gear presents a distinct disadvantage at times. Again, think COD4. So it's a two-sided coin.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the game. It's a fun action game that has stealth and espionage aspects but doesn't pretend to be Splinter Cell. I don't have the patience for full on stealth games and I like that R6-2 allows the player to choose his/her own adventure. Wanna be a lazy ass and watch your team fuck shit up? Cool. Wanna take the lead and play like it's a standard FPS? Fine. Or you can balance the experience and utilize it all. And that's not even mentioning the variety of tools like goggles, cams, grenades, breaching methods and imaging. It's a pretty meaty game that offers a plethora of approaches and rewards each in different ways. I, for one, appreciate that. Sure, you gotta put in some time to get new stuff, but quite frankly, you could successfully complete the entire game with the MP5N. Over and out, bitches.

Overall Score (out of 100): 82

Welcome to the Elysian Fields

Welcome to my blog! This site is created as my personal portal into the world of cinema, video games, media, current events, general technology (gadgets, etc.), dining and every once in awhile, my personal interests. It won’t always be agreeable but it’ll always be me. Since I'm just getting started, I'll start off by saying that this blog will most certainly be incendiary, hopefully witty, and ideally, a bit informative. I think I'm going to try instituting a point scale for my reviews, though the whole idea of assigning a numerical value to generally subjective experiences isn't really fair or accurate. Bear that in mind. Also, the way I'll approach it will be a bit different. Everything will be rated according to what I think it wants or is striving to be. Not what the status quo thinks everything in that segment should be. Here's a couple of quick examples: Transformers is NOT a good film but I thought it to be a fine movie. Why? Because it's a mindless summer blockbuster chalk full of fun special effects. That's all it's MEANT to be. For video games, not everything needs to have an amazing multiplayer experience and all games certainly DO NOT need to be sandbox titles. See where I'm going with this? Ok, good. Let's get started then, shall we?

Amusez-vous bien!