Directed by: Harald Zwart
Running Time: 140 Minutes
Rated: PG

For many critics, to hear the word remake is usually responded to with a groan of despair, clamors of Hollywood lacking originality and any backbone to push forward new content.  For better or worse, the practice continues (and will be pushed forward at least for the foreseeable future) in Hollywood as exemplified by The Karate Kid, a remake of the original 1984 feature film that became a cult classic.  Harald Zwart’s new interpretation of The Karate Kid, however, is an intriguing case study of a remake.  Although it does fall into some of the common traps, this new retelling is a good film that comes and marks out its own place in history, smartly using its China backdrop and the strength of the actors.

Zwart’s The Karate Kid follows Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) and his mother, Sherry (Taraji Henson) who both are forced to move to China from Detroit after Sherry gets relocated for her job.  Dre does not want to go, as he has to leave his friends and familiar trappings for a completely new foreign land.  His assessment of the situation worsens when he arrives with a language he does not want to learn to bullies that start to harass him everywhere he goes.  A lackadaisical mechanic, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), soon meets Dre as he attempts to learn kung fu.  Unknown to Dre, Mr. Han also is a kung fu master.  The film follows their meetings and adventures as Dre has to learn both kung fu and respect.

The traps that The Karate Kid follow are small aspects that, added together, do seem to weigh the film down a bit.  One is simply some odd plot devices to move the story along, particularly referring to the film’s sense of reality.  A story is allowed to string together any type of plot point in whatever fashion it wants.  However, this stream of consciousness need to be logical and realistic in terms of the story’s rules that it sets for itself throughout its duration.  Simply putting a plot device, ready to be utilized again near the end of the film, is not enough of a convincing reason without proper context.  The Karate Kid does do this, and it did affect the effect of the climax.

Context also affected several other scenes throughout the movie that sometimes tried to be epic and grand yet come off more as cheesy and unnecessary.  It felt as if Zwart was using scenes for the sake of adding them, and for a film that had some pacing issues as well, it would have done better to either trim these parts out or at least give more proper time to make the right transitions, especially since the film understands this when it has done so successfully in other scenes.  This loose pacing also affects some of the other characterizations and therefore, plot devices, that could have been much more complex.  Moments like a possible back-story between the rival kung fu leader and Mr. Han are alluded to but glossed over along with several other characters appearing to be relevant but never really being anything more than story points.

However, Zwart and company do succeed in capturing not only a lot of passion and heart but a surprising overview of China and the modern world itself.  The actors, for one, buoy this film with their strong performances.  Jaden Smith exudes his father’s charm and style throughout The Karate Kid.  Both charismatic and expressive, his youthful demeanor is all but forgotten by the last scene when even the most skeptical of audience members have to acknowledge that he did a great job in the role.  Jackie Chan as well brings a sullen and bitter performance that works to the film’s advantage; a surprising turn compared to most of his work where he uses his physical humor.  It never comes off as overdone and a balance is struck between the tutor and tutee that perhaps should not be compared to the original’s Mr. Miyagi and Daniel, but a relationship that stands by itself in how it is unique and memorable.  Speaking of the original Karate Kid, the various different homage that Zwart makes to the original are funny to fans but never overdone.  They are tactful and smart.  And although many complaints were made about various plot devices, the core progression of the film is pretty standard but done well enough to warrant mention as it never loses track of itself and always feels like a lot of passion and enthusiasm went into it, noticeable through how the film is shot and placed.

One final and important mention goes to the backdrop of the film, China.  There are two sides in how this was filmed that really makes The Karate Kid an intriguing and good film.  One is how China is incorporated into the overall narrative.  It is not just used as scenery.  It embeds itself as an important character into the story of Dre’s overall story arc and the theme of respect, both between Dre to China and vice versa.  The interesting flipside to this is the candidness that Zwart gives to the realities and the modernity of the modern world.  For instance, the historical backdrop of the economic hardships affecting Dre and his mother in Detroit and how it forces them to move to China is not only a clever introduction but effective in serving the modernity of the rest of the film.  Perhaps even more surprising is the surprise in seeing how prevalent communist imagery and effects could be seen about China.  Although never mentioned directly or acknowledged, the fact that these images pervade onto a mainstream movie create an interesting chemistry of, perhaps, a pseudo-documentary overlapping the inspiring fictional core plot.  It seems, intentionally or unintentionally, that Zwart left the images for the international community to think about and grapple with.  Therefore, The Karate Kid becomes more than simply a remake but a modern and politically relevant film for the masses.

The Karate Kid falters a bit in its execution; resorting to odd plot devices and an uneven pace, but it is memorable because of its charismatic, stalwart actors and its surprisingly candid outlook on the context of its plot and China itself.  The remake seems to doubt the strength of its own story at times, yet those missteps do not mask the positive and strong portions of the film that shine and hold the film up.  Perhaps Director Zwart was simply trying to put this remake on par with the original yet has, in reality, crafted a much more original entity that embraces a very modern and relevant context and makes itself into a pseudo, mass-market documentary and dramatic martial arts film.  ‘The Karate Kid’ is a good instance of what remakes should set themselves out to be: more than simply just a re-telling of a story with the same characters and plot mechanics but with a sense of purpose and relevance.

The Wie muses *** ½ out of *****

Ratings:
*****: Excellent
**** to ****½: Great
*** to ***½: Good
** to **½: Mediocre
* to *½: Bad
0 to ½: Terrible

Director: Masakazu Hashimoto
Running Time: 99 Minutes

Note: This was a special preview screening courtesy of the British Film Institute.  There is currently no release plan for the US.  It is currently scheduled to be released on DVD in September in the UK.  The Japanese release was on September 9th, 2009.

Video game-to-movie adaptations have one of the worst stigmas attached to them.  They usually and unfortunately fall into one of two pitfalls.  The first is that it attempts to create an entirely different product and soul than the original said game, whether it’s because the original game had nary a plot to begin with (i.e. Super Mario Bros.) or because the essence of the original game was too complicated (i.e. Final Fantasy). Both resulted in films that may have connected to the original series via some character names or very narrow plot points but were not great in terms of conveying an engaging cinema experience.  The second pitfall is that some of these adaptations adhere too closely to the plot of said video game and falters by being so inclusive.  And really, that is the main point.  These films have problems understanding being…films.  Of course, the latter (and honestly, all of these films) is a branding strategy to elongate out the video game’s life among consumers more than anything.  There are exceptions to this rule.  Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva is not quite that exception.  It walks the latter path of following very closely to the arc of video games already released on the Nintendo DS and although a prequel, does require a bit of knowledge about the game’s characters to understand some of the perhaps intricacies of the characterizations and references.  However, it’s visual style and charm certainly elevates the film for a casual viewer and for fans, it is filled with some great gleeful moments.

Before going any further, one has to understand exactly what Professor Layton is.  It is a series of Nintendo DS story-driven brainteaser games that have sold fairly well worldwide.  The plots of these games follow the titular character of Professor Layton and his assistant, Luke, in their various travels to unravel various mysteries usually revolving around some myth or artifact.  Their latest adventure takes place before a majority of the games (at least the ones that have released outside of Japan).  Luke has just joined Layton as his number one apprentice.  They are hurried to a new mystery involving Layton’s former acquaintance, Jenis Quatlane and the opera house where she performs.  The mystery concerns an old tale about immortality that is still possible to be received.  Unbeknownst to the protagonists, the opera show they attend morphs into a devious game in which one member of the audience will be promised eternal life and the rest would be disposed of.  Following a quirky set of characters ranging from the opera house’s organist to a British soccer player, they all must play the game whether they want to or not to discover the truth behind what this symbolizes for all of them.

The Eternal Diva’s problems mostly attribute from its structure and convoluted plot.  Director Hashimoto flies right through to the main mystery rather than attempting to introduce and flesh out the two main heroes of Layton and Luke, expecting the audience to derive much of their knowledge from the video game source materials.  Although their roles are easily identifiable, a Sherlock Holmes-esque duo fighting to figure out a mystery, characterizations and humorous moments will not make sense to those uninitiated to the Layton lore.  Some films that are based on properties include subtle touches or in-film items that allude back to the original material.  The Eternal Diva is not so interested in holding back and will veer right on ahead, leaving those uninitiated lost early on.  This is not helped by its ultimately convoluted plot that attempts to do too much in so little time.  The Professor Layton series is known for its supernatural and mystic elements in all of their games whatever they may be yet here, it feels like much of the lore of the core part of understanding the story along with many of the motivations never fully get explained and whether one is a fan or a casual viewer, it feels as if the plot rushed itself for the sake of keeping a quick and lean pace at the sacrifice of delving into a more comprehensive story that would have given the film more emotional weight that the director was attempting to gain, especially at the climax.  And as one other side note that is more of a personal quibble than perhaps an overarching one, it was a letdown to see some of the more serious and grim moments of the film that were fairly shocking at first to be offset by convenient solutions.  It is difficult to explain without delving into a shot-by-shot analysis but perhaps a harder edge age rating would have led to more powerful moments that in the end, feel more like the filmmakers had to scale it back and provide solutions solely because of the audience.  (And a very minor quibble…for this screening, the voices were all in Japanese with English subtitles underneath.  However, the video games have a great English voice cast already set up.  Perhaps already finalized but it would be hopeful that an English dub would also be provided.)

Yet the film ultimately achieves its goal being such a fun film for its fans which seems to be its first and foremost goal and even for the casual viewer who may be lost in terms of the plot, the beautiful style and animation are great and attractive alongside the charm that the film exudes.  Fans of Professor Layton will ultimately derive the most enjoyment from the film.  The Eternal Diva is essentially a movie laden with a lot of fan service whether it’s a clever way of including the brainteasers from the games (much more directly than one may imagine before seeing the film) to a lot of in-jokes about characters already covered throughout the series.  And there is something about seeing cheeky British stereotypes being paraded on screen that do not necessarily feel offensive, the film (and the series) is self-aware and embraces its simple stereotypes to some laughs, ranging from some cringe-worthy to pretty funny moments that all-in-all add to the film’s charm.  There is such a bright and fun attitude to the film in which the audience wants to see the next shot to see the next strange development unfold.  Why?  Because of the beautiful job the team has done with the animation.  Already on the video games, Professor Layton had a unique European-Japanese fusion visual style mixed together, and in theaters as well, it makes a similar impact.  Blown up to the big screen and with the seemingly same animation team from the games who now have a bigger budget, it is one of the more visually pleasing animated movies to watch in theaters.  And that really is what the casual viewer will probably take away from the experience and be impressed by the most is its unique visual identity and silly humor and style which in itself is an achievement.  Backing this all up is a well-produced soundtrack that keeps many of the catchy tunes from the games but gives the whole soundtrack an appropriately operatic and heavy string sound that adds to the charm.

Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva does have that common video game-to-film attribute of a very convoluted plot that only loyal fans would probably appreciate and deter most other moviegoers, yet the great visual aesthetics, a good soundtrack, and atmospheric charm help to ease the entry barrier that some viewers may face.  Casual viewers especially will have the most trouble getting past the fan service that the film is mainly concerned with; not helped by the problems with the overly complex plot and rushed pacing.  However, these viewers will most likely appreciate the great and unique animation that gives the film its own charm and style and a sense of grand spectacle.  Additionally, fans of the series will most appreciate the film and although perhaps not an essential addition to understanding more of the Professor Layton’s back-story, is a fun treat that has good production value behind it.  To come full circle back to the introductory point, is this the direction that video game-to-films should take?  Perhaps not fully as it alienates a good number of the audience yet unlike most of the fare made strictly for fans, this is one of the better balances that can at least be aesthetically enjoyed.

The Wie muses: *** out of *****

Ratings:
*****: Excellent
**** to ****½: Great
*** to ***½: Good
** to **½: Mediocre
* to *½: Bad
0 to ½: Terrible

Director: Dean DeBlois; Chris Sanders
Rated: PG
Running Time: 98 minutes

How to Train Your Pet Dragon is set in a mythical Nordic land where Vikings are constantly living in battle against fearsome dragons that take their livestock and ruin their land.  The Vikings are a proud, bulky race with many of them living and breathing the thrill of battle.  Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is a young Viking who seems to have grown the wrong way as he wishes to join his brethren in the heat of battle yet his meek demeanor and different way of approaching situations with his brain seem to speak otherwise.  He becomes the laughingstock of the town and a shame to his father, Stoick (Gerard Butler), the chief of the tribe.  One day, Hiccup runs across a downed dragon that he hit in a prior battle, unbeknownst to the rest of his tribe.  Instead of killing it and taking it back to his tribe, he frees it and slowly begins to bond with the beast.  This begins to change Hiccup’s perspective on dragons although he soon comes to realize he has to either defy his father and tribe or protect a creature he has ultimately come to love.

Perhaps an unfortunate oversight of the film that needs to be noted is the lack of depth in its plots and characters.  Hiccup is perhaps the most developed character among the cast along with his pet dragon, Toothless, getting some fun interactive moments and interesting characterizations.  However, even with these characters, the character development seems more or less by the numbers.  Although I have not read the book, the character progression and narrative seemed fairly predictable from the beginning and most audiences, teen and up, will probably not be too surprised by how the film ends.  Other characters are fairly one-note in their roles and although some may make an always-repeated argument of “it’s a children’s movie,” that is no excuse when other animated features have pushed the benchmark for creating engrossing and developed plotlines.

Yet where the plot is typical, the visual splendor and the rich background are not.  Dreamworks has created a gorgeous film here that is rich in detail and backed by great artistic design.  This can definitely stand as one of the best-animated films to date.  Simply take a moment when Hiccup and Toothless are flying over the sea towards the island as the camera zooms out.  It is a breathtaking shot and an achievement both in the technology and artistry.  Just as well, the 3D acts as a complement rather than a detracting gimmick.  The depth is especially noticeable in the exhilarating choreographed actions sequences that are well done and needs to be witnessed in theaters for the full visual impact.  These set pieces are smart and a pleasure to watch; the best being a flying sequence in the middle of the film that is sure to bring back memories of other similar and great moments like in Star Wars.

In addition to all the wonderful action moments is the attention to detail in terms of the culture and atmosphere.  Directors DeBlois and Sanders has infused the Nordic backdrop well into the film to give it so much personality that sets the film apart from being just a simple animated film with visual bravado.  The music, for instance, is a great draw that punctuates at the right moments in tandem with the film’s action but also includes lots of fiddles and bellowing bass that should bring smiles to viewers as the camera pans out to the beautiful foggy vistas with the music at full volume.  And again, the art design needs to be mentioned again here since the look and feel of the village to the surrounding land and its inhabitants are given a cartoon spin yet is mixed with a lot of memorable designs to have the audience feel a lot of individuality in the models.  For instance, the dragon design hits a good mark between beast and cute pet that the viewer grows more attached to throughout the duration of the film.  The voice work also should be noted as fairly fun-natured and a good fit for the characters.

How To Train Your Pet Dragon is a wonderful and exhilarating animated film and is one of the better 3D films to grace theaters in recent years.  It does lack depth in terms of its plot and character progression, boiling down to an action creature film melded with a boy’s forbidden pet backdrop and lacks a greater purpose in character progression.  However, the movie is visually spectacular, one of Dreamworks’ best so far, with a great sense of choreography, complemented by its smart use of 3D that does not feel tacked on or gimmicky.  And much like Dreamworks’ previous great-animated feature, Kung Fu Panda, it embraces a cultural design well and sticks to it throughout: here being the Nordic background with a great musical composition and great artistry/design.  These types of rich and cultural animated features from Dreamworks are a joy to see and one that should be continually embraced by the studio and fans of animated works.

The Wie muses: ***½ out of *****

Ratings:
*****: Excellent
**** to ****½: Great
*** to ***½: Good
** to **½: Mediocre
* to *½: Bad
0 to ½: Terrible

Image by: N0Nick (Flickr)

If you are a new student at The University of Michigan, you will fall in love with Ann Arbor. As a college town, Ann Arbor has many charming local dives and funky places to discover. The area surrounding the campus of The University of Michigan is alive with local bars favored by U-M Students. Whether you are in the mood for trivia, karaoke or a cheap beer after a week of classes, here are the most popular bars where you will find your fellow U-M classmates.

Brown Jug Restaurant
1204 S. University Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
(734) 761-3355

This campus favorite is a versatile place where you can take a date, take your parents out when they come in town or just wind down and have a beer.  The Brown Jug Restaurant is easy on your wallet too, as many college students agree that prices are reasonable, even downright cheap. If you are going to experience their libations, try one of the 10 different Long Island iced teas. (Tip: The green dinosaur is the most popular.) If you are looking for something good to eat, the veggie pizza is highly recommended along with the Feisty Feta & Greek pita bread.

Good Time Charley’s
1140 S. University Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
(734) 668-8411

Described as the epitome of an Ann Arbor college bar, Good Time Charley’s is the bar of choice for many students at the University of Michigan. If you are going for heavily loaded drinks, you will appreciate that the Long Island iced teas are served in a pickle jar. This bar also has just about every flavor of shots imaginable. Good Time Charley’s gets packed on the weekend, so if you are looking for a place to meet other students, you will have no problem finding them here. Conveniently positioned on the corner of South University Avenue and Church Street, Good Time Charley’s is within walking distance to the University’s dorms –which is a good thing if you’ve had one of the Long Island iced teas.

Rick’s American Cafe
611 Church St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
(734) 996-2747

Offering a typical American varsity vibe, Rick’s American Café is everything you may imagine a college bar to be. With their tag line “The Most Fun You Can Have with Your Clothes On,” Rick’s promises the flirtatious, sexy college party experience with flowing alcohol and live entertainment every night of the week. Honored by Playboy as “College Bar of the Month” and named “Best Campus Bar in Ann Arbor” by the “Michigan Daily,” Rick’s American Cafe is one of the busiest bars on the University of Michigan’s campus since it opened in 1979.

Blue Leprechaun
1220 S. University Ave. #109
Ann Arbor, MI 48113
(734) 665-7777

The Blue Leprechaun is one step up from a college dive bar. It is a bit classier than the typical college bar in Ann Arbor and is often frequented by more a more distinguished college crowd, including grad students and professors. Overzealous fraternity boys and sorority girls are generally not found drinking here. The fireplace in the front room gives this bar a cozy, pub feel. The Blue Leprechaun has live music, karaoke and a hip lounge downstairs that has a more laid-back atmosphere than the bar upstairs. If you are looking for a drink and dinner deal, Tuesday nights are “Everything is Half Off for Grad Students Nights,” which may explain why so many grad students like to hang out here.  If you are tired of pizza and hamburgers, this is a great place to go for some Irish comfort food, such as fish and chips or Sheppard’s pie.

Grizzly Peak Brewing
120 West Washington St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
(734) 741-7325

This is another brew pub that is popular among a college crowd with a more distinct palate. For those who enjoy the taste of beer and are not just looking for a cheap buzz, this pub will blow you away with its list of fine imports and locally brewed beer. They offer a great list of rotating and seasonal brew. Patrons enjoy a bustling bar with good spirits, food and a dim, warm environment. As a local favorite, this pub draws a diverse, lively crowd. While it may not be located on campus, many college students go here to treat themselves. If your parents are in town and offer to take you to dinner, take advantage of their offer and order something nice for yourself, such as the spicy, beer-steamed mussels or the pretzel-encrusted salmon with a Black & Tan brownie beer.

April Lentini writes for Apartment Guide in Detroit.

In any case, the Oscar Award ceremony is about to hit television screens in less than a day and although some may contend that this year may have not been generally an all-around great year for films both big and small, the competition leading up to the Academy Awards is pretty fierce and contentious.  Several big changes to the actual show will also make an interesting impact on perhaps not the winners but the style and presentation of the show, from the increase to ten ‘Best Picture’ nominees and cutting out live performances of the ‘Best Song’ category.  Here’s a quick rundown and analysis of the probable winners and my personal choices for each of the major categories.

Actress in a Supporting Role
Mo’Nique in Precious
Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air
Penélope Cruz in Nine
Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart

Wie’s Choice: Mo’Nique
Precious is a film that makes its mark because of the characters it portrays.  One of the strongest performances is from Mo’Nique, who plays the mother in Precious.  Some may be critical in that her role can come off as overacted and a bit simplified, yet from a pure acting vantage point, Mo’Nique delivers a terrifying performance that sometimes comes off as villainous, yet in the end, the complexity of her nature is brought forth in a powerful confrontational sequence between her and Precious that changes the overall perspective of the film.

Who Will Probably Win: Mo’Nique
Mo’Nique has won every major acting award for best supporting actress.  Most likely, the closest contenders to her are the terrific performances of Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air and Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart yet the power of Mo’Nique’s scenes and the amount of ample room given to her to passionately act gives her the most likely edge for the award along with her numerous other accolades this past year.

Actor in a Supporting Role
Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds
Christopher Plummer in The Last Station
Matt Damon in Invictus
Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones
Woody Harrelson in The Messenger

Wie’s Choice: Christoph Waltz
What is the number one aspect remembered from Inglourious Basterds?  It could possibly be Brad Pitt’s hilarious role or the odd brutal scenes that Tarantino are known for, yet most likely, many will remember Christoph Waltz as Colonel Hans.  The role comes off initially as bizarre and frightening yet ends up being a compelling and unforgettable character that the audience at one moment may scream at yet in the next start to cautiously giggle with.  It’s a complex role that seems effortlessly played by Waltz and is well-deserved of the praise.

Who Will Probably Win: Christoph Waltz
In what may have started off as a surprise contender, Inglourious Basterds has been pretty prominent this award season.  Although the film’s wins may not be as notable as the number of nominations, Chirstoph Waltz has won every major acting award for Best Supporting Actor.  It would be quite a surprise to see him not take home the Oscar here.

Actress in a Leading Role
Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia
Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side
Helen Mirren in The Last Station
Gabourey Sidibe in Precious
Carey Mulligan in An Education

Wie’s Choice: Gabourey Sidibe
Gabourey Sidibe is the heart and soul of Precious, a film that would not have worked well without her presence.  It’s subdued as she begins the film mumbling her lines yet passionate in the way those words slowly transform into a confident young mother and woman.  The audience is never taken far aback by her attitude as the feelings become mutual and shared whether it is anger, pain, joy, or sorrow.  There is a huge range that was necessary for such a role and Sidibe takes it all in stride.  Her performance is a recognition of a powerful heart and soul necessary from such abuse and mature topics at hand, especially for a young actress as Sidibe.

Who Will Probably Win: Sandra Bullock
The Best Actress category has turned out to be quite an intriguing contention between Sidibe and Bullock.  Sidibe began as the headline and de facto winner of the award until The Blind Side made a late entrance into the award season where once, nearly always-thought-of-as comedian was given notice for a strong dramatic role.  Note, this has not been her first only-dramatic role yet the first where it has been so widely recognized.  Riding an underdog wave, Bullock has become much more of a front-runner for the award than ever.  Sidibe has only won the Golden Globe as her major acting award while Bullock has taken the majority of others from the Screen Actors Guild to the Critics Choice Award.  It will be close but Bullock looks to have the award locked in possibly more so than Sibidie.

Actor in a Leading Role
Morgan Freeman in Invictus
Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart
George Clooney in Up in the Air
Colin Firth in A Single Man
Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker

Wie’s Choice: Jeff Bridges
Bridges role as Bad Blake really is reminiscent of another contender from the prior year, Rourke in The Wrestler.  Both are shown as beaten down and lost in the earlier parts of the film and then goes on a path of redemption.  It’s a powerful piece of work set to a music-drama backdrop and his role is noteworthy perhaps almost as a character piece set up just for him.  He definitely deserves a win for his work in a sea of such heavy contenders, especially after all these years of being in the acting profession.

Who Will Probably Win: Jeff Bridges
Much like most of the other award predictions on this article, Bridges is poised to win because he has won a majority of major acting awards throughout the past few months from the Golden Globes to the Critics Award.  Perhaps more importantly, the Academy is acknowledging Bridges great performance in Crazy Heart and also his numerous years of nominations and popular work that has a nice range and variety from popular mainstream films like Iron Man to smaller roles as The Contender.  This would be his first Oscar win.

Animated Feature Film
Up (Pete Docter and Bob Peterson)
The Princess and the Frog (Ron Clements and John Musker)
Coraline (Henry Selick)
Fantastic Mr Fox (Wes Anderson)
The Secret of Kells (Tomm Moore)

Wie’s Choice: Up
Up is still one of my top films for 2009, being able to contend with the heavy hitters that most critics have pinned as their own favorites.  The people at Pixar, in general, are such masterful storytellers and being able to create CG animated features lets that characteristic shine bright and true year-after-year.  Some critics contend that Up has a weak second half that is confused in its direction yet the more time that the film has been sitting in my mind, I find the film coming together as one of Pixar’s most mature and memorable titles that can move from familial death to a talking dog without a flutter of an eye.  Their creativity and vision keeps me coming back to their work gleefully each and every year.

What Will Probably Win: Up
Up has won every major animated features award to date and the Academy seems to usually tip their hats to Pixar year-in and year-out without much worry.  The nice additional note is that an animated feature like Up finally have more of a chance be nominated for Best Picture as well.

Directing
Avatar (James Cameron)
The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow)
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)
Up in the Air (Jason Reitman)
Precious (Lee Daniels)

Wie’s Choice: Jason Reitman
Much of the discussion of Up in the Air will be discussed below in the Best Picture category.  Jason Reitman, as a director, though is a fascinating person to profile briefly.  This is only his second Oscar nomination for directing, his first being Juno, and he is a relatively young director.  Perhaps some may state he has time in his lifetime, he will have more chances win another Oscar or two and from the look of his films, he most likely will.  However, for a film that has been worked at in his head for years, much like Cameron has been thinking of Avatar in the same way, and his keen eye to wit and intelligent discussion, Up in the Air should be noted by the Academy with more than a nomination.

Who Will Probably Win: Kathyrn Bigelow
Much of the discussion about Avatar versus The Hurt Locker will be discussed below in the Best Picture section.  However, it is interesting to note how significant a win Bigelow would be if she does win.  This is her first major motion picture, and she is only the fourth female director to be nominated in this position.  A win for her would make her the first female director to win for best director.  Perhaps an added point, which some critics have considered to be insult to injury if she does win, is that she is James Cameron’s ex-wife.

Best Picture
Avatar (James Cameron and Jon Landau, producers)
District 9 (Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, producers)
An Education (Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, producers)
The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro, producers)
Inglourious Basterds (Lawrence Bender, producer)
Precious (Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, producers)
A Serious Man (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, producers)
Up in the Air (Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, producers)
The Blind Side (Gil Netter, Andrew A Kosove and Broderick Johnson, producers)
Up (Jonas Rivera, producer)

Wie’s Choice: Up in the Air
The top ten films have, mostly, quite a competition amongst them if I were to have any say in who gets the Oscar nod this year.  Indeed, picking up even the top three would be difficult as nearly each film has a special trait that carries them to the top.  However, in my personal opinion, the film that most affected and touched me is Up in the Air.  It may have lacked the action and suspense of The Hurt Locker or the visual spectacle of Avatar yet I feel it’s a film about the modern day that encompasses all the little themes of individualism and real human relationships against the bigger themes of modernization and the recession.  Peppered throughout it are fantastic performances, (especially from Clooney, one of his career best) great cinematography, well-intentioned edits, and a smart, witty script that still manages to buoy between excessive and not enough.  I still feel it’s the 2009 film that will define the past decade with characters that many modern adults, young and old, can relate to.

What Will Probably Win: The Hurt Locker
David vs. Goliath is the popular headline for this year’s Oscars.  Although the film nominations may have increased to ten, to be blunt, the move does seem to reek more of a marketing ploy to try and get more viewers to see the Oscars.  If it actually meant more of a competition, the eight other films would stand more of a fighting chance yet, unless by some miraculous intervention, the winner will go to either Avatar or The Hurt Locker.  Avatar has two big elements on its side – the biggest box office revenue in film history to date and the winner of the Golden Globe for Best Picture.  The Oscar chances for The Hurt Locker can be attributed to sweeping the rest of the major Best Picture awards from the BAFTAs to the Spirit Awards.  Most likely, the award will tilt towards David in this case.  However, critics have been lambasting the Academy for not being more keen to how the film audience acts much as in the case of the previous Oscars where the Academy shunned The Dark Knight nearly completely from nominations.  Yet a counterargument to this would be that the Academy widened the nomination count to ten to include films that would not have originally had a chance of being nominated and Avatar was a shoe-in as a nomination in the top five to begin with either way and so in many voters’ minds, this may concede that point.  This points to signs having The Hurt Locker as the winner.

The Academy Awards begins Sunday, March 7th.  Check your local stations for specific times.

WoW cosplay girl in Taiwan. (By swanky)

The ten million player massive multiplayer online roleplaying (RPG) game World of Warcraft has long dominated the MMORPG charts. But what is so enthralling about a game that has, effectively, brought the end to ten documented lives?

Well, let me explain. I started playing WoW several years ago, one year before the first expansion. World of Warcraft has been an interesting experience over the years; meeting new people from all over Europe has caused my “WoW” group on MSN to be just as great as my “Real life” group. So one could say I’m a seasoned player!

You enter the game as a character in one of two major fations. The barbaric Horde side or the valiant Alliance. You get to choose between five different races per faction; the noble humans of Azeroth; gnomes of Gnomregon; dwarves of Ironforge; the humble night elves and the dranei, for the Alliance. The Horde offer the shamanistic orcs, trolls and tauren; also the sinister undead and pretty looking blood elves. Each race has it’s own different traits and skills which contribute to the gameplay. You’re then asked to choose a class which all offer a unique play style with different, some classes offer multiple roles such as using spells to kill, or to heal other players, such as priest or paladin.

The reputation WoW has for being a excitingly cool game usually starts at level one. You begin the game in the homeland of your chosen race in Azeroth. You are given jobs and tasks by non-computer players (NPCs) and eventually progress through the land of Azeroth as you gain experience points for completing tasks, killing monsters or participating in player versus player combat (PVP). You’ll accumulate gold as you work your way through Azeroth, which can be used to purchase weapons, armour and such, however the greatest rewards are given through quest completion and that which ’bosses’ drop when you defeat them. Eventually you’ll leave Azeroth for further lands as you gain higher levels, untill eventually you ding level 80, the level cap. Arguably this is where the game truly begins.

Once level 80 you’ll be given new tasks which are harder and more advanced than such as you faced while levelling up. Huge dungeons which take hours  to complete will open up to you. The idea is to band up with other level 80s and working together, each performing their role, in order to slay bosses, which could be dragons, giants, demonlords and most other fantasy creatures. These bosses drop items in which are awarded to the players, the items have stats which increase the effectiveness of spells and abilities used by the players – a greater health pool or mana (which is an expendable resource in which magic users perform their spells out of ), or increased endurance or damage in the form of strength, stamina and agility. The more of the right stats you get, the more effective your character becomes, and the far more cooler it becomes.

Guilds, which are player associations, are formed in WoW and often are always competing to be the better guild. Whether this means they have downed more bosses than the other, completed more achievements or are considered to be more skilled in PVP. Depending on what server you play on, should it be a low or high populated one, you can find brute competition between guilds, though it is most common amongst PVE guilds (Player versus environment which focus on completing dungeons and achievements within them). Guilds will spend hours upon hours every week in these dungeons. I myself was in a semi-hardcore raiding guild (another term for PVE guild) and raided up to 30 hours a week over the period of four days. The challenges give a sense of reward when completed and is generally very enjoyable. I took the role of shadow priest, which involved casting a series of spells upon the target in order to damage them, and managed to become quite effective in my role. There is a  certain cool factor to walking around in all your new gear, other players wish they had such and often get jealous or envious – which encourages the competitive play.

However THE most, undeniably competitive feature of the game which has proven to END LIVES is the player versus player mode. You enter a battleground, as they call them, and are faced with members of the opposite faction, this comes in 10 versus 10 modes and up to 40 versus 40. And you have the arena system where you reap the greatest rewards tailor made for destroying other players, while not being as squishy yourself. Arena comes in 2v2, 3v3 and 5v5.  The game here becomes fast. You need to think quickly and. With the right combination and tactics you’ll have it, but it’s not easy. Here is the part of the game which builds the greatest stresses and anxieties. You’ll gain rating for winning, and lose rating for losing. The bigger the rating, the better the rewards. Depending on how serious you take it, and most people that aim high are quite serious about it, it can’t even be that fun, but you do it anyway. The more rating you get, the better you are, the more you have to show off and become the best on your server. Arena games can last from a mere 30 seconds to 45 minutes, insanely stressful matches which involve one player healing the other who’s duty it is to kill the others. Tactics have become very complex depending on what setups you are or face. I personally have “nerd raged”, as they say, upon losing a match, it can be very close and invoke a lot of anger should you lose. The issue regarding this is that it can spur some utterly dreadful behaviour. For example, a father comes to ask his son who is currently playing an arena match, what he wants for tea and he snaps. It’s true, and happened to me too, sadly to say! I lost my mind and yelled at my dad telling him to “F*** off!”. Not too good, I was midgame and in pure concentration, though that is no excuse for such behaviour.

Often World of Warcraft has been a game that requires a lot of attention should you wish to play it to it’s full extent and it can become the dominant force in someone’s life, thus becoming like a drug to them which they must endulge in. Progressing and becoming better and better, enthralled, while letting their real life deteriorate and suffer. It’s not all true though, not everyone is bound to this online world that participate in it; however most are more addicted than they like to admit.

Another side to World of Warcraft that continues the immersion to another level is the roleplaying side. Blizzard setup roleplaying servers when they created WoW. Here communities of players will be found who immerse themselves in their character and effectively become their character. This is another form of escapism in the online world. Rachel from Glasgow may have the chance to become Zanasia, Paladin of the Alliance, ridding the world of the foul evil taint that is the Horde, for example. Large plots can develop amongst these communities and huge achieves of stories created, each role-playing server becomes it’s own tailor made story by the very players. It can go fairly deep, and into all kinds of role-playing. Characters get married, attend events such as parties, balls, join forces with other roleplaying guilds to create alliances. Political associations emerge, criminals, murderers. Everything. It’s a very interesting part of the game which can be very enjoyable should you wish to participate in it. My research has proven that these people are simply ordinary people in life from the ages of 14 up to what I’ve seen 40+!

Often World of Warcraft has been a game that requires a lot of attention should you wish to play it to it’s full extent and it can become the dominant force in someone’s life, thus becoming like a drug to them which they must endulge in. Progressing and becoming better and better, enthralled, while letting their real life deteriorate and suffer. It’s not all true though, not everyone is bound to this online world that participate in it; however most are more addicted than they like to admit. All factors of the game become addictive, to the most the PVP battlegrounds and arenas; the long fights in dungeon instances and to many the roleplaying aspect. It’s often found, though, players log into World of Warcraft and find themselves merely standing around their city, most claim to be bored. I find myself bored a lot on WoW, but that doesn’t seem to take the whole idea of fun out of it, it’s a strange feeling like logging on can keep you content to an extent.

So it’s all fun and games, or is it something more? It would seem World of Warcraft is not just a game, it’s a community of people working together in order to achieve. An online environment where people work alongside and against each other. It’s a land that people go to escape the harsh modern life, and become what their imagination can lead them to. It’s a social environment where friendship, love and hate is inspired, you will meet people you like, dislike and in some cases romance is found. Some put in more than others, even if it can be self-inflicting to them, allowing reality to fall apart. Many simply hang around waiting on something to do. Whatever it is, it’s something to be reckoned with. Good or bad? My final judgement is that it’s down to the player, if someone dies from jumping out a window claiming to meet their WoW character in death (which really happened, a boy jumped out a 24 story building to see his WoW toon) they clearly have mental issues to be assessed. It’s capable of a lot of enjoyment, even when playing casually. Though of course you won’t be able to compete for the best, but still, a lot of fun to be had. Just remember to keep it real in Azeroth.

In your typical hardcore PVE guild, which is quite a minority, you will see players sit for up to 4-6 hours every night of the week progressing through these dungeons.

The clock was slowly approaching midnight of January 30 and the Alley Cat was packed to the brim. Fans, friends, and family were standing shoulder to shoulder all with the same goal in mind: to dance and have a great time. Baby Baby was playing the crowd’s favorite songs including “London Bridges,” “The Sandwich Song,” and “Twenty Dollars.” A few songs into the set and Fate decided to take over, the PA system blew and vocals went out…

For most bands, this is a problem. For Baby Baby, this only means that the band is going to have to accept forty plus more members. Without skipping a beat, the band continued to play and the crowd took over vocals. What a sight to be seen; imagine forty, even fifty people with their faces painted belting out the words to every single Baby Baby song in a crowded bar. There were people standing on amps, people on chairs, people on tables and all were dancing! Some people grabbed random objects and banged on the drums with Grant, others had tambourines and cowbells playing as loud as they could. And those who did not have anything to make some sort of noise with clapped their hands high over their heads and wore huge smiles. I think we all know where the good times on the weekends are when you are here in Carrollton.

For those whom may not know, Baby Baby is a local band who plays “fun rock”, and indeed it is fun. The band members include Grant Wallace on drums, Fontez Brooks on lead vocals and guitar, and Kyle Dobbs on bass and back-up vocals. This three piece band formed together over the summer of 2009 and has not slowed down since their debut performance. They have played numerous shows all around the metro Atlanta area and have obtained a very faithful fan base. Those who attend one show often show signs of being bitten by what the band and fans call “the Swagmonsta.”

Baby Baby is definitely a band that is more than just the three people on the stage, they are everyone that comes to a show and wants to have a good time. Baby Baby are the people who bang on tables and walls to the beat of the drums. Baby Baby are the people who jump on stage during “We Do This All Night Long” and dance until they can dance no more. Baby Baby are the people who scream out all the lyrics at the top of their lungs into the microphones alongside the band themselves.

They have a new C.D. out called “Long Live the Swagmonsta,” accompanied by a music video shot by our very own Terence Rushin for their song, “The Sandwich & I Thought We Were Friends.” On the C.D. you will hear a number of their fans performing for the band. Even on their music video, they made sure to have plenty of their fans join them for the shoot.

Baby Baby is without a doubt a must see show for all those whom are looking to have a great time and get their face painted. Make sure to bring your dancing pants though because once the music starts, I warn that you will not be able to stop.

If you would like updates on upcoming shows, a chance to check out some of their music, or view their music video, you can visit their Myspace page at: www.myspace.com/babybabylovesyou You can also fan them on Facebook and get updates on what the members of the band are up to.

Free album download: LONG LIVE THE SWAGMONSTA

Free sample song: London Bridges

Music video: The Sandwich and I thought We Were Friends

By Lear Johnson. Used with permission from The West Georgian, The on-campus newspaper of The University of West Georgia.

Now days, this could not be further from the truth. The average age of a gamer is now 33 years old (as is shown here). It is because of this the game journalism industry must mature as well.

Gamers love games. To an extent I’ve never seen with any other area of interest. They hold them close to the very centre of their being. So much so, that an attack on a beloved game or on games themselves is a personal attack. This could be for many reasons. One could be that when we play a game we are almost always having a different experience to someone else who has played the same game. This is never the case with any other form of entertainment (or art). Although movies, literature and music can be interpreted in many ways the consumer is always having exactly the same experience as the next person. Not so for video games. This personalizes games for the player in a unique way. What do we do with uniquely enjoyable experiences? We cherish them.

I’m writing because video game journalism is crying out for help. It’s a poor little baby left in the supermarket, a lost dog, a grandparent collapsed on the bathroom floor. This is not news. Game journalism’s immaturity has been analyzed by many people in the industry. Chris Buffa’s first attempt to determine what is wrong with game journalism was titled simply “Why Videogame Journalism sucks” . The crux of his problem with game journalism was that it doesn’t attract the best writers. Why would a talented up and coming journalist write for IGN when he/she could write for The Times, Sports Illustrated or Variety? A good point, but would like to determine what it is exactly that makes the current batch of video game news publications and “journalists” so biased and opinionated.

Gaming culture is full of opinion, which is fantastic. Nothing is better for a gamer than arguing their point of view on a particular game or industry development. It is the reason for the popularity of the blog format. However it is for this reason that game journalists are so biased. Their passionate opinions seep through the cracks and into their writing. It is our very love for video games that is damaging the way in which they are reported. Yet the readers love it, they feed off the sarcasm, the wit. It’s entertaining, yet misleading. Do we see The Times forcing their point of view on the reader? No, they respect their readership, allowing them to make up their own mind. I’ve been an avid gamer for most of my life and I have rarely seen this type of reporting in the game media. “Opinion pieces” also known as “feature articles” are passing for news reporting. Game journalism needs to evolve.

1. Jimi Hendrix - Undoubtedly the best now and forever. He gave the world the true meaning of being a rock guitarist. I consider him the most unique, original, and innovative guitar player. His solos were not very exceptional compared to some of today’s other guitarists, but they were definitely original. He must be regarded as the Creator, the inventor of today’s type of riffs and solos. I am speechless to describe him further.

2. Eric Clapton - A very exquisite guitar player. His riffs and solos are so expressive that you truly feel his emotions from his guitar. I would regard him as the best currently living legend in Rock. His compositions such as “Layla” or “Tears in Heaven” are so beautiful and emotional that its impossible to play these with as much feeling and expression as Mr. Clapton.

3. Jimmy Page - A complete Rockstar! The most versatile of the lot. He has given us such deep and soft riffs like “Stairway to Heaven” and harder riffs like “When the Levee Breaks” and “Kashmir.” His solos are also very impressive and he should be regarded as the beginning of the era of Hard Rock.

4. Stevie Ray Vaughan - He revived the Blues genre of the 1980′s. His songs were so inspiring and magical that we can’t omit him from any such rankings.

5. Steve Vai - The “Talking Guitarist” as I call him. He proved his skills and originality in various songs and live performances. He has always done different great things with his band and the tremolo has been his speciality.

6. Blackmore - “Smoke On The Water”, “Highway Star”, “Space Truckin” and many more! It’s hard to forget this guitarist. Blackmore was such an extremely talented guitar player that his riff in “Smoke On The Water” might be the best guitar riff in Rock history. And so does it truly deserve to be.

7. David Gilmour - What can I say about him! Such beautiful solos that you feel he wants to say something to you via his guitar. His solo in “Comfortably Numb” and also “Time” are perfect examples of what I am talking about. Definitely deserves a spot on the list.

Some Honourable Mentions: Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, Brian May , Paul Gilbert, Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, Slash, BucketHead, Keith Richards, Eric Johnson And Kirk Hammett, yngwie malmsteen

Contributed by BeARockr

The Path - a short horror game by Tale of Tales

When I announce to someone I’ve recently met that I study and design video games I quite often get puzzled looks. ‘Really?’ they say. ‘You’re devoting your whole life to games? Errr… Why?’ It is at this point I take a breath, ready myself and begin my rant. I’m pretty proud of this rant; it can go on for quite some time and I’ve put a lot of work into it. It includes everything from Aristotle’s Catharsis theory to psychological theories of escapism and its importance. I deliver this rant with all the passion I have in my body. By the grand finale I’m puffing and sweating at the brow. I look up, awaiting the response to my perfected monologue. ‘But in the end, it’s just a game isn’t it? I mean, has there ever been a meaningful game?’

It is this question that always shuts me up. I stumble and stammer whilst I desperately search for my perfect example. I suggest that Super Mario Bros was actually a social commentary exploring the detrimental effects of illegal substances. That doesn’t work. I suggest Tetris was actually a socio-political demonstration of the self-destructive nature of capitalism. No luck there either. I point out Dominic’s moving love story in Gears of War 2. I’m met with laughter. No matter how hard I try, I can’t tell them of a truly artistic, meaningful game. That is, until now!

Believe me when I say The Path will be unlike anything you have ever played before. That I can guarantee. It flips and reverses the way you have become used to experiencing interactive media for so long. The Path is essentially an interactive re-telling of the famous Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale. Using the template and themes of the story it shows the player that the path to womanhood can be experienced in very different ways depending on the woman herself. At the beginning of the game you are met with a room of six very different sisters named in the vein of something red. You must choose between Scarlet, Rose, Ruby, Ginger, Carmen or Robin to begin their journey. For an independently developed game the visuals in The Path are very evocative, especially the on-screen art around the edges of your view which constantly shifts. Once you have chosen a sister you are set on your path with only two instructions: visit your sick grandmother and don’t stray from the path! The first time I played through I couldn’t help but notice various movements and glows of light in the edges of the forest, but I continued on. I arrived at grandmother’s house, safe and sound. However, at the end, I was told I failed and received no score! This confused me immensely! When I thought about it, I realized the designer was trying to tell me something. The path to womanhood is never straight forward and without conflict. I realized I had to disobey my instructions and take these sisters through the forest so they could mature into adults before arriving at grandmother’s house. What lies within the forest is completely unique to each sister, but the last thing I want to do is spoil this incredibly moving and (for me at least) educating experience. Each sister must face their wolf and most do not change for the better.

If you believe you are someone who appreciates artistic expression, whether it be through canvas, film, music or literature, do yourself a favor and purchase this game. It may well be the game that changes your view on video games forever. Hopefully, one day, I’ll never have to answer the ignorant question ‘But it’s just a game isn’t?’ again!

The plot itself was more than just a bit disturbing to a pre-schooler, Martians descend and kidnap Santa along with two small children so that Mars can have Christmas just like the planet Earth does. I remember that was creepy enough to begin with but when these men in green tights and antennas actually showed up on the North Pole, froze all of Santa’s elves and Mrs. Claus with their laser guns I began to get a pit in my stomach. They froze Mrs. Claus! As I think about it now that was probably the single greatest act of disrespect the entertainment industry would perpetrate until Mork did the same to Fonzie more than a decade later.

What also bothered me greatly while watching this film was that Santa just passively followed the Martian orders to board their spaceship without so much as a scuffle. In doing so he left his elves, Mrs. Claus and all of us kids awaiting Christmas behind. Sure he was outnumbered and they had laser guns and a big mean robot but couldn’t he at least have sicked the reindeer on them or something? I can only surmise that the antiwar movement of the time had co-opted the script.

At the film’s most desperate moment Santa is imprisoned on the Martians’ spaceship, the point at which I remember whispering to my brother “I wanna go now.” Being a worldly eleven year old and an expert in five year old psychology he came back with “let’s just stay a little longer to see if Santa gets away”

Of course Santa did get sprung, thanks in large part to a Holiday friendly Martian named Dropo who through the use of bubbles and carefully aimed toys helped him to defeat the bad Martian Voldar and Christmas was both preserved on Earth and discovered on Mars. (Lets not forget the title here, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. It wasn’t exactly hyped as a mystery flick.)

The ending soundtrack to this gem is among the most bizarre in film history. Lyrics fill the screen and a chorus of children sing :

Hang up that Mistletoe,
Soon You’ll here Ho Ho Ho,
On Christmas Day,
You’ll Wake Up and You’ll Say,
Hooray for Santy Claus,
S-A-N-T-A C-L-A-U-S
Hooray for Santy Claus,

Santy Claus?

As best I can remember Santa and the Martians played in the theaters at Christmas time for maybe one or two years to follow and then hit a long hiatus. So long that for a good twenty-five years or so nobody seemed to believe the story I just told. There couldn’t have possibly been such a movie. I was making it up for laughs. I dreamt it. It was some other movie I went to when I was five but remembered it wrong. Or I simply hallucinated it. The more I insisted that there had been such a movie the more my credibility seemed to be dismissed.

Finally in the 1990s Cable TV dusted off Santa Claus Conquers the Martians for a new generation as Comedy Central aired the flick as did Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Mystery? There we go again, see film title please) and the true legacy of Santa and the Martians finally had its rightful place in history. And as the Internet took wing and the Youtubes of the world began to display actual footage of the movie this irrefutable evidence inspired more baby boomers to suddenly remember seeing the movie just like I did. It became sort of like an “I was there when we beat the Russians in Hockey” thing.

Then came the lists of the worst movies of the twentieth century and Santa and the Martians seemed to be prominently displayed on all them.

So today you can find Santa Claus Conquers the Martians on DVD just about anywhere and be watching it no time, which is precisely what my family and I have done this Holiday Season. And when you do you’ll notice one more unique feature. The opening title actually misspells Santa Claus as Santa Clause. Its clearly a movie with a gift that keeps giving.

In part because it spent so long in hiding I believe that Santa Claus Conquers the Martians should now be permanent Holiday Americana, every bit as deserving of a spot in the December DVD basket along with Its a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street and White Christmas. Unlike those tear jerkers we’ve all seen a million times this one can really make you laugh. If nothing else its a friendly Holiday reminder that sometimes in life the best comedies are the involuntary ones.

To read or post opinions on this subject or others visit www.soundofftoamerica.com

Textual Intercourse, a new book by Beob

I’m certainly not one of these people who pushes their chest out and proudly says, “Oh I can’t be arsed with texting, if I’ve got something to say then I’ll just ring ‘em!”, as if they should receive some sort of medal for being so utterly, uncreative.  These people (usually men) have seriously missed the point if they think the only thing the text message is to be used for, is practical purposes.  These very people could really benefit from discovering the joys of putting thumb to keypad and getting those pent up feelings out in the open airwaves.  Their girlfriends would be chuffed.

This is the thing that I love about text.  We all find it hard to say the things that are closest to our hearts, especially us Brits, which is why letter writing has always been a great way to express your feelings.  But writing a letter is an event in itself.  With texting, your mobile becomes the pen and paper that you carry around all the time.  It has suddenly become easy to pen down those things that you’ve been trying to say for years, in a few simple words.

Of course it doesn’t always run as smoothly as that.  The text phenonomen has opened up a whole other set of politics to deal with.  After receiving about 15 blank text messages from my Mum the other day, I text her to ask why.  She said it was because she was trying to put me at the top of her most texted list because something was going wrong with her phone and another man, that she never texts was at the top and she didn’t want her boyfriend to see.  I didn’t even know there was such a thing as “a most texted list”.

My Dad is a whole different story.  It has taken him 10 years to come round to the idea of predictive text and he still hasn’t figured out how to change “On” to “No” so instead writes “Negative”.  Then the other day I received this message from him K.cumt.  I’ve no idea what it was meant to say and was almost not the sort of message you want to receive from your Dad.  My Dad’s all time greatest text has got to be, Grandma died at 7. Not even a kiss!  Please don’t feel sad for me, it actually made me smile.  It’s just my Dad’s style.

My Dad’s phone once started doing something funny.  It started randomly sending messages out of its sent box or maybe even its inbox, I have no idea; I’ve never had the stomach to bring it up.  The first few I received were alright but still a bit too intimate for comfort, the next were pretty damn horrible to receive.  Urghhh, it wasn’t a good day.

That’s probably the worst thing about text messages; the whole texting the wrong person scenario.  What about when you’re sending a really bitchy text message about someone and because you’re thinking about that person so much you end up actually sending the message to the person you’re bitching about?  A colleague of mine has just fallen victim to this.  Our boss was sacked and she was so happy she sent a text saying as much, and went and sent it to the boss.  Oops!

I’ve got to take this opportunity to mention Shane Warne, who is the class idiot of texting.  Geez this guy loves to text!  What is he doing?  For anyone who hasn’t heard about the Australian cricketer’s texting faux-pas’, I will explain.  Married Shane Warne’s lust-induced text messages sent to a variety of women, have been regularly splashed across the papers.  So much so that it was a total joke.  Anyway, this culminated in the famous cricketer winning his appeal to his wife and convincing her to try again, despite her having seen the filth her husband had been texting other women.  However, just to add a perfect tabloid-fairytale ending to it all, only 2 months after their reconciliation, the distracted bowler added a bit of a spin to the proceedings and sent a text to his wife that was meant for yet another woman.  His wife then went on to publicly shame the “loser”.

Hey beautiful, I’m just talking to my kids, the back door’s open.”

She replied with “You loser, you sent the message to the wrong person.”

It could have been worse, I suppose. He could have sent his wife one of his legendary, testosterone-fuelled messages yet somehow this is so much worse though.  He’s texting from his family home whilst talking to his kids yet arranging his lover to slip in through the back-door in order to pleasure his sticky wicket. This is probably the same door that his kids run out of everyday to play cricket in the garden, so they can be just like daddy; or the same door his wife goes to hang his over-used scruds, lovingly out to dry.  Shane Warne is obviously just incapable of complying with the L.B.W rule; Love Before Willy.

Here are some of my favourite Warne texts;

“I want to kick your puppy”. Kiss?  Pussy?

It was amazing? How good was our sex F***ing very hot! My turn to come please tell me how I should think of you!

Sex fucking?  Is this an Aussie phrase?  Also, the lack of punctuation makes things very confusing.

Really? Rain? What about i meet you somewhere in the open and you can be standing there in the rain i can come meet you in the rain and then X

It is amazing to me that he hasn’t given up on the SMS altogether.  Why hasn’t he realised that his love of text is landing him in hot crocodile-infused water?  He seems to be somewhat addicted.  The University of Queensland in Australia (perhaps in a desperate bid to understand the Nation’s hero’s idiocy)  has found that text messaging is the most addictive digital service on mobile or internet, and is equivalent in addictiveness to cigarette smoking.  The need to text has even got a name; “Reachability”, which is the need to feel connected.  If only Shane Warne had known that all he had to do to win his wife back, was to explain his “Reachability” issues!   In January 2009, a teenage girl set a record high of 14,528 text messages in a one month period.  That’s Warne’s kind of woman.

Shane sounds like my kind of man though; he matches my enthusiasm for texting.  It’s this enthusiasm that has driven me to spend the last year roaming the country, trying to get into the most intimate of places; The Inbox.  I have explored various methods of convincing people to release their phones to me, usually involving alcohol.  I’ve stolen, pleaded, black-mailed and sold myself in part-exchange in order to get the best texts around, and all for your entertainment.  I promise every single text message you will see is absolutely genuine, down to the punctuation and amount of kisses.  So please enjoy reading in the knowledge of that.  During this entertaining year of collecting texts, I’ve also had a good team of pals that have been on the look out for great texts and new texting trends.

Whilst out drinking the other night, my friend told me about this new game that’s going around, called the “I love you” game.  In this game, each participant takes out their phone and writes a text saying I love you.  Everyone then passes their phone to the person on their left and without looking, the message is sent to a person at random.  Can you imagine?  Which genius/sicko came up with this game?

So we decided to play the “I love you” game, only we changed it slightly.  Instead, we text There’s always been something between us, don’t you think?. Now I’ve got to warn you, there’s something spooky going on with this game; the message always, always, always seems to get sent to the worst person it possibly could.  Mine got sent to an old family friend.  The only family friend I have in my phone.  Horrible!  Another participant sent it to his ex-girlfriend’s Mum.  Certainly, not for the faint-hearted!

The other week my boyfriend made the mistake of leaving his phone with his friends in the pub.  When he got it back he found this message in his sent box; I want to bum dad. It was sent to his Mum.

It’s a dangerous game this text malarkey and the text-dating world is no exception.  It really is a minefield.  You think you have it all sorted and you know exactly what you’re doing and then wham, suddenly; silence, no beep,beep, no sodding reply.  Just over a year ago, before I got with my boyfriend, I met this guy who I quite liked.  We’d had a bit of flirt, lingering eye-contact and even did that thing where you purposefully brush your hand against one-another whilst talking to someone else; so I got his number off his mate.  It burnt a hole in my phone all the following day but I knew I couldn’t text him straight away.  Hey man, I’m no amateur!  I did however spend all day geekily figuring out what I was going to write.  I thought I was so bloody clever!

Hi Aaron, just thought I’d let you know you left without taking your goody bag the other night, so I think you should come around and get it.  Love Beob xx

I mean it wasn’t a lie.  He did leave without taking his goody bag, but then so did everyone else because I was too leathered to give them out.  Waiting for a reply, I started to question myself; Did I have the right number?  Did I imagine the hand-brushing thing?  Was my cute, little impression of the Wizard of Oz munchkins not cute at all and in fact the most cringeable, embarrassing thing I could have ever done? The reply never came. Humiliating or what?  My only chance of saving any dignity was not to give in to the temptation of sending a second text.  NEVER SEND A SECOND TEXT.

Well did I send a second text?  Of course not.  I told you I was no amateur.  I have seen him since though.  My first mistake was spelling his name wrong.  Lazy work Beob!  He has also told me since that he had never received such a suggestive text message and didn’t really know how to respond.  I definitely misjudged the situation.  Then again, if this really was the most suggestive text he’d ever received then he certainly wasn’t the one for me!  I should have known when he got his guitar out for a sing-song.  He probably rolls his own sushi.  Oh no, that was someone else.  My new text/dating rule is, ‘If in doubt, don’t text!’  It’s a goodie, take it on board.

But it’s all in the name of fun, isn’t it?  In fact my only criticism of text is that you get so many great texts that you can’t possibly keep them all.  Maybe it was the desire to keep all my favourites in a collection that spurred me on to writing, oh wait sorry no, compiling this book.  This book has a hundred different authors and that’s what’s great about text; everyone’s a writer, and I have them all to thank for letting me snoop through their most intimate messages.  Incidentally, writing this book was a great excuse when I was caught, red-handed, going through my boyfriend’s inbox!

Beob is the author of Textual Intercourse. You may find more information about the book at: www.textualintercourse.co.uk

Director: Joel & Ethan Coen
Running Time: 105 minutes
Rated: R

Bad luck.  Karma.  Fate.  The wrath of the god(s).  These are just a few of the basic terms that the human race has used to try and signify those terrible happenings that befall them whether it ranges from the trivial, such as that one morning Joe cannot find his keys and runs late for work, to the traumatic, where Sue makes a wrong turn and is stranded in the middle of the forest alone with no supplies.  It really is a fascinating study to try to really figure out the sheer range of beliefs and values people hold and that is a part of what the Coen brothers tackle in their latest film, A Serious Man.  The film may seem narrowly targeted with its Jewish references and 1960s background along with an utterly insane and sporadic plot, but those that can past the aesthetics will be pleasantly surprised at not only the dark hilarity of the chaos the protagonist runs into but the intriguing narrative arc the Coens string together with their commentary on life, karma, and the individual.

A Serious Man is centered on the life of Larry (Michael Stuhlbarg), a married Jewish professor who tries to do his best to live a stable life in both his job and family.  However, he soon runs into his ‘black cat’ of bad luck as everything in his life starts to run awry.  Larry’s wife, Judith (Sari Lennick) files for a divorce and wants to remarry his acquaintance, Sy (Fred Melamed); his son (Aaron Wolf) is getting high on marijuana with his school mates right before his Bar Mitzvah; and one of his students, a Korean, has bribed and threatened him because of a low test grade the student received.  And that is just the tip of the iceberg.  Larry’s journey soon takes him around town to get advice from the rabbis, his friends, his brother (Richard Kind), and many others while trying to figure how to solve one problem while into quite a bit more.

The film missteps itself, mostly, in terms of its structure and periphery characters.  The Coen brothers, intentionally, created a very sporadic film that is definitely linked in terms of several narrative arcs yet still are very loose in their connections.  Although the audience is supposed to link them all together by the end through their own intuition, there still does not seem to be a smart transition or clear linkage made clear to the audience that ends up being more confusing than enlightening.  Much like some of the brothers’ past films, some scenes seem too obtuse and perhaps included for laughs for the production staff, rather than having any value to the audience and narrative.

This bleeds into the lack of importance of many side characters.  There are a great deal of them throughout the film, each really serving as a specific plot device, yet again, the sheer number of them makes them seem underutilized and some brilliant conceptions seem more interesting than the bigger characters.  For instance, the story with Larry’s brother, Arthur, seems not as interesting as compared to Mr. Brandt, a passive-aggressive individual in which Larry develops a fear for as a Jew-hater, capped with a hilarious dream sequence.  However, his purpose seems to set up only for that one sequence rather than expanded into an actual role, which is unfortunate.  This rides on for several other strong, smaller characters where their strengths could have been played, not only for more laughs, but as conduits in strengthening the plot.

Yet unlike perhaps some of the more abstract or confusing films from the Coen Brothers, A Serious Man strikes the right chord with the audience in revealing their intentions and still giving room for viewers to muse at the core themes: the result of a smart script and main characters that melds the humor and symbolism concurrently.  The culture and background of the narrative is dipped heavily in the 1960s Jewish society.  There are a lot of terms thrown around that seem to fly over the heads of those not in the know of Jewish traditions, yet the Coen Brothers smartly do not use this to create an exclusive piece for the culturally sound but as a backdrop to parody, analyze, and criticize larger, broader institutions and beliefs while still giving those culturally enriched audience members even more to laugh about.

The script is really to thank for this.  Every scene is over-the-top in some form with little downtime in between yet not to the point where the film is considered completely fantastical but just exaggerated to the right degree.  The proof comes when the viewer is tricked, several times, between reality and the dreamscape in what makes for some of the film’s best sequences as the Coens are free to play with reality at will.  In addition, the humor, as dark and hilarious as it can get, always stands to complement, not overshadow, the central narrative point of these increasingly misfortunate events.  A scene involving Larry’s son smoking with one of his friends in the boy’s restroom becomes a wacky yet integral point later on that connects the father-son duo in more ways from the source of the drugs to the relationship that is implied.

This smart script is transferred to the richness of the main characters and a few of the important periphery characters along with the real actors behind them.  Melamed and Lennick, as Sy and Judith, make such a hilarious foil to Larry. Melamed’s rich and baritone voice in the beginning that is played on for laughs as it becomes completely angry and frightening by the end of the film, while Lennick plays the multi-faced wife who changes masks quickly dependent on the situation.  And yet, once again, even with all their sporadic humor, their presence all makes sense in Larry’s life.  This transfers over to the surprising main co-protagonist: Danny, the son played nicely by Wolf in a lackadaisical fashion.  He is a child that is constantly high and has a lack of much will power yet still unconsciously becomes an extension to Larry through his actions.  Plot points start to flow from Larry to Danny naturally right under the audience’s noses until their connection is revealed in the final act.  And Larry, who has been repeated enough times throughout this review is more than well-played by Stuhlbarg.  He starts off as such a simple figure of a man, living a ‘normal’ life that becomes more and more complicated and layered in which the audience could praise him in one scene and suddenly horrified by his actions in the next.  This tension of the character’s motivations is played all the way until the very end in which the audience has to pull all the scenes together and analyze exactly what happened.  And that is what makes the film so intricately brilliant and fascinating as Larry becomes this symbolic lighting rod for a bevy of themes from the purposes of religion in one’s life to the role of the family figurehead to the range or lack of free will in life, just to name a few.

A Serious Man starts off as a weird, disjointed dark comedy that ends up being a tightly bound narrative, filled with insightful commentary and a string of dark but hilarious scenes.  Some may have trouble with the seemingly aimless structure and the outer appearances of the film, set in a 1960s suburbia that seems targeted towards the American-Jewish population (and of course, being knowledgeable about these references makes the scenes all the more honest and amusing) yet more than anything, the Coens use all these parts simply as background props to execute their sadistic yet humorous story that anyone with some religious background and encounter with some misfortunate events can attest to.  A well-written script and a host of memorable characters help to add and elevate this film simply beyond just another niche dark comedy but one that gives weight and thoughtfulness to its outcome.

The Wie muses: **** out of *****

Ratings:
*****: Excellent
**** to ****½: Great
*** to ***½: Good
** to **½: Mediocre
* to *½: Bad
0 to ½: Terrible

A Serious Man Youtube Trailer

Director: Jason Reitman
Running Time: 109 Minutes
Rated: R

This is a review, coming from the London Film Festival.  This film will be released on December 25th.

Every era, generation, and decade seems to have a film that is reflective of both the happenings and personalities of its time period whether it was intentionally or unintentionally done to be so.  These films seem to grasp the meaning of its period and literally create a time capsule around their plots and surprisingly, are not even meant to be documentaries.  Enter Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air, his third feature film that focuses in on individual action and a societal question concerning connection.  Perhaps even more importantly, Reitman encapsulates the past decade into the span of less than two hours through a clever script and great acting troupe that not only touches upon the economic and globalized world citizens live in today but also a good, real story about individualism versus the need to be loved.

Up in the Air follows Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), a corporate downsizing expert that literally is sent all around the nation to tell employees in various companies the bad news that they’re being laid off.  Additionally, he revels in travel without anything or anyone tying him down as he attempts to reach his dream of attaining the 10 million miles travel mark with American Airlines.  However, the situation changes when Natalie (Anna Kendrick) enters the company and introduces video conferencing as the wave of the future.  Not amused by the technology replacing his travels, Ryan takes Natalie on a training run of how the job is run, yet he gets more than he bargains for with dealing with a daughter-like figure and a new lover, Alex (Vera Farmiga) who he starts to fall in love with.

The shortcomings themselves are few and admittedly minuscule yet still noticeable in the overarching plot and characterizations.  The most obvious and perhaps debatable point is the plot’s weaker final act.  The film builds briskly with several plot points and actions coming at the audience succinctly.  However, a marriage scene begins to drag down the movie considerably and although its intention is clear, offsets the energy the movie was outputting and is severely noticeable due to this contrast from how the characters act to the general impact and revelations the act reveals.

The film is also bogged down here and there with some faulty, stereotypical characterizations both for characters and scenes that, again, jut out because when compared to the rest of the movie, feels forced and unnecessary.  Clichés like a club dance scene to the superficial nature of Natalie’s relationship feel like they could have been given more meat or simply glanced over as they do not provide much laughs or insight.

In comparison, though, Up in the Air really lives and breathes through its characters and smart plot.  First and foremost, the acting cast is a strong one from the supporting cast like Farmiga and Kendrick giving their female personalities unique backgrounds and performances with one being a masculine diva that plays like Bingham’s long-lost twin while the latter being a strong, forward thinker with a bit of naiveté.  However, Clooney does take most of the spotlight, and rightly so, with a fantastic performance as a narcissistic and outgoing traveler whose head is never quite on the ground.  He exudes a lot of charisma and personality yet brings a layer of uncertainty and sobriety that does coax out a performance full of little nuances, different from usually the cool and confident characters Clooney usually plays.

In addition, the script is full of wit and reality.  As mentioned before, this film is an indirect period piece of the recession and global traveler, motifs that are constant and pervasive as the film pushes forward.  From the opening montage of the sad faces and expressions of employees getting fired to the imagery of hundreds of computers with webcams lined up at Binhgam’s old workplace, it never forces the viewer to understand that the film itself is taking place here and now, but instead, there is a subtle realization that Up in the Air is a brilliant depiction of the present day and the effects they cause on each other concurrently.  On the other side is a very smart and personal story of a man with no people or commitments in his travel bag to being thrust with more and more of them as his journey progresses.  This is surrounded well with the main character being such a traveler and a motivational speaker, giving the film already some ironic and juicy material to work with.  There are a lot of smart and funny comments littered throughout that never feels out of place with the characters and the plot and delivering nicely crafted dialogue and scenes, until the final shot which perfectly summarizes the moment for Ryan Bingham and perhaps the current global audience.

This great personal story is complemented with a great eye for imagery and cinematography.  There are some gorgeous shots in the film that thematically and symbolically add to the central plot that again, focuses on the personal with the fired employees faces being front-and-center into the camera and the towering scene of the airport departure and arrival times looming against Bingham’s body in a high perspective shot.  It all adds up to a cohesive and well-presented package.

Up in the Air really is a reflection on the modern-day society and attacks it on many fronts to create another intriguing Reitman film about love, life, and happiness.  The greatest weakness is perhaps that the film’s last act starts to lose a bit of steam along with certain plot points, such as Natalie’s relationship, seeming more contrived than clever.  Yet this does little to bring down the marvelous performances of the cast, from Farmiga’s sexy yet masculine doppelganger acting to Clooney’s metamorphosis, to just the amount of themes the film touches upon from the advent of technology to the question of identity that the script never loses track of.  To top it off, there is some brilliant imagery to be had that not only is smartly framed but symbolically poignant.  Retiman should be commended for creating a period piece that will hopefully be remembered as being representative of the latter first decade of the 2000s not only because of its economic features but the reflection of the contemporary individual coping with life.

The Wie muses: **** out of *****

Ratings:
*****: Excellent
**** to ****½: Great
*** to ***½: Good
** to **½: Mediocre
* to *½: Bad
0 to ½: Terrible

Up in the Air Youtube Trailer

Washington DC's Wale is touring the US.

“Attention Deficit” by Wale.

After weeks of pushing the release of ‘Deficit,’ Washington DC-based artist Wale finally has a studio album under his already studded belt. The production team assembled to work this record, his first studio album, is no stranger to the music world. Mark Ronson was a co-producer in Amy Winehouse’s album “Back to Black,” which won Record of the Year and Song of the Year with the single “Rehab.” Wale also tapped fellow Grammy winner The Neptunes.

The record is as big and grandiose as the team that helped make it. “Triumph” rumbles to a start, filled with funky horns, busy hand drums and slick keys while the rapper reminds listeners, “Ladies and gentleman, I ain’t trying to be politically correct.” This combination of the soul-dripping track and his smooth, sometimes eager flow (at one point he pretends to be an auctioneer) leans toward authenticity and not commercial, Auto Tune-flooded music.

Wale plays off Snow White in “Mirrors,” a track featuring Bun B. The raw back beat is topped with slick guitar licks and, unlike the first track, the music remains constant. But Wale proves here that he can be catchy, even when he challenges his rapper peers “Mirror, mirror on the wall / Who the realest of them all / That ain’t hard, swear to god / These niggas ain’t real at all.”

The album finds its way back to decadence in “Pretty Girls.” “My flow is on Pluto,” Wale spits on a gigantic bass kick beat accented with hand claps and a big pimpin’ attitude. It’s not a rap record without talking about attractive females right?

As the album passes through initial tracks and into the center, its core, Wale easily transitions from attracting listeners with glistening club bangers to introspective social commentary. Listeners learn in “World Tour” that he and his brother never finished school, which was against their mother’s wishes. Later in “90120″ he takes jabs at wannabe Hollywood starlets, “Hear she throws up whatever she eat / She leave the bathroom with a nosebleed / Regular girl, celebrity dreams.” The high-pitched electronic synth is an excellent choice, creating Wale’s far-fetched image of unreachable dreams.

In “Shades” he tries to cope with his struggles with race. He admits to be haunted by the thought of lighter-skinned blacks having a better life, and how he quickly broke up with a girlfriend because of her light shade: “I’ll never let a light-skinned broad hurt me / That’s why I strike first and the first cut deep.” Wale is emotional and is truly conflicted here, which is somewhat of a surprise with the album’s early unbreakable swagger. Chrisette Michelle, who lends her sultry vocals for the chorus, can’t even console the troubled Wale.

Wale’s first studio album is a superb work of well-crafted and well-produced hip hop. In a genre with a formula, but doesn’t grant every artist success. A genre whose artists’ popularity is measured by their Auto Tune use or whether Lil Wayne collaborates on a track. Wale’s love of hip hop and gifts as an artist are unfazed by expectation. And his relentless swagger on “Attention Deficit” seems to be a long-awaited rush of fresh air.