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• 27Dec 09

  Avatar = Awesome

  All those "spoiler-free" reviews are for naught since Avatar's general storyline isn't the most original nor the most captivating, so the story is actually very formulaic and predictable, and the characters are atrociously two-dimensional, but the thing is that Avatar is just too well-directed for anyone to actually care. Cameron's attention to detail in the world he created, and the Na'vi's culture is just so breathtaking that you become riveted when it really shouldn't be. Despite the 2 hour and 45 minute duration, the film zooms by, and it's both a good thing and a bad thing. It's a good thing because the feeling that comes when a movie makes you feel as if you're forced to sit through something and you just feel as if you're just tolerating it, this feeling is almost non-existent. It's a bad thing however because it leaves you with feeling shortchanged in terms of character development. The character development feels half-baked and rushed and overly cut to the point of them being disposable, and I usually don't bring this issue up, but the thing is, I want to care for the characters, but I don't really get that as much as I wanted to.

  3D, awesome. Actions sequences, double awesome. Fine, there's like that usual James Cameron staple of 'big bad corporation' and 'big bad military' but in the end it's hard to care about all this because the thing that the movie does very well is make you have fun. Really, that's what the hype promises, and in that aspect, the film truly delivers.

  Heck, the 3D itself is worth the price of admission, and the epic action setpiece at the end is a huge bonus. However, it just feels like James Cameron could do much more to the story. He's renowned for being a great director-screenwriter with films like The Terminator and Aliens under his belt so it's kind of disappointing to see how crappy this story is in comparison. Cameron does have plans for a trilogy, so one could say that this overhyped movie is actually more exposition than a complete movie story-wise.

  Long story short, go see this piece of movie history in 3D, although you might not like the story.

  • Posted Dec 27, 2009 1:00 am PT
  • Category: Movies
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• 19Dec 09

  A Little Big Problem

  First of all, don't get misled by my title, it has absolutely nothing to do with LittleBigPlanet. I just found it good enough to describe my little computer problem.

  The computer problem in its most exact form? The CTRL-Space combination not working.

  So what about it? What possible use does it have? In Arkham Asylum, which I'm totally loving, there is a part after you first get into the Batcave wherein you have to climb through brittle err, "towers". You can't grapple, so Batman comments, "Looks like I have to actually climb". So where's the problem, you ask again? Well, in order for me to progress through this level, I need the Ctrl-Space function to crouch down and cling from the top of the "tower" so I can press Ctrl once more to shimmy on a ledge. Ctrl-Space is not working. At all.

  Now, I have the language bar enabled since I type in Chinese from time to time, so I knew the root of the problem. I tried to fix it by realigning the keyboard command, and guess what, still not working. Sigh, it's so ironic as to how a small problem can be such a big hurdle, hence the title.

  But anyway, any ideas?

  • Posted Dec 19, 2009 9:47 pm PT
  • Category: Games
  • 6 Comments
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• 12Dec 09

  Green Day... Rock Band?

  Harmonix had an excuse to make a Beatles: Rock Band. It could take on any of those Guitar Hero artist games, and I thought that maybe, just maybe, Harmonix would just end the trend there. I mean, The Beatles: Rock Band is pretty much the be-all and the end-all of this type of franchise milking, but apparently, Harmonix is now succumbing to what is probably more of a command from the people high up at MTV, and it's hard not to blame them: if the Beatles: Rock Band got commercial success, why can't a Green Day: Rock Band?

  Well, there's a number of reasons. But I can simply simplify it to this:

  The Beatles = timeless.
  Green Day = blatant promotion.

  While The Beatles: Rock Band also promoted the re-released, remastered discography of the band which was released the same day as the game, Green Day doesn't have enough of that musical credibility for the promotion part to slide. 21st Century Breakdown was already promoted through Rock Band DLC, something I get, so I can't seriously understand the point behind Harmonix riding this bandwagon. I don't want Rock Band to become a Guitar Hero. I want Rock Band to stay Rock Band, and I'm just criticizing this decision to make this game because I love it too damn much.

  For Chrissake, just release it as a track pack ala AC/DC. Better yet, an album on the Music Store. The Who has a whole album, Nirvana has a whole album, The Foo Fighters have a crapload of songs, so why can't Green Day just have the same treatment? Hell, The Who, I think, is more deserving of a single game than Green Day. It's not that I hate Green Day, I like some of their songs, but it just breaks my heart that something like this can pass through Harmonix's standards. AND what about RBN? Can't they release their songs through there?

  But if Harmonix is just gonna push with this anyway, I want to ask one thing: if the Beatles had harmonies, what'll Green Day have?

  • Posted Dec 12, 2009 9:48 pm PT
  • Category: Games
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