Choose Your Own Adventure

I just spent the last couple of hours reviewing local Austin businesses on Google Hotpot in an effort to win a contest and as I was doing so I decided I needed an appropriately awesome, but mellow selection of background music. I started off with Radiohead's latest "The King of Limbs"; still enigmatic, but growing on me like all Radiohead albums do. I then moved on to The Octopus Project's latest "Hexadecagon"; synth heavy post rock for the win. And ultimately was moved to put on some tracks from what appears to be the 2011-acquired album I've listened to the most so far this year "Choose Your Own Adventure" by Torgo!.

I bought this album on a whim a few months ago after hearing a couple tracks on the listening station at Waterloo Records. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it, but it sounded different and fairly progressive, so I decided to give it a try. "Abandonware" the album's first track immediately calls to mind hipster darlings Vampire Weekend, but as the album progresses it's clear that while there may be some similar influences (Peter Gabriel?) these bands have taken totally different directions. Abandonware is followed by a couple of fairly weak tracks and the instrumental "The Dig" before the 10 minute "The Archaeologist" (a song about the Indiana Jones movies) comes on and Choose Your Own Adventure really gets rolling. Lyrically the album is full of these really geeky, but adorable references to things like the aforementioned Dr. Jones and video gaming. Instrumentally there is really a lot of skill present in these recordings, with a lot of layering and a very professional sound throughout. The end result is definitely something progressive, but come at from a new angle by a new generation. While I tend to skip the first third or half of the album when listening, the experience has overall grown from simply being this quirky album about video games that I bought to a genuinely engaging audio experience. I'm interested to see what these guys do going forward.

If you're looking for something different, definitely check them out. I believe they put out their own album and they're local to Texas so you probably won't find it in your local store (unless that happens to be Waterloo), but you can hear and buy their tracks from their site, so go give them a listen.

83rd Oscar Awards Predictions

It's that time again and since there really isn't any reason to complain about the fact that there was a dearth of good films this year (since it just seems to be the status quo now), let's get right to my predictions.






Best Picture
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are Alright
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

I guess I can't blame The Academy for expanding this category, after all the Golden Globes have two Best Picture categories with 5 nominees each, why not broaden the field. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your viewpoint) the Oscars are not the Golden Gloves so several of these films (while it's nice to be nominated) never had a chance of winning to begin with. Toy Story 3, 127 Hours, The Kids Are Alright ... sorry, you never had a chance. That leaves us with 7 possible nominees.

First things first, let's eliminate Winter's Bone. I really liked this movie, but it's too obscure and too subdued to win an Oscar. This is a film for the critics awards and definitely worth watching. Inception may be this year's anomaly in that it was both popular and very well made, but it's not Oscar material in this category, not with this competition. The Fighter somehow generated Oscar buzz around the time of it's release, but let's get something straight: the only thing this movie has going for it are two stellar performances by Amy Adams and Christian Bale. Everything else about this film was boilerplate from start to finish. True Grit was a great film, well written, well directed, and well acted, but it's a remake and I don't see a remake, no matter how good winning this category. Similar to Inception, it's just not going to happen against this competition. That leave us with 3 actual contenders.

While The Social Network will live on as a true modern period piece, artfully accomplished against great odds by both cast and crew, I don't see it winning this category despite some of the recent buzz and a Golden Globe win. Black Swan is my personal pick for Best Picture of the year, but I think this bird flies just a little too high over Oscar's head to win. Certainly one of Aronofsky's best films to date and a must see for this year, but it's just too artsy to win here. The King's Speech is going to take this category for one simple reason, it's well rounded. The film is well made, well, acted, well written, and well directed, artsy in a classic Hollywood style, approachable by a broad audience, and quite simply endearing. Add in the fact that it's been getting Oscar Buzz for a couple months now and you're got my pick.

Pick: The King's Speech.

Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem (Biutiful)
Jeff Bridges (True Grit)
Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
James Franco (127 Hours)

You couldn't ask for a more difficult choice this year. These are all brilliant performances. I've got to go with Colin Firth in The King's Speech though. Momentum has to be considered when picking the Oscars and I think this film has it, especially after he won the Golden Globe in this category. Honestly though, if any one of these actors won this category I would not be surprised.

Pick: Colin Firth

Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale (The Fighter)
John Hawkes (Winter's Bone)
Jeremy Renner (The Town)
Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are Alright)
Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech)

This is between Geoffrey Rush and Christian Bale and having seen both performances, I have to give this to Bale. Rush was good, but Bale was brilliant. I was seriously reminded of DeNiro or Pachino in their prime, simply remarkable.

Pick: Christian Bale

Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening (The Kids Are Alright)
Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)
Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine)

This was a shitty year for Women in film. All you have to do is take a look at the Men's roles vs. the Women's and try to avoid the gaping chasm between them. First off, why was The Kids Are Alright nominated for anything? This film played out like a bad Lifetime movie and before anyone says I'm being unfair to a Women's film, any defense of this film as some kind of standard bearer of Women's or lesbian rights or viewpoints is simply patronizing. I didn't see Rabbit Hole, although I heard it was good. Neither did I see Blue Valentine, but you can blame the awful, touchy-feely, date movie trailer for that. Jennifer Lawrence was excellent in Winter's Bone. Conveying emotion in a loud, raucous movie is easy, doing so in a subdued film like Winter's Bone takes talent. When it all comes down to it though, if this award doesn't go to Natalie Portman, I'm going to riot. Portman owned her role in Black Swan in a way I have seen few actors do before. Not only did she succeed in overcoming the challenges of the script, but also of the production. The camera is rarely not on Portman throughout the course of the film and when it is on here it is primarily in close up. If Portman hadn't so nailed this performance it would have been relevant immediately on screen and I saw nothing but perfection.

Pick: Natalie Portman

Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams (The Fighter)
Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech)
Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)
Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom)

This is a category I usually count on getting wrong, usually because the nominees are from movies I haven't seen. This year, with the exception of Animal Kingdom, I've seen all these performances. Still, this is a tough one. The Golden Globe went to Melissa Leo, but I personally think that Amy Adams was better in The Fighter, although this could be bias because I have a huge crush on Amy Adams. Helen Bonham Carter was good as usual, but she really didn't do anything in The King's Speech except be British and regal. I think this is between Melissa Leo and Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit and I'm going with Steinfeld. There are two reasons for this 1) she did a really good job and 2) I think The Academy likes giving awards to kids when they can. Remember when Anna Paquin won for The Piano. Best. Acceptance. Speech. Ever.

Pick: Hailee Steinfeld

Animated Feature Film
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3

Maybe I'll be surprised this year, but usually there is a pretty reliable way to win this category: don't bet against Pixar.

Pick: Toy Story 3

Art Direction
Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1
Inception
The King's Speech
True Grit

This is one of those categories where it's usually a bad idea to vote against the period piece and we kind of have two here in The King's Speech and True Grit. I've got to go with The King's Speech though.

Pick: The King's Speech

Cinematography
Black Swan
Inception
The King's Speech
The Social Network
True Grit

I have to believe this is between Black Swan and Inception. While they both had their own unique challenges in shooting, I have to go with Black Swan. There are technical awards for Inception to win, Black Swan should get one for old fashioned camera work and for really using the frame as a story telling device.

Pick: Black Swan

Costume Design
Alice in Wonderland
I Am Love
The King's Speech
The Tempest
True Grit

You almost always have to vote for the Victorian era period piece, since we don't have one this year (and Alice in Wonderland doesn't count) we go with the closest approximation, that being The King's Speech.

Pick: The King's Speech

Directing
Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
David O. Russell (The Fighter)
Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)
David Fincher (The Social Network)
Joel and Ethan Coen (True Grit)

For my money, this is between Aronofsky, Fincher, and the Coen Brothers. Fincher won the Golden Globe, and the Coen Brothers were in rare form on True Grit, but I have to vote my conscience here and give it to Aronofsky. I may lose this category, but if they aren't going to give Aronofsky best picture they should give him director. Now ... all this goes out the window if I'm wrong about Best Picture. The directing in The King's Speech was impressive to the degree where Hooper would get this award, even though Picture and Director Oscars almost always go hand in hand. If The Social Network wins instead then this may very well go to Fincher.

Pick: Darren Aronofsky

Documentary Feature
Documentary Short Subject

I didn't see any of these so it would be a crap shoot to pick here, therefore I abstain.

Film Editing
Black Swan
The Fighter
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network

Editing is such a nuanced art and I've never really been able to discern a pattern in this category, therefore I've got to go with my gut. I'm picking Black Swan in this category.

Pick: Black Swan

Foreign Language Film

Having not seen any of these I abstain

Makeup
Barney's Version
The Way Back
The Wolfman

In the absence of a Victorian era period piece, go for the monster movie.

Pick: The Wolfman

Music (original score)
How to Train Your Dragon
Inception
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network

No ... Inception isn't going to win because the "BWONG!" track playing over the trailer became an internet meme. This is often a difficult category to pick, but based on the Golden Globe winner and some careful thought I really think The Social Network has a chance here. I also think it will be amazing to see Trent Reznor accept an Academy Award.

Pick: The Social Network

Music (original song)
Coming Home (Country Strong)
I See the Light (Tangled)
If I Rise (127 Hours)
We Belong Together (Toy Story 3)

I think the only time I was ever sure of a choice in this category was in 2008 when "Jai Ho" was nominated from Slumdog Millionaire. I didn't see any of the movies here, but I'm going to go with Toy Story 3 because hey ... it's Randy Newman, why not?

Pick: We Belong Together (Toy Story 3)

Short Film (animated)
Short Film (live action)

I'm abstaining from these categories as well since I didn't see any of these, not that I didn't have a chance to, I just didn't.

Sound Editing
Sound Mixing

I'm skipping these as well. I just don't know enough about sound or how the Academy tends to vote in these categories to make any sort of educated guess.

Visual Effects
Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Hereafter
Inception
Iron Man 2

I would be really surprised if Inception didn't win this, I mean seriously.

Pick: Inception

Writing (adapted screenplay)
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

This is a three horse race between Winter's Bone, True Grit, and The Social Network. With the fact that The Social Network won the Golden Globe and Aaron Sorkin being an amazing writer, I have to give him the award here.

Pick: The Social Network

Writing (original screenplay)
Another Year
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are Alright
The King's Speech

Ok, I don't see The Fighter winning because it should be considered an adaptation if you ask me, since it's based on a true story. I've already expressed my confusion regarding The Kids Are Alright, so that leaves 3 choices, none of which are written by first timers who tend to get recognized by this award more often than not. I'm really kind of stuck on this one, but I'm going to go with The King's Speech simply because I'm giving it recognition elsewhere.

Pick: The King's Speech

I did pretty bad last year in my predictions, less than 60%, but traditionally I'm usually up around 80% accuracy. This year I'm really not sure. It really comes down to whether or not The Social Network's Golden Globe win carries over or not. If it does, then I'm sunk. If it doesn't then things will likely go my away across the board for the most part.

Rift: Because I've Seen It All Before

A new MMO came out today called Rift. Nothing I've seen of this game has not made me yawn. It's not that I think the game is bad, but I've seen it before under many different names and I'm tired of it. As usual however, the MMO-hungry masses seem to have flocked to this game in hopes that it may inject some ingenuity into a genre still shell-shocked by WoW. I like MMO's, but let's face facts: there's nothing incredibly new here.

I've been playing MMO's since Ultima Online and I've been involved in making them for nearly as long. You can't beat WoW by being WoW, just like WoW didn't beat EverQuest by being EverQuest. I know we've all accepted this sort of revisionist history where WoW was always meant to dethrone EQ and EQ wasn't really that big a game anyway, but that was never the case. WoW was a HUGE risk for Blizzard, but they did what they always do, they took all the best ideas out there, threw in some unique twists and improvements, and a TON of polish, and it worked. I haven't seen anyone else do this since, not to the same degree at least.

MMO's currently find themselves much in the same place that FPS games were in the late 90's. Id Software with their Doom and Quake games simply dominated and it wasn't until Valve came along with Half-Life - a game that took all the best ideas out there, threw in some unique twists and improvements, and a TON of polish - that things started to change and Id was dethroned.

When you're making games at this level, you have to realize that you're making pop music. At the core it's always the same damn song, but when someone comes along with just the right tweaks and at just the right time, it makes major waves and a new paradigm is created. Rift is not this game, but I know I'm going to be hearing about how "this is the one" and how it's "so different" at least for about a month until everyone gets tired of it. I know this because I've seen it all before. I sincerely hope that Rift has the staying power to remain profitable for Trion Worlds, but this is not a game that's going to shift any paradigms. Is there a game that can do this? Hell yes and I think we'll be seeing it soon, but understand this: WoW is not going to die some grand movie monster death. The game has peaked and what follows will be a slow decline, hastened perhaps by the arrival of the next paradigm. And what will the future bring after that? God, I hope it doesn't bring anymore larger than life MMO's designed to work for all players at all times. I think there's much more ground to be covered with niche games, but that's a subject for another time.

Bulletstorm - First Impression

Ok, so the first 15-20 minutes of Bulletstorm are fantastically, utterly, unbearably awful, but 5 minutes after that you completely forget about it. Why is it awful?

First, it features the same, tired, tutorial-shoehorned-into-the-story device as just about every game these days, but I can overlook that.

Second, there's way too much talking in an attempt to interest me in a group of 2-dimensional characters and their back story. Talk is cheap, let's start blowing things up.

Third, they keep taking control of the camera away from me. There's no reason that nearly all those cinematic sequences couldn't be done with me still in control. It's just jarring (especially on a PC where there is no controller rumble to occupy my grip) to be in the middle of controlling the game and then suddenly not.

That being said, Bulletstorm does away with this pretty quickly and once you start the game proper it's all standard dumb fire FPS action. So far I'm loving it.

Link: Open the Future - Fears of Teratocracy

Open the Future - Fears of Teratocracy
"The real test of whether a society that uses a plebiscite to determine leadership is really a democracy is whether the losing party accepts the loss and the legitimacy of their opponent's victory. This is especially true for when the losing party previously held power. Do they give up power willingly, confident that they'll have a chance to regain power again in the next election? Or do they take up arms against the winners, refuse to relinquish power, and/or do everything they can to undermine the legitimacy of the opposition's rule?"

Interesting read

The Funny Papers

Every week for the past month I've gone to Austin Books & Comics and there's only be one of my regular books new on the shelf, or one new book I've decided to pick up. This could only mean one thing: some week soon, I'd end up with a shit load of books all out at once. This was that week.

I came away from the store with no less than 6 new books today, all of them more or less regulars with the exception of one impulse buy. So what did I get?

Wasteland #30 - Antony Johnston / Christopher Mitten / Remington Veteto
It is a bittersweet circumstance that this comic has been coming out less and less frequently since it first hit the scene several years ago. I've been on board since issue 1 and I'm always eager to consume a new issue. The fact is simply that the book's writer, Antony Johnston, has been in high demand and while Wasteland is his labor of love, I get the feeling it doesn't quite pay the bills. Luckily he's got work at Marvel and oh ... he wrote the script for the first Dead Space game as well. Still, it's nice to get a new issue of Wasteland. As a story he's had in his head since he was a teenager, I don't think he'll be letting it go anytime soon. It would be nice to see more than a few new issues a year, but whatever he and Chris need to do in order to put out a quality book is fine by me.

Incognito: Bad Influences #3 - Ed Brubaker / Sean Phillips
This is the second series for Incognito, a sort of noir/hard boiled take on the anti-superhero genre. It's rare that I get into superhero stuff these days, but as Incognito is self-contained and takes a nice twist with it's crime drama edge, I've been into it.

The Amory Wars: In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth 3 #8 - Claudio Sanchez / Peter David / Aaron Kuder
Yes, this is the comic book adaptation of the story in the Coheed & Cambria albums. I understand that there is limited appeal here, but as a huge Coheed fan this falls squarely in my wheelhouse. Honestly, since Claudio paired up with veteran scribe Peter David, the books have gotten a lot better. I think David imposes an improved sense of pacing and fleshed out detail in the dialog that Claudio was missing in the previous series. As the album we know the least about (in terms of official story explanations) it's been a treat for me to see the tales behind the songs illustrated for the first time with In Keeping Secrets.

Unwritten #22 - Mike Carey / Peter Gross / Vince Locke
I don't remember why I first picked this book up several years ago, but I did and what at first seemed like a Harry Potter satire with a real world twist, turned into something much more. Tom Taylor is a real world adult. Tommy Taylor is the boy wizard in his estranged father's best-selling novels. Tom wants as little to do with Tommy as possible, even though fans of the book revere him as much as his namesake. But what if Tom and Tommy are the same person? What if the story became a real person? That seems to be the initial concept behind the whole plot and we still don't know for sure that Tommy and Tom are one and the same. All we do know is that in Unwritten, stories are much more than they seem and there are those who may have been using the power of stories to manipulate the real world for a very long time. Is Tom the key to unraveling the mystery or is he a pawn in a bigger game? This is what keeps me coming back every month. This is DC/Vertigo quality in the tradition of Sandman and Trensmetropolitan. Go read it ... now!

Northlanders #37 - Brian Wood / Simon Gane
When this book started it seemed like Brian Wood writing DMZ except set in medieval Norway. I think he's since grown with the series and now feels much more at home in this time period. Northlanders isn't one big story, but rather multiple stories all set in roughly the same time and place: medieval Europe. It's got a definite pulp feel to it and I think that's something Wood has really embraced as the series has grown. What initially seemed like another set of stories about angst-y teens and 20-somethings fighting against "the man" has turned into a varied collection of tales running the gamut from action to drama, with even a little comedy sprinkled therein. It's just good, brutal fun, and who doesn't like vikings?

Deus Ex: Human Revolution #1 - Robbie Morrison / Trevor Hairsine
I usually don't by movie, TV, or video game tie in comics. Usually these books end up being nothing more than advertisement, typically handed off the the new guys to rush out the door. I don't know that this book is the same deal, but it looked decent enough (good art, not too wordy ... as is often the case with these types of books)
and I hunger for any information I can get about the world of the new Deus Ex game. It's a great fiction that was created in that universe and any reason to go back there is worth the price of admission.

Coming Soon

I swear, good media comes in waves. More specifically these waves seem to skip years. Whether it's music, movies, or games it seems that while one year you get a bunch of duds, the next you get non-stop hits. 2010 was very much a year of duds or at the very least it was a year of mediocrity. In music and film to be sure and to a lesser degree games, I found myself being underwhelmed more often than not in 2010. 2011 so far is giving a lot more to get excited about. Sure, movies are still unfortunately not meeting anyone's expectations, but I find myself less anticipatory in general of upcoming films. Half the time I'm not aware until just before release that there is something I'm going to want to see in the theater. Such is the nature of my relationship to film and the marketing reality of the films I tend of get excited about. Music is another thing altogether, with 2011 already having produced a couple fairly high profile (in indie circles at least) successes with The Decemberists' latest release The King is Dead and Bright Eyes up coming The People's Key. Both albums are incredibly solid efforts from bands that have both thrilled and disappointed me in the past. Still to come is the 2nd full-length from Rival Schools, 7 years removed from their debut United by Fate. Protest the Hero will be releasing their 3rd full-length in a couple months as well and it looks like there is a new Mountain Goats LP on the horizon too. Altogether it's not a bad start to the year, but what about games.

I tend to get less excited about upcoming games than one might think. Since games are not just my hobby, but my livelihood, my tastes tend to be not so much refined as picky. I'm a great deal more critical of games then I am other forms of media and even with sequels to franchises I already enjoy, I tend to be reserved in my enthusiasm before I actually get my hands on a game. Contrary to this behavior There are several upcoming titles that I am very much looking forward to:

Bulletstorm
If Paul Verhoeven made a video game, this would be it. Why? For all intents and purposes this looks to be an FPS satire that (like Verhoeven's films) is also a damn good game in it's own right. Developed by Epic, everything I've seen of this game since first laying eyes on it in an EA marketing meeting last year, just screams tongue in cheek, un-adulterated, over the top action that is both parody and homage to modern action gaming. It should be a fun ride.

Crysis 2
The first Crysis game is exactly the type of experience that Bulletstorm looks to parody and the second shows no signs of backing down from the hollywood-style action of the first. The first game was kind of a guilty pleasure for me. Like a good summer blockbuster, Crysis was a thrill ride from start to finish. The story is nothing special and neither is the voice (and in game character) acting, but the game play is solid and it does a great job of keeping you glued to the screen. By constantly building the narrative tension, by introducing new elements just on the edge of what you expect, Crysis keeps you moving forward until you're caught up in the whirlwind experience of the game's climax. Crysis 2 looks to provide the same cinematic action at much the same high quality level I've come to expect from Cevat Yerli's crew.

Dragon Age 2
Sure, I get a free copy for working at BioWare, but even if I didn't I'd be eagerly anticipating this title. I know people were initially concerned about the shift towards a more action-oriented combat and a static (as opposed to player-created) main character and I can't blame them, but what has evolved looks like an exciting hybrid of  Mass Effect and the first Dragon Age and I can't wait to get my hands on it. The Dragon Age universe is an interesting place to play and with Dragon Age 2's story spanning 10 years and multiple protagonists, I'm very much looking forward to diving into that realm again.

Portal 2
I didn't think Valve could outdo Portal 1, in fact I have a note somewhere from last year to write a blog about how Portal 2 will never be as good as Portal 1. The first game relied so much on the unexpected in creating the mythos that made Portal not just a fun game, but an incredibly compelling experience that took the industry by storm. How can Portal 2, with the secrets of Aperture Science having already been laid bare still manage to create as compelling an experience? Well I can't speak for the "story", but everything I've seen of the game play for Portal 2 certainly has me compelled. If Valve have upped (or at least found a way) to maintain the compelling nature of the story in Portal 2 as much as it seems to have done with the game play, then this is an experience I'm very much looking forward to.

And that's just the beginning of the year. Dead Space 2 is already out and amazing, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is looming somewhere on the horizon, Elder Scrolls V and Mass Effect 3 are slated for the end of the year, and there's still The Last Guardian, L.A. Noire and a bunch of indie releases still to come as well. Of course this can only mean one thing: next year is going to be pretty mediocre as far as games go, but right about now I don't care. It's been a while since I've had games who's releases I crave and in addition to everything else coming in movies, music, and elsewhere, I'm looking forward to a great time with some hot games in 2011.

Posted from my laptop @ Spiderhouse