Must Listen: “Kozmic Blues”
File this one under, “how has this been around my whole life and I never heard it before.”
Janis Joplin’s, Kozmic Blues, is hauntingly beautiful. The vocals are raw (as one would expect), and the instrumentals are superb. The way that the song slowly builds is wonderfully well-done, and the soaring finally is perfect.
Enjoy.
Get the album:
A Big Week!
Based on my last post (a week ago) you might think that I’ve been doing nothing but power-leveling on Diablo III instead of posting… And you’d be partially correct. My barbarian, Merritt (named for Roy Merritt the righteous badass “Burning Man” of Damon) is shaping up pretty damn nicely.
However I’ve also been researching the hell out of my escape from New Brunswick. Hopefully I have good news on that front in the next day or so. I’ve also lined up some incredible new projects and partnerships on the professional side of life. I’m not ready to publicly announce anything at the moment, but it’s been a very big week, with very little sleep.
Speaking of sleep, I’m going to try to get a little before starting another crazy day.
Diablo III Cometh
At the strike of 3:00AM Eastern Standard Time, the gates of Hell will once again open, and hoards of demons will emerge. Gamers the world over will sink unfathomable hours into battling the never-ending onslaught of the forces of evil. Diablo III cometh.
A Whole Lot of Nostalgia
It pains me to admit that I’ve been waiting well over a decade for Blizzard to release their successor to Diablo II, or as I like to refer to it, the game that I gave two years of my life. I spent most of my time playing, and thinking about playing Diablo II for two years between the ages of 14 and 16 (right up until I got my license/ meatspace life).
As I’m writing the feelings of bitterness, and angry I’ve harbored at my teenage self for spending so much time playing Diablo II have completely subsided (A minute ago this was going to be a different post). The countless hours I spent playing Diablo II with Jason Lisnak built an incredible friendship that ultimately served as the foundation for both of our careers. We’ve both done reasonably well for ourselves, and I can’t think of a more loyal friend… I believe I own a lot of that friendship to the time we spent in-game. So here’s to you Diablo II. You changed my life you addicting son of a bitch.
Diablo III
I don’t have the time or will to play video games 10 to 12 hours a day anymore. Hell, I have a stack of games that I’d love to play, and haven’t touched… It just keeps growing. So I can safely say that I won’t be playing like I used to, but, 3AM draws near, and I’ve stayed up to greet the successor to the game that changed my life.
I’m going with the wizard class. Send me a message if you’d like to meet up on Battlenet, and dungeon crawl with me. I hear that dungeon-crawling is a good way to make friends. See you in Hell.
Two New Piracy Warnings To Punish Legit Customers
You know what’s awesome? Punishing your paying customers for buying instead of pirating material.
We’ve seen it before with intrusive DRM, and now DVD buyers are getting another dose.
The US Government is mandating that two unskippable anti-piracy warnings appear at the start of movies. These warnings will stay on-screen for 10 seconds each.
Why’s This A So Dumb You Ask?
Because if someone is ripping the movie, they can edit these stupid warnings out! Never-mind if the warning makes sense… The people who are supposed to receive the message won’t (and if they did, they still wouldn’t care). While those of us who do buy DVDs will now be subject to a 20 second threat that doesn’t pertain to us.
I feel like I’m back in elementary school, and the teacher is scolding the whole class for something that a few of my classmates did.
To hell with Hollywood. It’s bad business to make it hard for people to buy your product, and it’s pathetic to punish, chastise, and threaten your paying customers.
(Via Ars Technica)
TGW Review: The Avengers
NON-SPOILERY
You know those movies that show all of the best scenes and funniest lines in the trailer? The Avengers is nothing like that.
The Avengers is a funny, action-packed, cohesive love letter to the super hero genre. It also manages to convey a serious sense of danger and urgency, without becoming overwhelmingly dark.
The Basics
Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Iron Man, and Thor must overcome their vast differences and team up to stop Loki and his invading army from conquering the world.
With five years of teasing from Marvel Studios; a huge cast of A-list talent; a collection of characters who shouldn’t be in the same room; and a story too big to tell in a movie, the opportunities for this film to suck were numerous. Fortunately, Joss Whedon & co were up to the challenge.
The Good
Badass Moments All Around!
Every single character has many moments to shine. With a cast this big, it would be easy to push many characters into the scenery. That didn’t happen. I’m hard-pressed to pick a favorite moment because there were so many great moments.
Bringing the Funny
In typical Whedon fashion, this movie is just as humorous as it is intense. In that way it reminds me of my True Lies (one of my all-time favorite action flicks).
Fun with Clichés
One of Whedon’s talents that runs throughout everything he’s ever done is his manipulation of clichés. He is a master of taking what the viewer expects, and then suddenly turning it on its side. Where lesser writers will fallback on “classic” story elements, Whedon works like a magician and always keeps you guessing. That’s one of the things that made Cabin in the Woods (2012) so exceptional.
Nothing is Wasted & Everything is Earned
This story is tight! There’s no fat on it. Every line either establishes a character, or pushes the story forward. Even the post-credit scene is a call-back joke to an earlier line that seemed like an irrelevant throwaway line.
3D
I strongly dislike 3D, but I didn’t mind the 3D in The Avengers. For the most part it added depth like a diorama, instead of flying at the audience like a pop-up book. With the exception of one brief moment, I was cool with the 3D.
Sam Jackson
Mr. Jackson is not known for subtlety. In The Avengers his performance in remarkably understated, and I thought it was exceptional. I’m not sure who made that decision, but whomever made that call deserves a cookie. If I’m remembering correctly, his most badass moment is devoid of dialog (or pretty close to it).
Suspension of Disbelief
The best praise I can give any super hero story (comic, or movie), is that my suspension of disbelief went unbroken throughout. Will that be the case after multiple viewing? I’m not sure. But while I was watching The Avengers, I was completely invested in the story, and it never made me question the narrative.
The Not-So-Good
As much as I loved The Avengers, I do have some minor gripes.
One Big Cliché
I don’t want to give anything away, but there is one big alien movie cliché that Whedon used to wrap up the film, and I found it slightly disappointing… But I also understood why it needed to be that way. I still wish it wasn’t.
3D Serpent Thingie
There was one moment in the third act where the 3D disrupted my viewing experience. That giant metal flying serpent thingie from the trailer flies into the screen (kind of over the camera), and my eyes/ brain were not ok with that at all.
Further Exploring the Idea of Freedom
Early in the film, Loki talks a bit about humans and freedom. It’s a concept that Whedon plays with a lot. In The Avengers, he starts to dig into this idea, but never really does anything with it, other than expand on Loki’s motivation. I think it was a missed opportunity to add extra meaning to the overall story.
The Ugly
Nothing serious to report here…
I Want More!
The DVD is going to have something like 30 minutes of extra footage, and I can’t wait for it.
The Bottom-Line
If you haven’t seen it yet, just go. This is what mainstream comic heroics look like at their very best.
There are two credits scenes.
The mid-credits scene sets up the next film (if you’re interested in who that character is, click here). You have to stay to see this as it explains something that happens in the beginning of the movie.
The post-credits scene isn’t necessary to see, but it is both very funny, and delightfully Whedonesque.
Lastly, if you liked the humor and storytelling in The Avengers, you really ought to watch some of Whedon’s early work. Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dr. Horrible & Dollhouse are exceptional shows that are smart, moving, funny, and very entertaining.
DC/ Warner Brothers is Having a Bad Week
Some folks from DC & Warner Brothers rejected Joss Whedon’s Wonder Woman movie script a few years ago.
I’m betting those people are having a rough week right about now.
The Avengers was eff-ing awesome. A detailed review is coming later.
Avengers Day! May the Thor-th Be With You
It’s Avengers release day! I’m just sitting in the theater waiting for shindig to start so I can enjoy all of its Whedony goodness.
I’m so excited for this… It better not disappoint. No. It won’t disappoint. In Joss we trust.
The lights are going down.
I’ll be back with colorful commentary later-ish.
