The January 2012 issue of Juxtapoz has an interview with the incredibly talented Audrey Kawasaki. Along with it, there are some pictures of her beautiful art. You should run out and buy this issue immediately before it disappears, like it did at my local B&N, or February 2012 comes in to take its place.
There is a reason she was my first choice for #ArtistWednesday!
Posted via email from Kevin’s Slice of Inspiration | Comment »
Stranger is a bounty hunter in the Mongo River Valley on Oddworld, a planet seven times bigger than Earth. He captures outlaws to earn moolah for a life-saving operation; along the way, he solves a mystery, defeats an army, and saves a race of people.
Not bad for a man with no name.
I played this game on the Xbox, a lot. I can tell this because booting up Stranger’s Wrath is like slipping on an old pair of shoes; they fit well, are comfortable and, since you have had them this long and taken care of them, they kick major ass.
I have mentioned Stranger’s Wrath before (Gamers rejoice! The Oddworld factory is back online!) and with good reason, any one I have ever met that played this game on the Xbox considers it one of the best games on that console.
Everyone else had just never heard of it.
Which is a shame, Stranger’s Wrath is a beautiful game, both artistically and functionally and, with the HD upgrade for the PS3, it is difficult to take yours eyes off the screen or tear yourself away from the fluid gameplay.
Stranger’s Wrath defies any one specific classification; it is a mix of first person shooters and third person adventure/fighting games with a dash of role-playing thrown in for good measure.
In combat, you have the option to smoothly, and quickly, transition from using a crossbow in first person to spinning helicopter punches, charges and head-butts in third and then back again. Yes, you can do that in many games now, but this was far less common, frankly nearly unheard, of in 2005.
Stranger hates guns; he uses a double barrel crossbow with live ammo instead. By live ammo, I mean they are living creatures you have to capture or buy that when fired, interact with your targets in many different ways. Some electrocute, some explode, some attack and chew, and some just piss off your potential bounty.
(Yeah, Chippunks are funny; they even make jokes while sitting on the crossbow, sometimes at your expense.)
The role-playing comes as you move about town, talking to the folks there, buying supplies to fit your individual needs, acquiring information, and solving problems out in the field during and on the way to the next job. This is not a Bioware product, so the interaction with non-player characters is limited response-wise, but then again the industry has changed in giant ways in just six short years.
The role-playing aspect even extends to the missions, with all of the options in ammo, fighting techniques and in-game traps, there are tons of ways to capture a bounty; you just get more moolah if they are alive.
A couple of the coolest things about the game design are Stranger can literally ‘shake off’ his damage and all of the knives stuck in him will fly off; the other bit of awesome is Stranger has a loping, four-legged cruising speed that is fun to do down the long canyons and hallways in this game. I have even run him around just watching the graphics and marveling at the character design.
The story is solid and entertaining with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. While the gameplay may be easy at first, almost too easy, it is a great example of how to do a tutorial and the learning curve dramatically shoots up from there; the final Boss Battle can be one of the toughest you will ever face.
If you have never played Stranger’s Wrath, I highly recommend it. You will not be disappointed.
If you played it on the Xbox, I recommend picking this up in the PSN store for a little bit of nostalgia and a reminder of how good games are designed.
For $15 bucks, you cannot go wrong.
Rejoice fellow Gamers, Oddworld has returned.
Posted via email from Kevin’s Slice of Inspiration | Comment »
Hugo Cabret is a young orphan boy living in the walls of a Paris train station. Left there by his alcoholic uncle to fend for himself, Hugo takes care of the clocks and harbors a secret, something left behind by his deceased father, one that will lead him to adventure.
Adapted from the Caldecott winning book by Brian Selznick The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Hugo is directed by Martin Scorsese (Gangs of New York, Shutter Island) from the screenplay written by John Logan (Rango, Star Trek: Nemesis).
Weaving together history and fiction, this enchanting tale is as much an all ages movie, as it is a love letter from Scorsese, Logan and Selznick to the art of filmmaking.
Hugo has four stars of immediate note.
Asa Butterfield (Ender’s Game) is Hugo. A young actor, he does a great job with what is an emotional role, especially for one of his first major parts.
Ben Kingsley (Ghandi, Shutter Island) is turn-of-the-century director Georges Méliès.
Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick Ass, Let Me In) is Isabelle, Méliès’ goddaughter and co-adventurer of Hugo.
Last, but not least, Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Sweeney Todd) is the Station Inspector and he provides a flawless performance.
The sets are lively and colorful, at times reminding me of Amelie, The City of Lost Children, and elements of the Syberia games.
Hugo has gotten some recent commercial support, but I believe this movie will greatly benefit from word of mouth.
If you want to be enchanted, learn a little about early film and are looking for a great evening at the movies, I highly recommend Hugo.
Posted via email from Kevin’s Slice of Inspiration | Comment »
Hello! This weekend is another weekend off as the only movie opening is the new Twilight film.
Since they are not really my cup of tea, I am going to post at least one movie review over on The Examiner.
If you are looking for a movie, might I suggest Immortals?
Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!
~ Kev
Posted via email from Kevin’s Slice of Inspiration | Comment »
This week before Immortals, there were extended trailers for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, The Grey and The Avengers. Just when I was beginning to think of online trailers to write about instead, two emerged from the digitally brightened screen, Act of Valor and The Raven, and demanded my attention.
Act of Valor
Act of Valor is the ‘true story’ of a Navy Seal team and what happened on one of its missions. Filmed with unprecedented access and active duty Navy Seals, this movie looks to be the closest thing most of you will ever get to combat.
The adverts for this film began with the trailer being shown at the Battlefield 3 release party and a cross-promotional campaign offering free special in-game dog tags for those North American Gamers who view the trailer and have an EA account.
The screenplay is by Kurt Johnstad, the writer who adapted 300 and has written the original screenplay 300: Battle for Artemisia.
Act of Valor is co-directed by documentary film maker/stuntman Mike McCoy (Navy SWCC, Dust to Glory) and Scott Waugh, another prolific stuntman.
I am going to go out on a limb, after seeing the trailer, and say that this unconventional duo and crew could be the major move towards a new genre that blurs the line between fact and fiction, documentary and pure fabrication, that has been threatened by the proliferation of smart phones with cameras and, really, has been possible since the advent of the handheld movie camera.
Oh, one last thing, the Cinematographer is Shane Hurlbut, the Director of Photography for Terminator Salvation.
Who will join me on February 17th, 2012?
The Raven
As long as I can remember, I have always loved Edgar Allen Poe’s poetry and stories. Now the man himself has moved beyond being just a literary creator into the realm of film as a character himself.
What follows is a fictionalized account of Edgar Allen Poe’s last days where he assists in the pursuit of a serial killer who has patterned his victims’ demises after Poe’s writing.
I am going to focus on the positive here.
The Director is James McTeigue who also directed V for Vendetta.
I like V for Vendetta.
John Cusack (Better Off Dead, One Crazy Summer) stars as Edgar Allen Poe. Luke Evans (Immortals) stars as Detective Emmett Fields.
I am a huge fan of Cusack and Evans was good in Immortals.
Let us be realistic, I really like the trailer, I do not believe John Cusack needs to take a bad script and, though, there are an awful lot of TV/first time moviemakers involved and it has a release date of March 9th, 2012, I still have high hopes for The Raven.
Put raven trailer here
Posted via email from Kevin’s Slice of Inspiration | Comment »
Before man walked the earth, there were the Immortals. A war erupted between two rival factions and, when it was over, the Gods imprisoned the Titans beneath Mount Tartarus for their crimes.
Now a bitter and powerful King Hyperion scours the land searching for a lost weapon of that war, the Epirus bow. With it, he will free the Titans as revenge on the uncaring Gods who he feels let his family die.
Sworn to never interfere in the affairs of men, Zeus must have faith in a simple peasant, Theseus, to do what is right, protect the weak and defeat King Hyperion before he unleashes a hell that will mean the end of humanity.
Immortals is one giant slice of art, one heaping slab of action, one full tankard of great story-telling and a dash of magical realism added in to tie it all together.
Director Tarsem Singh does an excellent job bringing this movie to the big screen. Singh specializes in taking stories that are larger than life, full of bravado, hyperbole and fantastical characters and situations that float with an air of art house, and make them solid, believable and within the realm of the ‘normal’ movie-going experience.
The costumes and scenery is a feast for the eyes, definitely influenced by the Classical Antiquity movement. Remember this Lawrence Alma-Tadema painting and come back here for a look after you have watched the film to see what I am talking about:
The score, composed by Trevor Morris, is incredible.
Immediately after being satiated by the visual presentation, you will be blown away by the fight scenes.
I was astounded.
When you see the Gods fight, you will be too and you will say ‘this is how it should be done’.
The producers wanted the next 300; the special effects in the Immortals are so crisp and clear, it makes what I remember seem outdated and comical by comparison and puts this movie well down range as the worthy successor.
Immortals is the Goldilocks of the graphic novel genre, not too much violence, exposition or sex, just the right amount of everything.
If the Conan remake had been done this way, they would have already started filming the sequel.
I watched this film in 3D and I am having a hard time picturing it any other way.
Do you love action films, awesome special effects, video games, and/or mythic stories of heroism? This is the film for you!
Posted via email from Kevin’s Slice of Inspiration | Comment »
I am taking this weekend off since there isn’t anything out in the theaters I want to watch. On 11-11-2011 Immortals is released so i’ll be back with a quick review of it as well as a brand new 2 trailers!
Posted via email from Kevin’s Slice of Inspiration | Comment »
This week before In Time there did not seem to be many trailers and only one I had not written about yet that was of interest, so, it is to the internet I go for number two!
For your consideration, here are Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Immortals.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
In the world of spy fiction aficionados, one name stands out once you get past Ian Fleming’s James Bond, James le Carré. Perhaps on the heels of the critically acclaimed The Constant Gardner, film studios have optioned more of this former spy’s fictional works, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy being the next one to hit the big screen.
No surprises here, the storyline is standard fare, there is a spy in our midst and we must expose them before it is too late. The difference from every other spy vs spy movie is Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is adapted from one of le Carré’s best novels.
The first thing on my list of ‘why this will be awesome’ is the Director Tomas Alfredson. Tinker Tailor is a 1980’s period piece and so is the other incredible film he directed, Let The Right One In. From the trailer it looks like Tomas has brought the dark tones of the vampire flick into the world of spies weaving a fabric of foreboding that will suit this movie very well.
The cast is outstanding as well. There is Gary Oldman (Dracula, Batman Begins, True Romance), Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, Pride and Prejudice), Tom Hardy (Inception, Sucker Punch) and John Hurt (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, V for Vendetta) just to name a few.
This has all the hallmarks of a potential multi-nominated Oscar film.
We will be able to find out first hand December 9th, 2011.
Immortals
Immortals has a huge hurdle to overcome, it is seen as a 300 clone but, to the general public’s defense, it is being billed as such by the producers involved as they were responsible for 300 and are looking for the next movie in that genre.
Big ‘Duh!’ here.
I am going to make a case for Immortals.
Below are the reasons why I believe you should give this movie a chance.
To begin, this is Director Tarsem Singh’s new film. You may remember him as the director of The Cell. Despite how you may feel about the script or J Lo’s acting, you cannot deny it was a visually stunning piece and I have no doubts that this aesthetic will carry over to Immortals.
Immortals is an original script. It is written by Vlas Parlapanides and Charly Parlapanides and is their first big screen attempt. They appear to have some indie film experience, though, and I am going to go out on a limb and say this script has to be great as the producers did not give it to anyone else for a rewrite or a once over. At least there is no credit given for the attempt.
The Director of Photography is Brendan Galvin who also was the DP for Behind Enemy Lines and Blood and Chocolate, another couple of films you may not have liked the scripts for (I actually loved Blood and Chocolate) but there is some war and supernatural credit there that can not be denied and no one can say those films were visually boring.
I like the cast as well.
Theseus is being played by Henry Cavill, the new Superman, Man of Steel, and Charles Brandon in Showtime’s critically acclaimed The Tudors.
Phaedra is portrayed by Freida Pinto, fresh off her outstanding performance in Rise of the Planet of the Apes and an International career kick-started by her role as Latika in Slumdog Millionaire.
Mickey Rourke is King Hyperion and you may remember him from such tiny films as Iron Man 2, The Wrestler, Sin City and Once Upon A Time in Mexico. Hopefully he gets some larger roles after this movie…
Immortals also sports such talent as Luke Evans (The Hobbit, The Three Musketeers), Stephen Dorff (Blade, Public Enemies) and John Hurt (yet another unrecognized nobody that should get more work as an actor see Tinker Tailor above).
The music in Immortals was written by Trevor Morris who is also responsible for the soundtracks of The Tudors, the critically acclaimed Kings and Moonlight TV series, and a bunch of video games like Army of Two, Command and Conquer 3 (which, as a side note, also contained the voice acting of Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Michael Ironside, Billy Dee Williams, and Josh Holloway) and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2. The music from Kings would be sufficient for me to be interested, the rest just drives the nail home.
I could go on mentioning the Set Designer Tom Foden (The Cell, One Hour Photo, The Village) and costumes by Eiko Ishioka (The Cell, Dracula), but that would be getting dangerously close to overkill.
The real test for Immortals will come on November 11th, 2011 when it goes public.
Posted via email from Kevin’s Slice of Inspiration | Comment »
In the future, everyone is engineered to stop aging at 25 and to die a year later. The world now runs on time and the wealthy can live forever while the poor literally live day to day.
Working class Will Salas is given a gift of a hundred years by a centenarian who has lost the will to go on but is enamored by Will’s drive to survive and optimistic outlook.
He gives Will only one request; do not waste the time given.
I had high hopes for this film, not only does it have a solid stable of actors, In Time also possesses an interesting seed of a story.
There were so many directions for this movie to go in order to explore this artificially created society, it is amazing that somehow writer/director Andrew Niccol missed them all.
Best known for his space operatic Gattaca, Niccol began In Time in a similar vein, a slow rumination and set up of a world based on the arbitrary value and exploitation of human lives.
Then, as Will escapes during an extended chase, the story runs away and he literally goes off the road into an 80’s style Scifi film car wreck. It is stunning how this particular scene is a metaphor of the remainder of the movie.
I realize that is somewhat of a spoiler, but I have to explain the next sentence.
I am going to recommend In Time.
If you have nothing else better to do, go and enjoy yourself; there are some very entertaining bits beyond the turn into ludicrous.
In Time will develop a cult following because as ‘Holy crap’ as it gets it stays well to this side of camp.
There will be cosplay for this movie if for no other reason than it would be simple to do and the costume designs were really good.
The story will make only the thinnest veneer of sense.
None of the moral questions raised at the beginning of the film will ever be solved let alone visited again in any serious manner.
You will not leave the theater wondering whether or not Apple is developing a set of iArm DNA because ‘that could so happen’.
In Time crosses the line to ‘so bad it is good’ territory and you will be wondering how in the hell this film was ever made.
Ironically, you may find yourself, like me, glad that it was.
Posted via email from Kevin’s Slice of Inspiration | Comment »
This week, the trailers before The Three Musketeers were all ones I have written up before (War Horse, Tintin, The Darkest Hour) or were films I have no interest writing about, so, I am going to pick two from online!
Here are Chronicle and In Time.
Chronicle
I did not have to go too far to find my first pick. I had heard absolutely nothing about Chronicle until I played the trailer and I am glad I did.
Blending hand held footage and traditional methods; Chronicle is about three high school kids who develop superpowers after exposure to something late one night.
It stars the well-known Michael Kelly (Dawn of the Dead, Man of Steel), Michael B. Jordan (Friday Night Lights, Red Tails), and a bunch of other TV bit players you have probably seen briefly at one time or the other.
The Director is Josh Trank, best known for The Kill Point, which I have not seen, but have heard great things about.
The film was written by Max Landis and appears to be his first big screen credit. Side note: Max is the son of John Landis (Blues Brothers, Animal House, yes THAT John Landis), though, since this is not a comedy and they are separate people, this really has no bearing on Chronicle (well, until I see some references to John working on the script too…)
The only flag I see for this film is its release date, which is understandable considering the untested talents of both the Writer and Director. In Chronicle’s defense, I have seen signs this year, and last, the major studios are bolstering their post-Holiday season line-up seemingly in hopes of releasing films they believe will actually make money rather than just burn off horrible finished products.
I am excited about this film and will be in theaters to see Chronicle when it makes its big screen premiere February 3rd, 2012.
In Time
Admittedly, I have watched the trailer for In Time in the theater, but it was a second tier choice I held back for just this occasion.
In a future where time is literally money, everyone ages to 25 and then has to earn the rest of their life.
When your time runs out you die.
Well, except for the rich who can theoretically live forever.
This Justin Timberlake (The Social Network) action movie vehicle is peopled with a huge, big-name cast: Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins, Inception), Olivia Wilde (House, Tron: Legacy), Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory, Hancock), Matt Bomer (Chuck, White Collar) and Amanda Seyfried (Jennifer’s Body, Veronica Mars), just to name a few.
Written and Directed by Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, The Truman Show), Chronicle has some serious potential.
We will all find out when it is released October 28th, 2011.
Posted via email from Kevin’s Slice of Inspiration | Comment »
