Prepping For A Road Trip!

(I know, this picture has nothing to do with road trips. But I didn't feel like looking up a new photo to use.)

I'm heading out of town tomorrow and will be spending a lot of the week driving to and from various places in Montana and North Dakota. (My cousin is getting married and we're taking the chance to visit family.)

I look forward to long driving trips because it gives me a chance to do something I don't get to do very often. Listen to audio drama!

Now, you'd think that because of what I do every day I listen to audio drama all the time. But actually, it's because of my job that I CAN'T! I'm not able to write and listen to fiction at the same time, and when I'm not writing (scripts, e-mails, blogs, website copy, etc.) I'm using my ears to mix and create my own audio content.

I can also get an extra dose of the teaching lectures I listen to. Currently I'm enjoying material by both Winkie Pratney and William Lane Craig.

We have a rule in our car that whoever is driving gets to choose what we listen to. I'll be volunteering to drive a lot!

Sucker Punch (Movie Review)

Let's get straight to it, shall we? This movie was a nerdly geek-splosion of awesomeness. I'm giving it a 10 out of 10 for my Quality score. Not because it's flawless, but because it's a major achievement in film that shouldn't be ignored. I haven't checked my records to verify, but I don't think I've given another movie a 10 since the first "Iron Man". Like that film, "Sucker Punch" is too much fun, too much of a visual feast and just too freakin' cool to give it anything less.

The story centers on a girl nicknamed "Baby Doll", who finds herself framed by her evil stepfather and sentenced to an insane asylum, where she faces a lobotomy in 5 days unless she can escape. A matronly psychologist helps her and the other girls in the asylum, to cope with their situation by empowering them to retreat into an imagined world they create, in which they are powerful and able to bring about positive change in their circumstances.

As the story unfolds, Baby Doll leads a group of girls in a mission to escape the asylum, but we get to see their progress through the lens of Baby Doll's imagined fantasy world, a crazy blend of sci-fi, fantasy and steam-punk that propels itself with action visuals the Wachowski brothers(The Matrix Trilogy) would drool at.

The creative quality and almost relentless quantity of visual effects sequences has enough optical intensity to make this movie worth seeing. But the time spent on character motivation, though not a lot, is enough to help us invest in their struggle, especially in the second half of the movie. This is not a simple "eye-candy" visual effects film. It has plenty of heart and a few moments that left me leaning forward with a dropped jaw, not from some stunning CGI, but stunning tragedy inflicted on our heroes. I especially found the character "Rocket" to be compelling and for some reason very interesting to watch.

Another elements that might be easy to overlook is the costumes, which are almost a visual effect themselves. This is where the inspiration of "Heavy Metal" magazine and modern comic books makes itself most evident.

Although "Sucker Punch" is mostly escapist entertainment, it has some clear themes of overcoming evil and self-empowerment, with a healthy dose of self-sacrifice. From a biblical standpoint, we might support the first theme and automatically reject the second. This movie ultimately states (even literally through narration) that we are our own source of trials and victories in life. We are the ultimate power in control of our lives. Biblically, this idea doesn't fly. In fact, the movie itself is inconsistent on this point. In the last moments of the film, while this point is being made in narration, a main character is able to achieve her aspiration, though only because of the assistance of others, including a random stranger. In fact, other characters who wanted to achieve their aspirations much more strongly, failed in their attempts. This is in direct contradiction to the philosophy stated in the final words before the credits roll, leaving me a bit confused.

That said, their is room for some "self-determination" according to the Bible. Paul clearly struggles with conflict that he brings about in his own life (Romans 7:15-20) and David declares a determination to himself that he will choose to praise God. (Psalm 103:1-2) Messages inspiring self-determination on not by nature counter to scripture unless they promote self-determination as the ultimate source of strength. Sucker punch verbally validates ultimate self-determination but illustrates what might even be described as divine intervention or at least exterior supernatural aid. The movie doesn't beg for conversation, but it could be started fairly easily on the way home by simply asking out loud, "What exactly IS it about that movie that makes me feel like I can conquer the world right now?"

A mind-blowing, genre-bending experience that will likely be a benchmark for years to come. If you're a fan of sci-fi/fantasy action, you'd be crazy to miss this one.

Rated PG-13 for thematic material involving sexuality, violence and combat sequences, and for language.

Quality: 10/10

Relevance: 8.0/10

www.spiritblade.net/paeter
www.spiritblade.net/podcast

"Yeah! Eat it, losers!"

My uncle managed to capture this "magic moment" between gestures that my son offered up last weekend. It's amazing how film can capture a single moment, so quick and fleeting, and allow us to treasure it forever.

Game-A-Thon!

My birthday is coming up next month, and instead of doing a party or something, my wife is letting me have some friends/family over for 15 hours of nerdy board games! Woohoo!

The games to choose from include:


Zombies! (Shotguns vs. Hordes of the Dead as you race to reach the helicopter!)

Doom: The Boardgame (Co-op space marines blowing up aliens, baby!)

Betrayal At House On The Hill (Co-op horror survival... until someone turns out to be the bad guy!)

Hero Quest (Co-op fantasy dungeon questing! Swords, magic and monsters!)

Magic: The Gathering (Strategic, spell-themed card game.)

Fireball Island (Yes, THAT Fireball Island! Steal the gem, screw people over and get off the exploding Volcano!)

Risk 2210 (The classic war game pumped up with nukes, satellite weaponry and territory on the moon!)

Arkham Horror (Dark unstoppable forces are waking to end the world. Can we hope to survive? Nope!)


I can't wait!!

My Review System

Recently "Whiteboy", at the Spirit Blade Forums, suggested that I post a breakdown of the review system I use when I review entertainment (usually movies) here or on my podcast.

So I just set up a page here on the Paeter's Brain blog that you can check out to get an understanding of my scoring system.

I hope you find it helpful as you read my reviews!

Next Stop: Hermeneutics!

I took a day off this week for a "spiritual retreat", which proved to be just as valuable as I thought it might be.

One of the things that came out of my time "on the mountain-top" was an interest in biblical hermeneutics. (And the me from 10 years ago can't believe I'm saying that.) I've found studies in biblical apologetics, doctrine, philosophy and theology to be really valuable. But I've never buckled down with a textbook about the theory of textual interpretation of the Bible from the evangelical standpoint.

I don't have the time or finances to take any courses, but I have a growing collection of textbooks that I've used to teach myself as best I can.

I'm planning to bug my study mentor, The Hebrew-Greek Bible Geek, for a recommendation. But I'd be interested in any other recommendations on a book as well!

Dragon Age 2, First Impressions

Haven't had as much time as I'd like to dive into "Dragon Age 2" over the last week, but I've had enough to give my first five impressions of the first five hours:

1. The interface has changed noticeably. I'm still getting used to it. Most buttons still serve the same functions. But full equipment access/adjustment has been moved from the radial menu to the pause menu and the "back button" is only good for bringing up the map, rather than the entire menu system. In some ways this simplifies things, giving you one route to reach a given menu, but the menu changes don't seem to be a big enough improvement to justify the change in familiarity from the last game.

2. The graphics continue to look great, possibly even better than the first game. Still lots of blood flying around in combat. This game pulls no punches. The general color of the game seems to be a little more sterile and gritty this time around. This hasn't been a plus or a minus for me yet, it's just different.

3. The story is a sequel to the larger events of the first game, but doesn't involve your character from Dragon Age: Origins except in vague references to the "Hero Of Ferelden" now and then. No sign of Morrigan yet, but Flemeth (voiced by Kate Mulgrew of "Star Trek: Voyager") makes an appearance early on, revealing new layers to her character and setting up her further involvement (I assume) later in (and hopefully throughout) the game.

You choose the sex and class of your human character and use multiple choice options to select your "type" of response in dialogue. Identical to Mass Effect 1 and 2, you don't know exactly what words each response type will result in. The trade-off is that your character is fully voiced. Personally, I could go either way. When I'm in the mood (and alone) I'll actually read my "lines" out loud in Dragon Age: Origins and similar games.

4. The sound of the game is very similar to the first. Same composer, and presumably the same female vocalist providing haunting melodies over the orchestra. So far, the score hasn't "opened up" as much, although I assume things will sound more epic as the story expands. The voice acting is just as strong as ever, and the male actor for Hawke (your character) does a good job of creating a voice and tone that works whether you take the noble, snarky or hard edged dialogue options.

5. The biggest change is the combat system, which has been tweaked subtly but significantly. It is now a bit more action oriented. Instead of your character repeatedly attacking a selected foe until they are defeated, you have to press the "select" button repeatedly (after moving into range) in order to continue attacking. Your supporting characters are still automated with customizable tactics and you can switch around to control whoever you want, but the combat feel is now just a little closer to a "Diablo" clone than Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights, which Dragon Age: Origins drew heavily from.

This has been a step backward in my opinion. I enjoyed the real-time combat of the first game, but since it was still somewhat automated, I could easily move the camera around to check out the cool combat from whatever angle I wanted. Now, however, the thumb controlling the camera is busy pushing "A" over and over again, and so the combat is seen mostly from one angle. Bummer. After five hours in as a fighter, and trying out a mage supporting character for the last 20 minutes, I've actually decided to start the game over as a mage, since I believe that will provide more of the "stop and go" tactical experience I enjoyed in the first game, without having to micro-manage my whole team (as I would personally need to do if I just amp up the difficulty).

Final Impression-
Over all, I'm really enjoying the game, though I would have been happier if the combat hadn't been touched. Still, this is Bioware, we're talking about. So I'm giving myself some time to adjust to their changes and hopefully they'll prove to be good ones in the end. Either way, this is shaping up to be a very compelling game experience that I'd recommend to almost any RPG player.

Battle: Los Angeles (Movie Review)

After seeing just one trailer for "Battle: Los Angeles", I didn't want to see any more. It looked like a movie I didn't want to spoil by seeing too much of in advance. And I was right.

Aaron Eckhart leads the cast as U.S. Marine Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz. He's had a long career, but his last mission ended terribly, haunting him with the death of the men he led. Despite preparing to retire, he is kept on when mysterious meteorites striking earth turn out to be the first wave of an invasion force. The story follows Nantz as he is placed back into the uncomfortable and weighty role of leadership amidst this relentless, unstoppable threat. Further complicating matters is the fact that he has a reputation, deserved or not, for letting those he leads die in combat.

Right from the start I sensed this movie was making some good moves by introducing us to the ensemble cast and Nantz in particular. These were not meant to be a series of ranks and last names, but people with families, fears and dreams. Too often genre movies are concept driven rather than character driven, so I appreciate when a movie like this aims to make characters a core value, since doing so adds to the mounting tension that genre films are often trying to capture in the first place.

And speaking of tension, this movie rarely lets up. After the first 15-20 minutes of setup, the literally explosive pace offers few opportunities to catch your breath. Despite some sci-fi trappings of an alien invasion, this movie feels mostly like a military combat action flick. Explosions and gunfire create firestorms of chaos for the viewer and the sound design places us in the middle of the action with bullets flying in surround sound.

The "shaky-cam" effect is used quite a bit as well, to keep us from getting settled. Often, this effect can be abused, hiding poor special effects and uncreatively coordinated action sequences. But here it builds the tension as the viewer, like the soldiers, try to make sense of what's happening on the battlefield.

Special effects are cool (sometimes extremely convincing!) and not too colorful, in keeping with the gritty realism the movie captures.

The score is used with solid yet subtle effect, getting out of the way of the sound effects, which sell the chaos and tension so well, but becoming more noticeable during some moments of triumph, while still maintaining a somber attitude. (Moments of triumph are rare and short lived in this flick.)

Performances are all fine, though nothing outstanding here. This is related to my one area of complaint. Despite the setup of a few marine characters in the beginning, as soon as they stepped into uniform, I quickly lost track of who was who. So when someone died I wondered "Oh, was that the guy whose wife is pregnant?" instead of immediately reacting the way I should have. Most often I didn't realize which characters were dead until I started asking, "Hey, what happened to 'whatzisname?'" So despite taking the time to set up some characters, similar skin tones and identical helmets and uniforms proved to severely cripple my connection with several supporting characters and their stories.

In terms of worthwhile conversation to be had on the drive home, it's possible you'll find yourself discussing reputation in some form if you really want to bring it up. Nantz commits himself to serving the best he can, regardless of the fact that he is seen as a villain or coward. He even willingly takes on responsibilities that will potentially enhance this reputation. So doing the right thing without getting credit is certainly a big part of the character plot. However, the ride is so intense that most will likely just be thinking about survival for two hours and just learning to breathe again on the way home.

Rated PG-13 for sustained and intense sequences of war violence and destruction, and for language.

Quality: 9.0/10

Relevance: 6.5/10

www.spiritblade.net/paeter
www.spiritblade.net/podcast

Still On Dragon Age Origins

With huge anticipation I picked up my pre-paid copy of Dragon Age 2 yesterday, and yet it still sits in front of me beneath a seal of plastic wrapping.

Make no mistake, I'm about to explode in anticipation and I only have two or three hours left of my second Dragon Age Origins play-through to complete. But I realized two nights ago that between all the work I've been cramming in and the two boys biting at my ankles, it had been a little while since me and "The Mrs." had spent some time hanging out.

So I opted to get us a movie last night, which we curled up on the couch to watch and cringe together at. ("The Next Three Days". Good movie!)

But today, after cramming in some more work and somehow managing a run to my comic book store, I plan to liberate Ferelden, or destroy it...

Actually, I don't think destroying it is a gameplay option. What's up, Bioware?

Oh. A trilogy you say? Okay... But I'll be expecting the option for game three!

Dragon Age Dilemma

I find myself in a bit of dilemma right now. And I don't think the word could possibly be used more loosely.

I'm on my second play through of Dragon Age origins. The route I've taken has provided a very different experience from my first time through and I've been having a blast. I'm probably about 5-7 hours from the end of the game, making for a great segue into Dragon Age 2, which I'll be picking up tomorrow. But I'm nerding out in such a major way over DA2 that I don't know if I'll be able to stand waiting to play, which I'll have to do if I finish my second run on Dragon Age Origins first! What to do, what to do!

I'd like to submit that calling this a "dilemma" is comical evidence that God has blessed my life in ridiculously abundant ways that I haven't possibly earned.

The Adjustment Bureau (Movie Review)

The world is not what it seems. While we least expect it, eerie men in suits, who like to avoid water, freeze time and use strange tools on our heads to change our memories so that we will think what they want us to. Somehow, one man stumbles upon this behavior in action, and from that point begins a quest to uncover the truth and remain with the woman he loves, using as his weapon the very powers these strange men in suits possess.

Now, before you try to tell Matt Damon where "Shell Beach" is, you should know that “The Adjustment Bureau” is not my dream come true of a sequel to “Dark City”. Not even close. In fact, the trailers seem to imply this is a fantasy/sci-fi thriller, when it’s much more of a fantasy romance, similar in tone to a flick like “The Time Traveler’s Wife”.

In The Adjustment Bureau, Damon plays a politician who meets a woman randomly. After just minutes of talking for the first time, they are passionately kissing in response to the magnetic power of their fated, unstoppable love for each other. If you can buy this premise and enjoy a bit of fantasy, you’ll find a well made movie here.

The acting is solid and the mysterious tone is compelling. I was leaning forward for much of the movie for each new nugget about the mysterious "Bureau". There was a lot in this movie that was just plain good film making. Nothing truly memorable about it, but the sum was more than its parts and in general I had a pretty enjoyable experience.

However, because I had a lot of trouble buying the initial premise of “instant love”, I never emotionally connected with the characters and their story. I didn’t really see why it would be such a terrible thing if they didn’t end up together, yet the tension for much of the movie relies on this as the primary threat. (There is a threat to wipe Damon’s memory if he squeals on the Bureau, but this isn’t played up strongly until near the end.) Without spoiling anything, I can say that the end, while only partially predictable, is not at all interesting or inventive.

Of greater interest to me were the philosophical foundations of this movie. The story implies that this mysterious “Adjustment Bureau” is the truth behind stories of angels, and that its “chairman” is actually the power behind all concepts of God. Again, this is implied. Not obviously stated. But the world presented here is certainly presented as an alternative to religious ideas about any higher powers working behind the scenes of reality.

There are a few things that correctly mirror the nature of humans and spiritual reality. But I really wish I would have had a notebook to jot down all the little nuggets in the dialogue that so strongly mirror common ideas in “pop-spiritual” thinking. To try and sum up, the movie suggests that:

1. There is a powerful (though not omnipotent) being orchestrating events according to a plan.
2. This plan (and therefore the higher power) is fallible and requires changing to adapt to human choices.
3. The higher power doesn’t always know what is best for us.
4. The higher power can be thwarted by “chance”.
5. Humans were built to be led by their emotions, rather than reason. (And this is implied to be a good thing.)

There is also a lot to talk about regarding the nature of free will and fate (or God’s sovereignty). This movie unintentionally illustrates the logical problem with emphasizing one over the other. Unless both are somehow operating in complete compatibility, we are either left with a God who is not really all-powerful and all-knowing, or we’re left without real free will. My personal opinion is that fiction will never be able to treat this philosophical wrestling match with satisfaction until multiple space-time dimensions are brought into the equation. (See the book “Beyond The Cosmos” by Hugh Ross for some great thinking on this issue.)

In the end, “The Adjustment Bureau” is a well made fantasy romance in which the romance itself(and not just the Bureau) is pretty fantastical. But if you can get past that and don’t mind sitting through some illogical pop-philosophy, there’s a good movie to be seen here, with a TON to talk about on the drive home.

Rated Pg-13 for brief strong language, some sexuality and a violent image.

Quality: 8.0/10

Relevance: 9.0/10

www.spiritblade.net/paeter
www.spiritblade.net/podcast

Knights Of The Dinner Table

A few years ago, after starting a gaming group again for the first time in years, I finally dropped my subscription to the RPG gamer comic, "Knights Of The Dinner Table". With a REAL gaming group on a regular basis, I found I didn't need to live out my PnP gaming life through the Knights anymore. It was a great period that lasted for about two years before a new season of life forced me to put that part of my geekiness on the back burner again for the time being.

But recently I've felt the need to be back in that world of table-top dungeon crawling. The comedic world of emotionally detached adventuring that the Knights celebrate so well. And since I still don't have room in my schedule for a regular gaming group, I've begun re-reading my KODT collection, starting with "Tales From The Vault, Vol. 1" with plans to work all the way through issue 135. And if I get all the way through and still want some more, I'll take advantage of the savings program my comic store has (which it didn't three years ago) and start collecting this series again.

No matter what I end up doing, I've really enjoyed getting back into these books. And "hoody hoo" do I have some reading to do!