White Knuckle Rafting

I'll be out of town on vacation all of next week (so you won't see any posting here), and around this time next week I'll be gripped with terror on some big whitewater rapids in Alaska.

My wife is into nature and outdoors and things that can potentially kill you, so we're going to get in this inflatable group coffin and paddle ourselves to the presence of God.

She tells me it will be fun, but I have my doubts. I've gone rafting before, but these rapids are scaled up from the last ones we attempted. All dramatics aside, we should be just fine. But will I still be stressed out? Yep.

See you on the other side!



P.S.
I may not have mentioned it here yet, but since July 4th is your last shot, I thought I'd mention the MASSIVE 50% off sale going on at the Spirit Blade Productions Online Store. Don't miss it!

Playing as "Ebony" In Mass Effect

Just started my second play-through of Mass Effect 1&2 last night. My first time I went with a soldier and used the default name and visual design for Shepard. I also made choices like I would try to make them. (Y'know, if I were actually tough, brave and selfless instead of weak, cowardly and self-absorbed.)

But this time I wanted to be a bad boy. And since the male voice actor still sounds pretty straight and narrow no matter how you play him, I decided after 10 minutes to start over with the female version of the character.

The female voice actor sounds much less formal (saying "gonna" instead of "going to", etc.) and has a somewhat husky tone that fits the way I plan to play. I also gave her pale skin, black hair and black lipstick and named her after every Spirit Blade fan's favorite demon-possessed butt-kicker... Ebony!

Havin' a blast so far! Now if only I could get my wife (the voice of Ebony) to wear black lipstick. Mmm...

Falling Skies

After a couple months of anticipation, TNT's new series "Falling Skies" premiered last night in a two hour special.

The story begins six months after an invading alien force has wiped out all military forces and disabled electronics across the globe. Humans survive in roaming "camps" and ordinary fathers and mothers have become scavengers and warriors in the fight to keep their families safe. Meanwhile, children are being kidnapped and forced into mind-controlling harnesses by the bug-like alien race. The purpose of these devices and the agenda for controlling the children is still a mystery, but removal of a harness has so far been fatal every time.

Noah Wyle plays a father of three boys who lost his wife, and their mother, in the initial attack. One of his sons was thought dead but is discovered alive...wearing a slave harness.

The budget invested for the appropriate action sequences helps to make things engaging, even if the promised "limited commercial interruption" at the top of the hour was actually multiple breaks at about 7 minutes apart. (Whaa?)

The visual design of the show is appropriately bleak and there is so much potential for this to be another "Battlestar Galactica". But the light tone of the dialogue and unrealistic ability for most everyone to emotionally adapt to their circumstances takes a tremendous amount of power away from the story.

Considering the stakes and the tragedy involved, I wanted to see so much more gripping, emotional drama, which could have been implemented without sacrificing a single beat of action. It's also made far too easy to identify who is in the right and who is in the wrong, which further removes tension from the viewing experience. When you're settled on who the black and white hats are and think you know who deserves what, it just becomes a waiting game for everyone to get what they are due.

This is the kind of show that, if it lasts two seasons or makes it all the way to a non-cancelled conclusion, I'd go back and check it out on DVD. But time is a very precious commodity for me these days, and I could spend that "Falling Skies" hour more enjoyably each week with an involving RPG on my xbox.

Green Lantern (Movie Review)

Over 20 years ago I read my first Green Lantern comic and knew immediately that he would forever be my favorite superhero. Since then I've been waiting for Hollywood to take interest in him enough to make a big screen, big budget movie, and at last it has arrived.

Because I'm such a huge fan of Green Lantern, writing this review has been a significant challenge. I tried not to go too easy on the film because I love the source material so much. I've tried not to be too hard on it for the ways in which it didn't meet my hopes and expectations. In the end I did the best I can to be objective, but I obviously make no guarantees. ;-)

A race of ancient beings called The Guardians have taken it upon themselves to protect and preserve order in the universe. To this end they have divided the universe into 3600 sectors and given a powerful ring to one representative in each sector, inducting them into The Green Lantern Corps. The rings can create from solid energy anything the user imagines, and these "constructs" are as powerful as the will of the user. The chief requirement for entrance to the corps is fearlessness.

While fighting off an ancient and powerful entity, one Green Lantern is mortally wounded, and passes his ring on to human test pilot Hal Jordan, who finds himself a fish out of water in a strange new world. Hal must learn what it means to be a Green Lantern and rise to the challenge of protecting those he cares about and his entire world from the most powerful threat the Green Lantern Corps has ever faced.

The action is visually imaginative and explosive from the very beginning. The pacing is almost perfect throughout, balancing adventure with character driven moments. Ryan Reynolds has a quick whit that keeps the movie fun without spoiling the serious moments or taking things too far. Reynolds handles the intimate character moments as well as he does the one-liners, and though he may feel a bit different from the Hal Jordan of the comics, the core of his character is consistent with what fans have enjoyed reading for years.

Peter Sarsgaard is a wonderfully pathetic and creepy Hector Hammond. This is a villain who has very different motives than any comic villain I've seen on screen. Hammond already feels alienated, and the powers he gains only enhance this feeling in him, driving him to lash out for very personal reasons and in very personal ways.

While Blake Lively as Carol Ferris is fine as Hal's love interest and moral support, I would have liked her to be a much firmer, stronger character, as Carol Ferris is in the comics. Not just for consistency with the comics, but because the chemistry may have been stronger between her and Hal if she were able to match his bravado more equally. I also thought chemistry was lacking between Hal and his "best friend" Tom Kalmaku, who seemed friendly, but not like a guy who had really spent a lot of "buddy time" with Hal.

Mark Strong is both commanding and subtly layered in his portrayal of the Green Lantern Sinestro. He makes for a wonderful obstacle for Hal to overcome as he finds his place in the corps. (As an aside, stay and watch for a scene with him during the ending credits.)

Of course one of the big stars in a movie like this is the visual effects. The variety of ring constructs in this movie is wide and they are often used in dazzling rapid succession. I'm extremely pleased that the best moments of this movie were never shown in the trailers or TV spots that I saw. It's also fun just to watch constructs come together as they form from separated green energy particles that pull together and assemble into the ring-bearer's selected object. There are a lot of cool things to see when it comes to the constructs alone.

Oa is a mysterious and beautiful world that feels ancient and even fantastical despite the alien sci-fi trappings. The visual design of the Guardians is true in essence to the comics, but employs some design changes that add a sense of myth and wonder, giving the Guardians and their world a sense of history and making both ripe for further exploration. Oa represents a new realm for audiences to explore and become fascinated with and stayed with me well after leaving the theater.

My early fears about the visual effects used to create Green Lantern's costume were quickly put to rest. The costume works very well, along with the motion capture technique used to put it on screen. Rarely did Hal's movements in the costume seem animated and the effect offers a new way to approach superhero costumes that is uniquely appropriate to this particular character concept.

I wish I could say the same for my fears about the CGI for the various alien races. While the various CG created alien Green Lanterns and the Guardians look as good as any CG aliens in the recent Star Wars prequels, to me that is not a compliment but rather a way in which Hollywood continues to fall short. A combination of CG and puppet animation, like that used in Hellboy 2, would have been much more satisfying.

On the whole, this movie delivers for those expecting a big summer special effects bonanza. I'm thrilled that Warner Brothers took a chance and invested the kind of money needed for this project to be made the way it needed to be made.

Audiences may have mixed feelings about the climax of the movie, which I won't spoil. I saw what I interpreted as a significant plot hole, but my wife also provided a counter argument that I had to grudgingly leave room for. Some may find the ending to be anti-climactic, wanting more of the Green Lantern Corps than we're given. Others may be content for this movie to be primarily Hal Jordan's time to shine. I sit somewhere in the middle, and found the ending cool and satisfying, but not all it could have been.

The central theme of this movie is fear, and the need to overcome it in order to do what is noble, courageous and right. Hal is forced to not just face his fears, but admit they exist in the first place, as he has been living in denial of them. The same, Hal says, is true of the Guardians, whom he accuses of denying the existence of their fears. In this I think there are two themes that could potentially be discussed after watching this movie.

The first is fear itself, and what it takes to overcome fear. The Green Lantern Corps members and the Guardians would answer with "will". But will has to have a source of strength as well. Psyching yourself up can only go so far.

The will to persevere is fueled by belief in something. Christians who accept torture in countries hostile to their beliefs do so because they believe this life is only a dot on the line of eternity, and that living for what comes after this life is infinitely more important that living for the comforts and pleasures that can be experienced temporarily right now.

The second potential, though less likely, discussion topic may be truth. In order for Hal and the Guardians to face their fears, they first have to stop kidding themselves and admit that their fears exist. We so often fail to grow in this life because we hold onto views of ourselves that are false. We try to convince not just others, but ourselves that we have it all together, when in fact we are broken and need repairing. This mentality prevents many non-Christians from turning to Christ for forgiveness and many Christians from turning to him or those around them for help in areas where they are weak or dealing with sin.

While the theme of fear is very present, the way in which it is treated is not as emotionally involving for audience members as it is an obstacle for the characters, so the likelihood of it triggering discussion after the movie is still pretty low.

This is a fun, adventurous movie that every fan of action/sci-fi effects movies should see. It's not without some minor flaws, but the experience as a whole amounts to one of the best superhero movies made recently.

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action.


Quality: 9.0/10

Relevance: 7.0/10


For information about my scoring system, visit- spiritblade.net/reviewscores

Or listen to this review this weekend at- spiritblade.net/podcast

Green Lantern: Rise Of The Manhunters (Video Game Review)

Since this is a big week for Green Lantern (I'm seeing the movie tomorrow morning!) I thought I'd squeeze out an extra post and give a "First Five" review of "Green Lantern: Rise Of The Manhunters" as it plays on the Xbox 360.

I reserve my "First Five" reviews for video games. They involve me giving my first five impressions of the first five hours of a game. So they are not complete and thorough reviews, but hopefully they're both timely and helpful.

This time around, I actually ended up getting through the entire game, although only on the lowest difficulty and without trying multiplayer.

Up front I should say that I almost never play action games because I suck at them. Anything requiring the precise movement or timing of joysticks or buttons is going to kick my butt and leave me frustrated. Especially if death or failure means playing the same section of a game over and over and over again. (Burn in hell, Super Mario Brothers!) I much prefer RPGs or action RPGs, which allow me to go and level up somewhere for awhile if a foe keeps killing me.

I only bought Green Lantern: Rise Of The Manhunters because it was a Green Lantern video game (which I've waited for almost as long as for a movie) and because I'd been hearing surprisingly good things in multiple previews. Surprising because it is both a comic book property and a movie tie-in. Usually a one-two knock out punch against any hope a game will be good.

But this game IS good! Not fantastic, and certainly made mostly for fans, but still good! So here are my first five impressions:


Visual Presentation

The visual design is a high point of the game. Based on the movie previews, it looks like they've used the concept art from the movie to create the world of the game. You spend much of the game on the Green Lantern planet headquarters, Oa, but also visit two other planets, one of which (Zamaron) has similarities to Oa, and the other (Biot) which looks very different (made entirely of metal).

There's enough variety to keep things from looking old. The environments are all cool to be in. But the variety won't captivate you, either.

The ring constructs look great and when the action goes into slow motion it's really cool to see them form. There are some really epic looking shots of Green Lantern that remind you of his power.

In between levels are some brief animations as Hal flies or jumps from one section to another, that are extremely cool at first. But as they are used over and over again for the entire game, they get downgraded to "neat" looking.

On the Xbox, I noticed some "stuttering" in the image of the cut-scenes, and a number of times there are "jaggies" visible that I would normally only expect from a PS2 game. Bummer.


Sound

The music, (which may be lifted from the movie, I'm not sure) sounds really good, if understated much of the time. It has the orchestral/electronic blend of many modern scores and fits the material almost perfectly. But it has a reputation for sometimes cutting out during cut-scenes, which I think I only experienced once.

Sound effects are all fine, though not very creative. Though I do like the ring energy related sounds better here than on the Justice League animated series.

What works especially well for this type of game is the voice acting. Ryan Reynolds plays Hal here as well, and his approach was a nice departure from the normally over the top performances that voice actors give to these games. The other actors also do a great job and are very well suited to their roles.


Writing

The story takes places sometime after the events of the movie, and no spoilers are present. (Although the presence of Sinestro does eliminate one possible ending for the movie.) The action is all in space. Nothing on earth. The game opens at the funeral of Hal's predecessor, and then an attack by The Manhunters throws everything into chaos. From that point on, there is a bit of a mystery to be solved as to who is ultimately behind the attacks, but most of this game is about blazing through bad guys with the most powerful weapon in the universe.

The dialogue is fine, although I hope the writing in the film will be much better. Nothing stands out from any conversation in this game.


Gameplay

Have you ever played God Of War 1 or 2? Strip that game to its skeleton and paint Green Lantern all over it. That's what this gameplay is.

You've got constructs that you earn by collecting experience orbs from enemies. Though unlike God Of War you don't have to keep learning button combos and can instead map your construct abilities to the button of your choice. (Much easier to remember and use.)

Your normal attack options (which use various ring constructs but are not technically called "constructs" by the game) are upgradeable (which freshens them up visually as well!) and don't use energy from your ring.

"Constructs" use ring energy with every use, but you always have a small amount of reserve ring energy that regenerates quickly. But if you want to have enough energy to use a bunch of construct powers quickly in a row, you'll need to recharge your ring by smashing "pots" with ring energy in them. (I know. Lame.) Now and then you'll also find a Lantern Battery that fully restores both your ring energy and health, and often enables you for "Ring Surge".

Ring Surge is the same as "Rage Of The Gods" in God Of War. You power it up by giving and taking damage and when activated, it increases your damage and defense for a short time, during which you also have constantly full ring energy.

As I mentioned before, there is drop in/drop out co-op play, where player two takes on the role of Sinestro. But I have no experience with this function and so can't comment on it. (I haven't pinned my wife onto that second controller yet, but soon...)

For someone like me, who sucks at games requiring any level of hand-eye coordination, this game was challenging even on the lowest difficulty. I died two or three times over the course of the roughly 8-10 hour game. (I've heard a number of others finish in closer to 7 hours.) But never in the same place, which kept me from being frustrated. Often I just realized I hadn't upgraded in a little while and that, along with lessons learned the hard way, gave me the boost I needed to succeed on the next try.

But in addition to dying, there are also some puzzle elements that, while not too hard on the noggin', were sometimes tough to complete because they require quick, precise timing. One or two of these I had to try 3 or 4 times in a row before finally getting it. A little frustrating, but on a second play through now I think I'd do better.

In addition to the normal "God Of War" levels, there are flying/shooting levels where you travel on a pre-determined course, blowing every enemy out of the sky that you see. Once I realized that holding down the rapid fire blaster doesn't drain ring energy on these levels, I found them easier, but they were still very challenging and were one of the first places I died.

My sweet spot for difficulty would have been just a little easier. This game had me stressed out more than I would like. (Especially since I'm a GL fan and wanted to be able to play through the entire GL game I just paid 60 bucks for!) But I was rewarded by a largely fun experience and the ability to replay levels after beating the game with my acquired experience and upgrades. (This option appears before beating the game, but I do not recommend using it, as glitches have been reported that make the game impossible to finish if you use Mission Select before beating the entire game.) This is great because now I can play through the game more casually (like I wanted to the first time) and when someone joins me for co-op, they have the same experience level I do, so they can enjoy the more casual Green Lantern experience as well.

A few minor glitches have been reported for this game in addition to the ones I've mentioned. The manual is virtually no help in understanding your options either. FYI, your game is ONLY saved through the autosave function. And you can only have ONE game save at a time. Starting a "New Game" will erase any previous save, along with the experience and upgrades earned. And if "Mission Select" is used before beating the game, it will make uncompleted levels impossible to play. (Meaning you have to start all over again.)

I've heard reports of in-game bugs, but only once did I ever have to restart my game because of one, and the autosave feature kicks in fairly often, so I didn't have to backtrack much. I'm still hoping that a patch will fix all of these bugs in the future, as it would improve the game a bit.


Nerd Factor

So how faithful is this game to the Green Lantern concept? There are some great nuggets from the recent Geoff Johns run in the comics that make it into the game.

The emotional spectrum is referenced (although on a side note I don't agree with Johns that "will" is an emotion). And some great characters from the Green Lantern supporting cast appear, like Amon Sur, Queen Aga'Po, Kilowog and the Manhunter Grandmaster.

There are also references to the book of Oa and the Central Power battery is the focus of an early mission. So lots of cool lore make it into the game that GL fans will dig.

Even though it's a little lame that you get health and ring energy from breaking containers and meteors, they match the function of each restorative energy to an appropriate "emotional spectrum" energy. Green Will energy refills your ring, of course. Blue Hope energy refills your health. (I know *I* was more hopeful when I found those!) And White Life energy gives you added experience. So those little touches were neat. And as a nerd, I have the power to make the cannisters and meteors work in my head. "Well, the Manhunters have been collecting energy on Biot. And Zamaron and Oa are probably somehow especially suited to collecting energy from the emotional spectrum. And they just kinda put it in cannisters until they decide what to do with it. Yeah... yeah that works."


In Summary

Gamers who dig the new movie and want to ride that excitement into a video game experience will find a fun but flawed game here that they'll probably enjoy but that won't stand the test of time. This is no "Batman: Arkham Asylum", but it's far better than we have a right to expect from a movie/comic tie-in. And for Green Lantern fans, this is probably a buy, or at the very least a "must-play".

Essential Green Lantern Comics

So you're interested in checking out the Green Lantern movie this weekend but want to be able to appreciate its comic book origins while you watch?

Actually, you probably don't care at all and are just hoping it will be one more cool summer movie. Me too! But here are my picks for some Green Lantern reading that represents the core of who GL is and what he's about that are serving as my primer for my movie experience this weekend.






















Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn

This trade paperback was my first comic book exposure to Green Lantern and remains one of the best Green Lantern stories I've read. Hal Jordan's origin is presented wonderfully, and although a few elements have been "ret-conned" out of more recent versions, other key elements have been retained because of their power in providing motive and heart to Hal's character. It also serves as a great introduction to the Green Lantern Corps and was originally going to be used as the chief source material for the live action movie. (I even remember seeing concept art for the villain "Legion", who has been replaced by a different villain in the movie, though some visual elements of Legion are retained.) Just a couple of years ago this trade paperback was re-released with new digital coloring, but even in its original form the art is beautiful and I consider it to have aged very well. It remains possibly the best introduction to Hal and the Green Lantern Corps.


























Green Lantern: Secret Origin

This more recent retelling of Hal Jordan's origin story by superstar writer Geoff Johns is another great representation of Green Lantern essentials. Even more than "Emerald Dawn", we see more of who Hal Jordan is and are given greater reason to invest in him as a character. The art is some of the best in the business and the visuals alone make this worth the read. Hector Hammond is featured prominently as a villain, and this story served as significant source material for the character as he appears in the new movie. But despite the movie tie-in cover art, this is NOT an adaptation of the movie story. So you're safe to read it before or after seeing the new movie.

My only complaint is that Johns used this origins story to plant elements for a story he was writing at the time in the main storyline of Green Lantern comics, infecting what should be a timeless origins story with elements that tie it to a then-current story. The result is that new readers who choose this trade paperback as their starting point will repeatedly run into elements that have no bearing on the immediate story and never seem to be properly resolved. Despite this, it's a great read that should be considered by newbies to the world of Green Lantern.




























Green Lantern: Rebirth

Although appreciating this tradepaperback fully requires you to know who the chief characters are before starting it, it can also be enjoyed by someone coming in with no Green Lantern exposure. This story was a necessary step to bringing Hal Jordan back from the dead, and cleans up a mess of continuity while somehow also telling a compelling and character driven story. Despite being harder to follow for the uninitiated than "Secret Origin" or "Emerald Dawn", enough details are given to get you up to speed quickly and some very significant concepts are established here that changed the nature of the Green Lantern Corps for every comic published afterward.

If after seeing the movie you'd like to try out the comics, this should be your first stop before starting the main series. Just know that if you feel a little lost, it will be offset by how much you'll likely enjoy the rest of this book and the main Green Lantern series, should you continue reading afterward.

Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (Blu-ray Review)

To coincide with (a.k.a "milk every drop from") the release of the live action Green Lantern movie, the DC animation studios have released another Green Lantern animated movie on DVD and Blu-ray. This time, instead of focusing on Hal Jordan as "Green Lantern: First Flight" did, "Green Lantern: Emerald Knights" tells a handful of stories from the history of the Green Lantern Corps in anthology format. The Corps is about to fight an extremely powerful enemy, and to encourage a rookie, Hal Jordan and some other Green Lanterns tell stories that highlight interesting facets of the Corps' history.

When I heard they were going with an anthology format for this release, I had major reservations. I found "Batman: Gotham Knight" to be an odd assortment of different storytelling styles that had no momentum driving it. Although "Emerald Knights" also lacks a strong and consistent build from beginning to end, each story is packed with action and the animation style remains consistent throughout. The rings are used creatively and the animation in action sequences is beautiful and busy. The battles are fierce and fast-paced. I'll need to watch this multiple times to appreciate it all. There is a lot to see in these action scenes and they are a significant improvement over "First Flight".

The voice acting is solid almost across the board. Nathan Fillion("Firefly") has been a fan favorite for the Green Lantern live action movies for years. But since he didn't get the gig for the live action flick, fans can at least hear him in this version. Unfortunately, he doesn't get near as much humor to work with compared to his performance as Steve Trevor in the Wonder Woman animated movie. Jason Isaacs replaces Victor Garber as Sinestro, and does a fine job, even though I personally prefer Garber's version. The casting that missed the mark for me was Henry Rollins as Kilowog. Although he has the raspy tone appropriate for a drill instructor, he sounds inappropriately small in Kilowog's bulky frame.

Each story is memorable. No strange duds in this bunch as in "Gotham Knight" or "The Animatrix". And the writing in each segment is great. One moment between a father and daughter even threatened to blur my vision with tears. But newcomers to the Green Lantern mythos may feel a little lost, as only a very basic introduction to the concept occurs at the beginning before throwing us into the stories.

An odd point to note is that the animation models are identical to those used in "First Flight", giving the strong visual impression that this movie shares the same continuity with First Flight. The trouble is that Sinestro went rogue in First Flight, and even after that story it was clear Hal Jordan was still a rookie in the Green Lantern Corps. But in "Emerald Knights", Sinestro is a respected member of the Corps and Hal Jordan is a veteran.

My guess is that they used the same models to cut corners in the development cycle so they could get this release to time with the live action movie. But they could have created this project without Sinestro by modifying the script slightly, resulting in a story that fits with the previous animated release as well as the visuals so obviously do.

The Blu-ray extras are great, starting with a 30 minute documentary that delves into the psychological nature of bravery that hits on the strong moral component involved. Some very thought-provoking stuff that could easily lead to worthwhile conversation!

There is also a commentary to the movie featuring Geoff Johns and Dan DiDio, who talk about Green Lantern comics in general as elements of the animation trigger memories and topics. I’m no fan of what DiDio has been responsible for in the DC universe, but it was a lot of fun to listen to him and Geoff Johns talk Green Lantern for 80 minutes. (Even if DiDio didn’t know the difference between Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner when describing his “favorite” Geoff Johns Green Lantern scene.)

This movie is a “must see” for Green Lantern fans and also shouldn’t be missed by the average fan of sci-fi animation.

Rated PG for sci-fi action violence throughout, and for some language.


Quality: 9.0/10

Relevance: 8.0/10

Please note that the “Relevance” score in particular takes the blu-ray special features into account.


For information about my scoring system, visit- spiritblade.net/reviewscores

Or listen to this review this weekend at- spiritblade.net/podcast





As an added bonus, if you’re looking for some more animated Green Lantern to watch before seeing the live-action movie this weekend, here is my short list of essential Green Lantern animation.


Green Lantern: First Flight- This flick might spend a little too much time developing the “mystery” aspects of the plot, but it captures Hal Jordan’s origin really well and the climax is about as cool, and massively cosmic as Green Lantern stories get!

“In Blackest Night”- This two part episode from season 1 of the Justice League animated series takes a little time to get going, but it’s got some great Green Lantern Corps action and classic Green Lantern villains, The Manhunters!

“In Brightest Day”- This classic episode from season 2 of “Superman: The Animated Series” is still my favorite on this list. In a little over 20 minutes, this episode introduces the character concept with a great origin story and features some extremely cool Green Lantern action.

Super 8 (Movie Review)

Let's get this out of the way. Super 8 is a 10 out of 10. I don't know how it could realistically be any better. The "Goonies" for this generation. Go see it. Now for why...

In 1979, a pre-teen boy and his friends pass the summer by making movies together on 8mm film. But while passionately shooting their zombie flick, a train derails right in front of them, and it is later learned that something emerged from the wreckage and is now causing dangerous and mysterious happenings in this small town community. There is so much more I'd like to say about the plot, but giving any more detail in a synopsis would risk spoiling the various gems in this story that should really be experienced on a first viewing.

The movie could be described as a blend of mystery, drama, suspense and science fiction. It works for the same reason that Battlestar Galactica and the best of Farscape work. It works for the same reason that Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and E.T. work: Compelling characters you care about who experience real, emotional, human drama that just happens to have a sci-fi backdrop.

It's no surpise that this flick feels a bit like classic Spielberg movies despite being written and directed by J.J. Abrams (Star Trek). Spielberg served as a producer for this movie, and it has his trademarks all over it.

The performances are amazing across the board, especially among the kids in the lead. I felt like I was watching real kids. Not the kind that are too clever, too capable or too nice. These kids cuss when their parents aren't around, they're funny in that awkward pre-teen way and have tremendous vulnerability, which lends incredible tension to the action and suspense sequences. Either these kids will be big stars in the near future, or J.J. Abrams is a genius at bringing out authentic, genuinely emotional performances in young actors.

This movie has mastered the art of surprise action. At the moments I least expected, bad things suddenly started to happen and I jumped in my seat more times than I can keep track of. And the natural vulnerability built into young protagonists kept me cringing and on the edge of my seat during action sequences more than any movie has in years. Abrams knows that suspense works in direct proportion to how much we care about those threatened, and puts that knowledge to skillful use.

The effects are great, though not groundbreaking, and they are used very well. Creature effects are used sparingly, but not so sparingly that the movie feels cheap. Rather the creature is kept hidden and revealed only bit by bit as the movie progresses, and even in the end we never get a full screen, brightly lit shot that allows us to examine every detail. I wish more film makers would do this, instead of assuming that their special effects "masterpiece" is so cool and real looking that they can and should show it off in every frame possible.

The movie is much more cathartic than it is about expressing ideas or messages. I think you're highly unlikely to talk about anything of philosophical value after seeing this, but you may just spend 20 minutes sharing what it was that made the experience so intense or enjoyable for you.

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, language and some drug use.


Quality: 10/10

Relevance: 5.5/10



For information about my scoring system, visit- spiritblade.net/reviewscores

Or listen to this review this weekend at- spiritblade.net/podcast

X-Men: First Class (Movie Review)

When I first heard rumors that an X-Men Prequel was in development (shortly after seeing the disappointing X-Men 3), I figured things would continue to go downhill with the franchise as it desperately tried to milk itself dry with an unneeded story. It wasn't until some of the latest trailers for X-Men: First Class were released that I thought we might have a movie worth paying to see here.

Matthew Vaughn directs this flick with less style and creativity than his amazing film, "Kick Ass", but he gets the job done well. The story is a period piece and takes place in the 1960's, with the Cuban Missile Crisis at the core of the plot. Magneto, played by Michael Fassbender, is on a hunt to kill the man who experimented on him and killed his mother when he was just a boy during the Holocaust of World War 2. Along the way he meets Charles Xavier, played by James McAvoy, who is beginning to connect with other Mutants for the first time, assisted by the US government. As more mutants collect around the two leading men, and the object of their pursuit is approached, the place of mutants in society is explored and dividing lines are drawn more and more deeply.

The movie has plenty of cool mutant action and the special effects are enjoyable, despite not making any improvements over the last one or two Marvel mutant movies. It's enjoyable to watch new mutants learn to use their powers and the fact that the world has not discovered the existence of mutants yet adds a breath of fresh air and a clean slate from which to re-discover the exciting and imaginative world of super-humans. There are also a couple of cool cameos (one that's especially cool) by former X-Men cast members that help connect this flick to the others.

The performances by Fassbender and McAvoy stand out, especially in one moving scene in which Magneto's hardened heart is confronted as he trains to use his powers. But the rest of the cast never really made me care about them much, despite characters like Mystique and Hank McCoy having some great, potentially emotional material to work with.

Kevin Bacon plays the villain surprisingly well and provides a charismatic and extremely powerful threat for the heroes. Unfortunately, his final scene misses the opportunity to truly showcase that power and left me feeling just a little let down.

The "Mutant=Homosexual" metaphors of the first two movies are still present but much more subtle. This movie doesn't seem to be selling any particular worldview to the degree of previous franchise installments. Although the Marvel mutant concept itself is certainly in support of classic Macro-evolution. ("From Goo to You")

Many classic evolutionists believe that the massive explosions of new species we see in sudden "bursts" in the fossil record are times during which massive amounts of favorable mutation occurred, as opposed to the more slow and gradual change that is commonly associated with evolution the rest of the time. The X-Men movie franchise suggests that "mutants" are the result of a similar spontaneous (almost "miraculous") burst of favorable mutations. It might make for interesting conversation to ask someone who holds this position if they believe that the basic plot of X-Men could actually happen.

X-Men:First Class is a cool flick that genre fans will probably enjoy, although it doesn't reach the bar set by X-Men 2. Worthwhile conversation can be mined from this movie, but you may have to dig fairly deep unless you're with someone who especially enjoys discussing evolutionary theory.

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

Quality: 8.5/10

Relevance: 6.5/10


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My First Beer

Last weekend I tried about a cup of beer (as in, a measuring cup) for the first time. I'm told it was good beer, though admittedly "strong". To me, at best, it tasted like carbonated cardboard and nearly triggered my gag reflex on the last swallow. I thought champagne was bad.

Like coffee, I honestly can't understand why anyone drinks stuff with alcohol in it. My exposure is limited, I'll admit, but anything with even a hint of alcohol detectable in the taste is ruined for me.

Maybe I'm naive, but it seems to me the benefits of coffee drinks can all be gained by popping no-doze and the benefits of alcohol can be gained by popping Benedryl or getting self-help books and/or a healthy perspective on yourself. (The latter being for those who use alcohol to lose inhibitions or "escape".) I can't see a single reason to put myself through the taste of either of these crap-tastical tongue-killers.