Prometheus

Prometheus

The movie that follows the myth

I saw Prometheus on its opening weekend and now that I've taken a few day to think about it, it’s time for a review. After much soul seeking and introspection, I feel that the movie reflects the mythical Prometheus whom the ship was named after; he stole fire from the gods to give to humans and then provided liver sushi to a giant eagle for all eternity.  I know Sir Ridley Scott was using this Greek myth to make a point about gaining knowledge too fast, but what ended up happening was a movie that repeatedly got holes torn into the plot and tried desperately to patch them up, only to have them ripped open over and over again.  I will be as spoiler free as possible in this review, but be warned there may be some spoilage.

To start with, most of the problems I see with this movie stem from it being filmed to be in 3D.  Anyone who knows me or my co-blogger Tony knows that we are harsh towards 3D movies.  This isn’t because they aren’t good, but because there are so many things a film has to sacrifice to do “good” 3D.  Because of that movies that would otherwise be amazing get plot twists replaced by flashy action scenes and gimmicks.  Prometheus fell prey to this affliction.  It was too light hearted in moments where it should have been darker and blatant in places it should have been vague, all to enable scenes that make “good” 3D.  I think this whole movie would have been improved by thinking less of how cool it would look in 3D, and more about how it could tie plot points togeather to create good prequel or even just a good movie.

The other problem is that the movie is supposed to be both a prequel and a stand-alone movie, but manages to be neither.  On one hand you know this is the same universe that Ridley Scott brought to life with the movie Alien, but Scott tried too hard to create a middle ground between a prequel and a new story line.  Instead of being an amazing movie that answered the questions raised in Alien, created a plausible storyline leading into the Alien movies, and created its own stand-alone plot, that in the end created more questions than it answered and became a flashy, Gimmicky film.  There were many parts where characters made leaps of logic that weren’t really grounded in logic, but served only to swing the plot the way it needed to go, and many scenes where a simpler string of events would have been a vast improvement, but instead it became drowned in 3D effects.  The 5-minute blurb that served as the tie-in to Alien was pretty good, but it would have been better if it had taken over the movie in little hints here and there, rather than making a 3D bonanza and then remembering that it was supposed to be a prequel. Many characters where nothing more than fodder to create false tension. 

All that being said, I really did enjoy this movie.  It had really good acting, the special effects were gorgeous, the stunt work was top notch and the dialog was good.  The only problem is that this movie didn't know what it wanted to be.  On one hand, it could have been the perfect prequel with every duck in a row, but was ruined by the 3D affliction.  Then on the other hand it could have spawned its own amazing series, complete with a new mythology, but because it was supposed to be a prequel it couldn’t do that either.  Sir Scott, you should have just done one or the other, not ruined a good thing for "artistic" choices.  (But thank you for this movie that shit was AWESOME.)

In the end we are left with a good movie that could have been a 10 out of 10, but was brought down by the ambition to make a gimmicks, instead of a good movie.  I give it a 7 of 10, and Sir Scott can keep his nerd card.  He has done way too many good movies to justify taking his card away, even if Prometheus could have been done WAY better.

(so the unedited version of this story was originally posted, here is the final edit)

How Blizzard tricked us again

How Blizzard tricked us again

Note:  This article is going to contain some spoilers.  You have been warned.

Since the day it was released, I have played quite a bit of Diablo 3.  Not as much as some people have, I am sure, but more then many people I do know.  I have found the Whimseyshire, fought a bunch of crazy creatures, seen the game through to the end, played through nightmare mode, and a bunch of other stuff.  After all the time I have spent on the game, I have come to a couple of conclusions.  Are these conclusions unique to me, probably not.  But I am gonna vent about them anyway.  So let's start this fun downhill slide shall we?

It has been ten years since the release of Diablo 2, and over the last ten years Blizzard has done lots of great things.  World of Warcraft for instance, as well as a bunch of other stuff.  A lot of these games were amazing.  World of Warcraft captured my mind for years, as well as the minds of many of my friends.  As W.O.W. Continued however, it began to drop off.  The first expansion led to a reinvigoration of many of my gamer friends desire to play.  Wrath of the Lich King did the same.  But Cataclysm held most of us for 2 months, and that was it.  So naturally you would assume that perhaps it was because they were focusing in on their next great big hit, Diablo 3. 

You would be wrong.  The formula of Diablo is the same, which is good.  The graphics were better, sure, but in a game like this, it doesn't really matter.  The detail is so lost with your view, there really wasn't a lot of point.  Sure, it looks better, but lots of people played Diablo 2 up until Diablo 3 launched, and would probably keep doing so.  So really, who cares.  I actually reinstalled Diablo 2 just to get a taste of what the old game had to offer.  And I found I enjoyed it so much more then I did when I tried to play it only 2 years ago.  And one of those reasons was that I found a piece to a set  within the first hour of playing.  I have put tons of hours into Diablo 3, and not a single recipe has dropped yet.  What's more, my second play through on Nightmare actually uncovered LESS yellows from bosses then my first play through.  In fact, I only got a yellow from Diablo himself.  I played back through some of the levels to get some experience, and before I started on that path, I dropped some series magic Item find gear and gems onto my monk.  I found even less blue items.  I know, this is really just me bitching, but Diablo is a loot centric game, and not getting loot, especially the awesome stuff, really sucks.  I was about to give up when I saw a yellow popped out of one of the near by monsters I had just killed.  So I started fighting my way through the horde and suddenly....

...Disconnected.  Just like that, the first yellow I had found in a couple of hours was lost to me.  Just because my internet had a hick up.  And just like that, it was gone.  Thanks forced online connection.  Which I sort of understood, what with piracy and online cash auction and PVP and WAITAGOODGODDAMMNMINUTE!!!  When that happened, they had still failed to launch the cash auction house or PVP.  Which means the online connection required only helped versus piracy.  Which I didn't do.  Nor have I ever pirated a video game before.  And I never will.  But thankfully Blizzard wants to make sure I never will, be not allowing me to play offline, even by myself.  But in the grand scheme of things, this is really the least of all offenses in my eyes.  I mean it's not like I am dropping gold into a system that only occasionally rewards me with something I could really use.  Not like I am using oodles of goodies I have collected from all of the various items I have salvaged in game in hopes of uncovering something to help me compensate for the fact that the random treasures dropped from the creatures I have been fighting fail to be of any benefit to me. 

OH WAIT I AM!  Yup, the blacksmith  in Diablo 3, the guy you have been paying to learn more things, fails to ever produce something of use for me, sucks.   I actually drop a stupid amount of resources into this moron of a artisan.  I feel in hind sight I would be better off dropping 50,000 gold pieces in the suction house  for something I didn't find myself .  At least I would have all my salvaged materials left.  Not that they help me in any other way or anything. 

To be honest, I really do enjoy the game.  It's fun, it looks great, and I really enjoy playing with my buddies.  Do I think I will play this game on and off for the next ten years.  No I don't.  And that is really the saddest thing of all.  Unless Blizzard releases something amazing in the way of an expansion, Diablo 3 is gonna be the shortest amount of time I have ever given to one of their games.

Want a real tent?

 I have to say it really seems that the tents you get from say Walmart or a sporting goods store are just single use items go camping for a weekend then throw them out. fortunately there are alternatives to be had,its a massive thing called a "wall tent". The tent is made of really nice canvas and is for the whole family or group and if you want to know where to get one made There is only one place too go http://idahocanvas.com/. now a Wall tent is not really for a quick weekend get away and is a bit of an investment, but they work great for longer trips or for the "center of camp" where you can store cooking supplies and other large equipment. I used Wall Tents when I worked at scout camp for 6 weeks years ago and I would never do an extended camping trip with out one.

Something for everyone podcast.

Introducing our new podcast, Where we talk about a lot of diffrent things we do talk about games but the conversation rolls into movies, books, buying blurays and much, much more.

http://thenerdcredentials.podbean.com/2011/12/04/something-for-everyone/

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Penn Jillette - God No, Signs You Might Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales - a review

Penn Jillette - God, No : Signs You Might Be and Atheist and Other Magical Tales

I have been a huge fan of Penn and Teller since I was a small child. For some reason, my folks let me rent the movie “Penn and Teller Get Killed” for family movie night, and the only thing that I can remember is everyone dying, not just Penn and Teller. I mean everyone, seriously, every person who comes upon the scene offs themselves. Fast forward some years, and I found myself watching episodes of “Penn and Teller's Bullsh*t” . The show is based upon the general belief that everything is, well, bullsh*t. They go after ideas, groups, trends. And they are convincing. Perhaps it is the years they have spent as carny folk, selling their act not just through action, but also word. Or at least Penn sells it through words, Teller is the silent partner of the duo. For whatever reason, their obvious intelligence and showmanship is much more entertaining to me then a guy walking up to someone on a street and asking them “do you wanna see a magic trick?” Add to that the fact they are accomplished magicians, and you have what I feel is one of the best shows in the world.

I recently picked up Penn Jillette's “God No : Signs you might be an atheist and other magical tales”. At it's core, it is a book about atheism, told through a series of short stories and anecdotes about his life. They fall under the guise of a mirrored list of atheist suggested ten commandments, replacing such existing biblical ones like “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” with such truly stirring alternatives like “The highest ideals are human intelligence, creativity, and love. Respect these above all.” Through out the book, he underlines his stories with the reminder that, just because someone doesn't believe in God, doesn't mean they can't believe in their fellow man. He also points out that belief in God, true belief, would result in anarchy. While I don't necessarily believe that, he does a fantastic job of illustrating his points.

Through out the entire book you are slowly introduced to a Penn Jillette that is nothing like the persona you see on the various TV shows, movies, and stage acts. Penn Jillette is a very intelligent man, but he is also an amazing story teller. He is a loving father, loving husband, and a good friend. And for being such a big guy, he comes in at around 6 foot 7 inches in height and around 300 lbs, he is remarkably gentle person. Through the stories, he reveals parts of himself that most people would neglect to show. There were points in the book that I honestly felt myself choke up. There is the whole tradition of letting balloons go, which I won't give away. But let me tell you, if you can read that section and not getting teary eyed, you might be a monster. Add to these touching stories the more anticipated humor, and what you have is a refreshing book that will take you on an emotional roller coaster.

I bought this book anticipating lots of laugh, and instead I was given not just laughs, but a deeply personal and touching book about a man who is not only a great performer, but apparently an amazing writer. I recommend this book to everyone I know, be them religious or not. It is a rare find that in such a short book, which is my only complaint really (it is only 227 pages long, which by the end just isn’t long enough) you would be given so much.

5 out of 5

- Anthony Hale

Star Wars: The Old Republic, Release date annouced!

So as any one following this blog knows, we like Star Wars, and Biowares MMORPG that I talked about before, has a release date. As promised its this year, but just barley, December 20, 2011. Announced with about as much pzazz as a Volkswagen beetle to a packed room at Euro gamer of all places, gamers can now release their collective breaths and plan a very Star Warzy Christmas. I know what ill be doing.

Fans will be happy to know Bioware is aware of our desires to play the game and thanks us for our patience. Dr. Muzyka one of the founders of bio ware had this to say “This is an incredible moment for everyone at BioWare and our partners at LucasArts who have dedicated their lives to build this extraordinary game. We appreciate the patience from the millions of fans who have been waiting for the game’s release.”

The presser also details the subscription details for the game, and that Pre-order Early access is still a thing that is happening, just no date for it yet.

The full press release can be found here: http://www.swtor.com/news/news-article/20110924

The Dead Island review podcast

Presenting our first podcast, The Credentials Review, in this episode the hosts discuss the new game Dead Island and its unique take on killing zombies.

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