E3 is happening RIGHT NOW. If you can’t wait for the details, Giant Bomb lists the live streams of five major publisher panels over the next two days. The Microsoft panel is just about over as I type this, but the big news to my mind is the announcement of Minecraft on the 360. That’s the first console partnership for Notch and the Mojang crew, and more importantly the 360 version supposed to have full integration with Kinect. Yes, now you can punch trees… well, not quite literally yet, but closer!
(As a person who got sucked back into the Minecraft vortex for several hours this weekend, forcing me to actually jump and punch and stack will at least give a fitness value that is absent from my current obsessive careful arranging of virtual cube trees.)
If all this news and change is overwhelming for a Monday morning, don’t worry — sit back and revel in the good old days with this Let’s Play of Knights of the Old Republic 2. It’s got action, adventure, humor, and clever writing… and that’s just in the Let’s Play! If you’re in more of a visual mindset, I’m currently working my way through SuperGreatFriend’s video LP of Deadly Premonition. It’s a 100% playthrough of a Japanese survival horror title loosely based on Twin Peaks, and both the game and SGF’s comments are quite entertaining.
Okay, okay, less words and more action! Let’s end off this E3 Monday post with a hot-off-the-presses gameplay video from Mass Effect 3:
The internet reports that the gorgeous retro-style Portal 2 poster that made the rounds last week will be up for sale soon on the official Valve Store.
Do. Want.
Mondays are hard, so let’s ease ourselves into it with some retro-style videos, hmm?
First up, last week the Beastie Boys (remember them?) announced a new album and a 30 minute movie called “Fight For Your Right-Revisited”. The trailer for said movie is below. I have no idea what’s happening in it but it seems to star every funny person from the last 15 years and Elijah Wood. They certainly have my attention!
Portlandia is a newish sketch comedy show on IFC that is set in .. wait for it.. Portland. I Believe this video originally came out to promote the show before it premiered.
Watching it made me a little melancholy. The 70s and 80s seem to be recognized for their contributions to culture, but the 90s have been forgotten and they were my time, man. I think the Portlandia folks must feel the same way, because this is kind of a sweet love song for the 90s and Portland.
Nerve.com ranks Philip K. Dick adaptations from worst to best. The article was inspired, I suspect, by the recent release of the movie The Adjustment Bureau. I honestly had no idea it was based on a PKD story.
Quaaaaid! Open your miiiiind!
Honestly, every time I see that a movie is based on a story by Phillip K. Dick, I cringe and think, “well, there’s another book ruined.” I am a huge fan of his work, but the thing about PKD is that he wasn’t a very good writer. All his characters are the same, and kind of one dimensional. All the dialog is stilted and weird even when it isn’t supposed to be, and his descriptions frequently lack detail.
He did two things consistently right, though, in my opinion: he was good at creating an immersive world, and he was absolutely amazing at letting the reader feel what it’s like to become insane. Despite the weird conversations between characters and the fact that it’s always the same girl with dark hair and a snub nose, in every single piece there is at least one moment that perfectly encapsulates a sense of Other.
I guess what I’m saying is that Philip K. Dick was a story-teller, not a writer. Hollywood should stop dismantling his stories in the name of “adaptation”.
Next up: Michael Gondry directs Ubik! …. bleah.
This is a perfect storm of nerddity: Lego spaceships inspired by Star Wars’ X-Wing and thus made in the shape of the alphabet. Seen above, of course, is the letter M. You can see the other 25 letters that Mark Anderson made here on his site.
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, 1998
There are some movies that are so iconic that it actually does them a disservice. Take The Matrix, for example. It blew away audiences back in 1999 with its “bullet time” camera technology and cyberpunk stylings. A million .. well, let’s call them homages rushed out in the Matrix’s wake and to be honest when I catch these scenes in movies even now I tend to roll my eyes. I’ve seen this! It was great. Done. Next! But oddly enough I find I have the same Matrix-fatigue when I’m actually watching The Matrix. I have to make a concerted effort to remind myself that no, this isn’t a knock off, it’s the original and it was pretty dang groundbreaking in its day.
I mention all this because while it’s not quite as revolutionary as The Matrix, Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels has often been imitated since its release in 1998, not the least by director Guy Ritchie himself. It is a great, great movie, but when watching it again over the weekend I found myself having to keep in mind that Lock reimagined the British crime caper and not the other way around. The huge cast of characters, twisty plotlines, and violence set to rockin’ beats has been often duplicated since Lock came out, but in my opinion it has yet to be bettered.
The entire cast is stellar. It’s hard to stand out in such a huge array of characters, but almost everyone with a speaking line seemed to have a twinkle in their eye and a story in their back pocket, even if we never got to see it. The plot is convoluted without being irritating, and all the crime and death is done with a light enough tone that the viewer can sort of float right over it. It’s just business — don’t think about it too much, luv.
The movie is sort of diminished by imitators now, but it’s worth remembering that in its day Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels was a breath of fresh air and is still a slammin’ good time.
Quick, before the coppers get here I give this movie
The food factor should always be massive: four Bloody Marys, two grapefruits, a pot of coffee, Rangoon crepes, a half-pound of either sausage, bacon, or corned beef hash with diced chiles, a Spanish omelette or eggs Benedict, a quart of milk, a chopped lemon for random seasoning, and something like a slice of Key lime pie, two margaritas, and six lines of the best cocaine for dessert…
— Hunter S. Thompson on breakfastI was kind of non-plussed when I first saw the title of this article:
The 10 Greatest Movie Title Sequences by Saul Bass. The what of the who? (I know, I know. Philistine.)
As I was going through the list, though, I was stunned at just how familiar most of these titles are, and how much Bass’ art style has influenced subsequent works. This Anatomy of a Murder title in particular has been mimicked over and over, and I’ve never even seen the original movie!
Anyway this is a really neat bit of graphic design history, so grab that “second wind” cup of coffee this afternoon and enjoy.
(PS: The site is HORRIBLE without an ad blocker. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.)
So here’s a good way for an internet nerd to show their age: does the term “trumpet winsock” mean anything to you?
Trumpet Winsock was this little program that worked with modems to connect them to the internet, and not just your local BBS. It’s a pretty essential player in the history of the internet, and yet it turns out most of the copies were unpaid shareware. The author, Peter Tattam, remains unknown and unrewarded.
So old schoolers like me, let’s redress past wrongs — join us in saying “Thanks for Trumpet Winsock!”.