V For Vendetta (2005)

Film: V For Vendetta
Release: 2005, theatrical
Starring: Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman
Directed by: James McTeigue
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: In the mid-21st century, Britain has become a fascist regime. One night on the 5th of November a reminder to remember a heinous plot is set to never be forgot.

Hans' thoughts:

Very vigorously would valuers of vindictive revolutionary vendettas value V for Vendetta for its volume as a vector for vocal web-users. Re-written and re-visited by the Whachowskis, it ventures wondrously within the very vague vicinity of the victorious and the virulent views of it's reviewers. The video relies the comic book verses regarding the vaudevillian vindicator which wears the visage called V visualized by the recitalist Weaving. I was be-wondered by the ventures victory in verifying the vexing wonder of V. . Vies a vie, it explores the reason for wearing a disguise whilst fighting crime - not as much as in Watchmen where it's the very vestige of the writers work though still very represented in some form. 

The visuals verily wear the visage of revolutionaries, while relying wisdom regarding the role of the victim compared to role of the victimisers. One again the Wachowskis flaunt their vigor for visual violence. while verily the recitalists realize the roles remarkably. Phew, Okay. I'm sorry. Enough of that. To anyone unaware the original introduction of our main character V features a very well written piece of dialogue with wordplay using the V-sound. Out of all the actors I felt Portman in the role of Evey lacked a little bit of energy and it seems as though she just kind of goes along with whatever happens to her, no matter how cruel it is. For the purpose of the story, Portman certainly does a well enough job that it doesn't distract too much however it's hard to not see it whenever she plays off of charismatic actors like Stephen Fry or Hugo Weaving - Weaving is of course given a momentous task as his face is never actually seen and it falls to the cameraman to accurately convey what the character is going through in any instance. That's of course helped a little bit by the fact that the character of V is supposed to be more of a symbol than an actual character. Most interesting to me was the journey of Stephen Rea in the role of the  police detective Finch as he uncovers more and more about the state of affairs in future Britain and the truth behind the government.

In the villain department, John Hurt makes a very threatening Big Brother-esque villain. Being shown on a giant TV-screen throughout most of the movie his knack for monologue and tone of voice shines through. Likewise does Tim Pigott-Smith pose a threat as the head of the state police known as finger men. However it seems like he channeled Dick Cheney of the then current Bush government in America. There's a lot of snarl and down to business temperament portrayed even when we're just looking at his face. V for Vendetta is above all a very beautifully shot movie and at times it distracts from the at times only half-hearted crime mystery tucked in between the plot-lines. Whether the mystery portion was more fleshed out in the original comic I unfortunately don't know as I've not read it, however it's safe to say that like with the movie adaptation of Moore's other famous work Watchmen, details were left out in favor of focusing on the underlying morale and point of the story. As it stands I can at least recommend V for Vendetta for a very captivating story, some masterfully done shot and the Wachowski staple of excellent action.

Astro Boy (2009)

Film: Astro Boy
Release: 2009, theatrical
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Freddie Highmore, Donald Sutherland
Directed by: David Bowers
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: When his son is killed in an accident, the minister of science Doctor Tenma puts his memories into a revolutionary new robot lookalike - the powerful Astro Boy.

Hans' thoughts:

In the 1950's, a man named Osamu Tezuka created the comic series "Tetsuwan Atom", or "Strong-Armed Atom" (known as Astro Boy internationally). The series was a tremendous succes, kickstarting japanese animation and setting up a lot of the aestethic choices that we now consider "anime" and "manga". Years later, in 2009 an American adaptation was created using CG animation, that's the one we're looking at. Astro Boy is essentially a science fiction version of the classic tale of Pinnochio, the titular character Astro is built in the image of a scientists deceased son and giving all of his memories. However Astro is not a perfect clone of the child named Toby, he has his own personality and dreams so his creator decides to get rid of him. Now in the original story, Astro loses all memory of ever being called Toby and establishes his own life while becoming a powerful crime fighter in the ongoing ethical battle about the laws of robotics and the rights of robots as citizens. In the movie they decided to downplay the superhero aspect of the character, and instead focuses on his search for an identity.

If I had to be downright blunt about it I was not so fond of this movie. It feels kinda stilted, as if some of the energy of the original work has been removed in favor of misguided subtlety. The otherwise really energetic Nicolas Cage plays a very quiet, at times even awkward Doctor Tenma and the same can be said for most of the other actors. The movie also suffers from way too many secondary characters. Astro is quickly pulled from one situation to the next and in some cases we barely get to know a character before we're sent along to the next scene. In one particular example of this, a group of kids were introducing themselves and then Astro is pulled into a completely different scene for 2 minutes to be introduced to even more secondary characters. As if the writers suddenly got bored with one scene and decided to simply start writing the next one. It does the movie a giant disservice of us not really caring about when a character we've only seen for a minute or two suddenly hijacks the movie to be put into focus again. Nevermind the very blunt scene transitions that's already apparent in the product.

This lack of discipline when it comes to what exactly they wanted to do with this movie is very disheartening, and it isn't helped by the fact that the movie has a tacked on environmental message which has no grounds in the original series, nor is it used as part of the ongoing narrative at all. At one point it seems as if they also wanted to talk about class warfare but once again they bring up the subject and then drop it again as soon the next scene starts. At the very least, I liked the art-style. They took the original style and made it more culture-neutral and streamlined. Characters are still recognizable but a lot of the exaggerated features from the comics and cartoon is downplayed severely. Likewise the color scheme and environments of the movie is beautiful and I really wish that the attention to detail in that department had been carried over intro the rest of the production. It's really unfortunate that such a gorgeous looking movie ended up with such a lackluster script and direction. It seems rushed, which is weird considering that there was no large demand for a western adaptation of Astro Boy - a 50 year old series. As it stands I can really only recommend the movie to curious fans of the original series.

Story-liners: Batman: Arkham Origins (2013)

Game: Batman: Arkham Origins
Release: 2013, Retail
System: Playstation 3/Xbox 360/PC/Wii U
Starring: Roger Craig Smith, Troy Baker, JB Blanc
Directed by: Eric Holmes
Previous in the series: Batman: Arkham City
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: For two years, rumors has spread across the city about a mysterious vigilante known as "The Bat" - though no official pictures or recordings exist to prove his existence. Fed up with losing men to him, the powerful crime boss known as Black Mask sets a price on The Bat's head on Christmas Eve. Anyone who would care to try is given one night to cash in on the reward of 50 million dollars - if they can.

Hans' thoughts:

Continuing the best-selling game series about the worlds greatest detective, Arkham Origins give us a prequel to the events of the previous titles. Batman has only been active for two years and has yet to meet most of the now iconic supporting cast of his stories. This game marks a couple of firsts, this is the first game in the Arkham series to not be created by Rocksteady - instead the title is handled by by Warner Bros. Games Montréal and Splash Damage Studios. This is also the first title in the series to not have Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy play The Joker & Batman respectively. Conroy and especially Hamill have been voicing these characters on and off since the hugely popular Batman: The Animated Series that ran in the early 1990's and have become iconic in their roles. This leaves a huge gap to fill out and I'm glad to say that both newcomers, Robert Craig Smith as Batman and Troy Baker as The Joker do a really good job at filling out their shoes. Especially Smith sounds like Conroy from time to time and Baker, while channeling Hamill's performance, does a more reserved version of the voice that, honestly, works really well for the character. The other voices also do a pretty good job of conveying their characters, though I have to stress how easily it becomes to recognize the same voiced when you hear them again and again - I'm of course talking about the nameless flunkies that appear throughout the game. Special type characters have special voices, such as the big musclebound ones but when the ones you hear mostly all have the same three or four voices it quickly becomes routine to hear the same banter over and over again. I understand why this was done, voice work is hard, good voice work is even harder and there's only so much time and resources you can put into the unnamed characters - however it bears mentioning all the same.

Arkham game fans can rest assured however, the gameplay is pretty much copied directly from the two previous titles with only minor tweaks in the form of new combo's for new types for mobsters. We also have two new gadgets in the game, giving room for new interesting puzzles. Unfortunately, like with Arkham City most of the puzzle solving comes from the Riddler side-mission. Find the unlockable, solve the challenge, on to the next. It's pretty much a thing for the completists among you. A positive improvement is a fast-travel system, made unlockable by solving some of these side-missions so at least that's a carrot for the rest of us. Design-wise the game is very much "same old". Since it takes place on Christmas Eve, it's once again a snow-filled landscape and therefore the creators have ported some of the environments directly from Arkham City. The old church, the courthouse and other such locations are all present and accounted for. Thankfully, there are new areas added to the mix as well but the old environments still take up about half of the game map. The designs of the characters are, on the other hand, pretty good. A younger Bruce Wayne, bearing a much heavier armor makes one think of the Dark Knight Trilogy, yet it isn't a complete copy most notably coloring-wise. This made me, personally, breathe a sigh of relief as I'd like each iteration of the Batman to be it's own separate thing (And frankly, I've never been a fan of any of the cinematic Batsuits). The character designs for other characters are, as they should be, a lot less colorful and outlandish than in previous titles. Keep in mind that this story takes place prior to the public knowing that the caped crusader exist and therefore Batman is mostly found dealing with "normal" criminals this time around. This also serves to enhance the few present colors more than ever, which the designers thankfully have used to their advantage making the presence of colors either restricted to billboards or to the special events.

This brings us to the story. As is tradition for the series, the writers have tried to incorporate as many well-known Batman characters as possible. Unfortunately the set scenario makes some of these cameos extremely unplausible compared to the other games. Both Arkham Asylum and Arkham City took place in prisons, which is why it made sense that Batman would have to deal with all the big names from his rogues gallery. However, in this game we're expected to believe that Batman would have his first encounter with several of his most well-established villains all in a single night. The most immediate threat in the story is that of the assassins out for the 50 million dollar bounty on Batman's head, fortunately the writers has kept the assassins down to, at the very least, character who are known to be mercenaries in the comics as well. Lesser known characters like Firefly, Electrocutioner, Deadshot and Lady Shiva all make an appearance, some more well-known than others but all definite C or D-list villains, in spite of the recent appearance by Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, he's also normally considered a lesser known Batman villain. But then we're also exposed to The Joker, The Penguin and even The Mad Hatter. While they all are done excellently, Mad Hatter especially makes a much bigger appearance than he did in Arkham City, you can't really help but question the validity of all this taking place in a single night. The game becomes way too crowded, and some of the assassins are only finally dealt with in optional side-missions. This is actually a pretty big problem, as I found myself being more interested in solving the optional missions than engaging in the story. At the very least, the ending of the story is a lot better than the outlandishness of the ending of Arkham Asylum, staying a lot more true to classic Batman form. The game also sees the return of the more outlandish scenes, similar to the Scarecrow sequences of Arkham Asylum. We get an interesting and trippy look into the mind of Batman on more than one occasion.  Sad as it is though, I don't expect casual Batman fans to get much out of the game compared to previous entrances in the series - while the voice acting is excellent, the story is just way too crowded with characters and events and it makes a lot of the struggles in story seem like they have little to no impact. Not to mention the obscurity of some of the characters only serving to make them sideshow characters once the more well-known villains show up to play. It has some very cool moments, but they're far in-between. If you just want a Batman sandbox game however, the side-missions are very entertaining and the higher focus this game puts on actual detective work is a refreshing change making the game at least the turning point for an entertaining weekend.

The Devil's Advocate (1997)

Film: The Devil's Advocate
Release: 1997, Theatrical
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron
Directed by: Taylor Hackford
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: Kevin Lomax is the most successful lawyer in his hometown in Florida, when he gets a job offer in a prestigious New York based law firm everything seems to be going his way, except for a boss that might have a very different agenda from what he first let on.

Hans' thoughts:

At first glance, this movie seems like it will be pretty predictable. Keanu Reeves plays a young ambitious up and comer lawyer that puts aside his morals to do whatever it takes to win his cases. He's then hired by a major law firm and given the opportunity of a lifetime in the city of New York. Very simple crime thriller-like storyline with a star-studded cast. However, the movie is actually pretty well executed as the young Mr. Lombax loses his ability to keep up with both personal and work related matters as the high pressure makes the world crash around him slowly. Around the half-way point, the movie suddenly changes. Strange things are starting to happen and our main characters mentor and boss seems to be very different than he first let on. That could have been a good enough movie on itself, and I certainly would've enjoyed the movie much more had it not been for the climax of the movie. A film that has till now seemed like a very by-the-book crime thriller suddenly turns into something VERY different. Had this been more clear earlier in the movie, I probably would've accepted it but this turn of events just feels so over the top and out of nowhere that I just couldn't suspend my disbelief any longer when it was time for the big reveal.

On the acting side, it is very hit and miss. While Al Pacino phones it in as Mr. Milton, Keanu Reeves tries his best to be taken seriously with a fake southern accents. Overall, the acting from the minor characters is a lot better but unfortunately not present for for most of the film as the main focus of the movie is conversations between Reeves and Pacino. Charlize Theron tries her best in the movie, but it is obvious she was cast for her looks and not her acting ability. The Devil's Advocate turned out to be a movie with a pretty decent setup that unfortunately just fell flat, what could have been a very good crime thriller about big business and career pressure went down a road where a combination of so-so effects (even by the standards of the era it was made) and poorly argued soapbox ranting that goes nowhere.

There is some very well-shot things in the movie, the look of the sets are pretty well thought out and the references to the city of Babylon fit the themes of the movie. But these are unfortunately not enough to make up for some frankly poorly written dialogue and lack of proper consequence for the characters of the movie. The message of the movie is also vague at best, mostly because of the aforementioned soapbox ranting.

Article 100: The Neverending Story (1984)

Film: The Neverending Story
Release: 1984, Theatrical
Starring: Barret Oliver, Noah Hathaway, Thomas Hill
Directed by: Wolfgang Petersen
Next in the series: The Neverending Story II
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: The daydreamer Bastian is a troubled child, hounded by bullies he flees into a bookstore and makes a life changing choice

Hans' thoughts:

When I had to choose what to make Article 100, I was split between choosing the greatest movie ever or something that's special to me alone, both of which would've been articles I've already written. 

So I chose to go with a definite in-house favorite of both of us, The Neverending Story. To date, perhaps one of the greatest children's fantasies ever put to film. So what is the movie about? A young boy is living alone with his father after his mother's death, this was apparently recently as they both had trouble moving on afterwards, the father trying reluctantly to keep his son grounded in reality, even though he seems supportive enough. We quickly get established that Bastian is a daydreamer with his head in the clouds, he doesn't really think his decisions through and would rather spend his day reading or drawing - using his imagination as escapism. 

The movies theme however is about using escapism for the right reasons, during the movie Bastian overcomes his fears again and again to follow the tale of Atreyu on his quest to save the mythical kingdom of Fantasia. It deals with having the correct balance between imagination and reality, dealing with reality without forgetting the magical expanse of one's imagination. Not losing hope despite hardships, in other words.

On the technical side, most of the movie is done with practical effects, some of the weirder and more outlandish creatures being puppets. While the eerie atmosphere of the movie certainly helps to enforce the reality of the creatures, one can't help but notice the slight problems with lip syncing. this is especially apparent with the luckdragon Falcor who barely has any lip-movements, making him feel way too much like a puppet. It's not too bad however, you quickly accept the look of his character and your suspension of disbelief will have taken over well before he actually shows up in the movie anyway.

This is in my opinion largely due to the score and cinematography of the movie, the first shot of the Ivory tower early on in the movie never fails to give me chills. This is because of the otherworldliness of the synthetic music combined with the grandeur of the look of the actual Ivory tower, we have several slow panning shots of the tower, starting with a full total, then a few shots circling upwards from the bottom before giving us a birdseye view of the outdoor throneroom, filled with imaginative creatures of all shapes and sizes. The music in this movie was as I mentioned mostly done technologically, this was a growing trend at the time but what makes it work in this movie is that the story is supposed to take place in the world of fantasy, making the unnatural instruments fit the theme. It may not have been taking into consideration at the time, but it definitely works. 

While The Neverending Story has a very simple story and a theme that one has seen again and again, this is just awe-inspiring in the way that everything just kind of works, from the heartwarming moments with the friendly characters to the absolute sense of dread that comes with the main villain of "The Nothing". Indeed, making the evil our heroes fight against into the mere concept of everything disappearing leaving nothing in it's wake is just creepy to a whole different level than a visible being, it's a high concept and in a way, very Lovecraftian like the being Cthulhu, waiting in the depths of the oceans, sleeping in a death-like state till the stars align and he will consume all, no hope even for the believers. Leaving NOTHING behind. That's a pretty abstract creature for a child to comprehend, and I applaud both the original author of the book and the creators of the movie for taking a chance with giving us a villain without an actual face. The more visible villain stating "I was sent by the power behind The Nothing" only allows our Id's to scare us even more.

Citizen Kane (1941)

Film: Citizen Kane
Release: 1941, Theatrical
Starring: Orson Welles, Dorothy Comingore, Joseph Cotten
Directed by: Orson Welles
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: An aging billionaires last word becomes the axis of an investigation into his life.

Hans' thoughts:

Citizen Kane, a movie heralded by many as the greatest achievement in cinema. Even today, people are talking about the movie as the best - giving films like The Room the subtitle "The Citizen Kane of Bad Movies". The film is a cautionary tale, Kane himself a man that has made himself into one of the wealthiest men in the world, living in a mansion called "The greatest monument to a single man since the pyramids". Curiously named Xanadu, a palace built from self-indulgence that would since be nothing but rubble. The name is most likely picked deliberately, as it mirrors the tale of Kane himself. The movie is certainly something else from most other films - loaded with symbolism to a degree that most would have to take repeated viewings to pick up on. The shots are also beautifully framed, using the banality of a doorframe to great effect several times in the film. 

All that set aside, I must admit that the film hasn't aged all that well. Character writing has come a long way in the years since then and I don't feel that most of them were all that redeeming. Perhaps this is because of the person I happen to be, growing up in a socialist family I probably don't appreciate the kind of mentality required for making this movie work. To me, this movie is about Rich people talking about other rich people and how they did some bad rich people stuff in their rich people lives. But honestly, there must be some core thing I'm not seeing here. The movie seems to attempt to convey the notion that some people would just be better off without certain advantages. For audiences, the big guessing game is what made Kane himself turn into a worse person. Whether it was his upbringing, his ambitions or those around him that turned him into what he is, is anyone's guess.

Interestingly, the movie is shown through the eyes of a young reporter. Walking from person to person asking about the life of Citizen Kane. This almost makes the movie into a casefile from a psychology class. While it may not have been the original intent I assure you that a man with such knowledge could find at least a couple of theories that fits with the life of Kane. Whether it's the historical references, the symbolic imagery or just plainly the well-written drama - Citizen Kane deserves recognition as one of the great movies, if not for all time then at least of the era. Made in a period just after the Great Depression and released in the second year of the second world war the movie gives us a time capsule of the zeitgeist of the years in which it was made and later released.

Acting wise the movie is great, Orson Welles himself playing Citizen Kane is the highlight of the movie. Managing to show the anger and overzealousness that the man contains. He blames his silver spoon for his personal shortcomings "You know, Mr. Bernstein, if I hadn't been very rich, I might have been a really great man."  Other actors do a good job as well, in particular that of Everett Sloane playing Mr. Bernstein. Playing the character as a humble yet joking man - like all others his old age has made him wiser. The actresses on the picture, was unfortunately nothing spectacular. Perhaps held back by a script that made the characters they played very one-note.

No matter how it has aged, there is no doubt that if you love film: This is one to watch. Fundamentally changing what movies were all about while telling a dramatic story of a mans journey through greatness and fall through the eyes of his peers.

Story-liners: The Last of Us (2013)

Game: The Last of Us
Release: 2013, Retail
System: Sony Playstation 3
Starring: Ashley Johnson, Hana Hayes, Troy Baker
Directed by: Bruce Stanley
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: 20 years after the near-destruction of mankind, the smugglers Joel and Tess are hired to escort a young girl through the now dangerous and overgrown lands of the former U.S.A.

Hans' thoughts:

Already when the trailers for this game came out, it was apparent that this would be a visually stunning experience. However, looks isn't everything when it comes to videogames, so thankfully the gameplay goes right along with it. But this is story-liners! So how about the story?

As little as I'd like to admit it, female characters have never found much dignity in gaming. Video games are, to this day, primarily a male oriented hobby and it shows; Female characters are almost always grounded in the prospect of eye-candy. In a few cases, characters is too fancy a description of some of the female representations in gaming. I tell you this because Ellie, the main female protagonist, may very well be the most dignified, complete female character I've ever encountered. She may not be brave right out of the bag - but she's believably concerned. After all, this is a world infested with zombies - and this bunch is a nasty one. Not only does Ellie not seem perfect at the beginning, she doesn't seem completely broken and useless either. She's grown up in a quarantined area and has a such never had to fend for herself - she learns how to do that and so much more. Ellie is resourceful, witty and nice to be around. The player get's genuinely concerned for her safety, giving the player an incentive to look out for her - beyond the mere aspect of it being the objective of the adventure. Now, this could have been a case of just one really well-written female character with the others being two-dimensional but no, every single female character we actually get to spend time with grows as a character, and shows us a lot of sides of their personalities. You'll find no sultry femme fatales or damsels in distress here. But likewise, the characters aren't just need-no-man tomboys. They're just people who live in a very, very dangerous world and has had to adapt to that fact.

Other than females, this game also handles loss extremely well. As it should, again, this game takes place after the gosh darn fall of human civilization. Our main character Joel has seen some serious stuff and has done less than honorable things to survive for the last 20 years. We see him before and after the fall of humanity and see just how different he's become. Which he should have, people grow all their life and Joel is not exception. Is he a bad person? Well the story seems to let the audience decide that for themselves - not through the popular method of a moral choice system. No, the game is actually pretty linear, they just show Joel as he is and the things he does in order to make it to the next day. That said, he's thankfully not completely cold about murder and he's not ignoring the moral ambiguity of the things he's done. He's just learned to live with it in order to survive - that's what makes him compelling to me. He knows what he does is completely insane, but he doesn't dwell on it. He doesn't joke about it either, he just doesn't talk about it.

As for the actual plot - while some outcomes are sort of obvious in the eyes of the trained viewer, the story actually threw me through a loop more than a few times. This story has some great twists and turns and everytime is as surprising as the next. It doesn't go Shyamalon however, it knows how to balance out the surprises with the heartfelt interaction between characters and the absolute horror of the dangers they face. Let's keep it to just stating that zombies isn't the only threat waiting for the main characters out there. Far from it.

If you want a great send-off to this console generation, as well as just one of the best survival stories out there, you should pick up The Last of Us. While zombies have become fairly frequent these days - most times less successful than others, The Last of Us doesn't actually make this a body-count fest and instead focus on what made the genre good to begin with. The human race and what happens to it when everything goes completely haywire - as told by some of the most well-rounded characters in story-telling.

50/50 (2011)

Film: 50/50
Release: 2011, theatrical
Starring: Joseph Gordon Lewitt, Seth Rogen, Bryce Dallas Howard
Directed by: Jonathan Levine
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: The young radio-editor Adam finds out he has a rare form of genetic spinal cancer. The movie follows his experiences with trying to cope with it.

Hans' thoughts:

So when I heard that this movie was a comedy about cancer starring Seth Rogen, I didn't exactly jump for joy. Cancer is a touchy subject to say the least, and Rogen is a very silly actor.

Suffice to say I was pleasantly surprised, this movie not only manages to be touching, it manages to capture the pressure that everyone is under when someone in the family is going through something awful. I really like that, I feel that a lot of fiction dealing with something like this, medical tv-shows in particular, only focus on what the person dealing with the decease have to go through. They tend to forget that the rest of the family and friends is dealing with the potential loss of someone close to them. This movie addresses that part pretty well, without over-simplifying the problems of the main character.

I also feel that the comedy of this movie was pretty good. The problem with reviewing comedy is of course that everyone has their own sense of humor. But I think the jokes were general enough that anyone could "get" them. They manage to keep the funny parts funny, and the serious parts.. well, serious. It's actually a pretty big compliment from my side as not many movies get that balance right. Either they make it completely comedic or they just wallow in tragedy, making the movie watching experience almost unbearable.

I'll recommend this movie to couples especially, it sits close to what many would call "chick flicks" but without being overly dramatic or romantic. The men in the couples will actually manage to keep awake for this one, mostly due to the presence of Seth Rogen as the main characters best friend. Does this movie have failed jokes? Well. Yes. There are some of the jokes related to his job that kinda fall flat - mostly because we don't actually see that much of his day-to-day life. What we see is mostly circumstantial.

All in all, this ended up not being a comedy with a dramatic centerpiece, but rather a pretty touching drama with a couple of jokes thrown in to lighten the mood. Are the actors good? Well, while Seth Rogen does his job pretty well, I have to say that Lewitt himself felt kind of - wooden. There wasn't very much of an expression on his face most of the time and sometimes his delivery just felt read aloud. He was better than some of the minor bi-roles but not by much. Especially the two female leads in the movie were very two-dimensionally written. But I guess that's the terms of writing romance as a sub-plot. It makes it feel kinda forced if it isn't done well.

Story-liners: Fallout 3 (2008)

War, war never changes.

Game: Fallout 3
Alternate version: Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition
Release: 2008, retail
System: PC/Sony Playstation 3/Microsoft Xbox 360
Starring: Liam Neeson, Malcolm McDowell, Ron Perlman
Directed by: Ashley Cheng
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: In the year 2077, the American people sealed themselves in bunkers called Vaults to escape the impending nuclear holocaust. In 2277, you are a citizen of Vault 101. The Vault has never been reopened, and probably never would be, if your father hadn't suddenly done so. You find yourself chased out of Vault 101 and into The Capital Wasteland trying to chase down your dad and find out why.

Hans' thoughts:

Before I get to the actual review, I'd like to state that since this is a open-world RPG, the game is absolutely HUMONGOUS. Therefore, I will keep to the main story arc of the game, disregarding the side-quests and downloadable content. Sit back tight, this one's gonna be a long one:

The Fallout series has always been a very politically oriented franchise. Set in a world where the paranoia of the Cold War endured and the popular culture always held a similar vein to 50's culture. To me, this series serves as a slap back to reality for those who dare speak of the 50's as "the good old days". Funnily enough, the series does lend a certain love to the era, making a lot of the positive parts of the game be derived from the 50's. Here I'm especially talking about the in-game radio playing music from the 30's/40's/50's. Seemingly the only music that survived the nuclear holocaust were by singers like Billie Holiday - who would have thought it?

After a short intro sequence, and a narrator bringing you up to speed on the state of the universe, the game starts off at your birth. Here you'll go through character creation, followed by certain moments from your childhood all the way until you've turned around 19 your first steps, your 10th birthday, your school finals). Here, the first thing you'll notice is probably this: your father is voiced by Liam Neeson. Now, if you haven't had the urge to check the cast of the game's voice actors, you probably will now. Ron Perlman? Malcolm McDowell? The game actually has quite a few big name actors attached to it, but somehow Fallout 3's atmosphere manages to pull you so far into the story that you forget the world around you. This is what happened to me at least, in any other case I had noticed Neeson right away, just as well with Perlman. However, the few seconds of an absolutely stunning intro-sequence made me forget about everything. Suddenly, I was in The Capital Wasteland.

Throughout the game, the player
 character is consistently referred to as
"The Lone Wanderer" and "That Kid from the Vault".

As for the other voice actors attached, they generally do a good job. However, it brought me out of the experience more than a few times on the sheer scope of how recycled certain voice actors were. You have 3 or 4 voice actors doing the voices for almost all the characters - important ones included. The only exceptions to this rule are your father (Liam Neeson), the narrator (Ron Perlman), President Eden (Malcolm McDowell), Three-Dog (Erik Pullum), Elder Lyons (William Bassett), the player character at age 1 (Jake Howard) and Amata (Odette Annable). The rest of the 50+ voiced characters in the game are done by Jeff Baker, Karen Carbone, Johnny Contino, Gregory Gorton, Peter Gil and Duncan Hood. Those are a LOT of characters for such a small crew of voice actors. Unfortunately, this also means that a lot of the work done by the 6 crowd voices are at times phoned in performances. While certainly not to the depths of some dubs I've heard, at times it is certainly a bit emotionless. This isn't helped by the fact that non-playable characters keep direct eye-contact with you during the entire conversation you have with each of them. You will notice the entire problem a lot more, when sound-files bundle up and a character speaks through 2 or 3 different voice actors because of the conversation choices you have made. A frail old man will suddenly speak with the voice of a 30-something and such.

On the right, a typical raider from Fallout. On the left, Wez from
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

Stylistically this game is beautiful, in spite of the destruction of the world around you. The 200 years following the nuclear holocaust has led to mutated animals, a heavy decline in the state of buildings - those that are left, anyway - and of course the unity of what's left of humanity leaves much to be desired. Speaking of humanity, while a lot of the positive input you get from the game (such as the aforementioned radio) take a lot of notes from the 50's, a lot of the antagonists you face are grounded firmly in the 60's and 70's. An immediate threat (besides the monsters) you'll face is that of the raiders, gangs running through the wastes in packs. They are all heavily inspired by 60's, 70's and 80's counter-culture, especially that of punk. They drink a lot, they yell a lot, they curse a lot, they take a lot of drugs and a big bulk of them have Mohawks (which, if you think about it doesn't make much sense in a world where resources are very limited). Though many of them are cannibals and takes slaves, if that somehow makes it make more sense. They also wear these sorts of strapped together metal armors, I imagine their initial designs were inspired by that of the Mad Max movies.

As for the actual looming villain in the distance, this is a case of a great setup, but not that much of a pay-off. Throughout the game you see these small robots flying around, transmitting a radio signal you can play from your "Pip-boy", a sort of all-in-one computer that's strapped to your wrist (the thing also serves as the game's menu system). The radio signal is transmitted by someone calling themselves "President Eden". Eden sounds like a kindly old man, living up to the all-American patriot stereotype. He speaks of a dog he had as a child, what it means to be an American and quotes famous Americans, seemingly oblivious of the extremely "survival-of-the-fittest" world around him. The music he plays on his radio station is also music you would describe as fiercely patriotic. These are songs such as "Stars and Stripes", "Yankee doodle" and "Dixie". 

I've been thinking quite a bit lately about something we can all relate to, something that is unquestionably, inescapably… American. I am referring, of course, to our great national pastime - baseball. - John Henry Eden 

As for the pay-off, while it is certainly surprising to find out who President Eden is, the final battle against the antagonists of the game could have been so much more than what it eventually amounts to. I'm not going to spoil what it is here - suffice to say that the build up is so much better than the actual pay-off.

That is actually a very accurate description of the entirety of the main story-line of the game as well. While the game itself has some great themes, pieces of dialogue and atmosphere, the main story-line ultimately falls flat. Many of the non-canon side-quests amount to much better told stories and in some cases more well-rounded characters. Especially the optional add-on content puts a lot more emphasis on character development and detail. The father (the only other character featured in the game from the beginning to the end) ends up being a very one-note character, ultimately becoming the "father was a saint" stereotype. Throughout the game, he constantly makes a point of quoting the deceased mother's favorite religious quote:

I am Alpha and Omega. The beginning... and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life, freely. - Revelation 21:6

To the quotes credit it does end up being a great narrative tool on the hows and whys of his actions. However, the father ends up being very bland, which is sad when considering the talent doing the voice. This is a classic example of the journey being better than the destination.

Wrapping things up, while Fallout 3 is a great game game play-wise, the story ultimately feels a bit flat and rushed compared to the rest of the content in the game. I wanna re-emphasize that I only looked at the main plot in the original version of the game. This game holds a lot of great content, loads of hours of worthy gameplay as well as an entirely new ending provided by the add-on content. If you are to play this game, I suggest you play that version instead.

(All quotes and additional information was and can be found on The Vault, the Fallout themed Wikipedia)

Of Mice and Men (1992)

Film: Of Mice and Men
Release: 1992, theatrical
Starring: John Malkovich, Gary Sinise, Moira Sinise
Directed by: Gary Sinise
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: During the depression, the drifters George and Lennie try to find jobs at the various farms to chase the impossible dream they share.

Hans' thoughts:

The Great Depression is a very popular time period to make movies about. Unfortunately, these stories mostly take place in places like Chicago - completely forgetting that the farms around the country were actually hit the hardest. 

This movie is based on one of the most classic novels, arguably the most well-known, about this era, and it just so happens to be about farms - how about that? 

Even people not all that familiar with this story know some elements from it. For instance, Looney Tunes' Sylvester the Cat had his own gentle giant sidekick that called him "George". This is of course in reference to the popular line "T-t-tell me about the rabbits, George!" uttered several times by one of the story's main protagonists, Lennie Small, who is played by John Malkovich in this adaptation.

Now, this is a very dark story. Lennie and George are down-on-their-luck farmhands who can't hold down a job, partially because of Lennie's affliction. Said outright, Lennie Small is mentally disabled, giving him the mind of a child, but physically he's a big, strong man. As you can probably imagine, because of this the story brings with it the danger of making Lennie into a comical character, completely destroying the tragedy behind him (Indeed, a Danish comedian named Dirch Passer tried his hand on doing this character in a stageplay adaptation with serious intentions, but could not be taken seriously by the audience, and ultimately being laughed off the stage). However, I feel that John Malkovich plays the character very respectfully and indeed the movie handles him incredibly well.

Both leads did a great job bringing these characters to life

George is played by actor/director Gary Sinise. Sinise is an actor I respect a whole lot, I've not seen him in something where I didn't like his work. Unfortunately, Sinise is one of those actors who gets typecast a great deal. This movie is no different; if you've seen Forrest Gump or CSI: New York, you know exactly how he plays the character. In this movie his style fits right in with the character of George Milton, a quick-witted and sarcastic, but kind-hearted man. 

As for the other actors, I'd like to highlight John Terry as Slim, he does a very good job both when he's being kind, and when he's being absolutely furious. I can't pinpoint exactly why, but the actor's performance just stood out to me.

Let it be known, though, that it is a very long time since I last read the actual novel. I cannot judge how well this adaptation keeps to its source material. Judged on its own merits however, this had a very compelling story once I got into it.

Of Mice and Men is a timeless tale of hope and loss. This movie pays a lot of respect to it and it seems that both cast and crew had a love for the source material. If you have any historical interest, even slightly, this movie is for you. If you like drama, this movie is for you. If you have the ability to sit down and enjoy a quiet tale, watch this movie.

First Blood (1982)

Film: First Blood
Release: 1982, theatrical
Starring: Richard Crenna, Sylvester Stallone, Brian Dennehy
Directed by: Ted Kotcheff
Next in the series: Rambo: First Blood Part II
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: A Vietnam war veteran comes to a small town, but is quickly arrested for loitering by the local authorities. His arrest tricker his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and it quickly becomes a one-man battle against the world

Hans' thoughts:

This movie really has some pretty imagery to go for it, which is the first thing you'll notice when you watch it. Big scenic pictures of nature. Stallone also does a very good job, albeit he speaks a little low so I'm wondering how the movie felt to the theatrical audience in America back in the day. Then again, this might have been a problem with my television but I'm mentioning it anyway. Hurray for subtitles. Honestly I feel that Stallone was a better actor back in the day when he did this one and the first Rocky. The feel of the movie is also very quiet, a lot quieter than what you normally associate with a Rambo movie these days. The death count is also barely there (I counted 1). Looking back today with the knowledge that First Blood would spawn one of the most violent action movie franchises out there, it is almost surreal. This movie also gets it's message across clear and to the point, but without getting too preachy and shoving it in our faces. I feel they made the other sides make their own points, as invalid as they may seem.