Month: April 2013

Welcome Oblivion – How To Destroy Angels

By now everyone is well aware that How to Destroy Angels will not be the next big thing in music. Their initial EP drew some interest with a good song and an amazing song with filler. Between another EP release and now Welcome Oblivion, the group’s first full length release, the offerings are a mixed bag. Naysayers may classify this group as just a Reznor side project and I personally think the apple hasn’t fallen far enough from the Ghosts tree to be excited about. That said, Welcome Oblivion should be approached for its own merits.

Welcome Oblivion – How To Destroy Angels

How Long? 
How Long?

The album starts a bit derivative of Nine Inch Nails’ Ghosts, but not to the level of the previous release An Omen. There is some music to be had here but it’s the type to be relegated to the background, probably a result of working on The Social Network and other cinema projects. That is to say, nothing is especially impressive.

Then the middle of the album surprises with some catchy hooks. Too Late, All Gone doesn’t start strong but has a great chorus and I’ve grown to appreciate the verses. How Long? is perhaps the poppiest of the bunch- short, sweet, and a bit different. Finally, Strings and Attractors is another track which, to me, epitomizes what HTDA should be but aren’t.

It’s unfortunate because Welcome Oblivion starts to justify itself at this point in the album but the remaining tracks return to the previous form and fail to deliver. Reznor fans may want the album to complete their collection. Mariqueen fans (do those exist?) may do so as well. Overall, besides the 3 songs in the middle, and while not being as bad as An Omen, everything else is just forgettable.

The Place Beyond the Pines

From beginning to end, this movie is about how choices and actions affect all others around you, even creating legacies that last much longer than is initially obvious. This can be a deep and meaningful message in some contexts but this film prefers to keep a hands-off approach to conveying any sort of lesson. A moving piece at times, The Place Beyond the Pines can ironically leave the viewer a bit empty.

My gut feeling of dissatisfaction stood in stark contrast to the fact that I enjoyed the movie. It took some reflection later in the night to appreciate what I had seen but I still need to fault the execution a bit. For such an expertly unpredictable first act, the police drama that follows feels too obvious and mundane. Even worse, The Place Beyond the Pines is one of those 2 hour 20 minute movies that really could have shaved off 20 minutes.

All of this gives the impression that I disliked the movie but the truth is that it is a powerful experience that I thoroughly enjoyed. None of the characters in the film are saints and deal with life as it is presented to them. The acting performances are top notch and the sometimes dissonant musical tones work well to drive the emotional notes, creating a film with soul. The Place Beyond the Pines isn’t so much about telling the audience how to live but instead chooses to show connectivity in action, inviting the viewer to bring in their own meaning. This sort of thing, while not for everyone, is likely to leave a lasting impression.

(III) – Crystal Castles

In the realm of exciting and innovative acts, Crystal Castles is well at home. I remember seeing them perform at Jimmy Kimmel a few years back and the surprised audience had no idea what they were watching. For the third album, appropriately titled (III), Crystal Castles elevates their music to the mainstream. This is in no way a criticism and they haven’t even changed their sound a whole lot. While their trademark scratchiness and cacophony is still around, it seems to be wrapped into more digestible loops.

(III) – Crystal Castles

Mercenary 
Mercenary

Many are talking about the change in style of this Toronto band but I just don’t hear it. This is the same Crystal Castles music just more refined and more melodic. Sure, it is more listenable perhaps, but tracks like Insulin still attempt to rape your ears. Alice Glass’ singing isn’t as abrasive but it’s not unlike her more tame songs on the other albums. Some of this is more dance-able and will be a favorite of club DJs but none of this is a bad thing. On the contrary, the collection of tracks makes listening to this album a very deep experience.

The Ultimate Fighter: Jones vs. Sonnen

The Ultimate Fighter was a great idea for a contest reality show and it really propelled the UFC into mass market success but I’d be lying if I didn’t say the last few seasons were degrading the brand. After trying to push hype for Kimbo Slice and seeing that repeatedly fall flat in their face, follow-up seasons have generally failed to impress.

There were interesting characters a couple years back (the Alaskan with the unorthodox guillotine choke comes to mind) but in general the show had fallen into a paint-by-numbers routine. Coach A hates Coach B and talks smack. Coach B overreacts. Team A plays practical joke on Team B. Team B overreacts. Rinse, repeat, another season in the books.

Rock bottom really hit when even the main billing of the two coaches fighting each other didn’t even happen for two seasons in a row. At that point it seemed like everyone was phoning it in. The coaches were just there to be on tv but didn’t want to put work in. The players just wanted to advance as safely as possible and got in overly boring drawn out fights, each one calling for a judges decision. No one won the best knockout award last season because there wasn’t a single knock out! On top of that, the judges have been blind for several seasons, causing me to yell out loud from my couch and even drawing complaints from the head of the UFC, Dana White.

Well, Season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter fixes ALL of these problems. The premiere started differently by showing the families of the contestants as they fought to win their way onto the show. The direction and interviews felt like they were out of a Nike commercial and the opening credits removed the names of the fighters, choosing for a minimalist yet inspiring approach instead of the in-your-face rock attitude. The two coaches, Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen, amazingly, don’t waste my time insulting each other every episode, and by all accounts are surprised that they like each other. And the fighters… wow. Knock out after knock out this season. The fights are usually unpredictable- aside from a couple of favorites there have been surprises (case in point is the semi-finals consisting of the two top seeds and the two bottom seeds). But the fighters generally aren’t waiting to hear the judges scores and there are some exciting moments involving come-backs, quick rounds, and amazing forces of will.

This season is the penultimate fight show and the finale is yet to air, so take note.

Hannibal

The Hannibal television series premiere was a mixed bag. An exploration of the days before Hannibal the Cannibal was captured is an interesting concept that is only visited in flashbacks in Manhunter/ Red Dragon. This is a compelling draw but it’s hard to expect much from the Networks. Viewers might imagine a multicultural cast filling out a pilot one part Sherlock, one part CSI, one part Law and Order: Criminal Intent – and they wouldn’t be far off the mark.

Still, the subject matter is intriguing and the ‘Will Graham’ character pulls his weight alongside a couple of well established thespians. People often don’t realize that he was the superstar before ‘Clarise’ came along. Looking into the investigator’s famed career and biggest case has appeal and there is certainly room for drama and the dark imagery provides an ample platform. Perhaps the series just needs more time to grow.

My biggest hesitation with taking Hannibal seriously and making a time commitment to watch it is that there is a big flaw in the premise. The entire story has a shelf life. This whole affair ends when Graham catches Hannibal, and the longer the duration and the higher the adventure count in between takes us, the more ridiculous everything is.

"Let’s see how long I can act super creepy before anybody notices."

This needs a good BBC treatment of being a single or double season one-off. Instead we’ll get the American TV business model where if something is successful it will go on forever and if it isn’t it will be cancelled without even getting to end properly. Seems hard to invest in, doesn’t it?

Brenda Romero

Wow, Brenda must be a bit embarrassed right about now.

Brenda Romero (formerly Brathwaite) is something of a women’s game developer icon. Unfortunately, the majority of her draw appears to be the fact that she is a woman, and to me this is the beginning of her unraveling reputation. It is one thing to be a great developer who is also a woman, another to be considered specifically in the female subset. Ironically, she may not agree that women like herself appearing on ‘lists of women’ isn’t much of an achievement. What would be a fucking achievement is if a man managed to appear on that list! Rather, I would push for the merits of a developer to be tied to their professional work and not their gender.

A few years ago she was elected to the board of directors of the International Game Developers Association, of which my distaste shall be saved for another post. Suffice it to say that she is, in my mind, a bit of a figurehead, and she has even been criticized by women in her organization as not doing much of anything. Despite being involved in the making of a Playboy video game, Romero has since been a known opponent of booth babes at industry events and uses her position to raise awareness for female inclusion. While this is certainly a good cause, she seems to have misstepped at GDC 2013.

Apparently she woke up Thursday morning to a torrent of messages expressing outrage over a party the night before. The event featured "scantily clad women" and other "outrageous" offenses. Her initial reaction, while extreme, wasn’t entirely her fault- a popular Forbes article (read: Forbes-contributed blog post) improperly cited the IGDA’s (and Yetizen’s) involvement. This seemed to be the perfect reason for her to resign from the powerless organization (although personally I am guessing she was on the way out already and picked this moment as a PR opportunity).

"I woke up to DMs, texts and links to news of the IGDA party. It really saddens me. I have been a long-time supporter of the IGDA. However, my silence would have been complicity. I had no choice. And just hours after our panel, too."

The outrage stems from the fact that a party at a nightclub, which was purportedly co-sponsored by the IGDA, had dancing girls in skimpy outfits. The media stoked the fire and treated these girls as if they were strippers and "OMG what was the IGDA thinking?". Of course, not only was the IGDA not involved with the party in question, but the actual party they co-sponsored was held the night before. Here’s the timeline.

Tuesday Night – IGDA/Yetizen Party (at Ruby Skye nightclub)

Wednesday Afternoon – Brenda’s GDC Panel (no outrage)

Wednesday Night – Wargaming Party (at Ruby Skye nightclub)

Thursday Morning – Outrage! (against wrong party)

This gets a little more ridiculous. Yetizen, who had been accused by Romero for being sexist in the previous year, had been careful this go around not to draw the wrath of the IGDA. They got explicit approval before the party from the IGDA’s female executive director for the costumes the models were wearing. The performance troupe of stilt walkers and others were likely dressed a bit sexy but they were not strippers and most attendees thought the affair quite modest, including the IGDA pre-approval. So models, not hired dancers, got on stage for a few minutes and danced to the DJ’s music at a nightclub.

Now Brenda Romero is left looking like she perhaps jumped the gun a bit. The up-in-arms cries and wave of support seem a bit silly, in the aftermath. Now, I freely admit that I wasn’t at the party so I don’t know if there were any extenuating incidents. But the thing is, Romero wasn’t at the party either. She is responding to public backlash and media rumor-mongering just like anyone else. The difference is, the media outlets have corrected their facts and admitted their mistake after Yetizen’s official response. Brenda Romero? Not so much.

Thief Reboot

One of the PC games that most captured my imagination is Thief: The Dark Project. I’ve been playing Dishonored recently and immediately noticed the similarities (in a good way) to the old series. With word of a reboot coming next year, this teaser is all we get for now.

Diehards will complain of Garrett being voice-acted by a newcomer but this is a new game in a new age. I’m too old, as is the series, to bitch about things like that. While The Metal Age was a follow-up by the original Looking Glass Studios, Dark Shadows was developed by Ion Storm and turned out surprisingly well. I don’t think Eidos Montreal is a bad candidate for making a respectable reboot.

At least there’s fan service at the end: Garrett still has a fake eye.