**spoiler for the Simpson Movie and the Harry Potter series --be warned** [also, +10 points if you can get the title reference :D]
I won't be the first to admit it, but I am in fact a crier. When I get overwhelmed, way too tired, or lose something precious, I turn on the faucet for a few minutes and let loose a good relieving cry. And after that I'm fine.
However, real-life events aside, there are not many media that make me cry. I've read loads of books (no Nicholas Sparks, thank you) and the only one that's made me have a sniffle was The Amber Spyglass. I didn't even shed a tear for now out-of-the-closet** Dumbledore or Sirius Black when I read the Harry Potter books.
Non-animated TV shows and movies fail as tear-jerkers for me as well (again, I've never seen The Notebook, but that's okay). Even in the saddest of events my mind just acknowledges, "ooh, that sucks. Really hope that never happens to me," and continues to watch the rest of the melodrama play out.
But animated movies? Holy Kleenex, Batman, grab the tissue box. For some reason these get me. Not all of them, but there are a few that have made me fight back tears in fear of looking very silly in front of my friends.
Last night, I watched the Simpson Movie on DVD with my friends. I had seen it before in theater once, and I knew there was one part I needed to be wary of watery eyes--the scene where Marge and the family leave Homer and Marge tapes over their wedding video.
I remember almost letting a few tears leak in theater, but I had to discreetly blot my nearly overflowing eyes even the second time through. It's just so unbelievably sad (granted Homer really did screw up that time). The way Marge's voice sounds even more scratchy than usual because you know she's been crying her eyes out before she recorded over the tape. How purely happy Homer and Marge seem in the last, not-taped-over segment of their wedding video, and how dark things have turned out to be. The way Homer seems so lost without his family. Just the whole way the seen is presented and the terrible feelings of separation that come with it... for some reason, it seemed more real than any super-sob story Grey's Anatomy or the OC could come up with.
I also remember watching the South Park Movie and being so surprised at how it could tug at the heartstrings. I wasn't brought to tears, but I felt so incredibly sad when Gregory died during La Resistance's raid, croaking his final words of, "La Resistance lives on." I mean, this is South Park. The potty-humor, make-fun-of-everyone, silly satirical cartoon. I was supposed to be laughing and rolling my eyes at the crazy, culturally-pointed jokes, not feeling upset that Gregory died.
Maybe that's why animated media is more emotionally effective than non-animated media for me. I have some kind of subconscious expectation of funny so when the sad moments come around they're more effective than usual. But, realistic videogames make me feel for the characters and story way more than any non-animated TV show or movie, like Ocarina of Time, many a Final Fantasy game, and Shadow of the Colossus.
Or, who knows, maybe all of this is because I'm a girl and like to talk about those icky "feelings" things.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
The Post-Christmas Post
Weeks ago at the beginning of December, I handed my mom my official Christmas wish list. At the top of it--a Playstation Portable 2000 Core Set, valued at $169, with Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions.
She laughed and scoffed, "I'm not getting you that."
I frowned. This wasn't the "I'm bluffing so I can really surprise you on Christmas" act; this was the full-blown "I hate your videogames, I'm really not getting you this, tough luck" cold shoulder.
It's not easy being a female gamer at Christmas time. Even when you ask your family for Super Mario Galaxy, they just shake their heads and buy you some boots. Don't get me wrong--boots and clothing are excellent gifts for me, but having the occasional $50, AAA title thrown into the mix would be awesome. However I will give my family bonus points this year. My mom and grandma made a well-intentioned attempt to buy the Final Fantasy Tactics game I asked for. But, one minor thing, they didn't include the PSP to play it on. D'oh.
Christmas is an important time to gamers everywhere. Holiday releases, the games of the year being named, and a time to get a whole new set of great games as gifts. Gaming is not a cheap habit, so at holiday times gamers appreciate a little help in expanding their libraries. Yes, even the girl gamers. You don't have to buy them the latest, most expensive system, but a game (preferably one for a system they have) is always appreciated.
I felt especially overlooked as a gamer today when I went shopping at Gamestop with my boyfriend. I was waiting in line while he was off playing a demo. I waited for a solid minute and when I stepped up to the cash register he came over to join me. The cashier then turned to him and asked, "Can I help you?"
The next seconds where wrapped in an awkward silence where the cashier recognized his mistake and that I, a girl, was buying something. He quickly repeated he was sorry about three times and the situation was dismissed with a few "no big deal/it's fine" from me.
The cashier's mistake didn't make me mad. I don't want to bitch about how discriminated against I feel as a female gamer because that's not the case at all. Gals are becoming more recognized as gamers, but there still are the few who forget (or in the case of the family, refuse to accept) there are geeky girls out there. I'm just a little upset that any credential I have as a gamer is often discredited simply because I have my lovely lady lumps.
So just remember to give any of the girl gamers in your life lots of love. (And a little respect of gaming knowledge and prowess wouldn't hurt either)
P.S. Special thanks to my boyfriend for the PSP Core Set. I love it and can't wait to play Final Fantasy Tactics :D
She laughed and scoffed, "I'm not getting you that."
I frowned. This wasn't the "I'm bluffing so I can really surprise you on Christmas" act; this was the full-blown "I hate your videogames, I'm really not getting you this, tough luck" cold shoulder.
It's not easy being a female gamer at Christmas time. Even when you ask your family for Super Mario Galaxy, they just shake their heads and buy you some boots. Don't get me wrong--boots and clothing are excellent gifts for me, but having the occasional $50, AAA title thrown into the mix would be awesome. However I will give my family bonus points this year. My mom and grandma made a well-intentioned attempt to buy the Final Fantasy Tactics game I asked for. But, one minor thing, they didn't include the PSP to play it on. D'oh.
Christmas is an important time to gamers everywhere. Holiday releases, the games of the year being named, and a time to get a whole new set of great games as gifts. Gaming is not a cheap habit, so at holiday times gamers appreciate a little help in expanding their libraries. Yes, even the girl gamers. You don't have to buy them the latest, most expensive system, but a game (preferably one for a system they have) is always appreciated.
I felt especially overlooked as a gamer today when I went shopping at Gamestop with my boyfriend. I was waiting in line while he was off playing a demo. I waited for a solid minute and when I stepped up to the cash register he came over to join me. The cashier then turned to him and asked, "Can I help you?"
The next seconds where wrapped in an awkward silence where the cashier recognized his mistake and that I, a girl, was buying something. He quickly repeated he was sorry about three times and the situation was dismissed with a few "no big deal/it's fine" from me.
The cashier's mistake didn't make me mad. I don't want to bitch about how discriminated against I feel as a female gamer because that's not the case at all. Gals are becoming more recognized as gamers, but there still are the few who forget (or in the case of the family, refuse to accept) there are geeky girls out there. I'm just a little upset that any credential I have as a gamer is often discredited simply because I have my lovely lady lumps.
So just remember to give any of the girl gamers in your life lots of love. (And a little respect of gaming knowledge and prowess wouldn't hurt either)
P.S. Special thanks to my boyfriend for the PSP Core Set. I love it and can't wait to play Final Fantasy Tactics :D
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Spike TV Videogame Awards
POSTED:
**post has results of Spike TV Videogame Awards
I'm not a big fan of Spike. The "20 seconds of a hot chick" doesn't really do it for me between commercial breaks of MXC (even though I have to admit, they do make putting away dishes look very attractive). But I'll usually listen when there's gaming awards involved. Hearing the general concensus of an official board of gamer judges has to reflect some kind of sentiment of the gaming community.
And thank goodness for the Internet because at home, we like to keep our number of channels to a minimum--like 7, or 8 if you count the Spanish channel that I can't really understand. Simply, and without snarkiness, I dont have cable, satellite, what have you. So I found what I needed on Kotaku, Internet gods bless their little hearts. Here's what happened:
Congrats, to Bioshock on game of the year--it was well-deserved. I'm also really happy to see Portal and Rachet & Clank pick up some kudos.
And best of all, Halo 3 did not run the show. In fact, it only got one award because I refuse to accept something branded with Mountain Dew as an actual award. When they sold their special "gaming fuel" with Halo 3's launch that was fine and tolerable, but commercialism can only go so far. Halo's single-player mode is run-of-the-mill, but the multi-player is pretty fun and reason enough to purchase it for your HaloBox 360. I'm happy to see an over-rated game didn't sweep the show.
**post has results of Spike TV Videogame Awards
I'm not a big fan of Spike. The "20 seconds of a hot chick" doesn't really do it for me between commercial breaks of MXC (even though I have to admit, they do make putting away dishes look very attractive). But I'll usually listen when there's gaming awards involved. Hearing the general concensus of an official board of gamer judges has to reflect some kind of sentiment of the gaming community.
And thank goodness for the Internet because at home, we like to keep our number of channels to a minimum--like 7, or 8 if you count the Spanish channel that I can't really understand. Simply, and without snarkiness, I dont have cable, satellite, what have you. So I found what I needed on Kotaku, Internet gods bless their little hearts. Here's what happened:
Game of the Year
BioShock
Halo 3
Mass Effect
The Orange BoxBest Shooter
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
BioShock
Halo 3
The Orange BoxBest Action Game
Super Mario Galaxy
Assassin's Creed
God of War 2
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of DestructionBest Rhythm Game
Rock Band
Guitar Hero Encore: Rock the 80s
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Jam SessionsBest RPG
Mass Effect
Eternal Sonata
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3Best Driving Game
Colin McRae: DiRT
Forza Motorsport 2
Need for Speed ProStreet
Project Gotham Racing 4Best Military Game
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas
World in ConflictStudio of the Year
Harmonix
Bungie Studios
Irrational Games
ValveBest Graphics
Crysis
BioShock
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Mass EffectBreakthrough Technology
Portal
Crysis
Halo 3
Rock BandBest PS3 Game
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
Heavenly Sword
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
WarhawkBest Wii Game
Super Mario Galaxy
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Super Paper MarioBest Xbox 360 Game
BioShock
Halo 3
Mass Effect
The Orange BoxBest PC Game
The Orange Box
BioShock
Crysis
World in ConflictBest Individual Sports Game
Skate
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08
Tony Hawk's Proving Ground
Virtua Tennis 3Best Team Sports Game
Madden NFL 08
NBA 2K8
NHL 08
Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007Best Handheld Game
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the WarlordsBest Game Based on a Movie or TV Show
The Simpsons Game
Naruto: Rise of a Ninja
StrangleholdBest Soundtrack
Rock Band
BioShock
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Tony Hawk's Proving GroundBest Original Score
BioShock
God of War 2
Halo 3
Mass EffectBest Multiplayer Game
Halo 3
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Rock Band
The Orange BoxMost Addictive Game Fueled by Dew
Halo 3
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Team Fortress 2
Wii Sports--All results from Kotaku.com, not your.family.games
Congrats, to Bioshock on game of the year--it was well-deserved. I'm also really happy to see Portal and Rachet & Clank pick up some kudos.
And best of all, Halo 3 did not run the show. In fact, it only got one award because I refuse to accept something branded with Mountain Dew as an actual award. When they sold their special "gaming fuel" with Halo 3's launch that was fine and tolerable, but commercialism can only go so far. Halo's single-player mode is run-of-the-mill, but the multi-player is pretty fun and reason enough to purchase it for your HaloBox 360. I'm happy to see an over-rated game didn't sweep the show.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Golden Compass movie shines until the last moment....
**ATTENTION!! If you have not read the Golden Compass/Northern Lights or Amber Spyglass books by Philip Pullman, OR HAVE NOT YET SEEN THE MOVIE, PLEASE STOP READING or continue at your own risk of SPOILERS. You've been warned ^_~ **
As a dedicated fan of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, I went and saw the Golden Compass movie the day it publicly debuted.
I was impressed by the presentation of daemons and alethiometer, how they streamlined the plot to movie format, the epic bear battle between Iofur and Iorek (long live the bear king), and the most incredible fantasy violence I have seen in a long time. Dakota Blue Richards was an engaging, lovable Lyra, and the supporting cast was solid. (Daniel Craig makes a damn good Asriel).
Computer effects and acting aside, what was even more impressive was how the movie skirted around the book's idea of the evil Magisterium. In the Golden Compass book, it's incredibly obvious (although I forget if it's directly stated) that the Magisterium is what we know as the Catholic Church. Lyra and her crew are directly fighting the Church. But this is only hinted at in the movie. Magisterium HQ is ominously architecturally comparable to a cathedral. Mrs. Coulter, played by Nicole Kidman, cunningly dances around an Adam and Eve allegory, telling the biblical story but not naming any names.
This was all fine and dandy--kind of. I respect the movie's choice (maybe it was the director's choice, but I don't know) of leaving out any specific material; there would have been even more outcry from Christian groups that have been protesting the movie**[Link]. But, it's kind of sad that movies, books, media can't make statements without such backlash.
Not to mention, these groups are missing the point. True, Lyra and Will kill God at the end of the trilogy. But it's not because of a blind hatred of God and Christianity. This is a statement about any kind of religion, and what can happen if the religious group becomes to overzealous.
The Magisterium is trying to spread and tighten its control over the entire universe and abolish free will. Free will. The very thing God gave to us in the first place. When religious rules and controls are taken to such absolute extremes, religion no longer becomes the guiding moral beacon it's supposed to be for people. It becomes constricting, repressing, and something to be very scared of.
Within the Magisterium ranks, it's not about being the most pious, it's about being the most powerful and having your policy pushed forward above all others. When politics takes over peace, piety and honest-to-goodness human passion--that's when you know something has gone wrong. I may be wrong, but I think this may be a warning from the author (an atheist who openly states his books "are about killing God"), just like 1984 and Brave New World were warnings for ways humanity should not go. That's what I, previously a Catholic schoolgirl for 8 years, took away from it.
Overall, for the movie's purposes, they handled the religious aspect very carefully and very well. Even the Catholic church thinks so.
However, I do have a bone to pick with this movie. I, of course, respect that the entirety of the book could not be neatly packaged into one feature-length fantasy film, but when there's about 10-15 minutes of crucial film and plot cut off at the end that's where I draw the line.
If you're reading this, you have probably seen the Golden Compass movie. Sweet. Then you'll remember after the end-all battle at Bolvangar, Lyra and Roger run off to rescue Asriel from murderous Magistrate officials. Lee Scoresby offers them a lift and they take off in the hot air balloon.
The movie eventually cuts to Lyra and Roger talking about what they still need to investigate and the future. Lyra asks her aliethiometer about Asriel, and when Roger asks about what it told her she said, "It says I'm bringing him what he needs."
Oh, how the foreshadowing pierced my heart, but I felt ready for what was coming next.
Lyra gave an uplifting soliloquy about upcoming events, and then the scene faded out, taking the whole movie with it.
I waited. The whole theater audience held their breath for a hopeful second, only to unleash a mighty sigh and mutters of disgust. Roger's death was completely left out of the movie. Despite Lyra's ending optimistic pep talk, I felt dirty and betrayed that I had been lead this far into the adventure only for it to be left incomplete and broken.
The scene was in the palm of the movie's theoretical hands. Lyra's one line had set the whole situation up so perfectly. "It says I'm bringing him what he needs." Oh, the agony and frustration.
MTV has an article about director Chris Weitz chopping of the ending. Even more interesting is the questions he answered about the movie from readers that explain his reasoning for the movie.
So I guess I disagree with Weitz's interpretation. Roger's death easily would have established a better ending for a chance of a sequel. This ending is anticlimatic. Lyra's anguish and determination is what springboards the reader into the second book of the trilogy, and would have served the movies just as well (unless they're completely throwing the idea of finishing the trilogy in movie form... which I can completely see happening).
I can see where the movie might have wanted to end on a more upbeat tone. But even with Roger's death, it could have ended on a solid, semi-uplifting note (I swear, I don't like seeing people die and I don't have it in for this Roger kid, but the book's story is just so more compelling, dramatic and emotional that the film interpretation). They could have played out the betrayal scene with Roger's death, then Asriel and Coulter crossing over into Citagazze, and then have Lyra give her "rah-rah Pan-and-I-are-going-to-find-the-truth" speech and then cross the bridge. End film. Would take up an extra 30 minutes max, making it about a 2.5 hour, not to mention more worthwhile, movie.
Honestly, I think that would have worked fine. It still would have been an okay note to end on. Not a full-blown, feel-good, warm-and-oh-so-tickly-fuzzy Disney moment, but it would have been equivocal to any ending of the LotR movies feeling-wise (somber but determined tone... now that I think about it, the Golden Compass movie had an Enya-like song in its credits, just like LotR had one on their soundtrack... oh, New Line Cinemas, you crazeh). It's all right for a movie to end on a bit of a dark note, especially if the adventure is promised to continue in a second book/movie.
Speaking of a second movie, now remains the question--will there be one? Rumblings on the Internet suggest a Golden Compass movie sequel is already lined up for 2009, but New Line Cinemas is waiting for the box office numbers on the Golden Compass.
Although I hate to doubt this possibility, I give a very solid "probably not," and hope that I'm horribly wrong.
As I mentioned before, the Golden Compass movie had a very lackluster ending, which is already bad news for a sequel.
But there is a much more powerful reason for why the rest of the trilogy won't see the silverscreen, and that returns to the religious reasons discussed earlier.
I have to admit, I was surprised with how cool the Catholic church was with this first movie. But that's just because Catholicism wasn't explicitly mentioned or stated, and no direct references were made. The Golden Compass has plenty of wiggle room to do this. The Subtle Knife and especially the Amber Spyglass do not have such luxury. From here on out Lyra and Will's ultimate task just becomes more and more apparent. I guess the movies could still have the Magisterium masquerade with this sort of unnamed anonymous religion, but from the books, everyone, including the Church, already knows it's THE God they are going to destroy. Simply, too much controversy. Too much mess.
And there is so much to capture in the Amber Spyglass. I really don't know if it can be crammed into one film in a way that does the grand finale justice. Aside from taking down Metatron, Will and Lyra also go to hell and back, Mary (another Biblical character, God help us) finds the strange elephant-like creatures and sraf, Pan and Lyra are separated, there's drama with secondary characters, and, most importantly, Lyra and Will's kiss. A very pivotal point to the ending and the importance of this kiss can easily be lost in Hollywood's oft-taken "romanticize everything" approach.
If they do go through with the rest of the trilogy, you can bet I will pay that $9 movie ticket to be there.
*EDIT: Holy cow this is a helluva long post... and I wanna sleep right now. So I'll edit this tomorrow, in the morning/afternoon.
As a dedicated fan of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, I went and saw the Golden Compass movie the day it publicly debuted.
I was impressed by the presentation of daemons and alethiometer, how they streamlined the plot to movie format, the epic bear battle between Iofur and Iorek (long live the bear king), and the most incredible fantasy violence I have seen in a long time. Dakota Blue Richards was an engaging, lovable Lyra, and the supporting cast was solid. (Daniel Craig makes a damn good Asriel).
Computer effects and acting aside, what was even more impressive was how the movie skirted around the book's idea of the evil Magisterium. In the Golden Compass book, it's incredibly obvious (although I forget if it's directly stated) that the Magisterium is what we know as the Catholic Church. Lyra and her crew are directly fighting the Church. But this is only hinted at in the movie. Magisterium HQ is ominously architecturally comparable to a cathedral. Mrs. Coulter, played by Nicole Kidman, cunningly dances around an Adam and Eve allegory, telling the biblical story but not naming any names.
This was all fine and dandy--kind of. I respect the movie's choice (maybe it was the director's choice, but I don't know) of leaving out any specific material; there would have been even more outcry from Christian groups that have been protesting the movie**[Link]. But, it's kind of sad that movies, books, media can't make statements without such backlash.
Not to mention, these groups are missing the point. True, Lyra and Will kill God at the end of the trilogy. But it's not because of a blind hatred of God and Christianity. This is a statement about any kind of religion, and what can happen if the religious group becomes to overzealous.
The Magisterium is trying to spread and tighten its control over the entire universe and abolish free will. Free will. The very thing God gave to us in the first place. When religious rules and controls are taken to such absolute extremes, religion no longer becomes the guiding moral beacon it's supposed to be for people. It becomes constricting, repressing, and something to be very scared of.
Within the Magisterium ranks, it's not about being the most pious, it's about being the most powerful and having your policy pushed forward above all others. When politics takes over peace, piety and honest-to-goodness human passion--that's when you know something has gone wrong. I may be wrong, but I think this may be a warning from the author (an atheist who openly states his books "are about killing God"), just like 1984 and Brave New World were warnings for ways humanity should not go. That's what I, previously a Catholic schoolgirl for 8 years, took away from it.
Overall, for the movie's purposes, they handled the religious aspect very carefully and very well. Even the Catholic church thinks so.
However, I do have a bone to pick with this movie. I, of course, respect that the entirety of the book could not be neatly packaged into one feature-length fantasy film, but when there's about 10-15 minutes of crucial film and plot cut off at the end that's where I draw the line.
If you're reading this, you have probably seen the Golden Compass movie. Sweet. Then you'll remember after the end-all battle at Bolvangar, Lyra and Roger run off to rescue Asriel from murderous Magistrate officials. Lee Scoresby offers them a lift and they take off in the hot air balloon.
The movie eventually cuts to Lyra and Roger talking about what they still need to investigate and the future. Lyra asks her aliethiometer about Asriel, and when Roger asks about what it told her she said, "It says I'm bringing him what he needs."
Oh, how the foreshadowing pierced my heart, but I felt ready for what was coming next.
Lyra gave an uplifting soliloquy about upcoming events, and then the scene faded out, taking the whole movie with it.
I waited. The whole theater audience held their breath for a hopeful second, only to unleash a mighty sigh and mutters of disgust. Roger's death was completely left out of the movie. Despite Lyra's ending optimistic pep talk, I felt dirty and betrayed that I had been lead this far into the adventure only for it to be left incomplete and broken.
The scene was in the palm of the movie's theoretical hands. Lyra's one line had set the whole situation up so perfectly. "It says I'm bringing him what he needs." Oh, the agony and frustration.
MTV has an article about director Chris Weitz chopping of the ending. Even more interesting is the questions he answered about the movie from readers that explain his reasoning for the movie.
Yes, I’ll try to give you a reasonable answer, and an answer to a lot of other people who have asked the same sort of question. First, I haven’t “cut” the ending of the first book. I have only moved it to the beginning of the second movie. Some people are distressed by this, citing that the end of the novel is beautiful. Yes, that’s true. “And Lyra and Pan walked off into the sky.” But this ending was posing a problem for the (relatively few) audience-members who saw earlier cuts of the film. What is plangent and beautiful in the end of a novel can be confusing or off-putting in the end of a film.I can see where his concern comes from (having a movie that appeals to and is understood by all audiences), but I think if they were able to carefully construct the idea of religion, they should be able to easily articulate to an audience that Lyra is not going to heaven, but a city in the sky, a parallel dimension. I don't think that concept is to hard for the average movie-goer to grasp, but then again, I've probably read too many fantasy books and played too many RPGs.For instance, people who hadn’t read the books (yes, these people exist! And they matter!) didn’t know if Lyra was in fact going to heaven. My job is to make sure that ALL of Pullman’s story will be told, not to flame out gloriously with one film. The juncture at which to leave audiences hoping for more was before Lyra sets off to find Asriel. She has fulfilled the intitial reason for her journey (to save her friend Roger), but there is a further tangible aim for her. Yes, I get that this means delaying some brilliant scenes from the book. But trust me, they would have been less brilliant if they had to meet the demands (as interpreted by the studio) of a movie-going audience for the end of the film. Whereas, difficult to handle/difficult to swallow material, which is to say dark material (no pun intended) can work perfectly well in the second film of a trilogy (cf. “Empire Strikes Back”). Trust me on this one, I was doing what I could to protect the integrity of these scenes and the overall story. Furthermore, I would not have done this without Pullman’s consent.
So I guess I disagree with Weitz's interpretation. Roger's death easily would have established a better ending for a chance of a sequel. This ending is anticlimatic. Lyra's anguish and determination is what springboards the reader into the second book of the trilogy, and would have served the movies just as well (unless they're completely throwing the idea of finishing the trilogy in movie form... which I can completely see happening).
I can see where the movie might have wanted to end on a more upbeat tone. But even with Roger's death, it could have ended on a solid, semi-uplifting note (I swear, I don't like seeing people die and I don't have it in for this Roger kid, but the book's story is just so more compelling, dramatic and emotional that the film interpretation). They could have played out the betrayal scene with Roger's death, then Asriel and Coulter crossing over into Citagazze, and then have Lyra give her "rah-rah Pan-and-I-are-going-to-find-the-truth" speech and then cross the bridge. End film. Would take up an extra 30 minutes max, making it about a 2.5 hour, not to mention more worthwhile, movie.
Honestly, I think that would have worked fine. It still would have been an okay note to end on. Not a full-blown, feel-good, warm-and-oh-so-tickly-fuzzy Disney moment, but it would have been equivocal to any ending of the LotR movies feeling-wise (somber but determined tone... now that I think about it, the Golden Compass movie had an Enya-like song in its credits, just like LotR had one on their soundtrack... oh, New Line Cinemas, you crazeh). It's all right for a movie to end on a bit of a dark note, especially if the adventure is promised to continue in a second book/movie.
Speaking of a second movie, now remains the question--will there be one? Rumblings on the Internet suggest a Golden Compass movie sequel is already lined up for 2009, but New Line Cinemas is waiting for the box office numbers on the Golden Compass.
Although I hate to doubt this possibility, I give a very solid "probably not," and hope that I'm horribly wrong.
As I mentioned before, the Golden Compass movie had a very lackluster ending, which is already bad news for a sequel.
But there is a much more powerful reason for why the rest of the trilogy won't see the silverscreen, and that returns to the religious reasons discussed earlier.
I have to admit, I was surprised with how cool the Catholic church was with this first movie. But that's just because Catholicism wasn't explicitly mentioned or stated, and no direct references were made. The Golden Compass has plenty of wiggle room to do this. The Subtle Knife and especially the Amber Spyglass do not have such luxury. From here on out Lyra and Will's ultimate task just becomes more and more apparent. I guess the movies could still have the Magisterium masquerade with this sort of unnamed anonymous religion, but from the books, everyone, including the Church, already knows it's THE God they are going to destroy. Simply, too much controversy. Too much mess.
And there is so much to capture in the Amber Spyglass. I really don't know if it can be crammed into one film in a way that does the grand finale justice. Aside from taking down Metatron, Will and Lyra also go to hell and back, Mary (another Biblical character, God help us) finds the strange elephant-like creatures and sraf, Pan and Lyra are separated, there's drama with secondary characters, and, most importantly, Lyra and Will's kiss. A very pivotal point to the ending and the importance of this kiss can easily be lost in Hollywood's oft-taken "romanticize everything" approach.
If they do go through with the rest of the trilogy, you can bet I will pay that $9 movie ticket to be there.
*EDIT: Holy cow this is a helluva long post... and I wanna sleep right now. So I'll edit this tomorrow, in the morning/afternoon.
Monday, December 3, 2007
analytics and me
I recently tagged Google Analytics to one of my blogs, your family games (YFG).
BIG mistake.
Anything that causes you to question exactly why your writing is a big mistake. Or maybe it's not. Realizing things about yourself isn't a horrible thing. It's helpful to the personality and how you live, just hurtful to the ego.
Okay, time to clarify.
Last April, I purchased the domain name yourfamilygames.com with the hopes of starting a website that would serve as an online resource for parents to learn about their child's hobby of videogames. There's been too much of a mess in the media about how games are violent and playing Grand Theft Auto will turn everyone into a feral mass murderer. As a gamer, I know other people who play games and they come from all demographics. Almost all of them play M-rated titles and are awesome human beings. When a child picks up a game with questionable content, their parent needs to be aware of it, so they can talk about it and the child understands what in the game is socially acceptable and what isn't. I'm not promoting violent games, I'm trying to say their not as harmful and horrible as anti-videogame activists claim. I truly believe in this cause.
Then I decided I'd track the traffic of my blog by using a service from IceRocket. It's a nifty little add-on. The tracker tallies all the hits and visits I get and breaks them down by search terms, country, IP address, even browser and screen resolution. When I update the site I typically garnered a few hits a day and that made me happy.
But recently, YFg and me have been in a slump. I had just written tons of holiday buying suggestions that occupied the hours before and after I ran off to work at UPS. I couldn't figure out what to write next. I hadn't been happy with the reviews I was writing lately. I was burnt out from guides (but if I had pushed laziness aside I probably could have churned something else out). There were other projects I had put on the backburner that were glaring at me with frothing disgust.
And then I did it. On a whim one morning, I copied and pasted the Google Analytics code into my website.
A couple days later, I decided to crack open Analytics for the first time and see how it worked. I love playing with new toys, so I was pretty excited. Analytics had recorded hits from the past few days, among other data. But there was one fateful link that really changed everything. The statistic that showed you how much time people had spent at your blog before leaving. Interested and amused Google collected such datum, I clicked it.
I knew the results weren't going to be pretty, but I wasn't prepared to see that 70% of my visitors didn't linger any longer than 10 seconds. 10 measly seconds. That's an official NASA blast-off countdown. That's how long it takes to nuke stuff in my new microwave's highest setting. That's not long at all.
It was really disappointing to see that no one reads the blog I had put so much time into.
Then a thought dawned on me. Of course, it was an idea we had discussed in my yoga teacher training class. Was I writing for the noble cause I mentioned earlier, or was I writing for attention, for me? Did I really care about family videogaming or did I just want random strangers on the Internet to give me some love? I hate to admit it, but I think the last few weeks it's been for the latter reason.
So I've decided. That kind of thinking just won't do. Writing informatively shouldn't be for yourself. It should be for others--for the truth. In this mad world we live in, the truth is very important and oftentimes lost or not even pursued. The truth is something to be shared simplistically, not to be used as a mere springboard for attention (but if you hit a big enough truth that's bound to happen).
Now, most of the writings on YFG are opinion, and that being said, they cannot be the absolute authority on gaming (in fact, I laugh at that idea; reading your gaming news from one source isn't too different from reading political news from one source).
Still, it's interesting that something as simple as lines of code for a hit counter can make you rethink and reevaluate yourself as a writer and a person. It's like everything else in my life--I tend to think too much about things.
And now that I'm done writing about this small experience of mine, I'm going to try to take all of this lofty talk about the "truth" and put it to use.
namaste and congrats if you read this whole thing *gives cookie*
BIG mistake.
Anything that causes you to question exactly why your writing is a big mistake. Or maybe it's not. Realizing things about yourself isn't a horrible thing. It's helpful to the personality and how you live, just hurtful to the ego.
Okay, time to clarify.
Last April, I purchased the domain name yourfamilygames.com with the hopes of starting a website that would serve as an online resource for parents to learn about their child's hobby of videogames. There's been too much of a mess in the media about how games are violent and playing Grand Theft Auto will turn everyone into a feral mass murderer. As a gamer, I know other people who play games and they come from all demographics. Almost all of them play M-rated titles and are awesome human beings. When a child picks up a game with questionable content, their parent needs to be aware of it, so they can talk about it and the child understands what in the game is socially acceptable and what isn't. I'm not promoting violent games, I'm trying to say their not as harmful and horrible as anti-videogame activists claim. I truly believe in this cause.
Then I decided I'd track the traffic of my blog by using a service from IceRocket. It's a nifty little add-on. The tracker tallies all the hits and visits I get and breaks them down by search terms, country, IP address, even browser and screen resolution. When I update the site I typically garnered a few hits a day and that made me happy.
But recently, YFg and me have been in a slump. I had just written tons of holiday buying suggestions that occupied the hours before and after I ran off to work at UPS. I couldn't figure out what to write next. I hadn't been happy with the reviews I was writing lately. I was burnt out from guides (but if I had pushed laziness aside I probably could have churned something else out). There were other projects I had put on the backburner that were glaring at me with frothing disgust.
And then I did it. On a whim one morning, I copied and pasted the Google Analytics code into my website.
A couple days later, I decided to crack open Analytics for the first time and see how it worked. I love playing with new toys, so I was pretty excited. Analytics had recorded hits from the past few days, among other data. But there was one fateful link that really changed everything. The statistic that showed you how much time people had spent at your blog before leaving. Interested and amused Google collected such datum, I clicked it.
I knew the results weren't going to be pretty, but I wasn't prepared to see that 70% of my visitors didn't linger any longer than 10 seconds. 10 measly seconds. That's an official NASA blast-off countdown. That's how long it takes to nuke stuff in my new microwave's highest setting. That's not long at all.
It was really disappointing to see that no one reads the blog I had put so much time into.
Then a thought dawned on me. Of course, it was an idea we had discussed in my yoga teacher training class. Was I writing for the noble cause I mentioned earlier, or was I writing for attention, for me? Did I really care about family videogaming or did I just want random strangers on the Internet to give me some love? I hate to admit it, but I think the last few weeks it's been for the latter reason.
So I've decided. That kind of thinking just won't do. Writing informatively shouldn't be for yourself. It should be for others--for the truth. In this mad world we live in, the truth is very important and oftentimes lost or not even pursued. The truth is something to be shared simplistically, not to be used as a mere springboard for attention (but if you hit a big enough truth that's bound to happen).
Now, most of the writings on YFG are opinion, and that being said, they cannot be the absolute authority on gaming (in fact, I laugh at that idea; reading your gaming news from one source isn't too different from reading political news from one source).
Still, it's interesting that something as simple as lines of code for a hit counter can make you rethink and reevaluate yourself as a writer and a person. It's like everything else in my life--I tend to think too much about things.
And now that I'm done writing about this small experience of mine, I'm going to try to take all of this lofty talk about the "truth" and put it to use.
namaste and congrats if you read this whole thing *gives cookie*
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Gerstmann fired from Gamespot
Game reviewer Jeff Gerstmann gets deep-sixed over Kane and Lynch's 6
What a sad, terrible day in games journalism. I realized this was an issue, but I didn't realize it would actually come to fruition.
There's a fairly fine line in games journalism... large (and small) gaming publications/magazines need a substantial flow of cash to stay profitable and alive. Most of this revenue comes from not magazine subscriptions, but advertiser payments. Some advertisers pay incredibly hefty sums for ads. This was the move game company Eidos made to promote their new PS3/Xbox 360/PC title Kane and Lynch:Dead Men (which, by the way, is not a family-friendly title). They purchased banners that blanketed the whole background of GameSpot.com's website (and those don't come cheap).
On November 13, the Kane and Lynch was released to the pubic and the game's review, written by Jeff's Gerstmann, was posted on Gamespot.
November 30, a rumor that Gerstmann had been fired because of the "tone" in his Kane and Lynch review was leaked. Gamespot denies there was any advertiser pressure for firing Gerstmann. Largely, the reasoning for Gerstmann's termination is still unexplained, but Gamespot editor blogs and tips from "inside sources" heavily hint that Gerstmann was unjustly fired.
Thus, all craziness broke loose on videogame message board. And that's putting it lightly. Because of Gerstmann's firing, website NeoGAF will be boycotting all CNET and Eidos material. Many people have reported canceling their GameSpot subscription.
Gerstmann, who had last caused a stir when he gave The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess an 8/10 (eerily similar to the score I had given it *scary*), had quite a following of fans and I've heard many say he was the man who made Gamespot. His critics dislike him for his condescending tone and "king of the nerds" attitude.
Despite what anybody actually thinks about Gerstmann, what happened to him was abominable. Getting fired for your opinion that you were hired to write about in the first place? Especially because your opinion disagreed with the thousands of dollars the advertisers paid? (And let's face it, Eidos hasn't exactly released any gems recently).
Gerstmann is not without support. December 1, Ziff Davis and 1UP staffers held an impromptu protest of Gerstmann's termination. It's great to see other game journalists speaking out against this, especially because 1UP and Gamestop are competitors in the games media market.
It has been roughly a day since the madness started and there's still not a whole lot of truth in this situation. No insiders can officially talk without fear of retribution, and anonymous sources claiming to be Gamespot editors, while very compelling, can be shaky, especially over the Internet. Maybe someday we'll know the whole truth about what really happened to Gerstmann. But right now, all we can do is get mad as hell, as one Gamestop game guides editor Matt Rorie said.
The funny thing is, without knowing what really happened behind those closed doors at Gamestop/CNet, I find it hard to get mad as hell. I mean, I'm mad, I'm angry, that's why I'm writing this thing at 1:30 in the morning. But not knowing the full-fledged truth and just general shock this actually happened is causing some reservations about completely judging the problem, I think. I've got the "mad" part, but it's the "as hell" part I'm still coming to terms with.
But, still, I'm mad. The whole situation is bizarre and unjust. And I hope that instead of hurting games journalism, this problem of revenues and reviews can be resolved in a way that helps games journalism become more stable and reputable. I realize it's highly unlikely this will happen overnight, or in a fortnight, or in whatever many moons, but maybe it will cause a step in the right direction. And that's a start.
And to Jeff, I'm sorry. This sucks.
Edit: Some hackers were so mad, they hacked GameFAQ's daily poll. Here's a screen capture of the poll
What a sad, terrible day in games journalism. I realized this was an issue, but I didn't realize it would actually come to fruition.
There's a fairly fine line in games journalism... large (and small) gaming publications/magazines need a substantial flow of cash to stay profitable and alive. Most of this revenue comes from not magazine subscriptions, but advertiser payments. Some advertisers pay incredibly hefty sums for ads. This was the move game company Eidos made to promote their new PS3/Xbox 360/PC title Kane and Lynch:Dead Men (which, by the way, is not a family-friendly title). They purchased banners that blanketed the whole background of GameSpot.com's website (and those don't come cheap).
On November 13, the Kane and Lynch was released to the pubic and the game's review, written by Jeff's Gerstmann, was posted on Gamespot.
November 30, a rumor that Gerstmann had been fired because of the "tone" in his Kane and Lynch review was leaked. Gamespot denies there was any advertiser pressure for firing Gerstmann. Largely, the reasoning for Gerstmann's termination is still unexplained, but Gamespot editor blogs and tips from "inside sources" heavily hint that Gerstmann was unjustly fired.
Thus, all craziness broke loose on videogame message board. And that's putting it lightly. Because of Gerstmann's firing, website NeoGAF will be boycotting all CNET and Eidos material. Many people have reported canceling their GameSpot subscription.
Gerstmann, who had last caused a stir when he gave The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess an 8/10 (eerily similar to the score I had given it *scary*), had quite a following of fans and I've heard many say he was the man who made Gamespot. His critics dislike him for his condescending tone and "king of the nerds" attitude.
Despite what anybody actually thinks about Gerstmann, what happened to him was abominable. Getting fired for your opinion that you were hired to write about in the first place? Especially because your opinion disagreed with the thousands of dollars the advertisers paid? (And let's face it, Eidos hasn't exactly released any gems recently).
Gerstmann is not without support. December 1, Ziff Davis and 1UP staffers held an impromptu protest of Gerstmann's termination. It's great to see other game journalists speaking out against this, especially because 1UP and Gamestop are competitors in the games media market.
It has been roughly a day since the madness started and there's still not a whole lot of truth in this situation. No insiders can officially talk without fear of retribution, and anonymous sources claiming to be Gamespot editors, while very compelling, can be shaky, especially over the Internet. Maybe someday we'll know the whole truth about what really happened to Gerstmann. But right now, all we can do is get mad as hell, as one Gamestop game guides editor Matt Rorie said.
The funny thing is, without knowing what really happened behind those closed doors at Gamestop/CNet, I find it hard to get mad as hell. I mean, I'm mad, I'm angry, that's why I'm writing this thing at 1:30 in the morning. But not knowing the full-fledged truth and just general shock this actually happened is causing some reservations about completely judging the problem, I think. I've got the "mad" part, but it's the "as hell" part I'm still coming to terms with.
But, still, I'm mad. The whole situation is bizarre and unjust. And I hope that instead of hurting games journalism, this problem of revenues and reviews can be resolved in a way that helps games journalism become more stable and reputable. I realize it's highly unlikely this will happen overnight, or in a fortnight, or in whatever many moons, but maybe it will cause a step in the right direction. And that's a start.
And to Jeff, I'm sorry. This sucks.
Edit: Some hackers were so mad, they hacked GameFAQ's daily poll. Here's a screen capture of the poll
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Greenpeace criticizes Nintendo, Microsoft
Suddenly, everyone is seeing red over going green.
On Tuesday, Greenpeace released its ratings of the environmental friendliness of electronics companies with Nintendo and Microsoft at the bottom of the list. Sony has stayed in Greenpeace's good graces, scoring a 7.7 out of a possible 10.
Nintendo got a 0/10. It seems Microsoft didn't do much better because their promise to eliminate toxic chemicals by 2010 is not good enough in Greenpeace's eyes.
It's strange that even the electronics industry is worried about Greenpeace reports. When I go out to buy my latest investment in consumer electronics, I don't think, oh, no, I can't buy from them, their company isn't green enough? Or will this be the case someday? Being green is becoming frighteningly trendy. Not that it's a bad thing--we really need to stop hurting the earth. I just think mass social movements like this unnerve me and reasonably so. I mean, you know you have a force to be reckoned with when they have large corporations bowing to its commands and concerns.
Kinda funny. Kinda odd. Kinda ironic.
edit: I originally found this article on G4's The Feed, but this is a great, semi-trashy pasttime if you have 5 minutes to spare... go to the G4 article here, read the reader comments and watch the flame wars explode. It's a great reminder that the Internet is: a) full of fanboys/girls, b) full of snarky people and c) full of stupid people who love to run their mouths. Enjoy.
On Tuesday, Greenpeace released its ratings of the environmental friendliness of electronics companies with Nintendo and Microsoft at the bottom of the list. Sony has stayed in Greenpeace's good graces, scoring a 7.7 out of a possible 10.
Nintendo got a 0/10. It seems Microsoft didn't do much better because their promise to eliminate toxic chemicals by 2010 is not good enough in Greenpeace's eyes.
Since Greenpeace launched its scorecard in August 2006, some companies have complained of unfairness, but few have ignored the ranking.What a great example of an effective social movement. People openly dislike you and call you hippies, yet they still listen to what you say and change their policies accordingly. That's awesome. I won't be the first to admit I would love to have that kind of world-changing power.
--Yahoo News article
It's strange that even the electronics industry is worried about Greenpeace reports. When I go out to buy my latest investment in consumer electronics, I don't think, oh, no, I can't buy from them, their company isn't green enough? Or will this be the case someday? Being green is becoming frighteningly trendy. Not that it's a bad thing--we really need to stop hurting the earth. I just think mass social movements like this unnerve me and reasonably so. I mean, you know you have a force to be reckoned with when they have large corporations bowing to its commands and concerns.
Kinda funny. Kinda odd. Kinda ironic.
edit: I originally found this article on G4's The Feed, but this is a great, semi-trashy pasttime if you have 5 minutes to spare... go to the G4 article here, read the reader comments and watch the flame wars explode. It's a great reminder that the Internet is: a) full of fanboys/girls, b) full of snarky people and c) full of stupid people who love to run their mouths. Enjoy.
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