A New Perspective

As much of a cliché as the phrase 'Yolo' has become since its recent invention, and as stupid as many of the reasons for its use are; there is a devastating amount of truth in it.

"I am alive. I am a human with a life. I only have one life and then I die and stop existing. You are an independent mind in this Universe that can do anything and everything they want or have ever dreamed of, and there's no point in being alive if you're not gonna do it." - Dan Howell

This is the choice quote that set me on the path to reconsidering what I'm actually doing with my existence. I was already in a state of disarray because it had recently occurred to me how little I'd actually accomplished in the last year as opposed to what I used to do, and how much I could have done had circumstances been different.

In the grand scheme of things: you are not important. You are one person, in one town, in one region, in one country, on one continent, on one planet, in one solar system, in one galaxy, in the Universe. You do not matter, and nothing you do will ever have any consequence on the Universe as a whole, or on existence; unless you happen to meet the Doctor, in which case you're a very special (and lucky) person indeed.

You have one human life, with which you can do whatever the hell you want, and then you die and stop existing. You aren't important (in a manner of speaking) to anybody but yourself, and as such it is vitally important that you do whatever you can (within reason) to make yourself happy.

A few days after Dan made his rather shockingly philosophical video, John Green went and did the same thing. He spoke of how the idea of 'deciding what to do with your life' is like somebody telling you that in four years time you're going to have to pick one musical note to listen to for the rest of your life and you could never listen to any others. You would spend a lot of time being anxious about making such a huge decision, and debating the pros and cons of various musical notes. However, life isn't like that. Whilst it is true that as life goes on your opportunities will continue to narrow until eventually you're dead; you can do lots of things. You are always deciding what to do with your life. With each passing year, day, hour, minute, even second, you are deciding what you want to do next, how you want to continue, and what you want to do with your life. The future may be a blank slate, but it doesn't mean that once you've chosen something you want to do that that slate is filled forever. It's more of a canvas that you're free to express whatever you like on. It's a bit like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly lifey-wifey stuff.

Yesterday on Tumblr, I found a photo-set of inspirational ideas for artists, and creators. Things with powerful messages, and tips for breaking through in your chosen field, generally encompassing art, music, writing, making YouTube videos, etc. One said that there is a gap, between where you see yourself being as a creator, and where you are now. That no matter how much you produce, you'll never seem to be as good as you want to. It said that most people give up once they reach this hurdle. Once it seems as though they'll never achieve what they want they give up in search of an easier ride. I viewed this as telling me how to get my YouTube content noticed more. I have around about 79 subscribers (true as of the last time I checked) and that is a fairly respectable number. My older videos continue to grow and gain views, despite their age. In the video manager section, there's a bright blue box telling me that I can "monetize my videos" by "becoming a partner today". Every time I see it, I just think: "What's the point?" I don't have a large enough viewer base, and my videos only seem to hit the 100 view mark once they've been out for at least a month or so. They take a while to build up. I look back at some of the first videos I made around 3 or 4 years ago and see that they have from a few hundred views up to over a thousand views. Then I think to myself, yes the view count is pretty high, but they're years old.

Recently it occurred to me though, that I only make about one video a month, if that. If I produced more videos, say one a week, or maybe even more than that, I would accumulate more attention. That's basically what that photo was saying. As much as I want to, for one reason or another, I never make as many videos as I plan to, or do what I say I'm going to do. That's what my recent apology video was about. It's also evident when looking at this blog. At one point I was going to watch and review 100 VHS movies; I didn't write one single review of the sort. I'm not sure if I even published the post or not, but at one point I was going to review songs/albums/etc. and it was going to be a regular segment called 'Aaronicus' Funky Funky Music BREAKDOWN'. That never happened. Nothing I say I'm going to do happens, and if it does, it doesn't for a long time.

If I want to cross that gap. If I want to build a bridge, and fight the oncoming waves of demons between my current self, and where I'd like to be as a YouTuber, I need to start putting out more, and creating more. It's something I always wanted to do. If I could, I would make videos everyday; but I'm never 'in the right mindset'.

A friend of mine started making YouTube videos properly literally only two weeks ago. He has 30 subscribers, and his videos are getting around about the same amount of attention as my newest videos are. Besides the fact that he has an amazing personality, and a popular(ish) Tumblr page with loyal fangirls to whom he can spam his channel link; I wholeheartedly believe that he has garnered his much-deserved following through hard work, and the fact that he uploads at least one video every couple of days, which he puts a considerable amount of effort into.

Another of these photos spoke of how our mind will always be five years more advanced than our hands. My goal as a guitarist/musician is to be good enough at my instrument that I can express myself however I want with it. That I can write my own music, and over time, be able to play whatever I set my mind to. As I go about my day to day life, I often come up with a rhyming couplet here, a verse there, a guitar riff or a solo, or even sometimes an entire song. My problem, is that I'm neither confident nor competent enough to make my creations a reality. If this five years theory is true, then in five years time, I should (assuming I keep at it) be good enough to actually play the solos and things I come up with, and cover all of the songs I love right now. On the flip-side of things however, I'll then be coming up with even more technically complex songs, and want to cover even more difficult things, that will be five years out of my grasp. But that negative side of things doesn't seem to phase me. The idea of it all is that if I keep going, keep practising, and work hard, using the time I have on this planet to do something that I want to do - I will get to where I'd like to be. It just takes time, and determination.

Finally, today, I finished reading Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. A lot of the things I took away from it, and it's startlingly accurate future predictions, are actually quite frightening, however I did take something from it that was extremely positive, and greatly aided in my 'life changing revelations'. Near the end of the novel, Granger speaks of how the dead are remember not for themselves; but for the things they did. It's the idea of having a legacy made blindingly clear. I remember my grandma for the person she was, how she was probably the nicest person I've ever had the fortune to meet. How she was a Christian, but used her religion solely to better herself, rather than forcing it upon other people, or to argue with people with different beliefs. How my first ever sleep-over without my parents was round her house. How we used to go into town or out shopping, or to visit her cousin. How she loved the theatre, and was probably my main inspiration for wanting to become an actor, and for being the person that I am today. I remember her for the things she did, and for the impact she had on my life.

We remember artists not for who they were, but for the fabulous paintings they produced when they were alive, and for the effect they had on other people. When we think of musicians, we only think of them for the music that they have created, be it good or bad. They are represented by their work.

One of the analogies I found particularly striking in Fahrenheit was that of the lawn cutter vs. the gardener. A lawn cutter simply cuts the grass - it will eventually grow back, and there will have been no point in them being there. The gardener, however, changes things. He plants flowers, or cuts things down, or moves things around so it's more aesthetically pleasing, or more practical. When you look at freshly mowed grass, that is all it is: freshly mowed grass; but when you look at a well-designed garden, you think about it more. The gardener shaped this space into something that is truly their own. If nothing else, they will be remembered for this garden.

You're remembered for what you did during your time on this Earth, and for the things that you left behind. My aim is to do what makes me happy during life, and to keep on creating things, so that once I'm gone, the populace will have something to remember me by. I won't be remembered, but my actions, and my creations will.

If ever I create something that gains world renown, or I become famous in one way or another: let it be cited that Dan Howell, The Vlogbrothers, and Ray Bradbury had a massive effect on my life, and on the shaping of my future. So good luck to all, in achieving what you want to do with your existence, and... well... YOLO.


As thanks to everyone who read this lengthy blog, and what is hopefully my triumphant return to creating, and to what I achieved once upon a time, here is one of my favourite songs right now, for your enjoyment:

Special Edition Xbox 360s

Now, this may be a little different to the sort of stuff I usually do, but that's kind of why I'm doing this. I've had this blog for nearly a year, and whilst I've started many articles and projects, I've only actually published 10. For me, given how much I like to write, how much I can write once I get started, and how many ideas I have for things I could write and would like to write: that is disgusting. So I'm going to start writing things that aren't just reviews, as I was originally meant to. I'm going to look at things, report on things, analyse things, and basically just talk about things, putting my opinions up onto the big wide world of webbiness.Or the internet if you want to be boring. If you're boring you can leave. Bye bye. Shoo.

So today, as my first random bloggy thingy, I'm going to look at different types of Special Edition Xbox 360s, and discuss (probably at great length) whether or not they are good, bad, have a purpose, etc. probably with myself, as I doubt anyone else will join in with this discussion.

So to begin with, pretty much everyone you speak to will know what an Xbox 360 is. From the elderly who may complain it's 'one of them infernal contraptions the young whippersnappers play'; to the young who will know it only as 'ekbok'; people will know what it is. Some will boldly proclaim that they are by far inferior to PS3s, their console of choice. Some will say that they are but pitiful (yet extraordinarily powerful) pieces of hardware that baulk in the face of the glory days of companies like Nintendo, Sega and Atari. And most people will have one. Whether it's their console of choice, something they pick-up for half an hour every now and then, or whatever. It could mean anything to them, and they could have any level of affinity to it, but whatever it means to you, whatever it doesn't, and however annoyed you're getting at my constant rambling and seeming dislike of getting to the point: you know what it is.

But what is it? "The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles. As of March 31, 2011, there are over 53.6 million Xbox 360 consoles worldwide." This is the first paragraph on the Wikipedia page (link provided). It's a multi-million selling multi-media goldmine. You can watch movies on it. You can watch HD DVD's (a format that died out almost as soon as they appeared) on it with an additional piece of hardware. You can listen to music. You can find a seemingly never-ending archive of video content for all of your favourite games (for the 360 of course). And of course, you can play games on it. Most people will only use it for the last one, but it can do a vast array of things, much like the Playstation 3 can (before people go calling me a fanboy. I play PS3 too, but this is an article about 360, so trolls can GTFO).

What though, does the Xbox 360 mean to Video Game collectors? That greatly depends on what type of collector they are. Obviously the 360 doesn't have much rarity or retro appeal, because as previously stated, it's sold over 53.6 million units, and it's a current-gen system, so you can't call it that old. Collector's who enjoy collecting large libraries of (sometimes) quality games, are well provided for with the 360, as there are currently at least 813 games (not all good), for the system (yes 624 of which are multi-platform, I've told you trolls to leave) and that number will only continue to grow in the coming years. Yes it's rumoured that some devs already have a prototype of Microsoft's next console and that it's only a matter of time before that (effectively) blows everything that the 360 has done out of the water; but that doesn't mean there isn't life left in the system. There are still plenty of quality AAA and niche/indie games on the way.

What about, collector's who enjoy getting all different variants of a system, especially special editions? Well I can hardly imagine that there are that many people willing to shell out over £300 every time Microsoft decides that they want to cash-in on a popular franchise by attaching a licensed special edition console to it, but if there are they have certainly been well provided for in the years since Xbox 360's release - now moreso than ever (hence the reason that I'm doing this blog).

To begin with, it wasn't really so bad. There was the Arcade Edition, and the Pro Edition. Arcade was for the casual, or the retro gamer. You got a few free arcade games, and 256MB of internal memory (probably not even enough to download say, one Black Ops map pack). Then there was the Pro version, for those who actually wanted to enjoy the thing and not shell extra for a hard drive should they have the audacity to say, want to play games on the bloody thing.

 Then, there was a tie-in console for Halo 3. Pretty awesome! It was all cool and Spartan-y and you could impress all your friends by going "LOOK AT MY AWESOME XBOX! I HAVE THE X-BOX FACTOR! AWWWWWWWW YEEEEEEEEEEAH!", and they'd probably like, run away from your superior nerdinessXbox for the special people that wanted one, and nobody else had to care.

 

Inbetween this and the next major release came a special edition that I actually only found out about when researching for this article. Apparently a couple of months before the Elite, Microsoft released a small batch of only 100 Yellow The Simpsons Movie 360s, obviously to tie-in with the movie. Due to their limited quantity, these consoles actually are collectible, and even if you have an Xbox, tracking down one of these guys could well be worth your while. Also, if you get one, give one to me. I'll love you forever!

Then, there was the Xbox Elite. That was cool, because you had 3 options. Your terrible bundle. Your bundle for the gamers. And then your bundle for the gamers. A superior bundle, with an even bigger hard drive, and a black colour to reflect your superiority. Sadly though, most of these superior people already had a Pro Xbox, and couldn't really buy one of these. Fair enough for newcomers who appreciated how superior this bundle is, but what good does it do? A large proportion of the target audience for this console, already had an Xbox, and as such this was a
pretty much pointless upgrade.

They released four special edition spins on the elite. Two that were major new consoles, and two that were just helpful if you wanted to buy the console just for a specific game. One of two. Both of which you can get on the PS3. One of which is actually superior on the PS3 (yep, you guessed it. If any of the trolls are still hanging around hoping to flame something, I just called something on the PS3 superior to something on the 360. Oooooooh burn).

So there was a Final Fantasy XIII bundle. I think it had a logo somewhere on the console, but no major aesthetic differences like the full-body spartan cover of the Halo 3 one. So other than a superior 250GB hard drive and an apparently awesome game (I still haven't gotten around to playing it yet), there's nothing all that special about shelling out the money for this bundle. And to be honest, people that would be that bothered about buying a console just for Final Fantasy, would have either already had an Xbox by that point, or would have been sat at home happily playing it on their PS3s on launch day. Sorry Xbox fanboys, but unless Nintendo can somehow miraculously win back the Final Fantasy franchise with the Wii-U, it belongs on the Playstation. If you want proof, try playing VII, VIII and IX.

Then there was a Splinter Cell Conviction bundle. I do not know why. It wasn't a major exclusive release or anything. Final Fantasy XIII  marked the first time the series appeared on the Xbox, so I can see how a bundle for that game could be justified, but why this? I mean, it was originally going to be an Xbox exclusive, but it still ended up on PS3. Were they maybe working on this to celebrate the fact that it was exclusive and then by the time it wasn't any more it was too late to do anything about it? I don't know (basically I can't be bothered to look deep enough into it to figure out why this could be. I wasn't meant to even go off on this much of a tangent, because I still have a lot more to write).  Basically this is just about the same as the FFXIII one.

However there were two elite consoles that weren't just consoles bundled with games. They were actual fully-fledged aesthetically awesome suped-up branded Xbox 360s. The first of which was Resident Evil 5. I don't know why they went to so much effort with this one. Maybe because it's Capcom? (who've majorly screwed up recently, expect that to be the subject of another blog). My guess is because they expected the game to take off in the same way that Resident Evil 4 did. They expected it to fly off the shelves, and be so super special awesome mega chocolaty fudge-coated ultra special that it would convince people playing the PS3 version to buy it along with an awesome new specially licensed Xbox 360. From what I've heard, the game was actually pretty mediocre (I haven't played it), and did all the worse because of it. Resi 4 was probably ashamed of its offspring. At least the console looked nice.

Then, of course. How could they not big-up this game to the extreme. It was controversial (ish), it was awesome (but tedious after a while), and it literally did sell by the bucket load. Why shouldn't Modern Warfare 2 get a special edition console to go with it. To be honest, this one was actually probably a wise decision. Whilst the people who would actually buy one of these consoles probably already had a Halo 3 one or something like that, they probably went out and bought one anyway, just to support the sheer epicosity, and bolster the popularity (and ego) of the Call of Duty franchise (and it's creators). I guess, if people had actually looked into it at the time (I don't know if they did, so don't quote me), they'd have seen this coming. To be honest, the people who hadn't probably saw this coming.

Then it started to get out of hand. With the release of the mega special Xbox 360 'slim', that was given away to every single person that attended the E3 Press Conference (probably to make Microsoft look 'nice' or 'kind', and to increase the popularity of the console before most people even new it existed), that supposedly got rid of the cursed 'Red Ring of Death', the special editions started to spiral out of control.

There was a Halo Reach one, which was slightly pointless, but it was all pretty and metallic and Halo-y. Sadly though, with the number of consoles now available, it didn't have the same capacity for screaming "LOOK AT MY AWESOME XBOX! I HAVE THE X-BOX FACTOR! AWWWWWWWW YEEEEEEEEEEAH!" Hanging our heads in dismay at our shared nerdiness, we can now move along onto pastures new. Or Xbox's of different aesthetic properties. Or whatever.

Then there was nothing for a while. Until now. Look it up on Amazon or something. The number of special editions on there way. Why?

There's a Gears of War 3 one. Sure it looks awesome. The console and controllers are all awesome and red and black and bloody and they feature the series logo, and it's awesome.

Then there's a Star Wars one. I'm not going to lie, I want that one so badly. It has an R2-D2 inspired console covering and a C3PO controller, and thus it wins. Epically. It even makes the bleepy bloopy noises when you turn it on and open the disk drive and stuff. It's very, VERY cool.

And of course, how could the recently announced Modern Warfare 3 console not exist? It was a given really, and it was that that led me to write this article. Why so many within such a short period of time? It was only when I saw this announced that I sat up and took notice. Why? The Gears one is due on the 20th of September. The CoD one is probably due November 8th alongside the game. The Star Wars one may be held back to meet the release date of the Kinect game, but it may also be released ahead of time, and re-packaged with the game and Kinect when that time comes.

What is the point? The 360 is evidently nearing the end of its life-cycle, and pretty much everyone who wants an Xbox 360, has an Xbox 360, and if they don't, they're either not allowed one, or they can't afford one, and no matter how many pretty new special edition consoles you release, it's not going to change anything. All you're striving to do is piss off your loyal customers who've been there since day one. Because the main bulk of the target audience of these consoles has had an Xbox 360 for over 6 years. They're all pretty much the same. Gears of War. CoD. Halo. It's all the same type of people who'll buy these games, and will subsequently want the console. Sure they're pretty, but how about a more diverse range? The Star Wars one is definitely a step in the right direction, because it holds appeal for younger people too.

Whilst all these shiny, and often colourful new consoles are lots of fun Microsoft, they're ridiculously unnecessary, especially seeing as they're all so similar. All of these special consoles are being brought out in order to catch the eye of the same people, and whilst I'm not insulting you for trying; I'm insulting you for not going about it right. There are too many. They're coming too thick and too fast. And they aren't diverse enough. It would be like if Nintendo started bringing out special edition Wii's. There'd be a Mario one. How about Mario Kart? Maybe an Animal Crossing one. Monkey Ball? Sure there's Zelda, and Metroid, and Madworld, and The Conduit, but at the end of the day, they'd be pretty much the same thing, over and over, and they'd be aimed at the same people, and these people wouldn't, and probably couldn't buy them.

How about one for Kinectimals or Viva Pinata? How about a more detailed Final Fantasy one, or some other JRPG like Blue Dragon? If you can actually get the series back. How about something different, like L.A. Noire? How about Katamari? How about Deus Ex? You have plenty of options Microsoft. If you really do feel the need to bring out loads and loads of new special edition consoles which really aren't that necessary, why not put some more effort into making them more varied, rather than bringing out the same bundles with the same sorts of games, aimed at the same people.

As a special treat for reading this entire thing, you get a virtual gold star, and a pat on the head. Maybe you can go make yourself a cup of coffee (or your preferred hot beverage) and sit and gaze in awe at this pretty Final Fantasy XIII picture.

Up (2009) Movie Review

So I was rooting through old English work the other day and stumbled across a review I did for Disney Pixar's Up for an English assessment back in May 2010, so rather than writing another, I thought: heck, why not just type this one up? So here goes. Bearing in mind it's over a year old, I think it was okay.

Once a year, Pixar presents to us its latest animated marvel, and does it in spectacular new ways focusing each movie on a different aspect of design. Toy Story was based around the design of the toys: the character models and recreating real life objects. Finding Nemo was made so that they could practise water effects. Cars was obviously for the cars, the parts of them and the way light reflects off of them. Monsters Inc. was for the fur so they could fine-tune their creation of the individual hairs to make the monsters look real. The Incredibles was for the special effects involved in utilising their super powers. The list goes on. This time around: the focus was on the colour palettes: ranging from the film noir pre-movie movie sequence; to the vibrant colour schemes used for the balloons and the lush environments. Yes ladies and gentlemen, this is Up.

The story begins when our protagonist Carl Frederickson is a child, watching a black and white movie of his hero Charles Muntz: a brave explorer who travelled all the way to South America in his blimp/dirigible/zeppelin named 'The Spirit of Adventure'. Inspired by what he has witnessed, the young Carl runs out of the movie theatre imagining that he too is a world-class explorer. He is running/flying his imaginary plane; his 'The Spirit of Adventure' balloon billowing in the wind; quoting his idol, when suddenly he hears someone else doing the same. He goes to examine, and finds a girl: flying an imaginary blimp. What follows is both sentimental and heart-warming, as Carl and Ellie make a pact that one day, they will go to Paradise Falls like Charles Muntz, and live there, leading to a flashback sequence showing their long and happy lives together, building up to a melancholy and tragic conclusion. We then come to the present, where construction workers are trying to knock down Carl's house in order to make way for something new, like a mall. A series of unfortunate events (hooray for references to other movies/books) lead to him being exiled from his house and forced into a home for the elderly. Refusing to give up on his and his wife's dreams, Carl lets loose thousands of amazingly vibrant coloured balloons: enough to lift his house from the ground and carry it away! What ensues is a fantastic adventure that spans the glorious jungles, rocky monuments and towering mountains of South America - involving our aged protagonist, a boy named Russell, a dog named Doug, a mother bird named Kevin, and a whole host of other weird and wonderful characters.

The skillful design work and animation is here, as ever, with traditional Pixar character models roaming the lush environments, with every hair acting independantly of one another; every weave in the fabric and the furniture easily visible. Everything is perfect, and everything has its own place and purpose. The time and effort that must have gone into making this movie is phenomenal, and it all came together really well to create the fantastic end piece. The lighting is spectacular: the way shadows fall in certain places at certain times; how the vibrant colours of the balloons affect the way the lights work. It is truly incredible how realistic the unorthodox can be. How amazingly lifelike the blatantly fake can appear. The animation is practically flawless: the way objects and the environment react to goings on. Just the way that the characters generally live, breathe and act almost as if they were real. As if they were true people, and this is a true portrayal of the characters by real, professional actors. It's truly quite astonishing. The way they've managed to get the characters to lip-sync imitate what the brilliant voice actors are saying is stunning.

The music is a part of the creation of this film that I could drone on and on about for ages, as it always sets the scene perfectly, and portrays exactly the right emotion; you know exactly what the creators want you to feel, and when they want you to feel it, as everything is there to make it what it wants to be. It tugs at your heart-strings, makes you laugh, makes you cry - and it does it at exactly the right moment. It knows exactly where people will get upset, it knows when they will be joyous, sentimental and even thrilled, and it shows it through the music. It's catchy tunes and melancholy melodies the like of which you're unlikely to have heard before are amazingly powerful and are just the type you would expect to hear in a Pixar movie.

One thing which amazed me the first time I saw this movie was the death. For the first time - I believe - ever, Pixar has decided to tackle genuine tragedy, and how the loss of the most important thing in a man's life can completely ruin him. You truly feel the sadness, and the sentiment is expertly masterminded to the poinr where empathising with these characters just isn't an option. You have no choice but to sit, entranced by the movie's goings on, and you can feel your heart twisting and turning as the film gallops its many ups and downs, as the lump in your throat gets bigger and bigger.

Tragedy isn't the only thing that is dealt with however; as ever the movie is filled to the brim with Pixar's trademark humour and originality, and it's easy to see the points where laughter was intended, as there are no points where you sit there and think "Am I supposed to be laughing? Is this really supposed to be amusing me?" In fact, you have very little time to think anything at all, as you will be captivated, even engrossed by this wonderful piece of cinema.

To conclude, I would just like to say how strongly I recomment this movie. There are not enough words to describe how much I urge you to watch this film as soon as humanly possible. The sheer amount of subjects it tackles in one approximately two hour slot is phenomenal, as you will at times feel sad, happy, sorrowful, joyful, sentimental and understanding.There's tragedy, humour, shocks, thrills and so much more to experience. There's death, old-age, whining children, ever-changing society, the unorthodox, talking dogs, nonsencical creatures and a giant she-bird named Kevin! I believe what ever your tastes, there's something for everybody in Up: especially for those that are fans of Pixar's previous works. I have enjoyed all of Pixar's movies, and will continue to enjoy them as and when they're released. I completely believe that children and adults, young and old will enjoy this stunning film, and you should really take the opportunity to watch it as soon as possible.

So there you have it. I'm not sure what I think of it. It's a decent piece, but it's rather ridiculously over-exaggerated. I guess I was just gushing because I love Pixar, and because it was an assessment so I wanted to pack it with as much as I could. Either way, it's not bad, and it's over a year old, so you can't really complain I guess.

Donnie Darko (2001) Review

Donnie Darko was (back in 2001 when the film was released) director Richard Kelly's debut effort, and what an effort it was! I'd like to take a moment to explain how I'm new to the reviewing game, especially movies, and therefore many references to other films and things like that will more than likely be lost on me, at least until I gain more experience in the field. With this in mind, I still know a good and beautifully made movie when I see one. Critical response was very mixed, with some decrying it as being one of the worst films ever; some saying it tried really hard to do a lot of things and yet sadly fell short; and some claiming it's the greatest film that people of the Earth have ever had the fortune to witness: claiming boldly that it's unsurpassed in every way. Whatever your opinion, there's no denying that it has become a cult phenomenon, with a huge following, and a large band of people willing to argue their opinion. So what do I think of the movie? This is a review after all, and it's more than likely what you're reading this for.

Donnie Darko to me, is an incredibly absorbing, and beautifully twisted look at the human psyche, which can be both wonderfully disturbing; and at times downright funny. It's the story of a problem child - a boy: Donnie Darko. Amazingly this is his actual name (Donald Darko, only with the Donald shortened) and not a nickname, which I must say is rather peculiar; but it does add to the effect, and therefore it's a welcome move in my books. Donnie is a little bit different to most people, and as such is seeing a psychologist (Dr Thurman), and requires medication to keep himself under control. Even still, he is prone to nightly sleepwalks and finds himself waking up in the most bizarre of places: like the middle of a wood with his bike by his side, or slap-bang in the middle of a golf course - often to rather comic effect. One night though, he finds himself face to face with a grotesque six foot tall rabbit named Frank. Frank comes bearing a prophecy, a chilling message of impending doom: "28 Days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, 12 seconds: that is when the world... will end." Already we're set up for impending doom, and the disfigured rabbit doomsayer acts as a show of just how messed up this movie is and is going to be. Thankfully though, his encounter with Frank kept him away from the house, where an engine from a random jet plane that wasn't even there fell through the roof and into his room - had he been there, this would have killed him, and his lucky escape makes him something of a local hero. What ensues is a complicated web of storylines of varying importance and emphasis, but it's a good one - a very good one.

It's a clever movie, that makes you really think about things. It's intelligent take on the human mind, and just what can happen to it in certain unfortunate circumstances can really make you consider your own life, and ponder the world around you. *VERY MINOR PLOT SPOILER FROM EARLY IN THE FILM* It also tackles an issue that nearly all (good) parents worry about: Paranoid Schizophrenia. It shows just how disturbing life can be when people are unfortunately meant with mental and emotional problems. The only problem I can think of with this, is that it could hit a little too close to home for parents dealing with children who actually suffer from these problems. Frank also makes Donnie do things, like flood his school, stick an axe in a school statue, and burn down a guy's house (more on this later). *END SPOILER*

The only problem I have with the plot, is that it can get a little convoluted towards the end. The large number of different plotlines start to get a little jumbled when they're brought together for the conclusion, and things can get ridiculously confusing. It also starts to slightly lose it's disturbing psychological edge, and it becomes more of an effort to follow what's going on. A lot of people dislike the ending, calling it an anti-climax; but being a bit of a messed-up child myself, I thoroughly enjoyed it, because it nicely resolved everything, but solved nothing.

Prior to this though, everything is golden. Whilst there's a sci-fi tone that creeps in later and alters things drastically, it thankfully doesn't detract from the film's genius, as by that point it could quite literally throw anything at you and you would appreciate it. It's obviously going to be one of those movies that makes you ask a lot of questions, and what I like is the way with which it addresses them. It uses Dr Thurman as a kind of channel to the audience: making her ask the questions we all want to know the answers to, and using the context of her therapeutic practice to provide key plot points.

Another thing I really love, is that this movie really feels like it was made in the 80s. Whilst being made in 2001; it was set in 1988, but the great thing is that it genuinely feels like an 80s movie. The soundtrack is there featuring tracks from the likes of Tears For Fears. It's just, there. It just feels like something that was actually made in the 80s: things like Back to the Future, The Karate Kid, Ghostbusters, The Lost Boys, and all those sorts of classics.

One thing that I'm not a fan of however, as bizarre as this may seem, is the gratuitous strong language. Whilst I have no problem with 'swearing'; sometimes it seems a little too much, and there are situations where a more civil tongue would have sufficed. On the other hand however, this does help with characterization, and character is one of the things that this movie does very well. It has an all-star cast, and if you go into it not knowing who's in it, you'll end up going through the whole rigmarole of  "Oh my God I recognise him/her! What have they been in?! Ooooooh that's going to bug me now!" quite a few times.

First off, there's Donnie himself (Jake Gyllenhaal, more recently seen in the likes of Source Code and Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands) who is fantastically played. It's brilliant how quickly he can make the transition between being a 'normal' inquisitive teenage boy, to going all 'emo' a la Toby Maguire in Spiderman 3. Then there's his Harvard-bound sister Elizabeth (Jake's real life sister Maggie Gyllenhaal, more recently seen in the likes of The Dark Knight, and the fantastically weird 2006 film Stranger Than Fiction), who stirs a dispute early in the movie through announcing that she's voting for Dukakis. She doesn't really play that big a role in the movie, and usually serves to wind Donnie up. Then there's his younger sister Samantha (Daveigh Chase, the voice of Lilo in Lilo and Stitch!), who dreams of being a dancer and aims to shoot for stardom with her dance troupe 'Sparkle Motion'. There are his troubled parents, Eddie (Holmes Osbourne, most recently seen in Larry Crowne) and Rose (Mary McDonnell, most recently seen in Scream 4) . There's the obligatory love interest Gretchen (most recently seen in Sucker Punch). There's a 'self-help' guru (played by Patrick Swayze... come on! Dirty Dancing? Everyone knows him) who is suitably annoying as hell. There are a load of teachers, the most important of which (to me) being played by Drew Barrymore (seen in: everything under the sun; namely Music and Lyrics, 50 First Dates and Never Been Kissed). Then there's a huge array of extras, the one that I was the most shocked to see being a younger Ashley Tisdale (more commonly known as Sharpay in High School Musical and Shapay's Fabulous Adventure; as well as Maddie in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and Savannah in the hugely entertaining *wink* TV show Hellcats).

Overall, Donnie Darko is, to re-iterate what I said earlier, an incredibly absorbing, and beautifully twisted look at the human psyche, which can be both wonderfully disturbing; and at times downright funny. It's one of those intelligent movie epics like The Sixth Sense that just has to be watched at least once in your lifetime; otherwise you will end your time on this Earth being unfulfilled as far as intelligent cinema goes.

Star Wars The Clone Wars/Avatar the Last Airbender FCBD Sampler Impressions

My Comic Collection as it currently stands

As those of you in the know will know (kinda stands to reason really) Saturday the 7th of May 2011 was the first Saturday in May... 2011. Which basically means it was Free Comic Book Day. A day where you go to your local comic shop, or library, or just anywhere that's involved in the event, and you basically get free comics produced specially by publishers as both an introduction to comics for those new to the hobby, and a thankyou to those already a fan, and a supporter of it. It's a day to celebrate the industry, to push it to the forefront of people's minds, and to get people more involved in it. One thing I've wanted to do for a while (and which FCBD gave me an extra push towards, was writing impressions of the comic books I read, and uploading them to this very blog. It could be like my contribution to the industry. And so that's pretty much what this is. Hopefully they should be fairly frequent, but I never usually succeed in my ventures, so we'll see how things go I guess. Anyway, onto the actual impressions.

The first of the Free Comic Book Day comics I read, was the Star Wars/Avatar the Last Airbender Sampler, as you'd probably be able to guess if you read the title. Either way, it's pretty decent. Not something I'd rave about to all my friends, but a decent read all the same.

It's like a yellow Darth Maul with an animal nose

Yup

 

We'll start with the Star Wars side. Bearing in mind that I've not yet watched any of the Clone Wars... Like ever. The movie(s) or any of the series. Shocking I know, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. So basically I have no idea whom any of the characters are, any sort of knowledge of chronology, significant events, or anything of the sort. I basically went in unprepared. Which to be honest, I had thought would be alright, considering it's only a sampler - and I wasn't wrong. It's evidently aimed at kids, hence the approach that incorporates violence, but only has just enough for the kids to go "Wow, this is totally awesome!" and yet not enough to make parents go "What is it they're subjecting my kids to these days?!" It also kinda says on the first page that it's aimed at kids. Underneath the epic bold Star Wars The Clone Wars, it proudly shouts out to the world, "HEY KIDS!!!" only not in block capitals... Or with three exclamation marks. It then goes on to explain about Dark Horse, and the range of comics they do, and how some of them aren't so suitable for younger readers, and how they hope the free sampler will help kids get into comics, and how it's just like the TV show, only with different and/or extended storylines.

The comic itself is pretty decent though, but it's just too damn short! It's pretty much just an 8 page teaser for the upcoming series that continues that plotline. Obviously that's fair considering it's free, and that's essentially what Free Comic Book Day is all about, but it's just not long enough to justify it's existence. It's obviously to generate excitement for the comics that people will actually have to pay for, but whether it does that or not, I'm not quite sure. On the one hand, yes, I want to read on, and yes I want to know what happens next. On the other hand though, there just isn't enough content, and what little there is there doesn't interest me enough to warrant my continual following of the series.

RAAAAAAA I AM ANGRY!

Violence is never the answer children... except in Star Wars

This reminds me of Yugioh: TAS "Screw the rules, I have money!

Read: To find out wtf this actually is, spend money!!

The plot itself, basically a yellow version of Darth Maul shows up on a planet, and tells an orange version of Jabba the Hutt that he's in danger because a Jedi is coming for him. Orange Jabba says he knows of this danger, because he invited the Jedi. Yellow Maul says he doesn't, breaks free of his captivity and kills Orange Jabba. Then Yellow Darth leaves, and the Jedi shows up (who looks more like a Dark Elf from Oblivion) along with his band of merry men of varying Star Wars species who serve absolutely no purpose whatsoever in the issue, but will no doubt prove their worth in later issues (which you'll actually have to buy... With money... Because they won't be free). Overall, what little there is is decent stuff, but it doesn't draw you in enough to make you want to read on. Partially because you can't read on unless you part with cash. Or read them online. Or download them illegally. Either way, it's not the best example of what FCBD is about.

Ima hit you with a stick foo!

t3h introduction page

The Avatar side of the book however is a completely different kettle of fish.there are 14 pages this time, which isn't HUGELY improved over the Star Wars side, but it's executed in a completely different fashion. Instead of being a taste of things to come, it's actually 2 self-contained, one-shot mini-stories. Still rather lacking in content (although what do you expect really?) but it's well done, and I'd have preferred it if the Star Wars side had been done that way too.

I love the quirky art style

The first of the two strips is called 'Relic', and it's a highly story based strip. Basically in the highly limited space it occupies, it explains to fans and newcomers (me) alike: the kind of things you can expect from the show, and even the comics. It's also quite touching. It wasn't enough to make me cry (most things are), but the melancholy it evokes is definitely noticeable. If ever there was an example of something trying to get in touch with little childrens' emotional sides (and not in a paedophillic way) this is definitely it.

Second, and last but not least, there is 'Dirty is Only Skin Deep'. I'm guessing they recognised that the tone of the previous strip was ridiculously somber, and therefore decided to make this one humorous. It works though, as it lifts the spirits in a comical way, and ends the book on a reasonably high note.

LOL

Message from the Dark... Horse Community

It's a cat telling you to buy stuff

Overall, not the best book ever and seriously lacking in content, but it is decent, and it is worth a read, especially if you picked it up for free :)

Movie Mission

It's a new year, a new decade, and whilst I haven't done much in the way of blogging recently, this is a one that promises many more to come. Basically, it's just past that time of year when one starts to think about what could have been better in the year they just left behind, and how they can rectify it in the new one. One of my such promises, or 'resolutions' was to blog more, and to get myself out they as far as the Internet is concerned. I am going to do this in quite a few ways, but I only know two so far that are definite.

First off, I'm going to bring back Aaronicus' movies of the week. It was never meant to die, but somehow it did. Also, as you can probably see from the title, I'm on something of a movie related mission. There'll still be the usual movie reviews, only hopefully more frequently, I'll finally get around to reviewing some games and books, but the main review type challenge this year, is this: I am going to (try) to watch and review 100 movies on VHS before the end of the year. Forget this new-fangled Bluray stuff (although I'll be watching and reviewing those too) I'll be focusing this year on taking a step back from DVD, as opposed to a step forward. Acquiring them shan't be too difficult, as my local charity shop has a deal where you can get 10 for £1. Sure some of them won't work, and some movies I pick randomly (because at that price, you can afford to take chances) will be pretty terrible, but it won't be difficult to get hold of them, it'll simply be a case of finding the time to watch and review them, which can be something I do in the quiet time I have between school, homework, stage school, coursework, etc. But even then, this will have to share that cooldown time with playing games, designing games, reviewing games, reading, etc.

I am though looking forward to embarking on this endeavour, and I can't wait to see how far through I get, or even if I exceed my target.

Aaronicus' Movie(s) of the Week #1

First off, I just want to apologise for my absence. I had intended to do some sort of huge epic length post explaining why I'd been away and what was to come, but well, as I'm sure you can see that just didn't come to fruition. However, I told myself I would try and do this, a new (hopefully) weekly feature, in which I talk about the movies I've been watching during that week. I know it may sound as though it's going to be about my favourite movie(s) of the week, but, putting it bluntly, it isn't. As you may or may not know, writing reviews is hard work, and this whole, not let myself watch another movie until I've reviewed the one I've just watched kind of doesn't work, because in a lot of cases, I get bored, tired, I'm not in the mood, etc. It is hard, and it is time consuming, and writing a review of every single movie I watch just isn't practical. I'll probably get around to reviewing them eventually, but basically, this is just going to be a little overview of the movies I've watched over the week, my impressions and shiz, and it should kind of tide you over, until I can bring myself to actually write a review.

Before I start however, I'd like to mention something else I intended, on doing, but decided against, and would appreciate feedback where it's concerned. If you just want to hear about my movie impressions, skip ahead to the subsequent paragraphs. What I had wanted to do, was make myself a magazine, which would be sold online to whomever wanted it, and would basically cover all the different things I'm interested in. There would be very little fact, and more opinion however, as anything I could tell you that is solid fact, could be found better in a professional magazine, or some other source, like the internet; and so everything I would put would be my opinions, and impressions on whatever it may be. A minimum of 4 movie reviews (at least one a week) per issue, Book, Game, TV and Comic reviews wherever possible, breaking news, announcements, new games/movies/etc. and my opinions on them. The reviews however would more often than not be for older things, and would therefore be drastically different from all professional magazines that cover only the latest and greatest in entertainment. I could also cover independent games, and potentially movies, having contacts in these industries, and it would give it it's own little twist to make it even more different from everything else. It would be an interesting and exciting project, I could meet new people and broaden my horizons, improve on my skills, learn new things, experience new things, and potentially make some money out of it. However, it may be for the better to get there gradually. Work on the finer points before starting the magazine. As opposed to the magazine itself being the journey, it could be the culmination of everything I've learned on the journey, and could be bigger and better because of it, gradually getting even still bigger and better, as I improve even further. First, I should work on my blog, youtube etc. and everything that would have been in the magazine (and possibly more) can come up here, in order to actually meet the people, and create an audience/potential fanbase for myself before starting anything big. The internet is vast, and also free, so attracting an audience won't cost me, or them, a penny. It'd be great to hear your opinions.

Anyhoo, onto the actual point of the blog: the movies I've been watching, and my impressions. First up is The Sixth Sense, an incredibly powerful, and moving movie that really touched me, and has received rave reviews from everyone I know that's watched it. I did a bit of an impressions video for it in my second Vlog on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYHam5XpcpA. Basically it's the story of Dr Malcolm Crowe: a child psychologist who is going about his regular day to day life, trying to solve children's problems, when he discovers a child with a remarkable story, and decides to take up the case. The story is thus remarkable, because it resembles another child's problems that he failed to solve in the past, and therefore sees this child as a way of redemption for his errors. The psychologist, is Bruce Willis (more recently seen in the likes of RED and The Expendables), and the child is Haley Joel Osment (the Kingdom Hearts series), and together - along with a great supporting cast - create an engaging psychological thriller full of heart-wrenching twists and turns. As it says on the box: "A real must-see-twice film".

Second: we have Nuns on the Run (1990) a bizarre comedy that sees Robbie Coltrane (mother-f*cking HAGRID!!!!) and Eric Idle (the voice of Merlin in Shrek the Third) dress up as nuns to try and escape from the police, the Triads, and a bloodthirsty gang - all of the above willing to slit their throats - with a huge cash sum. Also, it has Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler in Doctor Who!) in it. That is literally all I need to say. I loved it, go watch it now.

Next up we have The Waterboy (1998) an interesting comedy featuring Adam Sandler (Grown Ups, Funny People, You Don't Mess With the Zohan, Bedtime Stories, Click, 50 First Dates, Hell what hasn't this guy been in?!) as Bobby Bucher, the local Football (American football) team's Waterboy, who literally single-handedly turns the entire Sports movie genre on it's head. It's a Rom Com, it's a Sports Movie, it's a 'the nerd becomes popular' movie, and it has a lot of heart where it counts. Sure some parts can be crude, but it made me laugh, and it nearly made me cry, within the same flick.

Fourth, we have The Hangover (2009). There is very little to be said about this movie, that hasn't already been said. Just Google it, and you'll find a myriad of reviews that all say pretty much the exact same thing. Be warned, you will literally be bent double with laughter! It shouldn't need explaining, as most people will have already seen it, but for the benefit of those who have just been awoken from under the rocks they've spent the last year or so living under - I hope it was comfortable enough for you. It's the story of a man and his friends who go off to Vegas for his 'stag do' so that they can truly have a night to remember in celebration of his marriage. Things get a little out of hand however when they wake up in the morning with their hotel room trashed, a tiger in the bathroom, Doug (the man getting married) missing, and pretty much no recollection whatsoever of what happened the night before. Now they have to find Doug, and clear up the mess they made, so that they can get back to LA for the Wedding. Very funny movie. Very very funny movie. Please watch it. Even if you already have. Just watch it again.

Fifth (it was the last week of school, so we watched a lot) is The Wave/Die Welle (2008), a German film about autocracy, dictatorship, fascism, and how an innocent seeming movement can spiral further and further out of control. Unfortunately we only managed to watch 2/3 of this, however we will watch the last 40 mins or so after the Christmas break, and I'll be able to offer my full impressions then, although I can tell you that it is a very powerful and engaging film, with a lot of clear messages. Worth hunting down if you're into that sort of stuff, and don't mind reading subtitles.

Sixth is My Best Friend/Mon Meilleur Ami (2006), a French film this time, in which a woman bets her business partner (the unlikeable François) that he has no friends and challenges him to show her his 'best friend'. Thus it dawns on him that he has no friends and a desperate struggle to find someone that he could deem his best friend ensues. Unfortunately we didn't have time to watch the last 10 minutes of the movie (which is a major pain in the ass) and so I can't comment on what I presume will be a delightful and touching ending, to go with the rest of the delightful and touching story, but that'll just have to wait and see. Well worth watching.

Seventh was The Miracle of Bern/Das Wunder Von Bern (2003), another German film. This one I'm not entirely sure about. We only watched the second third of it, because we supposedly watched the first third sometime in 2009, and we'll not be able to watch the last part until sometime after Christmas: thus you can consider me thoroughly confuddled. It's something to do with 1954 when the German's won the World Cup, whilst still recouperating from WWII... and eating your own rabbits. Yeah, that was the note we ended on. "WTF? He's just eaten his own fricking rabbit?!!?" "And that's about all we have time for, have a nice Christmas and I'll see you in January!"..... Seriously.

Eighth was Shaun of the Dead (2004), and unfortunately I didn't get to watch all of this one either. I saw up until the part where they have to go and save his mam, and then the next time I see it, they're rescuing Sarah or whatever his bird is called so they can go to the Winchester. Confluffling having different classes with different people and watching different movies but whatever I guess. I will definitely get around to this one though. It's basically a rom-com with Zombies. Look at the box. Look at reviews on the internet. If you haven't seen this movie already (this advice is totally hypocritical considering I haven't seen it properly yet), go and watch it RIGHT NOW!

And finally, I saw Casino Royale (2006). Incredibly, this was the first Bond movie I ever saw, and I must say it was a life changing experience. Watching it for the first time at 14, I am highly, HIGHLY impressed, and would rather like to see every single one of the other movies in the series (yes even the crappy* Timothy Dalton ones) dating back to I believe it was 1962. Lots of fun times there then. Casino Royale is basically James Bond before he became 007, and about becoming 007, and it was also the movie that got me interested in Texas Hold 'Em (Red Dead Redemption is potentially teaching me how to play it) and overall, it's just James Bond. What more can you say? Everybody who's anybody has at the very least heard of him.

Anyhoo, this has been my overview of the movies I watched this week. It's only now writing about them that I realise I've seen 9! Sheesh! It'll probably not be that many usually, but nonetheless, I will try and keep this up every week. It'll probably be something I throw up on a Sunday, or the Monday after the week. Stay tuned this Boxing Day/Boxing Boxing Day for #2, and make sure to check out everything else I put on here, and also check me out elsewhere.
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