First of all, Arsenal are in a dreadful rough patch at the moment and cannot seem to pull out a victory in the Premiership. This is fairly depressing considering they have essentially had the League on lockdown for about the last 6 weeks. Their most recent draw came against Middlesbrough, a struggling team with little in the way of talent or coaching. It was not Arsenal's day on the pitch as they were barely able to pull out a draw with Kolo Toure's late strike in the 85th minute. I fully agree with the boss, Arsene Wenger, who put it very bluntly: "...a draw is not good enough."
In basketball news, March Madness has descended upon us, and it is indeed the greatest month of the year. The Wisconsin Badgers won the Regular Season Big 10 Championship outright and then cruised their way to a Big 10 Tournament Championship and the #3 seed in the Midwest region. Clearly they were cheated out of a #2 seed in favor of the Duke Blue Devils, but what do I know? Seth Davis agreed with me, calling it "a crime," live on national TV during the seed announcements. Indeed Mr. Davis it was a crime. At least we've got some good matchups. I know it's not terribly likely, but I've got the good old Badgers heading to the Final 4. Of course the rest of my Final 4 teams are a bit more plausible with UNC, Texas, and Xavier. I simply do not see anyone taking down UNC, they are so athletic and consistent almost to the degree of professionals. I have them winning it all, but at the very least be on the lookout for them to do some major damage and go deep into the tournament.
If you're interested in top seed play, look for UNC, Tennessee, Memphis, and Texas to win big. For unexpected losses look for Duke, UCLA, Georgetown, and Kansas to lose earlier than you think. If you're always a fan of underdogs, look for South Alabama, Clemson, Davidson, Temple, and Baylor to make some moves. I included Clemson at a number 5 seed because I foresee them taking down Kansas, which would indeed be an upset.
Of course I haven't gone all this time without seeing some films. I purchased a few new Blu-rays from Amazon along with a copy of Super Smash Bros. Brawl (more on that in a moment). First up is the instant classic, No Country for Old Men. For those of you that have not seen this film, I insist that you view it at your earliest convenience. Joel and Ethan Coen are in top form in this film, adapting the work of Cormac McCarthy into a transcendent screenplay and directing a film with absolutely impeccable pacing. Not a single scene is wasted, with Roger Ebert using the apt description of "...flawlessly constructed." The script is magnificent, the characters are memorable and the cinematography is immersive. This is your 2008 Winner for Best Picture, a deserving film that, in my opinion, is the best winner of the honor since American Beauty in 1999. I could go on for many paragraphs about the challenging symbolism, the thought provoking themes, or the vast quantity of enduring lines of dialog, but I will simply leave you with a few parting words. No Country for Old Men is a perfect example of film as art; the only fitting words I can use to label this film are as follows: "poignant, provocative, visual poetry."
After all of my reviews, I realize that I appear to be a bit of a film snob. I frequently do not even consider films that are not likely to be mentioned come award season. So, allow me then to express my nerdier, and slightly less snobbish side in my review of Appleseed: Ex Machina. If you aren't a fan of anime or John Woo, this film is NOT for you. I recommend that you skip it because you will not be able to overlook its glaring shortcomings as a film. The film comes from the Appleseed manga created by the Japanese mastermind Shirow Masamune. Masamune is an enigmatic character, something like a reclusive Dr. Suess. Shirow Masamune itself is a pen name, and his real name is known by very few (Ota Masanori). He works from a small studio by himself in Kobe, Japan and does all of his own drawing and writing. Readers may be slightly more familiar with his most famous work, Ghost in the Shell.
Ghost is one of the most famous animes ever made, and it is probably the most widely known to western audiences. Appleseed is essentially Masamune's masterwork; it has been a lifelong project that he started back in the mid 1980s and has never been finished. I have a bit of a soft spot for Appleseed because the series has really stayed with me over the years and happens to strike a bit of a chord with me. Now then, onto the film. Appleseed: Ex Machina is the second major film adaptation of the Appleseed manga. Director Shinji Aramaki is something of a visionary, always excited to push the boundaries of what is possible with animation technology. Aramaki-san got together with legendary action film producer John Woo to form a unique hybrid anime/action film designed to appeal to both western and eastern audiences.
Woo's signature style really shines through at just about every turn, with elaborate gun ballets, slow motion action sequences, tremendous explosions, and gritty action occupying a majority of the screen time. If you are an anime fan and truly enjoy John Woo's style of outrageous action, this film is your bread and butter. I for one felt that it was completely mindblowing. The positive aspects of the film are technical animation, sound FX, cinematography, film editing, and special FX. As you can probably tell, there are many missing pieces that truly keep this film from being enjoyed by a wider audience. Its lackluster story, poor facial animation, mediocre character voicing, and underwhelming soundtrack will likely put off most people.To illustrate, I'd like to suggest that you construct a Venn diagram of two groups of people. Group A are those that love anime and Group B are those that love action movies, John Woo style. If you do not find yourself in the region of overlap, this movie will likely not appeal to you. This is because a significant portion of the film is in an anime style, focusing on character interactions and emotions. Since these portions are not done particularly well, the film will not appeal to anime enthusiasts who have come to expect deep and intricate character exploration. By the same token, it will also not appeal to western audiences because the anime elements are prevalent and indeed disrupt the flow of the action. In the end, I found the film to be a flawed thrill-ride even though I know I'm in the minority.
Finally, I'd like to express my opinion regarding Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Now then, I am not a Nintendo fanboy, nor am I partial to fighting games as a genre. So... this game is off to a great start. What I can say is that, as a party game, Brawl is a masterpiece. The local multiplayer is unmatched and will bring you many hours of fun and entertainment. The single player is above average and fairly entertaining. For a Wii game, the graphics are pretty solid, but it looks just a slight bit better than the previous game in the series, Melee. At its core, the gameplay is incredibly solid. Its deep and balanced and provides a very fair separation based on skill. If your friend is better than you, he will win. There is no way you can flail on buttons and miraculously defeat another, more skilled player. The sound is superb and likely the best part of the game. As far as longevity goes, as long as you have friends that play games, Brawl will have a place on your shelf.
This is not all there is to be said about this game, however. Brawl promises online multiplayer, which, technically, it delivers. Yet the system is so broken and ridiculous that it can hardly be considered a feature. The games are filled to the brim with lag, you still must use "Wii friend codes," you cannot form a lobby of friends, you cannot have a continuous party and play multiple games, and you have no opportunity to meet new online friends. Other shortcomings include lack of voice chat, a joke of a message system, and the inability to play with the same players again if you felt that a given match was competitive and enjoyable. Compared with even a decent Xbox Live title, this game is a miserable failure. The other new feature, Subspace Emissary should be called something more like "Substandard Rubbish-ary." It fails in quite an epic way at creating a cohesive and enjoyable single player experience. The story is terribly convoluted and really lacks any compelling content. Instead, I simply find myself playing Classic mode to work on my moves. Too many websites/magazines are overlooking these glaring flaws and slapping this game with a 9.5 or higher. I simply do not agree, and if pressed, would hand Brawl a respectable 8.5/10. The gameplay is stellar, but design simply must count for something when handing out a score.Let me know what you think, I'd like to see what other people have to say.
Cheers.
Blu3
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