CLASH OF THE TITANS
The title implies that in this movie there is a battle between titans.
– Which implies that there is a multitude of titans in this movie.
– Which implies that there is at least one titan in this movie to begin with.
– Which there is not.
Remember the Titans was a more accurately titled movie. At least they realized they were missing something.
There was some hype surrounding this show when it first aired, it being a new sci-fi show from J.J. Abrams, who also produced Lost. The show got off to a slow start though.
The only reason I sat through the first season was for the science fiction topics, an interest of mine of course, though most of the unusual occurences in this show are over-specific and not very inspirational. Most episodes didn’t feel like they added much to the overarching story either, which left me feeling stuck. The other thing that should’ve kept me attached to this show was the characters, but I found they all lacked the charisma necessary to make me care about them. Then the first season ended with a twist that made me say, “okay, now I’m interested in these people.”
It really picked up in the second season. The actors became more comfortable in their roles, and the episodes started to link together in a way that felt like they were progressing toward something. Toward the end of the second season Olivia becomes a much more interesting character, for obvious reasons.
It was evident early on that this show was conceived as the new X-Files. I think it does a good job. Few would-be couples can compare to the chemistry of Moulder and Skully, but these guys aren’t bad. A lot of drama though. It’s left the audience asking themselves some very weird questions about relationships that I’m hoping nobody will ever have to deal with – though it would make an interesting Jerry Springer episode.
Things for viewers to be cautious of:
Umm, well there’s a lot of drug reference. The professor uses a wide variety of substances (and by “wide variety” I mean drugs, animal parts and strawberries) to tweak the way he sees things – which I’m sure they do.
Violence includes gunshots and occasional dismemberment. Most of the blood and gore is shown after an event, rather than during.
There’s very little sex – at least that I can recall. Getting it on doesn’t seem to be as much of a priority in this show as it is in most detective dramas.
The mingling with spiritual subjects seems to be kept at a minimum. Occultic references are few. And when something in the show addresses faith it is often done briefly, or with a respectful tone. I know Walter got mad at a preacher once but I forget why. …something about the preacher forgetting a Bible verse.
If I may use a microscope; The episode Marionet dealt with the topic of reanimation, in other words, bringing the dead back to life. And far from just turning into a zombie episode, they dealt with the topic in a very believable way. I should warn you, it’s a very disturbing episode – possibly the most disturbing episode they’ve done. They’re not usually too bad but this episode was really nasty.
But yeah (SPOILER ALERT) This guy brings a girl back to life through scientific means, a girl that had been dead for a very long time, and I was very impressed with the way the writers handled it. The reanimated body behaved in a manner that was very believable from both a scientific viewpoint and a religious viewpoint. I was satisfied on both accounts. (And no, I’m not talking about the part where he attaches strings to her limbs and “reanimates” her. Nice first attempt though. Also creepy.) Her behaviour is exactly what you would expect from a person whose been clinically brain dead for ages and then suddenly forced back to life – and yet it’s not what you expect because you expect the same rubbish you see in other sci-fi stories. I suppose the words I’m looking for are Original, Accurate and Refreshing. I recommend future writers of such material to watch that scene for reference.
The rest of my comments deal with some of the major revelations that have happened in the show, so I might aswell keep the (SPOILER ALERT) turned on for the rest of this post.
One of the main recurring topics in this show is the parallel universe. Unlike most sci-fi stories, which deal with an infinite number of possible parralel universes, this show works with one of the current leading theories, which is that there are only two parralel universes. “Our Universe and Cowboy Universe.” (Obscure Futurama reference. …Also the last name of Walter’s lab assistant is Farnsworth. Coincidence?)
P.S.: If he calls parralel Walter “Walternate”, and parralel Olivia “Fauxlivia”, shouldn’t he call his son “RePeter”?
I just got a couple of notifications from TD Bank telling me I’ve been restricted from accessing my account. Which would make me feel horrible if I had an account with them.
I realized it’s been a while since my last post, so I thought I’d do a chill post and let you guys know what I’ve been doing recently.
Last week I picked up Little Big Planet 2 for the Playstation 3. I’ve been waiting for this game like you wouldn’t believe. I had heard the stories about Little Big Planet long before I bought a PS3 – essentially it’s a video game about creation. The physics engine is incredibly detailed, and the tools available for level editing allow the player to create practically any environment. The one thing I heard that troubled me was the lack of enemy creation tools – and if I can’t kill something I make then what’s the point?
By the time I bought a PS3 they had already announced Little Big Planet 2 which, based on what I heard, was going to include everything I believed the first game was missing. So I opted out of buying the first game because once I started toying about with the level creator I wanted to have all the tools at my disposal.
It was the first item on my Christmas list this year…but then it was delayed until January. That was a major bummer. But I have to give them credit for not rushing out an unfinished game just to make the season rush. Most game developers don’t have such self-discipline.
So I finally got my hands on the game last week…and I’ve been struggling to sleep ever since.
I have to admit I often feel overwhelmed by the amount of options that go into level creation. I’ve never seen a form of customization this deep in any game before. It’s like discovering Lego all over again.
In the short time that I’ve had it I’ve managed to make a Final Fight-style level and a competetive minigame consisting of Bounce Pads. Not much. The first several hours were spent expirimenting with a tool called The Creationator which can be made to shoot anything in the game as ammunition – that includes anything I create myself. I have a gun that shoots swords, a gun that shoots beach balls, a gun that shoots metal fists in rapid succession, a gun that causes giant fireballs to rain down from the sky… It’s just odd that you must wear the gun on your head like a hat. Oh well, I am still feared. Mwahaha.
More recently I’ve spent time designing common, real-world objects that are programmed to fall apart and explode in various ways as they take damage – like cars. Cars are fun. I only had to build that car once but I’ve destroyed it dozens of times – one of the benefits of the digital universe.
Another thing that really impresses me about this game is that it hasn’t had a panic attack yet. I’ve used level-building tools in other games, and most of them don’t respond well to my creativity. Little Big Planet politely and calmly tells me when I have too many things happening in one area. Most games just curl up into a ball and look for their happy place.
Unfortunately I’m unable to get an internet connection for my PS3 where I live, so I’m locked out from the online community of Little Big Planet, which I know is a huge part of this game. But even without that, I know there’s enough here to keep my creative side healthy for a long time.
I want to blog more about Autism, but I’ve been having difficulty deciding what specific topics to talk about, what parents and guardians of autistics need to know and so on. But tonight I’ve decided to just sit in front of my laptop and write down what comes to mind.
A hobby of mine when I was young was to take cut-outs from video game magazines. I used to think I was alone in this until I heard of another autistic kid who had the same hobby. I think it started as a way of taking a world I was familiar with and manipulating the characters and objects into something of my own creation. Later on it became an organizational tool. It was the easiest way to organize imaginary tournaments, (I mainly cut out characters from fighting games).
The kid that I’d heard about had actually borrowed the magazine from someone, cut out some pictures, and then gave it back to them. He didn’t realize that the changes he made to it would still be there once the magazine was returned. That’s something else this kid and I had in common. I had once borrowed a book from the library and drew on it with a marker, assuming it would go back to normal once returned. We ended up keeping the book, but it was a while before I was allowed to borrow anything else.
Anything that could be manipulated was a useful tool for me as a child. Lego was a big deal for that reason. The ability to create is very important to me. That’s why video games with customizing options are so exciting – it’s two of my favourite things in one package.
Organizing in and of itself has become a hobby as well. I don’t know why, but it’s just fun to organize. I understand people with aspergers are occasionally hired to organize items in store shelves. Cut-outs were something I organized as a kid. In recent years I got into collecting and organizing Pokemon trading cards as a hobby. Now I also organize songs into playlists on my laptop. The possibilities are endless.
In her book Nobody Nowhere, Donna Williams describes her own need to organize as a reflection of her need to know that everything has a place, as it gives her hope that she has a place in this world as well. At the time she wrote it she was diagnosed as “high-functioning” autistic. Her words make sense, I often wonder how I fit into the social groups I find myself in. But despite often feeling like I don’t have a purpose in a group, people seem to like having me around.
The desire to organize may also be a reflection of the need to bring order out of chaos – but that seems too fluffy.
Nickelodeon recently did a marathon of all the episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender, allowing me to recap all my favourite moments and to catch some episodes that I missed the first time around.
To be clear, this is neither a review of the recent movie The Last Airbender nor the James Cameron film Avatar. Before either of those films came out there was a cartoon television series by Nickelodeon called Avatar: The Last Airbender. It wasn’t that long ago that this show was on but they’ve already made a live action film based on it, which I think was a huge mistake. This show is an instant classic – it didn’t need to be reimagined so soon. Now I’m afraid that the quality of this show is going to be lost to people because of the confusion with The Last Airbender and Avatar films. I want to draw attention back to the show.
This show is brilliant. I have never seen a cartoon television series with such dynamic elements of character, action and story-telling. The writers are exceptionally skilled. The character development is superb. The subject matter is mature while remaining kid-friendly. Toph, Iroh and Azula are some of the best, most entertaining and most well-written characters I’ve ever seen – in a film or TV show.
The main character, Aang, is a surprising delight. It is very difficult for a character to be both innocent and super-powerful without coming off as a dousch. But Aang pulls it off. He has just the right balance of child-like playfulness and awareness of his responsibility. Which is as much a compliment to the writers as to the voice talent.
There’s a father-son, good and evil conflict in this show that I’ve compared to that of Star Wars in terms of drama and the sense of inner turmoil. There was a period of this show that actually felt like I was watching Return of the Jedi for the first time.
At first glance it looks like it’s supposed to be Anime, but doesn’t quite make it. That’s okay. The art in this show falls into it’s own unique style that suits the story and the characters well.
It was only on for three seasons – but that’s because the story ends in three seasons. To go on any longer would’ve been to drag it out too much. I’ve really been hoping to hear about a spin-off show but haven’t heard anything yet.
Have I mentioned the humour yet? Oh man, there are so many one-liners in this show. It’s highly quotable. And the facial expressions are perfect.
If I had to pick a favourite episode it’s probably “The Beach”. There are three episodes I can think of that are The comedy episodes – all in the third season – and they’re all hilarious for their own reasons, but “The Beach” is the one that stands out the most for me.
Christian viewers should be aware that the story takes place in a fantasy world taking a lot of elements from Asian culture and religion – mostly Chinese. The word “Avatar” is a Hindu term, for a physical incarnation of a spiritual being, if I’m not mistaken. The show’s premise is based on reincarnation, though, depending on the episode, reincarnation may be discussed in thoroughly or as more of an afterthought. The Four Elements also play a huge role in the overall theme of the show. Personally, there’s little in the show that makes me uncomfortable, except for the one episode that’s all about fortune-telling and actually discusses various methods – that I tend to skip over. The show is emphatic that Airbending, Firebending, etc. are not magic but abilities unique to their respective cultures. The Bending techniques are instead performed through various martial arts moves, many of which are themselves spiritually rooted.
Though the spiritual and moral messages in the show are inspired mainly by Eastern philosophies, I was surprised to see how many lessons had a Christian feel to them. In one episode in particular Aang starts off by following a philosophy taught to him by the monks of his tribe, but later sees the flaw in it and replaces it with a more Christian philosophy. Even Aang questions his teachers when necessary.
If you want to show this program to your kids then I would greatly encourage sitting and watching it with them. Talk about some of the moral and spiritual principles that come up in the show, and compare them with principles taught in the Bible.
Avatar is still played on the Nickelodeon channel. But I would highly recommend watching the series in order from the beginning, either online or by picking up the DVDs. The plot-twists and character development are that good that it’s really worth taking the time to watch things unfold from start to finish.
People will be going into this expecting a kung fu movie. It actually feels more like a B-slasher film with ninjas as the setting. This is due in part to the emphasis on blood, but it’s also due to the focus on the detective characters as potential victims. It’s like a movie about monsters that tear people to shreds, with that one monster who turns out to be a good monster that tears other monsters to shreds, only the monsters are all human. Even the way that he heals his wounds is exactly like a creepy monster. The movie even begins with the telling of a scary story and a bunch of loudmouth youths who mock the story and then (“Spoiler Alert”) die.
It very quickly shows you how far it will go in the blood, gore and dismemberment department. Actual fight choreography doesn’t take up as much of the film as I’d hoped – and much of that is in the dark so that you can’t really appreciate it. The CGI animations that were added to the chain weapon gave it too much of a cartoony feel.
The opening scene is deceptively coarse. The very first line in the film is “F*cking f*ck!”, and it goes on from there. In the rest of the film the foul language only pops every so often.
There is a bit of a love story, but I don’t see it being enough for women to want to sit through the whole thing, unless they’re into the blood and gore as well.
(Spoiler Alert) At first the female ninja was a problem for me. The ninja school is proven to be quite a hostile environment. When the girl says to the main character, “[Your heart says hello], and that it’s happy to meet me, but it misses you,” two thoughts came to mind: A – How is she still alive?; and B – that would be a funny thing to say to someone after ripping their heart out of their chest. She quickly proves her strength though, which made her more tolerable. (Spoiler Ended)
I liked the actor playing the teacher. He has a unique voice and manner of speech that I would like to see in more films. He has a very deep feel to him.
The main character, Raizu, is played by Rain. Although he seems like an interesting martial artist, the film’s emphasis on CGI and other reality-altering techniques took away from the demonstration of what this guy can actually do. It wasn’t a very good introduction for this actor.
This was a different approach to the ninja genre. Personally it’s not a road I want to see martial arts films take. When the focus stops being on fight technique and choreography and starts being on blood and gore I lose interest.
On December 28 of 2010 my pet cat Slasher died. He had been sick for a few weeks and we knew he wouldn’t have much longer, which eased the blow, but we’re certainly going to miss him.
Shortly before my family moved to the place where I live now we went looking for a cat for the extra company. We found one super-furry black and white kitten with an extra claw on each paw (24 claws in total). He was abnormal, a runt, and not expected to be a healthy cat. But I chose him – and named him “Slasher” – my very own mutant-kitten.
It wasn’t long after we got him that we moved here, so this had been his home for as far as his memories went back. He had a thing for climbing. He climbed up people and screen doors – once or twice knocking the screen door out of place. He would “run” up wooden doors and sit at the top and watch everyone as they entered and exited the room. We would look at him curiously and he would look back with his relaxed gaze, as if to say “Why aren’t you up here with me?”
It was several years before he and Carnage (our tiger-striped cat) got used to each other. She prefers to be left alone for the most part. Occasionally my family would spot the two of them curled up beside each other or giving each other baths and we’d rush to find the camera.
He was a great mouser. I recall a time when an entire litter of mice had broken loose and Slasher caught every single one – each time going right back to standing guard ready for the next mouse to show itself.
He had a foot fetish. He mostly shyed away from hands if you tried to pet him. But you could stick your foot in his face and shove him around on the floor and he was happy as could be. He would roll around like crazy on the tiled floor, get his thick fur super-staticky, and then walk around with his fur sticking up and a powerful electric charge built-up and ready to strike anyone who brushed by him.
He loved the smell of the outdoors, and favoured the spring and summer times when we would open the doors and windows to let the fresh, cool air run through the house.
He was an unusually friendly cat. His personality almost more like a dog than a cat. He welcomed new people freely, and greeted recurring visitors with affection. He was a good cat, and will be greatly missed.
Goodbye Slasher,
We’ll miss you.
It was my birthday this week.
(Pause to let people sing)
Thank you. On my PVR I had recorded the film Sixteen Candles and had been putting off watching it for lack of interest. But on my birthday I decided I’d go ahead and watch it. It seemed fitting…in a denial sort of way.
Actually, I didn’t feel bad this year. Most of us reach a stage in life where we don’t really feel like celebrating the fact that we’re a year older. I had been like that each year since I turned twenty-one – with one exception.
The year I turned twenty-four I decided I wanted a 24-themed birthday. My mother wrote twenty-four letters, each one titled “the following takes place between (an hour) and (an hour later)”. Most of them involved me sleeping. Then at dinner my mum and sister made me a cake that looked like a bomb. That was a great day. And for the sake of that I didn’t mind being a bit older.
I couldn’t think of any theme to go along with 27, so my birthday this year was relatively quiet. Relaxing. But getting older didn’t upset me this year either. I suspect it has a lot to do with finding a place for my writing.
Writing is the road I was called down nine years ago. But until this year I hadn’t seen much fruit from it. But now more than ever I’m seeing examples of my writing being a blessing to others. So I wanna thank you guys again for encouraging me on this path. It’s been tough, and some years uneventful, but I’m seeing the fruit of my work now. Thank you guys.
And in case I forget – Merry Christmas!
My interests: Video Games.
My Mother’s interests: Gardening.
My compromise: Plants vs. Zombies (Game Of The Year Edition).
She won’t go for it.
Benjamin T. Collier's Blog 