Zora Architects.

Gotta get going to work this morning, so here’s a cool Zelda GIF I found (the artist is Zac Gorman; very charming work):

-Sonny

… Tangents Round the Fire.

… Wow.  Obama’s more like George Bush than any of us would’ve imagined, eh?  Holy shit.  When he started referencing the “evil that exists” in the world in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, I thought for a minute he WAS W-Bush.  A really well read version.  I’m not gonna lie, it was great speech.  And I don’t get why the fist-pumping Conservatives hate the guy so much, he’s carrying the American-Imperialist torch with some balls, that’s for sure.  Fuck it, this ain’t a political WordPress page!  It’s a… a… it’s like a… thing… it’s, well I dunno what the hell it is.  Moving on.

… Matt Fraction‘s Invincible Iron Man is one mainstream superhero comic worth reading.  Even if IGN supremely overrates the title — as per their usual prerogative — along with countless other Internet havens for Marvel lovers, it still is good comics.  Written cleverly, with a surprisingly small amount of action and heavy fisted fighting, drawn well, plotted carefully, all the while understanding the pure core essence of said mainstream superhero.  However, I do wish Fraction’s Tony Stark drank more.  Anyone seen that one-sheet of Mickey Rourke as Whiplash for Iron Man 2?  Whoooaaaaa.

… The head/founder of Blackwater International sounds a lot more like Tony Stark (speaking of) than Bruce Wayne.  I know they aren’t doing weapons manufacturing, but they’re pulling security.  Well, this week the founder — Eric Prince, I believe — was ousted as an asset to the CIA.  Apparently his private security firm had been working far too close with the US government in legal terms.  Blackwater has been under all kinds of scrutiny after several reports of corruptions of justice, brutality, and even the killing of civilians in Iraq.  That scrutiny led to this Prince mess.  I referenced Blackwater in a piece of speculative fiction I wrote months ago.  God help us if Blackwater ever gets contracts in US cities.  Fuck.  You know those people who think we should privatize everything??  Yeah, they’re knuckleheads.

… I’ll leave you with anything but a knucklehead’s cartoons.  One of them anyhow.  This guy’s name is Graham Annable (if it wasn’t for SuperPunch, I’d never know him).  He does lots of things, including making creepy animation shorts.  Here’s one for the holidays:

-Sonny

Heavy Rain: Gamer Noir.

A lot of gamers thought 2008 was THE year for the PS3.  Sony released everything from Metal Gear 4, Resistance 2, Fallout 3, to Little Big Planet last year.  They got murdered in shipped units however; not by Microsoft, but by the Wii, which is another can of worms for another day (if ever).  I discovered a few WordPress Gamer pages this morning which are discussing the big, BIG titles being released for the PS3 in 2009.  One of which, cited these games as examples (I’m not going to link anyone to this site however, because these assholes have the balls to ask people for “donations”.  That’s right, they want your fucking money so they can tell you about video-games):

• God of War III. Of course this game’s getting all the attention.  It’s on the verge of becoming the FRANCHISE exclusive for the Playstation brand.  No doubt it will kick a whole lot of ass.  Many people stake the “God of War II= the best PS2 game ever” claim still; I disagree.  The first was better.  We’ll see if III can live up to 1.  Typically “no”: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Prince of Persia, even the Nolan Bat-Films (I’m guessing obviously).
• Killzone 2. I’d give this more of a “meh”.  The first Killzone was cool, I’m not gonna lie.  But as far as MMO-Shooters go in 2009, I’d be more on the lookout for a game like MAG, which promises to be one of the grandest undertakings in online gaming history.  50 bucks says they fuck up the programming and interface though.  They’ll still release it, then a patch, then an upgrade, then they’ll charge us for new maps.
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The original Uncharted game delivered a punch to the gut of anyone who doubted the PS3′s sheer power compared to the 360.  For a launch title, that game was one of the best there was at pushing a brand new, uncharted, beta, system to its very limits.  Not to mention the game had a super sweet story and overall ambiance which flipped it from the “Industrial Light & Magic digital effects fest” side to the “holy shit these guys take game making very seriously” side.
• Gran Turismo 5. What else could possibly be said about the Gran Turismo brand.  This is the top of the line, the bar, for all realistic driving games out there.  Me personally, I’d chose Wipe-Out before this in a heartbeat.  I don’t like having to get my permits and license all over again in a virtual world.  However, I’ve played lots of Gran Turismo in the past and will in the future.  This will be perhaps the most realistic looking game ever when it’s released.

All these titles have three things in common: they’re all sequels of some sort, they all slip into the “been done before” file, and none of them really seem to be taking any chances.  Now, this unnamed WordPress Page DID include a 5th “most anticipated 2009″ PS3 game in its list; one that surpasses all four of these titles in imagination, ambiance (which oddly reminds me of the German film “M”), risk-taking, story, and originality.  The game is called HEAVY RAIN.  It’s made by a French studio called Quantic Dream.  This will be QD’s 3rd title after Omnikron: The Nomad Soul and Farenhiet.  Little is known about the game, but creator David Cage has been quoted as saying “[it] will be a very dark film noir thriller with mature themes”.  One very interesting little tidbit to the game is that it will supposedly feature NO super-natural elements at all.  Themes, places, people, nothing.  This is very interesting considering the game’s trailer.  OK- wow, just read that the game’s trailer, below, is NOT a part of the game and is only a demo to provide a preview into the game’s content, visuals, and gameplay.  Here are some Heavy Rain links:

WikiPedia Page – IGN Page – Giant Bomb Page – And here’s a great article on evolving video games, and Heavy Rain especially, from the Salt Lake Tribune.  I know, odd.  Excerpt:

Developers still are trying to produce the one game that breaks the barrier between just playing a story and actually experiencing it.  Later this year, Sony plans to release “Heavy Rain” for the PlayStation 3, a murder mystery that touts detailed facial animation for characters.  Also eagerly anticipated by gamers is “Alan Wake” (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360), an adventure game about a man who visits a new town that some are comparing to the TV series “Twin Peaks,” in the way that series created a mysterious place.  “It’s just going to evolve. It’s getting better,” Dille said.

And here’s the 2008 E3 Trailer for Heavy Rain I referred to:

-Sonny

Waltz w/ Bashir Stills.

Here are some breathtaking stills from the animated film Waltz With Bashir. Especially poignant considering what’s happening now across the pond (from me).  Kudos to David Polonsky, the film’s Art Director.

-Sonny

100% Pure Adrenaline.

…what a shitty tagline.  No.  Oh good God no.  NO!  As if the remake craze/sequel craze hadn’t spun ridiculously out of control already; I just got word that a major studio will now be producing a follow-up to Point Break.  That’s right.  The 1991 Swayze/Reeves flick is actually being FOLLOWED up on.  Who’s set to direct?  Jon De Bont.  Never heard of him?  Briefly: he’s a European cinematographer who most likely sacraficed his original artistic visions, or at least Ingmar Bergman inspirations, for some decent paying work.  Most notably of which, directing jobs for Speed, Speed 2: Cruise Control, and Twister.  This guy probably went to a film school in Italy for all I know, and now he’s been regulated to these types of scripts.  Maybe he WANTS the shit.  Who knows.

I’ve spoken/written about it before.  This remake shit is getting way out of hand.  Now even people I admire and respect are adding to the trend.  Werner Herzog, who’s Grizzley Man was one of the most engaging documentaries I’ve ever seen, is remaking the 1992 Harvey Keitel flick Bad Liutenant with Nic Cage.

I suppose one could blame this on the success of remade/Americanized Japanese horror movies.  Studios see that if said remake is obscure enough, no one will care that it’s a remake.  At least it used to be that way a couple years ago.  Now they don’t even pick the obscure movies to remake.  Anything and everything equals a possibility.  NOTHING is off limits.  It’s such a shame.  TV shows are now movies, movies are now TV shows.  Animated shows and films have been adapted to live action.  And vice-versa.  The one and ONLY Transformers movie will always be the animated flick from the 80s, in my mind.  It isn’t even comparable.  Orson Wells or Shia LeBouff… c’mon.  Judd Nelson or Tyrese.  I think I’m living in the wrong generation.  Especially after hearing such great things about IRON MAN from LEGIT sources, it disappointed me so much.  The state pop culture right now sits at a low.  A LOW.

On a happier note, I finally got my copy of Local H’s “12 Angry Months”.  I’ll most likely review it tonight or tomorrow.  But I do already know I like it.  I’m on my third time through the disc right now.  Along with my three main comics I read, which all came out yesterday.  So yeah- I guess there’re some aspects of our pop culture I enjoy.  The Road, Local H, CERTAIN comic books, Adult Swim, independent hip-hop… fuck TV, blockbuster movies, the NFL, and the rest of it.

-Sonny