Back with a bang in 2008
Welcome back.
Many South Africans (like me) are back to work today, and (like me) you may be struggling to summon some motivation as you settle back into the daily grind. So please excuse me if this first post of the year isn't necessarily a gripping read. There's more exciting stuff to come, I promise.
My 2 week break was just that - a complete break from email, Facebook, News24, movie gossip and all the information consumption I normally glean from the Internet during my normal routine. It was a time for chilling, inbetween the family gatherings and overeating of Christmas, and a games evening with friends for New Year's.
In terms of pop culture consumption, I actually only watched one film during my break: Enchanted. It's a fun, lighthearted piece of fluff perfect for the family, or anyone who has a special place in their heart for animated Disney films of the past 40 years.
Enchanted is carried by multi-talented Amy Adams, who is utterly convincing as fairy tale heroine Giselle, whose sunny optimism is transplanted into the harsh reality of New York City. As Giselle touches people's lives, she finds herself growing emotionally into a more well-rounded individual. As a romance, the film is gentle and sweet, culminating in an iconic fairy tale conclusion. However, in trying to provide something for everyone, the overblown battle that follows this touching moment does veer the film into silliness, and is quite disappointing. Otherwise, Enchanted is one of the better heart-warming films of the past few years.
In terms of DVDs, I watched the straight-to-video Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, which actually turned out to be vastly superior to the original mutant inbred hillbilly slasher that came out in 2003. This is largely due to Henry Rollins's role as marine-turned-realty-TV-show-host and the fact that all the characters, however likeable, are fair game when it comes to cannibal carnage. If you are sensitive to violence though, beware. Wrong Turn 2 is easily the most gory film I have EVER seen. You might not be able to face the butchery section of your local supermarket for quite some time after watching the film.
Anyway, for Christmas I also received a nice batch of classic 80's cartoons: the Best of Bravestarr and Thundercats Season 1. So far I'm 4 episodes into Thundercats and it's been a very nostalgic experience. It's hard to believe the series dates back a full 25 years to 1983 - a gentler age of TV animation, where most of the series were heavily modelled on the successful Star Wars blend of fantasy and sci-fi, and where every episode included a blatant message about morals and doing the right thing.
Thundercats, ho!
Paul and I also watched my Christmas gift to him - all 13 episodes of Family Guy Season 6, which is great stuff, still up to the series' high standard of absurdist, pop culture saturated humour.
In terms of gaming, my big accomplishment of the holiday period was getting my World of WarCraft warlock Euridycce to Level 40, at which point she received her special demon mount, a felsteed. No more walking for me - now I can travel across the plains of Azeroth 60% faster than if I was on foot. Plus, the felsteed just looks really really cool.
Here we are cruising the fields of the Arathi Highlands.
Otherwise, Paul and I just completed Episode 2 of Sam & Max Season 1, called Situation: Comedy. The second instalment in the comedy adventure series is a sharp, very funny take on contemporary TV, spoofing crap sitcoms, Idols and even Oprah.
We also had our first LAN in ages, where I got to watch Assassin's Creed and Mass Effect in impressive action on the Xbox 360. And we played a load of first person shooter Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat on PC, which really is a lot of brutal fun, even if my deteriorating reflexes mean I'm terrible at it.
Many South Africans (like me) are back to work today, and (like me) you may be struggling to summon some motivation as you settle back into the daily grind. So please excuse me if this first post of the year isn't necessarily a gripping read. There's more exciting stuff to come, I promise.
My 2 week break was just that - a complete break from email, Facebook, News24, movie gossip and all the information consumption I normally glean from the Internet during my normal routine. It was a time for chilling, inbetween the family gatherings and overeating of Christmas, and a games evening with friends for New Year's.
In terms of pop culture consumption, I actually only watched one film during my break: Enchanted. It's a fun, lighthearted piece of fluff perfect for the family, or anyone who has a special place in their heart for animated Disney films of the past 40 years.
Enchanted is carried by multi-talented Amy Adams, who is utterly convincing as fairy tale heroine Giselle, whose sunny optimism is transplanted into the harsh reality of New York City. As Giselle touches people's lives, she finds herself growing emotionally into a more well-rounded individual. As a romance, the film is gentle and sweet, culminating in an iconic fairy tale conclusion. However, in trying to provide something for everyone, the overblown battle that follows this touching moment does veer the film into silliness, and is quite disappointing. Otherwise, Enchanted is one of the better heart-warming films of the past few years.
In terms of DVDs, I watched the straight-to-video Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, which actually turned out to be vastly superior to the original mutant inbred hillbilly slasher that came out in 2003. This is largely due to Henry Rollins's role as marine-turned-realty-TV-show-host and the fact that all the characters, however likeable, are fair game when it comes to cannibal carnage. If you are sensitive to violence though, beware. Wrong Turn 2 is easily the most gory film I have EVER seen. You might not be able to face the butchery section of your local supermarket for quite some time after watching the film.
Anyway, for Christmas I also received a nice batch of classic 80's cartoons: the Best of Bravestarr and Thundercats Season 1. So far I'm 4 episodes into Thundercats and it's been a very nostalgic experience. It's hard to believe the series dates back a full 25 years to 1983 - a gentler age of TV animation, where most of the series were heavily modelled on the successful Star Wars blend of fantasy and sci-fi, and where every episode included a blatant message about morals and doing the right thing.
Thundercats, ho!
Paul and I also watched my Christmas gift to him - all 13 episodes of Family Guy Season 6, which is great stuff, still up to the series' high standard of absurdist, pop culture saturated humour.
In terms of gaming, my big accomplishment of the holiday period was getting my World of WarCraft warlock Euridycce to Level 40, at which point she received her special demon mount, a felsteed. No more walking for me - now I can travel across the plains of Azeroth 60% faster than if I was on foot. Plus, the felsteed just looks really really cool.
Here we are cruising the fields of the Arathi Highlands.
Otherwise, Paul and I just completed Episode 2 of Sam & Max Season 1, called Situation: Comedy. The second instalment in the comedy adventure series is a sharp, very funny take on contemporary TV, spoofing crap sitcoms, Idols and even Oprah.
We also had our first LAN in ages, where I got to watch Assassin's Creed and Mass Effect in impressive action on the Xbox 360. And we played a load of first person shooter Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat on PC, which really is a lot of brutal fun, even if my deteriorating reflexes mean I'm terrible at it.
Comments
Anyway, there are 2 decently priced Bravestarr products available for import into SA:
http://www.take2.co.za/list.php?type=1&qsearch=bravestarr
WoW is awesome, I miss playing. I have yet to try the Sam & Max episodic adventures. I am playing Call of Duty 4. Don't worry about the reflexes. It'll come with practice. (^_^) Cheers!