The Meg (2018)
If you have seen any of the marketing material or trailers for The Meg, then you know exactly what you’re getting right from the get-go. All movies inherently require the viewer to suspend their sense of disbelief to various degrees. Naturally, the “creature feature” genre asks audience to go the extra mile with this concept. The Meg takes a major gamble by insisting that everyone goes further still, not by believing in a giant prehistoric shark (Megalodon) but that Jason Statham is a ex-navy, deep sea rescue diver. However, it pays off and the resulting movie is staggeringly stupid, but mercifully entertaining in an undemanding way. Recent movies such as Into the Storm and Geostorm are crass and made worse by their implicit assumption that their viewers are stupid. The Meg is far from cerebral but has an upbeat tone and a sense of playfulness that knowingly invites the audience to come aboard with the silliness. It’s a big distinction and the reason why I smiled a lot and frequently rolled my eyes while watching The Meg, but never with derision.
LOTRO: Legendary Server
Standing Stone Games announced today the launch of a new LOTRO "Legendary Server" later this autumn. This is essentially a progression server by any other name. It will be accessible to VIP monthly and lifetime subscribers allowing access initially to core content from levels 1 to 50 via The Shadow of Angmar story. It should be noted that this is not “classic” LOTRO as it existed back in 2007. The new server will offer the game as it is now with all its revised systems. Hence High Elves and Beorning classes will be available as will the skills tree system. SSG intend to update content every four months but will keep it all within the parameters of the level cap on the"Legendary Server". The developers have also made it clear that this new service does not come at the expense of regular new content for the existing game. “We have no intention of adjusting our frequent, regular, and active development of the non-Legendary game worlds, and have plans for them well into the future”.
Where is the Community?
The title to this post is rhetorical. I’ve figured out where the specific community in question is. As regular readers know, my first MMORPG was The Lord of the Rings online back in 2008. It had back then an active blogging community, which still exists today to a degree. The official forums are active and continue to be useful for information, but for me the primary source of news, guides and general analysis of the game is written content that is maintained by individual players. There are also lots of active streamers and video on You Tube, but I find I can locate and digest the information I require far quicker when it is presented as text. I guess I am simply a product of my generation and prefer the written word as my primary source of data for most things. However, more recent MMOs have developed communities around different platforms. As a result, it can take a while to determine where they are and get used to their habits and ways.
Bullet to the Head (2012)
Walter Hill is a director whose work is often overlooked or marginalised by critics who fail to appreciate its wider merits. Yet despite this, over the course of four decades he has consistently produced thoughtful, intelligent and sometimes positively subversive movies. He has a connection with the past and succeeds in creating stories that often reflect periods of transition and how such times effect the protagonists. There is no denying his flair for crating action sequences and frequently coaxes strong performances from actors, often with the minimum of dialogue. He also has a great understanding of the importance of a movies soundtrack and his collaboration with Ry Cooder has produced some memorable scores.
The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House is considered one of the best literary ghost stories published during the 20th century. It was adapted for film in 1963 by Nelson Gidding and directed by Robert Wise under the title The Haunting. Although only doing moderate box office upon release, the movie was moderately well received at the time and over the years has gained a critical reassessment. Contemporary critics consider it one of the finest genre movies of its era. Hence the prospect of a new ten-part television adaptation made exclusively for Netflix, was initially met with a great deal of scepticism. However, writer and director Mike Flanagan has wisely chosen not to retell the original story, but instead taken its themes and concepts and woven them into a compelling and very contemporary tale of a dysfunctional family traumatised by their collective experience at Hill House. Jettisoning the classic trope of a paranormal investigation into a haunted house, he instead presents us with two narratives that run in parallel and regular intersect with startling results.
Halloween (2018)
It is a bold move to write off six sequels and effectively retcon a major horror cinematic milestone after forty years. Yet that is exactly what Director and co-writer David Gordon Green has done, producing a follow up movie to John Carpenter’s 1978 original, that is distinctly more than the sum of its parts. And in the process of doing this, Halloween has attracted a great deal of media attention that has somewhat skewed subsequent reporting. There has been a great deal of hyperbole and marketing hype in the lead up to the film’s release which is concerning, because in an atmosphere of such exuberance and fan excitement, it can be difficult to accurately gauge the public mood. I have only ever experienced the one other deferred sequel that generated such a similar buzz and that was Psycho II back in 1983. Despite a lot of reservations, that proved to be a worthy successor to Hitchcock’s classic.
Analysing Blaugust
There is a blog post over at the Greedy Goblin, where Gevlon crunches the numbers to see how many bloggers are still writing a month and a half on from Blaugust. Needless to say, I am not surprised by his results. Writing events such as Blaugust and before that, The Newbie Blogger Initiative, have always had a high attrition rate. I know lots of good writers who cannot sustain a regular writing schedule due to their work commitments. This is especially true of those with families. Then there are those bloggers who simply run out of stamina. Posting regular content is hard and requires focus and discipline. Producing in-depth and longform posts with any regularity is even harder. So, Gevlon’s summary merely proves what many of us new in advance. But I guess you'd find the exactly the same results if you were analysing the aftermath of an event that encouraged podcasting, live streaming or posting videos of You Tube. Creating content of any kind takes time and effort. The better the quality of that material, the more time it takes. Hence some will cease their efforts.
LOTRO: Improvements and Suggestions
I returned to LOTRO in August and have been playing continuously since then, working my way through the last expansion and Update 22. The upside to this ongoing commitment has meant that I have really applied myself to the unfolding narrative and have absorbed a lot more of the story than previously. It is very enjoyable to see the way various strands of different plots all tie together. I have also taken the time to revise my Lore-master build and attempt to optimise it to reflect the prevailing game meta. Broadly speaking, I have been successful so far. But there have been a few negative aspects to returning to the game. Many of them are actually issues that have always be present and have been compounded by the games age. LOTRO lacks some of the modern convenience and functionality we take for granted in more recent MMOs. So, I thought I’d take time out to list a few helpful suggestions that Standing Stone Games can then promptly ignore.
The Expendables 2 (2012)
After viewing The Expendables 2, I read back through my notes. They ran as follows: People were shot. Stuff exploded. Quips were made. Amusing. And that is pretty much all you need to know, because if you watch this movie expecting anything more, then you'll be disappointed (and possibly a fool). So, Barney Ross (Stallone) and co are back and this time they have a better (by genre standards) script which is a little more equitable with the screen time (Terry Crews and Randy Couture fans take note). Gallows humour and self-referential one-liners abound, and the plot is rife with over the top situations and features an absurdly named villain (Jean-Claude Van Damme). Mickey Rourke is replaced by Chinese star Yu Nan’s Maggie, and Liam Hemsworth. Oh, and there's lots of mayhem. The movie has the trademark high body count.
Classic Movie Themes: The Day the Earth Stood Still
Film producer Julian Blaustein had a long-standing desire to make a film that addressed the fears and concerns of the post war Atomic Age. With the backing from Fox Studio Executive Darryl F. Zanuck, he hired screenwriter Edmund North to adapt the short story Farewell to the Master by Harry Bates. The screenplay provided a moral commentary about the ongoing arms race and featured an alien visitor with Christ like qualities who delivers an apocalyptic message. Veteran director Robert Wise was brought in head the project and a fine cast of established characters actors such as Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal Hugh Marlowe and Sam Jaffe was assembled. The finished movie has proven to be one of the greatest science fiction movies ever; it is The Day the Earth Stood Still made in 1951.
LOTRO: The State of the Game
I am fast approaching my ten-year anniversary of playing the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. So, I thought I write a few thoughts about how I find the current state of the game. I returned to LOTRO this August and finally decided to tackle all the outstanding content that I had allowed to build up. Because I initially had issues with the Mordor expansion when it first was released, I had started to level up elsewhere in the game. Thus, when I resumed playing I was two levels or so above the designated rank of most quests. The final region of Mordor, Talath Úrui, I completed last night at level 118. I have always preferred to play this way and like to ensure that I am adequately equipped for a zone. If you are underpowered combat becomes a chore. I am currently finishing off the final stages of Update 22: Legacy of the Necromancer, having worked my way through Northern Mirkwood, Lake-town, Dale on to Erebor. I always attempt content in a linear fashion, so I can stay conversant with the various storylines. By the time I finish the Erebor quests and start the new content in Update 23: Where Dragons Dwell, I shall probably be at the new level cap of 125.
Trial by Social Media
The upbeat social media buzz around popular reality TV show Strictly Come Dancing took a turn for the worse this week, after celebrity contestant Seann Walsh was photographed kissing his professional partner Katya Jones. To the casual observer, this is simply standard fare for the tabloid press; a storm in a tea cup and nothing of note. However, four days after publication the story has grown from celebrity tittle-tattle to a major topic of national debate. This is because of several reasons. Mr Walsh was at the time when the picture was taken, in a long-term relationship. Katya Jones is married to fellow Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer, Neil Jones. Subsequently, actress Rebecca Humphries split up with Seann Walsh and released a statement online citing deficiencies in the five-year relationship and alluding to “controlling” behaviour. It is this later aspect, rather than just faux prurient outrage by the tabloids about the celebrity indiscretion, which has made this “story” persist. It links into the ongoing debate over “toxic masculinity” and the #MeToo movement.
The Last Stand (2012)
Upon release The Last Stands opening weekend box office returns were not as much as Lionsgate pictures had anticipated. The long-term worldwide gross was only $48 million, for a movie that had cost over $40 million. There was talk in the mainstream movie press of Arnie's comeback stalling and that the sky was falling for R rated action movies. Theatres at the time were thriving on “Jason Bourne” style thrillers and the ubiquitous Marvel Cinematic Universe. Critics were also mixed in their opinions regarding the film. Some were quite dismissive, citing the very things that an ageing Arnold Schwarzenegger brings to the table in The Last Stand, as faults. Exactly what were they expecting? It's like criticising a dog for barking.
The Thirteenth Doctor
Last night Jodie Whittaker made her debut as the thirteenth incarnation of that iconic Time Lord known as The Doctor. And despite eighteen months of negative comments, criticism and bile from those who disliked the idea of a female lead, the first episode, The Woman Who Fell to Earth was watched in the UK by 8 million people. At this point, popular opinion appears to be broadly positive and the franchise has weathered the storm. Naturally, there are some fans who have elected not to continue watching and there are those who intend to remain in the wings spouting disproportionate criticisms because they feel that something has been taken away from them. However, churn is a common facet of all industries and TV entertainment is no different. The BBC may well lose some long-time viewers due to this casting change, but I think it will gain far more new ones. I say this with some confidence because I too have chosen to return to the Doctor Who fold.
Strictly Come Dancing 2018: Part 1
With each successive season of Strictly Come Dancing there appears to be more and more celebrity participants who seem to be “good”, right from the get-go. For many years now there have been ongoing debates about whether those from certain backgrounds, IE music, acting and possibly even sport, have an advantage over the usual chefs, astrologers and ageing minor celebrities. Although I can see the initial sense of such arguments, I don’t think they hold up to close scrutiny. Having performed a few arbitrary dance moves whilst touring or having done a stilted routine for a TV drama or play is not the same as the rigour and scrutiny that comes with Strictly Come Dancing. However, setting aside this perennial question, despite only being three weeks into series sixteen, we saw some extremely strong movie themed performances last night and the potential emergence of several dark horses. Subsequently tonight’s results were interesting.
Star Trek Online: Red Alert Controversy
Developer’s Cryptic announced this week that the various Red Alerts that are currently available continuously in Star Trek Online would hence forward, only be available to players on the weekend. Their official explanations was as follows. Starting this weekend, Red Alerts are moving from being always available to being special weekend events, with improved rewards! When these Red Alerts are live, you’ll be able to earn 35 Marks of your choice every time you play, with no cooldowns to prevent you from getting back into the action. These Task Force Operations will return to the galaxy regularly, as the groups of invaders do their best to take control of the four quadrants of the galaxy. As with any change of this nature, it has not been met with open arms by the STO reddit community and the official forums.
LOTRO: An Unnecessary Increase in Level Cap?
I’ve logged into the Bullroarer test server and looked around several of the preview builds of Update 23 for LOTRO recently. So far what I’ve seen has broadly met with my approval. It’s pretty much more of the same, with the main selling point being the story and a new area of Middle-earth to explore. However, there’s one aspect of the soon to be released Update 23: Where Dragons Dwell that does strike me as a little odd. The level cap is being increased from 115 to 120. Last summer’s Mordor expansion raised the cap by ten to 115, so this new increase does feel a little too soon to me. However, if you look at the LOTRO Wiki, it would appear that increases tend to occur regularly every eighteen months to two years, so it can be argued that this pending change isn’t anything unusual. Yet, it somehow feels “off” to me, which I shall now endeavour to explain.
Unfriended: Dark Web (2018)
I wondered recently whether Unfriended (2014) would kick start an entire subgenre comparable to the “found footage” format. It would appear that it has, and these movies shot on phones, computers and other digital devices have subsequently been labelled “screenlife” films. It’s worth noting that Unfriended: Dark Web is produced by Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov who has already produced two other movies (Profile and Searching) using this technique. So, it won’t be surprising to see further forays into this style of film making. It is cheap, quick to make with a lot of box office potential. So, it’s hardly surprising to see Jason Blum (of Get Out and The Purge fame) attached to the credits as well. As for Unfriended: Dark Web it’s suitably nasty, voyeuristic, fare that is competently made. At this point the novelty of the “screenlife” films has yet run out, but it is still a physically challenging format to endure (as I found with its predecessor).
Diary of a Podcaster Part 15
I’ve been pondering a new podcast project for a while, since Contains Moderate Peril ended a year ago. As I’ve discussed in previous posts, I want to create a movie-based show and have been considering of late exactly what sort of format to adopt. I don’t go to the cinema often enough these days to produce a contemporary review orientated podcast, plus I don’t find a lot of mainstream releases to be sufficiently engaging. Despite looking and pursuing discrete enquiries, I haven’t been able to find a co-host who is sufficiently knowledgeable, motivated or available to do a regular show producing the audio equivalent of long form criticism of films and the movie industry. So, it’s been a bit of a chore to try and work out which niche to explore. However, I have now a clear idea of what I want to do.
The Expendables Extended Director's Cut (2010)
If you are expecting more violence, explosions and sundry mayhem in the extended director's cut of The Expendables, then you'll find none. What you will discover is an additional ten minutes of character development and back story, which greatly improves the overall film. The theatrical cut was certainly not lacking in the action department but was a bit thin on narrative and back story. This extended version of the movie with over two hundred changes to the original cut, bolsters the dramatic elements of the plot. We get to know more about the team and as a result care a little more for them. You can find a comprehensive comparison over at moviecensorship.com of both versions of the movie.