Wired has an interesting article about modern games and their longevity. The writer, Clive Thompson, points out that there is a large divide between two types of gamers. The first type are the hardcore players who have the time to commit themselves to a game for prolonged periods and run through even the longest games in no time at all. The second type are those with other commitments and interests - the casual gamers for whom gaming sessions can be expected to last an hour or so at best. For the first group, these games are just not long enough, and for the second, they're just too long.
Years ago, I belonged to the first group, and at the time I naively believed that I always would. If you enjoy something, you can make time for it, right? WRONG!(/Luthor) Gone are the days of gaming morning, noon, and night. Heck, I can't even call myself a gamer anymore really... the last time I played a game with any conviction was over two months ago! Sadly, the commitment of full time employment and the mundane responsibilities of adult life (many of which I admittedly eschew even now) reduces the time one has for such entertainments. Couple this with the fact that my limited free time is split up between an eclectic plethora of books, films, and tv shows, keeping up with the news, and the occasional health-concious physical activity, and you can see why the odds of me attaining gamer leetness are slim indeed.
The fact is, the burden of more responsibilites in the future will continue to eat away at my allotment of free time. I only hope that by the time I enter retirement I'll still have enough use of my senses and wits left to unwind a bit and catch up on the backlog.
I shall now return to attempting to play through Half-Life... and maybe this time I'll play the expansion packs as well. I'll blog about it when I finish, so the entry should appear on this site in another six months or so.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Monday, September 25, 2006
Boll-ocks
German 'filmmaker' Uwe Boll has apparently taken to hitting his critics. I've never seen a Boll film, but most reputable (and disreputable) sources claim that he is easily amongst the worst filmmakers working today, if not THE worst. This is the man responsible for House of the Dead, Alone in the Dark, and Bloodrayne, all of which are in the hallowed halls of the IMDB bottom 100.
As the BBC article states, Boll got the better of his critics in the ring after he challenged them to a boxing match. Apparently, his pugilistic skills are a tad better than his auteurist skills. Yeah, I know I shouldn't judge him before watching his films and that it's easier to hate things than to like them bla bla bla, but come on, films like Dungeons and Dragons, Wing Commander, and Battlefield Earth really are as bad as people describe, so there's no reason to expect any better from Boll's universally derided efforts.
I have to admit though, some of his interviews are a riot, quite possibly more entertaining than his movies!
As the BBC article states, Boll got the better of his critics in the ring after he challenged them to a boxing match. Apparently, his pugilistic skills are a tad better than his auteurist skills. Yeah, I know I shouldn't judge him before watching his films and that it's easier to hate things than to like them bla bla bla, but come on, films like Dungeons and Dragons, Wing Commander, and Battlefield Earth really are as bad as people describe, so there's no reason to expect any better from Boll's universally derided efforts.
I have to admit though, some of his interviews are a riot, quite possibly more entertaining than his movies!
Friday, September 22, 2006
Carter Beats the Devil
Carter Beats the Devil, the first novel by author Glen David Gold, is a fictional story about real-life magician Charles Carter that takes place across the first few decades of the twentieth century. I'd heard about the book someplace (Ain't It Cool, I think), and when I saw the 560 page hardback volume sitting on the library shelf I couldn't resist.
The book is essentially a period character piece that is steeped in magic - and by magic I don't mean fantasy magic, but the magic of illusions and misdirection. In many ways the book itself is composed of illusions and misdirection. It recounts key episodes in Carter's childhood, his years spent as a struggling magician, and his rivalry with the villainous magician Mysterioso. All this mixed up with a fair share of romance and tragedy.
The plot that comprises the bulk of the novel focuses on the aftermath of the death of President Harding shortly after he attends Carter's magic show. Carter comes under the scrutiny of the Secret Service, who believe him to be in possession of a secret divulged to him by the President, and possibly guilty of having had a hand in his death. Another key figure in the book is the tenacious but down on his luck Agent Jack Griffin, who is the centrepiece in a subplot that acts as a sort of counterpoint to the story of the rich and privileged Carter.
I expected to really enjoy this book, and while it is very good it didn't really grab me in the way I had anticipated. Thinking back on it, I can't really find much wrong with it. It's dense and detailed and atmospheric. Carter is a complex and compelling character - tortured and struggling to move forward. All of the surrounding characters are interesting, well defined, and often quirky. There are showdowns, edge-of-your-seat escapes, and fantastical (and apparently mostly real if somewhat embellished) magic performances. The book is written with a straightforward, fast paced style and is often funny and sometimes horrifying (the knife in the hand bit sticks out in particular).
I'm not sure why I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected to - I would probably recommend it, with the caveat that I myself was quite unmoved by it. Maybe it's because I was in a bad mood because of my computer woes, which pummeled my spirit into submission repeatedly over the last few weeks... Or maybe it just didn't connect with me. In any case, it's a good book and worth a read for those who find the concept of the book interesting.
The book is essentially a period character piece that is steeped in magic - and by magic I don't mean fantasy magic, but the magic of illusions and misdirection. In many ways the book itself is composed of illusions and misdirection. It recounts key episodes in Carter's childhood, his years spent as a struggling magician, and his rivalry with the villainous magician Mysterioso. All this mixed up with a fair share of romance and tragedy.
The plot that comprises the bulk of the novel focuses on the aftermath of the death of President Harding shortly after he attends Carter's magic show. Carter comes under the scrutiny of the Secret Service, who believe him to be in possession of a secret divulged to him by the President, and possibly guilty of having had a hand in his death. Another key figure in the book is the tenacious but down on his luck Agent Jack Griffin, who is the centrepiece in a subplot that acts as a sort of counterpoint to the story of the rich and privileged Carter.
I expected to really enjoy this book, and while it is very good it didn't really grab me in the way I had anticipated. Thinking back on it, I can't really find much wrong with it. It's dense and detailed and atmospheric. Carter is a complex and compelling character - tortured and struggling to move forward. All of the surrounding characters are interesting, well defined, and often quirky. There are showdowns, edge-of-your-seat escapes, and fantastical (and apparently mostly real if somewhat embellished) magic performances. The book is written with a straightforward, fast paced style and is often funny and sometimes horrifying (the knife in the hand bit sticks out in particular).
I'm not sure why I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected to - I would probably recommend it, with the caveat that I myself was quite unmoved by it. Maybe it's because I was in a bad mood because of my computer woes, which pummeled my spirit into submission repeatedly over the last few weeks... Or maybe it just didn't connect with me. In any case, it's a good book and worth a read for those who find the concept of the book interesting.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
The Return of Tolkien and the Space Tourist
Tolkien Lives!
It seems that the late Professor Tolkien deems us worthy enough to come back from the grave for - he's written a new book posthumously! Ok, not exactly... his son Christopher has edited together his late father's unfinished work 'The Children of Hurin' and will release it next year. I'm not sure if I've got my facts right, but I think most of the Tolkien books out there were published after he gave up the ghost. Death is no longer the obstacle it used to be. As for me, I still haven't touched The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales, which have been languishing in my 'To Read' pile for at least half a decade. I may wind up taking a leaf out of Tolkien's book by reading them posthumously...
Space Tourist
As I'm sure everyone is aware, the Soyuz spaceship is now in orbit, and will be docking with the ISS tomorrow. The big news about this mission is, of course, the inclusion of Anousheh Ansari, who is first female space tourist, the first Iranian, and the fourth space tourist overall. You may have heard the name before - she was involved in funding the X-Prize a couple of years back, and is a huge proponent of the space program.
Apparently it's been her dream to go to space, and she has parted with a large amount of money to purchase her ticket from the Russian Space Program. She hopes to inspire others and to draw attention to the importance of space exploration for the future of mankind. I agree with her sentiments, and hope all goes well during her trip. She and a few others are maintaining a blog, which she will be updating from space after Soyuz docks with the ISS! She may well be the first space blogger! In the entries thus far (made while still on Terra, of course), Ms. Ansari explains in a personable manner a bit about herself, her motivations and ideals, and the training programme. It makes for an interesting read for those who are interested.
I myself cannot wait to be a space tourist, but I suspect it'll never become affordable in my lifetime, assuming space tourism takes off at all. At the very least, I hope to live to see a colony on Mars. Space Elevator, you can't come soon enough!
As a brief aside, I find it a bit depressing that the story about a man marrying a goat endured longer than the Ansari story on the BBC website's 'most read' and 'most emailed' sections.
It seems that the late Professor Tolkien deems us worthy enough to come back from the grave for - he's written a new book posthumously! Ok, not exactly... his son Christopher has edited together his late father's unfinished work 'The Children of Hurin' and will release it next year. I'm not sure if I've got my facts right, but I think most of the Tolkien books out there were published after he gave up the ghost. Death is no longer the obstacle it used to be. As for me, I still haven't touched The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales, which have been languishing in my 'To Read' pile for at least half a decade. I may wind up taking a leaf out of Tolkien's book by reading them posthumously...
Space Tourist
As I'm sure everyone is aware, the Soyuz spaceship is now in orbit, and will be docking with the ISS tomorrow. The big news about this mission is, of course, the inclusion of Anousheh Ansari, who is first female space tourist, the first Iranian, and the fourth space tourist overall. You may have heard the name before - she was involved in funding the X-Prize a couple of years back, and is a huge proponent of the space program.
Apparently it's been her dream to go to space, and she has parted with a large amount of money to purchase her ticket from the Russian Space Program. She hopes to inspire others and to draw attention to the importance of space exploration for the future of mankind. I agree with her sentiments, and hope all goes well during her trip. She and a few others are maintaining a blog, which she will be updating from space after Soyuz docks with the ISS! She may well be the first space blogger! In the entries thus far (made while still on Terra, of course), Ms. Ansari explains in a personable manner a bit about herself, her motivations and ideals, and the training programme. It makes for an interesting read for those who are interested.
I myself cannot wait to be a space tourist, but I suspect it'll never become affordable in my lifetime, assuming space tourism takes off at all. At the very least, I hope to live to see a colony on Mars. Space Elevator, you can't come soon enough!
As a brief aside, I find it a bit depressing that the story about a man marrying a goat endured longer than the Ansari story on the BBC website's 'most read' and 'most emailed' sections.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Babylon 5 - Season 2
Another draft entry that has been gathering dust since June.
Babylon 5
Let me quickly complete it by saying... Season 2 was excellent, better than Season 1, and despite my initial reservations I grew to prefer Sheridan to Sinclair. Londo continues to be a lovable bastard (although mostly a bastard), G'kar is now a tragic figure, Garibaldi and Ivanova are... still themselves, which is a good thing. Revelations are made and the stakes continue to be raised, and I can't wait to see Season 3.
Babylon 5
Let me quickly complete it by saying... Season 2 was excellent, better than Season 1, and despite my initial reservations I grew to prefer Sheridan to Sinclair. Londo continues to be a lovable bastard (although mostly a bastard), G'kar is now a tragic figure, Garibaldi and Ivanova are... still themselves, which is a good thing. Revelations are made and the stakes continue to be raised, and I can't wait to see Season 3.
Weekend Movie Roundup (June 16-18)
I created a 'marker' draft of this post way back on the 20th of June, and the following three lines are all it contained.
And then I stopped blogging for a while - I was a little busy and didn't have time to update, and when I finally found the time I was no longer in the mood for blogging. Fast forward nearly three (!) months to earlier this morning. There I was, twiddling my thumbs when my idle brain suddenly conjured up a thought - 'what about the blog?'. I sign in to Blogger and what do I find? A couple of old drafts sitting around, begging to be completed. Unfortunately, the passage of time has lessened the relevance of the topic that was to be discussed in this post, so I'll be ultra-brief.
Dragonslayer - Surprisingly watchable fantasy flick from the early 80s... probably one of the best of the era, especially when put alongside other dubious 'classics' like The Beastmaster and Red Sonja. The production values hold up well, the acting ain't bad, and the dragon effect looks good even today (for the most part). Look out for Emperor Palpatine in a small role.
De Palma's The Untouchablesis a classic. Costner, Connery, Deniro, and everyone else is top-notch. It may be a bit whimsical and stray from the facts at times, but is still thrilling, funny, and moving. As you may have guessed, I loved it...
And then there's The Descent, a film that's been getting so many rave reviews and which has been called "the scaries movie since Alien" or some such nonsense. It's nowhere near as good as that. It is brutal and scary (mostly by resorting to the 'sudden loud noise' syndrome), but poorly acted and written. Underwhelming.
Dragonslayer (1981)
The Untouchables (1987)
The Descent (2005)
And then I stopped blogging for a while - I was a little busy and didn't have time to update, and when I finally found the time I was no longer in the mood for blogging. Fast forward nearly three (!) months to earlier this morning. There I was, twiddling my thumbs when my idle brain suddenly conjured up a thought - 'what about the blog?'. I sign in to Blogger and what do I find? A couple of old drafts sitting around, begging to be completed. Unfortunately, the passage of time has lessened the relevance of the topic that was to be discussed in this post, so I'll be ultra-brief.
Dragonslayer - Surprisingly watchable fantasy flick from the early 80s... probably one of the best of the era, especially when put alongside other dubious 'classics' like The Beastmaster and Red Sonja. The production values hold up well, the acting ain't bad, and the dragon effect looks good even today (for the most part). Look out for Emperor Palpatine in a small role.
De Palma's The Untouchablesis a classic. Costner, Connery, Deniro, and everyone else is top-notch. It may be a bit whimsical and stray from the facts at times, but is still thrilling, funny, and moving. As you may have guessed, I loved it...
And then there's The Descent, a film that's been getting so many rave reviews and which has been called "the scaries movie since Alien" or some such nonsense. It's nowhere near as good as that. It is brutal and scary (mostly by resorting to the 'sudden loud noise' syndrome), but poorly acted and written. Underwhelming.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Weekend Movie Roundup (June 09-11)
This post is late, but better late than never. It's also leaner than usual by virtue of the fact that I don't have time to ramble on!
Ice Pirates (1984)
This is a cheesy sci fi flick starring Robert Urich (as Jason), he of Spenser for Hire fame. In the distant future, water is a scarce commodity controlled by an opressive group called the Templar Knights (at least I think that's what they were called). Jason and his pirates raid and steal water from transport vessels. During a raid, they encounter Princess Karina, and become embroiled in a quest to find a mysterious water filled planet. Chases, battles, and time warps ensue. It's not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination, but it knows it's bad, which makes it kinda fun.
Lord of War (2005)
Andrew Niccol wrote and directed the excellent Gattaca, so my hopes were high going into this one. While not as great as Gattaca, Lord of War is pretty darned good. It's a drama / black comedy about an arms dealer, Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage), about how he quickly rises up the ranks and establishes himself as THE arms dealer to turn to for any self-respecting warlord. The film is essentially split up into Yuir's personal life, the means by which he carries out his sordid work, and the politics that come into play in his line of work. It's not played out in an entirely realistic way and many things are glossed over, but it is darned entertaining and has an undeniable ring of truth to it. A unique film, definitely worth a look.
Princess Mononoke (1997)
Brilliant. Classic. If you haven't heard of Hayao Miyazaki, he's the modern day equivalent to Walt Disney, and this is one of many fantastic anime films he's directed. A prince from an ancient tribe, Prince Ashitaka, is cursed after battling a demonic beast, and is banished from his village. He sets out West to find the source of the demon and becomes embroiled in a conflict between a mining town and the forest spirits that are fighting to protect their land from destruction. Among the forest spirits is a human girl, Princess Mononoke (Princess of the Spirits), who's deeply entwined in the conflict. Ashitaka hopes to be cured by the forest spirit / deer god, and to also help settle the conflict in a reasonable manner for both sides. My summary doesn't do it justice - there's a lot more than that going on here. The story is fairly complex and thematically rich, and there's strong, even-handed characterization. It's all brought to life with beautiful animation and music. A must see...
Ice Pirates (1984)
This is a cheesy sci fi flick starring Robert Urich (as Jason), he of Spenser for Hire fame. In the distant future, water is a scarce commodity controlled by an opressive group called the Templar Knights (at least I think that's what they were called). Jason and his pirates raid and steal water from transport vessels. During a raid, they encounter Princess Karina, and become embroiled in a quest to find a mysterious water filled planet. Chases, battles, and time warps ensue. It's not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination, but it knows it's bad, which makes it kinda fun.
Lord of War (2005)
Andrew Niccol wrote and directed the excellent Gattaca, so my hopes were high going into this one. While not as great as Gattaca, Lord of War is pretty darned good. It's a drama / black comedy about an arms dealer, Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage), about how he quickly rises up the ranks and establishes himself as THE arms dealer to turn to for any self-respecting warlord. The film is essentially split up into Yuir's personal life, the means by which he carries out his sordid work, and the politics that come into play in his line of work. It's not played out in an entirely realistic way and many things are glossed over, but it is darned entertaining and has an undeniable ring of truth to it. A unique film, definitely worth a look.
Princess Mononoke (1997)
Brilliant. Classic. If you haven't heard of Hayao Miyazaki, he's the modern day equivalent to Walt Disney, and this is one of many fantastic anime films he's directed. A prince from an ancient tribe, Prince Ashitaka, is cursed after battling a demonic beast, and is banished from his village. He sets out West to find the source of the demon and becomes embroiled in a conflict between a mining town and the forest spirits that are fighting to protect their land from destruction. Among the forest spirits is a human girl, Princess Mononoke (Princess of the Spirits), who's deeply entwined in the conflict. Ashitaka hopes to be cured by the forest spirit / deer god, and to also help settle the conflict in a reasonable manner for both sides. My summary doesn't do it justice - there's a lot more than that going on here. The story is fairly complex and thematically rich, and there's strong, even-handed characterization. It's all brought to life with beautiful animation and music. A must see...
Superman Returns... Positive Buzz
Well whaddaya know? Despite the generally negative outlook this film has had since director Bryan Singer jumped ship from the X-Men franchise to spearhead its development, the early reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. See Rotten Tomatoes for an aggregation of reviews, where it's currently at 94% positive. Glowing reviews include those from Time, Newsweek, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, and Ain't it Cool.
I haven't been blown away by any of the previews, but I'm more than a little excited to see this now... All of Singer's previous films have been very good, and there's little reason to expect otherwise from this one. Fingers crossed.
I haven't been blown away by any of the previews, but I'm more than a little excited to see this now... All of Singer's previous films have been very good, and there's little reason to expect otherwise from this one. Fingers crossed.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Philip Pullman - Northern Lights
Northern Lights (1995) by Phillip Pullman is the first in the His Dark Materials trilogy. I finished this over a week ago but didn't get a chance to write about it till now. I'm going to have to keep this post short because I just don't have time to be my usual bloated self (yay! all of you non-existent readers cry out in unison).
Northern Lights is a fantasy novel that takes place in a parallel universe that's somewhat similar to ours - technologically it's like a cross between our time and the mid 19th century. Some countries and peoples are the same, and others aren't. Slightly different words are used to describe things, such as 'anbaric' instead of 'electric'. Other major differences from our world are the presence of talking warrior polar bears, witches, and daemons. The latter are talking animal companions that every person has; the animal is an extension of a person's soul.
Within this alternate universe, the story revolves around a girl called Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon. Lyra is an orphan who has lived at a college in Oxford virtually her whole life. Being tenacious and too curious for her own good, she stumbles upon something that ultimately sends her on a dangerous journey away from the relative comfort of her home. A journey that sees her teaming up with a group of Gyptians to look for a friend captured by the sinister 'Gobblers'. Lyra also learns about the mysterious 'Dust' that has the omnipotent Church worried, and acquires a strange 'truth telling' device called an alethiometer.
Northern Lights is ostensibly a children's / young adult's book, but that shouldn't put you off. Unless you're a completely cynical adult, you should be able to enjoy it. It's definitely more adult oriented than, say, the Hobbit or The Chronicles of Narnia. It's compulsive and I was immersed by Pullman's fantastical world. The story is fairly original and has a healthy mixture of outright fantasy, science, pseudoscience, theology, and politics layered around the genre staple concept of having a young orphan protagonist with a destiny to fulfill. Well worth a read for fantasy fans, and even if you're not, it's good enough to be worth a look-see.
I've already started on the second part of the trilogy (which takes place partly in our universe), and I can't wait to see how the story pans out.
Northern Lights is a fantasy novel that takes place in a parallel universe that's somewhat similar to ours - technologically it's like a cross between our time and the mid 19th century. Some countries and peoples are the same, and others aren't. Slightly different words are used to describe things, such as 'anbaric' instead of 'electric'. Other major differences from our world are the presence of talking warrior polar bears, witches, and daemons. The latter are talking animal companions that every person has; the animal is an extension of a person's soul.
Within this alternate universe, the story revolves around a girl called Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon. Lyra is an orphan who has lived at a college in Oxford virtually her whole life. Being tenacious and too curious for her own good, she stumbles upon something that ultimately sends her on a dangerous journey away from the relative comfort of her home. A journey that sees her teaming up with a group of Gyptians to look for a friend captured by the sinister 'Gobblers'. Lyra also learns about the mysterious 'Dust' that has the omnipotent Church worried, and acquires a strange 'truth telling' device called an alethiometer.
Northern Lights is ostensibly a children's / young adult's book, but that shouldn't put you off. Unless you're a completely cynical adult, you should be able to enjoy it. It's definitely more adult oriented than, say, the Hobbit or The Chronicles of Narnia. It's compulsive and I was immersed by Pullman's fantastical world. The story is fairly original and has a healthy mixture of outright fantasy, science, pseudoscience, theology, and politics layered around the genre staple concept of having a young orphan protagonist with a destiny to fulfill. Well worth a read for fantasy fans, and even if you're not, it's good enough to be worth a look-see.
I've already started on the second part of the trilogy (which takes place partly in our universe), and I can't wait to see how the story pans out.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Hard Drive Woes + Willow
I lost my second hard drive in the space of less than six months. Fortunately I always have two on my machine and backup important data from one to the other. The last one that failed was just two years old. This one was slightly over three years old. Not too impressive I have to say, but maybe it had something to do with the fact that they were IBM Desk(Death)Stars.
Since my OS drive was gone, I had a fun weekend reinstalling everything from scratch. FUN! I'm still in the process of restoring everything, and it probably won't be back to 'normal' for a few weeks yet, as I come across applications I've forgotten. AAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH! As you can imagine, I didn't exactly have much time for watching movies, but I still managed to sneak one in on Sunday evening.
Willow (1988) - Or Lord of the Rings Lite. Directed by Ron Howard and written by George Lucas, the fantasy flick owes more than a small debt to Tolkien's opus.
The story goes something like this. The evil queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh) rules over the land, but there is a prophecy that a child will be born who will one day bring about her downfall. To prevent this from happening, Bavmorda rounds up all the pregnant women in the land (no, really) and when their babies are born she checks them for a birthmark that this child is meant to have on her arm. When the child is born, someone manages to sneak her out of the castle and she winds up floating along a river and into the hands of the unlikeliest person imaginable. No, not Bilbo Baggins, but Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis), one of a race of 'little people' who live in their idyllic pastoral little village.
The village wizard tells Willow that he must take the baby out of the village and give it to one of the 'big folk'. So Willow sets out with a small band of his buddies, and they wind up dodging black riders and meeting Galadriel. Willow finally ends up alone with the baby (the others return to the village), and is forced to team up with Madmartigan (Val Kilmer), an impish rogue who's also the greatest swordsman alive. They adventure from one place to the next, meet up with a cursed sorceress, a medieval hottie, and a few nasty creatures before the climactic showdown with the evil Bavmorda (hope I didn't spoil that for you).
On technical merits Willow holds up well - it was probably a marvel when it came out. The production values are top notch, and the effects are good for their day. I found the story to be fairly engaging (if derivative), but lots of the events seemed to be contrived and not driven by character or logic. The whole thing lacks the 'epic' feel that it obviously strives for, with people running from one land (and landscape) to the next in seemingly a matter of hours. The action sequences aren't all that impressive or exciting. The thing that really drags the film down is the tone, which consistently resorts to childish buffoonery. This should have been an early warning for Star Wars fans - childish buffoonery is something Lucas carried over to the Star Wars prequels (although he tried to phase it out by the third film, and replaced it with childish melodrama and inane characterization).
Warwick Davis and Val Kilmer are well cast and play off each other nicely, and their banter makes for some of the more memorable character moments. Fortunately these two are the central characters to the story, because most of the other characters are forgettable. The exception is the evil Bavmorda, played with over-the-top hamminess by Jean Marsh. The scenes with the Nelwyns (the little people) is actually fairly strong and feels more real than the rest of the film.
As with most Ron Howard films, Willow is directed clinically but with a nondescript style. The writing, as with so many fantasy films, features anachronistic dialog - medieval people saying things like 'jackass' is just plain incongruous. Thankfully, this doesn't happen too much anymore. The music is nice, but James Horner's trademark self-plagiarism is readily apparent. Overall, Willow is a fun film to watch, and I loved it as a kid, but through my now jaded eyes its flaws are obvious. This was once one of the better fantasy films around; today, it's not even close. Good but not great, with a few too many groan inducing moments.
Since my OS drive was gone, I had a fun weekend reinstalling everything from scratch. FUN! I'm still in the process of restoring everything, and it probably won't be back to 'normal' for a few weeks yet, as I come across applications I've forgotten. AAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH! As you can imagine, I didn't exactly have much time for watching movies, but I still managed to sneak one in on Sunday evening.
Willow (1988) - Or Lord of the Rings Lite. Directed by Ron Howard and written by George Lucas, the fantasy flick owes more than a small debt to Tolkien's opus.
The story goes something like this. The evil queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh) rules over the land, but there is a prophecy that a child will be born who will one day bring about her downfall. To prevent this from happening, Bavmorda rounds up all the pregnant women in the land (no, really) and when their babies are born she checks them for a birthmark that this child is meant to have on her arm. When the child is born, someone manages to sneak her out of the castle and she winds up floating along a river and into the hands of the unlikeliest person imaginable. No, not Bilbo Baggins, but Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis), one of a race of 'little people' who live in their idyllic pastoral little village.
The village wizard tells Willow that he must take the baby out of the village and give it to one of the 'big folk'. So Willow sets out with a small band of his buddies, and they wind up dodging black riders and meeting Galadriel. Willow finally ends up alone with the baby (the others return to the village), and is forced to team up with Madmartigan (Val Kilmer), an impish rogue who's also the greatest swordsman alive. They adventure from one place to the next, meet up with a cursed sorceress, a medieval hottie, and a few nasty creatures before the climactic showdown with the evil Bavmorda (hope I didn't spoil that for you).
On technical merits Willow holds up well - it was probably a marvel when it came out. The production values are top notch, and the effects are good for their day. I found the story to be fairly engaging (if derivative), but lots of the events seemed to be contrived and not driven by character or logic. The whole thing lacks the 'epic' feel that it obviously strives for, with people running from one land (and landscape) to the next in seemingly a matter of hours. The action sequences aren't all that impressive or exciting. The thing that really drags the film down is the tone, which consistently resorts to childish buffoonery. This should have been an early warning for Star Wars fans - childish buffoonery is something Lucas carried over to the Star Wars prequels (although he tried to phase it out by the third film, and replaced it with childish melodrama and inane characterization).
Warwick Davis and Val Kilmer are well cast and play off each other nicely, and their banter makes for some of the more memorable character moments. Fortunately these two are the central characters to the story, because most of the other characters are forgettable. The exception is the evil Bavmorda, played with over-the-top hamminess by Jean Marsh. The scenes with the Nelwyns (the little people) is actually fairly strong and feels more real than the rest of the film.
As with most Ron Howard films, Willow is directed clinically but with a nondescript style. The writing, as with so many fantasy films, features anachronistic dialog - medieval people saying things like 'jackass' is just plain incongruous. Thankfully, this doesn't happen too much anymore. The music is nice, but James Horner's trademark self-plagiarism is readily apparent. Overall, Willow is a fun film to watch, and I loved it as a kid, but through my now jaded eyes its flaws are obvious. This was once one of the better fantasy films around; today, it's not even close. Good but not great, with a few too many groan inducing moments.
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