Dream Log Entry One -- The Plane Crash

I've been travelling, it's been a while since I posted.  Not to mention an entire slew of games that have come out since October. Blah Blah. Anyways, I've had just a few too many dreams that I can't help but remember and feel compelled to write about them now. That's the thing about dreams, we don't typically remember them.  Combine that with my frequent bursts of deja vu and well, I don't care to analyze it at this point. Maybe later. Also, forgive me now as I'm writing this on my phone.  Here we go...

Looking down I could only see what I believed to be my homeland, the Mojave Desert.  There I was hanging on for dear life at the end of a rather long grappling hook.  This grappling hook was connected to the tail end of a large plane.  A cargo plane, at that.  I'm not quite sure if this is even possible, I was breaking laws of physics in some manner or another.  But if so, I would describe this action as the opposite of parasailing and without the sail.  So, jet grappling? Grapple skitching? Free flying? Eh, it doesn't matter because moments later I was on the ground.  Not exactly a smooth landing but hey, I survived.  No dirt in the mouth so that's a plus.  The cargo plane was gone and then it was just me. 

So naturally, I began to walk.  I walked for what felt like eons.  And eons.  Eventually I stumbled upon a small plane crash.  Based on the size difference I could tell clearly this was not at all the same plane I was hooked to earlier.  This was more like a personal jet.  I could smell the fuel burning and so I ran to the crash.  People were laid out all around the jet.  Both men and women surrounded the jet just frozen in time.  Because of the smell of burning fuel, the lack of dust on the bodies and the overall feel of the crash it became obvious to me that this just happened.

I searched for anyone alive to see if I could help in some way.  After checking about four or five bodies for a pulse, it was then I realized.  There is no blood here.  All of these bodies are pale and  intact.  Not one of them has a scratch on their body.  In fact, all of these people look as though they're in a deep sleep.  A deep sleep without a pulse though?  I'm no expert on crash sites but there is nothing oridnary about this one.  Of course I continue to investigate further and upon closer examination I stood motionless.  I focused in on a man who looked deader than dead.  Standing there I just watched him, motionless.  I focused in on his eyes when suddenly they opened.  He looked straight at me and tilted his head up with a quick snap.  In a disappointed and frearful tone he looked into my eyes and said "Well, you don't look surprised." 

I was speechless.  At this point, every single one of these lifeless bodies rose up to greet me.  I had too many thoughts and questions to settle on one so I just began to slowly back up and away.  Right before my eyes was a graveyard coming to life.  They were no longer lifeless.  They no longer looked dead at all, but well rested and waiting for my response.  As if this entire stage was all just a production and the purpose was to receive my reaction? Who the hell are these people?  From here, the dream gets even more strange. 

A woman who just rose from amongst the crash started approaching me.  She is speaking to me but I can't quite make out her words.  I'm still backing away from this entire situation but she insists on telling me something.  In fact, she won't stop speaking, her mumbles never turned into words.  I asked her "Do you need a ride?"(as if I had one to offer). Things I say, I swear. Looking behind me now as I continue to back up, there is a two lane road.  A godsend, or at least I thought.  As we approach the highway she still continued to walk towards me.  By now I am looking in both directions for a car, and in the distance what do I see?  A black SUV coming to rescue us.  With arms flailing I couldn't have been more happy to see a car in my life.  With one more quick glance to the mumbling woman, I could read her lips and she silently screamed at me "watch out".  In a moment of happiness and confusion I looked back to the SUV.  It wasn't stopping, in fact I could hear the engine getting louder.  As soon as I felt the front end of the vehicle impale me I woke up. 

5 Reasons to see Drive

5. Soundtrack

Music can really make or break a movie.  With Drive, you get almost all genres at one point in time throughout the film.  Classy touch.

4. Fast Cars

These aren't your typical quick cut car chasing scenes.  That's not to say your entire time with Drive is spent behind the wheel.  There's something about these bits of the film that makes it feel as if they're unfolding in real time as opposed to camera time.  They don't feel choppy, edited, over the top, big action.  They really just feel necessary. How do you say?  Captivating.
3.  Plot

Lately, this seems to be Hollywood's biggest dissapointment.  Some movies I've seen don't even really have a substantial plot to be considered a story.  And IF there is a plot, it usually sucks.  And that's where Drive really strides.  Oh, and by the way, the trailer doesn't give everything away.

2.  Ryan Gosling, hello??

I've been a fan since Murder by Numbers.  Haven't seen it?  Check it out.  The guy can seriously act and as the Driver, he makes no exceptions.  Sure, he really isn't THAT hard to look at either. :] 

1.  Drive is everything you don't expect.

It's hard to find a movie these days that really surprises you.  In todays movie realm, we've all seen what can be done, and then done again.  If it's not a sequal, it's a remake.  And if it's a remake, it's probably going to be much worse than the original.  I should also mention here the entire collective of the cast is amazing at what they do.  Of course, without good acting a movie just isn't worth seeing.  But it's not all of the other reasons that make Drive really worth seeing, it's only one.  At it's core, this movie is everything you don't see coming.  And that is why you should see it.

Why is L.A. Noire so awesome?

So here I am, almost two months after the release of Rockstar Games® L.A. Noire and still amazed at the escapism that this game offers.  For those of you reading who are not really into the gaming scene, Rockstar is notorious for creating a virtual open world environment in their games which allows the player to (if they choose) either follow the story of the game or explore the open world finding every little nook that was developed into the game, or both.  That's the beauty of Rockstar Games, you can do virtually whatever you want, whenever you want to.  This formula has proven successful time and time again with evidence such as Grand Theft Auto (series including III, IV, San Andreas and Liberty City Stories) and Red Dead Redemption.  Now that Los Angeles has been given the Rockstar treatment, you can cruise 1940's Los Angeles block for block and have a general sense of what this historical city may or may not have looked like sixty years ago.  Exploring the glorious city includes everything from the finding all of the cars (over 90 of them!), checking out billboards, architecture and famous landmarks included and of course that famous Hollywoodland sign up in the hills. But that is only the beginning of this adventure.  Now on to the actual game...
 , 

Who wouldn't want the opportunity to hop into the drivers seat of a 1946 Chevy Fleetmaster 2DR Police Car and take the lead of a new homicide case?  Every aspect of an investigation is covered while you are in control of the respectable former marine Cole Phelps (pictured above), lead detective and main protagonist of this epic.  From investigating the crime scene, searching for clues, questioning eye witnesses, interrogating suspects, piecing together what may have been a motive, all of this and more is at your fingertips in the midst of any one single case. 

Rockstar did take a different direction with their story line with Noire and it's result; phenomonal.  Of course it would take a book to cover everything and I don't wish to ruin any of it for anyone so I won't go into details.  However, a new approach was used in motion capturing technology which is called MotionScan in which much like a movie, an actor works in front of a color screen with sensors strapped over their entire body.  This technology is what sets L.A. Noire apart from any other game, because of the detail and emotion captured by the technology, Noire's story doesn't feel like a game at all but in deed a motion picture. 

See how for yourself here.

Last thought I want to add in here is the simple fact of why this game can be considered timeless.  The game itself contains 21 actual cases for you to solve, with additional cases available for download on the Playstation Network or Xbox Marketplace.  So until Rockstar decides to make a sequal (or not to) the fun continues as they deliver new cases each month and continues to expand the game.  Starting tomorrow June 21st, one new "Nicholson Electroplating" case will be available for download followed by another "Reefer Madness" opening up on July 12th. 

Few of my favorite cars:

Take a look at ALL of the amazing cars of Noire here.

How dare you J.J. Abrams?? A Spoiler Free review of Super 8

Spoiler Free

First off, let me explain that I’m a fan of Abrams’ work from the mind boggling epic that was Lost to his version of Star Trek and even his more recent work Morning Glory.  And no one can deny the work of Steven Spielberg; if you need a list of his work you can visit imdb.com.  Unfortunately, even with these two master minds behind the wheel of a multi million dollar motion picture doesn’t always have the marvelous result we hope for.  Just for kicks I feel like I should mention here that on opening night (June 10^th, 2011 at 7:00 P.M.) there were roughly 15–25 people in this theatre.  Last time I checked these guys both have the money to dish out some better marketing strategies.  But then again, how well can you market something that is supposed to be on the hush.

Now of course, I won’t ruin the ending or even tell you the plot (after all, they did work so hard in keeping it secret), rather I’m just going to explain my bigger issues with the movie.  You may be wondering by now what’s up with the title of this post?  My biggest fret with Super 8 was the overwhelming conveyance that the United States Air Force is somehow the enemy.  Call me patriotic if you must but how does that happen?  Sure the USAF must have their secrets but so do all of the armed forces and government agencies but to explicitly depict the USAF as a cruel and maniacal force, how dare you J.J. Abrams?  On to the next, this film is littered with scenes that are beyond me as to how they are essential to the plot.  At one point of the movie you have kids running through a town where tanks are just firing at….well, that’s what I can’t figure out.  What are they firing at?  Does the Air Force even have tanks??  It became obvious quickly enough that several of these types of scenes were just thrown in for some “oohs and ahhs.”  My last bit with the film was the over use of the children cussing.  After about the third time I heard the P word from some 14 yr. olds mouth, I’m just about ready get up and leave the theatre.  Am I just old fashioned or is it common for teenagers to be saying p***y ever 20 seconds?  Wash your mouth out if you do!  It doesn’t add shock value; it’s not by any means cool or even necessary for an audience to hear that. 

Now on to the positives.  The acting in Super 8 is incredible!  Elle Fanning delivers and the collective other child actors are phenomenal together.  If I can forget for a split moment that I am in a theatre and embraced into what is unfolding in front of me, well, I have to say job well done.  Unfortunately, that isn’t enough to save the film from a sketchy plot, scenes that go nowhere and bad writing!  That’s right, I’m a fan and I just wrote that.  I’ve come to the conclusion that Super 8 has at least one unique quality which I call the “reverse Shrek” effect.  Remember how Shrek was absolutely 100% a kids movie, but then had all these hidden innuendos that were meant for adults?  Well Super 8 is like that, but exactly opposite.  Confused?  This movie is mostly for kids, but marketed towards an adult audience.  In other words, if you are between the ages of 13-17 then this movie is for you.  For the rest of you, I recommend waiting for DVD, but most certainly watch Super 8 whether you are a fan of Spielberg, Abrams or even science fiction in general.