We went to see Vantage Point on Sunday. I thought it was really terrific - I had no fingernails left by the end, and I wasn't nibbling out of boredom, either. I really liked how with each perspective we got just a few more pieces of the puzzle, went just a little further forward in time. I thought the moments they flashed back really added a lot of suspense, and that the flashback repetitions weren't annoying at all. The plot wasn't predictable, either - at least not to me, but I wasn't really trying that hard. My only complaints are that the car chase scene was too long by about half, and that the whole plot hinges on a betrayal that isn't well explained or necessarily terribly believable.
Still - well worth a ticket and an hour or two of pure escapist fun.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
A huge disappointment
Well, we bought our reserved copy of Super Smash Bros - Brawl for the Wii this afternoon, and started playing it this evening.
I really think the defining experience was right out of the box - picking a player. I'm waving my Wii-mote at the screen, pointing it this way and that, and the cursor wasn't moving! What was wrong with my Wiimote? Was I not signed in properly?
No, that was fine. It turns out the problem was that, instead of using the Wii as a remote, you picked up your token with "A", moved it with the analog stick on the Nunchuk, then set it back down again with "A" - does this sound familiar? It should. It's exactly the same controls as the Gamecube version used.
The new version of Smash Bros does not use the Wii remote. You don't punch by punching, you don't recover by gesturing up, and you don't point by gesturing. Many of the levels are ... very familiar. What is the point? It appears to have become Madden-ized - each new version has some tweaks, a few improvements, but it's nothing you really need to buy every single version of - jerk.
If this is a game you want to own, make me an offer.
I really think the defining experience was right out of the box - picking a player. I'm waving my Wii-mote at the screen, pointing it this way and that, and the cursor wasn't moving! What was wrong with my Wiimote? Was I not signed in properly?
No, that was fine. It turns out the problem was that, instead of using the Wii as a remote, you picked up your token with "A", moved it with the analog stick on the Nunchuk, then set it back down again with "A" - does this sound familiar? It should. It's exactly the same controls as the Gamecube version used.
The new version of Smash Bros does not use the Wii remote. You don't punch by punching, you don't recover by gesturing up, and you don't point by gesturing. Many of the levels are ... very familiar. What is the point? It appears to have become Madden-ized - each new version has some tweaks, a few improvements, but it's nothing you really need to buy every single version of - jerk.
If this is a game you want to own, make me an offer.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Mi noche muy mexicana
(My Very Mexican Night)
It ended up being quite a Mexican themed night, though we didn't really plan it that way.
Started off by going down to Southwest Boulevard and partaking of my very favorite Mexican restaurant, TaquerÃa Mexico. This is, after all, where we held our rehearsal dinner. As always, fabulous food at a reasonable price. Service was a little slow tonight, but my perception might have been skewed by the fact that we were in a bit of a hurry. If you never have, try the horchata - it's a sweet beverage made from powdered rice flour. Theirs isn't exceptional, but it's very good. Their margaritas aren't bad either. And make sure they bring you the salsa picante in addition to the salsa gringa. It has a strong flavor of roasted red chilis, and is utterly delightful.
We then headed towards downtown to see the State Symphony of Mexico at the Music Hall, part of the Harriman-Jewel concert series. Ah, most excellent stuff. They started the first half of the show with Spanish composers, and the second half played a symphony by Brahms. The highlight of the show by far was Alfonso Moreno, the solo guitarist who played through the second part of the first half. One of his numbers was so captivating, it was as though the entire audience was holding its breath - so silent! Not even normal crowd sounds of coughing and shuffling. They played three encores!
Tall people - if you go to the Music Hall, be sure to get an aisle seat. *I* was cramped for leg room. But it is a beautiful art deco style building with very good acoustics.
So in addition to Mexican food and Mexican music...in order to save a few dollars, we decided to park in the Crossroads on the street (for free) and then walk a few blocks rather than paying for event parking downtown. We ended up parking in front of the Mexican consulate. Go figure.
Oh, in case you hadn't noticed, I'm trying out the "reviewer" format for my blog - I figure I watch enough, listen to enough, and do enough stuff - it's worth a go, even if only a few people read it. So let me know if you like it.
It ended up being quite a Mexican themed night, though we didn't really plan it that way.
Started off by going down to Southwest Boulevard and partaking of my very favorite Mexican restaurant, TaquerÃa Mexico. This is, after all, where we held our rehearsal dinner. As always, fabulous food at a reasonable price. Service was a little slow tonight, but my perception might have been skewed by the fact that we were in a bit of a hurry. If you never have, try the horchata - it's a sweet beverage made from powdered rice flour. Theirs isn't exceptional, but it's very good. Their margaritas aren't bad either. And make sure they bring you the salsa picante in addition to the salsa gringa. It has a strong flavor of roasted red chilis, and is utterly delightful.
We then headed towards downtown to see the State Symphony of Mexico at the Music Hall, part of the Harriman-Jewel concert series. Ah, most excellent stuff. They started the first half of the show with Spanish composers, and the second half played a symphony by Brahms. The highlight of the show by far was Alfonso Moreno, the solo guitarist who played through the second part of the first half. One of his numbers was so captivating, it was as though the entire audience was holding its breath - so silent! Not even normal crowd sounds of coughing and shuffling. They played three encores!
Tall people - if you go to the Music Hall, be sure to get an aisle seat. *I* was cramped for leg room. But it is a beautiful art deco style building with very good acoustics.
So in addition to Mexican food and Mexican music...in order to save a few dollars, we decided to park in the Crossroads on the street (for free) and then walk a few blocks rather than paying for event parking downtown. We ended up parking in front of the Mexican consulate. Go figure.
Oh, in case you hadn't noticed, I'm trying out the "reviewer" format for my blog - I figure I watch enough, listen to enough, and do enough stuff - it's worth a go, even if only a few people read it. So let me know if you like it.
Contemporary Patterns - Friday
On Friday, we got out with Kris and Brian. Went to check out the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, the big white blocky building at JCCC. Admission is free, and they're open late on Friday and Saturday night. We pretty much had the place to ourselves. It's small, but all the pieces were REALLY neat. The signage, too, was very informational and left me with a fair idea of what the artist may have been thinking... instead of leaving me going, "Okay...nice blobs of color." Definitely worth an hour or two of your time! I loved almost every work in there. Oh, and they had a very neat short film that was based on the Winchester Mystery House, a thoroughly messed up house built by a thoroughly messed up superstitious old lady.
We then went back to Shogun Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi, at 95th and Quivira. It's a quiet place in a stripmall, but it's delicious. It was our second time on the sushi side; haven't tried the steakhouse side yet, but it looked popular. Fish appears to be somewhat hit or miss...whaddya want? - it's Kansas. Eric and I have been lucky, but Kristen had pretty soggy fish in her sushi. The miso soup and onion soup are both quite nice. The green tea reminded me a bit of coca tea - wish we could have brought some of that back... but I digress. The decor is a lot of fun, and they have a seating section they call tatami - it isn't quite seating on a mat. They've built a raised platform, then hollowed out knee holes over which they've put a low table and some little floor chairs. From the surface, it looks like you're seated on the floor around a low table, but you still get to sit upright western style. It's a lot of fun.
We then went back to Shogun Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi, at 95th and Quivira. It's a quiet place in a stripmall, but it's delicious. It was our second time on the sushi side; haven't tried the steakhouse side yet, but it looked popular. Fish appears to be somewhat hit or miss...whaddya want? - it's Kansas. Eric and I have been lucky, but Kristen had pretty soggy fish in her sushi. The miso soup and onion soup are both quite nice. The green tea reminded me a bit of coca tea - wish we could have brought some of that back... but I digress. The decor is a lot of fun, and they have a seating section they call tatami - it isn't quite seating on a mat. They've built a raised platform, then hollowed out knee holes over which they've put a low table and some little floor chairs. From the surface, it looks like you're seated on the floor around a low table, but you still get to sit upright western style. It's a lot of fun.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Movie-going
We went to go see "There Will Be Blood" over the weekend at the Rio Theater in downtown Overland Park, so I have two things to review for you today.
"There Will Be Blood": Now, I know this was a darling of the awards people-who-know-things, and it definitely did have its strong points. On the whole, though, I did not like this movie. It starts out strong, in silence, with high emotion and drama. But here's what I expected from the movie, based on the previews: A drama based on the politics and power struggles between the Oilman and the Preacher, centered on the effects that the Oil Boom has on this small town.
Instead, it was a series of snapshots from Plainview (the Oilman)'s life -- which again, could have been really good, and did make for a great character study. So let's talk character for a moment Plainview is, from the start, less than entirely honest, but he's shrewd and seems fond of his boy. Not your good buddy, maybe, but someone you can respect, if not admire. By the end, he's pure, twisted evil. And I felt - perhaps I'm a lazy moviegoer - that the reasons for this descent were never explained. Suddenly he just does these horrible things, seemingly for no reason at all, leaving the viewer going, "Oh. Well I guess he's just a bad person?" Great study of a character as he collapses, but it's hard (for me, at least) to spend 2.5 hours studying the character of a person I don't like or understand.
My second criticism is a lack of continuity between these snapshots. We see moments from Plainview's life spread out over 25+ years, and while they paint a story (events happening in sequence) there's no traditional plot... no particular conflict that overarches everything, no particular development. We see these fascinating (and very well done) moments, but we don't see causes for the moments, motivations leading to them, or the effects of them. Again - maybe I'm being a lazy movie watcher, but even as I thought about the movie later, as you will be forced to do, I couldn't fill in the gaps.
There's more, but if you read some of the less favorable reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, you'll pretty much get it.
Cinematography was beautiful and talented, score was freakin' sweet.
Now for the Rio itself -
That place was fun! Smelled a bit like Liberty Hall, but smaller and no beer. Seats were more comfortable, though. It was an "old-fashioned" movie experience, but without the bad parts of old-fashioned. They only have one screen, so if the movie they're showing isn't what you want to see, you'll just have to wait. But next time they get a show in that you want to see, check it out!
"There Will Be Blood": Now, I know this was a darling of the awards people-who-know-things, and it definitely did have its strong points. On the whole, though, I did not like this movie. It starts out strong, in silence, with high emotion and drama. But here's what I expected from the movie, based on the previews: A drama based on the politics and power struggles between the Oilman and the Preacher, centered on the effects that the Oil Boom has on this small town.
Instead, it was a series of snapshots from Plainview (the Oilman)'s life -- which again, could have been really good, and did make for a great character study. So let's talk character for a moment Plainview is, from the start, less than entirely honest, but he's shrewd and seems fond of his boy. Not your good buddy, maybe, but someone you can respect, if not admire. By the end, he's pure, twisted evil. And I felt - perhaps I'm a lazy moviegoer - that the reasons for this descent were never explained. Suddenly he just does these horrible things, seemingly for no reason at all, leaving the viewer going, "Oh. Well I guess he's just a bad person?" Great study of a character as he collapses, but it's hard (for me, at least) to spend 2.5 hours studying the character of a person I don't like or understand.
My second criticism is a lack of continuity between these snapshots. We see moments from Plainview's life spread out over 25+ years, and while they paint a story (events happening in sequence) there's no traditional plot... no particular conflict that overarches everything, no particular development. We see these fascinating (and very well done) moments, but we don't see causes for the moments, motivations leading to them, or the effects of them. Again - maybe I'm being a lazy movie watcher, but even as I thought about the movie later, as you will be forced to do, I couldn't fill in the gaps.
There's more, but if you read some of the less favorable reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, you'll pretty much get it.
Cinematography was beautiful and talented, score was freakin' sweet.
Now for the Rio itself -
That place was fun! Smelled a bit like Liberty Hall, but smaller and no beer. Seats were more comfortable, though. It was an "old-fashioned" movie experience, but without the bad parts of old-fashioned. They only have one screen, so if the movie they're showing isn't what you want to see, you'll just have to wait. But next time they get a show in that you want to see, check it out!
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