Post-Modernism in Literature Theory

This year I'm redoing my Literature Theory course at the university. I was shocked by the change in the sylabus of the tutorial for the course. Gone are Plato, Aristotle and Shklovsky, Lessing and Heidegger and Foucault. Enter Neil Gaiman, Max Brooks, Mary Renault, Dan Simmons and Harlan Ellison (google them - it's worth it). There are also screenings of Tim Barton's "Big Fish" and Blomkamp's "District 9". Apparently, it's called Post-Modernistic Literature Theory and seems they decided it would appeal more to the contemporary students. It's going to be an interesting semester.

As promised, here is a short review of the "G.I. Joe: Rise Of The Cobra" movie. Why short? Well, this movie is so stupid that I decided that the less I talk about the plot and the narrative, the less I'll be aggravated in the process. So I'll just go over the stuff I liked about it, of which is very little, and the rest.

The positive: I liked the music which accompanied the action nicely, but I came to expect such quality from Alan Silvestri. Also, Marlon Wayans was actually tolerable. I usually can't stand the guy. "Requiem for a Dream" was the only film in which he did any acting. Otherwise, he's just a poor black man's Jim Carry. Really poor. And really black.

The negative: The entire film. The rest of the cast either do absolutely nothing (a good thing in this case) or turn in a specially bad performance. Tatum Channing looks pretty and dumb. Not for a moment did I believe he was a real soldier. I still can't shake his image as a break-dancer from "Step-Up" or a gangster-wannabe from "Havoc". And he's not helping me in this movie. The female cast do nothing but look sexy in those tight black suits. And both are very capable actresses. Dennis Quaid - how mighty have fallen! He looks either drunk or very tired in every scene he's in. Or maybe both. I understand that he's bored out of his mind here, but must he bore me as well?! Mr. Eko/Adebisi (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) - you have such charisma and screen presence otherwise, where did you hide it? Dr. Who/Second Coming of Christ (Christopher Eccleston) - WTF?! How hard can it be to play the Hollywood's token British/Scottish bad guy? Dr. Evil from Austin Powers movies looked better. Sheesh! And the very talented and finally apretiated Joseph Gordon Levitt was probably laughing behind his mask and make-up, which is probably why they needed to dub him.

But hey, you'll say that movies like that are not made for the acting or the plot. They are made for special effects and the action. Well, for me, this movie failed at that too. The action is not very engaging and the special effects look so cartoonish and unrealistic, that Transformers look like District 9 in comparison. I had more fun watching the cartoons based on the same toys franchise. In fact, the latest G.I. Joe: Resolute is one kick-ass cartoon I really recommend to watch instead of this crap. I mean, they actually have a bad guy making demands based on real actions instead of empty threats. They blew up Moscow, for fuck's sake!

Casual gaming makes some real progress!

I really enjoyed this albeit short, but real fun casual game. "Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses!" has nice little detective mystery story, well written and spoken dialogs and some very accessible and fun puzzles. Casual gaming really stepped up a notch since the stupid time-killers like Zuma, Luxor and Jewel Quest. This one feels like a very light mini-quest with some really nice production values. Recommended for everyone, regardless of what your usual gaming tastes are like. Especially recommended for gamers' wives and girlfriends and their mamas.

P.S.: Just don't confuse this gem with the regular Nancy Drew adventures series. It's abysmal, boring and butt-ugly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH4-b91zd2g&feature=player_profilepage

Cinema Judgement

Those two movies are guilty of being extremely moronic and wasting perfectly good actors, while being directed by otherwise capable filmmakers. Full reviews will come soon...

This article says it all...

Though I can't really put myself either on the right or left wing of Israeli politics, I do like smart and constructive opinions and ideas on both sides. This article is just outside those politics and speaks of simple facts that should be known, regardless of what wing you belong to.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3789007,00.html

Review Of Epica's new album "Design Your Universe"

By this release, as far as I'm concerned, Epica can do no wrong. Three consistent quality albums, each with its own style, a masterpiece in its own way. This new one is simply a combination of them all, reaching a pinnacle of sorts, a level that will be hard for them to top next.

First of all, "Design Your Universe" is their most brutal and heaviest album to date. Instead of moving "forward" to a more accessible and commercial sound a la Within Temptation and Sirenia, these guys went back. Way back. It is, as if they wanted to remind us - this is Metal, complex, brutal and unrelenting. At times, we get some mellow passages that trick you into believing that you're going to get a ballad or something, only to quickly submerge you into some crunchy riffs and brutal growls.

Second, like stated above, this album is a combination of all the elements that were separately present in their previous releases. For example, you get the somewhat complex operatic melodies and hymns from their debut album, the more accessible, bordering on Pop-like singing from Simone (but only occasionally) and a bit straightforward melodies from the second album, the heavier and a bit more progressive sound from their third outing. But that's not all. In additions to all old tricks utilized again, they add quite a few new ones, never presented before. We get more vocal chores that sound more gothic and operatic than ever. We get some real Black Metal brutality and blast-beats. We get Mark growling like no-tomorrow, putting himself on front stage, instead of occasionally complementing Simone and letting her rest during the long songs.

Third, ... ah hell, this album just rocks! Really recommended for Epica die-hard fans and Metal lovers in general. Really not recommended for first time listeners of this kind of music and non-Metal girlfriends and wives.

This didn't work quite as expected...

I activated an option in this blog which I thought would just inform you of updates made and new stuff posted, but apparently it send the entire article via email instead. I realize it might be bothersome, so if you wish to spare yourselves - let me know and I will remove you from the list. Generally, I doubt I'll post that much anyway.