A great goal for this website would be writing a blog once a week. A slightly less but still good goal might one blog every two weeks. Now, before this blog I was working on once a year which let’s face facts is pretty bad. So, perhaps the reasonable and decent goal is a blog every 2 to 3 weeks. Now who is taking bets on that actually happening? *crickets* *tumbleweeds in the distance* *eerie Silent Hill music* Hrmm, well let’s take a look inside and discuss everything from The Calling to Peggle 2 to this guy actually attending a voice acting class in the near future. Want more? Well, click inside anyway, will ya?
The Calling
Most of you who regularly follow this blog know that I spent a long time (close to eight years) doing movie reviews for Upcomingdiscs.com. This would actually be the first year (unless something odd happens) that I would not write something for their annual 31 Nights of Terror. However, this weekend I did get The Calling from my local Redbox and decided to give it a spin. About a hundred minutes later, I found a film that is probably going to be missed by 95% of the audiences who will dismiss it because it was barely in the theaters and it is not on Blu-ray (though it should be) . It’s a shame too because it is an excellent film. Call this a mini-review.
In the town of Fort Dundas, a little sleepy town in Ontario, Canada we are introduced to a detective named Hazel Micallef (played by Susan Sarandon). Hazel has been there many years on the force but unfortunately a bad back and other ailments has made her pop too many pain killers and drink too much booze to compensate. She wakes up on another typical day starting off with a couple of pain killers and an extra bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich from the local deli.
However, on this day her usual routine comes up on an unexpected event, the murder of Delia Chandler. Delia was a very old woman, and a friend of the family. But what is perhaps more disturbing is that her head was almost torn completely off and her mouth was left open as if to say she was in complete terror when she died. At first with the help of her assisting detective, Ray Green (played by Gil Bellows), they dismiss it as a simple killing. But when the coroner finds out that somebody would have had to shape the face post-mortem to get the terror effect, the two detectives know there is something more to the case.
The situation gets further complicated when they start to learn of another murder this time in a neighboring district. But the MO is the same, again with the mouth formed in an unnatural position. The murders are linked and with the help of the recently transferred (from Toronto) Ben Wingate (played by Topher Grace), they realize that this is indeed a serial killing. But with the British Colombia top brass not buying that these killings are linked, Hazel and her crew face an uphill battle to find the killer before it is too late.
I really do not want to give too much away but let us just say that the killings are Biblical in nature. This movie also features a fine sub cast including the likes of Ellen Burstyn who plays Hazel’s mom and Donald Sutherland who plays Father Price. Susan Sarandon really turns into a great performance as the grizzled older police detective who wants to get to the bottom of the crimes even if she is battling her own addictions.
I really liked this film (despite my wife not sharing a similar opinion) as it built suspense from the beginning until the bitter end (and there are a few twists as well) . The atmosphere of this town sets the proper tone and the actors all played their role well without trying to overshadow their counterparts. Well, the eventual killer does end up stealing a few scenes but that is what he was supposed to do by that point in the movie.
The movie is dark, and it moves slower than what I think most fans would like. But it is that slow tension that builds to a brilliant climax. The movie was certainly aimed at an older crowd, one who is not looking for instant gratification which probably explains why this was released on DVD only. (It really deserved a solid Blu-ray release with a commentary). Alas, if you are looking for something in your Redbox that is a little different, give this one a whirl. I am glad I did. 3.5/5
Peggle 2
So, I have been playing Peggle 2 on Xbox Live Arcade now for a few weeks. I have beaten all sixty stages, all sixty trials, amassed 162 of the 180 optional objectives and obtained all the achievements except for the one where you have to get ALL of the optional objectives. Okay, I will just throw it out there, this is one of those games that addicts me hardcore. But there in lies the problem as well.
See, I have gotten to the place in the game where every gamer tends to get in one game or another. The place where desire and enjoyment has been replaced by frustration and begging the game to cease existing. Those last eighteen optional objectives at this point can go take a flying leap into the Peggle ball bucket. Most of them are the “Clear All Pegs” type since I am quite good at the Ace Scores and the objectives where you usually have to do something involving a skill shot (Yes, I even have completed the Gnorman one where you have to do an Orange attack).
But a lot of these stages, you simply are not meant to clear all pegs. Find the orange pegs (I still think they are red), hit them, get a few skill shots and get the heck out of there. However, the silly objective remains, and people like me who are stubborn as mules try 5, 10, and sometimes 20 or more times to get that final peg.
In other words, that’s it. Even my wife stepped in to play it a few times (and I do have to credit her for a few of the objectives as well) which is no problem (I like playing games with my wife quite a bit)but when she steps in because I’m frustrated (and repeatedly), then I need to at the very least put it aside for a while.
Judging by my position on the leaderboards (Top 1000), only the ridiculously skilled or stubborn (or both) have gotten much further than myself. So 27/28 achievements and 162/180 optional objectives will have to be enough. On to the next game. I am down to three games that I am considering. All of them are role playing games. Those choices are Skyrim, Fable Anniversary and a game I picked up recently at a flea market, Dragon’s Dogma($9).
Skyrim and Fable Anniversary are fairly obvious. Skyrim I’ve spent over 100 hours in and will probably be a game I will play off and on for as long as I am actively playing my Xbox 360. Fable Anniversary is a redo of one of my favorite games and I would love to step back into that world for awesome humor and fantastic adventure. Dogma is a little less well known but has received critical acclaim for a role playing game that does not hold your hand but provides a world full of adventure. It is not quite as bad as say a Dark Souls (which I never got around to playing but heard the horror stories) but it is no walk in the park either.
This is where I’m conflicted a bit. I frustrated myself straight out of Peggle and here I am talking about a game which might do the same bloody thing. There is nothing wrong with frustration either, but when your wife tells you to move on, you kinda move on. Sure, Skyrim is more familiar (heck I was even watching Skyrim mods on Gamestop TV the other day and I play the game on 360) and Fable is a great game with a new paint of coat but Dogma is completely new to me and I’m intrigued. By next blog, I’m certain I will choose.
Voice Acting
On the night of November 3rd, I will attending my first of two Voice Acting classes. I came upon a copy of Lesiure Learning’s (www.llu.com) schedule for the fall semester while I was over in Rice Village with my wife. Among the many interesting class offerings, there was something for voice acting and it was reasonably priced as well ($50 a class). The first class on November 3rd will be basically an introduction to the vocation with backgrounds, how it works, etc.
This will basically be the warmup to the second class on November 17th. In other words, we get people interested and then hopefully some of them will come back in two weeks. I already know I will want to come back. The only reason I am taking the first class is because its required. The second class will be where we can start practicing the voiceovers and be critiqued by the professor.
Both classes are to be taught by a guy who runs a company that does radio spots. I am not sure if there is any potential for me to excel beyond those two classes, but since this is something I have wanted to do since I was a teenager (and life just pushed me to other avenues), I’m going to pour 110% into that “audition”. There is a good chance that it will go absolutely nowhere. But I signed up, I paid my fees, and I am even going to miss Gotham for two weeks (great show btw).
In high school and college I did a number of acting things and I have had a life long desire to be “up on stage” whether it is acting, karaoke or just a microphone at a sound stage. So if there is a chance (even if it is a remote long shot), I am going to take it. Of course, the plethora of positive comments about my voice has done nothing but add to my confidence. Again, I hope to have an update in a future blog about what happened there especially if there are those of you in Houston who might be interested in it too.
Final Thoughts
The missus and me are doing quite well. She gets more and more awesome with every passing day. I knew she was special the very day I met her. However, I never had any idea she would be this special. Even though I have a hard time with my paying job and wondering if this is my vocation for the next twenty to thirty years, I know she will be there to support me and be there for me. She makes me smile but she also makes me want to be a better person. I love her deeply and know that regardless of the decisions I make in my life, it will work out for the better because we are together. Until next time kids, do what you love.
