Slackin' off lately, right? My bad, things been coming up. I'm desperately trying to get this novel off the ground in a way that'll assure its completion, so I've been devoting more time on that and less on movies and blogs and everything else aside from gaming.
Speaking of gaming, there's going to be a new little section here at Gutter-Trash dubbed "I Love Free Stuff". Scroll past the Movie reviews to check it out (though it's not for everyone).
[Movies]
Midnight Cowboy (1969, dir. John Schlesinger)
I first became aware of this picture thanks to my Dad gifting me the 2-disc special edition DVD set for Christmas (might have been last Christmas, I think) after having told him how interested I was in doing movies (specifically, writing). He thought that, if I were to be studying film, I might start with something like this.
I then proceeded to not watch it due to moving out of my parent's place and into my own, successfully losing it in the packing up process. Upon rediscovering it, the girlfriend declared that we should watch it together, to which I hastily agreed. Yet, of course, we didn't seem to find time for it. Fast forward to Spring Term 2010, and I'm sitting in the mid-term session of my History of Film course and lo and behold; we write an impromptu essay on the drug sequence of this film!
Let me stop this babble. My dad was completely right in recommending me this movie. Dustin Hoffman delivers a powerful performance as the sleazy Ratso, selling the role more than even the producer thought he would considering his star-power after The Graduate. This character is far from the pretty-boy look of Mr. Ben Braddock and to be honest, I welcome the change. Then again, when has Dustin Hoffman not been good in a movie? I mean come on.
John Voight really sells the lovable idiot role here as well, and I'd argue that he even steals the audiences' eye away from Ratso and onto Joe Buck (a name that will forever remind me of the opening scenes in Kill Bill Vol. 1). At first, Buck was a very frustrating character to me as a viewer, but then I realized that for the movie to make sense, we have to accept that Joe Buck is a good-natured idiot who makes all the wrong decisions with money as well as people. The rest sort of falls into place after one stops fretting over the little things.
The narrative is well placed and terribly interesting, featuring subject matter that earned Cowboy an initial X-Rating (later dropped down to an R) that even today seems a bit ballsy. A film like this certainly wouldn't be playing at the big Cinemark joints, and would instead be headed to limited release and niche theaters (God, what a sad thing that is). To me, Cowboy captures the feel of the time much in a way that seems reminiscent of Taxi Driver. It's almost as if Travis Bickle could be driving the taxi that nearly runs into Ratso.
See this movie.
I ain't a f'real cowboy. But I am one helluva stud!/10
The Road (2009, dir. John Hillcoat)
I loved The Road by Cormac McCarthy, and I was semi-excited to hear back in '09 that there was going to be a film rendition with Viggo Mortensen and the like, but my movie-loving-self was also very wary of how many movies manage to take a source and completely rid it of all the things that made it so good, and churn out an absolutely dismal flick. Fearing the worst, I dove into The Road with a friend last week.
Little images. First off, I think that when you approach a movie like The Road, you need to realize that your beloved memory of the source material shouldn't be the commanding reason you like or dislike a movie version. Yes, some people will take a book and make a bad movie out of it, but I absolutely loathe the phrase "well, the book was better." To me, The Road as a film and as a book are two different entities. The book is wonderful, emotionally taxing, and very tough and the movie is similar.
There were a lot of moments in this movie that I found to be very tough to watch, and Mortensen plays Man in a way that shows how much he really respects the character and cares to give a good performance; which he does. His companion, Boy, is played the way I think the book character would come across in real life; sweet, but ultimately really fucking annoying. Not on the level of the little girl in War of the Worlds, but still kind of hard to watch (how it should be). These things considered, the movie is well acted.
The desolate world in which these characters inhabit is truly stunning, and the contrast between Man's dreams of the past and the present contrast so much (well done with the use of bright colors in one, and an almost black and white palette in the present) that it makes our viewing of the dreams and flashbacks feel as if they may never have really existed. It was also interesting to note that as Woman falls deeper into her depression, the color of the images also darkens. The image above is perhaps my favorite shot in a series of scenes towards the end. I won't spoil anything, but I was very close to getting all misty for a little bit there.
I knew this was coming. They were warning us./10
I've seen a few movies here and there since but I can't quite recall. I watched some Hong Kong movie about police in the future which was so bad I had to turn it off, and haven't really watched a movie since. Perhaps tonight!
But now, without further ado, it's time to jump into
Gutter Trash Loves Free Stuff!
That's right boys and girls, here's the part of the blog where I test out free-to-play games on PC so you don't have to (not that you would anyway, of course). This week, I sampled a free-to-play MMO called Allods Online.
Those familiar with World of Warcraft style games will feel right at home here with this game, as it features some similar races and classes that are reminiscent of WoW (though to be fair, WoW wasn't the first MMO to feature things like Orcs or Warriors). Upon downloading the game and signing in, I was eager to see what the world had in store for me. One thing I immediately found to be unique to Allods was a race called the Gibberlings:
These little tikes are essentially furry midgets with great big busy beards and a happy disposition. Rather than control one single one, you assume control of a group of 3 (and even a pet squirrel depending on the class you choose). One midget holds the beatstick/sword/axe, one is so small that they can only carry a shield for blocking, and one manages the ranged weapons. It's adorable, but quickly grew tiresome when I encountered high-level Gibberling players and saw just how awful armor looks on them.
The gameplay feels very similar to WoW-type MMOs and I had absolutely no trouble settling right in and killing shit in order to level up. The quests are easy enough and you gain your first few levels rather quickly on the noob island they start you out on, where you don't need to party up with anyone to achieve anything. In fact, though I couldn't find my way around at first, things are generally intuitive and your quest objectives are clearly marked on the map in order to aid you in your adventuring. How nice.
Yet the problem became that the XP rate slowed WAY down after you complete the quests on the beginning island, and killing mobs takes ages being that I selected the Warrior archetype. It's one thing to need to do some grinding in order to reach max level, but if I'm mashing keys for hours just to go from lvl 8 to lvl 9, there's something not right. Upon talking with guild mates, I found out that after the next patch, they'll be making the XP gain even LOWER and more Item Shop (the place where you spend real money to get in-game items) involvement, I figured it was time to finish my time with Allods.
All in all, it's a beautifully crafted world, pretty decent gameplay (though I couldn't tell you much about the pvp), and a fun class/race customization that keeps things pretty fresh. If you can stand the grind and long hours of questing, then Allods is the place for you! I'd recommend it as a good WoW alternative for those not wanting to shell out $15 a month to play.
Until next time,
GT
Peep this mixtape:
http://www.datpiff.com/Dj_Jazzy_Jeff__Mick_Boogie__Summertime.m133115.html
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