This is a gritty little adventure in the jungle. It basically copies all iconic elements of Predator from 1987 and updates a few of them - for example, the in-tune-with-nature indian is replaced by the in-tune-with-the-tao yakuza. It is highly amusing (if you're into that kind of thing), quite coherent and works entirely without jump scares. The characters are basically ciphers, but for a game master it is nice to see the typical cardboard cutouts in action and to take some notes for the next session. Adrian Brody works ok as an action hero, Laurence Fishburne is hilarious and I would liked to have seen more of Danny Trejo - but Mexicans seem to die just before the black guy gets it, and that's very early in the movie.
I predict this film will be standard Christmas fare for the late night slot on December 24th on the private TV channels from 2013 onwards. Some gun porn.
4 of 5 creepy convicts
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Christopher Nolan: Inception
Just a few thoughts:
- Expectations were very high, and as the movie is good, but not comparable to your garden-variety epiphany, I came back a bit disappointed. I guess nobody will film a mix up of Matrix and Mullholland Drive anytime soon. And that's too bad.
- Nolan doesn't like women. He thinks they are clingy, emotional, stuck-up toddlers that mainly exist to get in the way. See Batman Begins for another blatant example. That the woman in question is just a figment of a character's subconsciousness doesn't make her less irritating.
- There were two films in one. One was a kick-ass SF movie of the good kind, the kind that asks a "what if" questions and follows the answers to the end. The other was a psychodrama about a husband's guilt trip. Those two movies shared the space, uneasily, and sometimes tripped over each others' feet.
- Zero gravity never looked so good. I think, this was the first zero g fight that really looked like the real thing.
- In your dreams, car doors are bulletproof.
- The plot is convoluted, but not willfully opaque or complete gibberish. If you try, you will keep up. But don't think too much about the mechanics of entering other people's dreams. The more you ponder it, the less it works out.
- I like Leonardo DiCaprio better with every movie he makes.
- The same goes for Cillian Murphy.
- This is possibly the one good blockbuster movie this year. If you want to see a movie, this is a good choice. But it is not a must-have cultural artifact, necessary for inclusion in this particular civilization.
3.5 of 5 spinning tops.
- Expectations were very high, and as the movie is good, but not comparable to your garden-variety epiphany, I came back a bit disappointed. I guess nobody will film a mix up of Matrix and Mullholland Drive anytime soon. And that's too bad.
- Nolan doesn't like women. He thinks they are clingy, emotional, stuck-up toddlers that mainly exist to get in the way. See Batman Begins for another blatant example. That the woman in question is just a figment of a character's subconsciousness doesn't make her less irritating.
- There were two films in one. One was a kick-ass SF movie of the good kind, the kind that asks a "what if" questions and follows the answers to the end. The other was a psychodrama about a husband's guilt trip. Those two movies shared the space, uneasily, and sometimes tripped over each others' feet.
- Zero gravity never looked so good. I think, this was the first zero g fight that really looked like the real thing.
- In your dreams, car doors are bulletproof.
- The plot is convoluted, but not willfully opaque or complete gibberish. If you try, you will keep up. But don't think too much about the mechanics of entering other people's dreams. The more you ponder it, the less it works out.
- I like Leonardo DiCaprio better with every movie he makes.
- The same goes for Cillian Murphy.
- This is possibly the one good blockbuster movie this year. If you want to see a movie, this is a good choice. But it is not a must-have cultural artifact, necessary for inclusion in this particular civilization.
3.5 of 5 spinning tops.
Monday, July 26, 2010
The Lowly lasgun
Demon swords and books that scream their hideous contents at the savant are not the only eldritch artifacts of the grim dark future. When enough blood is spilled, even mundane tools may take on a life of their own. The Lowly lasgun is such an artifact.
The legend has it that guardsman Stanislaus Lowly was a member of the XIII. Casbian, a ragged outfit just a step above a penal battalion, a non-descript soldier in an average unit in a standard Guard regiment. The Imperial Guard is said to achieve victory by drowning the enemy in the blood of guardsmen, and the treatment of the XIII. Casbian epitomizes this saying. During a nameless pacification on some nameless backwater world, Lowly's unit was thrown into the meat grinder. He and a hundred other guardsmen were to storm some pillboxes held by renegade elements - over an open field in open sight of the heavy stubbers. Regrettably, foreseeably, the decoys were cut to shreds. Lowly was the only guardsman to survive the ordeal, and was reassigned to a different element of the XIII. Casbian, the dreaded Gruldark Trench Rats, a group of habitual survivors and misfits.
Lowly was with the Trench Rats for a week, before this legendary outfit was caught in an ambush. The Trench Rats, known for their tenacity and their ability to get out of the tightest spots, were wiped out to a man, that man being Lowly. Again, he was sent to a different unit, just in time for the XIII. Casbian's departure for the Mordecai system.
The fate of the XIII. Casbian during the Mordecai massacres is well-documented as the nigh-perfect mixture of incompetence, hubris and sheer bad luck. While the Imperial Guard held the strategic high ground after an interminable and very bloody campaign, the tatters of the XIII. Casbian were damaged beyond any hope of restitution. The few surviving veterans were scattered over various colonies. Lowly's name, together with the number of his lasgun, appears on the lists of the survivors - a few dozen out of a couple of hundred thousands - and his trail ends there. He probably died in his bed in some small hamlet.
The war gear of the XIII. Casbian was split up by the Departmento Munitorium. Lowly's gun was appropriated by another regiment and has wandered from hand to hand ever since, from the Imperial Guard to Local Defense Forces to Skitarii to enforcers and mercenaries. It even graced an Inquisitor's cadre for a time. Over the course of a few centuries a disquieting pattern became clear: While the holder of the Lowly lasgun seems to survive any situation, however hairy, all his comrades seem to be ill-fated. They die in droves, they die like flies, while one man drags himself out from under the corpses, holding the Lowly lasgun. But the gun seems only to work for the grey multitudes of humanity - the meek guardsman, the hollow-faced scribe, the technomat who is but a cipher to his superiors. Soon after some radiant champion of humanity picks up the Lowly lasgun, he is struck down by fate and the fickle tides of battle. The gun only has its "benign" influence in the hands of a man belonging to the teeming masses.
The Ordo Calixis has followed the trail of the Lowly lasgun for some decades now and acquired the artifact on the battlefields of Tranch. The gun is said to rest in the depths of the Tricorn palace, but everyone who knows the Ordos well enough would seek the Lowly lasgun somewhere else. It is of great interest to the Istvanian faction, as the gun seems to find those individuals which are fated to survive everything the universe can throw at them. Others see the gun as a means to achieve the hollowest kind of victory: One single man planting the standard on bodies of his comrades.
The Lowly lasgun is said to be a standard pattern lasgun. Its only markings consists of a "13" in low gothic script on the left side of the barrel and a heavy brass key on a short chain hanging from the muzzle. It is beat up and full of dents and scratches, but is still a reliable weapon.
In game terms, the holder of the Lowly lasgun has an extra fate point, which may only be used for burning and thus surviving certain death. It works only for mediocre characters - anyone with any characteristics score of 35 or more does not profit from the gun. And everyone in the holder's company suffers from strokes of hideous bad luck - how this affects gameplay is decided by the gamemaster.
The legend has it that guardsman Stanislaus Lowly was a member of the XIII. Casbian, a ragged outfit just a step above a penal battalion, a non-descript soldier in an average unit in a standard Guard regiment. The Imperial Guard is said to achieve victory by drowning the enemy in the blood of guardsmen, and the treatment of the XIII. Casbian epitomizes this saying. During a nameless pacification on some nameless backwater world, Lowly's unit was thrown into the meat grinder. He and a hundred other guardsmen were to storm some pillboxes held by renegade elements - over an open field in open sight of the heavy stubbers. Regrettably, foreseeably, the decoys were cut to shreds. Lowly was the only guardsman to survive the ordeal, and was reassigned to a different element of the XIII. Casbian, the dreaded Gruldark Trench Rats, a group of habitual survivors and misfits.
Lowly was with the Trench Rats for a week, before this legendary outfit was caught in an ambush. The Trench Rats, known for their tenacity and their ability to get out of the tightest spots, were wiped out to a man, that man being Lowly. Again, he was sent to a different unit, just in time for the XIII. Casbian's departure for the Mordecai system.
The fate of the XIII. Casbian during the Mordecai massacres is well-documented as the nigh-perfect mixture of incompetence, hubris and sheer bad luck. While the Imperial Guard held the strategic high ground after an interminable and very bloody campaign, the tatters of the XIII. Casbian were damaged beyond any hope of restitution. The few surviving veterans were scattered over various colonies. Lowly's name, together with the number of his lasgun, appears on the lists of the survivors - a few dozen out of a couple of hundred thousands - and his trail ends there. He probably died in his bed in some small hamlet.
The war gear of the XIII. Casbian was split up by the Departmento Munitorium. Lowly's gun was appropriated by another regiment and has wandered from hand to hand ever since, from the Imperial Guard to Local Defense Forces to Skitarii to enforcers and mercenaries. It even graced an Inquisitor's cadre for a time. Over the course of a few centuries a disquieting pattern became clear: While the holder of the Lowly lasgun seems to survive any situation, however hairy, all his comrades seem to be ill-fated. They die in droves, they die like flies, while one man drags himself out from under the corpses, holding the Lowly lasgun. But the gun seems only to work for the grey multitudes of humanity - the meek guardsman, the hollow-faced scribe, the technomat who is but a cipher to his superiors. Soon after some radiant champion of humanity picks up the Lowly lasgun, he is struck down by fate and the fickle tides of battle. The gun only has its "benign" influence in the hands of a man belonging to the teeming masses.
The Ordo Calixis has followed the trail of the Lowly lasgun for some decades now and acquired the artifact on the battlefields of Tranch. The gun is said to rest in the depths of the Tricorn palace, but everyone who knows the Ordos well enough would seek the Lowly lasgun somewhere else. It is of great interest to the Istvanian faction, as the gun seems to find those individuals which are fated to survive everything the universe can throw at them. Others see the gun as a means to achieve the hollowest kind of victory: One single man planting the standard on bodies of his comrades.
The Lowly lasgun is said to be a standard pattern lasgun. Its only markings consists of a "13" in low gothic script on the left side of the barrel and a heavy brass key on a short chain hanging from the muzzle. It is beat up and full of dents and scratches, but is still a reliable weapon.
In game terms, the holder of the Lowly lasgun has an extra fate point, which may only be used for burning and thus surviving certain death. It works only for mediocre characters - anyone with any characteristics score of 35 or more does not profit from the gun. And everyone in the holder's company suffers from strokes of hideous bad luck - how this affects gameplay is decided by the gamemaster.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
The life sciences are not the life sciences
Daniel Miessler has a shortish blog post about this. I think it was in the early Noughties that some hard sciences (e.g. biology, chemistry, genetics) tried to label themselves as the "life sciences" - but this approach may be older. This led at least one smart liberal arts researcher to the conclusion that this label was quite wrong: It's history, philosophy and literature which teach us how to deal with life. Biology and chemistry just provide helpful tools.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Dancing with the corpse
A new essay by Joe Bageant. It is long, bitter and funny, like a man-sized chicory leaf slipping on a banana peel.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
An interview with Martin Sonneborn
Via Süddeutsche Zeitung. Sonneborn - formerly the lord and master of titanic, Germany's only satirical publication of note - is one of my personal heroes. It's good to see him keeping up the good work.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
The War Nerd is back!
Via the eXiled. He is the guy who critiqued wars instead of movies or music or books. Peculiar sense of humor. All of his stuff is recommended, and I welcome his return like that of a favorite uncle. Even if my Mum doesn't like him and he talks a bit too loud.
And you won't like what he says about cousin Gus on his aircraft carrier.
And you won't like what he says about cousin Gus on his aircraft carrier.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
The fictional realm of linearity
Straight lines are the fiction we live by. As described by Dmitry Orlov.
Monday, July 12, 2010
It is so very hot
At least here it is. You are probably looking for an excuse to stop working for a few hours, some deceptively shallow amusement to while away the sun-scorched afternoon, something that speaks to the darker parts of your soul but still puts a smile on your sweat-drenched face. Look no further. This one is classic, but well worth revisiting.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Stefan Gärtner has a new column
I am looking forward to his two pages in titanic each month, and now we are treated to a weekly column in The European. Pure bliss.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Summertime, and the living are easy
I haven't touched the blog for some time now. Basically, three things are responsible for this.
- work
- weather
- world cup
The first point needs no elaboration, that's just the way things are on this gray planet of the clocks. But after some interminable delays summer finally got its shit together and hit the city with full force. Everybody tries to spend as much time as possible in streetside cafes, beer gardens and parks. Clothes come off left and right. Only very sad persons stay at their computers after work. You can feel your skin sucking up the sunshine. And the world cup is just a time waster, but last Sunday everybody was running around with a big broad smile plastered on their faces. 4:1 against England - truly, we have left the sphere of the Real and entered the Realm of Dreams. Next, it will rain roses.
While the Dark Heresy campaign moves along nicely, things are a bit sluggish in the Wastes at the moment. I'll post about developments around Refugium as soon as something happens.
Have a nice article about watches and status instead.
- work
- weather
- world cup
The first point needs no elaboration, that's just the way things are on this gray planet of the clocks. But after some interminable delays summer finally got its shit together and hit the city with full force. Everybody tries to spend as much time as possible in streetside cafes, beer gardens and parks. Clothes come off left and right. Only very sad persons stay at their computers after work. You can feel your skin sucking up the sunshine. And the world cup is just a time waster, but last Sunday everybody was running around with a big broad smile plastered on their faces. 4:1 against England - truly, we have left the sphere of the Real and entered the Realm of Dreams. Next, it will rain roses.
While the Dark Heresy campaign moves along nicely, things are a bit sluggish in the Wastes at the moment. I'll post about developments around Refugium as soon as something happens.
Have a nice article about watches and status instead.
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