Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Hannibal on NBC.... maybe not for long.



So, when I saw that NBC was creating a Hannibal tv show, I was quiet excited.  I thought more audiences that understand the Hannibal Lector character as well as I feel I have (after seeing Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal over 20 times each and the abomination that is Hannibal rising).  The audience won’t fear him as an animalistic killer and will understand his “reasoning” and his motives in a better light. 
However, it seems that the writers of the show have never seen a Hannibal Lector movie before or had never sat down to think about the character.  They should have at the VERY least talked to Anthony Hopkins before writing a story using the names from the movies- but having no actual connection to the movies.  It is clear the writers DO NOT understand Dr. Hannibal Lector.
On the new show Hannibal, they make him seem like an animal.  He is not.  He is a psychopath... what he does, he does for a reason... and a very good reason.  In the tv show, in the very first episode, he kills and eats the people because it's convenient... he knows he can get away with it by copying another killer and then eating the organs of the people he has killed.
In ANY movie did Dr. Lector do that?!  NO!  When he had an opportunity to kill someone that was convenient, did he? As with Mason Verger.... No.  He tore up his face and fed it to the dogs.  He did not kill him and eat his organs... and he had the perfect opportunity to do so.
Also, he calls the suspect and tells them that the cops are coming… Lector helps the police to catch them- he would never call them to help them get away.
My other qualm with the show? Will Graham is depicted as being awesome at his job because he has some sort of mental illness, which makes him have no empathy and allows him to better understand the “killer”.
Okay- NO.  This is wrong on SO many levels.
First- not that it’s a bad thing, but in Red Dragon Ed Norton’s Will Graham has no mental handicap.
Second, I find it appalling that NBC would insinuate that people with mental disabilities are killers… or that is the reason they are killers… or that that is the reason they are “good” at killing and torturing people.
Third, in the movie Red Dragon, Graham shows lots of empathy.  The part where Dolarhyde has his son at gun point and he he’s telling his son to calm down—he is using empathy- from the time when Hannibal stabs him with an arrow- he knows what it’s like to have someone breathing down your neck, wanting you dead.  He’s using his empathy from that situation from that to help his son.
But- beyond that…  at one point in Red Dragon, Will Graham tells his wife Molly that his “gift” is a curse, not a blessing… and it keeps him up at night.  In Hannibal the tv show, they seem to lay Graham’s “gift” on mental illness and not his unique thought process and way to connect things that other or most detectives do not.
The one bright spot is Lawrence Fishburn plays Jack Crawford’s ass of a character very well.  He’s a little too hot headed… but they’ve got time to flesh him out.
I just hope that the writers change how they are portraying the characters, or I’m not going to make it past episode 2 and that’s not going to help their ratings- and they Hannibal will be pulled before May.

Monday, January 21, 2013

The war in hand held gaming

The Play Station Vita, PSP, the Nintendo WiiU, the the Nintendo DSi and 3DS... with so many choices in handheld gaming... how do you know which is right for you?
I'll try to compare all of these devices in the best way I can, breaking it down to price, features and games.
Well... in this economy most people look at price before buying anything more expensive than a gallon of milk (and some times even then).  (All prices new)
PS Vita: $249
WiiU $299 & up (basic 8GB bundle)
3DS  $99 & up
DSi $99 &  up

The Vita is cross platform compatible with your PS3 and is internet capable so you can add a movie to your Netflix queue in between rounds of BlackOps (which comes with the Bundle) or download a game to the device. It is also compatible with over 250 games for the PSP and 100 PSOne titles.  The Vita also has 2 cameras and can sense when you move the device having "six axis motion sensors".  Not only is the screen large, but it's also a touchscreen and this device also has the benefit of two analog sticks.
http://us.playstation.com/psvita/

The WiiU is also compatable with your Wii- but one distinguishable factor: the controller of the WiiU can play the same game as someone playing on the Wii.  In most cases with WiiU games, it's what's called "the second screen".  You are playing on the television, using the WiiU mainly as a controller- however, with the large screen on the controller, you can also- or solely use the screen on the controller.  In some games the screen on the controller has different things and icons than the television- or you can choose to be against the person playing the Wii on the television.  The WiiU does not have a camera, but it is a touch screen.  Allowing you to play several different people one game, either together or against each other at once.
http://www.nintendo.com/wiiu

The 3DS has two screens- one on top and one on bottom.  It is internet ready, however is not compatible with any other device... except other DS's. The bottom screen is a touch screen and there is an analog stick. However, the 3DS has a feature that no other handheld device has: 3D.  This means very little obviously, other than being a neat feature.  The 3DS has a camera, which allows you to take pictures and add you and your friends into your games.
http://www.nintendo.com/3ds

DSi is very similar to the 3DS, except it does not have 3D and it has two cameras.

Currently there are tons of  games out for the Vita (if you include the ones that can also be played on the PSP & PSone), with at least 10 more due out in the first quarter of 2013.  Some of the bigger games that are currently out for the Vita are BlackOps (which comes with some bundles), The Walking Dead game and Devil May Cry.

For the WiiU there are a total of 85 games out (65 actual games and 20 downloadables) and there are more than a dozen set to come out in the first quarter of 2013.  Some of the games out currently are: NBA 2K1, Sonic & All Stars Racing, New Super Mario Bros. U.

3DS and DSi have a mirad of games out, since they have been out for more than a year each.  Some of the games for the 3DS/DSi: Any game for the DS basically: Plants v. Zombies (who DOESN'T want that game?!), Mario Kart 7, Sonic & All Stars Racing.
Game made specifically for the 3D feature? Super Mario3D Land

Of course at most gaming stores you can buy a used system at a slightly lower price, but not much.  The other issue is the price of the games.  Most of the games for the Vita and the WiiU are the same price as a game for the console (generally $50+).  But the games for the DS are usually a little less expensive, usually around $30.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Boom... Pow... Kick... BATMAN!

The new Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises, is coming out soon.
In the last movie, the Dark Knight (which was NOT the last movie Heath Ledger made.... don't believe me?  check out IMDB.com)- Lucius Fox, played by Morgan Freeman tells Batman (Christian Bale) that "it should do fine against cats" when referring to the new armor for his suit.
An obvious foreshadowing to the next villain- Catwoman, who will be played by Anne Hathaway.
At dinner the other night, we were having a discussion about the comic book series versus the movies.  The suggestion was made that in the next comic book, Bane breaks Bruce Wayne's back and he must retire as Batman.
Christian Bale is not signed up to work on any more Batman movies... so is this also a foreshadowing for what is to come?  Will Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne be no more?  Will there be a new Batman?  Will there be more Batman movies?-- isn't this how the Batman tv show was ended... with a series of questions previewing the next episode?....
I digress...
I am excited for the action and excited to see how Anne Hathaway does as a villain.  Has she ever portrayed anyone other than the protagonist, in ANY movie?!
I purposefully haven't read any reviews about the movie... but I am excited to see if they do yet another Bat-tastic installment.