Weekend Reviews

Hello there ladies and gent's. How's this lovely spring weather treating you? I'm loving it, although my sinuses seem to be hating the air change at the moment.

How was my weekend, you ask? Well, just dandy. Let me tell you about it.

Due to my absent-minded forgetfulness, my plans to work on my art history paper over the weekend fell through and I was unable to do more than construct a skeletal outline. And then mom rented The Mist and the game Condemned 2: Bloodshot, which I've been anxiously anticipating playing for some months now. So, I had an unplanned slacker weekend of movie watching and video game playing.

What did I think of them, you ask? Well, it just so happens I plan to tell you.

I enjoyed The Mist, which is based on a novella by Stephen King, although I experienced a lot of deja vu during the unfolding events. "Hmm," I thought to myself, "a bunch of random characters trapped together in one place... child sacrifice to the devil in the name of God... Storm of the Century, anyone?" Or, "Hmm, a man and his son trying to survive the end of the world and later travelling down this ruined stretch of highway amidst terrible new dangers... The Road or Cell, even?" Although I did enjoy the movie and the crazy characters portrayed by little-known actors, I found myself wondering - as I do while watching many movies made within the last 10 years - where has the originality gone? Christina and I had this discussion and I'm sure I've had it with many people, so I won't bore anyone with the details. But, one of the things I hope to achieve as a writer is originality. There are only so many stories that can be told. The trick is to find a new and interesting way of telling them. Although I'm not quite there yet, I'm learning and trying to write something entertaining, literary, and original.

I'll let you know how that works out...

And now for Condemned 2: Bloodshot. This game kicks ass! I played the first one and enjoyed it - it was the scariest game I've played since Silent Hill, and there was more to it than just blood and gore (although that was part of its charm). There was a good story line, there were well-developed characters, and you got to investigate crime scenes. Condemned 2 takes all the good qualities of the first game and improves them. More gore, more characters, more backstory, and more challenging investigations. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that they "sexed up" the look of the characters. Look at screen shots of Ethan and Rosa from the first game and compare them to the second and you'll see what I mean. I liked it better when they were more real and less Hollywood. But, other than that, I liked it a lot.

That's about it other than the awesome adventure I had with a few cool ladies yesterday, but more about that later. Right now I'm off to take my second exam of the day, which hopefully goes better than the first did.

Cheers.