The Imposter (2012 film)

I realize that I haven't been posting much, and that's because I've been working 60+ hours a week. In my down time I've been getting together with my friends to watch lots and lots of films. So I'll start writing about them every once in whenever the fuck I feel like it.

The first is:

The Imposter (2012)

This British documentary had me holding my head, asking "how the hell did all this happen?"

The fact that these events took place blows my mind.

In 1994, a Texas boy named Nicholas Barclay went missing. In 1997, a man named Frédéric Bourdin, who was seven years older than Nicholas should have been, came in and pretended to be him.

What is so unbelievably screwed up is that Nicholas's family accepts him and keeps up the charade. His eye color is wrong, his hair color is wrong, his accent is wrong-and the family wants him to fit in.

I enjoyed this immensely-it is more compelling than most documentaries. Obviously most of the footage is re-enacted, but they have both Bourdin, Barclay's family, and officials speaking to the camera. If you look into the case of the missing boy, it might make you wonder about what really happened. Because it is real, it makes me sad to remember the reality is that a 13-year-old boy is missing and there is no confirmed explanation for his disappearance.  

If you like documentaries that are actually interesting and make you question how such fuckery can exist in the world, I highly recommend the 2012 documentary The Imposter.    

Alice: Otherlands Kickstarter

I know I haven't posted in a long time. Truth be told, I've just been too busy. 13 hour work days, 5 days a week, with Saturdays as another 5 hours, are tough on me. Video games and films are kind of on the back burner, honestly. Some very good things have happened in the last few months, so at least I can say that I am happy though all this. Some bad things have happened too, but I finally have people in my life who are truly supportive in the way that I never had before.

And here we are, with the Alice: Otherlands Kickstarter! It's a film project-hold on, I know anyone reading this will wonder why a video game series should get a film project. If this takes off, Alice might get a video game sequel. In Otherlands, Alice travels into the minds of other people, interacting with their psychology. On of the people you get to go into is Van Gogh!

Well, it will be if it gets enough money. I don't have much these days, but I donated $60. That way I can get a signed DVD of the film, not just a digital copy. I wasn't going to donate at first and I caved. I'd like to help Alice succeed in video game format, and this is how I can help. And I love the Alice story too much to just let this pass.

Xbox One and Internet Connection Absurdities

This image has been floating around the internet today. The last point, being unable to sell your games freely, annoys me to a certain degree. The first point, however, is why I am writing a post today.

Microsoft seems to think that the internet is everywhere. That there exists no places where the internet is not freely flowing into all our devices. I have written and spoken passionately about access to information. I've gone so far as to call certain politicians and governing bodies ignorant if they believe that everyone has access to the internet, and therefore, access to any information or online service that they desire or require.

The internet is not this magical thing that is everywhere. Yes, in cities you can take your devices outside and find hotspots and get on a 3 G or 4 G network. What about the people who do not live in the city?

I am currently living in two locations-a place in a city and an abode in a rural nothingness. In the country, the internet is not the norm. Not by a long shot. Perhaps Microsoft thinks that only old people lack internet or only opt for dialup. Not so. To get satellite internet, I pay over $100 a month. If you are unfamiliar with satellite internet, if it is rainy, cloudy, snowy, or windy the internet goes down. At my house, we regularly lose the internet when it gets dark. Yes, the sun goes down and the signal can't get through the very thick and scary darkness. If you have the internet here, you have this service, and it sucks.

The service is slow anyway. 5 mbps up and down. You can't really play online. The lag kills the experience. There is no joy. You're better off playing co-op on the same screen with someone right next to you. I specifically buy games that are not online games. In the city, I play the COD I and II zombie modes with friends and I enjoy it a great deal. I can't do that when I go to the country. There's no point. I don't own the games because the internet at my rural residence is not good enough.  

So now Microsoft thinks it is acceptable to want to connect to the internet. Even when it is only once every 24 hours, this isn't going to fly. Especially with me. Prime time to play video games is when it is raining. If it rains for three days, we don't get the internet. So my Xbox is going to give me the middle finger and not let me play games that I legitimately paid for. Even games that have no multiplayer or online play. This is unacceptable.

In the city, cable internet costs about $35 a month, it is extremely reliable and has unlimited bandwidth. Having the Xbox check every day isn't a terrible thing in this scenario. Except if I decided that I didn't want the internet anymore. Then my Xbox One is going to laugh in my face like it has the authority to make me buy a service not provided by Microsoft.

According to the webpage describing the Xbox One, your console will always be on and updating without your permission or knowledge of it doing so. This does not work for everyone. I do not want my devices to update automatically. Bandwidth is tight in the country. It is not unlimited and it is something that must be monitored.

You know what this makes me want to do? Buy a competitor's new console. As a reviewer for a small publication, new console prices are heavy for us. We are expected to shell out nearly $90 per issue for a new game to review. And if consoles are $1000+, manufacturers better give me a good reason to buy their consoles. So far, all I am getting are middle fingers from the future and I am not pleased.

Edit: Because the PS4 dominated, Mircosoft backtracked and have now changed up their game plan for the new console. Of course, they're making it seem like we're all stupid and overreacting, but whatever. Let's see what they actually produce.

Deadly Premonition Director's Cut Release Date

The coffee says...

April 30th 2013!

Please imagine the above text as flashing, sparkling, and vibrating in excitement. 

I was hoping for an earlier release, but at least it isn't any later. Hopefully it doesn't get pushed back. 

combat and driving is supposed to be greatly improved. I don't particularly care about the HD graphics, but I would love for the game to be improved in the controls section. When I first went in, I found the combat to be so frustrating. 

The only thing that I am disappointed about is that it is still a PS3 exclusive. Why? I hate this. I greatly prefer the Xbox 360, mostly because it is what I have and I'm not buying another console for nothing.

Anyway, I am very excited for the news. Can't wait for the end of April.  

Kat From DmC: Devil May Cry

Kat isn’t a scantily clad model with larger-than-life breasts threatening to pop out of the fabric that is supposed to be a shirt. A lot of her art work amps up her sex appeal (and my desktop is currently sporting some of it), but in-game she is more practical. She is small, quiet, knowledgeable, innocent, loyal, helpful, and is not a combat character. Kat is a refreshing change from the previously seen cast of supporting ladies. Don't get me wrong, I loved Lady's emotional depth, and Kat keeps much of it hidden until the end. To me, Kat is a more believable character. 

That is all.  

Possible Alice 3 Kickstarter!

Shut up and take my money. 

This is one of the only Kickstarters I will ever support.  

Snitch 2013 Film

On Friday I had a date and we went to see Snitch because...it was the only thing playing that didn't look like complete garbage. He made me pick the film and I was hoping that it wasn't going to suck and make me look like an idiot who likes bad movies (even though I am). 

It was better than I expected, but it was also different from what I expected. It has been promoted as an action thriller and it's not. It's more of a crime drama. To be honest, it was mostly ridiculously sad scenes peppered with people shooting at each other at the end. But it was mostly talking. Sad talking and sad faces. People screwing each other over because they are bastards. 

And there was a part where the protagonist, who I only call The Rock (because who cares what his character's name is) gets the snot beaten out of him. And I'm like, hey, fake and lame. You can't beat up The Rock. It doesn't work like that. 

Oh and the "Based/Inspired on True Events" (or whatever the exact phrase was) that you read at the beginning...it's not. Not as far as I have seen. It was inspired by the changes to the federal drug policy of the United States. These changes encourage people facing judge charges to snitch on each other. In reality the policy makes it a "he said she said" deal where people can start pointing fingers. 

Anyway, it was an alright movie, especially for what is in the theaters right now. An ok date movie. We got to talk about how people are assholes to each other and how everyone sucks on the ride home.