So, 1/3 of Nonagon posts in the Internet forums of Electrical Audio and, as a result, we will be playing at the super-secret underground music festival called the Electrical Audio BBQ (or something like that) on Saturday, June 12th at 1:40pm. We are not supposed to tell anybody about it but I figure no one reads this Web site, so I will promote it here. The address is 3722 W. Chicago Ave. Bring $15 and some raw meat, ear plugs and kevlar, I hear the neighborhood has its share of ruffians wandering the streets.
Mass Effect is another BioWare RPG that I picked up on Steam for five bucks during their holiday sale (along with Jade Empire). This is a fantastic looking game. The Citadel (screen shot above) is an absolutely spectactular environment in which to roam around. This is also one of the first RPGs I have played in which every line of dialogue is voiced—a big help for me and my poor reading skills and short attention span.
The story and the rich universe in which it takes place is top-notch (as far as video games go). The game does a good job in pointing the player in the right direction so I rarely felt like I was lost or didn’t know what to be doing. This means the game can be a bit linear at times, but, as a lazy gamer, I don’t mind that at all.
I don’t think I ever quite got the combat system. I never really felt like my tweaks to the characters really did anything better than just ignoring all the complexity and just shooting everything in sight. My only major complaint with Mass Effect is the horrible inventory management system in which you are forced to trash items you find if your inventory is full. This just doesn’t make any sense. Otherwise, a terrific game and I can’t wait until Mass Effect 2 goes on sale for five dollars.
An all-girl Japanese punk band that I saw at Japan Nite 2000 at the Fireside Bowl. Music varies from catchy, fun cutsey-pop (which I like) to standard, screamy eighth-grade punk (which is not as good).
The Spanish/Mexican/Italian answer to Conan or Clash of the Titans. This one feels more like the latter except with lots of topless cavewomen and signature Fulci close-up gore. It was not as horrible as I was expecting, but it is still loaded with cheesy costumes and feathery (male) hair. The whole thing seems to have been filmed day-for-night, through fog and out-of-focus. There were even some pseudo-zombies near the end!
Another movie that has no reason for being enjoyable, and yet I thought it was pretty good. This could have turned into a 00’s running zombie crapfest but, fortunately, plays more as a better-than-average Aliens clone.
This should be an awful movie. The fact that it is produced by Adam Sandler should be enough of a deterrent. But it turns out, as long as Adam Sandler is nowhere near the front of the camera, with his terrible delivery and annoying baby-talk voice, a movie has a chance to be funny. Kevin James knows how to play the title character earnestly, without the Sandler-esqe winks to the camera after every joke. The stupid premise actually works as both a parody of Die Hard or Rambo and as a goofy SNL-type character skit movie.
Another Japanese movie. This one is about a future where the only way to keep those rotten kids under control is to pick a class of forty or so 15-year-olds to battle to the death on a deserted island. The film was well-paced, entertaining and features one of my favorite actors, Beat Takshi. It could have used a quite a bit more character set up so that we actually care about (or at least can distinguish) the kids who are getting killed. Still, it’s a fun, wild ride.
Japanese horror movie about a town in which the inhabitants slowly become mesmerized by uzumaki. Uzumaki translates to spirals. Mind you, this is not a metaphor or symbol. They are literally obsessed with spirals: snail shells, winding staircases, etc. Once under the power of the swirly-swirls, characters start to become suicidal, pale and ghost-like. The acting is terrible and story thing never quite makes any sense, but it might be worth watching just for some of the typical contorted Japanese-y ghouls.
This is a bootleg CD release of The Mummies’ shelved debut record. The recordings are uncharacteristically clean and professional. I can see why they decided not to release this. Without the on-a-budget mayhem there is not much to distinguish the band from the hundreds of other garage rock rehashers. Also missing is much of the organ playing that features in most of their best recordings.Thankfully, a 20 minute live recording is also included as a track which more than makes up for the sterile first half.
