I have only held a gun once, and don't want to hold one again

I have only just managed to get time to write about the subject of guns, in light of the recent Sandy Hook massacre. As so many other commentators have already said about the tragedy of the event, it embodies everything that human wickedness and evil are capable of, and how fragile the human mind really is.The last moments of those (especially the young infants) that were killed is unbearable to even think about, the birthdays and weddings that were taken away from their futures is the cruelest any human can conflict on another. And I could never imagine what it must feel like for those who have cruelly lost loved ones in such a barbaric manner.

No doubt there will now be a debate about gun control laws in America, as Obama has already suggested, and quite rightly so. The thought of be able to buy armed fire arms and ammunition so easily (exposed so greatly by Michael Moore in 'Bowling for Columbine') in supermarkets really is hard to comprehend for me. Since the story broke numerous statistics have been thrown around, either way I can only come to the conclusion that there are far too many gun owners in America.

Will gun laws make any difference? I think in the long run it probably would. But no amount of gun laws will eradicate the horrific actions of our fellow man to commit the most heinous of crimes. The underlying issue is far more complex. And with the American culture so indebted to the second amendment and it's constitution, as well as American nature to be antagonistic towards any intrusion of the state, I'm not sure if anything will eventually change. There is also the question of mental health, which seems to be prevalent in many of the perpetrators of these crimes.

But to leave the tragic event behind, I will talk about my own experience of firing (numerous kinds) of guns. I have family in Texas and I went there for the first time in October 09. While there, on my own insistence I was able to use the guns that were privately owned by those who I was staying with. The firearms were a Glock 9 pistol, and an old assault rifle, our targeting practice were empty plastic bottles and a wooden board.

What was most surprising and shocking, was that each of the gun's felt much heavier in my hands than I expected. It felt peculiarly frightening holding something which gave me the power to hurt someone let alone kill them. I still remember the thunderous bang that gave way the first time I pulled the trigger of the Glock 9, and then there was the violent jolt in my arms and shoulders, the impact was certainly an experience I will never forget. With each passing shot I became more reluctant to pull the trigger, and did so only through curiosity and to save face.

In total I must have fired around ten shots with both guns included. But not long after the experience, it all left me cold and fearful of guns in general. Heaven forbid, unless it was a life and death situation I would never want to touch another gun again.

   

The Hobbit: An unexpected Journey- Review

A very good if underwhelming start to a new trilogy

The original Lord of the Rings trilogy was sublime in almost ever way. It defined the very reason why people should spend their money going to the cinema.

The Hobbit is another of those films which is best experienced in the auditorium of a large screen. Based on another Tolkein novel of the same name, the film is centred around a young Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), who had a reasonably minor role in the original trilogy.

Without giving too much away, I liked the fact that the film started moments before the 'Fellowship of the Ring' as an older Bilbo Baggins narrates the prologue to the film. The beginning sets the pace of the film rather nicely, with the introduction of the thirteen Dwarves, as well as Gandalf (Ian McKellen) as they all set out for the lonely Mountain, the home of the Dwarves before it was destroyed by the dragon Smaug.

The film has been cast perfectly, with Martin Freeman impressive as the film's lead, along with the presence of Gandalf again. Despite being a major part of the film, Thorin (Richard Armitage) is the only one of the thirteen Dwarves who really has a substantive role in the film. The fact that they all have weird names will not help either.

Their is also an impressive cameo by Gollum, while brief, although the scene is one of comedic relief, it is also one of the most important because it comes at a point when the film gradually gets darker. Which is also when the film is at it's most interesting.

Visually the film is impressive, overhead shots of the New Zealand landscape draw you into the film, and provide an immersible breakaway from the action. But on of the most disappointing things about the film is that the Orcs are now computer animated. There's nothing wrong with this because they look fine, and it's understandable because there aren't quite so many that appear on screen as the original trilogy. But there was something more intimidating and special about the prosthetic make-up of the Orcs in the original that really set them apart, and made them look so disgustingly antagonistic.

The action scenes are also impressive and well choreographed, if lacking the grand finesse of any in the original trilogy. The finale is particularly gripping however.

But the biggest drawback of The Hobbit is the running time, at two hours and forty five minutes, the film feels much longer than it actually is. The running time isn't the problem but the dull mid section of the film where we are introduced to a set of trolls and a character called Radagast, whose appearance may grate on some people.

The Hobbit, much like 'Fellowship of the Ring', has begun the series as an adventure, a prelude to much bigger things, just as the final scenes before the credits suggest.

Verdict- A very good and satisfactory entrance to a new story, if overstretched at times
3.5/5          

Seven Psychopaths- movie review

 A wonderful and surprising gem of a film, that mixes the obscure with the surreal

With so many ideas and a cross section of different narratives all rolled into one, seven psychopaths should not be as good as it is. But thanks to a witty script, fantastic performances all round, Martin McDonagh (director of the fabulous In Bruges) has brought together a triumph of a film and one of the best black comedy's I have ever seen.

As the title suggests, the film is set around seven different characters, with struggling screenwriter Marty (Colin Farrell) at the center of the film. Marty soon finds himself entangled into the criminal underworld when one of his friends Hans (Christopher Walken) steals Charlie's (Woody Harrelson) Shih Tzu. Joining along for the ride is Marty's best friend, and the star of the show Billy (Sam Rockwell).

Different psychopaths are introduced, some real while others are pieces of fiction included in a screenplay which Marty is writing, subsequently called Seven psychopaths. Some of these characters are more obscure than others, those including a fictional Vietcong veteran from My Lai, and a couple (Tom Waits included) who kill for no reason at all.

At one hour and fifty minutes long some will find the pace of the film slow at times, and perhaps a little bit incoherent, as the film switches between reality and fantasy. But this is overlooked by the wonderful dialogue between the different characters, and the actions they take in the confrontations they have.

As the film develops all of the different Psychopaths stories come into one full circle, with an ending that is both clever and satisfactory. Where other films might struggle, seven psychopath succeeds because it makes the audience want to know and care where the film is taking us. It takes rather cliched characters and set pieces, and turns them on their head into caricatures of what we might expect from other movies.


Verdict- 4/5

Rareware...if only (unedited)

I have not had a games console for over two years now, well since my Playstation 3 suddenly and rather conveniently broke down just before I was due to arrive at University. Perhaps it was just fate, a sign that I had to work hard on my studies, and put gaming to one side, until the day that I graduated. I did have a 3DS for a couple of months until I needed some money, so I sold it for half the price I had originally bought it for.

But in all the time that I was a hardcore gamer, beginning with the Sega Mega Drive, the best console I have ever had is the Nintendo 64. And this includes a list which has PS2, Dreamcast, PS3, Game Cube, none of them have come close to the experience that I had with the N64. It was with the N64 that gaming was taken to a whole new level, thanks to the Nintendo the first rumble feature was introduced, the first analogue stick, four controller ports, the first time games looked good in 3D, without the polygons looking like square blocks.

But there was something else that really made N64 special, and that was the numerous classics created by Rareware, a once renown studio based in England, Leicester. Without going into their early beginnings, they really put themselves on the map with the reinvention of Donkey Kong, alas Donkey Kong Country for the Super Nintendo. The game was such a success it spawned many sequels and even an animated childrens show. I only ever played one of the Game Boy versions, I think it might have been Donkey Kong Country 3.

But for my generation, those who owned an N64, Rare were the Pixar of video games. From 1996-2002, when they were eventually bought out by Microsoft, they epitomized what games were all about. Fun, engaging and innovative. It was a time when their gold logo truly shined with greatness.

GoldenEye is still the greatest movie tie in ever made, it was the first multiplayer game that was just as good as the single player campaign. What made the game so special was the fact that each level was objective based, it wasn't like Doom and the other first person shooter games at the time, where you just walked from corridor to corridor shooting endless enemies until you reached the end of the level. It was both challenging and fun, and you were also rewarded the further you played the game.

Banjo Kazooie took everything Mario 64 had done and made it better, a bright colourful game that was enduring to people of all ages. Although Diddy Kong racing wasn't quite as good as Mario Kart 64, it was still a great game nevertheless. 

But without doubt one of the most underrated games of all time, on any system, was Jet Force Gemini. It was like playing Space invaders in a 3D environment. The guns, the graphics (for the time), the vast levels, it really was a standout game that deserved more success than it got, I still pray for the day that a sequel will magically be announced (I'm not holding my breath).

Towards the end of the N64s lifespan there was Perfect Dark, another ambitious first person shooter in the vein of GoldenEye, this time with a female lead called Joanna Dark. With the Bond universe gone Rare were able to experiment and go their own way. Superb graphics, imaginative arsenal and level design made it an instant classic. Although its sales were not as strong it was just as good, well the single player was at least.

Other great games were released. Who can ever forget the masterful Conkers Bad Fur Day, with its mature take on platform games and very enjoyable multiplayer campaign it certainly stood out amongst other games on the console, but ultimately came too late to really make much of an impact in terms of commercial success. Although a decent remake was released for the Xbox a few years later.

But in the last decade since Nintendo has sold their half of the company to Microsoft, the story of Rare is one of bitterness and if only. They only released one game for the Game Cube which was Star Fox Adventures, although a decent and pretty looking game it was very forgettable. With the inclusion of Rare games I believe that the Game Cube would have been more successful than it eventually was.

Grabbed by the ghoulies, their first game for Microsoft was one of the biggest video game failures in history, commercially as well as critically. Perfect Dark Zero was a wasted opportunity and one of the worst follow up games of all time, it was clearly rushed out to be released on the Xbox 360 launch date. Such was the mediocrity both critically and commercially we will most probably never see another one again. It is also the last game that I have ever played which was made by Rare. So I've missed out on Kameo and Viva Pinata (which both got decent reviews but nothing more), and hardly took the world by storm in terms of sales.

The same was said for Banjo Kazooie: Nuts n Bolt, I never played it but the reviews as well as sales were mediocre at best. By turning it into a build and collect car game they took away what made the originals so unique. At a time when platform games are few and far between, it ended up being a wasted oppurtunity.

Now days Rare has limited itself to making the Kinect sports games, again I've never played them but they are successful.

With its respected identity within the industry gone, I can only look back and think 'if only...'. With the success of the Wii consoles it does make me wonder about the classic games that were never made, and the ones that I would have played. Of course I'm thinking with hindsight, but we can all imagine can't we.