Red Dead Redemption (2010)

Alright my first video game review awesome! Well I'll start this one off by stating that Red Dead Redemption is currently my third favorite game of all time. Simply put it an amazing game. I don't think I'm alone in thinking that. It's sold millions of copies and I'm sure that every person who has played it feels similar to me. But that just begs the question, what exactly makes this game so brilliant? Well I can't speak for the millions of people who have experienced it. But at the very least I can explain why I love it so damn much. Then again that is generally the point of me having this blog right?

I wish I could have a beard like that. It just screams badass....or his hat.

Well first I think I should tackle this from a gaming perspective. The game takes place in 1911 in the old west. You play as John Marston, a former outlaw now trying to make a much better life for his family. However, it turns out that his family is being held captive by the government and he's now being manipulated to hunt down his former gang and kill them in exchange for his family. It's a brilliant setting for a game and it establishes a very strong reason for John to go pick up his gun again. Anyway as far as the graphics go, they are amazing. The entire game is so beautiful and it really gives you the feeling of being out there in the deserts and wastelands. I especially like the level of detail to John's face, specifically his scars. He looks like he could be a real person. As for gameplay, the controls are a bit weird to get used to, especially the whole Dead Eye targeting. What is Dead Eye you ask? well it's what makes gunplay so damn cool in this game. Basically time slows for a period of time and you can target specific things with the targeting reticule. Then you shoot and John blows away all the targets in an epic way that is not unlike something out of an old Western movie. It's epic as hell but it requires a bit of practice. At least for me it especially in the beginning of the game. It's the kind of game that you need to play it in order to get good at it. In other words, don't expect to immediately pick it up and be amazing at it. You need to take the time to learn everything. Luckily though the game gives you more than enough opportunity for practice. It's an extremely polished game with so much attention to even the slightest of details. The best part is that Red Dead Redemption has something for everyone. If you enjoy an awesome story that grips you from the beginning all the way to the end, you'll enjoy this game. If you like collecting things and getting everything, this game possesses tons of side missions to occupy your time. Trust me, some of those challenges are difficult to do. If you just play games to pass the time and see them as nothing more than a distraction, well Red Dead Redemption allows you to be an outlaw in the old west, not to mention the Dead Eye function. How fun is THAT?!

Now that I discussed why the game is good from a gaming perspective I'm gonna talk about why I personally like the game so much. First of all to me a game is nothing without characters. John Marston is an incredibly accessible character. He's a nice guy stuck in a bad situation. All he's trying to do is create a new life for himself and his family, hence "Redemption". It's easy to relate to him and feel sorry for him. It makes you want to keep playing to see how things work out for him. Of course along the way you do learn of his outlaw past and how he used to live, as well as why he left the gang. Now for me some of the best interactions are between John and his son Jack. When you see the two of them speak you can tell that John wants only the best for Jack and that desire is what makes him a good father in my opinion. So yeah, basically John is simply one of the best characters I've seen in quite a while.  He makes Red Dead Redemption more than just your average game.

The second thing about Red Dead Redemption is just how poetic and philosophical it is. I won't spoil anything here (lucky for you  if you haven't played the game, I don't believe in spoilers!) but trust me the whole game just makes you think about what the words redemption, betrayal and what "Outlaws To The End" really means. Not to mention John Marston is a surprisingly deep person. Some of his dialogue is just filled with an insane amount of depth that just makes you think real hard about pretty much everything. If you're like me you'll spend countless hours just reexamining life. Yeah this is what happens to me when a piece of media resonates with my soul lol. Well that's how it impacted me. Especially that ending. Damn that was a good ending. It left a huge impression on me. Yes a video game left a huge impression on me....and that's exactly why it stands as one of my all-time favorite games. In my honest opinion I think the plot of Red Dead Redemption is waaaay better than some of the crap Hollywood has been shitting out in the past few years. Plus it kind of makes my prediction of games being the new (possibly even better) medium for telling stories all the more plausible. So yeah if you haven't played Red Dead Redemption yet.......what the hell is wrong with you?! Go get yourself a copy and play this amazing game! Red Dead Redemption is more than just a game...It's an experience! Now go right now and experience it!

"Outlaws To The End" seemingly shallow words, deceptively deep.

Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law

Have you ever sat back at home and wished for a different kind of comedy show? How about one where an old cartoon icon from the 60's plays a lawyer? How about a comedy that pokes fun at serious topics while at the very same time not taking itself too seriously? Well I think I may have found one for you.

I remember a few years back I was up late and I stumbled upon Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. The show was so damn hilarious I couldn't stop laughing even hours after I had just watched it. This was late night by the way so uhh cue creepy images of me laughing hysterically at 3 AM (Hmm, I wonder if my neighbors heard me. Oh well). It wasn't until years after that night that I actually got the show and began watching it from the beginning. It started off a bit slow but it definitely picks up. Remember everything I said at the start of this post? Well all that stands as an accurate definition of the show. It stars Birdman playing not the role of the hero he once was in the 60's, but as an inept attorney who gets assigned these insanely weird cases which spoofs our own judicial system and in many ways, our very political system. All of the cases have to deal with old Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters. I know it sounds weird, but it just adds to the high amount of creativity this show has. I also see that as an incredibly clever move on the side of the show's creators. Think about it, these cartoon characters were beloved back in the day right? What better way to bring them back to the present day, especially when the ones who watched the old cartoons from the 60's would more than likely be adults now and would require entertainment geared toward them? I dunno maybe I'm over-analyzing this a bit too much but I like to think I made a pretty damn good observation.

One thing I mentioned that the show does extremely well is make light of issues that have occurred (or are still occurring) in our country. Some of the issues satirized are: corporate ownership of media, global warming, lobbying, gun control, women's rights, animal rights, time traveling (in some episodes), and gay marriage. Now what this show does with these topics is very carefully makes fun of while at the same time bringing them to light. The end result is that the episode makes you crack up and then think. That's what I like the most about it. It's something unique to this show, laughing and thinking. Anyway, all that only makes up half of the show. The other half comes in the form of the voice acting. All the characters have fantastic voice actors. My favorite would have to Stephen Colbert who actually voices Birdman's boss, Phil Ken Sebben. The actors all fit the characters perfectly and it gives the impression that they actually enjoy the work and that makes all the difference when it comes to animated shows.

Well if you have never watched the show, I suggest you do so. You won't regret it (at least I hope you don't...I didn't). It has something for everyone, except kids obviously. It's ridiculous and silly, but it's never too silly to the extent where it starts to become annoying. The sole negative is that there are only 39 episodes and they're each about 11 minutes long. It's a damn shame there couldn't be more. But such is the case for such clever television. Oh and for a taste of what to expect from it I have included a picture. Look at it. Thank you for reading this and have a great day!

Can you tell me what the hell is going on here? No? Well go watch episode 14: Back To The Present

Garden State (2004)

It's been quite some time since I reviewed anything, let alone a movie. So what better way to get back into the swing of things then to discuss one of my personal favorites. Garden State, written, directed, and starring Zach Braff (that's pretty damn impressive in my opinion), is essentially a coming of age movie that centers around themes of identity, self discovery, love, friendship, family, the idea of home, loss, and destiny. The film has such strong feelings of humbleness and contains a heartfelt presence emanating. It feels like you're watching something that someone really put their heart into. I think that's what really makes this movie succeed. It doesn't try to be anything more than it is. It has comedic elements to and it has dramatic elements, but no matter what part of the movie you are watching you feel like you are a part of this carefully created world.

I really want a bike like that. Seriously.

The plot centers around Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff) returning home for a funeral. It is his first time being home in quite some time. During his stay there He meets a woman named Sam (played by Natalie Portman, yeah I was kind of shocked she was in this movie. I'm not quite sure why.) who ends up playing a massive part in this story. Along the way Andrew discovers what has changed about his friends, his hometown, and begins to make realizations about his family, specifically his father, and living life in general. The bulk of the movie comes in the form of the interactions between Sam and Andrew. The two of them are near opposite personality-wise and they make you, the audience, identify with them. Second to that would be the interactions between Andrew and his father. The tension between the two of them is intense. Throughout the movie I actually felt a bit awkward seeing the two of them speak. It made me feel like I was in the room with them.

That is where Garden State succeeds as a film. I know I keep talking about that it made me feel like I was in their world. Well I'll elaborate on that. The movie contains a bunch of other characters all of them being Andrew's old friends. While they do serve as important to the plot and enhancing the themes I listed before, they also help make the movie into something people can relate to. As I was watching I couldn't help but notice parallels between Andrew's friends and my own. I mean come one we all have that one friend who always puts us in odd situations. But when all is said and done they also give us fantastic stories to tell for years to come. Though I will admit this could be due to the fact that I identified with Andrew quite a bit, which was probably due to Zach Braff's acting as Andrew. Zach Braff does such an excellent job acting that I find myself identifying with quite a few of his roles. I think that can be credited to his charisma. He's just such a likable guy. I can't help BUT like him. Natalie Portman, however, outshines his acting in my opinion. She was spectacular as Sam. Trust me, when you see how quirky Sam is you sort of start to think Natalie herself is just as quirky.

There are reasons why this movie is one of my all-time favorites. The heartfelt presence emanating from it combined with the plot and the themes present in it left me thinking about life. As soon as the end credits started I found myself reexamining  my life and thinking about well everything. In my opinion, if a piece of media makes you think. Then it's a good piece of media and that is something that is somewhat rare in today's world. Most things lack passion and are only done for money. Luckily Garden State is just full of passion and that is what makes the movie stand out. It also has an amazing soundtrack. I read that Zach Braff picked the music. Well he did a damn good job! I get the feeling he and I would have some similar taste. Though I doubt he would like some of the bands I listen to...hmm.

BAM!! See I got him as he's eating

I think I made it clear how awesome this movie is. If I haven't made you want to see it maybe this odd and random piece of trivia will. Do you like Jim Parsons? If you do he has a very small part in this movie. I wont spoil what it is, but trust me its random as hell when you see him. If you don't believe me I have a picture of him just to prove it.

So that's my review of Garden State. Go watch it if you haven't already.  By the way, if you're wondering why this picture is so odd. It's because I have a weird gift for pausing movies at juuust the right time when someone is making a really weird face. Maybe one day I'll share some of the ones I have...hmm maybe. Alright that's all for now. Thank you for reading this and have a great day!

Theodore (Sofia Fasos)

I'll start this off by being completely honest. I don't read much. The most recent book I've read would have to be umm hmm.....You know I can't even remember (Yeah that says a lot about me doesn't it?). Anyway when I do read I try to make a general effort to make sure it's a good book at least.Usually one that is recommended to me by people. So that brings me here with Theodore by Sofia Fasos. Now this book was not recommended to me. In fact it was required reading for a class I'm taking right now. My expectations for it were kind of low I'll admit. I was expecting it to confuse me. Leave me wondering "why the hell was this mandatory reading?". Or something along those lines. But you know what ended up happening? The book left a huge impression on me. Something I was not expecting at all. I found myself intrigued by it. I needed to keep reading to see what would happen next.

In a nutshell the book is great. Definitely one of the most intriguing books I've read in a long time. Now you may be asking yourself "Gee what exactly makes this book so good Phil?" Well, to start off it has a very diverse set of characters. Each one shrouded in their own secrets. Obviously you have a young man named Theodore and the book mostly centers around his life and whats going on with his immediate family. Specifically his mother, Medea. The two of them have such a, let's call it "unique" relationship. Reading to see how the two interact is one of the best things about the book. There are plenty of other characters in the book and it would take me far too long to list each one of them. But in my opinion, what happens with them pales in comparison to the interactions of Theodore and his mother. Of course with such a huge cast of characters it may get just a bit confusing remembering who these people are or who's married to who but by the end of the it you should be more or less familiar with them.

The novel also does a fantastic job of showcasing the Greek culture. I mean you could use it as a window to Greece. From the in depth details of the locales to the explanation of customs and culture. Sofia Fasos really wants the reader to learn about Greece. It carefully and explicitly explains the customs, words, and locales. To be honest I felt like I had just took a trip to Greece, met a disturbed family, lived with them for a brief period of time and left knowing I had a bunch of stories to tell for the years to come. That should illustrate to you how vivid the writing is. The book is very detailed. Especially in the darker parts of the story. Ahh yes. The novel is dark. Very dark. It starts off with a pretty weird and detailed scene that left me wondering if I even bought the right book (and that's all I'm saying about that...).

My favorite aspect of this book ,however, has nothing to do with the characters or anything about the setting. Simply put I love the amount of charm that is present in the book. Sofia Fasos really did a great job with the writing. As I kept reading I noticed that the book itself did not really feel like a book. After a while I felt that the book served as a blueprint to what could possibly be a really interesting movie. (Hopefully an independent movie since well Hollywood is....actually let me not get into that now. I'll rant on for hours...OK back to the review!) In fact it reminded me a lot of Garden State and The Royal Tenenbaums. I first felt that way when i noticed early on in the book that every chapter introduced a new character. This confused me a lot in the beginning. I remember thinking back and saying to myself "Who are these people?! What happened to the people at the end of the last chapter?!" As I read on of course I saw that every chapter could be a transition of scene. That by the middle of the book everyone came together. Like a web, there are many strands in this massive Greek family. So each chapter early on ended up being dedicated to introducing the reader to a different family member and how they impact other main characters.

Within this lovely novel are issues of homosexuality, social identity, and perhaps the most important theme, self. You see Theodore figure who he is and most importantly what he isn't. It's really what makes the novel so interesting. Trying to figure out and guess where Theodore will ultimately end up. There is also murder in the book so really it lends itself to anyone with even a remote interest in books. Hopefully this review made you curious about the book. I can't recommend it enough. I believe there is something here for everyone. It's not a long book either so that's even better! I do have to thank my professor for making this mandatory reading. Otherwise I would have missed out on this gem of a novel. So do yourself a favor and buy yourself a copy. You won't be disappointed. You will also have a deeper appreciation for hamsters. I'm not kidding about that.

It's been a looooong time (so here's some nostalgia)

Geez, the last time I posted anything it was....woaaah back in November. Damn, that's a loong time. Well to be honest, I sort of got overwhelmed towards the end of my semester and I just wanted my vacation to start so that I could try out different things for my reviews. As you can tell, I was unsuccessful. I sort of lost the spark I had when it came to my reviews. In other words, I had a lot on my mind. For one thing, I sort of freaked myself out with the realization that I'm 20 years old and in a few more months, I'll be 21 (I can totally buy booze, hooray). I felt like I was losing my sense of identity. I remember being a kid and playing games. Where did that go? I remember having a blast as a senior in high school and now I'm in my third year of college. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!?!?. Yeah this is what was going on with me all winter break. However, because of that I discovered just how important memories are and how powerful nostalgia can be. See, no matter how old I get, no matter how scattered or lost I feel, there's one thing that will always calm me down. It's one of my greatest treasures...As a kid I loved this game. It pretty much defined my years before high school. The music, the messages, the characters, they all really impacted me growing up. It was chock full of humor combined with an epic story of a kid saving the world with the help of some truly loyal friends who fought with him through thick and thin.

My greatest treasure. My initials included

OK ok alright....I'm talking about Earthbound for the Super Nintendo. That game amazes me even to this day. It's the one familiar thing I can count on in from my childhood that hasn't changed. It has been and will probably always be my favorite game. Now that doesn't mean I don't like any other games. Quite the contrary, in fact I love me multiple games. Hell if you want, I can go in depth for like 4 hours talking about Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (or "Snack Eater" if you prefer....he does eat a lot in the game after all) and how it's about life and stuff like that. When I got my wisdom teeth removed and I was drugged up on Vicodin, I played Red Dead Redemption somehow and got me the American Standardbred horse....though to be honest I really have no recollection of doing that. My friend had to tell me that I did that because I kept sending weird texts about horses that didn't make ANY sense (it's especially weird when after you run out of Vicodin you turn on the game only to have a black horse run at you and you're like where the hell did this come from?!?!). But I digress, my point here is that although Earthbound is my all time favorite game, I have love for a LOT of games. For example the Mario, Zelda, and Kirby games hold a special place for me because they got me into games. My earliest memories consist of sitting on my mom's lap while she played (or rather TRIED to play) the first Zelda game. She also showed me how to play Mario. But Kirby...that was all mine. I played that game a lot more than the others. I don't really know why. OH WAIT I KNOW!!! It was because of the ball power. I thought it was the coolest thing. ANYWAY Nintendo has made such a huge impact on my life with pretty much anything they have made and continue to make and I'm sure that this is the case for the millions of people who buy their systems and games. For me, when I pop in a Zelda game and hear that all too familiar song of figuring out a puzzle or discovering a hidden chest, I feel my old self laughing and smiling at that. When I play a new Mario game and see Mario himself running and jumping, I feel the same way, as is the same with Kirby ('cept for Epic Yarn....well almost, since the last world is what saved it for me).

The point of this post isn't so much a review as it is a lesson. Don't let life sneak up on you. Don't let time speed on by. Don't walk away from all the things from childhood. Nostalgia is a hell of a thing. It keeps the kid inside of you alive and it helps put things in perspective. It allows one to smile in a truly imperfect and cruel world. I'm sure there's something from your childhood that you miss. Go find it. Take a trip down memory lane. It helps....especially if you're feeling lost and freaked out by the fact that you're suddenly so old.

Seriously I ask "What's my age again?" because surely, I'm not a normal 20 year old....I sound like an old man lol. Welp, I guess it's part of my charm. If you read this whole thing you have my thanks. Now go experience some nostalgia and have a great day/night/afternoon/etc etc and come on by for my next review...which will be.......I don't have a damn clue lol.

Remember when games looked like this?

Ahh Nintendo.....

My Thoughts on Megan Is Missing

A dear old friend of mine called me up about an hour ago to ask me to watch a movie called Megan Is Missing. I had never heard of the movie but going off the title I guessed that it had something to do with a kidnapping. Naturally my hunch was right. However, I had no idea the amount of depth the actual movie would have. I'll be honest I only saw the last 22 minutes of the film. The reason being because after doing some research on the movie, (and by research I mean typing Megan Is Missing into google and seeing what came up and then clicking around for information like any pro detective would do, right?) I discovered that a lot of people were in shock of how the last 22 minutes shaped the film. So naturally I wanted to do the same. I just watched the last 22 minutes and let me say that was one hell of a 22 minutes. The extreme low key lighting combined with oblique camera angles and a lack of proper viewpoint really gave the movie a haunting atmosphere. This movie wants you to WANT to see what's going on but guess what....it doesn't allow you to and it'll drive you crazy not seeing, but only hearing what's happening.

I'm not sure if it would be considered taboo to review a movie based on seeing 22 minutes of it, so I won't call this a formal review. However you should know that Megan Is Missing was made for a specific reason: to bring about more attention to a problem that we as a society seem to not really care about, or at least do not know how to combat. It tackles the issue of the over-sexualization of young girls on the internet and specifically how often they are the targets of predators appearing to come off as "the right guy" who pretend to care and listen when all they want is to use these women in the worst possible ways. It may not be the greatest movie ever. Hell just based off the little I saw of it, I could tell you that the production value was very low. It's also not a movie for everyone that's for damn sure. However if you do watch it, whether or not you enjoyed it, you have to at least agree that it did give you something to think about. Any media that does that is, by my definition, great media.

I'd like to thank my old friend Liann for asking me to watch it. I'd also like to say that thanks to those 22 minutes I will eventually watch the whole movie. Probably not for a looooooooong time. The college life is a pretty busy one and I don't always feel like watching something. But rest assured I will watch this movie in it's entirety. Well thanks for reading my thoughts on Megan Is Missing and I wish you a great day!

Big Fish (2003)

Veteran's Day just passed and as I do on every Veteran's Day, I think a lot about my father and how he fought in Vietnam. Of course that leads me to think of how different he and I are and that leads me to think about Big Fish. Then that leads me to think about Yellowcard (for a good reason!). They have a song on their Lights And Sounds album called "How I Go" and it's inspired by this movie! Anyway Big Fish, (for anyone unfamiliar with this film) was directed by Tim Burton (which kind of shocked me). It's a movie essentially about the relationship between a father and a son. The story focuses on Edward Bloom (played by Albert Finney and Ewan McGregor), a man who takes pleasure in telling stories about things that have happened to him. A lot of these stories tend to be really abstract in nature and completely devoid of any logic or realism which is in fact the beauty of his stories. Although the stories are a major part of the film, the actual plot revolves around Edward's son William (Billy Crudup) and his coming to terms with the relationship he has with his father. Specifically, he wishes to fully understand his father and his desire to tell such exaggerated tales about his life. As the audience, you experience William's frustration with his father, while at the same time, seeing just how imaginative and beautiful the stories Edward tells. In Big Fish, a father and a son who don't really understand each other finally become close. 

The stories themselves are what make this movie stand out to me. For a Tim Burton movie, this movie is actually anything but dark. Its colorful, imaginative, beautiful and surreal. I have two favorite umm, let's call 'em "story moments" in this movie. One of them is where Edward recalls the day he proposed to his wife. He filled a field with her favorite flowers. I'm not sure why but the way that field looked with all those daffodils, it just...I dunno, it made something warm up inside of me. The other "story moment" I loved was when Edward was driving a car and suddenly was underwater. The water looked so beautiful and serene. I really felt like I was with Edward as he went through that experience.


It's kind of funny to me when I think about how long it took me to actually watch this movie. I've had it for many years now. Hell, I'd go so far as to say I've had it since 2003 and didn't actually watch it until 2011. I'm not quite sure why I kept putting it off. But I'm glad I did. This movie will warm your soul and make you want to actually get close to your father. I related to it right away because like William, I sometimes feel like I don't know my father at all. Thanks to this movie, I find myself making more of an effort to know him better. The funny thing is that although my father and I are nearly total opposites in some ways, I've learned that he and I are much more similar than I had previously thought. If seeing this movie once made me want to do this, then I think it's safe to say that it's an amazing film.

OH I nearly forgot to talk about the actors. Ewan McGregor is in this as the younger Edward Bloom. I found his performance to be quite entertaining. He knows how to get into his character and really play him well. Now that isn't to say that no one else did a good job because believe me, all the acting was superb. But Ewan's just stands out to me. He has such an energy in this movie. I'll end this review by summing it all up. Big Fish is an imaginative, unique, kindhearted, and beautiful movie. There really is nothing else like it around, even 8 years later. Plus as an added bonus it's probably the only movie I can think of with Danny DeVito's butt (Oh did I not mention he's in this movie too?? Well now you know!). So I would think that should give you an incentive to watch it if you haven't already. Well that's all I can think of for Big Fish. I hope my review was entertaining or helpful and I wish you a great day!