IMO

Dark Souls - IGN Review 9.0

The reviewer’s job is difficult when it comes to a game like Dark Souls. I simply can’t unreservedly recommend that you buy it. It’s not a game that you play to relax. It doesn’t care in the slightest about whether you’re enjoying yourself, and it doesn’t give a fig for your notions of entertainment or your mental well-being. If you just play games for fun, this isn’t for you, and no amount of insistence on my part is going to change that. But if you’re interested in the limits of the videogame form – to see just how focused, how pure and how uncompromising in its vision a game can be – Dark Souls is unmissable. If you take the time get into Dark Souls’ mindset, to begin to understand the twisted way in which it operates and taste the rewards behind its cruellest challenges, this is one of the most thrilling, most fascinating and most completely absorbing experiences in gaming.

color me intrigued

Lollapalooza 2010 - Friday

The Music:

The New Pornographers - A fun, relaxed way to start off my Lollapalooza weekend. They were entertaining but not enthralling. Mass Romantic was a blast but a New Pornos set list without Electric Version was bizarre. It was nice to get to see them in full force (Neko Case included).

Hot Chip - These guys sounded great live. I can understand what all the hype was about. I can imagine that in a tighter more intimate setting they would be even better. That being said, I did take a 20 min nap in the middle of their set. Sorry guys, long week at work.

Chromeo - Not much to say. I was ill prepared and didn’t really even make an attempt to get anywhere close to the stage. They served as fun background music pre-gaga, but not much more. I obviously did not set them up for success, but I didn’t see the potential for much either. 

Lady Gaga - Spectacle. Heads were scratched and jaws were dropped. What a show. I chose this one over the Strokes b/c I new more than anything, Lady Gaga would give Chicago a great show. I was right. The set pieces, lighting, dancers, and animatronics kept you wide eyed and wanting more. Maybe less importantly, the sound was great too. It is a pop concert, so you knew she would be singing over a track of herself providing backup vocals, but that did not detract from the sound which transfered well from the radio and clubs to a live, open-air show. It was everything I thought it would be plus zombie imagery and old school Metallica. So yes, it was amazing.

The Crowds:

Cha cha cha changes - Lollapalooza is bigger and better. They added two city blocks and one major road to the map. The spacing felt much better. There were still plenty of bottlenecks around the main stages, but the overall atmosphere was much more open. They probably quadrupled the number of vendors, and as economists know, choice is good. The only downside I saw here was the enormous lines around the most popular options, most notably, Kumas Corner. However, you could still almost always get a burger somewhere in under 10 minutes, it just wouldn’t be from Kumas. Even the little additions like the full service water refill stations added to the experience.

Little Monsters - Lady Gaga fans will travel. Fans really got themselves prepared for her show. It made the people watching all that much more rewarding. Outrageous costumes were the norm at the south end of the park for much of the day. 

The Descent: Part 2

Watching this movie would be conceding that it exists, and that’s something I refuse to do.

(via /Film)

Moon (2009)

Just watched this movie. I could tell you all about it. I could post the trailer or some critical reviews. But it would be much better if you just rent it and watch it. So do that.

Click-through if you need more information in order to be convinced, but trust me, dont google it to death, just see it. It is not too often that good movies come out under the radar. Take advantage of it.