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The characters don’t actually look this good, but this game is super fun with multiple people.
There was a point this weekend where I thought I was gonna clean to prepare for David and Kendra’s visit this weekend. Then I ended up playing Monaco with David and Min, Borderlands 2 with Yin and Lee, and Dead Space 3 with Dave, not to mention all the Poker Night and Bioshock Infinite I played on my own. Oh well…I’ll get a chance to clean later this week, right?
Movies
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World – The release of the new color hardcover version of volume 3 made me want to watch the movie for a third (fourth?) time. This was also the first time Min had seen it after reading the comic. I think it went over a lot better.
TV
The Amazing Race – Watched the season 22 finale that took place in WASHINGTON, D.C.! So cool! I wish that Team Youtube hadn’t been eliminated, but I thought the season was a lot of fun to watch.
Parks and Recreation – Pretty solid finale. Everyone’s got a great cliffhanger for the next season and it was plenty funny. I know many of you read this blog and don’t watch this show. Skip season 1 and start watching this because it’s the best comedy on tv.
The Americans – I’ll admit that not sleeping through part of the episode makes it a little more interesting. Only one episode left to catch up and watch and I’m genuinely excited to see how it ends.
Music
Chance the Rapper’s got a sweet mixtape you can pick up for free at his site. Here’s a solid track from the tape.
Books
Unless you count reading the hardcover Scott Pilgrim (I don’t), then no.
Video Games
Borderlands 2 – Not sure if this would be half as fun without three buddies, but it’s fun to just chill and shoot up baddies, so I’m cool with it.
Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask – Been doing daily puzzles during off time. So addictive! I need to finish the previous games…
Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine – The “prestige” pickpocket levels have a great narrative twist and are hard enough to make things interesting. I still love having like five hacker things following me around.
Rayman: Legends – Just as good as Origins and almost better with Murfy. Gotta remember to do more daily challenges, but otherwise awesome.
Bioshock Infinite – The debut Dan Plays episode of Infinite posted today and it was recorded in March. It’s been that long since I last played, but I got a solid session in and…I like Elizabeth. A lot. Great addition. Columbia feels equally silly, but the story has a lot more intrigue to it for me than Bioshock vanilla did.
Dead Space 3 – Man, take any game and put co-op in it and I bet it turns out a ton better. Playing this with David for my channel has been a real riot. I can’t wait to get more time in, but I’m most likely gonna have to wait until David gets back to Iowa. Bummer!
No More Heroes is good for some easy cosplay. Travis Touchdown is pretty awesome (Photo by Elliot Trinidad)
Last week felt super long! Thank god it’s all over. At least I enjoyed myself plenty. Week two of the swimming experiment continued as well, reminding me of how woefully out of shape I am. Glad to have seen Kai again too. It’s a bummer that she no longer has work/business in Baltimore.
Prometheus – I went to see this with Ian last Monday. Despite what some critics might tell you, it’s not aggressively terrible. I think that my lack of prior Alien knowledge is what allows me to enjoy the movie so much. I came in with zero preconceptions and zero expectation and I left having seen the coolest surgical procedure ever and a pretty sweet squid vs. Engineer fight. This is not an A+, high-caliber piece of cinema, but it’s a fun summer film. Oh, before I forget, Michael Fassbender as David was INCREDIBLE.
Rampart – Woody Harrelson plays a dirty cop who is all kinds of damaged. The movie kind of starts in the middle and ends in the middle, but it was interesting, if not fragmented. I think most of you guys wouldn’t really dig it.
Futurama – I’ll admit that the fat robot in the Mars University episode was pretty funny. I’m enjoying pushing through this show a few episodes at a time. I hope to get some more in this week.
The Thick of It – Watched the entire first series (I mean, it’s only three episodes. British television, everybody!). The first episode wasn’t particularly funny at all. It was just a lot of meanness and snarkiness, although it’s situationally hilarious in retrospect. In fact, it’s making me smile quite broadly. This show, in case you didn’t know, was Armando Iannucci’s show about English politics that precedes Veep (although it seems that they’re making a new series for 2012). It’s biting and it’s downright mean most of the time (meaner than Veep), but it’s still quite funny, especially past the first episode.
You can get “Black Sheep” by Metric off of the Scott Pilgrim soundtrack, but if you want the Brie Larson version I recommend searching for it on last.fm where they have a downloadable 128 kbps one you can get. Great song.
Here’s another good Metric song:
1Q84 – I’m in so hard for this book. It has gotten so good. I finally know how Tengo and Aomame relate to each other, but I’m not even 1/3 of the way done with this epic. So far the Little People are the scariest thing I’ve ever heard of. I think Aomame is gonna end up infiltrating Sakigake and maybe Tengo is gonna have to save her and Fuka-Eri. We’ll see.
Diablo III – Inferno…yay? As you might expect I’m more interested in playing new or unfinished games so I haven’t logged into D3 in a while. I’ll get more time in this week during Marlins games (unless I end up reading between innings instead).
Civilization V – The Gods and Kings expansion pack came out and I’m really enjoying it. The new Faith system is neat and I enjoyed founding Buddhism, but I have yet to see how it will impact the whole game so far. Haven’t put too much time into it (sometimes I try and rest my arms when I get home since being on the computer all day makes my shoulders hurt), but I expect to win as the Siam empire!
No More Heroes: Heroes Paradise – There’s so much going on in this game that it’s hard to pick out just one thing. It seems that Suda51 is intentionally satirizing the video game fan and his pathetic existence in Travis. He has a lust for blood, is an otaku (he is mocked for this), and he endlessly and pathetically lusts over women. Most of the other assassins are similarly psychopaths and the game pretty heavily breaks the fourth wall. For what you’d think would be a mindless game, this has some hidden depth that I’m thoroughly enjoying.
Seann William Scott is so innocently dumb in this movie, but it's actually quite good. (Picture courtesy nxusco)
Guys, Goon was really good. More later, but you should check it out. This week was a real scattershot weekend as I tried to play a bunch of games I didn’t give much time to before.
Martha Marcy May Marlene – The cult in the movie is an interesting contrast to the fundamentalist Christian society in Higher Ground and the hippie commune of Wanderlust. This movie really ratchets up the tension of not knowing what’s real and what’s not. Ideally they would have made Patrick a scarier presence, but the movie is still on pretty solid ground with what it accomplishes. Congrats on the fantastic part, Elizabeth Olsen. Keep it up!
Goon – This is a mostly sweet movie about a guy who had no place in life other than to fight on the ice. It’s done pretty well and it’s funny and it’ll definitely win you over. Alison Pill, who played Kim Pine in Scott Pilgrim, is great as a Canadian hockey girl and Seann William Scott is endearing. The violence of hockey and hockey fights is really the thing that might put you off the movie. It gets pretty brutal if you don’t like it.
Mad Men – Last week’s premiere was amazing and I totally loved it. Can’t wait to see yesterday’s episode tonight!
Breaking Bad – Finished the first season. The six episode arc they had to work with never went anywhere with any definitive statement, but I think they’re playing the long game for all the seasons. Doesn’t mean that it was bad, just that I’m used to a more dramatic season arc. The progression of Walter White from teacher to meth cooker has definitely been interesting as is the seething anger that lurks beneath hsi outside personality.
Happy Endings – A great tribute to all the sitcom tropes of old. Some really good jokes in there that helped keep it from being too hack-y (like it was when the episode started). Elisha Cuthbert’s Ellen was hilarious.
New Girl – I liked the episode, but I’m rather chilly on New Girl at the moment. It’s not bad, but it’s not amazing either.
Justified – Another table setter. The final two episodes of this season are going to be bananas. I’d like for Limehouse to continue to be a force in S4, but we’ll see if he survives the next two eps first.
Community – It’s entirely possible that this episode contained the first “boner” joke I’ve laughed at since I was 13. The Subway corpo-humanoid is the highlight of the ep. Also a highlight: “Put it in a letter, Jane Austen!”. Alison Brie is so awesome.
Up All Night – This show is kind of meh to me too. At least it’s enjoyable meh. I’d rather watch New Girl because Zooey Deschanel is cute, but this is the better show.
The Wire – Finally finished S1 and the commentary of S1. Can’t wait to get moving through S2 because S3 is amazing. I love the attention to detail in The Wire and the devastating verisimilitude of it all.
“Heaven” is one of the best tracks on the Persona 4 soundtrack, but it’s also pretty awesome to listen to any time. Don’t believe me?
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – I’ve got like 10 pages left. So tired of this book.
Ghost Trick – Weird ending to this game. Just plot twist upon plot twist. Still one of the better story games I’ve ever played and excellent practice for my Spanish.
Devil Survivor 2 – Still haven’t caught the entire breadth of this story, but I do dig it. Interested in seeing where it goes, but my major play time will probably come when Min and I go to Vegas (he’ll probably sleep through the flight)
Mass Effect 2 – Slowly tearing through this a few missions at a time. For some reason I can’t stomach playing it for long periods of time. I think it’s because ME3 is clearly better and they’re so similar.
Poker Night at the Inventory – Put in a few mins to get some achievements and just play some poker. Still fun.
Jamestown – Was feeling like finally putting some time into the weird quasi-historical/quasi-sci-fi version of the Jamestown settlement in Virginia. Fighting the Spanish conquistadors and the Martians is weird, but fun. I like all the different ship types.
Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode 1 – I played and beat this many moons ago, but I wanted to play ep. 2 and that required playing this. Decent RPG and pretty funny still.
Sine Mora – Tried it out on XBL. I might pick it up when I finish a few other games. Seems interesting.
Pac-Man CE DX – Um…best game on my Xbox. Period. This game is so good I had to force msyelf to stop to play…
Galaga Legions DX – I was tired of only having like two achievements in this so I went and got to 11/12. Might not get the last one (more annoying than tough), but I’ll probably cave and just do it. Not as good as Pac-Man at all, but still fun.
Shadow Complex – Cave Story + made me think the same thing this game does: Why don’t game companies make more Metroidvania-style games? They’re really addictive and fun. Weird. Also weird: Nolan North in a half-tuck role that’s NOT NATHAN DRAKE! I think the shooting is a little awkward with the right stick because they added the whole 3D aspect to it, but otherwise fun.
Blast from the past week. (Photo courtesy robotspacer)
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World – I didn’t technically watch Scott Pilgrim because I was listening to the director commentary with Bryan Lee O’Malley. Very informative to learn about how autobiographical the story is and about how integrated Edgar Wright’s movie was with the book.
The Walking Dead – Not killing off Shane was the smartest thing this show did. He’s ice cold and his decision last week was awesome.
Samurai Champloo – Finally got around to starting this show. It’s interesting and the music is good, but I find the animation to be a little cheap looking.
The League – I haven’t seen Brie Larson since I saw Scott Pilgrim! This was actually part of why I rewatched Scott Pilgrim. The resolution between Brie’s character and Rafi was unexpected and awesome.
Prime Suspect – Ava from Justified! She’s not bad, but I miss the accent. This show’s not too bad for just hanging out and watching
Homeland – This show is getting so good! I wonder if he actually slipped him the razor blade. Super neat to watch all the twists and turns.
Glee – Not the strongest episode, but, per usual, I like any episode that has a song I love like “Bein’ Green”
Fringe – Back when Lost was on I watched three episodes of this show before Lost started (it was on at 2000 and Lost started at 2100). I watched the first four episodes of the season and I’m hooked! I just want to watch more, but it’s not streaming anywhere for free! So frustrating!
Nothing really new here. Started getting back into Girl Talk
The Last Best League – I swear I’m finishing this during this week. I’m pretty much at the epilogue.
Scott Pilgrim – I know I said no comic books in here, but this is an exception
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) – I meant to download a sample of Mindy Kaling’s book, but I accidentally bought it. It’s a woman’s book, but whatever…it’s funny.
Batman: Arkham City – Completed my Calendar Man obligation to see him on Halloween. Finished the Catwoman stuff. Might go back to finish more sidequests. Might not.
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception – Seriously great game. about as cinematically perfect as possible. Been avoiding playing in long bursts to stretch out the experience.
Dungeon Defenders – Still playing with Min, Lee, and Min’s friends from Utah. Good fun.
The Binding of Isaac – Beat the game for the second and third times with Cain and Magdalene. Still gotta beat it with Judas, Eve, and ??? and about 5 more times after that.
There are spoilers in this post!
Seriously…SPOILERS!
At the tender age of 24, I’m pretty sure I’ve still got a bit of the asshole that all kids have in their late teens/early twenties still left in me. That’s just a consequence of what it means to be young, I guess. We think we know better than the world and we’re tremendously selfish about what we want for ourselves, but it’s really our (Scott Pilgrim and myself) actions toward women that define us as assholes.
I’ve heard many readers complain that they can’t get through Scott Pilgrim because they find his relationship with Knives Chau to be so appalling. Here’s a quick summary: Scott meets and begins dating 17-year-old Knives Chau (he is 23), a high school student and the first girl he’s dated since breaking up with his capital ‘E’ ex one year ago. Their relationship is pretty mild, considering that Scott is Knives’ first boyfriend and Scott is not actively trying to be a dirtbag, but it’s still a little on the creepy side when you consider the age difference.
Not long after they begin dating, Scott meets “the girl of his dreams”, Ramona Flowers, who has literally been traveling through his dreams as a shortcut through Toronto. He quickly becomes infatuated with her and begins pursuing a relationship with her without breaking up with Knives first. In fact, he goes on a date with Ramona, makes out with her, sleeps with her (no sex, but still) and begins to date her all before he actually break up with Knives.
For a lot of people this is unforgivable. For me this just brings back uncomfortable memories that I’d rather forget.
Unlike Scott Pilgrim, I was a lot younger when I was that stupid. When I was 16 I was dating this girl from high school. About two months into the (short) relationship, I cheated on her with another girl. It was a one night thing, but it was still a thing. I didn’t break up with my girlfriend for another two months and I never told her. Ever.
Scott and I also have a few other particularly bad decisions in our histories like poor handling of girlfriends we moved away from or womanizing. We have been bad guys.
The climactic moment for Scott Pilgrim that allows him to finally defeat Gideon comes when he realizes these things about himself. The Power of Understanding allows him to self-reflect and grow and become something I fear I’ve yet to become: a good guy.
Scott Pilgrim mania hit its peak two weeks ago with the release of the PSN game and the movie coming just a few weeks after the sixth book made its way to stores. The book is in a really strange position for mainstream acceptance. Most people see it and think “hipster”, which isn’t at all accurate. It’s more gamer than hipster, but its protagonists are young, twenty-somethings who are trying to get their act together and get started in life.
An image O'Malley created as a joke to describe his comic.
Funny thing about indie comics and Brian Lee O’Malley in general, this series has been in the works since 2005 slowly working up to its recently released finale in 2010. That’s five years for six books, but it’s not a race, fellows. In fact, the added time probably did the book some good since it allowed O’Malley time to think about what he wanted to do and totally flesh out his stuff.
The books start out rougher than the finale, but they do steadily increase in quality and should definitely be read at some point if you like comics and video games at all.
Not too Cera-y. Worth watching
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, the movie adaptation, has seen seriously sub par box office numbers since its release two weeks ago. Grossing only $20 million, the movie, despite its strong ad campaign, seems to have been missed by nearly all of its intended audience. The video game nerds don’t properly know that it’s so heavy in references, everyone thinks it’s about annoying hipsters, and the hyper-kinetic film style seems to be putting off the mainstream and the critics. Shame, too, because it’s actually a fun movie with a neat visual style that captures the spirit of the books insanely well.
The world is like Captain Falcon in this analogy.
Another part of the problem is that the target audience is doing a lot of internet viewing (AKA pirating) of the film and not hitting the box office. I feel really bad for O’Malley and Edgar Wright (director of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) who put together a great movie that no one is seeing.
One final point about the movie: I actually enjoyed Michael Cera in it. He wasn’t bad and he wasn’t Cera-ing it up too much. He was more Scott Pilgrim than Cera, which is what he’s supposed to do and that’s a welcome respite.
Screenshot!
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game is another great part of the media empire that Min and I have sunk countless hours into playing. More loyal to the books than the movies, the game is a beat-em-up in the style of River City Ransom, the classic NES Kunio-kun game that started the franchise. It’s been a lot of fun and I can’t wait to finally beat it this weekend when Min comes over again.
Real t-shirt for fictional Scott Pilgrim's fictional band
Did you know that Anamanaguchi was handling the soundtrack to the upcoming PSN Scott Pilgrim vs. The World video game? Now you do.
You might also be interested to know that they’ve posted the music to World 1-1. You can listen to it here.
I don’t know how these guys do it, but this song is miles beyond their already fantastic Dawn Metropolis. Keep it up guys, this is gonna be a day 1 purchase for me.
Yes. I want to see this, even though it has a strong chance of not being that great. Who knows, it might even make less tired of Michael Cera. Then again, he’s still kind of an indie band guy in this movie, so…
I have really high hopes for this movie. Can’t wait for it to come out.
