95 Minutes of Argh!

500 Days of Summer (Marc Webb, 2009)

When: Late September

Where:At Home on one of the Sky Movie Channels

There's something very off about this film, but I can decide what it is. Is it uncomfortably real, a play by play re-enactment of a bitter man or is it complete fantasy. Either way the 95 minutes of pain took me back about 10 years or so. Back then this was the film I wanted to make, perhaps even a little further back, but then back then I was only just starting my addiction. I suppose it's not so hard to empathise with a love struck but cowardly obsessive... anyway, moving on. The film starts like a good old fashioned comedy with a what seems amusing credit:

At the beginning of the film, before the title, a disclaimer states:
"AUTHOR'S NOTE: The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

Especially you Jenny Beckman.

Bitch."

However, the specific nature of detail in the film actually scared me a little. From the repeated use of the colour blue, the Zac Braff style fantasies, the music choices and references it felt like there was something going on. Should this have been a call for celebration, or was it just a perfect re-enactment of the our main man and his neurosis. My remaining memory of this film was that if I was 19 years old or younger this was the film I always wanted to make. After that I grew up and got on with it and stopped the whinging. Anyway, enough was enough and I was happy when this movie was over.

Let the Blood Times Roll

God of War III (SCEA, 2010)

On:PS3

Completed:September 2010

I loved every minute of button bashing fury in God of War III.  The game is simple, seek revenge on those who have hurt you and anything and anyone who gets in your path.  Yes, there's a little more story to it than that but the plot is simple and is not the main reason for playing.  There are two main fighting styles in God of War III.  The first is using your weapons to take down enemies and inflict damage, there are different moves and combos, or you can just press a number of buttons repeatedly switching from low power attacks to high powered ones and watch the carnage and combos build up.  The second type of combat is when you are about to finish off a larger foe, you are prompted on screen to press a button/buttons or move the left stick in  a particular fashion to complete the move.  This mode normally starts up when you see the circle button displayed above the head of your foe meaning you can grab them.  What makes God of War III particularly special is level of graphic violence, you do not just knock bad guys over or stun them, you pummel them to death, decapitate them, tear them apart limb by limb, beat every last pint of blood from their bodies.  Here you get to really test yourself.  How much anger is inside you waiting to spill out?

The look and feel of God of War III is breathtaking, from the dark underworld of Hades to the decaying magnificence of Olympus, it's all there.  There is plenty of detail, much of which you can interact with to revel hidden treasures to help with upgrades to help you complete your revenge on Zeus.  Not only that but things in the game that look like they are just window dressing take on new features and become important to your progress as the game progresses.  The chain of Olympus being one example of this.  Sometimes this ability to revisit old locations is a little confusing as you wonder if you should be going back where you have came from. New power brings new options and different areas open up and new things happen with the extra abilities you gain.  The soundtrack to God of War III is suitably menacing and sounds much like an army going to war (or a little like the south park anime spoof!) but I think it works well.

In short this is a beautiful rage filled game, it was the kind of game I had been missing for a while and I enjoyed every last fight right up to Zeus' final pummeling and the blood red screen that follows.  Apparently hope is the strength you need to kill a god, it is the secret weapon they cannot fight against.  For all the anger the game tries to end on a positive light.  If you like your blood baths and all out fighting action then I don't think you will be disappointed.