Right as rainy

CSI Las Vegas, the original and (as far as I am concerned) only true CSI series, has gone into its 9th season a short while ago. And some rather unexpected events that happened during and at the end of Season 8, have led to the exit of three of the most prominent characters. Sara was the first to go after her ordeal as a target of the miniature killer. Then Warrick got killed because he was getting close to uncovering a connection between the PD and organized crime – too close for comfort. Now Grissom has taken the exit as well.

In a few interviews, William Petersen, actor as well as executive producer, has revealed that he was tired, that he needed a change from nine years of playing one and the same character. It is fathomable, especially for an artist, to not be able to do the same thing over and over for years. And let’s face it, Grissom’s character, while interesting and defining for the series, was rather rigid and allowed for very little development over the years. (continue reading…)

Whenever a movie is announced that is a conversion from another medium – book, comic, video game – I get a bit wary. Some of these movies worked – others were dismal failures on the count of quality. Out of all these options – comic adaptations seem to be the easiest, as they usually just take the general motive and spin a story which follows the spirit of the comic. Books and games are somewhat more difficult. How do you capture the essence of a 500+ page book in a movie of 90, maybe 120 minutes? Or the same for a game of 15, 20 hours?

The movie-to-game conversion has been around for a while, and very few times it actually works out well. Most movie-license games are just there to add something to the merchandise range and increase the profits from the franchise, but quality doesn’t always seem to be a concern (see “Calamity James“). And while the game-to-movie adaptations are still fewer in numbers, they will become increasingly more. (continue reading…)

It’s done. Another live album by New Model Army, who have been my favourite music group for a long time. Another entry in the impressive discography of the band, spanning ten studio albums and a number of live documents, among others. Their songs and lyrics have accompanied me for years and some of them are inseparably connected to phases and stages of my life. Reason enough for me to constantly keep track of their work, and when I saw that this live album, entitled “Fuck Texas, Sing For Us” was available online (through 7Digital, a very recommendable online store), I wasted little time buying and downloading it. And already the first song indicates that, even after 27 years of band history, New Model Army are far from finished. (continue reading…)

So LOST has gone into its fifth season. And as if the intricacies of Season 4 weren’t enough, it’s getting even more complex. New characters and sidestories are popping up all over the place, and instead of flashbacks and flashforwards, people are now timetraveling themselves. So it is rather hard now to determine who is where, and especially, who is when.

I am not sure I like the direction the series is taking. It’s becoming very difficult to follow the weekly release format, with so much happening. I am also not sure if the creators actually have worked it out until the ending of season 6, which is supposed to end the series, or if they’re just trying to fill the time until that happens. Because if they do, they should rather take a shortcut to whatever ending they thought of, and write it in now, because few things are worse than a series dragged out just for the sake of dragging it out. I will most likely follow the series up until the end anyway, but if they lose the plot completely, that might change.

On a sidenote, if you haven’t played the LOST videogame yet, think of giving it a skip altogether. It’s a classic case of wasted potential. The game tells a nice story which ties into LOST quite well, and could have been a part of the series. The cinematics and direction are a 1:1 carbon copy of the series format. But the gameplay is a different story. It lacks consistency, tries to incorporate too many elements from different genres, and is at times sorely frustrating. Overall the game makes an unfinished and rushed impression, as if it had to come out no matter what, and noone really took the time to playtest it. Try it on your own risk, and don’t say you haven’t been warned.