MediaBlog by www.Dee-London.com

2007

In one sentence- that’s the film about the rock band Joy Division. If you never heard about Joy Division then probably the film wouldn’t really excite you. However, for Joy Division or/and art-house films fans it will be the real treat. It’s atmospheric, touching and quite authentic- there are lots to love in this drama, even if you don’t have any sentiments for this rock band itself. Did I mention that it’s in black & white?

Click here for more info about Joy Division

Surprisingly, the first geisha were actually men. Known as the Taikomochi, these men, like their later female counterparts, were expert musicians, dancers and amusing story-tellers who liked to touch upon taboo subjects. This lesser-known tradition still exists but there are now only a handful of Taikomochi still working in Japan. <…>

Modern geisha still live in traditional houses known as okiya which are situated in areas called hanamachi or ‘flower towns.’ Even more alluring is the name given to the refined, high culture world that geishas live in - this is known as karyukai or ‘flower and willow world.’ <…>

The way of the geisha has been invaluable in keeping alive centuries-old traditions. Dance, music, literature and even dress codes have been handed down directly from generation to generation in an unbroken line for over 500 years and, as such, have remained authentic and relatively unchanged. Sadly, these ‘keepers of the arts’ are dwindling in numbers; only a handful of girls apply to become maikos each year now and even fewer make it all the way through training to become fully-fledged geishas.

The full article’s here- suzukislipstream.co.uk

Yesterday I was asked to contribute some of my art photos to MadAtoms.com- that’s how I learned about “the place where nobodies create the content”. Though, the list of the contributing artists is pretty impressive and the content’s quite crazy (writings, films performances, other arts). But I’m warning you- it’s something totally opposite to “classical” & “straight forward”, so, obviously, it would be difficult to recommend it for everyone :)
So, yeah, I contributed :)
Link to the article with my photoart :)

The Official Cheat Codes
Though I don’t recommend you using them- some of them lock achievements (not to mention that it ruins the in-game atmosphere). However, they saved me lots of time when I had to re-check all 200 pigeon locations again to find one missed or not saved pigeon

4825550100 Restore Health
3625550100 Armour
4865550100 Advanced Weapon Set - Baseball Bat, Grenades, Combat Pistol, Combat Shotgun, SMG, Carbine Rifle, Combat Sniper, RPG
4865550150 Standard Weapon Set - Knife, Molotovs, Pistol, Pump Shotgun, Micro SMG, Assault Rifle, Combat Sniper, RPG
2675550100 Remove Wanted Level
2675550150 Add one star to Niko’s wanted level
4685550100 Change Weather
3595550100 Spawn an Annihilator in front of Niko
9385550100 Spawn a Jetmax in front of Niko
6255550100 Spawn an NRG-900 in front of Niko
6255550150 Spawn a Sanchez in front of Niko
2275550100 Spawn an FIB Buffalo in front of Niko
2275550175 Spawn a Comet in front of Niko
2275550147 Spawn a Turismo in front of Niko
2275550142 Spawn a Cognoscenti in front of Niko
2275550168 Spawn a SuperGT in front of Niko

Telephone calls from Niko’s friends
If you don’t want Niko to go for an activity with his friend and don’t want him to loose his friendship rating, than simply answer the phone, accept the invitation and shortly after call back and cancel the plans (a special option on the phone’s menu)

Simple way to loose Niko’s wanted level
After doing a hell mess in streets and gaining wanted levels, just take Niko to his safehouse and put him to sleep :)

Friends’ special abilities
Friends’ special abilities are unlocked when Niko’s friendship ratings are above 75%:
Roman - free taxi (who needs one in Liberty City?:)
Brucie - sends a helicopter to your location, so you can travel around the city quickly
Little Jacob- brings all the essential weapons (except RPGs) near you- and the prices are 2x cheaper than in ‘official’ shop! (That’s the essential in-game feature!)
Dwayne - sends 2 mobs in a car for a gunfire support
Packie - brings near you a car bomb. You can attach it to any car and explode later using the mobile phone
Stevie - he will buy all the cars from Niko
Francis - he can remove Niko’s wanted level
Carmen - she can restore Niko’s health through a phone conversation
Kiki - she can remove up to 3 stars wanted level
Alex - 50% off at all clothing stores (for a limited time after a date)

Dial 911 if your car’s engine stopped working and it will start again!

P.S. It’s impossible to list all the features in one blog post. Buy the official guide book instead- this game is worth in-depth exploration!

Well, it’s not a video game, but it’s something much more unusual- that’s a web browser based strategy MMO (sort of):
www.Ikariam.org
The gameplay mechanics are obviously inspired by Age of Empire. Surprisingly, graphics look even better than the first AOE, though it doesn’t use neither Flash nor other plugins- that’s a purely HTML based game. On top of that you’re competing and/or interacting with other real players. That said, I should warn that the game is not any action or real time strategy game- it’s more like a distraction during a busy day (like emails).
The bottom line is that I was amazed by the nearly-genius concept and positively surprised by the presentation quality.

2007

What I was expecting was an absolutely standard “living dead” B-level crap. The only reason I picked up this one was the atmospheric setting- a remote village in Alaska and 30 days of night, during which the place is closed for good. Well, about the crap I was almost right, though there are few things that elevated this film from the “horror crowd”:
♠ As I mentioned before- an exotic polar location and a naturally long & dreadful month of extreme winter
♠ Very stylish zombies, err, vampires :D Actually, these are my favourite from all the created two-teethed creatures
♠ Very picturesque, artistic and impressively composed scenes- obviously, that was influenced by the comics, on which was based the movie
The bottom line is that if you need another zombie/vampire/old-school-horror shot, you can give it a try. Besides, the quality of Blu-Ray transfer is extremely good.

2008

I’m starting to understand people that hate Sci-Fi or fantasy- after watching this film, you could easily loose any respect for the both genres at once. Yes, it’s Fantasy Sci-Fi (with merlins, kings arthurs and lasers) . And it’s a big B (not Bisexual, but B-Movie). Every aspect of it- acting, dialogs, plot, costumes, camera work- everything is unforgivable. Hey, Stargate fans, I’m telling you- find another show for the adoration.

Ratchet & Clunk: Tools of Destruction (PS3) review

That’s an absolutely brilliant game! Mind you, it’s neither a platformer nor a “childish” game. It’s definitely an epic space adventure. Sci-Fi lovers will appreciate space travels to 18 different locations like planets, asteroid rings and space stations. RPG fans will love the story and exploration. Shooting fans will get a zillion much upgradeable weapons & gadgets. Arty ones will be impressed by visual designs, attention to details and animations. There is something, hmm, a lot for everyone!

Some critics were complaining about variety of game mechanics. Don’t listen to them! This “recipe” is so balanced and tasty that you won’t be able to stop. Dancing a pirate jiggle, devastating enemies with your tornado (literally!), enjoying bird-winged flying with Sixaxis control, finding hidden golden bolts that let you play with different skins, fighting dinosaurs, solving fun puzzles, space battling through asteroid rings, exploring abandoned space stations, experimenting with dozens of weapons in fighting arenas and impressive boss fights- it’s just 1% of what you will find here. What about converting your enemies into penguins? My favourite- throwing a disco ball into a battlefield so all the enemies start dancing! HINT: all bosses dance too! That’s so damn fun!

P.S. Did I mention Pixar level artwork here? :)

The Condemned (Blu-Ray)

2007, Vinnie Jones, some WWE guys & others :)

Don’t take your girlfriend to this film- that’s a damn dirty one. The plot isn’t original- on an isolated island one should kill all other competitors to be win the freedom. The close comparison would be Battle Royale- and I mean not only the idea but the moral aspect as well. If children killing each other sounds already disturbing enough, so The Condemned manages go even further, because, well, children were doing that in less innovative ways. But take this- 10 the most hardcore and tough criminals (including 2 women) with records of multiple murders, rapes and tortures are collected together and set free to do whatever they want. And so they do- their experience and dirty “creativeness” show off pretty well. And the reason for all this insanity is an internet show organized by an evil-minded and somehow-genius producer (was that auto-irony?).

The film ends up with a happy end (huh, more kills) and some arguable moralising. Otherwise, it’s a very professionally made film. Blu-Ray transfer is top-notch. Lighting/camera work is superb.

BBFC banned Manhunt 2 (video game). How THIS movie managed to slip through their fingers???

I Am Legend (Blu-Ray) review

2007, Will Smith

The good: unforgettably impressive matte painting and 3D art- the vision of New York was so epically depicted, that it’s a must-see for everyone who’s into visual arts. The bad: everything else. Well, maybe not everything- the first half of the film very distantly reminds Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker (and that’s a plus). The second half is just an ordinary zombie movie. Meh.

Ok, now-Will Smith. I definitely enjoyed him in some earlier films. Here he acts professionally, but heartlessly. You won’t believe him even for a minute, regardless how many times he cries, pretends to care or tries to show off his craziness.

It’s not like this film is a total stinker, but don’t expect too much from it. In any case, you will find story of Resistance: Fall of Man (PS3 video game) more entertaining and touching.

Quality of Blu-Ray transfer is not impressive at all. Extras include theatrical and alternative endings (by the way, theatrical one is much better). And there are animated comics that I highly recommend not to miss!

Animated comics on youtube.com:
Hong Kong
Isolation
Awakening
Shelter