Casual Review: Gone Girl

  Okay so first of all, I have to say that I pretty much idolize David Fincher by now. Never have I ever seen such impeccable consistency in terms of film quality in another director, and I do believe he's the best working director in Holywood at the moment. That being said, I'm obviously a bit biased but even so, this film absolutely blew me away.
  This casual review contains major spoilers so if you haven't seen the movie, get the fuck out of here immediately. So what do I want from this type of movie? I want mystery. I want suspense. I want characters with layers upon layers of depth and I want to be conflicted, surprised, awestruck. This film managed to do all of these and not only that, it managed to also make me laugh quite a lot to my surpise. The whole premise of the film is made more clear in the halfway point where the whole story makes an 180 twist in a span of a few minutes in jaw-droppingly fashion, making you question your own thought process and as we find out, the movie is not only a great mystery but also a critique to modern social media.
  Any movie that makes me contemplate on my initial thoughts and ultimately completely change my views is an absolutely brilliant one, and any actress that can become from the sweetest, most thoughtful and caring, perfect person on screen to one of the most psychotic, twisted, sociopathic villains I've ever seen is oscar-worthy in my book, so there you go Rosamund Pike. Not to take away from Ben Affleck's amazing performance who always manages to shut everyone up after being constantly critiqued for his acting skills due to a few bad decisions. I think he's over "Gigli" by now guys, it's time to move on as well. After this and Argo, I honestly can't see him fucking Bruce Wayne up and I can't wait to see him in that role. Tyler Perry also knocked it out of the park and the real revelation for me, aside Rosamund Pike, was the actress who played Ben Affleck's sister in the film, Carrie Coon. Spectacular performance and honestly, oscar-worthy as well. Now about Neil Patrick Harris; of course HIMYM fans such as myself are going to feel a bit weird about seeing their beloved Barney being in a serious role (even though he was, in fact suited up for most of his screentime) but as soon as I saw his character developed, all of my initial thoughts went out of the window because to be frank, NPH is one creepy motherfucker. David Fincher did a great job hinting this without ever showing us straight forward and I personally believed he could snap at any moment and go on a killing spree.
  Overall I expect this film to be nominated in a whole lot of categories for this year's academy awards and I wouldn't be surprised if it took a lot of them home. Best Direction, Best Adaptation, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Leading Actress, Best Supporting Actress would be reasonable nominations to name a few and of course, Best Score. Now let me talk about that last thing a little bit, because as an avid music fan I always keep an ear for the soundtrack in a movie, as it helps you immerse into it and instictively guides your thoughts with its delicate sounds;exactly what Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross managed once again, after their other magnificent collaboration in Fincher's "The social network".
  The film is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking, has an amazing cast, superb direction and an eerily beautiful soundtrack and it is as much of a crime mystery as it is a character study of human relationships and a blatant critique of the media in its very core. Bumped up above Fincher's Zodiac and just one step below "Fight Club" it is my second favorite Fincher film and on of the best I've seen in the past few years, if not ever. Go watch it.
  After leaving the theatre, one of my friends jokingly said to me "You know the reason we have no such stories as this in real life? It's because there are no such brilliant people around to be part of them." Even though it might actually be true, what if it's not? You will never know who the greatest spy ever was because he will never reveal his identity, and you will never know about
"the perfect crime" because if it really is "the perfect crime", you will never find out about it.

P.S.: Unless you enjoy sleeping with one eye open, DO NOT WATCH THIS WITH A DATE. "Crazy bitch" stories tend to not be first date material and this one will make you paranoid, mark my words.

Video Game Review: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Coming from developer Naughty Dog and after the critically acclaimed first chapter, Uncharted: Among Thieves had some big shoes to fill and that it does, in spectacular fashion.

Presentation:

First of all, I'd like to address that this game showcases some of the best visuals I have ever seen on the PS3. Taking one quick glimpse at this game, you know you're in for an amazing adventure. Everything from the environment, to the facial animations, to the textures, to the notebook that Nate occasionally draws out, make up for a jaw-dropping    graphical experience. There's this point of the game where you first discover the lost city of Shamhbala, hidden high up in the Himalayan mountains; that was the point when I literally stared in awe as the beautiful city unraveled before my eyes.  Never has a game succeeded in getting me engaged so much in it just from a visual standpoint before this one. The soundtrack of this game is very fitting and has that epic feel to it, highlighting the massive scale of the locations you're exploring. Taking you to all sorts of different locations, Among Thieves has you guessing if it gets better than this.

Story:

Aside the breathtaking graphics, Uncharted had a very interesting storyline with quite a few plot twists that you might or might not see coming. The game opening sequence was by far the best I have ever played, everything about it was perfect. It puts you in the spot of an exhausted, crippled and severely wounded Nathan Drake, inside a train wreck which is hanging on the side of a snowy mountain a little before it slides into oblivion. The sequence that follows, as Drake's survival instincts kick in for a last minute breakout, is one of the most exhilarating moments in the campaign. From that moment, you know you're in for an amazing ride, the game practically gets you hooked from moment one and never lets you go. The story might seem a bit generic and filled with Hollywoodey cliches but it's so well executed that you won't even notice it. Action-packed, suspenceful, full of betrayals, secrets and just the right amount of drama and comedy, it keeps you on your toes and wondering where will Drake's journey take you next. The supporting cast is equally outstanding, showcasing some of the best voice talent you'll find in the business. The dialogues are well written and the comedic timing is spot on(which was a bit off in the first game) getting you more and more invested to see where these characters will end up. Moreover, the character development in this game is note-worthy. Nate, Elena, Sully and the others will not be the same people you met in the beginning of the game and it makes for some amazing storytelling. The love triangle between Drake and the two females (because one just isn't enough) is delivered well and instead of dragging the story back it fits well into the main plot. And you might be asking: "What's a good story without a good villain"? Well, you'll be happy to know that the main villain is every bit as amazing as the other characters in the game. The guy is ruthless, crazy, menacing and just huge. Finally, our main protagonist, Nathan Drake, is one of the most likeable video game characters I've ever played as and he is voiced by the ever-awesome Nathan Fillion. Doesn't get better than this. By the end of the game you'll find yourself thinking about the whole adventure you've been through and, trust me on this, you'll want to revisit it again and again.

Gameplay:

Gameplay-wise, Uncharted perfectly blends elements from different genres, that being 3rd person shooting, platforming, stealth, hand on hand combat and puzzle solving to name a few. The platforming part requires lots and lots of climbing, from ledges to statues, to pillars, to wrecked trains. I personally didn't mind by how much the game has you pressing X to land on that other ledge but I can see why some people would get annoyed by this. In the first game, I found myself redoing some "difficult" jumps, just because of the so-so controls, something that has been adressed and is not an issue this time around. Another thing that might frustrate newcomers are the shooting mechanics in the game, but once you get used to them you won't even notice later on. The puzzles were sometimes a bit difficult as well as rewarding, which is a big imrpovement to the first game's easier equivalents. The combat was a lot smoother than the first game, adding more options than just spamming square and triangle. Stealth combat has a much bigger impact tin this game, since now you'll be able to choose whether you want to approach the enemies slowly and stealthily and pick them off one by one or, if you prefer, wreak havoc and blow shit up to your liking. Those elements make for very fun and fast gameplay which never bores you. The only thing that annoyed me in the whole campaign were the damn heavily-armored-machine-gun-weilding-super-soldiers who needed several magazines to be put down. I mean, how many bullets do you guys need? Just f*cking die already!

Replayability:

The story is about 10-12 hours long at normal difficulty but that is not it. One of my biggest gripes about the first game is that it lacked PSN trophies. Well, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves makes up for that by implementing achievements that have you finishing the game twice, once in normal and once in crushing difficulty and searching for coins, amulets and other ancient goodies in order to get 100% completion. To find those hidden treasures you'll have to explore your surroundings quite a bit, somewhat breaking the game's rather linear story. Some may take a little longer than others to find if you are not using a guide but the sence of achievement after finding them all is worth it. Oh, did I mention that the game also has multiplayer? Yup. Even though the single player campaign itself is worth buying the game, the multiplayer is a nice touch, adding a lot of replayability to it. And it's not like they just included multiplayer for the sake of it, I actually had a lot of fun playing it. It's a fun break from all the FPS's out there, making use of the single player mechanics and having some really fun game modes. The climbing aspect I mentioned in the campaign is present, adding a lot of verticality to the game which makes for an overall unique online experience. Aside that, the multiplayer has a levelup system, killstreak boosts, costumes, weapons and other unlockables and some amazing levels to play on.

Overall:

PLAY THIS GAME. Amazing story, interesting characters, breathtaking visuals, smooth combat, great storyline and fun multiplayer are some of the things this game has going for it. This game, shows how much Naughty Dog has grown as a developer, from the Crash Bandicoot PS1 era to the PS3 era. One of the best PS3 titles out there and arguably the best 2009 gaming title.