Working is a Mission: Impossible

For those who are wondering why I went quiet last week I will have you know I was on holiday. It is bad enough trying to work at home, never mind working when I am trying to relax. Yes being on a break demands relaxation and I find it near impossible to dedicate myself to working when I in such a state. Sorry if you think I am being lazy but I had more important matters to attend to.

Many of you loyal readers (which there are few) are probably wondering how the video game show is coming along. Well...
1) The original concept has been reworked into something more original.
2) The budget is stricter than first planned meaning having to work on the cheap.
3) I will not be able to use expensive tools such as capture cards or DVD recorders, I have to resort to pointing a video camera at a screen which is looked down on and seen as bush league.
4) Using a camera in such a way causes poor visual quality.
5) My vocal skills on camera are currently below the standard I would like to achieve.
6) I have been able to acquire the games and systems I wanted.

The show isn't going to look like this.

There are other smaller issues I have to express. When it comes to internet gaming shows the target audience is very demanding and fickle with what they want. The likes of virtual console, emulation and steam ports of classic games are an alternative deemed unacceptable by many. This audience of hardcore fans always demand the use of the original hardware, I know this because I was once part of such an audience and have seen what does and does not work in the eyes of the viewer.
I'm hoping the visual issues can be fixed by changing the output from aerial to AV or SCART, only time will tell if this works. If it doesn't then the project may as well be dead on arrival unless I can find a filming method which can fix all these problems.


Enough about the project. While on holiday I sat down and watched some films as it isn't something I do very often so here are some mini reviews.

Mission: Impossible (PG)

Tom Cruise plays the role of Ethan Hunt, a secret agent who is wanted by his own government after being set up in a mission which sees all his squad members murdered. Hunt must retrieve a file known as the “NOC List” in order to clear his name and expose mole responsible for the murders of his team members.
Cruise puts on a decent performance in this film as do many of the supporting actors, the cinematography and editing are two of this films strong points with the writing and overall characterisation letting the team down. The special effects used in the films climax look outdated by today's standards and it makes the whole scenario look ridiculous.
In all Mission: Impossible is a fun blockbuster and not much else, the film peaks with the infamous Black Vault scene and then begins to lose steam towards the end.
***


The Transporter (15)

Jason Statham is cast as Frank Martin, a former marine turned transporter of illegal and dangerous goods..
The Transporter can be best described as a silly, explosive, dumb action movie. Like other films of its kind The Transporter relies on its non-stop action to keep the audience interested, very little time is given to plot or character development. The one man VS an army mentality of the film is nothing new and at times the film will break all suspension of disbelief by becoming incredibly cartoon like with the action, we are talking car crashes where the cars explode spectacularly on impact.
The Transporter isn't a bad film but it is a one trick pony, outside of the action the film offers very little.
**


Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (12)

Desperate to defeat the Human Resistance the master computer Skynet sends a Terminator back in time to kill the leader of the Human Resistance, the human resistance also sends their own Terminator back in time to stop Skynet's Terminator from killing him.
Never was this going to top its predecessor Terminator 2: Judgement Day and never did this film need to be made thanks to Terminator 2's closed ending. Schwarzenegger once again plays the T-800, a cybernetic organism who is sent back in time to protect John Connor (Nick Stahl) from being killed by the T-X (Kristanna Loken), a newer, more powerful Terminator. The film completely recycles the plot of the previous film with some differences. In the previous film Judgement Day (the day where mankind was nearly wiped out) was thought to have been prevented, now we learn Judgement Day has only been postponed and is inevitable.
Compared to the previous film almost everything is a step below previous efforts, the casting, script, plot, story, acting and characters are no where near as strong and the film is overall less memorable.
If you look at the film alone though you will find it to be a great action movie with a tonne of incredible action set pieces which work around the basic run and chase plot.
Terminator 3 wasn't the sequel people wanted but it still does enough to satisfy fans of the series and newcomers alike.
***