The Film Snobs: Episode 2

In this episode of The Film Snobs Roth and Stray take a look at the remake of Dredd, Tarantino's Django unchained.
They also talk about the trailers for the up coming Star Trek sequel and Sly's new film Bullet in the head.

MP3 File
You can download the episode by clicking on the mp3 link under the player. We'd love to hear your feedback on this episode, and if you have any suggestions for films for us to watch and talk about. So feel free to leave us a comment!

Only War Episode One

The first podcast episode of our Only War adventure!

Staring...

Jonathan as the Games Master.
Josh as Sgt. Carmine
Walker as Gunner Fog
Daniel Rattling Sniper Torque

The Imperial Guardsmen of Fifth Squad "The No Hopers" set out from their garrison on a vital mission to investigate what has happened to the overdue supply convoy.


MP3 File

You can download the episode by clicking on the mp3 link under the player. We'd love to hear your feedback on this episode, and if you have any suggestions for films for us to watch and talk about. So feel free to leave us a comment!

Seven Psychopaths (2012)

Seven Psychopaths (2012)

Director: Martin McDonagh

Rotten Tomatoes rating 81%

They Won't Take Any Shih Tzu

Those who have read my exploration of the Alien franchise will know that my previous endeavours have been heavy on detail and full of spoilers. This review will differ in both of these ways. There will one single spoiler in this review but this will be a very tiny one and will not give any plot details.

 Seven Psychopaths is the follow up to Anglo-Irish playwright and director Martin McDonagh’s 2008 hit In Bruges. Like the previous film Seven Psychopaths is a violent dark comedy. It features several completely bizarre scenes and a couple of entertaining deviations from the plot. 

The casting of Seven Psychopaths is sublime. The protagonist is portrayed by In Bruges star Colin Farrell. He plays Martin an alcoholic screenwriter who is supposed to have completed a script for a film called Seven Psychopaths. Unfortunately though he seems to spend most of his time drinking himself into oblivion. Trying to save him from himself is best friend Billy played by the enormously entertaining Sam Rockwell. Billy is a con artist who makes a living kidnapping dogs while kindly Hans (Christopher Walken) returns them for the reward money. The plot is kicked off in earnest when they steal the Shih Tzu of Mafia boss Charlie Costello (Woody Harrelson). Interestingly the role of Costello was originally given to Mickey Rourke. However Rourke dropped out, and to mark this there is a headstone in the graveyard scene bearing his name. 

The plot of seven psychopaths is what leads it from one scene to another and not always in the way that you think it will, but what drives the film is the performances. Farrell is utterly brilliant as a man whose life has just taken a massive sequence of wrong turns. Harrelson treads a fine line between compassion for his lost pet and homicidal rage. Rockwell is just compellingly watchable as some one who may not be operating the same wavelength as everyone else but genuinely wants to help his best friend. And Christopher Walken just about steals the show with his quite dignified performance. 

In Bruges was so well regarded and such an alternative hit that it was a hard act to follow. However McDonagh more than pulls it out of the bag with Seven Psychopaths. The film manages to be violent, funny, sentimental, well crafted and entertaining. It may not be to everyone’s taste. There are some graphic and very inventive deaths and language, which is colourful to say the least. Yet unlike films of a lesser quality this is all used to enhance the story rather than compensate for the lack of it.

Some critics have complained that plot lines peater out and the film does not break any ground. They have accused the film of trying too hard and stated that it feels like a bad Tarantino pastiche. Others have praised it as a future cult classic and tipped it for Oscar nods. The more highbrow newspapers put the former view forward, in particular the Guardian, however I tend to feel that they were trying to read something into the film that was never intended to be there in the first place. From viewing Seven Psychopaths I would tend to agree that it has cult classic written all over it but any Oscar nominations will be in the writing and technical categories.

As my final credit to this film I will point out that Harry Dean Stanton is one of the psychopaths. The Robert Ebert Stanton/Walsh rule states that any film that features either Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmet Walsh can not be bad - the exception that proves this rule being of course Wild Wild West. Therefore this must prove that Seven Psychopaths is good!

I'd would definitely recommend seeing it at the cinema while it is still out, and if not then be sure to catch it on rental when the DVD is released.

- Lizzy

GM’s Corner

Free Flow Gaming versus Adventure Books

Before you start your career as a GM, you have to have a couple of things down. Firstly you need to have a fairly decent grasp of the rules. At the end of the day you as the GM should be the final ruling on any problems or confusion in the gaming session, so a decent knowledge of the rules helps save time and keep the session running. The second thing a GM needs to know is his story, the story is core of the game and whilst I put emphasis on letting your player characters live out their own individual “stories”, having a well built and well thought out “plan” and world helps ease the player characters in.

This leads us to the problem that I and a few other GM’s I know came to face as we started playing. Do we invent our own stories and worlds for the player characters or do we use the various pre-written adventure books that are available?

I’ll start with Adventure books. These are pre-generated campaigns/stories that are usually written up by the same companies that make the games/rulebooks. They give the GM a full adventure from start to finish and detail all the encounters and NPC’s the players will discover along the way. They usually contain very detailed descriptions of the locations and villains that define that particular story and are often filled with hints and tips for the GM to run the sessions.

Adventure books are ideal for first time GM’s or GM’s that are moving to a different game (i.e. moving from D&D to the Star Wars RPG) and are still getting to grips with the new rules. They offer a complete campaign and often give hints and tips that are very helpful to a new GM. Another good point about adventure book gaming is you have reliable idea of the number of sessions you will need to play for, one of the major issues with free-flow gaming is that it can be nearly impossible to gauge how long a campaign will run for. This isn’t the case with adventure books, because you have the story and structure set up already, it is ideal for GM’s and PC’s who have limited time to play or that don’t want to get bogged down in a year-long campaign (Yes, it happens…)

The downside of Adventure book games is that the players are basically being “rail-roaded”. For those of you who are new to roleplay gaming, Rail Roading is when a GM or Campaign force a player characters actions. They will always end up discovering the same clues and ending up at the same locations regardless of how they may investigate. Whilst it is harder to spot for newer players, Rail Roading eventually becomes a problem for players as they feel restricted and unable to truly immerse themselves in the gaming world. Some other minor problems with adventure book gaming include the cost. Depending on the publisher, they can be quite expensive and essentially if you stick to the same gaming group, it is a one use book with no replay value. And the last problem you might face is the unimaginative player character. With these books printed and on sale for all, you run the risk that a player character will read through the story and gain an unfair knowledge of things to come. It’s not always the case, some groups might not experience this at all, but occasionally it can happen and can ruin a campaign if it becomes obvious a player knows what’s coming.

Free-flow gaming, if the term has been coined as such is a campaign of the GM’s creation. A world he has made and a story he has written. It is a style of gaming that lets the player characters have real freedom to investigate and explore the GM’s world in a manner of their choosing. Free-flow requires a lot more effort on the part of the GM. He must create a world and a story from scratch but must also be ready to improvise on the spot as usually the PC’s will not act in the manner you expect.

Free-Flow as I’ve mentioned is not limited like Adventure Book gaming, the only limit on the campaigns and worlds and characters you will meet and encounter is that of the GM’s imagination. It can offer a much more immersive world for the PC’s as they are free to interact and investigate at their own pace and in a manner of their choosing. More often than not, this style of play makes the campaigns more about the players “story” than the actual mission they are trying to achieve and this can be very rewarding for the players as they generally prefer the ego-boosts. The other benefits include it being completely free, a pen and paper being all you will need to create such a campaign and also it will be unpredictable for your player characters. With it being contained with the GM’s mind, there is no risk of a player character reading ahead and ruining the story for everyone else.

The major downside of Free-Flow gaming is the timescale. As I’ve already mentioned, player characters rarely act in the manner a GM might expect and in an effort to keep with his players, the campaign can be stretched out quite a lot more than the GM might expect. This can be a problem as often it conflicts with other hobbies and generally the busier lifestyles people tend to lead. A person can’t be expected to give a night or two every week for the foreseeable future and often people will have to miss sessions if the campaigns drag on. Another problem is the freedom the campaigns offer, this can lead to massive deviations in the storyline as the players pursue an obscure lead or waste time chasing personal goals. This can lead to the problems with the timescale but can also be easily remedied with a little improvisation. Finally one of the bigger downsides of free-flow gaming is also the biggest strength. Whilst the campaigns can be immersive and limitless, you also have the problem that the story is only as good as the GM. Sometimes a GM can offer little in detailed description leaving the player feeling like he is moving from one empty whitewashed room to another whilst other GM’s waste time with description, detailing every inch of an area to the point where a player loses interest. The best bet is finding the middle ground.

Both types have their merits as well as their problems. I personally would recommend that new GM’s try an adventure book campaign first just to get to grips with the system and the new role they find themselves in, I would also suggest it to GM’s moving to a different game system. After that however I recommend Free-flow as it is equally rewarding for the players and the GM. I’ve tried to be as unbiased as I can be about them and I hope you find it helpful.

Next time on GM’s corner we’ll be talking about the things you need and might consider for the sessions...and it will be on Youtube!

If you have anything to add or think I’ve missed anything let me know, I welcome input from other GM’s as well as being happy to answer any questions new players might have.

See you next time.

-Roth

GM's Corner

GM's Corner

So why play Role Play Games?

Those of us that already partake are more than aware of the stigma attached to role playing games. If popular culture is to be believed then the sort of people who play games like Dungeons and Dragons and Dark Heresy are smelly, daylight fearing nerds with a limited clique of friends. They scuttle around in the shadows and spend their spare time sat in front of the PC screen wasting away on WOW and the likes.


Well let me tell you something... That only counts for like half of our little gaming group!

 

“Kind of a Dungeons and Dragons thing” – Moss
“Ew, is that some sort of sex thing?” – Jen
“Ha, Far from it Jen!” – Moss (IT Crowd – Jen the Fredo – Series 4, Episode 1)

 
One of the primary hobbies this review site will revolve around is Role Play Gaming. The most well known of these being Dungeons and Dragons, the games have also expanded into the numerous niches of popular geek culture, aside from the sword and shield play style of D&D, players can play as Jedi in the Star Wars role play, fearsome Space Marines in the Deathwatch role play and the secretive acolytes of the Inquisition in Dark Heresy (to name but a few). The possibilities are endless and only limits of role play gaming is the imagination of the GM and the players.


Over the coming weeks and months, myself and others will try and help aspiring GM’s by offering tips and hints to help with your gaming sessions. The gaming experience will only be as good as the GM who controls it, so hopefully you’ll be able to find something useful that you can use.


Now why play? In a world of Xbox Live and MMORPG’s, what can role play gaming offer? Well as I’ve already mentioned, from the GM’s point of view, it is a limitless world of your creation. For the player characters, it allows them to truly create a character and personality of their choosing. Modern gaming allows for some customisation, 
but in the world of role play gaming the character can be truly personalised to the player’s heart’s content. As such it can offer a much more immersive world in which to play out your characters lives.


Another good reason is the cost. Role play gaming is relatively cheap hobby. For the GM there is the initial expense of a rulebook and some dice and for the player characters they usually need nothing more than a few dice and some pens and paper. It’s not a bank breaking hobby and if you have a regular and committed gaming group, the costs can be split down even further.


So maybe we have your interest now, maybe not. As the site progresses we will recommend various games and rulebooks, we will offer advice on improving your sessions and if you have questions, we will do our best to answer them.


For now I hope we have at least piqued your interest.


Next time we’ll talk about free flow gaming versus adventure book gaming and Stray and I have plans to review Dark Heresy, a role play game set in the Warhammer 40K Universe where players take the roles of the secretive acolytes of the Imperial Inquisition.  

See you next time.

- Roth

Better late than never... Equilibrium (Spoilers)

Better late than never... Equilibrium (Spoilers)

"Better late than never" is where we review something that has been out for a while but we haven't taken a look yet and we think you might be interested in.

If we're looking at a story in some detail during the review will give you a spoiler warning in the title, generally this will be on something that is so old that if you've not seen it by now, you probably not going to, however we'll still try and keep specific spoilers to a minimum.

So without further ado...

Equilibrium

Equilibrium was written by Kurt Wimmers and was released in 2002, it stars Christian Bale, it's listed as also staring Emily Watson and Taye Diggs however their roles are quite small, the film is really set around Christian Bale's character John Preston.

Equilibrium is set in a dystopian future where mankind has almost wiped itself out in a third world war, to prevent a fourth society now take a drug called prozium which eliminates human emotions which are blamed for the many inhumanities humanity inflicts on itself.

The film divides the world into two parts, a futuristic city state of Libria and the nethers a ruined waste land outside Libria's walls. Inside Libria the population are kept under control by 1984 style propaganda with a figure head of "Father" playing the role of big brother, drugs that remind us of brave new world, and the burning of anything that might tempt people to feel again that has a Fahrenheit 451 vibe to it.

Oh and of course there are the grammaton clerics, the elite warriors of the government and their hired goons with motorcycle helmets that root out sense offenders on a daily basis.

Critics apparently didn't, but I really liked the references to 1984, brave new world and Fahrenheit 451, the television screens everywhere which fathers propaganda been played out constantly made for some interesting background for the scenes and listening to them helps you get an idea of how we got from how things were to how things are now.

I also like how John's relationship with his son and daughter is similar to that which the party is aiming for in 1984, broken of emotional attachment. The kids call him by his first name and there is no love loss between them with the son constantly been suspicious of John. If you've not read "1984", "Brave New World" or "Fahrenheit 451" I definitely recommend it as soon as possible. I like to think of all these references as a nod to these books from Wimmers rather than him trying to rip them off.

The films actions scenes revolve around the idea of the gun kata, a martial art that revolves around dodging and ducking while firing pistols back at people without looking. While this is very silly as an actual concept it is really fun to watch and the final fight scene duel between two masters of the gun kata is a very original and entertaining to watch, so you can suspend your disbelief about it never actually working for the cool factor.

The only thing that annoyed me about the action scenes are the fact that it seems to be one of those films like starship troopers were people, mainly the goons and resistance extras, uses their guns as water hoses, they seem to feel that they have to close the gap towards the enemy in order to actually shoot them. I do like the fact that everyone who gets shot appears to be full of dust instead of blood, I like that style, it looks kind of stylised, not to mention that it probably helped to keep the certificate down.

This is where the spoilers are going to start to kick in so if you haven't seen the film and want to, look away now!

The heart of the story is Preston's journey from oppressor of the resistance to it's champion, his arc from being a unfeeling killing machine, existing simply as the film puts it "to carry on his own existence" to been a feeling killing machine who is fighting for a better, if more unstable future for mankind, his family and himself.

Through an accident convenient to the plot John comes off the dose and begins to feel for the first time and finds that he can't go back, after going through a personal journey of discovering feeling for the first time he contacts the resistance and agrees to help take down father.

What I really love about this, and there is a major spoiler coming up now, but throughout the film John is so obviously feeling in front of people that you could not believe that he could possibly be getting away with it, despite his flimsy excuses and swapping out of guns to hide his crimes.

As a viewer you think that this is too much to suspend your disbelief over, but in the final scenes it's revealed that the Tetragrammaton council were using him all along as a unknowing stooge to bring down the resistance members.

It's kind of a moment were you realise everyone around him must have been told to ignore whatever he was doing, no matter how obvious.. "yes even if he starts crying in the middle of a public street! Just pretend you were looking at a particularly interesting propaganda screen!" You can kind of forgive John's character for been rubbish at hiding his emotions though, after all emotions make us do irrational things and since he's never had any he's no experience in keeping them under control.

In the end we find another nod to 1984, that father isn't a real person any more and he is just a public symbol, a puppet to the council, also we get to see what I think is a real cool mirror of the two sides in the fact that the head bad guy is off the dose and is feeling where as earlier in the film we find that the heads of the resistance take prozium and sacrifice feeling in order to carry on the resistance.

The fact that the head bad guy is feeling is hinted at throughout the film heavily by the angry outbursts that again everyone just ignores, when we get to his office in the final fight scene we also get to see quite a lot of sense offending objects hung up around the place.

The ending is kind of a little too Hollywood with everything going the good guys way, with the implication that everything is won just like that. However I do like the way that John wipes the blood off his hands onto one of the propaganda screens symbolising the bloody cost of the revolution and maybe hinting at things to come for the world with the return of emotion.

Overall despite a couple niggles, I really enjoy this film and I think it's got a lot of rewatchability.

The idea of sacrificing individual rights, in this case the right to feel, for the benefit of humanity as a whole is still very relevant and the action scenes are stylised and cool. If you've not seen this film give it a watch and if you have, maybe it's time to sit back, put it on again and try out a few gun katas with some nerf guns afterwards.

- Stray