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A Gentlereader’s Review of The Gentleviewer’s Obsessive Guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer

May 8, 2014 Naxy

Did you ever wonder what a stevedore is when Buffy mentioned it in season 4 episode 16 of Buffy The Vampire Slayer? The Gentleviewer’s Obsessive Guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, second edition reminds us of this and many other references to American popular culture. For me, this book was like hanging out with an old friend, pulling me through the seven seasons of Buffy (and some of the Angel crossover episodes). I especially liked the chapters with the character arcs that direct the reader through the episodes that are a “must watch,” if you want to follow the story of the main characters, as well as their various couplings.

Where this book falls a little short is in its understanding of audience. The title of the book does not provide any hint that the majority of the book will be focused around recording all the references—some of which are more pop culture than others—in each season. As a huge Buffy fan, the references seem to be only a first step; however, author Kathleen Mattson treats it as an end in itself and is inconsistent in the places where she expands her references. For example, with the above mentioned stevedore quote, she simply states where it is found and provides the quote. When Mattson points out the reference to Yma Sumac in “Once More with Feeling” in season 6, she explains that the person is an opera singer.

While she does provide a detailed explanation of how she defines pop culture, Mattson does not follow through on this by making this a reference for people whom may be from a different culture or are unaware of some cultural references. This book would benefit from an explanation of each of the references she points out. Even for those of us who are familiar with American culture, there are a variety of ways that we could be further informed of where these references come from and what they mean.

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Despite this, I did enjoy perusing through this reference and reliving the show I had loved so much. I had forgotten many of the references and I loved Mattson’s trivia and previous episode references. Others may truly appreciate the detail work in uncovering the music in the episode and the end charts, which include all the characters who appear in each season and whether they are alive, mentioned, or even a ghost.

My overall recommendation depends on the price and the purpose. If you are familiar with American culture, but a first time Buffy viewer, you may enjoy learning about some of those references that are explained. The episode references may also be useful for those who are new to the show as it will allow you to outline your episode plan, if you’re not able to watch them all. However, if many American cultural references from the ’90s and before are foreign to you, this book will not help you with that problem and you will have to look elsewhere for that understanding.

Film/Television/Broadcast/Radio, Movies/TV

Your Move, Kinnaman!: A Review of RoboCop

February 18, 2014 Nathan Joseph Sitton Marchand

Reboots and remakes are Hollywood’s bread and butter these days, and now a classic ‘80s sci-fi/action film has just been given a modern makeover; however, is the new RoboCop an upgrade or a pile of junk? That depends on what you’re looking for.

Detroit police officer Alex Murphy is killed in the line of duty, but is resurrected by a robotics corporation as a crime-fighting cyborg. Who is truly in control: him or his handlers?

I’m a fan of the original movie, though it’s been several years since I’ve watched it. The 1987 film starring Peter Weller is a quirky, violent, yet strangely cerebral action film. Twenty-seven years later, I think the movie holds up. It’s the classic tale of man versus machine, except this time it is a man who becomes a machine and then struggles to regain his humanity. Director Paul Verhoeven imbued the film with a satirical edge that took jabs at politics, media, and crony capitalism. It also almost seems prophetic in presenting Detroit as a dystopia.

In that regard, fans may be disappointed. The remake takes itself a bit more seriously and lacks Verhoeven’s trademark ultra-violence. The satire, while good, is less frequent and mostly limited to “The Novak Element,” a political talk show hosted by Pat Novak (Samuel L. Jackson) that interjects throughout the film. It’s also, for lack of a better term, more politically correct in its presentation of Detroit. Gone is the gentrified division between opulent New Detroit and crime-ridden Old Detroit. Here, it’s presented as a generic metropolis that needs help battling crime.

The remake excels with its relevance and supporting characters. The film’s idea of introducing crime-fighting machines onto American streets is tied to last year’s controversy surrounding the domestic use of drones on American citizens. In the film, OmniCorp CEO Raymond Sellers (Michael Keaton) is frequently at odds with an aged U.S. senator over legislation banning the use of peacekeeping robots on domestic soil. This is ironic given that the machines are used overseas to frighten local populations into submission. By using the current political scene as a backdrop, the film presents its story as a terrifying possibility, which could actually happen given the advancements in robotics technology.
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The supporting cast, as mentioned, is remarkable. Alex Murphy’s family plays a larger role in the new film: His wife approves the use of OminCorp’s technology to save her husband; during his recovery, Murphy speaks with his wife via a futuristic version of Skype; and he visits home once after he returns to Detroit. Giving Murphy’s family a larger role in the film helps to make the story more character-driven and emotionally gripping. Michael Keaton gives a good performance as the villain, playing him with a subtler touch of evil as opposed to the almost over-the-top bad guy of the original. Gary Oldman is by far the best, playing a well-meaning scientist who is slowly corrupted as he works on RoboCop. His character has the most depth and development, but that shouldn’t be a surprise coming from a veteran actor like him.

Where the film stumbles is with its presentation of RoboCop himself, played by Joel Kinnaman. Unlike in the original, Murphy still has his humanity after waking up from the surgery. Seeing the implants causes him to react in shock to what’s happened. This allows him to bond with his family and create more emotional links to his past. It also allows for the erosion of his humanity to be a gradual process. While Murphy adjusts to his new body—including an unnerving scene where a scientist reveals what little is left of his original body—and tries to reconnect with his family, OmniCorp is frustrated that he isn’t performing with robotic efficiency. They install a chip that creates the illusion of free will. Later, they drain his dopamine, making him placid. At this point, he becomes classic RoboCop. The problem is it only lasts for about 10-15 minutes. Peter Weller’s RoboCop spent most of the original film slowly fighting his programming until he regained his humanity. There was potential to make the contrast between Murphy and RoboCop more potent by allowing for more build-up, but it goes underdeveloped.

Though less violent and less frequent, the action scenes are exciting and well-done. While the original RoboCop was a walking tank, the new model is sleeker, faster, and more streamlined. He can run fast and leap over walls. The ED-209 returns for the climax, although this time RoboCop fights three or four of them instead of one. The film utilizes extensive CGI, though not overly so, but I still missed the quirky stop-motion animation from the original film (which may have been one of the last uses of that technique in a mainstream movie).

The new RoboCop succeeds at being a solid, yet different film from the 1987 classic. It proves once again that if your crime-fighting robot isn’t broke, don’t fix it, but at least the new model is a good one.

Final Grade: B

Action, Adventure, Game File, Indie Pennant

Warframe: Space Ninjas are Awesome

January 9, 2014 Kenneth Medford

Ninjas. Space ninjas. The end. Seriously, that’s all I need to say about this game, but I’ll continue if I must.

These space ninjas, known as Tenno, are the bane of the Grineer: twisted looking aliens who lack the grace of the Tenno. What they lack in grace and skill, however, the Grineer make up with galaxy crushing numbers. Similar to the Jedi order, what remains of the Tenno must now band together to fight back against the tyranny of evil.

It’s nice to have a reason for the hacking, slashing and shooting, but this game is really about the gameplay. With a combination of a melee weapon (sword, knife, scythe, etc.) primary guns (assault rifles, sniper rifles, etc.) and side arms (kunai, handguns, etc.), you suit up in your warframe. These warframes vary in stats and abilities. Some will be better with melee attacks while others specialize in support abilities. Each suit comes with up to four special abilities that you have to level up to be able to equip. These abilities can range from a dashing slash attack to repairing shields or setting an enemy ablaze. Players will bring all this firepower to bear against various enemy types in several mission types including sabotage, assassination, and all out elimination—my personal favorite.

When battle becomes too difficult, you can invite up to three friends or strangers to help you tear your foes to shreds. Every mission is fully co-op, so you can always come back to a mission that had you outnumbered and get sweet revenge with allies. My connection is far from the best and I have yet to experience anything more than a second or two worth of lag and the chat is very clear using the standard Sony ear piece.

Graphically, the game is quite solid. During battle, the designs of the various warframes stand out from enemies and other warframes. Even if you and a friend have the same frame, color palette swaps can be done to both the frame and your weaponry to bring a little unique flavor to your Tenno. New planets bring new locations, which have their own unique style and color palette. Firefights pop with the flash of gun barrels, and slicing an enemy in half is much more satisfying when you see his severed remains hit the ground. All the wonderful details that make the combat as beautiful as it is visceral.

As if all of the above wasn’t enough to pique one’s interest, let me give you the kicker: it’s free. Yes, Warframe is a free-to-play game. If you feel so inclined, you can spend money to expedite getting some of the more powerful weapons and warframes. You can also grind it out and earn in-game money to purchase blueprints and use materials (found during missions and rewarded after successful missions) to build those same items. It’s completely up to the player.

The only major issue I take with the game is the control scheme. With only two preset configurations, which simply swap how character powers are activated, there is very limited room to customize it. It was almost five hours into the game before I realized there is a block button because it is relegated to the up directional button. The placement would be fine if you are meant to block while stationary, but if you want to block bullets on the move, you will have to contort your hand into quite the odd position. Activating powers can sometimes be hit or miss using the touch pad as it can misread your swipe in the midst of a firefight. Early on, these don’t present much of a problem, but as the enemies become tougher, any misstep trying to adjust to these controls will cost you your life.

If you can’t tell, I am in love with this game. The difficulty can become a bit much when trying to play alone, but with a solid team of Tenno, it should be easy to avoid the invisible wall of progress that gamers sometimes hit. Worst comes to worst, you played a free game you didn’t like. If you end up anything like me, you’ll have a digital hit with more than enough enemies to slice and riddle with bullets for months to come. Enjoy my fellow ninjas.

Warframe is available now on PlayStation 4 and PC.

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