"The Greatest Television Show of All-Time" -- that is one hell of a statement. One that gets tossed around quite arbitrarily. Whenever we hear that statement we always take it with a grain of salt. As the show aired, it quickly gained a small but very loyal fanbase that heaped mountains of praise on it. I'm not even sure if this show was aired properly in Canada so I never got a chance to verify it for myself. I was still skeptical, but hearing and reading many people and many critic's opinions got me curious. These weren't just generic one sentence statements that studios like to put in advertisements, these were passionate, detailed love letters to the show. People that liked the same shows I did loved The Wire. So with the show over and released in its entirety on DVD, it allowed me a chance to look and confirm for myself whether or not this was the greatest television show of all-time.
The main premise of the show follows several detectives in the city of Baltimore as they investigate murders and the drug trade. What makes this show unique is that it gives equal billing to both sides of the law. The supposed good guys aren't always good and the supposed bad guys aren't always bad. It's not as a simple as looking at it and calling it black and white.
Show creator David Simon, was a former reporter in Baltimore, and another major contributor to the show was former Baltimore detective and school teacher Ed Burns. No doubt the realism of the show comes from their first-hand experiences in their respective fields. Simon himself was frustrated by what he saw in the police, school systems and the failure of the bureaucracy to deal with it in a timely and efficient manner. In one of the special features in this DVD set, Simon specifically talks about the city of New York and the Law & Order television shows. He mentions how there are more murders on all those shows combined than there are in Manhattan in a year.
The scope of the show expands greatly as the series progresses. We are introduced to the police and the drug dealers in the first season. The second season introduces to the Port, where these dealers get their drugs. The third season introduces us to the political side. The similarities between politicians and drug dealers are uncanny. Drug dealers deal in drugs and destroy lives with guns and coke. Politicians deal in bullshit and destroy lives with their words. The fourth season delves into the school system and how many kids are pushed into the underworld as a result of the failure of the school system. Finally, the final season introduces us to newspaper reporting. I think we've all experienced sensationalistic reporting, and this season gives us a pretty good overview of it.
Besides its eye on detail and ultra realism, what really makes this show special, is its large and diverse cast. I don't believe I've seen another television show that not only had so many important characters, but so many fully developed characters. I could go on and on about this show, but there is so much it covers and so much that I want to talk about: my favorite characters, my favorite moments, my favorite season; I could go on and on.
So is The Wire is the greatest television show of all-time? Having seen the entire series in a very short span, I can confirm that yes, The Wire is indeed, The Greatest Television Show of All-Time. It's not a cheery show by any means, it'll make you angry and it might even make you cry, but it is very well worth checking out. It's available on DVD for a reasonable price, and most likely free at your local library.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
My Favorite Video Games of 2009
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Playstation 3) - this is one of those games that other developers look at and say to themselves that they gotta up the ante on their own games. While the game starts off slow, once the pedal hits the metal, the game becomes fantastically paced, offering moments of stealth, platforming and action. It delivers exactly what the developers promise, basically a summer blockbuster but instead of watching it in a theatre, you play it. There are numerous impossible moments, but who cares, they make this game unique and fun! I finished this in 2 days, but that doesn't mean it's short, I didn't want to put the controller down. In the making of for this game (included with the game), the developers said they wanted to make a game where the player didn't want to put the controller down, and they succeeded. I would have finished it in 1 day if my eyes weren't getting so dry from staying up so late! All in all, it took about 10 hours, but they were 10 great hours. I'd rather play a great 10 hour game than a so-so 40-hour game. Those ultra long games that offer 50 or 100 hours of gameplay are so boring and chock full of repetitive filler material just so they can say they offer "more" gameplay. Sorry but I'm sick of random battles and library levels.
Add to that a fairly robust multiplayer component here brings some extended replay value, I say fairly because while there are about a dozen different modes, there are only a handful of maps (only 3 for cooperative mode). Of course there will be additional content released later for download. The gameplay is top-notch, the graphics are fantastic, offering some of the most beautiful environments I've ever seen in a game, the audio matches that of the best slam-bang action movies you've seen (in 7.1 no less, if you've got the equipment), the story is compelling and the voice acting is terrific. It's as close as you can get to a perfect single-player experience in games today.
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (Nintendo DS) - ah Nintendo, for a while there it wasn't looking so hot, but all of a sudden you make a system where people wave their arms around and look like jackasses and you become the king of the mountain again! While the Wii and DS sell like hotcakes I barely touch them today. Why? There just aren't many good games to play for them. That's just my opinion of course. Another opinion I have is that nearly all of the Nintendo produced titles for their big names like Mario, Zelda and Metroid always deliver and make it worth owning their systems. Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story is no exception. This game continues the great Mario RPG tradition where you take Mario and company fight in turn-based battles in a story-based RPG. Being used to the side-scrolling platforming of the Super Mario Bros. series, this seemed like an odd departure at first, but after playing it, I now prefer the RPG games to the platformers!
The story is pretty wacky, Mario is an Italian plumber after all, but would you want it any other way really? For reasons I won't go into, Bowser manages to inhale all the inhabitants of Mushroom Kingdom and a microsized Mario and Luigi must fight inside his body while a normal-sized Bowser fights in the real world. The game design takes this story and weaves it into the gameplay masterfully. The game makes novel use of the hardware, using both screens, stylus touch controls and even the microphone. It's fun, lengthy and there's plenty of stuff to do.
The Beatles: Rock Band (Xbox 360/Playstation 3/Wii) - like Pixar with animated movies, the developers of this game, Harmonix just get it when it comes to music games. After you see the opening cinematic for this, easily the year's best for any game, you know that what you are experiencing is awesome. After the dissapointing Guitar Hero band-centric games for Aerosmith and Metallica, this is how you do the ultimate band-centric game. The game follows The Beatles as they progressed throughout their careers, following them through a small club, to a television show performance, to their giant shows in Shea Stadium and the Budokan in Japan all the way to their final days at Abbey Road studios. For those later years when The Beatles abandoned touring, instead of normal performances on stage like in your typical music game we are given these fantastic dreamscapes.
In addition to all the on-disc songs, we also have downloadable content for 3 of their greatest albums (Abbey Road, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Rubber Soul). It just leaves you wanting the entire catalog available (If that's not possible, can we at least get some of their greater hits like Yesterday, Hey Jude, Strawberry Fields Forever, etc.). The gameplay is the familiar Rock Band gameplay, tried and true, it works and it works well. The new innovation here is the addition of Harmonies, so vital to the Beatles work, which allows up to 3 people to sing at the same time. But the real star of this whole package are the songs and the accompanying dreamscapes. When you play this game you know that the people who made this, made it with love because like you, they love The Beatles.
Shadow Complex (Xbox 360) - this Xbox Live Arcade game costs only $15 but has better production values than some full-priced disc-based games. It's got a well-written, compelling story (think giant underground complex and government conspiracy) with great voice-acting to play it all out. The gameplay itself is classic 2D side scroller action/exploration, in the vein of classic Metroid and Castlevania. While you move on a 2D plane, the graphics and environment are in 3D and look especially great for a cheap downloadable game. The gameplay is varied and you get many different weapons and items that challenge you to mix it up to find the best way to defeat enemies. The story should take around 6-8 hours, but will probably last a little longer if you're like me and you want to explore every nook and cranny and find all the secret hidden areas and items. In addition are a bunch of short challenges that will test out all the skills you learned in the game. Most of them are a moderate challenge, but there are at least a few that will test your mettle. This is the best downloadable game released all year and well worth the money.
Add to that a fairly robust multiplayer component here brings some extended replay value, I say fairly because while there are about a dozen different modes, there are only a handful of maps (only 3 for cooperative mode). Of course there will be additional content released later for download. The gameplay is top-notch, the graphics are fantastic, offering some of the most beautiful environments I've ever seen in a game, the audio matches that of the best slam-bang action movies you've seen (in 7.1 no less, if you've got the equipment), the story is compelling and the voice acting is terrific. It's as close as you can get to a perfect single-player experience in games today.
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (Nintendo DS) - ah Nintendo, for a while there it wasn't looking so hot, but all of a sudden you make a system where people wave their arms around and look like jackasses and you become the king of the mountain again! While the Wii and DS sell like hotcakes I barely touch them today. Why? There just aren't many good games to play for them. That's just my opinion of course. Another opinion I have is that nearly all of the Nintendo produced titles for their big names like Mario, Zelda and Metroid always deliver and make it worth owning their systems. Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story is no exception. This game continues the great Mario RPG tradition where you take Mario and company fight in turn-based battles in a story-based RPG. Being used to the side-scrolling platforming of the Super Mario Bros. series, this seemed like an odd departure at first, but after playing it, I now prefer the RPG games to the platformers!
The story is pretty wacky, Mario is an Italian plumber after all, but would you want it any other way really? For reasons I won't go into, Bowser manages to inhale all the inhabitants of Mushroom Kingdom and a microsized Mario and Luigi must fight inside his body while a normal-sized Bowser fights in the real world. The game design takes this story and weaves it into the gameplay masterfully. The game makes novel use of the hardware, using both screens, stylus touch controls and even the microphone. It's fun, lengthy and there's plenty of stuff to do.
The Beatles: Rock Band (Xbox 360/Playstation 3/Wii) - like Pixar with animated movies, the developers of this game, Harmonix just get it when it comes to music games. After you see the opening cinematic for this, easily the year's best for any game, you know that what you are experiencing is awesome. After the dissapointing Guitar Hero band-centric games for Aerosmith and Metallica, this is how you do the ultimate band-centric game. The game follows The Beatles as they progressed throughout their careers, following them through a small club, to a television show performance, to their giant shows in Shea Stadium and the Budokan in Japan all the way to their final days at Abbey Road studios. For those later years when The Beatles abandoned touring, instead of normal performances on stage like in your typical music game we are given these fantastic dreamscapes.
In addition to all the on-disc songs, we also have downloadable content for 3 of their greatest albums (Abbey Road, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Rubber Soul). It just leaves you wanting the entire catalog available (If that's not possible, can we at least get some of their greater hits like Yesterday, Hey Jude, Strawberry Fields Forever, etc.). The gameplay is the familiar Rock Band gameplay, tried and true, it works and it works well. The new innovation here is the addition of Harmonies, so vital to the Beatles work, which allows up to 3 people to sing at the same time. But the real star of this whole package are the songs and the accompanying dreamscapes. When you play this game you know that the people who made this, made it with love because like you, they love The Beatles.
Shadow Complex (Xbox 360) - this Xbox Live Arcade game costs only $15 but has better production values than some full-priced disc-based games. It's got a well-written, compelling story (think giant underground complex and government conspiracy) with great voice-acting to play it all out. The gameplay itself is classic 2D side scroller action/exploration, in the vein of classic Metroid and Castlevania. While you move on a 2D plane, the graphics and environment are in 3D and look especially great for a cheap downloadable game. The gameplay is varied and you get many different weapons and items that challenge you to mix it up to find the best way to defeat enemies. The story should take around 6-8 hours, but will probably last a little longer if you're like me and you want to explore every nook and cranny and find all the secret hidden areas and items. In addition are a bunch of short challenges that will test out all the skills you learned in the game. Most of them are a moderate challenge, but there are at least a few that will test your mettle. This is the best downloadable game released all year and well worth the money.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
My Favorite Television Shows of 2009
Friday Night Lights - this show has been so strong this season, but one episode in particular makes this show the best on television right now. The 5th episode of the 4th season entitled "The Son" which deals with one of the main characters as he reacts to the death of his father overseas in Iraq. Episodes about death on television are usually bogged down by scenes of melodrama and actors just screaming for an award, yet here Friday Night Lights tones that down to a realistic portrayal that doesn't hit you over the head but still absolutely breaks your heart. So well done and shot in a handheld style that gives it a documentary feel that it doesn't even seem like you're watching a TV show, you're watching life unfold. And the shameful thing is that you aren't watching it! Buy the DVDs, they're cheap!
Dexter - The serial killer who murders serial killers came back in what was my favorite season of Dexter yet. This year saw Dexter as he hunted down "The Trinity Killer." Perfectly played by John Lithgow who delivered an absolutely frightening portrait of a serial killer who is also a family man. I say this because there was one moment where the Trinity Killer confronts Dexter that startled me and made me want to take a step back (even though I was sitting down). The scenes between his family offered some of the most awkward but compelling moments in the show. It all builds up to a great and shocking final episode that makes me dread the next 9 months or so until the next season begins.
Community and Parks & Recreation - if there's one thing NBC did right this year, it was the introduction of these 2 new shows. Both ensemble single-camera comedies that are consistently funny with some really quirky but likable characters. Both feature lead roles that are absolutely perfect, Joel McHale in Community and Amy Poehler in Parks and Recreation. Add in some great supporting characters, and general insanity and wackiness, make these 2 shows a great addition to the already hilarious 30 Rock and The Office.
Dollhouse - yeah the first half of the first season was crap, and honestly, after watching the first episode, the only reason I stuck it out was because it was a Joss Whedon show. As people who know me know that I love his work, Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Serenity, and you might not know him but you've probably seen some of his work, for instance, he wrote Toy Story. Well Fox just wouldn't get their grubby hands off of Dollhouse and kept tampering with it and the result is that the first half of the first season is just so watered down and so un-Joss-like. After they finally let Joss do his thing, wow what a show this became.
What's great about Dollhouse is that it packs everything that Joss is good at into 2 short but oh so sweet seasons of television. There's action, comedy, drama, sometimes all in the same scene! There are tons of twists and surprises. People you think are good are bad, people you think are bad are good. And it wouldn't be a Joss Whedon show if there weren't a lot of deaths. People you love will die, and you will hate Joss for doing it. But it's how Joss makes you love the character in the first place is what's important. They knew that Season Two would be it and it's like they packed all the ideas they would have done if the show ran for 5 years into 1 year. As a result, those final episodes were entertaining as hell.
Dexter - The serial killer who murders serial killers came back in what was my favorite season of Dexter yet. This year saw Dexter as he hunted down "The Trinity Killer." Perfectly played by John Lithgow who delivered an absolutely frightening portrait of a serial killer who is also a family man. I say this because there was one moment where the Trinity Killer confronts Dexter that startled me and made me want to take a step back (even though I was sitting down). The scenes between his family offered some of the most awkward but compelling moments in the show. It all builds up to a great and shocking final episode that makes me dread the next 9 months or so until the next season begins.
Community and Parks & Recreation - if there's one thing NBC did right this year, it was the introduction of these 2 new shows. Both ensemble single-camera comedies that are consistently funny with some really quirky but likable characters. Both feature lead roles that are absolutely perfect, Joel McHale in Community and Amy Poehler in Parks and Recreation. Add in some great supporting characters, and general insanity and wackiness, make these 2 shows a great addition to the already hilarious 30 Rock and The Office.
Dollhouse - yeah the first half of the first season was crap, and honestly, after watching the first episode, the only reason I stuck it out was because it was a Joss Whedon show. As people who know me know that I love his work, Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Serenity, and you might not know him but you've probably seen some of his work, for instance, he wrote Toy Story. Well Fox just wouldn't get their grubby hands off of Dollhouse and kept tampering with it and the result is that the first half of the first season is just so watered down and so un-Joss-like. After they finally let Joss do his thing, wow what a show this became.
What's great about Dollhouse is that it packs everything that Joss is good at into 2 short but oh so sweet seasons of television. There's action, comedy, drama, sometimes all in the same scene! There are tons of twists and surprises. People you think are good are bad, people you think are bad are good. And it wouldn't be a Joss Whedon show if there weren't a lot of deaths. People you love will die, and you will hate Joss for doing it. But it's how Joss makes you love the character in the first place is what's important. They knew that Season Two would be it and it's like they packed all the ideas they would have done if the show ran for 5 years into 1 year. As a result, those final episodes were entertaining as hell.
Monday, January 25, 2010
My Favorite Films of 2009
Inglourious Basterds - there are 2 scenes in this film that just may be 2 of the greatest scenes ever put to celluloid. The opening scene and the Tavern scene. Any of these 2 scenes alone would have made this my favorite movie of the year. These 2 scenes featuring just a handful of characters but have such intricately written dialogue, spoken perfectly by the cast. It's just so compelling and edge of your seat, you don't know what's going to happen, and you can't wait for it to happen. So well-written and the actors so perfect, this is truly Tarantino's masterpiece. And can I also say, a movie where Germans speak German and not English with poor German accents, how crazy is that?
(500) Days of Summer - it just gets better every time I see it. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, easily the best actor his age in Hollywood, the only other actor that comes close to his pure acting ability is Ryan Gosling. A romantic comedy from the point of view of the guy this time, Levitt portrays Tom, the everyguy, with Zooey Deschanel playing Summer, the everyguy's dreamgirl. Both are perfect in their roles and have to be for this movie to work. The narrator warns you at the beginning that "this is not a love story" and Tom believes in the whole "one true love" bit while Summer doesn't want anything serious. Remember what the narrator said? Well things don't end well.....or do they?
I was hooked from the beginning with simple text explaining:
The following is a work of fiction.
Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Especially you Jenny Beckman.
Bitch.
And how can you say no to that musical sequence?
Up - Another year, another of the year's best movies. If the opening wordless married life segment didn't tug at your heart then you have no heart. What else can I say about Pixar? They just deliver every time, they aren't just on another level in terms of animated film, but filmmaking in general. Their focus on story ensures a great time every time you watch their films. They don't rely on cheap jokes or catchy pop songs. The very definition of a perfect family film, there's something in it for everyone.
The Hurt Locker - this movie about a Bomb squad technician works both as an action-thriller with tense bomb defusing segments and also as a condemnation of war. The opening quote that says that "war is a drug" is something that haunts modern times. It's a sad thing when a man feels the need to abandon his newborn baby boy to defuse bombs halfway across the world, not because he doesn't love his son, not because he needs to help others, but because it's an addiction. War is a drug in the worst way.
(500) Days of Summer - it just gets better every time I see it. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, easily the best actor his age in Hollywood, the only other actor that comes close to his pure acting ability is Ryan Gosling. A romantic comedy from the point of view of the guy this time, Levitt portrays Tom, the everyguy, with Zooey Deschanel playing Summer, the everyguy's dreamgirl. Both are perfect in their roles and have to be for this movie to work. The narrator warns you at the beginning that "this is not a love story" and Tom believes in the whole "one true love" bit while Summer doesn't want anything serious. Remember what the narrator said? Well things don't end well.....or do they?
I was hooked from the beginning with simple text explaining:
The following is a work of fiction.
Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Especially you Jenny Beckman.
Bitch.
And how can you say no to that musical sequence?
Up - Another year, another of the year's best movies. If the opening wordless married life segment didn't tug at your heart then you have no heart. What else can I say about Pixar? They just deliver every time, they aren't just on another level in terms of animated film, but filmmaking in general. Their focus on story ensures a great time every time you watch their films. They don't rely on cheap jokes or catchy pop songs. The very definition of a perfect family film, there's something in it for everyone.
The Hurt Locker - this movie about a Bomb squad technician works both as an action-thriller with tense bomb defusing segments and also as a condemnation of war. The opening quote that says that "war is a drug" is something that haunts modern times. It's a sad thing when a man feels the need to abandon his newborn baby boy to defuse bombs halfway across the world, not because he doesn't love his son, not because he needs to help others, but because it's an addiction. War is a drug in the worst way.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
How About Some Love for Books?
It's occurred to me that I haven't written much about books here. So let me make up for that.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon - one of the best books I've ever read. The story follows two jewish kids who create comics and spans several decades from the Depression era all the way through the Second World War. The writing is just top-notch, with the setting pitch perfect and all the characters feel real. While this is a work of fiction, many real-life incidents are reproduced that give it that extra sense of realism.
I was interested in this book because I'm a comic book fan, but this book is by no means only for that group. It's won some deserved awards such as the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. So take that for what it's worth. Interestingly enough, a real comic book has been created based on the comic that Kavalier and Clay create in the book. Even better is that it's a pretty good read too! There have been rumblings of a movie, but I have no idea how a 2 or even 3 hour movie could do this book justice. It seems the wheels started spinning but have completely stalled, and that's probably for the best. Although the rumoured casting of Natalie Portman as one of the leads would be absolutely perfect.
Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling - having grown up as a big wrestling fan, my favorite wrestler in the world was Bret Hart. He seemed to be the perfect package, great on the mic, great in the ring, and he was Canadian.
This is an absorbing book which drew me in and broke my heart. Surely you've all heard of all the deaths of so many wrestlers in the past couple of decades. Hart is frank and reveals everything, the funny side, the bad side, the egos, the politics, and everything in between. He is brutally honest about himself, his many infidelities and the behind the scenes workings of the wrestling business. Unlike the many other wrestler biographies, this isn't being published by the WWE, and doesn't have the filter and ass-kissing attitude that the other books sometime have, because let's face it, those wrestlers need money and WWE is pretty much the only game in town now, and they don't want to go around badmouthing their boss.
This is one of those reads that is of most interest to wrestling fans, but would be a good read for anyone.
Choke by Chuck Palahniuk - fans of Fight Club (the movie or the book) will love this. It's by the same author, so it has the same twisted, dark sense of humour that is Palahniuk's trademark. This book was such a scintillating read I found myself reading it loud because the dialogue was so rich.
There was a recent movie made of this book that more or less remains faithful to the book, but it just isn't on the level of the Fight Club adaptation. While it has it's own merits, it just lacks that spark the book has. Stick with the book here.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon - one of the best books I've ever read. The story follows two jewish kids who create comics and spans several decades from the Depression era all the way through the Second World War. The writing is just top-notch, with the setting pitch perfect and all the characters feel real. While this is a work of fiction, many real-life incidents are reproduced that give it that extra sense of realism.
I was interested in this book because I'm a comic book fan, but this book is by no means only for that group. It's won some deserved awards such as the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. So take that for what it's worth. Interestingly enough, a real comic book has been created based on the comic that Kavalier and Clay create in the book. Even better is that it's a pretty good read too! There have been rumblings of a movie, but I have no idea how a 2 or even 3 hour movie could do this book justice. It seems the wheels started spinning but have completely stalled, and that's probably for the best. Although the rumoured casting of Natalie Portman as one of the leads would be absolutely perfect.
Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling - having grown up as a big wrestling fan, my favorite wrestler in the world was Bret Hart. He seemed to be the perfect package, great on the mic, great in the ring, and he was Canadian.
This is an absorbing book which drew me in and broke my heart. Surely you've all heard of all the deaths of so many wrestlers in the past couple of decades. Hart is frank and reveals everything, the funny side, the bad side, the egos, the politics, and everything in between. He is brutally honest about himself, his many infidelities and the behind the scenes workings of the wrestling business. Unlike the many other wrestler biographies, this isn't being published by the WWE, and doesn't have the filter and ass-kissing attitude that the other books sometime have, because let's face it, those wrestlers need money and WWE is pretty much the only game in town now, and they don't want to go around badmouthing their boss.
This is one of those reads that is of most interest to wrestling fans, but would be a good read for anyone.
Choke by Chuck Palahniuk - fans of Fight Club (the movie or the book) will love this. It's by the same author, so it has the same twisted, dark sense of humour that is Palahniuk's trademark. This book was such a scintillating read I found myself reading it loud because the dialogue was so rich.
There was a recent movie made of this book that more or less remains faithful to the book, but it just isn't on the level of the Fight Club adaptation. While it has it's own merits, it just lacks that spark the book has. Stick with the book here.
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