Edward's September 2015 Mix

I scraped, skimped and saved (plus worked overtime) to finally get a 4K Ultra HD television and boy was it worth it. It’s not home theater big, but at 43” it’s a far cry from my previous 26” television I’ve been using for the past few years. The resolution is incredibly good. This should tide me over until I finally am able to pick up a 70” OLED set. When that happens I’ll never leave home again. This new television makes me not only want to watch every Blu-Ray out there, but also revisit and rewatch everything in my current Blu-Ray collection. This was definitely a month of movie watching for me. Anyway, 12 items this month. Brace yourself, it’s a long one, but worth it.

1. Revolution by Deborah Wiles As I’ve mentioned before Wiles’ first novel Countdown was about a young girl entering the world of teen angst despite the Cuban Missle Crisis happening around her. And it’s one of the few books I’ve read more than once. This, her second novel, is about a girl witnessing the Civil Rights Act in action in 1964. Her town is about to become “invaded” by the now famous Freedom Schools for the Summer project. Wiles does indeed have a gift for capturing time and place so vividly, but the book’s length wore out its welcome. It certainly wasn’t badly written, but I  just grew weary of it. It’s a shame because this book deserves much finer appreciation than that.  

2. Train Simulator 2015 on PC: Steam recently released a new version of this, entitled, (naturally) Train Simulator 2016. Many reviews are decrying it a travesty since the updated game is nothing more than an updated intro and maybe some very slight graphical tweaks. I’m not complaining since the update was free for all owners of TS2015. On the horizon looms an all new version of this game based on the Unreal engine. From what I’ve been told it’s a separate game which will not work with any of the DLCs I’ve purchased over the years. That’s too bad because I have a heck of a lot of DLCs to still play through with my current iteration. I’m strangely addicted to this game, which, trying to describe to someone else simply seems like a bore simulator. In practical application it’s quite another story, a true parcel of zen.  

3. Card Hunter on PC: As I’ve mentioned before, this game was awarded PC Gamer Magazine’s “Most Original Game of the Year 2013.” This streamlined version of the old style D&D games you used to play with friends who used graph paper and multi sided dice is probably one of the most charming PC games I’ve ever played. I have my three characters up to level 11 now, and they are holding their own in most battles. There are a few modules I’ve won, however, through dumb luck. “The luck of the draw” has more to do with this game than meets the eye, which ultimately means you will eventually beat a certain module if you play it enough times. I have yet to play multiplayer, but I’ve heard it’s where this game really shines.  

4. Unstoppable on Blu-Ray: The best movie I’ve seen in 2015. I’ve owned the movie for less than a month and watched it three times. How often does a movie affect you like that? This movie, about a runaway freight train hauling hazardous waste depicts real life modern day train operations like no other movie I’ve ever seen since the likes of the movie Runaway Train. Denzel Washington who always makes good movies shines in this one, and I panned the Star Trek reboot helmed by J.J. Abrams, so this is my first exposure to Chris Pine who did  a great job as the young conductor mentored by Washington. Tony “Top Gun” Scott directed this movie, and I have to declare it truly is the “top gun” of train movies. Scott claims no CGI was used in the film, including the destruction of two SD-40 engines in a riveting derailment scene.  

5. Watchmen on Blu-Ray: I read the acclaimed graphic novel way back when it first came out and enjoyed it. Despite its supposed near frame by frame depiction of the graphic novel, I didn’t enjoy this film. It just felt lacking something, or spackled with too much stuff. I’m not sure which. As it went from a great and gratuitous fight scene to what seemed like a Saturday Night Live skit in which aged superheroes were standing around a spiked punchbowl getting wasted. The movie concerns a band of superheroes who are bleakly jaded and cursed with superpowers (instead of being lackadaisacally happy and honored to be saving the world everyday.) The movie was morose and depressing. Odd that the aforementioned train movie is the best movie I’ve seen in 2015 and thus far, Watchmen is the worst one I’ve seen in 2015.  

6. Edge of Tomorrow on Blu-Ray: I heard a lot about this movie, so went into it with big expectations. I wasn’t disappointed, but I wouldn’t want to see it again. The movie is somewhat a sci-fi rendition of the movie Groundhog Day less the comedy. It got repetitious to the point of a predictable ending. Tom Cruise’s acting was good, however. We get to see him evolve from a fearful and wavering unwilling soldier to a hardened bad ass through his constant trial and confrontations with the enemy insect (Robert Heinlein's Starship
   Troopers, anyone?) It's a good rental, but not an owner.                                                
7.  A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens: I know it’s an important book. I’m glad I’m reading it, but it’s definitely a chore. I must admit it’s better than my last Dickens’ book, Hard Times, but if I had been charged with having to read this book in high school I probably would have cheated and lied my way through having to read it. I’m halfway through the book, and it’s moving along at a steady pace, but Dickens’ stilted language (which I’m usually a big fan of) is not working for me in this novel. I often have to backtrack to reiterate what’s going on because I’ve become lost in this sea of words.

8. The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft on Kindle: Still working my way through this man’s venerable collection of horror stories. If you’re a fan of horror fiction this is some, well, I’ll just say it, required reading for sure. Lovecraft will never be taught in high school or college literature classes, but he was definitely the Edgar Allan Poe of his generation. Reading, “The Lurking Fear,” the other night outside at two o’clock in the morning with all the world asleep, I had to stop at certain moments and look around me to ensure I was alone. The story creeped me out that badly.

9. Icehouse Measure for Measure on CD: Concurrent with my ongoing interest in “Loudness Wars,” (Google it, you’ll be amazed) I was able to score this non-remastered pure CD for a steal on Amazon. I hadn’t listened to it since my tape cassette days twenty plus years ago. Iva Davies’ voice is a true force of nature, and it’s a shame Icehouse didn’t become more popular over the years. This albume plays almost like a greatest hits album e.g., there are no bad songs on it. “No Promises,” “Across the Border,” “Angel Street,” and “Paradise” could have easily been number one hit songs. Give them a listen on Youtube. I think you’ll be impressed.

10. The Old Dark House on DVD: If you’re a horror fan you should know the name James Whale. This is the man who directed Frankenstein (1931) and The Invisible Man (1933). This is the man the 1998 film, Gods and Monsters was based upon. And Whale did a remarkable job with this film based on (almost verbatim) of J.B. Priestley’s “Benighted.” A sort of black comedy in the same vein as “Arsenic and Old Lace.” I must say this movie, however, has a much darker overtone to it. This movie launched so many “It was a dark and stormy night,” narratives. Fun to watch, it stars a quite fetching Gloria Stuart, the wonderful little old lady we remember as Rose in 1997’s Titanic.

11. Inglorious Basterds on Blu-Ray: I lied to you. I apologize. I previously mentioned Unstoppable as being the best movie I’ve seen in 2015. This one tops it. Granted, I’m not a Quentin Tarentino fan. Actually, I think his stuff is utter sensationalism and gratuitousness with a capital G. This movie, though, might have just made me a fan. The attention to detail, the Nazi uniforms, the actors in their prospective roles. It’s just such a heavy thorough movie. This is the old 1960s-1970’s good stuff, e.g. Kelly’s Heroes, The Dirty Dozen, amped up to an R rating.

12. Lost: Season 2 on Blu-Ray: Each episode is more spellbinding than the other. I’ve become so much a part of the show I feel I’m a resident, and with that said, you’d think you’d garner a sort of trust with the main characters, but that’s not really the case. I like Sawyer one moment and then he becomes a d-bag. John Locke seems to be the lighthouse guardian of the whole establishment, but then he does something that makes you think he has his own ulterior motive. And when Michael committed his heinous deed resulting in the death of two people he completely disgusted me, but then you see the reasoning behind his actions and it all makes sense. Oh God. My own scruples are coming into play simply watching this series. If you’ve never seen it, you’re missing out.