March 26, 2010
By: John Taber
Category: Anime Reviews, Media Interests
-== What is it? ==-
Origin:Spirits Of The Past is an anime movie from FUNIMATION that tells the story of two teens from different times who become caught between a deadly forest and a man trying to destroy it.
I purchased the standard edition version of the DVD. There is a “Special Edition” available with additional features that I have not seen. The version I have does not have any extras. The movie is 90 minutes long.
-== What I Like ==-
The story in Origin is not too revolutionary but it is VERY nicely conveyed. The story has a strong environmental message but I did not find it “preachy”. The basic story is simple…man plays with nature, nature slaps man in face, man tries again but this time stops himself. Then ending is full of true love and hope. Who does not like a movie with a happy ending!?! 🙂
The environmental, background, and setting design in this movie is outstanding. The settings change from a buried high tech underground city, to a ragamuffin cliff village, to an industrial monster city, to a fantastic multi-railed train. I was literally on the edge of my seat waiting to see the next place they were going to visit. Beautiful stuff.
I liked the fact that the bloodshed and nudity was essentially non-existent as it is not needed in a movie with a story like this to tell. RightStuf has it rated at 13+ which is probably right on the money.
-== What I Don’t Like ==-
The pacing of the movie is slow at times especially during the middle of the movie. For the younger crowd it might be tough for them to maintain interest at this stage.
The main bad guy in the movie is really weak. His motivations are terrible and there are really not enough reasons given to hate him. In general his was a one of the biggest let downs of the movie.
The animators used CG for the forest effects and I actually thought it came across badly. I SO wanted to like watching the raging forest going off on the puny humans but the CG effects left me cold. I think if they did the entire thing in regular animation the effect would have been stronger.
-== Summary ==-
Origin: Spirits Of The Past is an enjoyable movie with a feel good ending that you can watch with your family or with people who may not be anime buffs. You can purchase the standard edition version of the movie from RightStuf at this URL for $11.24. You can get it at Amazon.com at this
URL for $13.49. This movie is well worth the $11.24 price tag. 🙂
I give it 7 out of 10 paws.
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March 23, 2010
By: John Taber
Category: Fun Reads, Media Interests
-== What is it? ==-
The Hualapai Cycle is a collection of eight intertwined adult horror stories that take place in a fictitious version of the Black Rock Desert. It is written by Jason Walters and is published by BlackWyrm. Before I get into the review I wanted to mention a couple of disclaimers. First off, I am not a huge fiction reader and even less so of horror novels. I was given an advance reading copy by Jason at a local gaming convention. Jason is a friend of mine that I have gamed with in the past. I have also reviewed some of his other RPG works (i.e. Scourges Of The Galaxy by Hero Games which is excellent BTW). I will try to not let my friendship or the fact that I was given a copy of the book bias my review.
The book has a color cover and an entirely black and white interior. The book is 6? x 9? and is 173 pages in length.
-== What I Like ==-
Even though there are technically eight short stories in the novel each story contains at least one smaller narrative inside. While telling one story another character is introduced that impacts that story AND appears later in other stories. The way it is done is quite nice. You really want to see a how a character from one story is used in another. Even though you might think that this would disrupt the flow of a story it does not. One tale flows nicely into the next and characters move and distort as the book progresses. This technique shows a lot of craftsmanship.
The author has a great way of getting inside animal’s heads. This is done with horses, wolves, mutant dogs, and lot of other twisted creatures of the desert. I thought it was very fun.
The book shows how the harsh Black Rock Desert climate breeds survivors. Some of the characters are likable and others are twisted but all of them are tough. It really adds to the horror feel when someone you think is nice turns out to be just as twisted as everyone else.
The book is jam packed full of great lines like these…
Everybody wanted a bloody, red chunk of retribution, and nobody cared how much it cost when God came to collect his bill.
…and..
“I am convinced that He does not play dice.” But most of the time Iverson was pretty sure that He did play dice. Or at least He did in Nevada.
One story that I particularly like is called Mexican Cowboy. It contains a character aptly name Lupe (think “Loopy” 😉 ) who has El Santo and Sid Vicious as guardian angels/devils. What a fantastic story. I also really enjoyed the story Crippled Stray which is about an old Jewish woman waiting to die at the hands of a pack of wolves. It is heartfelt and hard hitting at the same time.
-== What I Don’t Like ==-
The cover on the advance reading copy is not great. It is dark and hard to see. The title could use outlining to make is stand out. I also think the graphic could be changed to make it more interesting. I don’t want to give away too much but a picture of a desert landscape through a bullet hole in someone’s head might be better. 🙂
The title of the book, Hualapai Cycle, is a bit hard to understand until the end. I think it works but it was confusing to me at first.
The last story,Guerrero’s War, comes off as a bit “preachy” in parts. There are a few pages that explain the Bureau Of Land Managements roles in the area that can be taken as a bit of a soapbox. Overall it is not that bad as the information is needed to fully appreciate the story.
-== Summary ==-
In the introduction of Hualapai Cycle Jason explains that the book is a love story to his home and the Black Rock Desert. That is really what this is in a horrific and twisted sort of way. The tales meander to different people, places, and events giving the reader a bitter taste of this desolate place. Even though I know the Black Rock Desert would spit out my sorry ass in around 2 seconds flat after reading Hualapai Cycle I want to visit. In my opinion this is the best work of writing Jason has done to date. I don’t know the price but my rating assumes it is reasonable. You will be able to get from BlackWyrm, the Hero Games store, or Amazon.com
soon.
I give it 9 out of 10 paws.
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March 16, 2010
By: John Taber
Category: Games, Product Reviews
-== What is it? ==-
World Builds Book Of Places Volume 1 published by Dog Soul Publishing and written by Deborah Balsam is a collection of 14 settlements that can be deposited into your fantasy genre campaign world. Each settlement is comprised of a 2 page entry. The first page includes a summary section, Places Of Interest, Persons Of Interest, and Interesting Facts. The second page is a full page map. Settlements range from small villages to large cities. I am reviewing a PDF version of the product that I purchased online then printed.
The book has a color cover and an entirely black and white interior. The book is 8 1/2? x 11? and is 31 pages in length. The last page is a note from the author. There is not a table of contents or an index.
-== What I Like ==-
Many of the settlements have very unique elements. These elements include details on specific inhabitants, an interesting locale, or possibly a particular theme. For example, there is a village that lives on a cliff over an ocean.
Many of the settlements have a slightly Asian flair that I enjoyed. It is hard to describe but I liked the feeling.
The summary section at the top is nice. It sets the tone of the entry quickly and efficiently. One thing I might have liked was having a quick blurb in the header that summarized the entry. For example, “Mvalienisu (Noble city on a lake)”. This way I could actually grab an entry during a play session and run with it.
-== What I Don’t Like ==-
The map provided with each settlement is frankly a complete waste of space. They do not include a lot of detail. I would much rather have been given double amount of settlements with no maps at all.
Another thing I would have liked to see are plot hooks for each entry. Even a couple of bullet points with one sentence hooks would have been helpful.
Another enhancement idea is to have some of the cities tie together. Maybe have one village provide goods or raw materials to another. These connections make places feel more realistic in my opinion.
-== Summary ==-
As long as the buyer understands that what they are getting is 14 settlements that can be dumped into a campaign world then you will be happy. World Book Of Places Volume 1 can be picked up at DriveThruRPG at this URL for $2.65. This price point is pretty cheap but I think it should be for what I consider to be only 14 pages of useful material.
I give it 4 out of 10 paws.
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