Thoughts On...Limitless

   I got a chance to see Limitless last Monday, and what a time.  All I had heard before going in was that it was a remake of something back in the day, as so much is currently.  I also caught the trailer sometime in the months preceding.  This also marks the first time I’ve been out to a theatre in some time.  It takes an intriguing movie or persuasive people to get me into a theatre, and it was the people this time, not so much the film.  Personally, I’ve been thinking of going to see Red Riding Hood, but that’s because it looks so delightfully camp, and I’d like to give the director a shot when she isn’t working with the Twilight series.   Back to topic.    Oh, and I’ll be touching on mild *SPOILERS*

   Bradley Cooper’s character explains himself as a muse-less writer, burnt out and in the gutter, so to speak, until a chance encounter with an estranged ex-brother-in-law provides him with a miracle drug.  NZT, our deus-ex, acts as a jacked up, adult version of Ritalin, with no real downside or side effect, if used as directed (overdose causes memory lapses and psychosis).  As our protagonist pulls his life together, he starts moving up in the world, learning ad mastering skills, languages and perception in seconds rather than the requisite 10,000 hours it takes everyone else.  He moves into the world of finance and business, gets in trouble with a loan shark, and meets DeNiro’s character at the top of the corporate ladder.

   As for what didn’t sit well, the start up bugged me.  I think I’m just getting burnt out on “Tarantino-ing” movies, starting with the end and then recapping.  Limitless pushes it a bit though, which is a nice twist.  The film starts with our suited protagonist on a ledge with pounding at the door behind him, ready to jump.  Then comes the first two acts as narrated flashback to bring the audience back to the ledge.  It works, but it’s probably just me who’s getting to dislike the quick peek forward before being brought back. 

   As a good note, the film doesn’t end with a swan dive away from pursuers, but goes on to end the scene and then provide a fast forward epilogue.  It’s a good time, but outside of a handful of one-liners, isn’t that memorable.  The acting is good, but nothing worthy of stunning praise.  Bradley Cooper’s transformation from a dishevelled writer to the sleek and suited business version of himself was that dramatic a moment as it should have been for me, but then I find makeover scenes a tad insulting.  Still, the glimmer and gloss of Cooper’s blue eyes once he’s back on his wonder drug feels wonderfully simple and effective.  The film was dynamic and constantly in motion, yet everything was visible and at no point was I unsure of what was happening on-screen.  The stretched zoom-shots were dizzying at times, but were used to good effect for the time segues.

   The only thought that still stands out to me is something that I saw when coming out of the theatre.  On ticket booth was a small poster which looked to be advertising the drug of the poster and my thought was this:  there aren’t many drug tie-ins with movies.  I’ve seen plenty of toys, books and games, but not many pharmaceutical’s marketed alongside movies, which is a pity, because if there was ever a drug to buy, NZT would be it, closely followed by some of the health care products provided by Umbrella Corp.  I haven’t looked in to it, but what a fun concept.  The entire movie can be treated as an ad for a miracle drug with the profitable message, stick to the dose, don’t skip daily usage and your life will improve drastically.  You’ll acquire fame, fortune and the illusive lifestyle of those who have it, along with all their toys.  Such build up for an enhanced concentration drug.

   Overall impression was good.  It’s not the smartest movie out there by any margin, but it’s fast paced, good to look at and coherent.  What complaints I level at it are drowned out by the good time I had; it was fun.  If the trailer was a good time for you, give it a look.

Thoughts On...Heroes of Mana

   Last night i spent an hour or so playing Heroes of Mana (NDS) and found it enjoyable.  One of the main reasons i had a good time with it was that I've played far too much Warcraft III over the years.  I've also sunk literally hundreds of hours into all three Final Fantasy Tactics games.  both of these lend themselves well, as the art is done by the same guy as FFT:A2, Ryoma Itō.  It's nice Character style, but very easy to spot.  
   One of the issues i found was that after the first twenty or so minutes, i was skipping through the dialogue and story, moving as quickly as i could to get to the combat, the plight of the people and why they were fighting as forgotten as most things that aren't shiny enough to hold my attention.  The crazy thing was, I wasn't missing much.  whenever i did slow down enough to grasp what was going on, the plot was so unbearably by the numbers that it might as well have used the stylus to connect the dots.  does this sound familiar?

A small unit of soldiers featuring a rookie, a grizzled veteran, a a swordsman, a glass canon mage, a female thief, an archer.  they are sent into enemy territory a a diversion while their armada invades the capital to seize a McGuffin.  upon their arrival to the castle, they're turned on and have to fight against their own side.  plot twist which is so overused it might as well be a light curve in the road.  

   I don't know, but the lack of originality on the plot side bugged me.  still, it's a safe product, which is how i have it in my hands. WC3 is fun.  Square RTS's are fun.  throw in a standard plot that allows the player party to get in a lot of fights and we're off on a good time.
   It left me wanting something other than WC3 port skinned and codded by the FFT crew, glorious though they are.  The mechanics work well.  Units are selectable with more accuracy than a mouse would allow, something impressive for hardware, but it doesn't push the envelope far enough.  a bit more freedom on the over world would be appreciated.  
    Maybe my issue with it is it's like many games i enjoy, but not enough like certain ones.  Were it more free roaming like the first FFT, or dare i say it, Mount & Blade, one of the pinnacles of wide open sandbox games, i might have enjoyed it a bit more.  As it is I i might play it more, but I'm pessimistic that it will surprise me.
   Fun, but didn't do enough to distinguish itself on its own merits.


//Images blatantly ripped off of Google.