Dragon Age 2

I had just finished Dragon Age 2. It was $12. You can't complain about a $12 game!

To see what I said about Dragon Age Origin... click here.

Let's start with graphics again:
It was nice. I really liked the Sundermount because when you are up the mountain and look back down, you can actually SEE the village below. I think with graphics, while the big picture (the background, the houses etc) are nice, it is the smaller details that makes the graphics good. I had my mother asked "why are their face so dirty?"
"No mom... it's blood."

For me, music in Dragon Age 2 felt almost invisible. I couldn't hear the awesomely epicness like it did in DAO. The music is very subtle and somewhat disappointing. During fight scene, the music comes on but it missed the oomph that it had in DAO.

The story of DA2 is not that bad. Personally, I am slightly confused. You're able to import your save file. Since I sacrificed myself in DAO, the story somewhat continues on. So in Dragon Age 2, it really had NOTHING to do with the dark spawn, they show up a little in the game but it takes a more political route which I have no problems with. However, I am just not sure how it connects to DAO, just the fact that Hawke is a refugee from Ferelden.

I thought it was interesting how the game is done through Varric's story telling. What I do love is the small talks and characters. No one can replace Morrigan. She is likely one of my favourite evil good guy.

On a side tangent, Kate Mulgrew was in Toronto end of August for the Fan Expo. During Q & A, she saw a fan and screamed "Are you Flemeth?!" The fan responded that she was her daughter Morrigan. Mulgrew then proceeded to speak in Flemeth's voice

In DA2, the character bickering is still there. My favourite companion is Isabela. The conversation between her and Aveline and Merrill is hilarious. Of course, Isabela being Isabela, she makes some... interesting comments. At times, I had to stop and think "did Isabela just say THAT?" Yes, she did.

I like the new dialogue dial and gameplay. There was just one thing that annoyed me to no end. I felt like the graphics engineer and level designer got LAZY. A lot of the caves and dungeons were the SAME map, the only difference between cave 1 and cave 2 was the door that doesn't open.

To put it in simple turn, they created ONE dungeon. They used doors to differentiate cave 1 and cave 2 even though when you look at your mini-map, there is a path that you THINK you should be able to go to.

I would be in a new area and head to the cave, my first thought "hey, I've been here." I proceeded to where I should go and "why can't I get through?! Why won't this door open?" It is just some half-ass lazy game design.

I also enjoyed how they brought some characters back from DAO. Only Anders is playable but to see Alistair mope in the Hanged Man (I didn't make him King) is funny. But it felt like they decided to just throw in the DAO characters and went "look, people from the first game! Yes, this game is still in the same region."

There is 3 DLC content which I am sure would have made the game enjoyable. But no, I am not spending another $30 to play them. Imagine if you had pay $50 for the game and realized you need to pay another $30 for extra content? That just screams GREED.

I enjoyed playing it still. I mean I did pay $12 for it. If I had paid anymore, I might be screaming as a horrible game.

Beauty and the Beast, the Broadway Musical

Tale as old as time. Timely classic and romance (I know, cheesy, I can't think of anything else). So I actually finally went around and saw the Broadway musical. It was a second run in Toronto at the Four Seasons Centre.

I was just reading the The Toronto Star online and this article came up. It's always interesting to read a review before going to see a play or movie. While I did agree to some of the points but to give it a 1.5 out of 4? And called the 2.5hr show a life sentence? Give me a break! How do people hire these "critics" and give these terrible reviews?

Here's my honest opinion on the show itself:

As I said, I have not seen the original Broadway/Toronto production so I don't know of the "extravagant" settings. For what it's worth, the stage is only so big and I think they did a wonderful job of using what they had to change scenes by rolling different sets, turning it around and placing them in a different area on stage. It's hardly worth complaining the "fact that it’s a touring production is reflected in sets and costumes." For people who are did not grow up in the Broadway stage settings or understand how it should be lay out on stage. This is a terrible reason to put down a show.

Costumes were fine. You can only do so much with Beast's mane. Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, Babette, and Madame de la Grande Bouche, their costume did reflect their animation counter parts. I can't imagine really putting Madame de la Grande Bouche in a real closet costume and what they did I thought was ingenious. Oh and the way Chip was presented - brilliant.

The story itself is near identical of the Disney animation, extra songs were added and humour is a large part of the show. Gaston, in particular, is the funniest character on the play. He really emphasized the ego, playboy and as thestar article stated narcissistic personality. You actually enjoyed the Broadway Gaston more the animation Gaston.

Music is my expertise and I can tell you, I really enjoyed the music, from the overture to the songs themselves were memorable. I was surprise about the fact that the cast of Beauty and the Beast had a near identical voice to the Disney movie. I certainly think that is a plus. Because when you are reproducing something, people have certain expectations and wants to hear familiarity.

Emily Behny played Belle and her voice was absolutely beautiful. She carried the Belle tune exactly the way you would remember it in the movie. And when she hit the high note, it was a thing of beauty.

Matt Farcher played Gaston and I believe he really stole the show. He had the powerful tenor voice and his personality brought Gaston to life that made Gaston an enjoyable character and not the jerk that's in the movie.

Michael Haller as Lumiere was also likeable but I wonder if that's because it's Lumiere. Afterall, he is the French candle romantic guy.

Jessica Lorion played Babette and I loved the character. It's pretty funny that everytime she's on stage, she has to "shake it." I mean, she is the brush...

James May as Cogsworth was also likeable. He was very close to the movie character as well but wasn't my favourite.

Julia Louise Hosack as Mrs. Potts. Who doesn't love Mrs. Potts? Of course Julia is no Angela Lansbury and while she didn't sound like her, Julia brought a different character voice to Mrs. Potts that was pleasantly good. I sort of feel bad for her to have to keep her left arm up as the stout of the tea pot.

Leaving the last important character to review but unfortunately not the good is Beast played by Dane Agostinis. This is where I agreed the the thestar article. The original Beast in the movie is voiced by Robby Benson. While his voice was altered for the movie, it was kind of disappointed to hear Beast's voice and missing that depth. I don't think it helped that he was a tenor. One voice that is very distinct is that of David Keith of Disney's Gargoyle fame. He has the perfect tone and deepness in his voice that was needed for Beast. Unfortunately, Dane Agostinis didn't have it. It really took away the sad, tortured soul persona.

All in all though, it is still a good show. I definitely rate the show a lot better then what thestar gave. It is not a perfect show but it is definitely worth going to watch with friends.

The Help (A Movie Review)

I have finally gotten around to watching The Help.

What made me wanted to watch this movie was the story itself taking places during America's segregation in the 60s. I am glad that I am not born in that era and to have to go through the discrimination. However, being of ethnic minority, these same prejudice and discrimination are still happening in the 21st Century.

Over the last 50 years, human civilization itself has changed SO much (computers, cellphones, cars, medicine, etc) and yet, we, as people, are still trying kill one another or deny people's basic rights.

I know the movie was based on the book. Since I have not read it, I will solely based it on the movie.

I wanted to watch this movie and have an understanding of that particular era. The movie really emphasized the segregation of the 60s. And watching it now in 2012, some of these discrimination just blew my mind.

One thing that jumped out is really how discrimination is taught. We don't go out and make a decision to say "so today, I'm going to hate *insert group* because they're *insert stereotype*."

This quote shows exactly what I'm talking about:
Skeeter: These colored women raise white children, and in twenty years those children become the boss.

Somehow, somewhere, in the 20 years raised by these colour women, the white children learned to discriminate against someone who was essentially their mother, just not biologically.
Another scene that made me ponder about the discrimination was the use of toilets. I remember reading and watching some videos of how coloured and whites were not allowed to used the same water fountain or same bus. In the movie, toilets should not be shared because white people will get "the disease." When I saw the scene where they proposed a law to build a separate toilet for coloured people, I went "say what? You can't get disease from sharing a toilet." It is one of those things that we do not understand today.

Going back to the roles of these coloured women, they were to cook, clean, and take care of babies. Did you know that this actually STILL exist today? In Hong Kong, I would estimate that about 60-70% of family has a live-in maid of Filipino background. I can't be certain of the pay rate (certain would be decent enough) but to have a live-in maid to do EVERYTHING. And I have seen children being spoiled by it. And then it's things like these that you realized, we have not really evolved into better people. We still treat some people of other race a lower class because of where they're from. End of Rant.

I really liked how some of the character's were developed. Celia was awkward but funny and was more modern then her housewife counterparts. While Hilly was the type of bitch you dislike because of her backward points of views.

After all my rant and complain, I really did enjoy the movie. Although, their Southern accent sometimes meant "what did they just say?" it was still worth watching. I actually plan on watching it again eventually.

Best line of the movie: "Eat My Shit!"

Disney Pixar's Brave (a Movie Review)

This past week I went to see Brave. How does Pixar keep producing these timeless stories? Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Monster's Inc, Wall-E, Up and so on. You can now add Brave to the list. I think it might be my favourite Pixar movie.

Here's the recap and info from IMDB.com

I really enjoyed the movie. And who doesn't love the Scottish accent??

It is visually stunning. I have not been to Scotland but the animation of the landscape is simply beautiful. I found myself drawn into the beauty of the land... even though it was computerized. I thought they did a great job in Up! with South America but the Scottish Highland... WOW! Also stunning was capturing the human emotions onto a bear.

One thing you learn in a music class is how music drives the story. And it was amazing (and I might use this word one too many times). Patrick Doyle created the story with just the music. It was beautiful and amazing (yes, see? I said it again). When you think Scottish music, you will automatically think bagpipes. Yes, bagpipe music was in the movie because you can't have Scottish music without bagpipe but it was done in moderation. Like any other animation, music is very important in driving the story and it definitely did its job. If I come out of the theatre with "I need to go buy the original soundtrack!" It means I really LOVED the music! And the last time that I actually bought an original soundtrack was back in 2000, Gladiator and that was EPIC soundtrack!

I would talk about the story but I might ruin it for you. What I will talk about is the theme of the movie or my interpretations at least. The obvious thing is that the protagonist is Merida, a girl, a young princess. I read someone's comment or opinion somewhere and I have to agree; Merida will obvious be part of the "Disney Princess Collection" along with Belle, Jasmine, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. The difference here is though, Merida is a strong, independent little girl and which my friend pointed out, "she didn't need to be paired up with a guy," which is great for girls watching the movie. Having said that, there were also things about the movies boys will love. The most obvious part is Merdia's triplet brothers. They were just adorable trouble makers. You can't help but love them. However, if they were your kids, they will definitely drive you mad.

I didn't watch the movie in 3D so I'm not sure what I missed but this is definitely a must see movie.

If my rating for movie counts, it's a definite 4 out of 5.

Oh and to make it ALL worth it... there is a teaser preview for next Pixar movie... Monsters University. Oh yes, a pre-quel to the 2001 movie Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo is returning to theatre for 3D - that might actually intriguing.