Mortal Kombat X

That's right friends, Mortal Kombat X is due to come out in 2015. So more than likely it will be Xbox One and Playstation 4 and if the graphics in the trailer are in game than holy cow you can sign me right up to kick ass. I miss playing Mortal Kombat till wee hours in the night with my friends. Fuck you Rain. Anyway before you watch, nice going in choosing Sub-Zero and Scorpion; two of the most iconic characters in the franchise and in my opinion a lot cooler match up than Liu Kang (undead body or spirit possessing Liu Kang) and Shang Tsung. However, as a biased person I was very sadden to see Sub-Zero get his ass handed to him by Scorpion and if this trailer is in game play graphics than no button mashing bitches. Just pure unadulterated combos and split second strategy and maneuvers. So that means knowing what your characters moves are, the opponent character's skill set and the player's skill level. The fight between Sub-Zero and Scorpion is dark and the Mortal Kombat tournament is not for the fainthearted. Also can anyone see the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' allusion in this with both characters acting as avatars of their element. Now for the music.....I liked it actually. I know a lot of people would scream blasphemy but come on that beat lends itself to the dark and bloody battle between two eternal foes. For me, the beat gets me into a dark and serious mood and allows me to feel that both combatants are deadly serious and will go to any length to kill each other. Then Wiz khalifa cadence with his lyrics gets the adrenaline pumping in my veins, the song makes me both calm and hyper and I understand that this is the state that both Sub-Zero and Scorpion find themselves in. Nicely done producers. Also I will commend the writers of the song for making allusions to the MK games in the franchise within the lyrics. The only problem I have is the portion of the song where Wiz Khalifa speeds up his delivery of lyrics but the hand to hand combat isn't as fast pace to match. I know the producers wanted to highlight the motion capture brilliance of the live martial artists and their skill but it sent me off kilter at that moment in the trailer. All and all I anticipate this game eagerly and this trailer better have been in game play graphics or otherwise you will have hell to pay.

Once Upon A Dream

So for my latest sojourn to the movies, I watched Disney's Maleficent. Of course there were cringe worthy acting from even the adult actors but the story telling was decent. The most note worthy, was true love's kiss. The powers that be inside Disney have taken to reading the exposes that take a hard look at the media's role in our western society and particularly their role in an ever changing and expanding culture. Fairy tales were meant to provide instruction and provide ideals for members of that particular society should strive towards. However with the advent of individualism and the changing landscape of human society, these ideals if set into stone only provide a schism between the past and the future especially for such human tenements such as, sexuality, gender roles, familial roles, and the role of the part within a whole. So Disney taking established fairy tales and reforging them into weapons for cultural idealism has both been a blessing and a curse for western society. However, they are learning rather rapidly that their movies can no longer stay in the realm of pure fantasy and that they have a responsibility to their audience as agents of cultural realism. So with this new found direction for Disney we have such movies as The Frog Princess, Brave, Frozen, The Pirates of Caribbean: AT WORLD'S END and now Maleficent that are redefining our understanding of cultural ideals and for that I applaud them. As a side note, I am ignoring the motivation for profit.

How about Game of Thrones

As with everyone, I have been swept up into Game of Thrones but I will say that I have read the "A Song of Ice and Fire" and the many novellas included in that universe and I find myself in awe at my level masochism. I love you GRRM but my heart can only take so much. Even characters that are my most hated and most respected have died. GRRM shows that for every action in reality there is an opposite reaction and everything you put out there reverberates sometimes to the determinant of the castor of the stones. Honorable Ned Stark, got his head cut off because even honor does not always save. Ned's honorable logical against Joffery's illogical madness do not mesh at all. "Stand amongst the ashes of a trillion dead souls and ask the ghosts if honour matters." (Javik, Mass Effect) Tywin with all his Machiavellian outlook and with the help of the less able members of House Lannister (Cersei) has ensured the downfall of his house at the hands of his own son. Dany in all her Mary Sue-ness and dragons will not help her when she declines into madness trying to achieve the ideal in Slaver's Bay. I commend her and everything but the cities of Essos save maybe Bravoos (city started by former slaves of Valyria) will unite to destroy her and take her dragons. The road to perdition is paved with good intentions. Now I can't wait for the next book and the next two episodes of this season, important people are going to come back and important people are going to die, it is all relative. Also on a side note for the next episode, since Brienne is off to see the wizard (Thoros of Myr), I hope the show does justice to the flying monkeys (Brotherhood without Banners) and the wicked witch of the West (Lady Stoneheart) and I fully expect to see some Frey's defy gravity by their necks. If you would like to learn more and or keep track of the sheer amount of characters within these books, check out A wiki of Ice and Fire.