The Unfinished Swan Review

There are few instances in the heavily socialized medium of video games where someone can find themselves surprised. Publishers feel the need to choreograph the announcement of their new big game. Forums, Twitter, and specialized publications devour and regurgitate any and all information on the next big thing. Spoilers end up being the least of a players concerns as long segments of the game are shown at televised media events and an ever growing list of bullet point features are injected like a hypodermic needle into the media who find themselves chomping at the bit for the few extra page views an exclusive may provide them. Players find themselves plugging their ears and cautiously browsing forums as to have a fresh and surprising experience  As a connoisseur of any and all information in the entertainment industry I especially find it difficult to truly be surprised by a piece of content as I know every detail of the project before it even begins production. Which is why The Unfinished Swan a downloadable title available only on PSN took me by surprise and gave me an experience I had not had since the then unknown Portal.

In The Unfinished Swan, players explore a world that at least at the outset seemingly exists in a portrait. With only globs of black paint to help you traverse the world. But to say the game goes to some pretty trippy places is in an understatement. Perspectives are shifted, reality is bent, and holding it all together is a tender story told like a classic bedtime story. The Unfinished Swan was unjustly promoted as a Playstation Move game, a fact that would later make people including myself that it was only playable with the useless Sony peripheral. So I take this chance to clarify for all to hear, this game doesn't, I repeat DOES NOT, require a Move controller. The Unfinished Swan genuinely surprised me and took hold even in the midst of playing through an entirely different game, once I entered the painterly world with many secrets I couldn't stop playing until I had finished and at roughly 3-4 hours its a tight memorable experience. Sony has done a wonderful job embracing indie games on their online marketplace even more so when they games seem incredibly unique from Flower to Journey and even the whacked out Tokyo Jungle. The Unfinished Swan now stands among the handful of truly outstanding downloadable game of this generation. 

(5 out of 5)

Quick & Dirty Reviews

Lets get the egregious title out of the way first, Jack Reacher has the most generic, nondescript, baffling un-marketable title I've ever seen for such a great movie. They may have just as well called it Tom Cruise. But look past the dumb title and what is left is a surprisingly sharp highly entertaining thriller. Tom Cruise is the titular Jack Reacher a former Military Police Officer now drifter who is asked for by a suspect in a killing spree which left 5 innocent people dead. Soon after the suspects attorney has tasked Reacher to be the lead investigator in the case and he quickly gets to work. Jack Reacher is the rare smart action film, where the action is not the main event but a means to an end, a tight and witty script raises what could have easily been a generic action film to one of the better book to screen adaptations.

(4 out of 5)

A faithful and touching adaptation of the heralded musical, Le Miserables is a musical on a massive scale that never loses the deeply personal and intertwining story of a handful of people who are for different reasons suffering throughout their lives. Filled with passionate performances and wholly welcome renditions of classic songs, Le Miserables is better than any rendition a theater production could ever accomplish. Hugh Jackman inarguably steals the show with a deeply resonate performances that will touch even the coldest of hearts, and Anne Hathaway gives the greatest single performances with her haunting version of I Lived a Dream. I could go on and on about the films great accomplishments but there are a few things that hold back an otherwise fantastic film. Russel Crowe seems out of place, and while giving a generally good performance doesn't rise to heights of his co-stars. And finally the films length can be tough to sit through for casual movie goers but otherwise the film isn't overlong or boring simply and factually long it is not a detriment. Everything about this movie is fantastic the performances are award worthy, the scope of the production is immense and the music hauntingly beautiful and poignant, Les Miserables has topped Sweeny Todd as my all time favorite musical.

(5 out of 5)

This is 40 is a spin-off to Knocked Up, following Pete and Debbie who we spend only a few minutes with in the former film and now are in rough patch in their marriage. I know you thought this was a comedy and while their are plenty of hilarious moments like all Judd Apatow films they are also uncomfortably raw and emotional. I have always liked Apatow's films even including the more devise Funny People but This is 40 didn't strike me the same way, and too often felt like a typical family drama I had seen hundreds of times before and done better. The performances are strong and the gags are honest and earned as opposed to the type of crap that passes for comedy in an Adam Sandler film. Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd are a believable couple and give great performances but the script seems lacking and stretching thin in spots. There were portions of the film that felt wholly unnecessary and forced couple that with unoriginal ideas and you have the weakest Apatow film to date. 

(2 out of 5)

Lets get it out of the way early, sure Daniel Day-Lewis is characteristically amazing, as he is and has been in every role for quite some time. But what makes this film truly shine is one the best ensemble casts in quite a long time, with not a single weak link the performances raise a sharp script into a strong portrayal of a man bent on passing the 13th amendment  This film was almost made for actors, the impeccable script allows all the actors no matter how small the part to give a memorable performance from Joesph Gordon-Levitt or James Spader. Tommy Lee Jones gives a particularly fantastic performance as a man clearly fed up with the legal system, a sentiment most people in or out of politics share vehemently these days. If there is are any negative about this movie, its that it's predictable and while filled with great performances doesn't truly shine or differentiates itself it also ends bizarrely and clumsily. Highly recommend but don't expect anything revelatory. 

(4 out of 5)

Oh Quentin Tarantino, you always make such highly entertaining movies with subversive genre mashing and fantasy fulfillment. Django Unchained is the western Tarantino has clearly been wanting to make for quite some time, as each and every one of his movie has blatant western references and styles. Let me just say this film is a blast, side-achingly funny, ridiculously bloody and wholly satisfying. Django is probably my second favorite Tarantino film of all time, as Pulp Fiction will never not be the best, and as a bloody revenge tale filled with some of the best performances of the year Django is probably the best mixture of quality film-making and pure entertainment. Christoph Waltz is a joy to behold as the german bounty hunter who frees the titular slave Django (a mono-syllabic Jamie Foxx) in exchange for the identity of a couple of brothers on the run from the law. But its Leonardo DiCaprio in the most gleefully despicable character of his career and Samuel L. Jackson as the most nefarious Uncle Tom in film history who run away with the show. Jackson especially makes up for his past decade of performances and gives as award worthy performance. Django Unchained is a fantasy in revisionist history choked to the brim with memorable moments and award worthy performance that is not to be missed.

(5 out of 5)